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  An hour later, Anne and my sister arrive, coming into the room with balloons and a teddy bear for the baby. Gripping the bed rails, I try to find a position that the pain is bearable, but nothing is working.

  A few hours later, the nurse checks me again and I’m dilated eight centimeters; I’m almost there.

  “You’re doing great, Raine,” Sly says, holding my hand and putting a wet towel on my forehead. I feel irritable, and I just want this baby out. With the epidural, the pain isn’t as bad, but I’m still uncomfortable.

  After eight hours of labor, I’m ready to push the baby. The doctor guides me into position, and I grip Sly’s hand tightly while I push. Then I breathe in and push again. I repeat the process until, finally, the baby’s head peeks out. The doctor confirms one or two more pushes and the baby will be out. I’m exhausted and sweaty, but I manage to do a few more pushes and the baby is pulled out. Sly and I are both crying. Happy tears, of course.

  “You have a healthy baby boy,” the doctor says, and Sly covers his mouth, elated to know he has a son.

  Sly kisses me while he continues to cry. “You did so good, Raine. We have a baby boy,” he says.

  The doctor asks Sly if he wants to cut the cord. He nods and does precisely as the doctor instructs.

  The doctor holds him over me so I can see him, and I really lose it, crying. The joy I feel is overwhelming. They place the baby on my stomach and clean him up, wrapping him up in a blanket and putting a cap on his head. Sly is at my side as I hold the baby.

  “I think he looks like an Aaron James Wilkes. What do you think?” I look at Sly.

  He beams, knowing the middle name is after his own father. “I think that sounds perfect. What do you think, Aaron? Yeah, I think he agrees,” he says.

  On July 2nd, Aaron James Wilkes is born. He weighs 6 pounds 12 ounces and is 20 inches in length.

  “Oh boy, now I’ll have a mini Sly,” I say.

  “Just another man to look after his mom.”

  The nurse has Sly sit in a chair and remove his shirt so the baby can be skin to skin with him. He’s placed on his chest and Sly is in amazement of Aaron. It’s such a tender moment to see. Aaron is going to be the spitting image of Sly, with his full head of dark hair and his light colored caramel eyes. Sly is beside himself and grinning from ear to ear.

  Anne and my sister finally come in to meet Aaron.

  “He is so precious,” Anne says.

  “And he’s going to look exactly like his daddy,” Summer says, making Sly proud.

  I’m completely exhausted, so I try to breastfeed Aaron. Thankfully, he latches on like a champ. After his feeding I put him back in his crib before taking a nap.

  ***

  SLY

  This whole experience with Raine giving birth has been surreal. I’m a father to a son, who is my flesh and blood and who seems to look like me. But he’ll definitely have his mom’s strong-willed spirit.

  I just can’t believe I’m actually touching him and nuzzling his little nose. He seems so calm for a newborn, but I don’t know much about babies to begin with. Raine is a pro with him. It’s amazing to see them bond, and the glow that emanates off her when she’s holding him. It’s all so crazy and exciting.

  It made me especially happy that Aaron will have my dad’s name for his middle name. My dad will feel very honored when we tell him.

  While the baby sleeps, I let Raine sleep as well. Mom and Summer said they would let us be and they will visit tomorrow. I relax in the chair by the bed and put my head back. I close my eyes as the exhaustion has caught up to me.

  ***

  RAINE

  When I wake, I hear a faint sound. It’s Sly breathing heavily as he sleeps in the chair right next to me. And then the baby starts to cry. Sly jumps to his feet, and I stifle a giggle. Once he realizes it’s just the baby, he walks over and hands him to me.

  “He’s probably hungry,” I say, lifting my arms up to hold Aaron.

  Fortunately, the baby takes right to breastfeeding. The only issue is finding a comfortable spot. Sly is watching with amazement.

  “I can’t believe we have a son,” Sly says.

  “Better believe it. Do you have the car seat in the car so we can be ready to take him home?”

  “Everything is all set to go,” he says.

  ***

  Twenty-four hours later, we arrive home. The baby slept the whole way home. Sly grabs my bag and I carefully lift Aaron out of the car seat so I don’t wake him. We walk in the house with Aaron cuddled to my chest, and we slowly walk upstairs and place him in his crib.

  Now I realize it feels kind of strange to be using this room that was supposed to be occupied by Sly’s first born son. I put Aaron down, set up the baby monitor, and quietly leave the room with Sly.

  “It is weird at all?”

  “What do you mean?” he asks, confused.

  “You know, that Aaron is now in the nursery that was meant for your first son.”

  In the bedroom, Sly pulls me into his arms and I rest my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “It’s not weird, because after Aaron is out and in his own room, another baby will be in there,” he says. Without looking up, I know he is smiling.

  Lifting my head up, I look up at him. “Is that so?’

  “I can guarantee it. We need to try for a girl,” he states.

  “Maybe we’ll just have boys.”

  “Then we’ll keep trying.” He grins.

  Breaking from the embrace, I giggle, shaking my head at him. I take the baby monitor and place it on the nightstand.

  “I need to pump some milk before he wakes up,” I say, grabbing the machine. “You might as well try to get some sleep too.”

  Sly lies down and props an arm behind his head. “When can we have sex?” he blurts out.

  “The doctor said four to six weeks. Probably more like four weeks since I’m feeling okay, but I’m sure we can work on other things while we wait.” I arch my eyebrow at him.

  “Oh, I love the way you think,” he quips.

  “But you’ll have to wait until we get a routine set, that way we won’t be interrupted. I know my sex drive tanked while I was pregnant, so I’m sure I can make up for lost time.” I wink.

  “Stop talking like that. You’re making me hard.” He shifts his position.

  “You brought it up.”

  He huffs and then closes his eyes to sleep. I finish pumping and then go check on Aaron one more time. It’s surprising he is sleeping so long. He looks so peaceful in his crib. I sit in the rocking chair and watch him in amazement.

  This is my and Sly’s flesh and blood. He’s a part of us. I love his chubby cheeks; I just want to pinch them. He definitely has my full lips. He’ll certainly be a looker when he gets older. Looking out the window to my right, I take a moment to think about Ava. She would have been such a great big sister to him. Maybe she’ll look over him even though she can’t physically be here. A vision comes to me of Ava playing with her little brother, the two of them giggling at something funny. It’s comforting.

  I don’t know how long I sit there watching him. Time doesn’t matter. Sly quietly sneaks in the room, so it must have been a few hours later.

  “What are you doing?” he asks.

  Aaron squirms in the crib and I can tell he is getting ready to cry.

  “Just watching our son,” I whisper, picking the baby up.

  Sly leans down and kisses him on the head.

  “Our son,” he says.

  “Our son,” I repeat.

  Epilogue

  RAINE

  One Year Later

  The weather is perfect and everyone is gathered in the backyard for Aaron’s first birthday. He seems to be fascinated with animals, so we got him an animal shaped cake and I have him dressed in an “It’s My Birthday” shirt and pants.

  His hair has little curls in it, and he has the most infectious smile I’ve ever seen. Sly has been a wonderful dad and has been there every s
ingle step of the way. I’ve managed to get back to my pre-baby weight, thanks to the treadmill.

  The decorations are up, and I wait for the guests to arrive before waking Aaron up from his nap. As if right on cue, his grandparents are the first ones there. Opening up the door, I greet them with hugs and kisses. The men go find Sly in the back yard.

  “Where’s my birthday boy?” Anne asks.

  “He’s out back with his dad. Those two are attached at the hip,” I tell her, grinning. “Oh, and look how big you are getting,” I tell my sister of her now pregnant belly.

  “Yeah, I’m due any minute now.” She rubs her stomach.

  I’m so excited for her, especially because this is her first child and I can answer any question she has. She’ll be a wonderful mom, because she’s an amazing aunt. While Anne and Grams go out back, I pull my sister aside in the kitchen.

  “Sly and I wanted to ask you something,” I tell her nervously.

  She leans against the counter. “Sure, anything.”

  “We wanted to know if anything were to happen to us, if you would look after Aaron. We just want to be prepared if anything should happen.”

  “Of course, you know I’d be there for him,” she says nonchalantly.

  I reach over and hug her, feeling grateful. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Now let’s go celebrate that little guy’s birthday,” she says.

  Outside, the summer air is not too humid, but perfect. Aaron is sitting on his dad’s lap while Anne coos over him. Summer goes over and loves on him, and he giggles at the attention. I lean against the sliding glass door frame and watch everyone interact. Of course I think of Ava, because I see a lot of her in Aaron’s features. The more he grows, the more I see her. Plus, he has a love of animals like she did. He even loves the stuffed horse that was her favorite.

  I move back inside the kitchen and light the candle on the cake. Walking it outside, everyone starts to sing as Aaron bounces on Sly’s leg, clapping his hands. Setting the cake down in front of him, we tell him to blow it out and we help him.

  Two years ago, I’d never have expected I would be living the life I have now. I have a beautiful little boy who has become my world, I have a gorgeous home that I share with the man I love, and I have family who is there for me no matter what, including Sly’s family who have welcomed me with open arms.

  Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky. How did this gorgeous man pull me from my darkness? I let him in because I desperately needed the distraction. That distraction grew into something more, something I wasn’t expecting. Love. We’ve been through a lot, and our family is not picture perfect, but we don’t pretend to be. I think there is beauty in that.

  Cutting the cake, Sly passes Aaron off to Anne, who is holding her arms out to him. Sly sneaks up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and nuzzling my neck.

  “Not in front of everyone,” I tell him about his public display of affection.

  “I just have one question,” he says, keeping my waist in his grips.

  I twist my neck to look at his face. “What’s that?”

  “When can we make another baby?” He chuckles.

  “Well, I guess we can start practicing tonight,” I tell him.

  Acknowledgments

  Readers, thank you so much for choosing me. I really hope you enjoy this book.

  Thank you to my husband for putting up with me in the process of writing this book. Thanks for listening to me rant about the characters and being my sound board.

  Thanks to my BETA’s as well, loved hearing your feedback on this one.

  Thanks to Niquel for answering all my pregnancy questions.

  About The Author

  Renea has always had her nose inside of a book ever since she could remember. She has written ever since she was young enough to write, never showing anyone what she was writing. Initially she started writing Coming Back to You without intending to publish, but her hubby of 15 years encouraged her to publish it. And she did. She couldn't imagine never writing. It’s in her blood.

  Be sure to check out these books

  by Renea

  Coming Back to You (a contemporary romance)

  Bare Hearts (a contemporary romance)

  Driving Layne-Unspoken Truth Book One (A new adult romance)

  Switching Lanes-Unspoken Truth Book Two (A new adult romance)

  Outbound Lane-Unspoken Truth Novella (A new adult romance)

  Undefinable (A new adult romance)

  Mirror Mirror (A M/M country music romance)

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