Michelle bolted up in bed as a sharp pain ripped through her lower abdomen. She took deep steadying breaths like they’d taught her in the childbirth classes.
Erik sat up next to her. “What is it, baby?” He switched on the bedside lamp then searched her face in a flash of worry.
“I just had a contraction, I think.”
“Is this your first one?” He caressed her back and shoulders with his big warm hands.
“I had a couple earlier, shortly after we made love.”
He smiled. “Lovemaking does hasten labor. Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Well, they weren’t that bad, but this one cut deep and hard.”
“How long ago did you have the last one?” He helped her lie back against the pillows.
She wrinkled her forehead. “About eight minutes.”
“Eight minutes? We have to leave for the hospital right away, Michelle. They’re too close for comfort.”
“Okay, you’re the expert here.” Michelle allowed him to help her out of the bed and over to her dressing room where he helped her pick out a skirt and a shirt.
“You’d better wake Yasmine,” she said. That should make her happy, she thought of her best friend and Lamaze coach who’d accompanied her to Granite Falls for the big day. She’d brought Peter along to keep Precious company, only to find out that Jason Rogers, the little boy who lived nearby was fierce competition for her attention.
“And leave a note for Mrs. Hayes to make the kids banana pancakes, and to set up the tent in the backyard,” she told Erik.
“You expect Mrs. Hayes to put up a tent?” Erik asked on a chuckle as he walked into his dressing room.
Michelle giggled. “I see what you mean. But I promised they could pretend they were camping in the woods.” She wished she’d hired the servants Erik had suggested.
“They’ll have to wait.” Erik crossed the floor and pressed one of the buttons on a wall. “Yasmine, wake up, Sleepyhead. It’s time.”
“Now?” a drowsy voice came through the intercom. “It’s two o’clock in the morning. Why can’t Michelle have the baby during the day like normal people?”
“I heard that,” Michelle yelled. “You just wait—Aw…” she wailed as another contraction hit her.
Erik rushed to her side. He held her, and helped her breathe through it. He shook his head, his eyes dulled with worry. “They’re less than five minutes apart. Come here.” He led her over to the double king-size bed, laid her down, and pulled up her skirt.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking to see how much you’re dilated.”
“Right, you’re a doctor.” She smiled, leaned back against the pillows, and let him do his job. She knew he was worried about her delivery, because according to him, her pelvis was too narrow, and her uterus was tilted backward, which would make childbirth difficult. Even though he was quite capable of delivering his child by himself, he was more comfortable at the hospital in case there were any complications.
“Six centimeters,” he said pulling down her skirt and helping her back on her feet.
“What does that mean?”
“That our baby is in a hurry to get here. Your water will probably break soon.” He looked around the room. “What do I do?”
Michelle rolled her eyes and shook her head. He’d just checked her, and now he was at a loss as to what to do next. “I can’t believe how nervous you are. You do this everyday, for crying out loud.”
“It’s different when it’s your own.”
“Whatever,” she murmured. “Just grab my bag.”
“Push, darling, push. I can see his little head.” Erik’s voice hummed with excitement, but his hands were shaking. This was his baby. The child he had fantasized about taking from Michelle’s body time and time again.
“I can’t.” Michelle squeezed one of Yasmine’s hands while her friend dabbed at the beads of sweat on her forehead with the other. She was never going to do this again. There had to be an easier way to bring children into the world.
“You promised me a houseful of babies. So give me my child, Michelle. I want my son,” Erik called from between her legs as he tried to clasp his hand around his child’s slippery head.
“Come on, Michelle, just push, girl. It’ll be over soon,” Yasmine chimed in.
“Okay, Okay. Just one more.” Michelle took a deep breath and pushed with all her strength. She felt a powerful relief between her thighs, as if she’d just pushed all her vital organs out with that bigheaded baby. She fell back weakly against the pillows.
Erik cupped his palms. Tears streamed down his cheeks as the tiny body slid into his hands. “It’s a boy. It’s a boy. I have a son.” His heart swelled with emotion as he gazed into the little irritated face.
The attending nurse held the baby while Erik cleaned out his mouth. Once that task was completed, the baby let out a bloodcurdling scream.
“Sounds like a LaCrosse,” Erik stated on a grin. He walked around to the head of the bed and placed his son into its mother’s waiting arms. “Here’s your firstborn, Michelle.”
Completely exhausted and drenched in sweat, Michelle wept as she cradled her squirmy, red-faced little baby boy in her arms. “Oh, Erik, he’s beautiful.”
“No, Michelle. He is Erik Philippe LaCrosse, the third.”
She chuckled, remembering how Precious had gotten her name.
Yasmine and the attending nurses left after the usual after-birth procedures were done, leaving the happy parents alone in the birthing room to bond with their child.
“You did well, Michelle,” Erik said, as he gazed at his newborn, ten-pound son, cuddled snugly, and sucking hungrily at his mother’s breast. He kissed her lips lingeringly as his hand caressed the soft coat of black hair on their son’s head. His joy was so great, his emotions so overwhelming, tears streamed down his face. He climbed up on the bed and wrapped his arms around them, offering them his protection, his love.
“We both did well.” Michelle gazed into Erik’s eyes, filled with love and tenderness, so pure and sweet, it left her breathless. “And, you did say it was a boy.” She stroked the baby’s soft cheek. She counted his tiny toes and fingers again, and checked his ears to make sure they were both there.
“Want to take bets on the sex of the next one?” Erik asked with a warm twinkle in his gold-flecked eyes.
“I’m in no hurry to do this again any time soon. You’re not coming near me for a long, long time. In fact, you’ll be sleeping in one of the guest rooms on the second floor.”
“Wanna bet on that one, too?” A devilish grin overtook his sexy face.
Michelle could only cut her eyes at him and smile. He was the horniest man on the planet, and she loved him.
Michelle watched Felicia and Philippe as they gazed at their sleeping grandson. She’d been moved from the birthing room to a private suite in the maternity ward of Granite Falls Memorial Hospital.
“So what have you two old love birds been up to?” she asked her in-laws.
Felicia turned. “Who’re you calling old? Philippe and I could show you and Erik some moves that would make your heads spin.”
“I’m sure you can,” Michelle murmured, eyeing them up and down with an animated smile. She wondered from which one of them Erik had inherited his insatiable appetite for sex. Perhaps both.
“I knew what you were promising Danielle on her deathbed, last year, Michelle,” Philippe said, with a tender smile. “And I knew that my son was in love with you then, too. This is a beautiful boy you’ve given him. He’s so happy. He’s already making plans for him.”
Michelle smiled. She had plans for him, too.
Philippe bent over the side of the bassinet and kissed the baby’s cheek. “Brings back memories?” he asked his wife.
“Many, my love. But we’d better get going. Erik and Precious will be here soon. She is so excited to meet her new half-brother.”
“Whole, Felicia,” Michelle corrected her mother-in-law. “We are a whole family. I couldn’t love Precious more if I’d given birth to her myself.”
“You are a rare treasure,” Philippe said. “I hope my son knows that.”
“Oh, I think he does,” Felicia said, giving her a goodbye kiss.
Precious and Erik arrived just moments after they left. Precious stood at the door, looking doubtful. But when Michelle beckoned to her, she flew into her arms.
“Take it easy, honey. Michelle is still a bit sore.”
“It’s okay, Erik.” Michelle tried to camouflage her discomfort with a smile. “Love never hurt nobody. Are you okay, sweetie?” she asked Precious.
Precious nodded. “Mrs. Hayes couldn’t get the tent up. But you know what?”
“What?”
“Uncle Robert came up this morning, and he put it up for us. Then he took Peter and me down by the lake, and we caught a real live fish.”
“That’s great, honey. I’m glad Uncle Robert was there to help.”
“I like him. He’s wicked neat.”
“Yeah. He’s wicked neat,” Michelle agreed with a knowing smile.
The baby started fussing.
“Is that my new brother?” Precious asked, staring at the tiny bundle in the bassinet beside the bed.
“Hmm,” Michelle murmured, eyeing Erik with wary speculation. This was the moment she had been dreading, wondering if Precious would accept her new brother or if she would be jealous of him.
Precious left Michelle’s embrace and edged slowly over to the bassinet. She stared at the baby for a long moment then she tilted her chin forward and said, “He looks funny, and all red and wrinkly.”
Erik laughed out loud. “That’s the way you looked right after you were born, Muffin. Funny, red, and wrinkly. But look at you now.”
“Gross!” She gazed at the baby pensively then turned uncertain eyes to Michelle. “Michelle?”
“What, honey?” Michelle’s heart pounded in her chest.
“Do you love him more than you love me?”
“No way,” she replied without preamble. “I love him just as much as I love you.”
Precious’ eyes lit up with her smile. “I have something for him.” She pushed her hands into her pocket and pulled out the lucky penny. “You’re his mommy and I think he should have it.”
“I think I’ll hold on to that until he’s old enough to appreciate it,” Erik said, taking it from her. “As a matter of fact, I’ll have it laminated. It’s officially the LaCrosse Family Heirloom, to be passed down from one sibling to the next.”
“I like that, Erik,” Michelle said, smiling. That penny had brought her good luck, and Precious, too. She looked at Precious. “Would you like to hold your brother, Precious?”
“Can I?” Her cinnamon eyes widened.
“If you promise not to drop him,” her father cautioned.
She shook her head. “I won’t drop him. I promise.”
Erik sat Precious on the side of the bed then picked up the baby and placed him cautiously on her lap. He crouched down in front of her, just in case.
“Oh, boy.” Precious’ eyes shone with excitement as she cradled her tiny brother. “Wait till I tell Peter.”
Erik met Michelle’s eyes. A warm light passed between them before they gazed lovingly at their two beautiful children.
“Michelle?” Precious had one last question.
“Yes, Precious.”
“Can I call you Mommy?”
Michelle held her breath. She cast questioning eyes at Erik. He nodded his consent.
“Sure, baby. If that’s what you want.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
Michelle cried happy tears. The family circle was complete. She had two wonderful children and a devoted husband to love.
“See, Daddy, I told you babies came from kissing,” Precious said with a pulse-pounding certainty.
“What can I say, Muffin? You’re a lot smarter than me.”
Erik grinned with love and joy as he rose to his feet. He laced one arm around his wife, and the other around his children.
