Chaste (McCullough Mountain) (56 page)

Each
time he finished he prayed hard that that would be the one that counted. He was
grateful there was no severe problem to speak of. However, the solution wasn’t
cut and dried either.

Chapter Twenty-Two

For
their first wedding anniversary they went to Pittsburg. Kelly wanted to see
Braydon and there was a restaurant Bray raved about last time he was that home
Ashlynn wanted to try.

They
had dinner and returned to their hotel. As Ashlynn changed into a new pretty
nightgown, she asked, “Are you excited to see Braydon tomorrow?”

Kelly
emptied his pockets and slipped off his pants. “Yeah.”

His
wife sashayed over to him and he smiled. She was so damn beautiful. Her arms
wreathed his neck and she kissed him. “Thank you for dinner. The food was delicious.”

“Certainly
nothing like the restaurants we have in Center County.”

She
hummed and proceeded to kiss him. He backed her to the bed and made quick work
of getting her naked. The nightgown was nice, but her skin was better. Kelly
caressed her curves, touched every spot that made her purr, and slowly lifted
her on top of him. As she rode him, he stared into her soft brown eyes and watched
her breasts sway. “You’re so beautiful, Ashlynn.”

She
smiled and kissed him. “You make me feel beautiful.”

“I’m
glad you’re my wife.”

Her
smile turned tender. “I’m glad you’re my husband.”

They
made love for the better part of an hour and when they finished, Kelly pulled
her to his side. Her finger traced over the tattoo on his chest and she sighed.
“Kelly?”

“Yes,
love?”

“I
think we should try the In Vitro.”

He
shut his eyes. It had been a year and there was no change. The questions about
what they were waiting for whenever they were around family were starting to
wear on him. Ashlynn wanted children and he wanted to give them to her. “It’s
twelve thousand dollars.”

“I
know, but if we’re going to spend money on something, why not this? We can
afford it.”

They
could, but it would be tough. The bar was doing well and the market had a great
season, but it wasn’t like they were rolling in it. They would definitely feel
the pinch of anything more than two grand. “If that’s what you want to do then
we’ll do it.”

She
pressed a kiss to his heart. “Thank you. I love you.”

* * * *

Ashlynn
had started the first round of hormone treatments. By Thanksgiving they were
scheduled for her procedure. Kelly had made his contribution, another
prodigious event shared with him, Jill, and the cup.

The
morning of her appointment he was nervous and sweating in strange places. He
didn’t like the idea of his wife being sedated and poked at by doctors, but it
was part of the path they’d chosen—or been put on.

He
waited beside Ashlynn in the procedure room. She looked so small in her paper
gown, sitting patiently on the table.

“Are
you scared?” he asked.

“A
little. Mostly anxious. Just think, in a few days I could be pregnant.”

Funny,
he hadn’t really allowed himself to think like that. He’d been so worried about
failing he’d forgotten how to imagine victory.

Kelly
took her hand and squeezed. He hoped this worked. It wasn’t something they
could afford to do again and again.

The
doctor stepped in and greeted them. “How are we doing today, folks?”

“Good.
Nervous,” Ashlynn said, adjusting her gown.

“Nothing
to worry about, Ashlynn.” The doctor toyed with her IV and Kelly frowned as he
eased Ashlynn back on the table. Were they doing this now? Like right now?
“This should help.”

Ashlynn’s
eyes grew heavy and she sighed. Her hand gripped Kelly’s then loosened. Kelly
watched, horrified, as the doctor pulled over a metal tray table with various
tools on it.

He
unwrapped a pair of forceps. “Are you guys doing anything special for
Thanksgiving?”

Is
he fucking kidding?
He wanted to talk turkey when he had some metal clamp going up his wife’s slice
of heaven? Luckily, Ashlynn gave a groggy reply.

The
doctor reached for a long device and turned a bright light between Ashlynn’s
parted thighs. She moaned and Kelly turned. They could stop. They could stop
this right now. She looked uncomfortable.

“Are
you all right?”

Her
eyes were closed and her mouth tight. “Mm-hmm.”

“Ashlynn,
love, we don’t have to do this.” Was she in pain?

She
squeezed his hand. She was so brave. “I want to.” Good God, how was he ever
going to survive watching her give birth if this thing took?

The
doctor turned and busied himself at a table. The nurse Kelly hadn’t really paid
attention to, assisted. Ashlynn seemed to be asleep, but her hand still held
his tight.

“That’s
it,” the doctor announced, pulling off his gloves. “She’ll be a little drowsy
for the rest of the day. There may be some mild cramping. No driving for
twenty-four hours. The nurses out front will give you instructions.”

“That’s
it?” That couldn’t be it. After a year of sweat and tears there was no way it
was that simple.

“’Fraid
so. Nicole’s taken what she needs to the lab and the process has already
started. Hopefully in a few days we have some news for you.”

Holy
shit.

Ashlynn
was very fatigued when the whole thing was over. She could barely keep her eyes
open on the ride home. He wasn’t sure what they put in her IV, but whatever it
was, it was lasting.

He
carried her to the couch and covered her with a blanket, tucking the remote
close in case she wanted it. Once she was situated he started on making soup
for dinner. As he moved through the kitchen he couldn’t help thinking about his
little swimmers and Ashlynn’s eggs all by themselves in some lab. Whatever was in
that petri dish could end up being their child.

His
phone vibrated and he saw he had a missed call. He hit the button and listened.
“Hey, Kel, it’s Finn. Mallory had the baby! A little girl, Gianna Leigh.” His
brother laughed and Kelly smiled, happy for him. “I don’t know what she’s
thinking giving a McCullough an Italian name like that, but I couldn’t tell her
no. Anyway, not sure what you’re up to, but come up and meet your niece. Love
ya, bro.”

Kelly
slipped the phone back in his pocket. He wanted to go to the hospital but
wanted to stay with Ashlynn more. She’d be thrilled to hear Mallory had the
baby. He just hoped when they met little Gianna they had some news of their own
to share with the family.

* * * *

Ashlynn
was a nervous wreck. The embryo took, now it was just a matter of getting it
safely back inside of her. As Kelly drove them back to the doctor’s office she
fidgeted. He seemed to sense her apprehension and patted her knee.

“Everything
will be fine, Ash.”

He
didn’t know that for certain. “I know. I’m just nervous.”

They
pulled into the office parking lot and soon enough Ashlynn was back in a paper
gown listening to the doctor describe yet another procedure. “Well, folks, we
made it this far. Now we just need to insert the embryo into Ashlynn’s uterus
and wait.”

“When
will we know?” Kelly asked.

“Home
tests are quite efficient these days, but we don’t recommend them for patients
in your situation. The embryo should attach to the wall within the next
thirty-six hours, but what a home pregnancy kit tests for won’t really tell if
the procedure was a success. I’m going to schedule you for a follow-up in nine
days. We’ll run Ashlynn’s blood work and see how things are going. Ready?”

Ashlynn
reached for Kelly’s hand and leaned back. The doctor put on gloves and selected
various items from a tray.

“I
love you, Ashlynn,” Kelly whispered close to her ear. “Even if this doesn’t
work, I love you, no matter what.”

She
hadn’t expected this to be so emotional. They were making a child,
traditionally or not. She squeezed his fingers. “I love you too, Kelly. That’s
our baby in there.” She nodded, lips tight, as she blinked back tears. “I’ll do
my best to make it a good home.”

He
kissed her and ran his fingers through her hair as the doctor inserted the
embryo. The process was not nearly as intrusive as the first part had been.

“That’s
it.”

She
slowly sat up. “That’s it?”

The
doctor stood and smiled. “Yup. Now, remember, you’re technically carrying a
child at this point, so no drinking and no over the counter medications. The
nurses in the front are going to give you a package of prenatal samples to
start you off. I’ll write you a script after I see you in nine days and we
check that everything’s gone as planned.”

He
sounded so optimistic. “Thank you.”

The
older man smiled and nodded. “I’ll see you in nine days. Enjoy your
Thanksgiving.”

When
the door closed behind him, Kelly turned to her. “You okay?”

She
nodded, oddly afraid to be happy. “I didn’t expect to get so emotional.”

He
stood before her and cupped her face. “It’s an emotional thing, Ash.” His hand
went to her stomach, his gentle fingers splaying wide over the paper of her
gown. “Our child could be in there.”

She
lost the battle with her tears. Kelly kissed her eyes and hugged her close. “I
have a surprise for you.”

“You
do?”

“Mallory
had the baby.”

She
gasped. “What? When?”

He
looked sheepish. “Three days ago.”

She
smacked him. “Kelly! How come you didn’t tell me?”

“I
didn’t want you to get upset. I wanted us to at least make it this far before
you heard another McCullough was born.”

“Mallory’s
going to be upset I haven’t visited yet.”

He
shook his head. “I called Finn, explained what we were going through, he told
Mallory and they both said we could come over when we’re ready.”

“You
told them?”

Kelly
nodded. “This entire experience has been humbling beyond words. That’s me and
you in there.” He glanced at her stomach and his expression tightened. When he
turned his blue eyes on her again, they shimmered with unshed tears. His voice
was small. “Me and you, love.”

When
they left the office Ashlynn insisted they go to visit Finn and Mallory. “We
need to stop at the store for a gift.”

“They
aren’t expecting anything. It’s their third child.”

She
smacked him again. “Kelly! I am not walking in there without a gift. I don’t
care if it’s their tenth child, we are giving our niece something special.”

When
they arrived at the Baby Depot Ashlynn went to find a pretty ruffled dress for
Gianna. She’d lost Kelly somewhere in the stroller section where he was
babbling about hydraulics. Once she found an outfit and grabbed stuff to wrap
the gift she went searching for her husband.

She
found him holding a breast pump with a strange look on his face. “Kelly?”

He
looked at her with wonder in his eyes. “You put your boobs in this?”

She
laughed. “Yeah.”

“It
looks like a ray gun. Doesn’t that hurt?”

She
took the pump from him and replaced it on the rack. “Maybe. Birth hurts. Let’s
not think about that. What do you think about this outfit?” She held up the
pink dress.

Kelly’s
face looked a little green. “Jesus, Ashlynn, we’re gonna have a baby and you’re
gonna give birth.”

“We
don’t know that yet.” She didn’t want to get ahead of herself.

He
shook his head slowly, eyes unblinking, mouth quirked in a strange half smile.
“No. It’s gonna happen. He or she is in there right now, settin’ up shop for
the next nine months. Your body’s gonna swell and bloom. Your boobs are gonna
get huge and then there’s going to be a little combination of you and me
running around.”

She
tried not to, but she couldn’t help her smile. It all sounded lovely. “Kelly,
we have to wait another nine days before we know anything.”

His
face split with the most beautiful grin. “Oh, it’s happening. I can feel it.”
Then he threw out his arms and shouted. “We’re gonna have a baby!”

Her
mouth gaped as customers stopped and stared at the crazy man standing by the
breast pumps. She tried to calm him down, but he scooped her up and kissed her
soundly. When her feet again touched the ground she was dizzy.

Kelly
stared into her eyes. His smile was priceless. He whispered, “This is it, Ash.
We’re going to have a family.”

When
they made it to Finn and Mallory’s, Ashlynn was a nervous wreck again. She was
so afraid Kelly was going to announce to the family that they were having a
child when nothing was certain yet. She’d begged him on the ride over not to
say anything, but he just kept grinning saying he was sure she was pregnant.