Smolder (20 page)

“Your
best friend?” I asked, hopeful.

 “Yeah,
well, you’ve done dumber shit than this and I’ve stuck by you, bro. I just hope
you know what you’re in for with Sadie. She’s a fucking pistol, dude.”

“I’m
pretty sure I can handle her,” I replied, smiling. “So are we good?”

Beau
stretched his arm across the table and made a fist. As I bumped my fist against
his, he answered, “We’re good. Just two things though…if you break my sister’s
heart or hurt her in any way I will kill you and bury your body in my back
yard. Oh, and don’t keep anything like this from me again. I can’t do the
secret thing man.”

I
took a long drink from my beer and said, “Noted. And, since we’re on the topic
of secrets, there is one more thing I need to tell you about.”

He
took another drink of his club soda and asked, “Oh fuck, what now?”

Taking
a deep breath, I looked at him and replied, “Sadie’s pregnant. We found out
right before she was released from the hospital last week.”

Beau’s
mouth dropped open and he stared at me for a long moment. I couldn’t figure out
what was going through his head and I was beginning to worry that our
reconciliation was going to be short lived. After about a full minute, he
looked at me and began to laugh.

“What
the hell is so funny, man?”

“She’s
going to be a fucking hormonal monster. Jesus Christ, you’ve got your work cut
out for you,” Beau said, continuing to laugh.

“Dude,
that’s the least of my worries right now. I’ve watched Sadie almost scalp some
girl that hit on me a few months ago so I can handle her kind of crazy. I’m
still trying to not freak myself out over the fact that I’m going to be a
father. I have been so busy taking care of Sadie and making sure she’s all
right that I haven’t let it sink in and I’m worried that when it does I’m going
to panic.”

Beau
smiled and shook his head as he stood up and moved his chair next to mine. He
placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a shake as he said, “Jude, relax, it’s
going to be fine.”

“No
it won’t. This is going to be a complete disaster. I’m going to fuck this whole
thing up.”

“Calm
down, dude, you won’t fuck anything up. You’re going to be a great dad.”

“You
think so?” I asked, looking at him.

“I
know you will be and do you want to know why?”

“Why?”

“Because
you’ve been a great uncle to my little girl. Harlowe adores you just as much as
she does Sadie and it’s not just my daughter. You’ve been awesome with Kallum
and Max too so I have no doubt in my mind you’re going to rock fatherhood.”

As
touched as I was by his words (and I really was), I shook my head and answered,
“I don’t know man. It’s not hard to love Harlowe, Kal, and Max because they’re
just great kids. I’ve liked being ‘fun Uncle Jude’ because I get to play with
them, load them up on sugar, and send them back home. I don’t know how to do
the dad thing because I never had one to learn from. I’m so afraid I’ll fuck
this up and I’ll not only let down my kid but I’ll hurt Sadie too.”

“Jude,
every man goes through this when he finds out he’s going to be a father for the
first time. Even though I was happy when Danni told me she was pregnant, I was
still worried about what kind of father I’d be, especially since I’d not
exactly treated women well until I met her. Hell, even after we got together I
fucked up and it took us a year and a half to come together again. I was
worried that I’d mess up raising a daughter because I didn’t treat so many
other girls as well as I should have. I honestly wondered if having a little
girl was karma,” he laughed.

“No,
me
having a daughter would be the ultimate karma,” I joked and he
chuckled.

“It’ll
be fine, Jude, I know it will. You’re going to be a good dad and I know that
but
you
need to know that.”

“I’m
not so sure,” I answered, shaking my head.

Beau
sighed and said, “Okay, look, just think about it for a second. Look down the
road a few months …Sadie’s in labor, giving that final push, and out comes this
little tiny baby and it’s probably covered in some things you don’t want to
look at.”

“Ugh,
gross,” I replied and he smiled.

“But
then once they clean the baby and they hand it to you all wrapped up and
warm…picture that, Jude, I mean really think about it. How do you think you’ll feel?”

I
sat back in my seat and let my mind wander. I pictured that scene like Beau
described it and let it play in my mind as I imagined my beautiful wife giving
life to our baby, a child we created on the most amazing night of our lives and
suddenly my chest felt warm. Instead of fear I felt an incredible sense of anticipation.

I
smiled at Beau and said, “Whoa.”

“See?
You’ve got this, bro.”

I
turned to him and pulled him into a hard, back pounding hug. “Thank you, Beau.”

“You’re
welcome, Jude. Congratulations,” he replied before I released him.

“You
better move your chair back before people start getting the wrong idea,” I
joked and he smiled at me. He laughed and stood up to move his chair back just
as our food came to the table. We sat there and ate our food, laughing just
like we had for years and I felt a tremendous weight lift off my chest. As
scary as the thought of being a father was, I knew I could handle it as long as
I had Sadie and everyone I loved by my side.

Two
months later, everything in my life was damn near close to perfection. Every
day with Sadie was better than the last. Sure, we had little arguments here and
there, but they always ended up with us having incredible make up sex. She was
close to entering her second trimester of the pregnancy and her stomach was
starting to harden and slightly pop out right under her belly button. It was
amazing to see how her body was changing as our child grew inside of her.

Everyone
was excited about the baby as well, especially the girls. When I told Ryder and
Kris that Sadie was pregnant their reactions were very much like Beau’s and
they laughed at how crazy they all thought Sadie would get as time went on. Her
due date was August eighteenth and that meant the most miserable part of the
pregnancy would take place in the heat of the summer. Although they thought
she’d be a hormonal monster, I knew she’d do just fine. Sadie was enjoying
every single moment of this and I knew that despite the heat she would revel in
every single moment.

It
was Valentine’s Day and I had a whole evening planned for the two of us. This
was the first Valentine’s Day that I actually had a reason to celebrate and it
would be our only one before the baby was born so I spared no expense. I sent
Sadie to the spa for a day of relaxation and shopping while I picked up her
gifts, one of them being a week-long stay in Rome. Sadie told me once that it
was one place she’d always wanted to see but had never been to so I knew it was
the perfect gift. They were open ended tickets so all she had to do was pick
the date and we would fly there and have the time of our lives.

I’d
also made reservations for the most exclusive and expensive restaurant in town
and after dinner, I planned on spending the rest of the evening with her naked
in our newly remodeled bedroom. Sadie took charge of redecorating and made my
former man cave into a beautiful bedroom that I knew we’d make some steamy
memories in.

Just
as I had finished wrapping (well as best as I could anyway) her last gift, I
heard the front door open and Sadie call out, “Babe? I’m home.”

“In
here,” I answered loudly and within minutes she came walking into our bedroom
looking delicious in a strapless red dress that hugged her curves and stopped
just under her knees. My mouth fell open as I looked her up and down and I
honestly felt like I was going to start drooling.

“That
good, huh?” she asked as she did a little curtsy.

“Oh
yeah,” I answered, nodding. “I planned a big night for us but now after seeing
you in that dress I’m wondering why the fuck I did.”

Sadie
giggled and took my hand. “Come on, hubby, take me out and show me a good time.
Believe me, I’ll make sure you plenty of exercise when we get home tonight.”

I
felt my dick start to stiffen at her words but I knew sex with my beautiful
wife was going to have to wait because I couldn’t wait to spoil her beyond her
wildest dreams.

“I’m
holding you to that,” I replied as I picked up her gifts and followed her out
of our bedroom. “Be ready to pay up as soon as we walk back in the door tonight.”

“I
was born ready, big guy,” she answered and gave me a quick kiss before I led
her out of the house and to the car. As I opened the passenger door for her, I
saw her face scrunch up into a grimace and she placed her hand on her belly.

“Sadie,
you okay?”

“Yeah,
I’m fine. I think my lunch just isn’t agreeing with me,” she answered.

“You’ve
been feeling sick since lunch? Why didn’t you call me or just come home?” I
asked her, concerned.

Sadie
flashed me a soft smile and put her hand on my cheek. “Jude, I’m all right, I
promise. I’m still in my first trimester and today is one of those days where
everything is making me feel a bit queasy.”

“I
don’t know…maybe we should just cancel dinner and call the doctor.” Sadie
definitely had experience morning sickness but even though Dr. Mitchell said
that she could experience it throughout the whole day, she’d never had it past
those first few hours of the morning and I was worried.

“I’m
okay, big guy, I promise. I’ve had a great day already and you’ve went above
and beyond to make our first Valentine’s Day special. I promise if I still feel
bad after dinner I’ll call Dr. Mitch-whoa, ow!” She suddenly stopped short and
clutched at her stomach as she doubled over and grabbed the car door with her
other hand.

“Sadie?
Baby? What’s wrong?” I asked in a panic.

“My
stomach is cramping bad…something’s wrong!”

“Come
on, we’re going to the hospital right now!” I shouted as I helped her into the
car. As soon as I shut her door I ran around to the driver’s side and got in,
quickly started it, and pulled out of the driveway. I almost broke every single
traffic law as I sped through the streets of Cincinnati to get her to the
hospital. The closer we got the more pain she seemed to be in and by the time
we got to the front entrance to the emergency room, Sadie was in a full blown
panic and there was a steady stream of tears flowing down her terrified face.

I
parked my car in the closest spot, not looking to see if I was even allowed to
park there and I carried her inside…she was in too much pain to walk. My heart
was racing a million miles and I kept my hands as steady as I could so Sadie
wouldn’t know how scared I was too.

“Jude,
I’m so scared,” she cried. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Sadie,
we’re almost there, you’re going to be fine,” I said, making sure to be careful
with my words. For her to go from minor irritation to excruciating pain in just
a matter of seconds…I was no expert on pregnancy but I knew that this wasn’t
good.

As
soon as we were inside, I yelled out to whoever could hear me that my pregnant
wife was in pain and we needed help. They asked all kinds of questions and I
did my best to answer them since Sadie couldn’t. They quickly took her back to
an exam room and when the nursing staff tried to make me wait outside Sadie
started to freak out even more and demanded that I be by her side. They
reluctantly let me stay as they poked, prodded, and did God knows what else to
her.

After
they gave her some medicine to get the pain under control, I decided to call
everyone and let them know what was happening, starting with Beau. I hated to
ruin their Valentine’s Day celebrations but I also knew they’d kill me if I
didn’t let them know what was going on.

The
waiting was killing us both. Sadie was silently crying to herself and if I was
almost sure I saw her muttering out a prayer. I just sat in the chair next to
her and held her hand as I watched the seconds tick by, waiting to hear if our
baby was okay or…worse.

I
squeezed her hand and croaked out, “Sadie, baby, listen to me.” She sniffed and
turned her terrified eyes to mine. “When the doctor comes in and tells us
what’s going on…whatever happens, I love you. You hear me?”

She
nodded and hot tears streamed down her cheeks as she whispered, “I hear you.”

“I
pray to God that everything is okay with the baby but if…”

“Don’t
say it, Jude,” she angrily cried. “We can’t think like that. We can’t give up
hope.”

“I’m
not, Sadie. I just want you to know that whatever happens, I’m going to love
you through it. Okay?”

She
squeezed my hand back and replied, “Okay.”

“I
love you,” I said, my throat thick and heavy with fear.

“I
love you too,” she barely murmured as more tears fell down her panic stricken
face. Her gently grip on my hand went from tender to almost painful as the
doctor tapped on the wall and pulled back the curtain in our room.