Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 100470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100470 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
“Shoulders are out,” Dad bellows. “Ryder, get your knife.”
I choke on my terror, scrambling away from my sister to see what they’re about to do. Or stop them if necessary. By the time I reach where they’re at, I see the baby sliding out, the cord wrapped tightly around its neck. Ryder grunts, sawing through the umbilical cord while Dad pulls the slippery baby the rest of the way out.
“He’s not breathing, Dad,” Ryder cries out, quickly unraveling the cord. “Fuck!”
Mom hands Ryder the aspirator and he sucks the baby’s nose and mouth like she taught us.
“Still not breathing!”
I don’t have time to marvel over the fact our baby is indeed a boy because I’m snapping into action. Scooping up my son, I bring him over to the rug and lay him down.
Thirty compressions with my two fingers. An inch and a half deep. At a rate of one hundred to one hundred twenty seconds a minute. Just like I learned in the baby books I obsessively consumed.
I tilt his tiny head back to open his airway and then cover his mouth and nose with my own mouth to give him two breaths, each one going for about a second. Then I watch for a rise and fall.
Nothing.
Fuck.
I repeat my actions, ignoring all the sounds around me. It’s just me and my son. Focusing, I make sure I have a good seal before I blow air after the compressions. This time, I see it.
A rise. A fall. Another rise.
And then I hear the most beautiful thing.
A mewl. Then a soft cry. And then a scream.
Mom drops beside me with a blanket. I lift him up and then lay him back down on it. She swaddles him up before handing him to me. Pulling him to my chest, I kiss his dark, fuzzy head and then I carry him over to Raegan.
“He’s alive?” she croaks out. “Tell me he’s okay.”
“He’s breathing,” I assure her, grinning. “He’s fucking perfect, Rae.”
She starts to cry as I hand him to her. Her eyes are wide and filled with awe as she studies the little guy in her arms. Now that he can breathe, he doesn’t stop hollering. I love it. He can scream forever and I won’t care as long as he’s healthy.
Mom steps over to help, shooing Ryder to go to Raegan’s other side. My brother’s grin is wide as he looks at the baby.
“Did you guys ever decide on a name?” Mom asks in a teasing voice.
“What about Cayden?” Ryder asks, cheeks blazing red. “I saw it in one of the baby books. It said it means fighter.”
Raegan’s lips curl into a grin. “Cayden. That’s your name, little bunny. Cayden Reed Jamison.”
“It’s perfect.” I stroke his soft head. “He’s our little fighter.”
The three of us stare at our fussy miniature human, completely awestruck and in love.
Dad finishes taking care of Raegan and covers her up with the blanket. She falls asleep mid-sentence, softly snoring. Ryder sniggers and lifts Cayden out of her arms.
“Go find somewhere to sit so you both can bond with Cayden,” Mom says to us. “Your dad and I will stay with her while she sleeps.”
I follow Ryder out of their bedroom and into the living room. Rowdy has all the kids with him except for Renna, which means we don’t have to fight off a bunch of littles who want to see the new baby. Ryder sits down on the sofa in front of the fire. I settle next to him, unable to take my eyes off my son.
Ryder leans toward me and I meet him for a quick kiss. We did it. We went to hell and back, killed monsters along the way, fell in love, and made a baby. This is our happily ever after just like in all the books me and Raegan read.
Cayden continues to cry, but Mom shows up with a bottle of formula.
“She’s too exhausted to try to get her to nurse. Feed him and burp him. Later, we can try and see if he’ll latch on when she’s had proper rest.”
Ryder passes Cayden to me and I cradle him in my arms. Once I’m settled, Ryder hands me the bottle. Our hungry baby boy latches onto the bottle nipple and greedily gulps at it like he was born to feed. We both chuckle at him.
“This doesn’t feel real,” I murmur. “I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and it’ll all have been a cruel dream.”
Ryder pinches my thigh, making me scowl at him. “You’re awake. It’s real. Enjoy it, Daddy.”
Daddy.
Holy shit.
Cayden devours his bottle and when it’s time to burp, Ryder takes him from me. I grin stupidly at my brother as he expertly burps him.
“I’m happy, Ryder. Like really, really happy.”
He leans against me. “Me too, Ro.”
“You can’t hit Cayden,” I say with a frown. “That wasn’t nice, Deck.”