He kissed her tiny head several times. It was like a vise had gripped her heart and squeezed it uncontrollably. She didn’t have the heart to interrupt them, so she stayed put and just witnessed the tender moment before her. She stood there for thirty minutes, out of sight and stealing glances at the bond being built between Braxton and his daughter.
The younger Paisley would have known exactly what Braxton was feeling. But the older her, could only imagine. It saddened her to think how much they’d grown apart. She found herself reflecting on the past, remembering what the two of them had been like, and how close they’d been. Whatever happened to the carefree friends who let nothing come between them?
She wasn’t sure how long she zoned out for, but the sound of tapping on the glass pulled her back to reality. She raised her blue eyes to meet Braxton’s green, and a feeling she hadn’t dared to embrace filled her heart. Oh, how she could get lost in those eyes of his all over again. He stood before her holding his daughter, a smile on his face that warmed her heart like a bright summer day. A smile that last night she’d worried might never shine again.
Chapter 15
Braxton rocked his daughter back and forth as she stared up at him. Her tiny face was full of wonder, oblivious to everything that had happened. Oh, what it would be like to not have a care in the world. The binkie between her lips jostled up and down as she sucked on it, soothing her until she was almost asleep. And for just a brief moment, as he got lost in her calm, everything seemed as if it would work out just fine.
“You’re my little caterpillar now, sweet girl. And someday you’ll turn into a butterfly like your Aunt Paisley,” Braxton told his daughter.
Her twinkling green eyes fluttered open at the words, and she peered back at him, blinking several times before she closed them again. Braxton bent his head as he raised his daughter slightly, smelling her soft powdery scent. Just one little sniff and his heart had melted.
“Hey there, caterpillar,” he whispered in her ear as he tucked her against his chest, laying her head on his shoulder. “You need a name, don’t you?” Her infant chest raised as she took in a deep breath, then lightly fell. His hand instinctively began to pat her teeny bottom. “You’re a miracle,” he told her. “Too bad I can’t name you miracle. I don’t want all the kids making fun of you. You’re already going to be handicapped with me as your… Yeah, let’s skip ‘miracle’ and find you something just as grand.”
The rocking chair moved in a smooth motion. His body had been a bundle of nerves about being there alone with his tiny six-pound bundle of joy. But the moment he began swaying back and forth with his little girl, his nerves went away.
He and Alissa had discussed calling her Jade, but it just didn’t feel right. She didn’t look like a Jade to him. She definitely was not a Bridgette or a Jennifer. Those were the other names Alissa had liked. But none of them fit. He closed his eyes and silently begged for guidance.
Despite his grief, Braxton had felt fulfilled when this little one had entered the world. Maybe he should name her after her mom.
“Alissa.” He tested the sound as it fell from his lips. No, he couldn’t call her that and not feel the emptiness inside him each time. It would be a constant reminder of what he’d lost when he gained this precious gem.
“Gemma.” Nope, that didn’t work either. He tried to clear his mind, hoping that by doing so, something would pop into it. But all he found was vast emptiness, and it frustrated him.
A tiny whimper made its way to his ear. “Shhh,” Braxton cooed softly, offering his little girl the security she needed to feel at ease. It wasn’t long before he began to hum “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”
An idea came to him. And it was the best name ever.
“Emmersyn. Emmersyn Ivey Michaels.” He tried the name several times. The name Emmersyn meant brave, powerful, and a born leader. Braxton was confident that his little girl would grow up to be all of those things, if he had anything to say about it. He’d already had the idea that her middle name could be Alissa’s last name. He smiled. Her name, was perfect and beautiful just as she was. I can call her Emmy for short.
“Mr. Michaels, you’ve got a visitor and it’s feeding time.”
Jane, the afternoon-shift nurse, stood before him, holding a bottle and pointing toward the glass. Paisley was poised there, almost out of sight. How long has she been there?
“She’s been there for a bit, Mr. Michaels.”
He reached to take the bottle from Jane’s hand but hesitated for a second before saying his daughter’s name again.
“Emmersyn Ivey Michaels.” The words floated from his mouth.
A sly smile formed on Jane’s face. “Is that her name? It’s lovely and suits her.”
He nodded, placing the bottle between his knees as he gently tugged the binkie from Emmy’s rooting mouth. There was a gap in the blanket she was wrapped in, and he quickly tucked the pacifier inside for safekeeping. She opened and closed her lips together several times before he rubbed the nipple of the bottle against her lips. She cried briefly, then latched on. “I hate it when you cry, my little caterpillar. It hurts my heart.”
“Well, then. I’m going to update the system with her name.” Jane started to walk away but then stopped. “Someone will be up shortly to do her birth certificate paperwork. And I bet she’ll be able to go home tomorrow. She’s doing amazing.”
A glimmer of satisfaction filled Braxton. “Yes, a nurse said the same thing to me this morning when I asked where her oxygen line was.” He adjusted his daughter
