“Relax.” Her tone was clipped. “I’m perfectly fine. But we need to talk.” She patted the space beside her. “Sit.”
Braxton straddled the bench so that he was facing her and prepared for the worse.
“Brax, look at me.” He raised his eyes to meet hers. “I know what’s going through your head, and you can’t start thinking bad things are going to happen.”
“But you heard what Dr. Erickson said; you might need a C-section. What if . . .”
She stopped him from speaking by placing her finger on his lips. “I know. You hear the phrase C-section and instantly think of Alissa’s death.”
He shook his head.
“It’s not the same, Brax. I’m healthy; the babies are healthy. There’s no need to spend the next three months doing nothing but worrying about something we have no control over. Talk to me. Tell me what’s going through your mind so we can discuss it. I don’t want to leave here with you stuck inside your head.”
His mind had started running wild, and it hadn’t stopped yet. He was envisioning every possibility of what could go wrong. “Butterfly, I’m scared.” He reached out, taking her hands in his. “I know the doctor said it was too soon to be worrying and that there was still time for our little boy to turn in the womb, but what if he doesn’t?”
“And what if he does, Brax? Then you will have wasted days, weeks, and possibly months being stressed out about nothing. I won’t ask you not to worry because that would be a moot point. But please promise me you’ll try to relax about this some.”
He assured her then stood, reaching his hand out to help her stand. Paisley placed one hand at the small of her back and the other in Braxton’s hand as he tugged her up. This time, together, they walked hand in hand to their car.
When he pulled into their drive, he didn’t turn off the ignition. Paisley turned her head to face him.
“Are we getting out of the car?”
“I’m not, I’ve got a few things to finish at the office.” He leaned over and kissed her briefly. “I’ll pick us something up on the way home.”
Braxton opened his door and stepped out before making his way around to her side of the car and helping her out.
“Let Brittney know she doesn’t need to prepare anything for dinner tonight,” Braxton called to Paisley as she made her way to the front door.
Brittney was a nanny Braxton and Paisley had hired two months ago to help around the house and with Emmersyn. The farther along Paisley got, the harder it was for her to bend over or stand on her feet for any length of time. Braxton had even insisted that Paisley start working from home so that she’d stay off her feet and get plenty of rest throughout the day.
As time passed, Braxton got better about not worrying. But the one thing he wouldn’t concede on was their sex life or lack thereof. It became nonexistent from the moment they’d left the doctor’s office. He wasn’t going to let his carnal desires potentially complicate things for Paisley. And it didn’t matter how many times she protested that he was being ridiculous, he wouldn’t give it a second thought.
As the weeks drew closer to her delivery, Paisley protested less and less and confessed that she appreciated the fact that she could crawl into bed and just go to sleep.
On the day of Paisley’s scheduled C-section, Braxton tried to hide his concern. The last thing he wanted was for Paisley to worry about him.
Braxton put on the scrubs provided by the hospital and joined Paisley in the operating room. Holding her hand as the surgery was being done gave him a sense of control, even though he knew he had none.
Dr. Erickson spoke to both of them as he performed the surgery. And at the sound of their first son's wail, both Braxton and Paisley cried.
Epilogue
Six years later
Braxton sat in their backyard, stretched out on a chaise lounge with a cup of coffee in his hand. He was admiring the Big Horn Mountains in the distance. The dew from the morning's mist covered the grass that had been cut just yesterday. He loved the smell of freshly mown grass, as it reminded him of all the days he’d spent playing with his children in the yard over the years.
Behind him, he heard the sound of the sliding glass door quickly open and shut. A blur of purple and pink ran past him, making a beeline for the wooden play structure in the middle of their yard.
Emmersyn climbed the stairs that led to the slide and then stood at the top. “Watch me, Daddy. Watch me.”
He lifted his coffee cup in the air. “I’m watching, caterpillar.”
With her dad's acknowledgment, Emmersyn reached for the rail and pushed herself down. When her feet hit the grass at the bottom, she quickly sprung to her feet and ran for the stairs again. Braxton watched her slide over and over. Sometimes she’d slide on her butt, others on her tummy, but each go, she’d make sure her dad was looking.
The sliding glass door opened once again, only this time blue and green jackets ran past him.
“Morning, butterfly,” Braxton called over his shoulder as the door slid closed.
“Morning, babe.” She sat in the chaise beside him and patted the cushion. Their tiny terrier jumped up and curled into a ball by Paisley’s feet.
“I see the whole family is out at the crack of dawn.” Braxton didn’t take his eyes off his children as he spoke.
“They're excited. Can you blame them? It’s been two years since they’ve seen their grandparents.”
After the delivery of the boys, Paisley had found it almost impossible to work and be a full-time mother to three very active children. So, she’d decided to leave Michaels & Associates.
With her gone, Braxton hadn’t enjoyed being at the office each day. He’d longed to be home with
