“Go on,” Henry said under his breath. “You know you want to. We’ve still got a couple of weeks. Go get some baby love in. I’m almost done and then we’re going to talk.”
That last was said with a bit of a growl that let her know he’d gotten at least part of the message. She did want to see the baby though. She pushed herself out of the booth that she wouldn’t be able to get into soon.
She meant what she’d told Rachel on Thanksgiving. It felt like she’d been pregnant for at least seven years. And it also felt like yesterday.
She stretched to try to get that ache in her back to ease. It was getting harder and harder to ignore. “I hear promise in your tone, but I’m afraid the only play you’re getting tonight is to rub my back.”
His eyes came up, his gaze going soft. “I can do that right now. We can head home and I’ll rub you everywhere you need.”
“Finish the book.” She leaned over and kissed him. “I want to talk about it.”
She turned and walked over to greet the Harpers and get a good look at that sweet baby.
Rachel gave her a hug. “It’s good to see you. I’ve decided if we have any more kiddos, we’re definitely doing this in the summer. Winter deliveries are the worst. That storm we had kept everyone away. I forgot how nice it was to have help.”
“What am I?” Max asked as he settled in. “Chopped liver? Paige, sweetie, defend your dad.”
Paige giggled and tried to climb over the booth.
Rye had the new baby out of the carrier and cuddled in his arms. “Hey, you want to meet this guy?”
Her heart did a flip. “I do. But just let me see him. I’m so clumsy these days.”
Rachel took her son. “No, you’re not. You’re moving toward the finish line and getting nervous about everything. But it’s all worth it. I promise.”
Nell gazed down at that perfect face. Ethan looked like his dads, with a cap of golden-brown hair and bright blue eyes. He yawned and got that half smile babies had that made every woman in the room feel maternal for a second.
“He’s precious.” Nell reached out and gently stroked the baby’s head, careful around his soft spot. “How are you feeling?”
“Well, I’m getting by. It’s been three weeks, so I feel somewhat human again. That one was nine pounds,” Rachel pointed out. “Paige was only eight and a couple of ounces. Those men of mine can’t make regular-sized babies. Are you still planning a home birth?”
She had the tub ready and everything. “My midwife says everything is good to go.”
She’d found a midwife in Creede and carefully laid out her birth plan. Even Caleb thought the woman was solid. She’d worried that Henry might put his foot down had Caleb objected, but Caleb and Naomi had sat down with the midwife and proclaimed her of sound mind and good knowledge.
Which Nell would usually have said infantilized her, but she had originally planned to go with Irene, and after she’d been arrested for using her Dairy Queen job to launder money for a biker gang, Nell had to sit back and rethink a whole lot of her positions.
It was probably why the sage hadn’t worked.
“Okay, but I need you to remember something.” Rachel got serious. “I really need you to hear me, Nell.”
She was likely going to get a lecture on how she should deliver in a hospital. “All right.”
“You like to plan and you like to be in control,” Rachel began. “And I hope that it all goes exactly the way you want it. I will be there in the women’s circle with soothing music and aromatherapy, and I will cheer you on as you give birth in a bathtub. I’ll love that baby and I’ll be so happy for you.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. “Thank you.”
“But, Nell, if it goes wrong, I need you to remember the one thing I’ve learned about being a mom.”
“What’s that?”
“There is no one plan,” Rachel said solemnly. “There is no one way to do this. Pregnancy, childbirth, being a mom. You’re going to have a thousand different voices telling you to do it this way or that way. Or they’ll tell you you’re going to ruin your baby if you need something for the pain. The only thing that matters at the end of this isn’t that you did it perfectly. It’s that you and the baby are alive. Okay? Can you promise me, because I’ve been worrying about you.”
All that mattered was that her daughter made it into the world safely. She nodded. “I promise.”
“And if you need it, take the drugs,” Rachel said. “It’s okay. If you end up in the hospital, it’s okay to ease your pain. It’s okay if you need a C-section. Everything is okay as long as you and your baby are fine at the end of it. And anyone who tells you different is going to have to deal with me.”
Nell managed to smile through her tears. “I will remember that.”
Rachel gave her a half hug. “And know that we will all be here for you. We’re going to get you through, and then we’ll get Holly through. And then we’re going to hit up the Richie Richs for that school they’ve promised us.”
“Oh, Henry and I are homeschooling,” she replied.
Rachel’s lips kicked up in a grin. “Well, you’re always going to be welcome at our little school. Like I said, there’s no one way.”
“Hey, sweetie. Hal’s got your burger ready,” Stella said with an indulgent smile on her face. “This one is black bean, and he thinks it’s his best yet.”
Warmth poured through her. Hal had been trying out all kinds of new vegan recipes the last few months, and she knew it was all about her. It was kindness and caring. “I’m always thrilled to try his new
