Next Step

It’s been five weeks since we returned from our honeymoon.

We’d explored Paris, taking in a private tour of the Eiffel Tower, enjoying private boat tours, and indulging in shopping sprees for the ladies. Then we headed to Germany, one of my favorite places.

We visited Berlin, where we saw the Berlin Wall and Brandenburg Gate, Brooke’s choice. Then we went to Cologne to see the Cologne Cathedral, Angela’s pick. Finally, we ended up on the island of Rügen, a place Shay had discovered during her Google search for German destinations.

Next, we traveled to England. I’d arranged private tours of Buckingham Palace and Stonehenge, and a private dinner cruise on the River Thames. On our last day, we visited Oxford, a place all the girls had wanted to see. We stayed an extra night because Shay was suffering from severe back cramps, and we wanted to ensure she was fit to travel.

“Boss, I found that paper you were looking for,” Noah said, handing me a shipment detail I’d been hunting for the past three days.

“Where’d you find this?” I asked, scanning the document. “I’ve been trying to locate it.”

“Conner misplaced it,” he replied, settling into a chair across from me in my warehouse office. “He put it in the Completed folder instead of the Need to Fill file.”

“Sorry, Boss, my mind’s been all over the place,” Conner admitted, glancing over at us from his desk.

I laughed. “Are you sure you should be working right now? You’ve got a doctor’s appointment in a few hours. You’re a bundle of nerves.”

He groaned. “I’m fine, just anxious about whether our suspicions are correct. We’re both hoping they are.”

Angela had been sick last night and again this morning. She was showing the same symptoms Shay had when we found out she was pregnant.

I pointed my pen at him. “You know, if she is pregnant, you might want to consider getting married before the baby arrives.”

He gave me a small smile. “Isn’t it a bit early for that? We’ve only been together for three months.”

“And how long were Shay and I together before I proposed?” I asked, tapping my pen on the paper.

“About six months,” Noah replied, grinning broadly.

My phone rang. “Hello?” I answered.

“Zane, you need to get home immediately,” the doctor said urgently. “Shay’s in a lot of pain.”

I could hear Shay screaming in the background. She’d been a handful these past three weeks on bed rest.

“Tell that son of a bitch he did this to me, so he’d better get his ass here in a few seconds or I’ll divorce him!”

“Tell her I’m on my way,” I told the doctor, signaling the guys to join me on the golf cart.

I ended the call, and we raced to the house. As soon as we arrived, I hurried to the medical wing, where I could hear her screams echoing down the hall.

As I entered, the doctor looked relieved. “Good, you’re here. Please calm her down while we get her ready.”

I took her hand and she immediately squeezed mine, making me wince. “Ready for what?” I asked the doctor.

“She’s in labor. I need to check if the baby has turned so she can deliver naturally. As of last week, he hadn’t turned yet.” He quickly wheeled over a machine.

“Breathe, baby; everything’s going to be okay. Slow down before you have a panic attack,” I told Shay, stroking her head and giving her a quick kiss.

“This is the only kiss you’re getting, Zane!” she yelled at me, squeezing my hand hard again. “This is awful. You did this to me, and I hate you for it!”

I felt bad for my wife. She’d grown so large, she waddled like a duck. I’d been making sure she ate all the right foods, but lately she’d been so irritable, I’d had to escape for a while.

The doctor had told me she was extremely uncomfortable and had been having back spasms for the past week.

“The baby hasn’t turned yet; prep her for a C-section,” the doctor ordered his staff. They hooked her up to some machines and gave her medication to ease the pain, which calmed her down.

“You’re okay, baby, relax,” I said, smiling down at my angel. “Our son will be in our arms very soon. Are you still happy with the name we chose?”

She nodded. “You don’t like Tristian James? I thought it sounded nice.”

I kissed her damp forehead, then wiped it with a towel a nurse handed me. “I love that name, baby.” James was Shay’s grandfather’s name, and Tristian was mine.

The nurses put up a sheet around Shay’s belly, and we chatted until a cry filled the room. My eyes lit up at the sound of our child’s first cry.

The doctor stepped around the curtain and handed me scissors to cut the umbilical cord. Once they’d cleaned him up and measured him, a blue blanket was placed in my arms with our son snugly wrapped inside.

“He’s healthy. Ten toes, ten fingers, twelve pounds, twenty-two inches long and perfect,” the nurse said as she placed him in my arms.

I looked down at the adorable face of the boy we’d waited so long to meet. His room had been finished while we were away, and Shay was overjoyed when she saw it upon our return.

Everything she’d chosen was in that room. I’d had it painted royal blue with gold trim, and the crib had a royal-blue comforter with gold embroidery.

The floor was carpeted in gold, and there was a large blue sofa and rocking chair. It looked like a room fit for a prince, and she was thrilled with it.

I leaned down so she could see his face.

“Our little guy,” she murmured, her voice soft and full of love. “Isn’t he adorable? He’s your mirror image, Zane. I bet he’s going to be a carbon copy of you.”

Her smile was radiant as she rested her head back on the pillow. But then, out of nowhere, the monitors started screaming. The doctor quickly ushered me out of the room, my newborn son cradled in my arms.

Noah and Conner were at my side in an instant, their faces filled with worry.

“What’s going on, boss?” they asked, their voices laced with fear.

“She’s got a heart murmur,” I explained, my voice shaky. “They’ve been monitoring it for the past two weeks, but they assured us it was nothing serious.”

Tears welled up in my eyes and spilled down my cheeks. “I can’t lose her, guys. I don’t know what I’ll do if she doesn’t pull through.”

A nurse led us to a quiet room next to hers, a sanctuary where we could wait for news about her condition.

Conner took the baby from me and handed him to Noah. He reassured me that everything was going to be okay, his shoulder a solid support as I let my tears flow freely.