Chapter 13

 

 

Freddie nibbled her lip as she and Rhett watched the image appear on the screen.

“There you are,” the doctor said when she spied the baby, now four months old, in Freddie’s belly. “Say hello to your little boy.”

“Boy?” Rhett repeated as Freddie beamed at him. “We’re going to have a boy?”

“Oh, wait,” she said, moving the probe around Freddie’s belly. “And a girl.”

“Wait, what?” Rhett asked as Freddie laughed. “Is there something you forgot to tell me?”

“That we’re having twins? I thought I’d let you see that for yourself,” she said, glad she’d waited to tell him the good news. During the first ultrasound, the doctor thought she saw two babies and heard two heartbeats, but it was hard to be one-hundred-percent certain. After Rhett came back into her life, she had another appointment to verify and they’d found two babies. “Are you still excited?”

His face paled, but he grinned and bobbed his head madly. “Excited, panicking, all of the above I think counts right now. We’re having twins… two babies. Shit.”

“And all three of you appear to be doing wonderfully,” the doctor said. “I do want you to keep in mind, though, having twins can cause some complications down the road. We’ll keep a close eye on you, but as of right now, start taking it a little easier to be on the safe side.”

“And we’re still looking at January?” Freddie asked. She and Rhett had started construction on their new home, but they were unsure if it would be completed in time for the babies to arrive. Cramming all four of them in her tiny home, since Rhett refused to live at his house anymore, was not the ideal situation.

“First or second week,” the doctor confirmed.

“The house will be finished, so stop with the worry lines,” Rhett said as he smoothed his thumb over the center of her forehead.

She smiled, trying to relax. There was enough on her plate anyway. The charity ball would be held on New Year’s Eve. They were cutting it close to her due date, but she and Dr. Gibbons decided it would be the best chance to have the highest turn out. People were always looking for something to do that night, so why not convince them to attend a charity ball? Rhett was closer to having the money he needed for the buyout too, and so far, Ryan and his other three brothers had no idea what he was planning to do. Freddie had met Rodney a month back and found him to be the complete opposite of Ryan. Rodney reminded her of an older, sadder version of Rhett. He told her later that night what his brother had gone through and why he was so willing to help them in their plight. She felt terrible for him and made sure to add his name to the list of guests for the ball. Maybe he would find a woman there who could make him smile again.

***

Three months later after another happy doctor’s visit, Rhett drove them out of the city and up into the hills to check on their house. The foundation was laid and the walls were up. The roof would be put on that day. Rain over the past few weeks had stalled the progress, but everything appeared to be moving along just fine. Rhett helped her climb out of the corvette, both laughing at her stomach and how large it had gotten over the past few weeks as fall gave way to winter. November had started out as a very wet month, and Freddie did her best not to worry that the house was only halfway completed.

“It is beautiful up here,” she mused, staring out over the landscape that would soon be their view permanently.

Rhett stepped up beside her, his hands cradling her belly as he rested his chin on her shoulder. “Yes, you are.” He kissed her neck and she leaned into him, taking in the moment. His phone dinged and he groaned. “Damn, I think it’s time for me to go back to the office.”

“Can you drop me off at Dr. Gibbons’ on the way? I promised Clarice I would tell her about today’s appointments, and we’re picking out the food for the ball.”

“It sounds like you’ll have a fun-filled afternoon. Trade me?”

“Ha! Not unless you want me going all pregnant lady on your brother.”

“As amusing to watch as that sounds, I don’t want you anywhere near him. He’s still oblivious and I would very much like to keep it that way.” He opened the car door for her and she grunted, trying to get inside. “I think we need a new car.”

“We could always trade in my Beetle,” she suggested.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” he asked, wide-eyed. “Are you feeling all right?”

She rolled her eyes. “You said it yourself, the car is old and we need something to haul the kids around in anyway.”

His face paled slightly. “Two kids… twins. I still can’t believe you kept that from me.”

“I wanted you to be surprised.”

“Oh, I’m surprised all right,” he grumbled, closing her door and getting in the other side. “I’m damn surprised. A boy and a girl. Who thought we could get so lucky?”

He drove back into the city to Dr. Gibbons’ home for the mentally ill. After helping Freddie get out of the car, he kissed her warmly and said he would text when he was on his way home from the office. She watched him pull away before waddling inside the front doors.

“My, my, Freddie, look at you, darling,” Betty greeted her happily.

“Hey, Betty,” she said and huffed to a chair to sit down. “Damn, only seven months in and I’m out of breath walking around.”

“What did the doctor say?”

“It all looks good. She said getting tired easily was normal, but I’m still good to go.” She rubbed her belly as she caught her breath. “How’s Clarice today?”

“Excited to work on the ball plans with you. She’s in the sitting room.”

Betty offered to help Freddie walk over to her sister, but she insisted she was fine. Walking was good for her. She had gained weight, and though Rhett said he didn’t care, she did. Looking like a whale by the end of this pregnancy was not what she wanted, so any physical movement helped a little. She knew not eating a gallon of ice cream every few days would too, but sometimes, the cravings were too much to handle. She told Rhett one night he was a terrible enabler when he went out to get her ice cream and a cheeseburger at one in the morning. He shrugged and said it was better than facing the wrath of a hungry, hormonal, pregnant woman.

“Clarice?” Freddie called out when she reached the sitting room. “There you are.”

“Freddie, wait until you see what I came up with,” she said, bouncing excitedly on the couch. “I found a catalog for rental decorations. This place will look straight out of an old Hollywood movie.”

“So that’s the theme you picked?” she asked, settling herself on the couch.

“Yes, all those classy women and men in their gowns and tuxedos,” she said with a sigh. “It will be something Mom would have loved to see. Don’t you think?”

“I do,” she agreed, frowning when her back ached. She shifted, trying to get comfortable. “What about the food? Did you decide on a place yet? I thought something a little simple, nothing too fancy.”

“Cheeseburgers and fries?” her sister teased.

“There is nothing wrong with burgers and fries,” she argued, smirking. “If you could eat anything you wanted on that night, what would it be? That’s what I want you to pick. You know Rhett started all of this because of you. He really likes you as his little sister.”

“And I like him as the big brother I never had.” She leaned on her sister’s shoulder. “The babies?”

“So far so good. He found out we’re having twins today,” she said, chuckling. “You should have seen his face. Priceless.” She shifted again on the couch, the pain in her back spreading sharply across her belly. Wincing, she rubbed the spot, taking a few deep breaths in and out.

“Freddie? What’s wrong?”

“Huh? Nothing, kiddo, nothing for you to worry about. Probably just gas or something I ate.”

Clarice frowned at her, but Freddie turned the conversation back to the food. She nodded as her sister explained the decorations and finding food that would match the theme. They talked about what paintings Clarice would auction, and Freddie was delighted to hear she even came up with some new ones with more color. Her depression was held at bay, and for the last two months, she’d had no fits of any kind. The fear that Clarice would turn out to be exactly like their mom faded with each progress report Dr. Gibbons gave Freddie.

The pain grew in her belly, and she pushed off the couch. “I’m going to pee. I’ll be right back.”

“You sure you’re okay?” Clarice asked worried. “Do I need to call Rhett?”

“No, everything’s fine. Keep picking out the food. I’m hoping to place the order by this weekend so we don’t have to worry about it.”

She walked as quickly as she could to the bathroom, grimacing as the pain grew in her belly. She was going on her seventh month of pregnancy. So far, everything had gone well. She was simply tired. There hadn’t been any pain until now. She opened the door to the restroom and sat down, praying quietly under her breath that everything was all right.

The moment she saw the blood, she knew it wasn’t.

***

Rhett glared at Ryan sitting in the boardroom at the head of the table. He hated these weekly meetings and swore his eldest brother did it merely to annoy Rhett and drag him away from his company. He didn’t think his brother knew anything about him and Freddie living together. Rodney paused near him before he entered the room.

“What’s the news?” he asked.

“Both of them are still growing and looking good,” he whispered, still in shock. “I can’t believe it’s getting so close to that time. I’m going to be a dad.”

“Congrats, that’s really exciting,” he said and shook his baby brother’s hand. “That coincides with my good news. Two more weeks, tops, and you will be able to buy out LM Solutions and take it away from Ryan.”

“How did you pull that off?”

“Let’s just say I’m very good at my job and I’ve decided that once my affairs are in order with my branch of the company, I’m coming to work with you. Do you think we can be partners?”

Rhett shook his brother’s hand heartily. “I think I can manage that.”

They were about to step inside for the meeting when Rhett’s cell rang. He frowned when he saw the number for Dr. Gibbons and almost didn’t answer it. “Dr. Gibbons?”

“Rhett, thank God. You need to get to the hospital. It’s Freddie.”

“What? What’s wrong? I just saw her,” he whispered as fear gripped his chest.

“She was bleeding. I called an ambulance. They’re on their way now.”

“All right, I’m going,” he muttered and hung up. “Shit, I have to go.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. She said Freddie was bleeding and she’s at the hospital. The babies—fuck, Rodney, what if she loses the babies?” His mind went right to the worst possible scenario and he nearly lost it, but Rodney grabbed his shoulders and shook him.

“Get your ass to the hospital and don’t you dare think of anything else but her and those babies being fine. I’ll cover for you.”

He nodded and took off without wasting another second. By the time he arrived at the hospital, he was in full freak-out mode, demanding to see his girlfriend when he’d reached the front desk.

“Sir, I need you to take a breath and tell me her name,” the nurse said firmly.

“Frederica Sable, she’s pregnant. They said she was bleeding,” he gasped and bit his cheek to stop himself falling apart before he saw Freddie. “Where is she?”

“The doctor is looking at her right now. Head up to the third floor and he’ll be out as soon as he’s finished the examination.”

He took off, skipping the elevator in favor of the stairs, too impatient to wait.

“Rhett!”

“Clarice!” He spotted her and Dr. Gibbons at the far end of the hall in a tiny waiting room with colors too cheerful for his darkening mood. “How is she? What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Clarice said, tears brimming in her eyes. “She looked like she was in pain and she went to the bathroom and she said there was blood… Rhett I’m so sorry! I think I stressed her out with the ball! It’s all my fault!”

He hugged his soon to be sister-in-law close and shook his head. “No, this has nothing to do with you. The doctor saw her today and said she was fine, but twins…twins can be complicated.” He glanced heavenward, daring God to take his happiness away from him or Freddie. The twins were their babies and he would not lose them. He wouldn’t.

For an hour, he paced around the small area as Dr. Gibbons and Clarice kept vigil with him. He rubbed his hands over his face and held back his tears as he imagined the doctor coming out to tell him Freddie had lost the babies. He grimaced and cursed at the world for doing this to them. Their lives were on track to being what they wanted and another curve ball had been thrown their way. All he wanted was a happy family life, and now, there was a chance he would never get it.

“Mr. Macon?” a man in green scrubs asked as he stepped around the corner.

“Yes, that’s me,” he said frantically. “Freddie? The babies? Where are they—what happened?”

“In simple terms, the placenta separated from the uterine wall,” he explained. “But we were able to perform an emergency C-section and both babies will be here for the next month or two as they continue to grow, but I am very hopeful about their outcomes.”

He sighed in relief and Clarice hugged him tightly. “And Freddie? How is she?”

The doctor’s face gave nothing away, and Rhett braced himself for the worst. “She’s resting comfortably right now. She’ll be in some pain for a while and will need to stay here so we can monitor her recovery, but considering what she just went through, she’ll be fine.”

Rhett fell to his knees as Clarice and Dr. Gibbons comforted him. All three cried in relief, and he thanked the doctor repeatedly for saving his family.

“They’re still getting Freddie into recovery, but would you like to take a peek at your children?”

Rhett found the strength to stand, and Clarice and Dr. Gibbons said they would still be there, waiting for the news. He followed the doctor to a room where he had to put on scrubs and booties and latex gloves. Once he was ready, a nurse led him inside and showed him two tiny babies. Tubes and wires surrounded their tiny bodies, but the steady beeping of their heartrate monitors had him crying tears of joy. He stood there for a very long time, watching as the little baby boy yawned and the girl’s fists curled and uncurled as she stretched.

Freddie and he had made these two tiny humans. Their babies. He wiped the tears from his face and pulled himself away so he could go see their mother and tell her how amazing she and their babies were. He found Clarice and Dr. Gibbons on his way to Freddie’s room and hugged them both, telling them how perfect the babies were. Dr. Gibbons and Clarice beamed at him as they told him they would be back first thing the next day to see Freddie. Rhett turned down the hall and walked to Freddie’s room.

The lights in her room were dimmed. He stepped quietly inside, not wanting to wake her. He took her hand when he reached her bedside and sat down, waiting patiently for her to open her eyes. He longed to see those blue irises staring back at him, full of life and laughter. Her hand squeezed his weakly, and she blinked her eyes open.

“Rhett?”

“I’m right here,” he said softly, kissing her forehead. “Right here, love.”

“The babies? Are they… are they all right?”

“The babies are wonderful,” he informed her, and she sighed with relief, tears slipping from her eyes as he cried with her. “You all will be just fine.”

“I was so scared. I thought I was losing them,” she whispered.

“You didn’t. You are not allowed to scare me like this again, though, promise?” he begged. “I don’t think I could handle it.”

She nodded fervently. “I don’t plan on it.”

“Good, that’s good.”

They held each other in the dim lighting of the room until he thought she’d fallen asleep. “Rhett?”

“Yeah?”

“What are we going to name them?” she asked. “We never decided on any names.”

He puffed out his cheeks and shrugged. “How about we name the little girl after your mom?”

“Isabel? Hmm, how about Isabel Clarice?” she suggested.

Rhett grinned at the cute name. “Only if I can call her Izzy. What about our son?”

“What would you like to name him?”

“What about Nathan? I’ve always liked that name.”

She tried it out. “Izzy and Nate. They sound good together.”

She closed her eyes and rested her head on the pillow, murmuring the names of their babies a few more times as she grinned. Rhett’s eyes refused to look anywhere but at her. When he grew too tired to sit up, he rested his head beside her on the bed and let sleep take him, secure in the knowledge that his children and his love were alive and well.