Eight months later

 

 

During the off-season, I spent as much time at the gym as I could. I needed to stay in shape if I was going to go all-out for the team. As soon as the new season started, I would start as a full-fledged member of the Florida Sharks, playing as their wide receiver. All the hard work I had put in had paid off.

It had been after the Superbowl in February that Liam had taken me to see Coach Rudi. Coach Daniel had asked him to escort me. At first, I had been nervous that it meant something else. To finally get what I had been dreaming of my whole life had almost seemed too good to be true.

But it had been true. All of it. A spot on the team had opened up, and I would start playing for them as soon as the preseason kicked off.

“Two more,” Liam said. He was spotting me with my bench presses. I was pushing for failure and judging by how my arms trembled, I would be there soon.

“That’s it. Keep going,” Liam said.

Training with the boys was amazing. They had always treated me as if I was worth their time, but since I’d been taken into the team, they had accepted me as one of their own. I often trained with them, whether it was only one or two of them or we all hit the gym together.

When I couldn’t push up anymore, Liam lifted the weights onto the rack for me, and I sat up, breathing hard. My shirt was drenched with sweat, and I found my water bottle on the floor.

“You’re improving,” Liam said, sitting down on the rowing machine, ready to start his sets.

“I can feel it,” I said. “I appreciate your help.”

“Anytime,” Liam said. “We train together for motivation and to build team spirit. A team who trains together stays together, right?”

I laughed at how he had twisted the stupid internet meme that was doing the rounds.

I sat on the bench for a while, watching Liam train. My arms felt like jelly, and I was exhausted. But I had to end off my workout with a sprint and a stretch to cool down before I could hit the showers.

Being this fit and working this hard felt amazing. I had never been in such good physical condition, and I liked it when I felt my muscles the next day, when there was proof I had pushed my body to its limits.

My phone rang in my bag. I walked to it and lifted a numb arm to press the phone to my ear. When I heard the words, my body went cold.

“It’s time.”

I hung up.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Liam said. “What’s up?”

“That was Hailey,” I said. “The baby’s coming.”

Liam laughed.  “Then, what are you standing here for, man? Go!”

I spun around, grabbed my things and ran. I didn’t shower. I didn’t wipe the sweat off my brow. I ran to my car, jumped in and floored it all the way home. When I walked in through the front door, Hailey was on the couch in the living room, her legs pulled up, hands on her stomach. The hospital bag she had packed three weeks ago stood on the floor next to her. 

“I’m here, baby,” I said and kneeled next to her.

“Thank God,” she said before she cried out as a contraction racked her body. I had never seen a woman in the throes of labor, but it looked like a hell of a lot of pain.

“Let’s get you to the hospital,” I said and put my arm under hers, helping her up. She struggled to walk, her body curling every time a contraction hit. They weren’t very far apart. Didn’t that mean we were running out of time?

“Not too far, baby,” I said when she sank to the ground close to the car. I picked her up and carried her the short distance remaining. When she was in the car, strapped in and ready to go, I ran around to the driver’s side and climbed in. I floored it to the road again, weaving through traffic, making it to the hospital as fast as I could. Hailey moaned and cried out next to me whenever a contraction rocked her body, which happened more frequently and severely as we went along.

I pulled into the emergency bay and jumped out, shouting for nurses while I ran around the car and helped Hailey out. They were ready with a wheelchair, running toward us. As soon as Hailey was in the wheelchair, everything happened in quick succession. The nurses took her inside while I scrambled to find a parking space, even though I’d been tempted to leave the car idling with the key in the ignition right in front of the door.

Luckily, I found a space not too far. When I joined Hailey in the delivery room, they had already helped her into a hospital gown.

“Not yet,” a nurse was saying to her. “For now, breathe through the contraction. We’ll wait until you’re fully dilated before we get this baby out.”

“Can’t I have something for the pain in the meantime?” Hailey asked, and her voice was breathy. Her stomach was a swollen mound underneath the covers, and she lay half on her side, knees curled up.

“Right away,” the nurse said and gave Hailey something. When Hailey reached her hand out to me, I took it and pressed it to my lips.

“I’m right here, angel,” I said, stroking her hand.

“It hurts,” she complained. I looked at the nurse who checked her vitals. She didn’t seem worried.

“It will be over soon,” I said.

“And honey, the pain is worth the reward,” the nurse said. “Trust me.”

Hailey wanted to answer, but her breath was taken away by another contraction. I had never felt so helpless. I was a protector, a fighter. But I couldn’t punch the pain away this time or be a big man and put Hailey behind me to protect her. This was natural, but I felt out of my depth, and even though I was right next to Hailey, I couldn’t help but feel she was alone in this.

Hailey lay in bed, contracting and crying out every now and then, for five hours. I had heard stories of women being in labor for hours at a time, but I had never known what it meant. Seeing her in pain, seeing the fear that sometimes took a hold of her, was horrible.

The nurse checked on her every now and then. When she checked how dilated Hailey was for the umpteenth time, she pressed the emergency button next to Hailey’s bed.

“I can see the head,” she said to the doctor who came into the room, ready for action. Two more nurses followed and where we had played the waiting game before, everything moved fast now. The nurse pressed her hands down on Hailey’s stomach to feel where the baby was. She nodded at the doctor. The other two nurses put Hailey’s legs up in stirrups. I wanted to punch someone for looking between her legs so often, but we had to get through this or neither of us would make it. I was sweating, nervous about what came next.

Put me on a field where huge men threw themselves at me with the intent to put me down, and I could handle it. But this was too much for me.

“Nick,” Hailey cried out, and I turned my attention back to her. She grabbed my hand and squeezed with a strength I hadn’t felt from her before.

“When it’s the next contraction, push,” the doctor ordered.

Hailey nodded, almost immediately crying out, and she curled forward as she pushed.

“That’s it,” the doctor said. “Breathe for the next one.”

The two nurses hurried around Hailey’s legs while one of them monitored her heart rate, making sure she was okay. I felt lightheaded, and I wondered if we could get another nurse in to check on me.

“Ready for another push, Mama,” the doctor said. Hailey did as she was told and pushed.

“Almost there,” the doctor said, the rest of her sentence cut off by a scream that tore out of Hailey’s throat. Her hair was wet and sticking to her forehead, and she was breathing hard. She screamed again, and suddenly, another cry filled the room, the smallest cry I had ever heard. Time stood still, and I watched as they lifted a blue, waxy baby with kicking legs.

“Healthy baby girl, born at five fifteen, six pounds nine ounces.”

They were weighing and measuring her before the nurse brought us the little bundle, swaddled in pink blankets.

Hailey reached for her baby and took her in her arms. I was awestruck. Everything about her was tiny, her fists the size of brazil nuts, the tiniest nail on her fingers.

“Hello, Brittany,” Hailey whispered. She looked at me with eyes filled with wonder. “Isn’t she perfect?”

I nodded. I couldn’t speak. I was choking up. I couldn’t believe Hailey and I had made this.

We hadn’t wanted to know the baby’s gender. We had wanted it to be a surprise. I didn’t care that my firstborn wasn’t a boy. My daughter was beautiful in every way.

“Hey, little girl,” I said, reaching tentatively for her. “Oh my god, Hailey. She’s beautiful.”

I kissed Hailey before turning my attention back to my daughter. “You’re going to be a stunning woman one day,” I said. “I know because your mom is.”

The nurses cleaned Hailey up and took Brittany for her first bath.

“Come with us, Daddy,” the nurse said. “You can help.”

I nodded, following the nurse out of the room. While I watched the nurse take care of Brittany, I made calls. I called the whole world and told them the wonderful news, that our daughter had been born.

By the time I returned to the room, we already had two visitors. Liam and Kina were in the room talking to Hailey. When they saw Brittany, they cooed and complimented our child, and I had never known what pride was until I introduced my daughter to the world.

One after the other, our friends arrived until the little room was so crowded with football players and their wives that the nurses started chasing them out, claiming Hailey needed to rest.

When we were finally alone again, much later, Brittany was asleep in the bassinette next to the bed, and I sat next to Hailey on the bed.

“You did great, angel,” I said to Hailey. “And she’s beautiful. Perfect in every way.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” she said.

I shrugged, agreeing.

“You know, I’m glad you came all the way to Florida to stalk me,” I teased.

Hailey rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

“I’m sorry you missed your graduation,” I said.

Hailey had been too far along in her pregnancy to travel to her graduation.

“Don’t be,” she said. “I got my MBA, and that’s all that matters to me. I had better things to do with my time.” We both looked at Brittany again.

When I had set out to Miami to play ball, I had never imagined my life could be this rich. It was better than I could ever have imagined.

Hailey was exhausted, and I waited until she was asleep, checking on her, making sure she was comfortable. When she drifted off, Brittany stirred, and I picked her up. I wasn’t as comfortable with the baby as Hailey, but I would learn.

“Hey, little lady,” I said, cradling her to my chest. “Daddy’s got you.”

 

 

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Bonus books follow for your continued reading enjoyment. If you enjoyed Don’t Worry, Baby, you’ll love the other books in the standalone but connected South Beach Bad Boys series: Don’t Say A Word, Don’t Forget About Me, Don’t Stand So Close, Don’t Stop Believing and Don’t Come Around Here and Don’t Walk Away. Each of them follow a different player on the Florida Sharks football team! Plus, there’s a never before published, exclusively new bonus book from , called Champions. Enjoy!