Chapter Forty-Nine
“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Shaw. You are eight weeks pregnant.”
Eight weeks. I was eight weeks pregnant. My eyes filled with tears. “Two months. I’ve made it two months.”
Garrick’s eyes widened in wonder and turned to mine. Though we were both worried, this was almost three times further along than I’d been before.
“Due to your history, I’ll want to do weekly visits, and start you on prenatal vitamins. Your job is to get plenty of sleep and keep as much stress out of your life as possible. We’ll have some information to give you before you leave.”
No wonder I’d been so tired. But I’d pushed it away thinking I’d been doing too much. “Is it okay to keep working? I’ve been traveling and flying for work. I don’t know if I’ve been doing everything right.”
The doctor set her clipboard aside. “I know this is scary, given your history. But the baby is healthy. You’re healthy. I would stop traveling—for now, at least—until you get through the first trimester.”
“And work?” I asked, knowing I would do anything I needed to.
“Yes, but rest. If you can take a midafternoon nap, do so. The more you take care of your body, the better it will be for you and the baby.”
I nodded and looked at Garrick, who said, “Consider it done. It’s not necessary for Knoah to work.”
The doctor gave Garrick an acknowledging nod. She knew who he was, so obviously money wasn’t an issue. “Would you like to see the baby? We can do an initial sonogram to have some base measurements.”
“Yes!” I nearly screeched.
It was hard to not practically skip to the ultrasound room. Garrick and I were having a baby. I would enjoy every second of the pregnancy—gaining weight, nausea, aversion to strong smells, being tired. Each and every part of it would be absolutely wonderful.
After I got situated on the table, goo was squirted onto my abdomen. The wand moved around and settled just below my belly button. All of a sudden, a little blob within a larger dark blob appeared on the screen. “That’s the baby. This is the heartbeat.” A pen mark appeared on the screen.
Our baby. And it was beautiful. Tears of joy streamed down my face. Garrick was exuberant. “That’s our baby, sweetheart. Our love made that.”
Through the tears, I said, “Yes, we did.”
The doctor gave us a moment and remained quiet. Garrick walked up to the screen and whispered something.
“Our baby,” he murmured again, returning to my side.
The doctor resumed taking measurements and then cleaned off the wand. I never wanted to stop looking at our child. “Everything looks healthy and on track. I see no concerns at this point. Congratulations again. Here are a few printouts of the baby. We can do this each week if you’d like.”
“That would be incredible. Thank you.”
“I’ll make note. Once you’re ready, you can check out at the front and make an appointment for next week.”
“Okay. Thank you, doctor.”
“Of course.” The doctor left, and I sat up.
Garrick knelt in front of me and kissed my stomach. I ran my fingers through his hair.
“What did you say to the screen?”
His emerald eyes bore into mine as his hand lay possessively over my stomach. “That I would love this child with my entire heart the way I do you. This is our miracle, Knoah. I can feel it.”
“Me, too.”
~ ~ ~
Two months later
We pulled up to Suzette and Henry’s house. We were having a family dinner with both sets of my parents and Garrick’s siblings, Hastings, nieces and nephews. It was going to be chaotic.
Garrick put the car in park and turned to me. “How are you feeling?”
I patted my stomach. I was four months pregnant. Four. I looked at my baby bump—it was still hard to believe. “It’s like overnight, baby Shaw decided to make herself or himself known.”
Garrick touched my stomach. “I love seeing your stomach like this.”
“Me, too. I can’t wait to feel the baby move.” I still hadn’t officially felt a kick. There were bubbly feelings, but I wanted the full-on kicks. Glancing at the house, I wondered aloud, “So, when are we going to announce?”
Garrick chuckled. “I don’t think we’re going to have any choice but to announce it when we first walk in the door.”
“True. I think baby Shaw is going to make the announcement for us.”
We’d wanted to wait to tell everyone until I was past the first trimester and the pregnancy was obvious. My normal clothes no longer fit, and as of yesterday, I was wearing maternity clothes. As soon as the family saw me, the cat would officially be out of the bag.
The front door opened, and Savannah came running up to the car. Garrick rolled down the window. “Hey, princess.”
“Are you guys coming? We’re hungry! And we want to show Knoah our new toys.”
“We’re on our way.”
“Okay. Hurry up!” Savannah smiled at me and then took off for the house, a huge grin on her face.
“Are you ready, sweetheart?”
It would be exciting to finally share our news with everyone. Tomorrow, we would tell Kurt and Sawyer. “Absolutely.”
Opening the door, he paused. “Let me help you out. And no rolling around on the floor. You are not our nieces and nephews’ jungle gym. And—”
I snickered. “You are so cute when you go all alpha on me.” Garrick raised an eyebrow, and I full-out laughed. “Yes, sir. I won’t do anything but breathe and eat.”
“Good girl.”
I shook my head, laughing, as Garrick gave me a wink and rounded the car. Somehow, we’d found a middle ground. If it had been up to Garrick, I would be in a plastic bubble. But, in the end, all we wanted was to keep the baby and me healthy.
After Garrick helped me out of the car, we walked toward the house. Being pregnant was the most wonderful feeling in the world. I truly savored every second of it. Garrick enjoyed it, too, especially the increase in my sexual appetite.
Horny was an understatement.
And since I wasn’t working, I made personal visits to Garrick’s office frequently. It had been the right decision to stop, and I was glad I made it. I spent the time focusing on the new beach house we were building and staying healthy. Being a mother and wife were my ultimate dream. And I never would take either for granted.
The door opened and the house was deathly quiet. Everyone was lined up, waiting for us.
I murmured to Garrick, for his ears only, “What is going on?”
“I have no idea.”
Savannah loud-whispered, “See, I told you. Knoah has a baby in her tummy. Or she’s gotten fat.”
“Savannah!” Kourtney chided and then turned her eyes to me, as if unsure what to say.
No one said a word. This was why they were quiet. Garrick wrapped his arm around me. “Savannah is right. In five months, we’re going to have a baby.”
The house erupted in cheers. Family members rushed to congratulate us. Someone popped a champagne bottle, and glasses were passed around. I stuck to orange juice.
The entire family wrapped us up in their support, and I’d never been happier.