I held Harper’s hand as the next few contractions hit, and she pushed as she screamed in pain.
“I see it, Dr. Graham. I see her head.”
“Okay. I want the next push to be even bigger, Harper.”
She pushed as hard as she could and then stopped.
“I can’t. I can’t do this anymore. She fell back onto the pillows.”
I placed my hand on her forehead and stared into her beautiful blue and tired eyes.
“Sweetheart, you have no choice. Our daughter is ready to meet you, but she can’t do it alone. She needs you to help her along. Okay?”
“Okay.” She nodded as she pushed as hard as she could.
“Dr. Graham, her head is out.”
“Excellent. Hold onto her. One final push, Harper. That’s all it’s going take.”
Suddenly, she was out and, in my hands, screaming at the top of her lungs.
I’d never felt so much joy in my entire life as my eyes filled with tears. Looking up, I could see the flashing lights of the ambulance outside.
“The paramedics are here.”
“Mr. Rhodes. Place the baby on Harper’s chest. The paramedics will cut the cord and deliver the placenta. Congratulations you two.”
The front door opened, and the paramedics ran in with the stretcher and their medical bags. I moved out of the way and sat next to Harper, who looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“She’s beautiful, Grayson.”
“She looks just like her mother.” I smiled as I kissed her forehead with tears in my eyes.
The paramedics took the baby, cleaned her up, wrapped her tightly in a blanket and handed her back to Harper.
“We need to get the two of you to the hospital,” one of the paramedics spoke.
They placed her and the baby on the stretcher and I climbed in the ambulance with them. The baby was resting peacefully against Harper.
“Have you thought of a name for her yet?” I asked as I softly stroked her forehead.
“Ellie Rae. After my parents. Ellie was my mom’s name and Ray was my dad’s name. But I’m going to spell it Rae.”
“It’s a beautiful name.” I smiled.
The moment we arrived at the hospital, they took Ellie to the NICU and put Harper in a room. I stayed by her side the entire time, refusing to leave her.
“Thank you, Grayson.” She held her hand out to me. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
I gave her a smile as I gently squeezed her hand.
“Harper,” An older man in a long white coat walked into the room. “Your daughter is doing fine. She’s a little jaundice which is normal so we’re keeping her under the heat lamps overnight and monitoring her. Otherwise, she’s healthy.”
Both Harper and I let out a sigh of relief.
“I’m staying here with you, whether you want me to or not,” I said to her.
“I was hoping you’d stay.”
After Harper fell asleep, I laid down on the couch in the room. It wasn’t the most comfortable couch, but I was exhausted, and I had no trouble falling asleep.
Chapter 47
Harper
I awoke the next morning as the sun was out and drying up all the chaos from last night. I looked over at the couch and smiled when I saw Grayson sleeping. The nurse walked in pushing a hospital bassinet that held my baby girl.
“It’s time for her feeding, Mom.” The nurse smiled as she picked her up and handed her to me.
Grayson woke up and sat on the edge of the bed while I fed her.
“She has your nose,” I said.
“And she has your lips.” He smiled as he placed his finger under her hand and she immediately grasped it.
“I need to go home and change. But I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“Of course, go. We’ll be fine.” I smiled. “Oh my gosh, I have to call Charlotte and Laurel.”
“Do you want to use my phone?” he asked.
“No. I can wait. Can you bring my phone and my bag in the car? It’s in the back seat.”
“One bag and a phone. Got it.” He grinned. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Wait. Can you also bring me back a burger and some fries?” I bit down on my bottom lip.
“One burger and fries coming right up.” He winked as he walked out of the room.
“Is that Ellie’s father?” the nurse asked as she walked in.
“Yes.” I smiled. “He is her father.”
After I fed Ellie, I set her down in her crib so I could fill out the paperwork the hospital gave me. About three hours had passed and Grayson still wasn’t back. Thoughts that he was never coming back filled my head. No. He wouldn’t do that. But what the hell was taking him so long?
“Did someone order a burger and fries?” He smiled as he held up a brown bag.
I stared at him in shock. His hair was cut, and his face was shaven clean except for a hint of stubble that shrouded his masculine jawline.
“Look at you.” I smiled. “You clean up pretty good, Mr. Rhodes.”
“I couldn’t have my daughter thinking I looked like a lumberjack, could I? Here’s your burger and fries. I’m sorry it took so long but I had to do a little shopping.”
“Shopping? For what?”
He stepped out into the hallway and rolled in a cart.
“Flowers for the beautiful new mother.” He handed me a bouquet of red roses.
“Thank you. They’re beautiful.”
“I picked up some diapers, a car seat, and some outfits. I actually couldn’t decide what I liked best, so I just bought them all.”
“Oh my God,” I laughed as he pulled out all kinds of newborn outfits from the bag. “It looks like you bought out the whole store.”
“Trust me, the sales lady was very happy with my purchase.”
“Do you want to hold her?” I asked.
“Can I?”
“Yes. Just pick her up.”
He carefully picked her up out of the crib and sat down in the rocking chair next to the bed. As I ate my burger and fries, I watched him stare at her. He wouldn’t take his eyes off her as he stroked her little hand. I could see the love he had for her just by his expression. It was then I knew I’d made the right decision.
“I had to fill out the birth certificate. Can you make sure I did it right?” I asked as I handed the form to him.
He took it from me, read it over and then looked up at me with tears in his eyes.
“Ellie Rae Rhodes. You gave her my last name?”
“You did deliver her. You were the one who made sure she came into the world safely. And, you are her father. So it’s only right that she has your name.”
“Harper, I—”
“Don’t, Grayson. Let’s just leave it at that for now.”
I was discharged the following day. I had called Laurel and Charlotte and they couldn’t believe it when I told them that I had the baby and that Grayson was the one who delivered her. They were so shocked, for once in their lives, they were speechless.
“I’m going to drive you back to the city and I don’t want any arguments,” he said.