Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 16567 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 83(@200wpm)___ 66(@250wpm)___ 55(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16567 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 83(@200wpm)___ 66(@250wpm)___ 55(@300wpm)
"Do you think you’d be more comfortable-"
But before Lucy can finish what she is saying, Riley lets out another groan, and I sweep the hair away from her face. I can’t stand to see my wife in so much pain, even if I know it’s for a good reason; a twinge of excitement warms my heart as I remember just how close we are to welcoming our firstborn into the world.
In all the months that have led up to this, all the months of work to expand the house and build the retreat she’s determined to put into action as soon as she has given birth, sometimes it’s been difficult to remember that we’ll actually have a child at the other side of this. A boy, I’m sure, though she keeps telling me that she thinks it’ll be a girl.
Lucy shoots me a look. I can tell she’s nervous; she didn’t sign up to be a midwife, after all. She’s excited about becoming an aunt, but more than that, she seems excited to have me back in her life. I suppose, after so long keeping my distance, it’s only right that the next generation of my family is what draws me closer to the old one.
"You’re doing brilliant, sweetheart," I murmur to Riley, pressing a kiss to her temple. Riley manages to focus her gaze on me once more, her eyes softening.
"You really think so?” she asks. And I know that she needs to hear it from me – the promise that she is doing well, not just at this, but at everything.
"I really think so," I promise her. I mean every word of it. Not just the pregnancy, which she has borne with such grace and patience, but every part of her life here.
Every step she has taken, every change she has embraced, the way she has looked at this place and seen all the ways she can help make it a little better, a little easier, a little more human.
If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know if Lucy would have gotten through losing our parents as well as she did – and I know that there are so many more people she can help, not least our child, who she’s going to raise with all the kindness and compassion she has never let go of.
"Alright, out of the way!” Cora’s voice cuts through my thoughts, and we straighten up and step aside to let Cora through. I notice Cade watching Riley and I, with something close to envy – ever since we got married, I’ve noticed that he seems to be drawn to what we have, perhaps seeking out his own happy ending with a woman like my own...
"Hey, Riley," Cora remarks, as she crouches down at her side. "How are you feeling? Let me take a look at you..."
And, as Cora sets to work, Riley locks eyes with me, and smiles.
What comes next might not be easy – but as long as we are here, where we belong, at each other’s sides, I know that we will make it.