“Is everything all right?” I asked.
She smiled and nodded. “I’m so happy for you, Maddy.” She looked at the sunset once more before turning back to me. “I don’t think you’ll ever realize how grateful I am to have beenallowed back into your life. A year ago, I’d completely given up ever having a chance to even talk to you, much less all of this.” She took my hand in hers and rubbed it, almost like she didn’t think it was real. “I have so many regrets, but giving you up was the biggest one of my life.
“I know it was for the best, and it was the only way I could protect you, but that doesn’t mean it hurt any less. Year after year, knowing I was missing birthdays, Christmases, and first steps. There are so many things I can never get back. I don’t know if you have any bitterness toward me about it all, and I know I wasn’t there to be the mother you needed, but I hope I’m allowed to be a grandmother to your baby so I can give it all the love I never got to give you.”
I squeezed her hand. “Gabriella, I could never hate you or be upset. Now that I’m pregnant, and I can feel this little person growing inside me, I can understand where you came from. If someone told me my child was in danger and giving them up was my only hope to save them, I’d do exactly what you did. It would rip my heart out to do it, and that gives me a better understanding of what you went through for all those years.”
Gabriella’s lips trembled as tears formed and trickled down her cheeks.
“Thank you for making such a huge sacrifice. Fate works in mysterious ways, and there’s no telling what would have happened if you’d kept me. I know I wouldn’t have Mom and Dad. I wouldn’t have Abi. There’s no way I’d have ever met Nico. Hell, you and I would most likely have been dead years ago. I will never hold a grudge against you for doing what was right.
“You are going to be a wonderful grandma. There’s no hate, no blame. Please don’t think that. All I have is forgiveness. Forgiveness and love. I love you, Gabriella, and we have years to catch up on everything we missed.”
Gabriella couldn’t speak. Her tears were coming so strong and fast. She sobbed and leaned toward me, clutching me in a hug so tight I thought I might pop. She cried into my shoulder as I stroked her hair. My mother’s hair. As I let her release all her feelings, I stared out at the purple and gold sunset, and I couldn’t remember ever feeling so at peace in my life.
144
MADDY
Shifter pregnancies only lasted seven months rather than nine months. I was almost to the end of the seventh month. The air was getting cold outside. Well, cold for Florida. There was a refreshing coolness to the breeze, and I was getting excited to meet our new arrival. I had one week left until my due date, so the baby could come at any time.
I went to the nursery to double-check my bag for the hospital. It was sitting on the changing table. Everything was exactly as it should be. I sighed in happiness as I looked around the nursery. We’d decided thatWinnie the Poohwas a good gender-neutral décor idea.
Felipe, surprising to me, at least, was a fantastic artist and painted a jaw-dropping mural of aPoohscene. It was so gorgeous that I’d have to do something to preserve it whenever our child grew tired of looking at it, which was bound to happen.
I was halfway through checking my bag when I heard the raised voices outside. Abi and Sebastian. I rolled my eyes and hurried downstairs to see what it was this time. Nico leaned back against the kitchen island. Sebastian and Abi were standing in front of him, arguing.
“I know what I saw, Sebastian,” Abi said with a smirk.
Sebastian grabbed the sides of his head and gaped at her. “Babe, you fired her, for God’s sake. Isn’t that a little much?”
I slipped up beside Nico and whispered, “What the hell’s going on this time?”
Nico leaned toward me but kept his eyes on the couple. “Just got back from their meeting with the wedding planner.”
“You were checking her ass out, weren’t you? I saw it,” Abi said, crossing her arms.
Sebastian smiled bashfully and shook his head. “Okay… so… you maybe did see me looking at her butt, except?— ”
“Ha!” Abi jabbed her finger into his chest. “You admit it.”
“Let me finish, ” Sebastian growled. “So, the chick stood up and… well, I guess you didn’t see it, but she had a big smear of paint on her skirt. It caught my eye. That’s it, and that’s the truth. I seriously don’t think firing her on the spot was the best idea.”
They kept bickering back and forth. They always liked to pick at each other, but as we got closer to the wedding, they seemed to be enjoying it more than usual. The big day was two months away. I wondered how bad it would get before then.
My smile quickly morphed into a wince. I’d been having minor contractions for days, but this one was tighter and a bit more painful than usual. Then something even more disconcerting happened. A popping sensation deep inside me. I glanced down and saw a thin drip of water sliding down my inner thigh under my dress. The next contraction came a moment later, clenching painfully in my abdomen. The pain was hot and sharp.
My right hand lashed out and clutched Nico’s bicep. “It’s happening,” I hissed through gritted teeth.
Sebastian and Abi went silent and spun to look at me. If I hadn’t been in so much pain, I would have laughed at the bug-eyed looks of surprise they gave me. Nico spun and put his arms under my armpits, holding me up.
“The baby?” he asked, already breathless.
I nodded. “Yup. It’s coming.”
Nico and Sebastian helped get me into the car while Abi sprinted up the stairs to grab our bags. She tossed them into the trunk even as Nico was pulling out of the driveway. Sebastian had called ahead, and Luis and Felipe met us in their trucks to escort us to the hospital. Everything was happening so fast. It was almost like watching things through a flashing camera lens.
My anxiety was through the roof as we neared the hospital. The contractions were coming faster each minute. They were also getting a lot more painful. After getting hustled through the emergency room and up to Labor and Delivery, the nurse gave me the bad news. I was too far along to get an epidural. The baby was coming and coming fast.
