Tears ran in rivers down her cheeks as she kissed her baby and cradled her slippery little body in her arms. The love that filled her heart was miraculous, all pain forgotten.
“You did brilliantly,” the midwife said. “You almost set a new ward record for the quickest delivery for a new mother.”
“It didn’t feel quick,” Courtney half-laughed, half-cried. “But it was worth every second.”
“Congratulations,” Travis said, his smile huge, his gaze tender.
“Thank you,” she said. “And thanks for being here with me. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Of course you could have,” he said simply. “She’s a beautiful baby, Courtney.”
“I can’t believe she’s really here. It feels like a dream.”
For the rest of her life, Courtney knew she would cherish the perfect moment when she held her child in her arms for the first time. No love could be stronger than what she felt for her new baby, no awe greater than what coursed through her as she gazed into her child’s eyes.
After months of grief and loss and upheaval, all mixed with fear about what lay ahead in her future, she felt at peace for the first time in a long time. And she felt something else, too—hope.
“I’m going to call her Hope,” she said, still gazing into her baby’s eyes.
“Hope,” Travis smiled. “It’s perfect.”
Courtney nodded. “Perfect, just like her.”
While the midwives tended to cleaning up the new baby and recording her measurements, and looking after Courtney, too, Travis went off in search of a vending machine. After the trauma and exhaustion of labour, Courtney said she wanted an ice cold, sugary drink to enjoy after the tea and toast the staff promised to bring, and Travis made it his mission to see that she got one.
He also needed space to process what he’d just saw, what he’d just been a part of. Watching Courtney endure her labourwith bravery and grit left him in awe. Watching her bring new life into the world and hold her baby daughter for the first time filled his heart to bursting.
Until now, he’d thought what he felt for Courtney was nothing more than a deeply intense crush. After being at her side throughout her labour and watching her cradle her child in her arms, he knew this was no crush.
He was in love.
His mind told him it was impossible—he couldn’t be in love with someone he’d only met a few weeks ago and had spent time with on only a handful of occasions.
But his heart told him itwastrue, told him it had always been true, ever since the first moment he set eyes on her when he’d opened the front door of the house on Foxglove Street and saw Courtney standing there, sunlight slanting through her long hair and a smile lighting up her eyes.
She’d taken his heart in that moment and he’d been playing catch-up ever since.
And now he’d just watched her give birth to her daughter. It was a sacred moment and one he’d never forget.
It occurred to him that if he hadn’t dropped by to visit her, driven by the need to share his celebratory moment after finishing his latest book, he would never have been there when she realised she was in labour and needed to go to the hospital. The idea that she might have made that trip alone because her family were away filled him with agony.
After finding a vending machine and purchasing a selection of cold drinks, Travis returned to Courtney’s room on the labour ward. When he pushed open the door, he saw her propped up in bed with her infant in her arms, the two of them gazing into one another’s eyes.
It felt like he was witnessing a holy moment filled with pure, glorious love.
He paused at the door, drinking it in, struck by the beauty of this new mother and her tiny child.
Courtney looked up and smiled. “Come on in. Hope’s had a nice wash and is wrapped up and cosy.”
Setting the bottled drinks on her side table, he angled closer to the bed. The baby was blinking up at her mother, her face a sweet pink rose of infant loveliness.
“She’s beautiful, Courtney,” Travis said. “You must be so happy.”
“I can’t even describe it.” She glanced up at him and smiled again. “Would you like to hold her?”
“Uh, well… are you sure?”
Courtney murmured a soft laugh. “Of course, I’m sure. Just be sure to support her head in your arms.”
