“She is, just like her mother,” I stated.
“You’re her mother now, Waylynn. She’ll always have a piece of my heart, and I will love her until the day I die, but you’re her mother.”
Closing my eyes, I tried not to cry harder than I already was.
Jonathon moved to my other side, causing me to open my eyes. He leaned over and kissed Liberty on the forehead. “You were amazing. Thank you for giving us this gift. We are so blessed to have you in our life.”
Liberty wiped her tears away. “Thank you, Jonathon.”
Moving back to my side, Jonathon sat in the chair one of the nurses had brought in. I repositioned the baby so that I was looking straight down at her.
“Do we have a name for the baby?” the nurse asked as she gazed upon us with a huge smile.
Jonathon and I looked at one another and then to Liberty as we answered the nurse.
“Yes. Liberty Grace Turner.”
Her hand covered her mouth, and she closed her eyes as she said, “Thank you. I love it so much.”
The doctor stood before all of us. “Looks like everything is finished up here. Liberty, once that epidural runs out, I want you up and walking around, but only with the help of someone, okay?”
She nodded. “Yes. I understand.”
I lovingly gazed back to my daughter. Her little blue eyes opened as she captured mine.
“Hello there, sweet baby girl. It’s Mommy and Daddy,” I said. Jonathon ran a finger down the side of her cheek.
“Welcome to the world, Liberty. Wait until you meet Patches.”
I started to laugh and wipe more tears away before handing our daughter to Jonathon. He took her like he was a pro at holding newborns. The way the two of them looked at each other had my chest radiating. It was the most precious moment I’d ever witnessed.
“Daddy loves you so much already. My beautiful baby girl.”
Just when I thought I couldn’t love Jonathon any more, he proved me wrong.
After the room had cleared and only one nurse was left, I turned to see Liberty sleeping. I had already fed our Liberty and Jonathon was holding her in his arms.
“I want Liberty to hold her before we take her to the nursery.”
The baby was staying until tomorrow and then we would be able to take her home.
Standing, Jonathon walked over to her bed side while I gently roused her awake.
She opened her eyes and smiled. The doula had been so helpful and had somehow gotten Liberty to rest and fall asleep.
“Do you want to hold her before we have to leave?”
Sitting up straighter, she chewed on her lip. “I don’t know. Would you mind?”
I smiled. “Of course not.”
Jonathon placed little Liberty in her mother’s arms. Her breath caught and her chin trembled.
“Liberty, we’re going to give you a few minutes alone. If you need us, we are right outside.”
“What?” Liberty asked in a shocked voice.
“If you don’t want us to go, we won’t,” Jonathon added.
“You wouldn’t mind?”
With a grin, I leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Not at all. We’ll be right outside.”
Jonathon placed his hand on my lower back and guided me from the room. One peek over my shoulder, and I smiled when I saw Liberty looking at the baby’s toes.
Once we were out of the room, I faced Jonathon.
“I thought it would be hard to leave her with the baby, but it felt like the most natural thing.”
He nodded. “I can’t imagine how she feels.”
My arms wrapped around my chest as I tried to picture giving little Liberty up. It was unimaginable. The heaviness I felt for poor Liberty nearly suffocated me.
Ten minutes passed before Liberty called for us. As we walked into the room, I was taken at the sight in front of me.
A young mother, holding the child she had given up so that they would both have a better life. The child that was now mine and Jonathon’s. Our child. A little girl who would learn about the amazing young woman her birth mother was, who loved her baby so much she blessed us with becoming her parents.
“Thank you so much for giving me that time with her. It helped in more ways than you’ll ever know.”
I scooped the baby into my arms. “It was the least we could do.”
Her smile was tight and her eyes filled with tears. “You better head on out. I’m fine.”
A part of me didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay in that room…just the four of us. But I knew it was time.
“Thank you, Liberty. You’ll call us when you’ve decided on what you want to do?”
She nodded. “I promise, I will.”
I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and whispered, “Thank you.”
Stepping back, Jonathon kissed her forehead. “You let us know if you need anything. Or you tell Wanda and Mick, okay?”
“Yes, I promise. Thank you both.”
As we turned to leave, I felt both excited and scared with a bit of sadness mixed in.
A nurse waited for us outside the room with a bassinet for Liberty. I placed her in it and followed the nurse as she showed us to where our baby would stay for the usual tests. She would be released after the pediatrician came by tomorrow to check her out.
“Y’all are more than welcome to come into the nursery any time you want. I believe your mother said you are staying at the hotel across the street.”
“Thanks,” Jonathon said as he wrapped his arm around my waist.
“Yes, thank you, but I’m pretty sure we’ll crash in the waiting room all night,” I said with a chuckle.
“There are a few tests we still need to do. Why don’t y’all go get some rest or something to eat.”
“Sounds like a good idea. I’m sure your folks will want to sneak into the nursery as well and hold her.”
The nurse brought our daughter into the nursery and placed her next to a baby boy named Mark Loach. Our baby’s name was slipped into the name holder on the bassinet. Jonathon laced his fingers with mine as I read it out loud.
“Liberty Grace Turner. It’s beautiful.”
“Of course, it is. A beautiful name for a beautiful baby.”
My fingers came up to the glass. “I just want to hold her and never let her go.”
“Same here. Look at how she’s already eyeing up ol’ Mark. Good Lord.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I have a feeling you’ll be asking Steed for a lot of advice.”
He let out a gruff laugh. “No kidding.”
Jonathon turned me to face him. Cupping my face in his hands, his grey eyes searched my face. “Happy Mother’s Day.”
There was no way I could stop the tears that came with those three simple words.
“Happy Father’s Day.”
His thumbs swept over my cheeks to wipe away my tears. “Do we have any idea what we’re doing?”
Laughing, I replied, “Not a damn clue.”
He kissed me gently before drawing back. “This is going to be fun.”
Sinking my teeth in my lip, I replied, “And expensive. I want that round crib we saw in that magazine.”
Jonathon’s arms dropped to his side, a moan slipping out. “I can make that for half the cost!”
Draping his arm over my shoulder, we headed to the waiting room.
“It will take too long!”
“Next you’re going to tell me you want her to have her own goat.”
“Oh, hell no. You think I’ve lost my mind? I was thinking more along the lines of a puppy!”
“Good Lord. What have I gotten myself into?”
* * *
I stood back and looked at my handiwork as I smiled.
“Look at that, Liberty. The finishing touches on your room. Pink curtains.”
Glancing at my three-day-old daughter, I nodded. “I know. I know. It was a compromise between your daddy and me. I could put up pink curtains, but they had to ha
ve little hammers on them. Don’t ask me how he got them made so fast or who in the heck made them. I have a feeling your Uncle Cord was in on it.”
Liberty stared from her bouncer. Dropping on the floor, I got up close.
“Mommy loves you so much, my sweet baby. How about we do a little dancing?”
Standing, I reached for the bouncer and carried it out into the living room. We both sat on the floor as I went through my music.
“Hmm…looks like Daddy has brought over all his music.” I started flipping through the CDs. “Foreigner, Boston, Daughtry, Def Leppard, AC/DC.”
Snarling, I shook my head. “We are not starting you out on AC/DC. Let’s look at Mommy’s.”
I smiled as I went through my playlist on my phone. “This is more like it, Liberty Grace. Let’s see what we have to pick from. Shania Twain, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert.” When I saw the song, I felt a warm sensation in my chest. It was perfect.
“This is our song.” I pushed on Rascal Flatt’s “The Day Before You” and unbuckled Liberty. I lifted her up and held her against my chest.
“Let’s dance, baby girl.”
Holding my daughter in my arms, I rocked her as the music played. Every single word of the song seemed to be coming from my heart. I closed my eyes and started to sing the words to her.
I felt Jonathon before I saw him. My eyes stung as I forced my tears back. I watched him wipe his cheeks dry.
“Want to join us?” I asked.
“It would be my honor.”
Jonathon made his way over to me. Kissing me softly, he leaned down and kissed Liberty on the forehead.
“I love you both so much.”
“And we love you, too, Daddy. Don’t we, baby girl?”
Jonathon pulled me closer as we danced in the middle of the living room with our little Liberty.
“Hey, you never did tell me about that surprise you had for me the day of the accident.”
Gazing up at him, I smiled.
“I’ll be sure to wear it tonight.”
Jonathon’s eyes smoldered with desire. “And I didn’t think this day could get any better. I do believe I’m in heaven.”
“Heaven on Earth,” I said softly as he pulled us closer. I closed my eyes and thought back over the last four months. The ups and downs. The laughter and tears.
All of it was preparing us for this moment.
And what a beautiful moment it was.
It’s not The End…the journey is only beginning.
Sneak Peek at Blind Love
Tripp
My phone buzzed on my desk.
“Yes, Karen?”
“There’s, um, someone here to see you, Mr. Parker.”
“Do they have an appointment?”
“No, she doesn’t.”
I smiled.
“Is it Mallory?”
There was a slight pause. “It’s not Mallory. It’s Harley Carbajal.”
Sitting back in my chair, I cursed under my breath. She was back for good in Oak Springs. With a sigh, I stood up and made my way to the lobby.
When I walked out and saw her, I had to catch my breath. She was beautiful. Even dressed in scrubs covered in cat and dog fur. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she looked…panicked.
“Harley, is there something I can help you with?”
She looked nervously at Karen and then back to me. “I know you don’t want to talk to me, but I need your help, and it’s sort of an emergency.”
Glancing at my watch, I knew Mallory would be walking through the door any minute for our lunch date.
“I’m meeting someone for lunch. I have about five minutes, so why don’t we head into my office.”
I could feel the heat of Karen’s stare as I let Harley walk by. When I looked at her, Karen lifted a brow and crossed her arms.
Pointing to her, I muttered, “Stop giving me that look.”
“What look? The one that says you’re taking your ex into your office when your current girlfriend will be here any moment?”
“Hush!” I whispered as I followed Harley into my office and shut the door.
“What’s going on?”
She stood there wringing her hands, staring down at the floor.
“Harley? What’s going on? What’s so important that you needed to see me?”
When she started pacing, I grew more worried. Something was wrong for sure.
“Harley! I don’t have all day, for Christ’s sake. What’s the emergency?”
Stopping in front of me, she took a shaky breath and blew it out.
“I think he’s found me.”
Blind Love coming . . . July 2018
Playlist
Contains Spoilers
Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
Waylynn’s inner struggles
Shania Twain – “Poor Me”
Waylynn seeing the picture of Jonathon in Vegas
Taylor Swift – “Ready For It”
Before Waylynn and Jonathon’s first date
Shania Twain – “We Got Something They Don’t”
Waylynn overcoming her fear of her age difference
Shania Twain – “I’m Alright”
After Jack’s visit to Waylynn
Rascall Flatts – “Let It Hurt”
Amelia talking to Waylynn after the accident
Lady Antebellum – “Hurt”
Jonathon telling Waylynn he will never give up on them
Miranda Lambert – “Well Rested”
Waylynn breaking down in front of her family
Amy Grant – “Love Has A Hold On Me”
The birth of Liberty
Rascal Flatts – “The Day Before You”
Waylynn, Jonathon, and Liberty’s song
Taylor Swift – “This Love”
This entire book!
Thank You
With each book there is a list of people to thank. I know I always forget people!
Darrin and Lauren – I love you both to the moon and back.
Kristin, Laura, and Tanya – Thank you for reading this book when none of it makes any sense! You are the best and I couldn’t do this without you.
Julie – You make the books so beautiful…just like your soul. You are crazy talented and I’m blessed to call you a friend.
Danielle – Thank you for always being the voice of reason and not letting me lose my shit when that’s all I really want to do. You keep my crazy world in check and I couldn’t do this without you
Elaine, Cory, and AmyRose – Thank you for making my words better! We are half way done with this family and that makes me so sad!
The readers – Your endless support and words of encouragement mean the world to me. Thank you for letting me share my stories with you. It truly is an honor.
Thank you to the Lord above. Who without his blessings and guiding hand I couldn’t do any of this. Give mom a hug for me.
Other Books by Kelly Elliott
Coming Soon
Blind Love (Book five in the Cowboys and Angels Series) coming July 2018
Coming 2018
Blind Love (Book five in the Cowboys and Angels series) coming July 2018
This Love (Book six in the Cowboys and Angels series) coming October 2018
Seduce Me (Book one in the Austin Singles Series)
Entice Me (Standalone book) coming fall 2018
Guarded Hearts (Historical) coming 2018
Stand Alones
The Journey Home
Finding Forever (Co-written with Kristin Mayer)
Who We Were (Available on audio book)
The Playbook (Available on audio book)
Made for You (Available on audio book)
Cowboys and Angels Series
Lost Love
Love Profound
Tempting Love
Love Again
Blind Love (July 2018)
This Love (October 2018)
Reckless Love (Early 2019)
r /> Wanted Series
Wanted
Saved
Faithful
Believe
Cherished
A Forever Love
The Wanted Short Stories
All They Wanted
Entire series available on audio book except Believe, The Wanted Short Stories and All They Wanted
Desired (Spring 2018)
Love Wanted in Texas Series
Spin-off series to the WANTED Series
Without You
Saving You
Holding You
Finding You
Chasing You
Loving You
Entire series available on audio book
Please note Loving You combines the last book
of the Broken and Love Wanted in Texas series.
Broken Series
Broken
Broken Dreams
Broken Promises
Broken Love
Book 1-3 available on audio book
The Journey of Love Series
Unconditional Love
Undeniable Love
Unforgettable Love
Entire series available on audio book
With Me Series
Stay With Me
Only With Me
Entire series on audiobook
Speed Series
Ignite
Adrenaline
Boston Love Series
(Available on audio book)
Searching for Harmony
Fighting for Love
YA Novels written under the pen name Ella Bordeaux
Beautiful
Forever Beautiful