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She snickered. “Does she look like she’s here under duress?”
“Well, no, but how is she here?” Then it hit me. If Nova’s mother was here, was the rest of her family as well? My heart started pounding against my ribs, and the baby didn’t like that at all. A cramp hit me, and I grimaced, knowing I needed to calm down so the baby would go back to kicking softly instead of beating the hell out of me from the inside. “Wait, is anyone else here? Is—”
“I only brought Mom,” Nova hurriedly assured me.
I released my breath in relief, my heart rate instantly slowing down and causing the baby to behave herself once again. With a sigh, I eased back against my many pillows.
“Since you were being stubborn about everything, I felt like I needed reinforcements,” Nova confessed, making me stiffen for a moment, but I forced myself to relax. “I couldn’t think of anyone better to help than my own mother.”
Snuggling back into the pillows, I smiled up at my baby’s grandmother. “It’s great to see you, Mrs. Hannigan, but your daughter wasted your time if she thinks I can be dissuaded from having the baby at home.”
The still-beautiful brunette walked over to my bed and sat down on the edge. Taking both of my hands, she gave them a squeeze that made my eyes sting with tears. “We can discuss that later. Right now, tell me how you are feeling. Nova told me everything, and I’ve been so worried about you, sweet girl.”
When I’d been in Creswell Springs the previous summer, I’d gotten to know many of the Hannigan clan. Felicity—or Flick, as most of the residents of the town called her—was one of the sweetest people I’d ever met. She was made to be a mother, with her loving, nurturing touch.
Shyly, I smiled up at her. “Oh, well, I’m fine. I mean, I’m a prisoner of this bed at the moment, but I’m okay with that.” I pulled one hand free and rubbed it over the baby. “This little girl is worth being bored out of my mind all day long. If she’s okay, then nothing else matters.”
“May I?” she asked, her gaze traveling with longing over my distended belly.
I pulled up my shirt before guiding the hand that the older woman held to my belly, pressing her palm to where the baby was still kicking a little. “She’s not too active yet, but when she does kick, it’s pretty powerful. Right, Nova?”
The blonde walked around the bed and sat in the chair beside my bed. “She tends to be squirmier at night. Sometimes, I’ll snuggle up with Cali and rub her belly. Usually, I end up falling asleep talking to the little brat.”
“I don’t care if she’s a brat or not. She’s perfect.” I pressed Felicity’s hand closer. “Right there, do you feel it?”
Her eyes filled with wonder. “That’s so amazing. I remember how it felt when Garret and Nova would kick me. I don’t think there could be a more magical experience.” Her chin trembled, but she quickly sucked in a steadying breath. “But this is something else entirely.”
The mention of her son’s name set off an explosion of emotions inside me, but I pushed them down, refusing to think of him. Instead, I announced, “I decided on a name while you were gone.”
“Thank goodness,” Nova teased. “I thought you were going to drive us all crazy trying to find the perfect fit. Well, let’s hear it. What will we be calling our baby girl?”
“Justice,” I murmured, then lifted my chin in challenge. Not at Nova or her mother, but at the universe in general. “Justice Nova.”
“You’re giving her my name too?” Nova whispered with tears in her eyes.
“How could I not? If it weren’t for you, neither one of us would have made it this far.” I held out my hand, and she put hers in mine, our fingers entwining.
“I think it’s a beautiful name,” Felicity said softly, her hand still rubbing over my belly lovingly.
For the first time in what seemed like forever, I found myself laughing. “Well, it’s definitely ironic. I mean, it’s pure justice that my daughter will be the one to rule everything Manuel was so desperate to have full control over.”
And I hoped he was in hell, watching it all unfold.
“I like it,” Nova assured me. “It’s both beautiful and badass. Just like our little Justice will be.”
“With you as her auntie, I don’t doubt it.” A yawn escaped me. With Nova home, I was able to relax, and sleep pressed down on me. “Sorry. Apparently it’s exhausting lying around doing nothing except growing another person inside you.”
“Been there, done that,” Felicity said with a dry laugh. “With Nova, I was on bed rest from the beginning of the third trimester. I still went into preterm labor. It was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. I thought we were going to lose her.” She shuddered, and I felt her fear, because it was something I thought about every single day. “And then we actually lost her… Or at least, we thought we did. When they told me she was dead, a part of me died inside.”
I blinked at her in surprise. They thought Nova was dead? How was that even possible? Didn’t they even think to look for her in Colombia?
“Mom,” Nova whispered.
Felicity waved her off, swallowing hard. “It’s over now. I have you back. And Cali too. That’s something to celebrate. Plus, now we have baby Justice to plan for. We need to get the nursery ready and start stocking up on everything.”
My curiosity over Nova’s family thinking she was dead evaporated, replaced by a new excitement that I’d been hoping for. “Yes, yes, and yes. Let’s get started now,” I pleaded. “Let’s use my iPad and start ordering baby furniture.”
Nova stood and stretched. “You two have fun with that. I have some work to get caught up on.”
