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I actually started to laugh because I could see my father doing just that. I began to get up, and Roxy jumped to her feet and helped me.
“Ethan, you ride with Roxy. I’ll meet you all down there after I make a few phone calls.”
“Who are you calling?”
“Your sisters,” he stated. “It’s about time this stupid little guilt trip is over, and you all start acting like the human beings your momma and I raised. Now go!”
“Pop,” I called before he walked out of the room. I walked over to him and paused. “Thanks.”
He slapped my arm. “Get out of here.”
I took my time going down the front steps because there was a little ice on them, and then Roxy and I hurried to her car. She drove way slower than I would have liked, but the last thing we needed was another accident.
The whole way there, Roxy talked about the things that Riley had been doing to prepare for the baby’s birth. Not as in decorating, but as in how she would sit and tell the baby stories about me and play my favorite music.
By the time we got to the hospital, I was ready to fall to pieces. Did Riley really love me? Could I make this work? Could I be a good father and possibly a husband to her?
In the waiting room, we found Charlotte and Daniella. “They are doing a few tests on her right now. I already called everyone,” Charlotte said.
Just after she said that a nurse came out and called Charlotte’s name. “You’re here for Riley Young?”
“Yes, we are.”
“They are rushing her up to surgery; her placenta is rupturing, and they will need to do an emergency C-section.” Roxy clung to Charlotte with a gasp. The nurse turned to me. “Are you Ethan?”
I nodded, surprised that she would ask.
“Okay, you can come with me. She wants you in the delivery room.”
“What?” I asked as the nurse started to walk away.
Roxy pushed me. “Go, Ethan! Go tell her that you love her and watch your baby girl being born.”
I stared at her but then hurried after the nurse. Riley really did want me at her side, and holy crap! I was about to become a father. I walked as fast as I could with my cane, and the nurse brought me to an elevator.
“Take this up to the third floor, and the nurse at the station will direct you from there.”
A moment later, the elevator was going up, and I was trying not to freak out. The doors opened on the third floor, and I stepped out to a desk a few feet away. “I’m Ethan Winston. Riley Young was just brought up here. She’s my—she’s giving birth to my daughter.”
“Ethan, go right down that hall to the locker room and change into a set of scrubs. There will be a shelf right inside. Just grab a bag, and it will have everything that you need. They are prepping her. I’ll let them know you are coming.”
Just then, I heard my name being screamed from down the hall.
The nurse laughed. “Yeah, she’s been doing that since she got up here. Hurry up so she’ll calm down.”
I practically ran to the locker room and pulled the first bag off the shelf to start changing. I shoved my stuff into a locker and tried to open the door with shaking hands. I paused in the hallway, unsure of what to do, but then I heard my name screamed again, and I followed the sound.
A nurse stopped me at the door. “I assume you’re Ethan?” she asked with a hopeful look in her eye.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, the cane will need to be left here, but there is a stool you can sit on. Come on.” I gave her my cane, where she set it aside and then took her arm in case I needed balance as she took me into the cold room. It was scary as hell in there for me, and I couldn’t imagine what it would be like for her.
The minute she saw me, she started crying. “Ethan, you made it.”
The nurse let go of me as we reached her side, and I leaned over her, my eyes filling with tears. “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry. I’m here.”
I kissed Riley, then leaned my forehead against her as the love and emotion poured out of me and our tears mixed.
