Ella “Cora?” I gasp the minute I get the phone to my ear, still scrambling out of bed and tangled in the sheets. “Hey, Ells,” she says, her voice somehow both tight and bored at once. “Sorry to wake you up –“ “You didn’t wake me –“ I say quickly, reaching for Rafe in his crib and scoopi
Rafe grins at me and I laugh, because the way he looks at me when I talk – god, it’s as if he’s already starting to understand. I spend a few quiet moments with my son, thinking about how he’s going to react when there’s a little baby around – And quite suddenly my eyes fill with tears when
Ella “Oh geeze,” I say when we pull up to Cora and Roger’s house in the pre-dawn morning and see that every light is on. “You ready for this?” “Sure!” Sinclair says, grinning at me as he puts the car in park at the end of the driveway. “It will be a nice role reversal – this time Roger can b
“You’ll be safer in a hospital,” Roger says, crossing his arms as he comes into the room. “No, I won’t,” she sighs, flicking him a little glare as she settles the blankets just how she wants them. “My sister, the magical healer, is here. It’ll be fine – I couldn’t be any safer.” “I had a hom
Cora I narrow my eyes at Roger when he comes upstairs about forty-five minutes later. “Are you going to behave better now?” I ask, my voice tense. “Yup,” he says, leaning in the doorway with a lazy smile. I start to laugh as I look over his too-loose stature. “Is it because you’re all d
“All right?” he says quietly when it all fades. “Yeah,” I say, turning my eyes to his now. And then I smile a little, returning my hand to his cheek. “I hope the baby’s eyes are just like yours,” I murmur. “Nah,” he says, smirking at me. “Big brown ones, like his mom. That would be best.”
Cora “You’ve got this, Cora!” Ella cheers at my side while I squeeze Roger’s hand, panting and shouting as I give what the nurse has told me is one last, final push. I put everything I have into this final moment, squeezing my eyes shut and pushing as hard as I can, wanting this done – wanti
My eyes follow the nurse as she carries the baby across the room to be weighed and checked out by the doctor. But the nurse is right – everything went well, and the baby looked fine to me. I don’t anticipate any problems. “You lucky thing,” Ella murmurs, sitting down next to me and holding her h