Duncan grimaced. “How much longer can she keep this up? She’s not gonna have the energy to deliver.”
Dr. Marsh smiled. “You’d be surprised at what women are capable of. They surprise me every day.”
Reese rushed back into the room. “I can’t find—oh.”
Dropping back, Erin grinned. “The doctor isn’t going to forget that I’m here, Reese. I’m nine centimeters. It shouldn’t be much longer.”
Despite her claim, it took another four hours before the doctor announced that Erin was fully dilated.
“Ready to push, Erin?”
Drenched in sweat, Erin moaned in delight at the feel of yet another cool cloth Reese wiped over her face and neck. “More than ready.”
The contractions came faster and faster, and she barely had time to catch her breath after one contraction before another began.
All three of her husbands voiced their encouragement, always touching her as if to lend her their strength.
Holding her hand, Duncan leaned close. “Breathe, baby. Breathe.”
When the contraction ended, she pulled her hand from his and fisted it in the front of his T-shirt.
“If you tell me to breathe one more time, I’m going to hit you. Hard. Ahhh!”
With an arm around her upper back, Jared lifted her to make it easier to push.
“You’re doing so good, baby. I’m so proud of you. That’s my girl.”
Reese lifted her other hand to his lips.
“You’re amazing, baby.”
Grinning at the excitement and wonder in his voice, Erin gave one more push, blowing out a breath when the baby slid from her in a rush.
Dr. Marsh’s eyes danced above his mask. “Congratulations! It’s a boy!”
Chapter Two
Overcome with emotion, Jared watched his wife breastfeed his son, marveling that one feisty woman could make him so happy and fulfill him so completely.
It had been almost two months since she’d given birth, and he and his brothers had made sure that one of them was always with them.
Toying with her hair, he urged her to lean against him. “He’s a good eater, isn’t he?”
Erin smiled and slumped against him with a sigh. “He’s a little piglet. He has an appetite like his daddies.”
Pressing his cheek against the top of her head, he ran a thumb over her breast. “I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as this.”
Erin smiled, lifting her face for his kiss. “And I love seeing you with him. When you fell asleep with him on your chest, I thought it was adorable. I’m going to get that picture framed and give one to your mother. She’ll love it.”
Jared smiled and used his finger to break the suction between his son’s mouth and his wife’s nipple. “He’s sound asleep. I’m going to put him down.” He scooped his son, cradling him. “Why don’t you lie back and rest while I set the table?”
His stomach rumbled, the scent of the pot roast Erin had started earlier making him hungrier by the minute.
Erin kissed the baby’s forehead as Jared rose. “I’m fine, Jared. You, Duncan, and Reese have helped so much. Stop fussing.”
Irritated that she never admitted to weakness of any kind, even to him and his brothers, Jared settled the baby before turning. Frowning at the speed in which she covered herself, something he’d noticed on more than one occasion, he touched her arm as she got to her feet. “Damn, I missed it again. You’re getting awfully fast at that. Are you trying to torture me?”
Erin snorted and started for the kitchen. “Yeah, nursing bras are sexy as hell.”
Jared caught up with her in three strides, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her back against him. “Hey! What the hell? Are you under some kind of delusion that you’re not sexy anymore?”
With a sigh, Erin pushed at his arm. “Stretch marks and leaking breasts. I think I’m sexy as hell. Let go. I have to set the table.”
Uneasy at how quickly she’d averted her gaze, Jared let her go, leaning against the doorframe and watching her closely as she set the table. “You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever met, and you know it. That’s not what this is about, though. Why are you so nervous? Is something wrong? Did the doctor say something? Is that what that phone call you got earlier was about?”
Reese and Duncan came through the back door, their conversation stopping abruptly as they looked from Erin to Jared and back again.
Reese closed the door behind them, his eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong?”
Watching Erin check the roast, Jared shot his brothers a look. “That’s what I’m trying to find out. She got a phone call today just as I was getting into the shower. I assumed it was Rachel, but she’s been in an odd mood ever since.”