herself up on her elbows, screwing her eyes shut, Eve bore down and pushed until she thought her head would pop off. And then she pushed some more.
Dying was beginning to sound like a very tempting option.
“You’re doing it, Eve!” Adam exclaimed excitedly, cheering her on. “You’re doing it!”
It felt as if her insides were being ripped apart by some powerful, unseen hand. She squeezed her eyes shut so tightly, she saw concentric orbs of bright red and gold.
“I … know …” Eve panted. She could barely scrape together enough energy to push the words out of her mouth.
And then she heard it. A small, lusty wail.
Her baby? Was that coming from her baby? Or was she just hallucinating?
Belatedly, she realized that she still had her eyes shut. Her lashes were wet with perspiration and all but glued together.
When she opened her eyes, she saw what was in her estimation the most beautiful sight that had ever been created. Her baby in Adam’s arms.
“What is it?” she asked breathlessly.
Unable to maintain her position a second longer, Eve’s elbows went out from under her and she collapsed back onto the bed.
“Beautiful,” Adam answered reverently, looking down into the dewy face of his daughter. He was completely mesmerized and enchanted. And utterly head over heels in love.
Had anyone asked, he would have said that his heart was impenetrable, that the only one who had ever managed to crack the exterior had been Eve. But this little being, this nothing-short-of-a-miracle that he had helped bring into the world, had seized his heart in her tiny hands the moment she made her debut.
He was in love with her, in love with this miracle who had come from nothing, who was the result of a chance, passionate coupling and a product malfunction.
“But what is it?” Eve asked, frustrated.
“It’s a girl,” he told her, still staring at the infant. He forced himself to tear his eyes away and look at Eve. “You have a daughter.” He’d almost said “we” instead, but the very idea that the baby was half his still hadn’t taken root. Besides, Eve had been the one to do all the work. The credit was hers.
He moved closer to Eve and tucked the naked newborn into her arms. Pressing the infant against her chest, awe instantly slid over Eve. She felt the newborn’s warmth penetrating her skin.
“She’s so little,” Eve murmured in surprise, then looked up at Adam. “Where’s the rest of her?”
The baby did seem little, Adam thought. Little and perfect. “She’s whole, Eve.”
“But it felt like I was giving birth to an elephant. The world’s largest elephant,” she amended. This was a little bit of a thing she should have been able to push out on a sneeze.
Adam laughed softly. “This is all of her,” he assured Eve. Taking a step back, he glanced toward the hall, as if to check if the rest of the world was still there after this miracle had taken place. “I need to get a knife to cut the umbilical cord.” He looked at Eve uncertainly. “Will you be okay if I leave you for a couple of minutes?” he asked.
The bonding was instantaneous, as was the surge of motherly pride and love. Eve couldn’t get herself to tear her eyes away from this brand-new human being in her arms even for a second.
“We’ll be fine, won’t we, Brooklyn?” she asked the infant.
About to leave, the name stopped Adam cold in his tracks. He looked at her over his shoulder. “Brooklyn?” he echoed.
Eve nodded. Very gingerly, she skimmed her fingertips along the baby’s clenched fist. Five fingers, there were five fingers, she assured herself. On both hands. She’d never felt anything so soft, she thought. Like snowflakes. Precious, precious snowflakes.
“My father was born there,” she explained. “I always liked the sound of the name.”
“Brooklyn,” he repeated, rolling it over on his tongue. Looking back at her and the baby, he slowly nodded. “Not bad.” But right now, the baby and Eve were still very much attached. He needed to sterilize a knife and separate them. “I’ll be right back,” he promised.
Still looking at her daughter’s face, Eve smiled. “We’re not going anywhere.”
He had to admit he liked the sound of that.
The moment he left, Eve raised her eyes to the doorway to be sure that he was gone.
“That was your father,” she whispered to the infant in her arms. “He’s a little unusual and he needs some work, but maybe with you here, we can fix him and make him into a good dad.” She took a deep, fortifying breath. Her lungs had finally stopped aching. “At least it’s worth a try.”
She knew it was the euphoria talking, but it gave her something to hang on to.
Adam was back faster than she thought possible. As he’d said, he had a knife in his hand. But the look on his face as he regarded her was slightly dubious, as if he wasn’t happy with what he was about to do.
“What’s wrong?” Eve asked.
He regarded the knife and then her. He had no problem digging out a bullet in his own arm, but the thought of using a knife on her for any reason suddenly didn’t seem like such a good idea.
“I don’t know if this is going to hurt. Either of you,” he added.
Considering what she’d just gone through, she felt she was pretty much beyond hurt. “Just do it and get it over with.”
But he made no move to comply. “Maybe I should wait for the paramedics.”
“What paramedics?” The euphoric bubble around her burst. Her eyes widened. When had he had time to place the call? “You called the paramedics?”
“Yes.” He’d made the call in the kitchen. “I can’t just toss the two of you into the back of my car or have you ride to the hospital on the handlebars of my motorcycle.” The last was just an exaggeration. He had no motorcycle, at least, not here.
As far as she was concerned, the discussion was all just moot. “Why do we have to ride anything to the hospital?” she argued. “It’s over, the baby’s here.” As she referred to her daughter, she couldn’t suppress the smile that came to her lips.
“You both need to be checked out,” he told her in a no-nonsense voice that said this wasn’t up for debate.
Exhausted though she was, Eve felt her back go up. Where did he get off, telling her what she was supposed to do? “Nobody put you in charge.”
“I got the position by default because you’re not being sensible,” he informed her. Seeing her frown, he added
