Page 25 of A Touch for All Time (For All Time #3)
Upstate, New York
2033
G ray paced the outside of the birth room, sweating, pushing back his hair, staring at the door.
His wife was inside suffering her first labor, despite the six boys they had playing outside. He would have been in the birth room with her if he could have done it without getting in the way, to the extent of bumping into the doctor, almost knocking him out when he hit his head on a stool.
They could have gone to the hospital, but his darling wanted to have their child at home. They had enough money to get a doctor and a small team of nurses to come to the house Gray had built for her when they first came to live in the twenty-first century eleven years ago.
He was much like his mother in that he preferred the future over the restrictive past. There was medicine here to help with the pain of childbirth and a myriad of other things.
By now, he was well-used to the wonders of the time. Technology was indeed a powerful thing. He was able to change his name legally to Grayson Ashmore without leaving his home more than once. Pity, he liked driving his jaguar with the roof down. The jaguar was for Caleb, his third son, who liked everything his father liked. The Lamborghini was for his oldest son Sebastian, the Ferrari for William, a pair of Aston Martins for his twin boys, Finn and Scout. The Koenigsegg Gemera was, of course, for the youngest. Well, not the youngest for long. Gray had collected the cars over the years and four out of the six were in his private garage, away for the boys until they each reached their twenty-first birthdays. The Rolls Royce Ghost he bought for his seventh child being born today was with the rest.
“Dad,” ten-year-old Sebastian called out in a whiny pitch, “tell Caleb to give me my phone!”
Gray stopped pacing and looked around the hall. He saw his third son’s mane of golden curls, the only one of the six with such a color, peeping out from behind his ajar bedroom door. “Caleb, do you have your brother’s phone?”
“Yes, Daddy. It’s one-fifteen.”
Gray checked his antique watch—not that he doubted his brainy son. For a seven-year-old, Caleb was ahead of the other students in his school. He wore his thick, black rimmed glasses as shamelessly as his high grades. He astounded Gray every time Gray saw him. Caleb was his little fighter. Born to a mother addicted to drugs. He was given up at birth—also addicted.
After Gray and Aria had successfully adopted their first two sons, the adoption agency contacted them about tiny, lion-hearted Caleb.
“Give the phone to me, Caleb.”
Caleb came out of his room and hurried to his father, keeping his eyes off Sebastian.
Gray gave his oldest a stern look. “You know the rules. You’re to be off your phone at one o’clock. Don’t make your little brother have to tell on you again. Do you think he enjoys it? He was there, hiding. You should be setting an example.” Gray told him and placed his hand on Sebastian’s head. “We have a new babe coming today. What kind of brother will you be?”
Finn and Scout came barreling around a corner and crashed into their father before they could stop. “Is it a baby yet?” they asked in unison.
Gray sighed then smiled for the twin’s sakes. “It will be soon.”
“Nothing yet?” Another voice asked, following the twins and carrying a two-year-old baby girl in his arms. Connall and Sarah Darling’s third child. Sarah was in the birthing room with Aria, Harper, and his mother-in-law, Rose Darling, along with four nurses.
“Are William and Cody still with Mrs. Gable?”
“Yes, relax. I know it’s technically your first time, but my sister is strong.”
“I know she is, but I won’t relax until she’s smiling at me, alive and well.” He added the last in a low voice so the boys wouldn’t hear. Though one time, many years ago, he’d had a vision of six sons and a daughter, he wasn’t a seer. Even though sometimes images of his daughter would flash across his mind. She was the only one he shared the gift with. Even his grandmother had no idea why. As far as she knew, no one in the family line had ever communicated with the unborn. But Gray couldn’t see the future.
He didn’t know how long he had on this earth with his wife, so he cherished every moment with her.
The bedroom door opened, stopping everyone from speaking another word. Gray’s heart stopped, as well. He waited for Harper to say something.
“Gray, you have a daughter.”
His daughter. The words echoed in his head over and over. He didn’t think anything could make him as happy as the thought of his wife and sons, and his peaceful life on land vast enough and with a forest to the east to house all his animal friends, but he was wrong. Having a daughter was better than all of it.
He took a step into the room, but Harper stopped him. “Aria’s uterus is weak, Gray. She probably won’t go to term again. The doctor thinks for her safety, she should make an appointment at the hospital to get her tubes tied. This baby will be your last. We’re not sure why we didn’t see it. The prophecy is still unfulfilled.”
Gray looked at her and smiled. “The prophecy is fulfilled, Harper. I knew I’d have a daughter. I know her name. I’ve spoken to her already. And do you think it really matters that my sons were not born to me and Aria? We raise them in love, as we will raise their baby sister. She’ll lead her brothers, and the curse will be broken.”
Without another word, he stepped into the room. When he saw his wife lying in bed, the nurses cleaning up after her while she nursed their daughter, he felt his eyes burn. He went to her and smiled when she looked up from the baby and saw him.
“Oh, Gray,” she said with a tender smile for the tiny babe in her arms. “We have a daughter. Isn’t she beautiful?”
He let his worshipful gaze rove over his wife. “Yes, just as beautiful as her mother.”
“We never discussed a name for a daughter—” Aria said, handing the swaddled baby to him. “I can’t think of a single thing.”
“Kaia,” Gray said. “She told me her name is Kaia. It means pure and innocent.”
Aria stared at him, her face flushed. “She told you?”
He nodded and smiled at his daughter’s pink face and mop of black fuzzy hair. “Do you like the name, darling?”
“Yes,” Aria said with a sudden bright smile. “I love it.”
Sitting on a chair close to the bed, Gray held his daughter in the crook of one arm and took Aria’s hand in his free hand. “Have I told you how much I love you?”
She nodded and smiled at him. “You tell me every time you look at me.”
He laughed softly and then beckoned his sons, who were crowded by the door, to come in. As they took turns meeting their new baby sister, Gray noticed another figure by the door.
He gave his wife back the baby and went to the visitor.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
“How could I miss the birth of Kaia Ashmore?” his grandmother asked, smiling into the room.
“You knew about her, then?” Gray asked her, wondering what role his daughter would play in the Ashmore saga.
“I just recently learned of her. She kept herself hidden. She’s powerful.”
“I know. But I want her to have a regular life.”
His grandmother nodded, and then she laughed a little, making him squirm. What did she know about Kaia’s future?
When the baby began to cry, Gray rushed into the room and sent everyone away. They could all see the baby later. His wife was tired.
Alone, Gray climbed into the bed with Aria and the babe between them.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you dance,” he said in a quiet voice.
She laughed a soft little laugh that flipped his belly over and made his heart accelerate. “Well, it will be a little while before I can.”
“I know,” he told her, smoothing her hair from her eyes. “I want the rest of our days to be filled with dancing, and lots of lovemaking, but no more children.”
“I have to have surgery,” she told him with a nervous catch in her voice.
“I’ll be right by your side when you wake up and take care of you until you’re well.”
She gave him a loving smile, then, “Are you happy here, Gray?”
He chuckled. “Darling, I’ve been here for over a decade now. Can’t you tell that I’m happy?”
She nodded. “Yes. But it’s not because you smile all the time and laugh at the silly things the boys do. I believe you’re finally happy because of the way you dance now. There’s joy and freedom in your movement.”
He gazed at her, as lovely as she was the first time he saw her. “You brought those things to me, Aria, and helped me fulfill my purpose.”
“Your purpose is to love me?” she teased lightly. Her lids drooped over her eyes.
“Yes,” he whispered lovingly, “my purpose is to love you, and I will for all time.”
The End