Page 31 of Hale Yes (Highway to Hale #1)
CHAPTER TWENTY
Sometimes the most important things are the hardest
Helix
I leave work on Wednesday and make a couple stops to pick up the orders I placed earlier. Then I head to The Woman’s Hospital of Texas in the sprawling medical center.
As soon as I enter the lobby, I see my sister waiting for me and give her a hug before we take the elevator upstairs. Abigail answers my soft knock on the door with a huge grin on her face.
“Congratulations, you old grandma,” I tease, and she squeals, hugging Perri and me with enthusiasm.
“He is so perfect! Just beautiful, with the chubbiest cheeks ever.” Then she recounts her new grandson’s stats as she leads us into the room where we wash our hands at the sink. She already sent me all the information last night after the delivery, but Perri and I listen patiently anyway.
Striding to the new mother, who’s sitting up in the bed, I give her a quick hug and hand over my gifts. “Congratulations, Christi.”
“Aww, thank you Helix,” she says, smelling the blue-tipped roses before doing the same with the bag of food. “Oh my goodness! Did you bring me Chipotle?”
I chuckle. “Sure did. With extra guacamole like your mother said you liked.”
Her face looks tired but in a lovely way, like a brand new mother with a healthy baby. “Thank god. The food here is pretty good, but I feel like I need to eat eight times a day. Breastfeeding ain’t no joke.”
Perri hugs Christi and sets her gift bags on the small table beside the bed before pointing at each one. “This one is from me, this is from Remington, and the purple bag is from Phoenix and Reece. Reece said to make sure you know she helped pick out the gift.”
Christi beams. “She is such a cutie pie. I hope my Noah grows up to be as sweet as her.”
I personally don’t think anyone could ever be as sweet as my niece. She’s an absolute angel; but perhaps I’m a bit biased.
“Dad said he stopped by already, and Phoenix told me to apologize that he’s not here in person,” Perri continues. “He doesn’t think it’s a good idea for people with small children to visit new moms and babies. You know, because of the germs from preschool and all that.”
The new mommy laughs and pulls a bowl of food from the Chipotle bag. “I totally understand. Thank him for his thoughtfulness. I’m already convinced Noah is going to end up with every disease known to man.”
Abigail sits beside her daughter’s bed and pats her leg. “When one of the nurses came to get the baby earlier, Christi asked her if she had washed her hands. Thankfully, the nurse took it in stride.”
“Okay, maybe that was a little crazy,” Christi says around a mouthful of black beans, rice, and grilled chicken—with extra guac. “But as soon as he was born, it was like I was a new person whose only job is to keep my baby safe.”
That hits me in the chest because I felt the same way when Reecie was born.
I was the first person who got to hold her after Phoenix, and it felt like my heart immediately belonged to her.
I assume it’s because she’s the daughter of my twin, so we’re extra bonded or something, but I would do anything for that kid.
We keep our visit short because we know Christi must be tired as hell after delivering a nine-pound baby last night. My motto for visiting new moms is give them food and gifts and get the hell out. They need rest more than idle chit-chat.
Abigail walks us down to the nursery, and we watch through the window as Christi’s husband holds up the scrunched-up infant so we can see him through the glass. Perri and I gush appropriately.
Then he begins to wail… the baby, not the husband. “Welp, looks like it’s feeding time,” Abigail says as Charles brings the baby to his shoulder and says something to the nurse. “I’m going to go to Charles and Christi’s house to grab them a few things while she fattens up our boy.”
“I could have brought anything they needed,” I told her.
She shakes her head and chuckles. “In their excitement to pack every single thing Christi and the baby may need for a six-month stay, they forgot to pack any shirts for Charles.” Abigail twiddles a finger through the glass.
“That’s why he’s wearing hospital scrubs today.
Luckily, they did remember underwear because as much as I love my son-in-law, I draw the line at touching his unmentionables. ”
We laugh and embrace once more before Abigail scoots down the wide corridor with an extra pep in her step. She’s truly thrilled to be a grandmother, and I’m happy for her.
“I’m gonna head out,” Perri says, popping a thumb over her shoulder. “My friend Marie is waiting for me in the car. We’re going out for pizza.”
I kiss the top of my sister’s head. “Okay, shorty. Have fun and call me if y’all decide to have beer with your pizza. I’ll come pick you both up.”
She throws her arms around my waist. “Thanks bro, but we’ll be fine. Only sweet tea tonight.”
When she’s gone, I wander down to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and stare inside, remembering when Reece was here. She was a few weeks early and only had to stay one night in the NICU as a precaution, but the fear was so real.
A woman approaches one of the nurses and hands her a tiny infant. They’re both gowned up with protective gear, including masks, but I recognize that dark bun.
Nicolette? What the hell is she doing here? I momentarily panic, worried she might be thinking about changing jobs and going into medicine full time. Is she interested in acute care pediatrics? That wasn’t even what her residency was in.
Fuck, I don’t want her to leave. That thought is a lightning bolt of fear in my chest. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that kiss last Saturday night. After leaving the party and going back to her parents’ home, we got ready for bed and climbed in again.
Luckily, I didn’t wake up with her corn-dogging my dick again. Or maybe unluckily, depending on how you look at it.
Since then, everything has been normal, at least on the outside. On the inside, I want more. More of her whimpers, more of that hot little pussy against my cock, more kisses.
I’m not normally big into kissing. I don’t mind it during foreplay, simply because I know women like it, but during sex? It’s a no for me to that kind of intimacy. That’s why I prefer fucking from behind, besides the obviously beautiful visual of seeing a woman’s ass as she bends and submits to me.
So why did this morning’s little fantasy session in my shower include looking into Nicolette’s green eyes while I push into her? Why did I imagine dipping my tongue into that sweet mouth of hers and taking my fill as I fuck her until all I taste are her moans?
I have no idea. What I do know is I came harder than I ever have before. The orgasm doubled me over and almost took me to my knees.
Speaking of being on my knees, I wonder what her pussy would taste like?
I’m roused from that dirty thought before my cock can get too invested in the idea when the woman in question exits the NICU, all her protective gear now gone. She’s a few feet away, and her head pops up when she senses me, her face paling in the bright overhead light.
“He-Helix. What are you doing here?”
“I came to see Abigail’s new grandson,” I reply. Her head swivels back to the NICU, and I quickly add, “He’s fine. He’s in the regular nursery, but I decided to walk down here for a minute.”
“Oh. Okay.” Her answers are short, and no color returns to her ivory cheeks. “Guess I’ll be going now.” She takes a step and angles her body to walk around me.
“Nicolette,” I say more sternly than I mean to, and her feet stall. “Are you okay?”
She’d been trying to squeeze between me and the wall, so our bodies are close. Not touching, but close enough that I can smell the sweetness of her shampoo. Is that jasmine?
I press the subject because I can’t imagine what she’s doing here. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”
Her eyes dart everywhere before finally landing on mine with resignation. “Would you like to get a cup of coffee?”
We settle into a quiet corner of a coffee shop near the hospital. The patrons are a mishmash of exhausted medical personnel and people who are most likely family members of patients with their glazed eyes and weary spines.
Nicolette, on the other hand, is full of restless energy, her fingers fidgeting and one knee bouncing. Once the server drops off our drinks, Nicolette takes a long sip of her iced coffee. I don’t speak. I don’t push. I let her take the lead because she obviously has something of importance to say.
Finally, she stills and clasps her hands together on the table. “I volunteer in a baby cuddling program.”
That was the last thing I expected to hear. I have no clue what this program is, despite the obviousness of the name. “A… baby cuddling program?”
She nods. “I’m sure you know how crucial human contact is for newborns. Swaddling, snuggling, and hearing a person’s voice aids in their development and emotional wellbeing.”
“I agree,” I say. “And you volunteer to do this?”
Her green eyes brighten behind her glasses lenses. “I do. I know it’s to help the babies, but I think the cuddlers get just as much from it.”
In other words, it gives Nicolette something she needs. Instead of diving into that shark tank of possibilities, I ask, “And where are their families?”
“A lot of them have to go back to work after a couple months to keep their health insurance. They want to be there every single minute for their little ones, but the cost of having an infant in the NICU is crazy money that most people don’t have.
They come in after work, but that leaves a gap in the other hours of the day.
The nurses do their best, but they have so much on their plates already. ”
Taking a sip of my black coffee from a daffodil-yellow mug, I give her a small smile. “I think that’s a wonderful thing to do, Nicolette.”
Her lips thin over her teeth. “And then there are those cases where the mother isn’t able to hold the baby.”