Page 102 of Manny's Surprise Baby

The nurse handed me a bottle. “You want to feed the little darling her first meal?”

I nodded. “Sure.” I put the nipple near the baby’s lips, and she seemed to know instinctively to suck. She pulled the rubber tip into her mouth and started feeding. “That was easier than I pictured.”

“Trina was nice enough to show me how to change a diaper.” Seth bit his lip. “It’s not as easy as it looks.”

The nurse laughed. “It gets easier.”

“It had better.” He grimaced.

Seth stroked the hair off my forehead as I fed the baby. I was so relieved that I was alive and the baby was okay, I barely knew what to say. I felt like I’d come through the war.

“I don’t want any more kids.” His voice was hushed. “I can’t go through that ever again.”

“It’s not like I’m in a hurry to have more.”

“No. I know. But, that was just too terrifying.”

“Maybe we’ll feel differently in a few years.”

He shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“Did you call Colin and tell him about the baby?” I asked.

His face flushed. “I was on the phone for hours with Colin and Riley. They’re the only reason I’m halfway sane right now.”

“Seriously?”

“I used up all my minutes and then some. I was a basket case.”

“He really was,” the nurse said, grabbing my clipboard from the end of my bed. “All the nurses nicknamed him Ninnyhammer.”

“What?” I laughed.

“Ninnyhammer?” Seth looked insulted. “Why?”

She grinned. “It means nervous person or basket case.”

“I don’t know whether to be insulted or flattered that I got my own nickname.”

She moved to the door. “Oh, you should be flattered.” She left with a chuckle.

He shook his head. “See what you’ve done? Now I have the silliest nickname ever.”

“It suits you.”

“Shut up.” He smirked. “I think Sexy Pants would be much more fitting.”

“I like Ninnyhammer.”

He grinned. “I can’t wait till we’re in our little cabin. Just the three of us.”

“Lucky for you, I’ve taken care of babies before.” I smiled down at our daughter. I couldn’t help but think about all the babies Baxter had taken from me. The memory of his cruelty made the moment bittersweet. Even as I held my new little daughter in my arms, how could I not wonder what those other little souls would have been like? I looked up and met Seth’s dark gaze.

“I know,” he said softly.

A lump formed in my throat at how perceptive he was. “Life can be so unfair.”

“Yes.”