Two Weeks (The Baxter Family #5)(76)

The attorney didn’t want Elise having any regrets. Whatever happened after this, Cole was grateful Elise got to experience her child. After all, she was the baby’s mother. Even if the best choice was for someone else to raise her.

Just then the doctor handed Cole a pair of scissors. “Would you like to cut the cord?”

He thinks I’m the baby’s daddy, Cole thought. But it didn’t matter. One day he hoped to make his future out of moments like this, maybe right here at Bloomington Hospital. He looked at his mom and she gave him the slightest nod. “Go ahead.”

Cole put his hand on Elise’s other shoulder. “You did it, Elise.” He had to say this first. “God helped you. Your baby girl is beautiful.”

“Because of you.” She was crying now, happy tears falling onto her cheeks. “I couldn’t have done it without God and you.” She looked at Cole’s mom. “And you, Mrs. Blake.”

His mother smiled. “I’m glad you wanted me here.”

Cole turned to the doctor. And—in the most surreal moment of his life—he took the strange-looking scissors from the man and cut the baby’s cord. The whole time Cole could only think one thing.

How could Elise say goodbye to her baby girl after this?

? ? ?

LUCY WAS ON her way into work the second of August when she got the call. All along they had known that Elise’s due date was August 14. Still a ways off but when Lucy checked caller ID and saw it was their attorney, she instantly pulled over and answered the phone.

“I tried to reach Aaron, but he didn’t pick up. I wanted you to know,” he sounded happy, but guarded. “Elise had her baby late last night. A healthy little girl.”

“Dear God . . .” Lucy closed her eyes and gripped the steering wheel with her free hand. Was this really happening? They had learned months ago that the child was a girl. And they had given her the name Gracie Anne. Elise knew about the name, and apparently she loved it. Gracie Anne Williams.

If Elise didn’t change her mind.

But until now all of this hadn’t ever felt real. It was all legal documents and the temperament of a teenage mom. Now, though . . . now everything had changed. Was it possible they could have a child of their own in just fourteen days?

“Anyway,” Mr. Green was going on. “I visited Elise this morning at the hospital.” He paused. “She still wants to go through with the adoption.”

Of course she does, Lucy wanted to tell him. She bounced up and down in her seat, her heart soaring within her. This was God’s doing. Aaron had heard the Lord tell him that they would have a baby soon. And now their little girl was here. Just hours old.

They’d been this close before, but this time was different. Lucy knew in her soul. Gracie Anne was theirs.

But before she could say any of that, Mr. Green added, “I must caution you, she still has the—”

“Two weeks.” Lucy’s voice had never sounded happier as she finished his sentence. “I know. Isn’t that wonderful, Mr. Green? That means in just fourteen days that little girl will be ours.” She refused to give in to fear, refused to let this day be anything but a party. “So is it okay if we don’t worry about that today? Can we just celebrate?”

The attorney was quiet for a moment. “Yes.” He sighed. “You can celebrate.” His voice was hardly celebratory. “Just know that birth moms who have changed their minds before, often change them again. I don’t want you and Aaron to get hurt by this.”

“Too late.” This time she didn’t filter her thoughts. “Mr. Green, if we lose this baby, we will be hurt to the core. We’ll remember it forever, just like every other baby we’ve lost these past ten years.” She wasn’t finished. “We bought a crib seven years ago, Mr. Green. We have baby animal sheets and Winnie-the-Pooh curtains and teddy bears just dying for little hands to play with them.” She gathered herself. “So thank you for the warning. But it’s too late.”

“Okay.” His voice fell a little. “Then yes, celebrate. You and Aaron certainly deserve that much.”

Lucy barely felt the asphalt beneath her feet as she hurried from her car to the hospital’s administrative wing. The baby was here. She was born and she was right here in this building. She opened her husband’s office door and their eyes met. He signaled that he was winding up a call and that he wanted her to stay. He didn’t look away from her, as if he must’ve seen the joy in her face.

When he hung up he hurried to her and took her hands. “What is it?”

“She’s here. The baby girl. Gracie Anne.” Lucy felt the beginning of tears but she held them back. Today was a party. She wouldn’t have it any other way. “She was born late last night.”

Aaron blinked back tears, too, and he let his head fall lightly against hers. “This is it, Lucy. Our little girl.”

There was no reason to warn Aaron the way Mr. Green had warned her earlier. They both knew the risks, the possibilities. But right now none of that mattered. Aaron looked at her again. “Can we see her?”

Lucy was wondering the same thing. Of course, she could easily see the baby, since she worked on the maternity floor. Elise knew that, which made the situation a little tricky. Technically they weren’t supposed to see the baby until after the two weeks. If Elise still wanted to place the baby for adoption.