Two Weeks (The Baxter Family #5)(77)

Should they stop by her room? Talk to her? Tell her how grateful they were that she’d chosen them? Aaron was the first to recall their agreement, the paperwork they’d signed at the beginning.

“If we visit Elise even once, she could take that as coercion.” Aaron took a step back and leaned against his desk. “This whole situation needs to be by the book. For all of us.”

Lucy remembered one more document, though. “The paperwork also says that I can’t be prevented from seeing the baby.” She felt a thrill of hope. “Because I work on the maternity ward. Remember?”

“True.” Aaron’s anxious expression eased a little.

Lucy’s heart pounded at the thought. The other nurses in the unit didn’t know Aaron and Lucy were in the process of adopting. It would be perfectly normal for her to check on the baby girl. Brooke was the only doctor aware of the situation. Brooke’s nephew was dating Elise, after all. They had found that out a few weeks ago.

But Brooke was off today.

“I think we can see the baby.” Lucy crossed her arms. Her heart had never beat so hard in all her life.

“I’m going to stay here.” Aaron had clearly made up his mind. “But yes . . . it’s okay for you. Based on everything we agreed to.” He came to her and took her face in his hands. “When you see her, pray for her. And tell her Daddy’s praying, too.”

Lucy could hardly wait. The walk from Aaron’s office to the nursing station in the maternity ward had never taken longer. Her heart was in her throat and every outbreath was a struggle. She signed in and said hello to her co-workers. Yes she was having a good morning. No she hadn’t seen the new Tom Hanks movie.

Finally it was time to make her rounds. The baby was healthy, so she wouldn’t be in the NICU. With her knees and hands shaking, Lucy walked along the line of bassinets, the blue and pink blankets and the handwritten names on the fronts of the Plexiglas cribs.

Six babies lined the ward that day, and four of them were boys. Not until she reached the last baby in the row—a girl—did she know for sure. This was the baby, the one she and Aaron had prayed about and believed for and desperately wanted. Not just for the last five months.

For the last ten years.

Lucy stepped closer and looked at the tiny sleeping infant. She was perfect, her lips and cheeks and forehead more beautiful than any little baby’s ever had been. Lucy could hear her heart pounding with every breath.

God, is she ours? Is this our little girl? Please, can she be our little girl?

And then she saw something that gave her the greatest possible hope. The most incredible moment in this journey. Because this baby wasn’t just Elise’s child or a nameless infant in limbo while her birth mother decided what to do. This baby had a name. The one written over her tiny crib.

Gracie Anne.

? ? ?

ELISE WAS ALONE in the hospital room for now. She was leaving soon. Cole had already gone to get the car. And so she had done something she was advised not to do. Not in cases of adoption. She had asked her nurse to get her baby girl for her.

One last time.

The woman was older, wisdom shone in her eyes. She hesitated at Elise’s request. “Are you sure, honey?”

Every warning from Mr. Green came back to her. Remember the reason you signed the papers, Elise. Don’t put yourself through unnecessary pain, unless you are doubting your decision.

She didn’t care. Her smile came as easily as her next words. “Yes. I’m sure.”

Sunshine streamed through the window and Elise lifted her eyes to the sliver of blue sky between the hospital buildings. She was sure about placing her baby with Aaron and Lucy. It was the right thing to do for all of them. She’d already gotten student loans lined up for NYU.

But right here, right now, the baby was still hers. And she wasn’t going to leave without a proper goodbye. It was why she had sent Cole ahead. She didn’t want him to be here for this. Cole wasn’t the father of her baby. It had been wrong for her ever to pretend that was the case.

This newborn was hers alone. At least for another fifteen minutes.

The nurse returned with Elise’s baby girl, sleeping in a small crib on wheels. She pulled it up next to Elise. “Here she is.”

“Thank you.” Elise was still very sore, but she was showered and dressed, sitting in the chair beside her hospital bed. “Would you please hand her to me?” She looked at the nurse. “And then could you give us a few minutes?”

Again the woman hesitated, but she did as Elise asked. She picked up the baby, swaddled in a white and pink hospital blanket, and she gently transferred her to Elise’s arms. “I’ll check on you in a bit.”

“Okay.” Elise nodded, but she wasn’t listening. She was lost in the beauty of her firstborn, her tiny baby girl. When it was just the two of them, Elise nuzzled her face against the infant’s. “I didn’t have a plan for you, Gracie Anne.” She kissed the child’s cheek. “But God did.” Tears must’ve filled her eyes because one fell on her baby’s face. Elise dabbed it with the tip of her finger. “Yes, sweetie. God most certainly did.”

She had read about newborns. Usually they slept most of the first few weeks, only opening their eyes in rare moments. But maybe because of the sound of her voice or the tear that had fallen on her baby face, Gracie Anne opened her eyes.