I move to the little cribs. Our babies no longer need the little cubes to keep them warm.
Both Austyn and Lennox are still small. I’m sure the newborn clothes will be worn for a while, but they are so much bigger than when we first saw them. They have more meat on their bones.
As their eyes meet mine, they start making noises and cooing. It warms my heart that they know me. I think that was one of the things I struggled with the most. I was so damn afraid that since I wasn’t there around the clock with them, they wouldn’t realize I am their mom. That was too much to bear. Nevertheless, they know their momma, and the happiness I feel from that makes every single second since the moment they were born worth it. That they are healthy now makes it all worth it.
“Let’s get you guys home.”
***
“I wanna hold ’em.” Cooper bounces up and down on his heels as we carry the babies inside the house. Ma stands next to the couch, a tear shimmering in her eye.
I feel the excitement. My babies are home, all three of them.
“Hang on, buddy. You need to wash your hands.” The nurses said to be careful around others and to make sure that if someone holds them, they wash their hands. If that’s what needs to be done, then that’s what we will do.
Coop looks at me with a “seriously” look, one of the looks his father gives me all the time.
“Yes,” I tell him before he runs off to wash.
I carefully unhook the contraption holding Austyn safely in her seat. She’s asleep and so damn tiny. I pull her out and wrap her in a blanket just as Cooper barrels down the hallway.
“I’m done!”
“Sit on the couch, little man,” Cruz says, walking over and putting a pillow under Coop’s arm. “Now you can’t move once you have Austyn.”
“I knows. Gamma telled me.” His little, excited face makes my heart almost burst.
I place my little girl in his arms, and Coop’s face lights up. Yeah, he’s going to be a great big brother.
“Austyn, you can’t put that in your mouth.”
Drool falls from her lips as she chews on one of my shoes. The kid is rolling like crazy and faster than I can get everything picked up.
I take the shoe away and give her a small giraffe toy that instantly goes in her mouth.
Lennox lies on the carpet, looking up at the ceiling fan, his feet lifted to his mouth, otherwise content. He just started rolling to his side, but nothing like Austyn. I, of course, was concerned and asked their pediatrician.
She put me at ease quickly about the different stages of development and the fact that their being born early may slow their development in some areas. For the most part, they are hitting the marks as expected. They’re sometimes on the low end of the spectrum, but they are there.
My thing is that they are happy. Coop, on the other hand, is getting to his happy place. He’s not too keen on one of the twins finding a toy of his and chewing on it, but he’s coming around slowly, but surely.
“Babe, I’ve got Coop ready.” Cruz comes in, picking Austyn up off the floor and blowing on her belly, making little giggly sounds come from her. “I’ll get this little lady together. You get Lennox.”
Today is their first appearance at the clubhouse. We have been waiting until their immune systems are stronger because I will fully admit I’m paranoid when it comes to the kids going back into the hospital. I know they are going to get sick, but with how fragile they were when we brought them home, I have done everything in my power to make sure they don’t get germs.
Listen to me. I have turned into one of those moms, but I don’t give a flying shit.
I pick Lennox up and get him ready.
Cruz carries both the car seats into the clubhouse with me holding Cooper’s hand. The cheers fill the space, and for once, I notice the potent smell of smoke isn’t as strong. It’s not clouding the clubhouse.
I turn to Ma who smiles. She must have gotten Pops to put a halt on it while we are here. Damn, I love her. I never cared about the smell before, but my babies had underdeveloped lungs and had to fight to breathe.
Cooper runs off with Deke as Austyn and Lennox are passed from person to person. As I watch my family with my babies, I feel it. Finally, after all these months of being terrified, I feel the relief fall over me. I feel the weight release from my shoulders.
I move over to Cruz and wrap my arms around his waist, his arms coming around me. This has been one of the most trying times a couple could face, and we stuck by each other.
“I love you,” I say to his chest, and his hands tighten around me.
“I fucking love you more than words can say. You gave me beautiful babies, took Coop on as your own, and love me without question. No fucking man could get it any better.”
I squeeze more tightly. “I’ve never been happier.”
His lips come to the top of my head, and a sense of peace comes over me. I love this man, love my kids, love my family. This is what true happiness is. I have it, and I will fight to the death to keep every drop of it.
USA Today bestselling author Chelsea Camaron is a small town Carolina girl with a big imagination. She is a wife and mom chasing her dreams. She writes contemporary romance, erotic suspense, and psychological thrillers. She loves to write blue collar men who have real problems with a fictional twist. From mechanics to bikers to oil riggers to smokejumpers, bar owners, and beyond, she loves a strong hero who works hard and plays harder.
Chelsea can be found on social media at:
www.facebook.com/authorchelseacamaron
Twitter @chelseacamaron
Ryan Michele has a huge obsession with reading, which only came to life after her best friend said she had to read Twilight. After reading that series, her entire world changed in the blink of an eye. Not only was she sucked into new worlds and all of the wonderful words authors put down on paper, she felt the urge to begin to write down the characters that played inside of her head.
When she’s not reading or writing, she spends time taking care of her two children and her husband, enjoying the outdoors and laying in the sun.
STALK RYAN
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorryanmichele
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Ryan_Michele
Website: http://www.authorryanmichele.net
Love and Repair Series:
Crash and Burn
Restore My Heart
Salvaged
Full Throttle
Beyond Repair
Stalled
Box Set Available
http://www.amazon.com/Love-Repair-Box-Chelsea-Camaron-ebook/dp/B00JNWUH4A/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Hellions Ride Series:
One Ride
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HG15RHM/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
Forever Ride
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KU6IYW0/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
Merciless Ride
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OAHNVGE/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
Eternal Ride
http://www.amazon.com/Eternal-Ride-Hellions-Motorcycle-Club-ebook/dp/B00V45GL3A/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Innocent Ride
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TU9OWRE/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
Simple Ride
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017KUZUM0/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
Heated Ride
http://www.amazon.com/Heated-Ride-Hellions-Motorcycle-Club-ebook/dp/B017KUZRNM/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Originals Ride (coming 2016)
Final Ride (coming 2016)
Roughnecks Series:
Maverick
Heath
Lance
http://www.amazon.com/Roughneck-Shorts-Box-Chelsea-Camaron-ebook/dp/B00XQ1SEBM/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Stay (Standalone Taboo Romance):
http://www.amazon.com/Stay-Romance-Novel-Chelsea-Camaron-ebook/dp/B0150BUWLK/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Co
-Written Series
The Fire Inside Series:
Co-written by Theresa Marguerite Hewitt:
Kale
Regulators MC Series:
Co-written by Jessie Lane:
Ice
Hammer
Caldwell Brothers Series:
Co-written by MJ Fields:
Hendrix
Morrison
Jagger (coming April 2016)
Ravage MC Series
Ravage Me (Ravage MC #1): http://amzn.to/1hc2998
Seduce Me (Ravage MC #2): http://amzn.to/1J67Nzg
Consume Me (Ravage MC #3): http://amzn.to/1EtwEMl
Inflame Me (Ravage MC #4): http://amzn.to/1UVfKQf
Captivate Me (Ravage Me #5): Coming 2016
Satisfy Me: http://amzn.to/1J680Cx
Rattle Me: http://amzn.to/1hc2t7M
Ride with Me: Ryan Michele & Chelsea Camaron: http://amzn.to/1Oyiemm
Ravage MC Box Set: http://amzn.to/1EtwIvO
Vipers Creed MC Series
Challenged (Vipers Creed MC#1) http://amzn.to/20PWZRl
Raber Wolf Pack Series
Raber Wolf Pack Book One: http://amzn.to/1hc2FUF
Raber Wolf Pack Book Two: http://amzn.to/1EtwMvn
Raber Wolf Pack Book Three: http://amzn.to/1EtwPaJ
Raber Wolf Pack Box Set: http://amzn.to/1LlnxW0
Stand-alones
Safe: http://amzn.to/1J68tVy
Wanting You: http://amzn.to/1PqM0aU
Blood &Loyalties: http://amzn.to/1POwIfR
Needing to Fall: http://amzn.to/1HR3Ogd
Table of Contents
Letter from the authors
Ride with Me (Hellions Ride) by Chelsea Camaron
Chapter One: Make It Happen
Chapter Two: Nothing but Time
Chapter Three: On My Mind
Chapter Four: Wheels Keep Turning
Chapter Five: Rock Solid
Chapter Six: Turn and Burn
Chapter Seven: Spice Party
Chapter Eight: Right Here, Right Now
Chapter Nine: The Couple We Are Today
Ride with Me (Ravage MC) by Ryan Michele
Chapter One: Cruz
Chapter Two: Cruz
Chapter Three: Princess
Chapter Four: Cruz
Chapter Five: Princess
Chapter Six: Princess
Chapter Seven: Cruz
Chapter Eight: Princess
Chapter Nine: Cruz
Chapter Ten: Princess
Chapter Eleven: Princess
Chapter Twelve: Cruz
Chapter Thirteen: Princess
About the Authors
Other Works by Chelsea Camaron
Other Works by Ryan Michele