“The doctor only wanted you to have a bolus of the medicine. If we put you on the pump, you might not be able to push effectively without feeling some of the contractions.”

Em was so pissed that she looked like lasers were coming from her eyes. “Lady, this isn’t feeling a little bit of pain. I feel every-fucking-thing!”

I covered my mouth to keep from laughing. My normally docile and complacent friend was actually speaking her mind. Hmph! Who knew it would take labor pains to get the girl to loosen up. Finn brushed a wet washcloth across her forehead to help cool her down. What a sweet, attentive husband he was being.

While watching Em going through the most excruciating pain in her life, I told myself that I was never going to do it. No man was worth it, no matter how much I loved him. Plus, I’d never actually considered having children. They were too clingy, took up too much time, and would want me to give more of myself than I’d ever want to give. And you never knew when a parent might want to walk away from that child just because they had their own issues and thought it was for the best that they weren’t around. That is what had happened to me, and I couldn’t imagine ever doing that to a child. My father only came around when it was convenient for him. A girl needs her dad, and I’d hated that he wasn’t who he should have been to me.

When Em gave her final push and baby Allie was brought into the world, she looked like a purple, slime covered creature that needed a good bath and a facial. I’d never seen a newborn before, but the look on Em’s and Finn’s faces when the doctor laid her on Em’s stomach was enough to make even me waver. I knew right there, in that moment, that Finn would never abandon his girls. The pride in his eyes caused a lump to form in my throat.

Deciding to give the new parents some time alone, I quietly snuck out of the waiting room, planning to grab a cup of coffee from the cafeteria. Rounding the corner, I saw Ky sitting in a chair, messing with his cell phone. He didn’t look up and I hoped he hadn’t seen me. Moving quickly, I crossed the hall in front of the waiting room chairs. Breathing out, I felt my shoulders slump forward, and I was thankful that I’d managed to avoid any confrontation. But just as I exhaled, a hand clamped around my elbow, stopping me in my tracks.

“Harper, is everything okay?” His deep voice spoke near my ear.

I turned my head slightly in his direction. “Um, yeah, everything is fine. Baby Allie is here.”

Ky’s eyes lit up and he smiled wide. “How’s Em?”

“So far, she seems good, and she doesn’t seem to be in pain anymore.”

“That’s good.”

His hand was still holding me in place, and he looked down to where he was still touching me. A long awkward silence passed before he asked, “How come you’re out here, and not in there with them?” He nodded his head towards the hall where Em’s room was.

Needing him to release my arm, I pulled out of his grasp and took a step back. He dropped his hand back to his side. “I wanted to give them some time alone. I figured I’d go grab a cup of coffee and stop back in later.”

“I could really go for a cup of coffee too. Mind if I join you?”

Kyler looked at me with hopeful eyes. I desperately wanted to tell him that I didn’t think it was a good idea. I knew that if he had the chance, he’d talk me into spending some time with him. He’d want to know why I hadn’t responded to his messages. Truthfully, I didn’t have the answers for that question, and after seeing Em’s and Finn’s display of love towards Allie, I was feeling particularly vulnerable.

“As much as I’d like to, Ky, I just don’t think it would be a good idea.”

“Why not?” He sounded angry.

Sighing loudly I started to say, “Because I—” but my cell phone rang. Reaching into my purse I pulled it out and saw Michael’s name on the screen. Kyler looked down and saw the name as well. His jaw tightened and his mouth made a thin line. Holding up my finger to tell Ky to wait a minute, I turned my back and answered the phone.

“Hi, Michael, how are you?”

“I’m fine, but I wanted to check on you to see if everything was going okay? Is the baby here yet?” He was so sweet.

“Actually, Allie just joined us a few minutes ago.” I smiled.

“That’s great news.” He sounded like he genuinely meant it. “Are Em and Finn doing alright?”

“Everyone is doing well. I was just heading down to the cafeteria to get some coffee and to give them some time alone. Would you mind if I call you back when I get settled in to my hotel room later this evening?” I started to yawn, not realizing just how tired I was. I hadn’t had any rest since the day before when I’d got the call from Finn.

“Absolutely, beautiful, I’ll be waiting for your call.”

Saying goodbye, I took a deep breath and turned around, ready to face Ky and tell him that I needed some time alone and maybe we’d talk later. But when I did, the hallway was empty and Ky was nowhere to be seen. Glancing around, thinking maybe he’d stepped away to give me some privacy, my stomach dropped. He’d left and hadn’t said goodbye. Not that I blamed him. I was however, disappointed. “Great. Just fucking great, Harper,” I whispered under my breath. I turned and walked towards the cafeteria.

I couldn’t stand there and listen to Harper, my Harper, talk to Michael. That girl has been mine since I first laid eyes on her in high school. When I looked over and saw his name on her phone I saw red. I had to walk away or I would have pounded a fucking hole in the wall, and then I’d get my ass thrown out for sure. I had to wonder if he was the reason that she hadn’t been emailing me back. I knew they had a ‘thing’ a while ago, but had they started seeing each other again since I’d been gone? If they had, I’d have no problem putting on my game face and showing her who was better. There’s no way that dick-fluffer was better than me. I could treat her better and I knew I was better in bed—everything boils down to sex, I don’t care who you are. And not in gay way, but in high school I’d heard the stories about him being a premature ejaculator. Sorry man, but if you’re losing your spunk at first touch, you might want to get that looked at.

He must be doing something that she likes, though, if she was still messing around with him. Harper was the type of woman to kick you to the curb if you weren’t giving her what she wanted. I just needed to figure out what it was, so I could do it better. And I needed to come up with a plan to get her to talk to me, without any interruptions. I knew I could be an egotistical ass sometimes, but once I put my hands on her I knew she wouldn’t be able to say no. She’d always reacted to me in the hottest way. I’d seen her shiver when I stood close. I’d seen her hazel eyes roll back while she screamed my name. I’d caught her looking at me when she thought I wasn’t looking. That girl was definitely mine, and now that she was here, I needed to remind her of it.

When I walked back around the corner to the waiting room, Finn almost ran into me. He had the biggest fucking grin on his face. I didn’t think I’d seen the bastard any happier than he was right then.

“Hey, I was just coming to find you. My little girl is finally here.”

Despite my mood, I couldn’t help but smile with him. Clapping him on the back in a hug, I said, “congrats, man. Harper said Allie finally made it into the world. So what should she call me, ‘Uncle Rock God’, ‘Uncle Badass’, or ‘Uncle Touch Her Wrong and I’ll Break Your Hand?’”

Laughing, Finn said, “Definitely not the first two. Taking on a protective role for my Allie girl, huh? Want to go see her?”

“You bet, but I’m telling you now, I’m not changing any diapers.”

We exchanged a few laughs before we walked into the room where Em and Allie were. Finn walked up to them and reached down, picking up a tiny pink bundle. He walked over to me and held his hands out to pass me the baby.