Free Stone Cold by Stassi Evers Page B

room in the hospital where she would stay with her until after the birth. Darin was relieved at the offer. After verifying the nurses’ identity, he gave Eden a big bear hug and kiss before shifting his full attention to his wife.
    He could hear Eden crying for her mommy as the nurse tried to soothe her on their way to the playroom. He had to shut that out for the moment because he knew Eden was fine and Evelyn needed him more.
    On his way back to Evelyn’s room, Darin ran into her sister Dana.
    Before he could speak she said, “I was just about to call you. As luck would have it, mom fell down some stairs when she was leaving her house on her way to pick up Eden this morning. She was unconscious from hitting her head and has a broken hip but she’s going to be fine. I have to get back to talk to the doctor. Is everything okay? Where’s Eden? Where’s Evelyn?”
    “Oh, thank goodness you’re here! We were worried sick about your mom, not knowing where s he was or what happened to her. Eden is with a nurse in the playroom and Evelyn is about to give birth so I have to go.”
    “Okay, I’ll be back later and we can talk then. Good luck!”
    Darin barely heard Dana’s last words as he turned and went into Evelyn’s room. Everything was happening so fast and he found himself overcome with anxiety. A sudden crushing pain brought him back to what was happening in the room.
    Her feet were in the stirrups and she was squeezing Darin’s hand with what felt like superhuman strength. He didn’t dare complain though, having felt the wrath of doing so during Eden’s birth.
    “Okay Evelyn, it’s time for you to start pushing! This baby is ready to be born!”
    The doctor positioned himself on a stool at the end of the gurney, ready to guide the baby from the womb.
    At this point, Evelyn was fully engaged in her labor so much so that Darin found himself feeling somewhat neglected, like he was in the way. She had her eyes closed every time she pushed and he felt completely helpless and alone.
    Just as he was about to give her plenty of space to push the baby out, Evelyn grabbed his arm.
    “Darin, thank you so much for being here, I couldn’t do this without you! Hold my hand! Ouch! Oh ouch! Oh geez it hurts!” Through the pain, she turned to look at him with a smile from ear to ear.
    He remembered thinking, “How i s it possible that in that moment I can love her any more than I already do?”
    Her hair was almost completely wet from sweat which was also running down her face. She had no makeup on and her skin was flushed in a rash like pattern, but to Darin, she never looked sexier. He was already thinking about how much fun it was going to be to start working on conceiving the next child.
    “The baby’s head is out Evelyn. One more push and that should do it!”
    Evelyn squeezed Darin’s hand once again and seconds later he heard the sweet sound of his son’s cry for the first time.
    Tears had formed in both of their eyes and they were able to share an intimate moment alone while the medical staff attended to the baby and Evelyn’s aftercare.
    The pain stopped immediately for her but for Darin it was a different story. Evelyn had broken two bones in his left hand during the labor and he would need a cast applied before he left the hospital. Superhuman strength indeed!
    After the baby was given a thorough inspection and found to be in perfect health, he was swaddled in a blanket and placed on Evelyn’s chest. She was clearly exhausted but happy.
    Darin couldn’t stop staring at his son’s face. He was finally able to hold him after waiting nearly nine months and wanted to experience this impossible feeling of love for his child forever. He was in awe of his wife and how incredibly strong he thought she was for being able to endure such immeasurable pain, all in the name of love.
    Evelyn had fallen asleep so Darin decided it was a good time to retrieve Eden and introduce her to her new brother. He placed the baby