Bound by Lies Read online

  She squeezes my hand again and begins pushing and that’s all it takes. Seconds later, our baby’s head is out and the doctor is clearing its nose and mouth.

  “Oh my gosh,” Em cries.

  “One more little push, and the shoulders will be free. The rest will just follow. Good job, Emilia.” The doctor smiles at her. “Ready when you are,” she says, and Emilia gives one final push. The doctor pulls the baby up and immediately sets it on Emilia’s chest. He or she is purple, and covered in I don’t know what, but I don’t care because all I care about is hearing our baby cry. Emotions overtake me and tears fill my eyes and pride fills my heart. Our baby.

  Emilia holds the baby on her chest as she sobs and kisses our baby’s forehead, while I wipe my own tears from my eyes.

  Never did I think I’d have a family, and here it is.

  “It’s a girl,” one of the nurses says to Emilia.

  “Girl?” I ask, not sure I heard her correctly.

  “Little girl,” she says again.

  Holy fuck. It’s so real. I have a little girl. I can picture it all—the pink and dresses and baby dolls, and pigtails and everything inside of me melts.

  “Dad, you want to cut the umbilical cord?” the doctor asks, pulling me away from staring at my daughter. She hands me a pair of medical scissors, and I cut through the rubbery cord.

  Emilia just cries and holds our baby as a nurse wipes her clean. “We have to take her for just a minute.” The nurse pulls our baby girl from Emilia’s arms.

  I lean down and wipe the tears from Emilia’s cheeks, pressing a kiss to her lips. “A baby girl,” I whisper to her, and she cries harder. I honestly feel like I’m living in a bubble. Nurses and doctors buzz around us, helping Emilia, and I finally sink into the chair that’s in the corner of the room.

  Closing my eyes, I thank God for blessing me with a second chance. A chance to do good. He’s given me the best gift I could ever imagine, and I promise to not screw this up. I wipe tears from eyes as a gentle hand touches my shoulder.

  “I think she’d like her daddy,” a smiling nurse says. She hands me a swaddled bundle with a little pink hat on. Dark blue eyes try to focus on me as I lean in and kiss her chubby cheeks. Her nose is small and pink, and her little lips purse as her tongue presses through them. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in all my life.

  I kiss her again, pressing my lips to her forehead, then I whisper promises to her that I will never break. Glancing over, I see Emilia watching us, and she gives me a watery smile. At this moment, my world is complete. Love that I never imagined possible fills every fiber of who I am.

  I stand up and walk over to Emilia, cradling our baby girl in my arms. “What should we name her?”

  “What about Emma Grace?” Emilia swats at tears.

  “After my mom?” I ask, not even considering Emilia would want to do that.

  She nods.

  “We could call her Grace,” I offer. “Yeah, Grace. It’s perfect.” Fits her. My daughter. I have to say that a few times to get used to it.

  “Perfect,” Emilia whispers, reaching a finger out to caress the baby’s cheek.

  “Emma Grace Cortez, welcome to our family,” I whisper with another kiss to her forehead.

  “GRACIE, DON’T LET Sam get too close to the water!” I holler at her as our two kids run toward the beach.

  Grace reaches down and holds Sam’s hand as their little feet sink into the soft sand. At a year and half, one would think our little boy was a teenager. He runs along the beach with no fear and loves picking up rocks and throwing them into the water.

  Grace is like Alex. Protective and concerned, always looking out for everybody. Her long, curly hair whips in the wind as she holds her brother’s hand tightly. She’s got perfect olive skin and light brown eyes. Sam is more like me. Cautious but adventurous. His complexion is lighter, and he reminds me so much of his namesake, his Uncle Sam.

  “Here you go, babe,” Alex says from behind as he hands me a mug of coffee. We sit down in the sand, next to one of the small dunes, and watch the kids play on the beach in front of us. This is our favorite Saturday morning family pastime.

  I sip on the hot coffee and watch my children laugh and play. Nothing makes me happier than their little laughs. “What time do you have to get Sam and Kate from the airport?” I ask Alex.

  “Around two this afternoon.”

  “The guest room is all set up for them,” I tell Alex. We built a house just down from Mr. Anders’. We’re the last house at the very end of our narrow street, tucked away from everyone else, but still on the beach.

  “I’m glad they’re coming,” he says. “We haven’t seen them since our wedding.”

  “I know, it doesn’t seem that long ago, but it’s been over two years.”

  “Little Sam is so excited,” I tell him with a smile. “The name is so fitting. You have to see the resemblance.”

  “I do,” he says as he watches the kids closely. “Even their personalities are similar.”

  “That Estrada blood runs deep,” I joke.

  “Cortez,” he corrects me. Alex changed his name, wanting to rid himself of the ties the Estrada name brings.

  “Right. Cortez,” I say quietly. I hesitate for a moment, then ask, “Will we ever tell them, Alex?”

  “About?”

  “Your family. The business.”

  He shakes his head. “Em, we’ve worked too hard to give them a good life. A life they deserve.”

  I nod and sip my coffee. “Did I tell you my dad is coming for a couple weeks this spring? He’s renting that little house down the street. I told him he could stay with us, but he didn’t want to intrude.”

  “He should just stay with us,” he insists. “We have plenty of room. We have the guest room, and the room upstairs next to Gracie’s—”

  “No, I’m going to renovate that room.” I have to hide my smile.

  He turns and looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “What do you mean ‘renovate’? We just built the damn house.”

  “I mean, I’m pulling the bed out of there, and the nightstand, everything. It won’t be an extra guest room.” I’ve been waiting for the right time to surprise him.

  “What’re you going to put in there? You have a library downstairs, an office, we have a sitting room—”

  “A crib,” I tell him tenderly, unable to contain it anymore.

  “A crib?” he asks, confused. “There’s a crib in Sam’s room.”

  “I know. But we’re transitioning him to a toddler bed, so I need a place to put a crib.” I smile and chew on my bottom lip.

  “Wait, what?” he asks me as I giggle. “No!” he says, shaking his head.

  I nod. “Yes.”

  “We’re having a baby?” A grin stretches wide on his face.

  “Number three,” I tell him and wrap my arm around his. I lean into him, and he kisses the top of my head.

  “Who knew that here we’d be living in Oregon, owning our own business, and having a third kid,” he remarks in awe.

  I press a motherly hand to my still flat stomach. “I think I’ll want to be done after number three, though.”

  “What about one more?” he asks and raises his eyebrows. “I always wanted a big family.”

  “We’ll see.” I smack his arm. I have a hard time telling Alex no, but it’s a small annoyance in my otherwise wonderful life.

  My life is complete now. It’s a life I never imagined I’d have. Our coffee shop is hugely successful, so much that we’ve expanded into the bookstore next door. I don’t really even work anymore. With three managers and a full staff, I pop in with the kids and help out here and there, but most of my time is spent wiping noses, chasing kids, and making dinner.

  Alex manages most of the day-to-day business needs of the coffee shop, but he still lets me make all the decisions.

  Life is good. Even when it’s bad, it’s still a blessing. And as I look out at the sparkling ocean, my beautiful children runn
ing around in the sand and husband at my side, I can’t imagine any greater gift in the world.

  www.rebeccasheaauthor.com

  Sign up for Rebecca Shea’s newsletter for updates on new releases.

  http://eepurl.com/Y3X81

  Follow Rebecca Shea on Facebook:

  https://www.facebook.com/rebeccasheaauthor

  Follow Rebecca Shea on Twitter:

  @beccasheaauthor

  Email: [email protected]

  Unbreakable Series

  Unbreakable

  Undone

  Unforgiven

  Bound and Broken Series

  Broken by Lies