Read White Lilies (A Mitchell Sisters Novel) Online
Authors: Samantha Christy
White Lilies (A Mitchell Sisters Novel) (36 page)
When the contraction is over, her head falls back on the pillow and her eyes close. I reach over to pull her left hand into mine. “Skylar.”
She opens her eyes and looks around the room quickly as if she’s woken up in a dream. She takes in my stance, as I balance on one knee. Then her eyes fall to the ring and she gasps. She stares at the ring I had made for her. The engagement ring like no other. It’s a platinum infinity symbol, boasting a diamond within each circle. I had it designed with the tattoo in mind.
I clear my throat, praying my words come quickly and before pain overtakes her again. “We’re about to have this incredible little boy. I don’t want him coming into this world wondering if his daddy loves his mommy. Fate brought us together. Fate had me put on these pants so I could give you this ring at this very moment.” My voice cracks and my vision becomes blurry with tears. “And fate will have me loving you and Aaron until the end of time.” I eye the monitor and see the line starting to go up again, indicating another contraction is coming. I quickly blurt out, “Skylar Mitchell, will you marry me?”
Tears flow from her eyes as her smile changes into a wince, her face scrunching up as she pulls her hand away and tightly grips the sides of her bed. Through her gritted teeth she grunts, “Are you seriously asking me to marry you when I’m in fucking labor?”
Trying not to laugh, I say, “Don’t say fuck, Sky.”
Instead of focusing on the picture, her eyes bore into me for the entire contraction. We silently stare into each other and I swear we become one, and through her eyes, I can almost feel the pain ripping through her body.
When the pain retreats, she nods to the ring in my hand. “How long have you had this?”
“I had it made weeks ago. I was going to propose last night at the party, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
Her hand comes up to wipe a tear. “Oh, God, Griffin. When you walked off the stage and came over to me. You were going to propose right then, weren’t you?” Her eyes go sad. “I ruined it. I’m so sorry.”
“You ruined nothing, Sky. It wasn’t supposed to happen then.” I turn the ring over, pointing to the inscription. “Anyway, it was too dark last night to read the inscription.”
She smiles, taking it from me, squinting to read what I had inscribed on the inside.
Fate ~ Faith ~ Family
I reach out to catch more of her tears. She starts to tense up and I glance at the monitor, confirming another contraction. “So are you going to fucking marry me, or what?”
Her answering grin flashes white teeth before her face falls into a grimace from the oncoming contraction. “Yes,” she grunts. “I’ll fucking marry you, Griffin Pearce. Ahhhh…” She squeezes my hand so hard, I’m sure I will suffer some sort of paralysis.
“It’s a good thing I didn’t video this moment. We’d never be able to show it to our kids,” I joke.
“
Kids
?” she shouts out in pain. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding.”
I laugh, slipping the ring on her finger when the contraction subsides. I rise up and lean over the bed, placing a kiss on her salty lips as I hear people enter the room behind me. “Come on,” I kiss the tip of her nose. “Let’s do this.”
~ ~ ~
After twelve hours of labor, my fiancée is getting some much-needed sleep. My tiny-but-healthy son lies still in my arms, his mouth puckered and making little sucking noises as he sleeps. He is the perfect little version of Skylar. He has a heart-shaped face and a full head of hair that can’t decide on a color. I can only hope his baby-blue eyes will one day turn green.
Family and friends have come and gone, leaving a room full of blue balloons, teddy bears and, of course, white lilies. Along with the decorations, sits a letter from Erin. One that Baylor raced home to get once hearing of our engagement. While the nurses cleaned up Aaron, Skylar and I read the letter together, both rejoicing that Erin got to somehow be a small part of this joyous occasion. Both crying that she couldn’t be here in the flesh.
“He’s perfect,” Skylar whispers, looking at Aaron and me through sleepy eyes.
“Just like his mom.” I reach over to touch her arm.
She fiddles with the new ring on her finger and something dawns on me. “Sky, will you go on a date with me?”
She laughs quietly through her beaming smile. “Wow, we really do things backwards, don’t we? First we get knocked up, then we get engaged, then we go on a date.”
I raise my eyebrow at her. “Well, if you want to make it even more interesting, we could just go ahead and get married now, before we go on that date. I’m sure they have a chaplain here in the hospital.”
Her hand comes to her chest. “My parents would kill me, Griffin. Plus, Piper promised to not only come home, but plan my entire wedding if I ever got hitched. I wouldn’t give that up for anything. Imagine, a whole three months or more with my little sister.” Her eyes light up.
“I have to wait three months to marry you?” I joke.
“Or more,” she adds, laughing. “I only plan on doing this once, Griffin, so if it’s okay with you, I’d like to do it right.”
“It’s more than okay.” I look down at our sleeping son. “It’s perfect.”
“I wish I could take a picture of you right now,” Skylar says, beaming at me. “You look so happy.”
“I am happy. Happier than I’ve ever been.” I lean down to kiss his little forehead through the striped blue hat he’s wearing. “I don’t need a photo to remember this, Skylar. Everything I want for the rest of my life is right here in this room.” I look at the tattoo on my right arm and realize that for the first time, I said those words without feeling guilty. I said them knowing it’s what Erin would have wanted. I said them knowing she loved me enough to give me away. I said them knowing this little boy and the amazing emerald-eyed woman that gave him to me are everything Erin said they would be.
My fate.
epilogue
Dear Aaron,
My name is Erin Pearce. I guess I’m your namesake, but please don’t take it personally that I’m a girl. We both have cool names. But you can call me Saint Erin. Because as far as I’m concerned, I performed a miracle.
The greatest gift I could ever give you is the love of two incredible parents. You may have started out as a dream of mine, but it was their fate to raise you. To love you. To always be there for you.
Be patient with your mom. She’s the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met. She also has the kindest heart and the sweetest soul. If you grow up to be like her, you should consider yourself a lucky man.
I’m sure by now you know that your dad was once married to me. He saw me and your grandma through some very tough times. You can rely on him when things in your life seem out of control. He will be your rock. He will never waver in his undying love and support of you.
I want you to remember if life gets tough, you need to have faith that everything will work out the way it should. Trust in your family to be there for you and help guide you through life. Always follow your heart. Believe in fate. Fate is what brought you to this earth. It’s what brought your parents together. It will make you the man you are intended to be.
Most of all, I want you to trust in the fact that you will always have a guardian angel watching over you.
If I only have one piece of advice to give you, it is this—let your parents love you. Let them love you hard. Let them love you forever.
Your friend in heaven,
Erin
Coming early 2016
The Mitchell Sisters Book Three
Piper’s story
Black Roses
acknowledgments
Upon the completion of any book, I have to first and foremost thank my family for putting up with chaos around the house. This one was particularly difficult to juggle while moving kids to college, attending countless travel baseball practices and games for my ten-year-old son, and coordinating rehearsals and performances for my twelve-year-old daughter’s musical. You guys only complained once or twice about having pizza or sandwiches (again) for dinner. I promise to cook all your favorite meals during my week or two hiatus.
Thanks to my editors, Jeannie Hinkle and Ann Peters, without whom none of this would even be possible. Ann, I appreciate your creative skills in helping me design Erin’s tattoo. Like Erin, I’m not capable of drawing much more than stick figures.
To my attentive beta readers, Janice Boyd, Debbie Weigel and Tammy Dixon, I’m grateful to you all for being honest and meticulous. I hope you continue to enjoy this wonderful ride with me.
White Lilies is my fifth book and upon release, I had published all five books in less than eighteen months. There may come a time when I slow down, but it will be after all these pesky characters quit waking me up at night, demanding to be heard.
about the author
Samantha Christy’s passion for writing started long before her first novel was published. Graduating from the University of Nebraska with a degree in Criminal Justice, she held the title of Computer Systems Analyst for The Supreme Court of Wisconsin and several major universities around the United States. Raised mainly in Indianapolis, she holds the Midwest and its homegrown values dear to her heart and upon the birth of her third child devoted herself to raising her family full time. While it took time to get from there to here, writing has remained her utmost passion and being a stay-at-home mom facilitated her ability to follow that dream. When she is not writing, she keeps busy cruising to every Caribbean island where ships sail. Samantha Christy currently resides in St. Augustine, Florida with her husband and four children.
You can reach Samantha Christy at any of these wonderful places:
Website: www.samanthachristy.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaChristyAuthor
Twitter:
@SamLoves2Write
E-mail: [email protected]
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