Where Does MY Heart Beat Now- Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Mae was busy decorating the living room with yellow streamers and balloons while her very pregnant daughter-in-law set out yummy snacks and plastic plates on the table Mae had covered with a pink tablecloth. Kate was wearing an adorable white and lavender plaid maternity shirt that tied above her belly, along with a pair of khaki pants and lavender Converse to match her shirt. She watched as Mae tacked the end of the streamers to the ceiling before the front door opened and Ava poked her head in with a wide grin on her face.

“Am I too early?” She questioned.

Kate shook her head and replied, “Nope.”

“Then, where are the gifts going?”

“Over there,” she pointed to the small table near the window.

Shortly after most of the women arrived, Kate helped Mae carry the cake into the living room and place it on the table with the rest of the snacks when the door opened and Cherrie stepped in with a gift in her hand. She immediately hurried over to her daughter after setting the gift down with the others.

“Mama? What are you doing here?” Kate asked when she saw her mother.

“Mae sent me an invitation, and so I had to come. There was no way I was going to miss my baby girl’s baby shower,” Cherrie held her back and looked at her belly, “Look at how big you are, baby. I can’t believe my little girl’s going to be a mama in just a few short weeks.”

“I’m getting nervous, Mama, but I’m so excited.”

“Don’t worry, baby. Being a mother is one of the greatest joys in life.”

Mae got everyone’s attention when she slapped her hand down on the gifts table, making them jump, “Thank you. Well, as you can probably guess this is a baby shower for our precious Kate, and thankfully that boy of mine and his group of raging terrors, including my husband, aren’t here to mess anything up. So, shall we have Kate cut this adorable cake that Mrs. Hamilton made?”

After every one of the ladies was enjoying a piece of the cake, Ava started to hand the gifts to Kate while one of her friends wrote down everything she received. Kate carefully opened a gift bag stuffed with pink tissue paper and pulled out a white dress covered with pink flowers.

“Thank you, Michelle, but you better hope the baby’s a girl.” Kate said to the redhead sitting beside Mae.

“You’re welcome.”

All of a sudden, the front door flew open and Sean trotted in with Gabriel right behind him. However, the Irish male gave the women quite a shock since he was completely nude and not even seeming to care that the women were watching. When Kate saw him walk by she just dropped her eyes to the floor and shook her head.

“Gabriel Irial Dawson! What in the name of Robert E. Lee are you doing?! Just because you’re very well endowed does not mean you can prance around the house naked in front of all of these women,” Mae scolded her son severely.

Kate spoke next with a raised eyebrow, “Do I even want to know what happened to your clothes, Gabriel?”

“Bo bucked him off in the Big Cypress,” Sean volunteered for his friend.

“Lovely.”

Ava’s eyes widened when she caught a glimpse of the Trinity knot tattoo on Gabriel’s lower body, “Whoa, that’s a bit of Gabriel that I didn’t need to see. No offense, Kate.”

Once all of the gifts were opened, Kate stood up, her hand on the top of her belly, and made her way around the room to give hugs and thanks. When she turned back around, Gabriel had returned from their bedroom, only by then he was fully clothed. He leaned against the wall with his arms folded over his chest.

“Hey, baby… Why don’t you show everyone the baby’s room? I’m sure they’d like to see it,” he suggested.

A bright smile shone on her face, and then she started for the nursery, “Come on, ladies. You have to see how cute the baby’s room is.”

As the group walked down the hallway they kept chattering away about Gabriel finally being a father after the tragedy he’d experienced before meeting Kate. Even though Kate wasn’t talking very much, she felt her husband grab onto her hand and squeeze it, making her smile widen. When they arrived at the baby’s room, Kate motioned for her friends and family to step inside, but when she entered she gasped.

“Oh, my God! How? Where? Who?” She hurried over to the white, wooden rocking chair sitting near the window with the yellow baby blanket draped over one of the arms.

“Well, a few days ago Sean and I ran across it when we were in Mt. Pleasant, and I remembered you telling me about wanting a rocker for the baby’s room… So I had to get it for you,” Gabriel wrapped his arms around her waist and grinned, “I hope you like it, honey.”

For a moment Kate didn’t know how to respond, “Oh, Gabriel… I love it! You have no idea how much this means to me,” she tenderly kissed him while the others looked around at the beautiful nursery.

“Kate, are you still going to the Round Mountain reenactment next month?” Beth asked.

“Yes… and before you say anything about me being due around that time, I’ll have you know I am not abandoning my husband even if it means giving birth right out there on the battlefield.”

 

Later that same evening after everyone had left Gabriel was helping his mother clean up the house when he found his wife rocking softly in her new chair with her hands resting on her swollen belly, her eyes gazing dreamily at it. When she felt his presence, her eyes flickered up to meet his, a warm smile glowing.

“It won’t be long, now. The baby’s moving around a lot more.”

Gabriel walked over to her and said, “Hopefully it’ll hold off until after Round Mountain.”

“I’m due before the reenactment, but that would also mean I’d have to carry the baby out in the cold during the battle.”

“Well, we’ll just have to worry about that later,” he kissed her and straightened.

She watched as he headed for the door, and replied, “You know, Gabriel, I love being pregnant and I’d have another baby in a heartbeat.”

“Let’s get through this pregnancy, first.”

 

The sound of the phone ringing woke Kate up the next morning. After stretching, she got out of bed and pulled on her housecoat before heading into the living room where she found her husband hanging up the phone with a half smile on his face.

“Honey, who was that?” She questioned with a yawn.

Gabriel gently kissed her on the cheek, “The general. There’s been a change of plans, Kate. They’ve pushed the reenactment of Round Mountain to the first weekend in February.”

“What? But the baby will be born around then. I’m due at that time.”

“I know, but I can’t let the boys down,” Gabriel headed for the kitchen with Kate right behind him, “Don’t worry, honey. You’ll be fine. Now, you might want to start packing… We leave in a week, and odds are it’s going to be cold up there.”

She watched as he kissed his mother on the cheek before pouring himself a glass of milk. Dear Lord, I sure hope this baby holds off until after the reenactment. I really don’t want to deliver while there, the thought crossed her mind as she felt the baby kick her lower belly, “Hey, why are you kicking Mommy, little one?”

After putting his glass in the sink, Gabriel gently kissed his wife and said, “Did you ever get any long-sleeved dresses made? You’ll need one.”

“Yeah, they’re with my others.”

“Good. Be sure to bring them.”