“Yeah, I imagine you have a lot of karma coming your way.” She pushes another fallen strand away from her face.
“Can you sit up a bit?” I stand and rummage through the small front pocket of her suitcase to find a hair elastic. Then wedge myself next to her and comb my fingers through her blonde hair.
“What are you doing?” She turns her face toward me, and I place my fingertips on her jaw, lightly pushing her gaze toward the far wall.
“Your hair is clearly driving you nuts. Hell, watching you constantly fucking with it is drivingmenuts. And your hands are full, so let me fix it.“ Startingat her crown, I fold sections of hair over one another. She’s long since given up on keeping the hospital gown in its right place, so I kiss her bare shoulder as I work.
“You know how to braid?”
“Sweetheart, I wasbornto be a girl dad.”
She snorts a small laugh. Tying off the long braid, I press my lips to the skin behind her ear. “I’ve braided my fair share of manes and tails over the years. Just saying, I’m pretty fucking great at it. This bad boy isn’t going anywhere.” I give the braid a light, playful tug, and she leans into it.
Tucking her body under my arm, we become entirely transfixed by the seven-pound-three-ounce miracle in her arms. Tiny, raspy baby breaths fill my heart until I think my chest might burst. She lets out a small whimper, which Cass is quick to calm with a gentle shushing sound. They’re perfect. And I know I’m not—far from, really—but I’m working at it. For them, I’ll be everything. I’ll do everything.
“You saved me, you know,” I say with a hushed voice, trying to disguise the lump in my throat and the tears pricking at my eyes.
Cass tilts her head to look at me, and the corner of her mouth quirks up. “Somebody had to—happy it was us.”
There’s a knock on the door just as Cass is finishing breastfeeding. I jump from the bed, where I’ve been watching in awe at how incredible of a mom she is already. “I’ll tell them you need some more time.”
“It’s okay—she got too milk drunk and passed out again. They’ve all been downstairs for hours waiting to be allowed up to visit. Just let me put my boob away.”
“You’re amazing. You know that?”
“You’ve only told me four hundred times in the five hours since she was born.”
“If I said it every time the thought popped up in my head, it would be three times that number…at least.” I can’t wipe the smile that’s been on my face since the moment I realized my girls were going to be okay. Once she gives me a nod to indicate she’s covered, I open the door—a tidal wave of family nearly knocking me on my ass.
So many people in the room, yet you could hear a pin drop with the way they all silently fawn over the sleeping baby.
Denny drops my truck keys into my palm and pulls me into a tight hug. “Love you, man. Can’t believe you have a kid.”
I jam the keys into my pocket, never taking my eyes off Cassidy, although the people swarming her keep disrupting my view. “You’re telling me.”
A massive hand smacks me firmly on the back. Turning to find Dave next to me, my stomach drops—but only for a second. I’ve never seen a grin quite as large as his, and his eyes are watery when he gives me an approving nod. “Congratulations. She’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, I think Cass and I spent a full hour staring at her in silence earlier.”
“Thank you for taking care of her today. Keeping her safe. I’m sure you were shitting yourself—I fainted when Cassidy was born, and that was in the hospital with doctors and nurses helping. I can’t imagine.”
“Honestly, there wasn’t much time to panic. It happened so fast, and I think I subconsciously knew we couldn’t both be freaking out. Plus, Blair was on the phone to walk me through everything during and after. Cass is the one who deserves praise. She did the hard part.”
“Well, I’m glad she had you there. I might’ve misjudged you before—sorry for that.” He pats my back again. “I think that baby girl’s lucky to have you. Cass, too.”
I give him a nod, so taken aback by the shift in his attitude I don’t know how to respond. “Thanks, Dave.”
He steps in close to hug Cass, then eagerly takes the tiny swaddled pink bundle into his huge arms. And I get why he didn’t like or trust me—I understood it at the surface level before, but now Iget it. Hazel’s only been in Cassidy and my arms before now. And I know the people in this room will protect our little girl with their lives, but it still makes my mouth dry up watching as everybody gets their turn to hold her. Passing her casually from person to person. No way I’m ever trustinganyonewith my baby girl.
“Okay… even though you said you didn’t need one, we planned a little surprise baby shower for you for this weekend.” Kate announces, passing Hazel along to Beryl. “But I’m guessing you won’t want a party anytime soon. So we brought our presents and… are you guys coming back to the ranch?” Her eyes cut between me and Cass until she gets a nod. “Perfect. Well, all the food we made will be in your fridge there.”
“Thanks, Kate.” Cass smiles. Despite how exhausted I know she is, she’s glowing.
Cecily hands over a gift bag full of baby books—unsurprising considering she almost always has a book in her hand. “I don’t know which board books are the best, so I might’ve gone overboard buying anything that looked cute.”
Cassidy pulls out a John Deere book about tractors, and Cecily adds, “That’sAustin’s contribution, if you couldn’t tell.”
Denny laughs, poking Aus in the ribs. “Looks like his reading level.”
