The doctor holds up a squirming, red-faced baby boy and announces, “You’ve got a healthy son.”
I break. Tears stream down my cheeks as they place him on my chest. Will leans in, eyes glassy, and kisses both our foreheads.
We made him.
We made this.
“He’s perfect,” I whisper.
Will touches his tiny hand, his voice thick. “Welcome to the world, little man.”
Then he looks at me like I am the world.
“You did it, sugar.”
I smile, exhausted and overjoyed. “We did.”
A month later, the house is quieter but fuller. The tools from our renovation projects are tucked away. The to-do lists have faded from the chalkboard in the kitchen, replaced with feedings, nap windows, and sweet little notes Will leaves me in the margins. Notes likeYou’re doing amazing, andI’ll handle the laundry—go nap with our boy.
Our son is asleep on my chest now, a soft bundle of warmth and baby lotion. His little breaths puff against my collarbone, and his fingers twitch like he’s dreaming of riding horses already.
I sit on the couch in the living room, wrapped in one of Will’s flannels, my hair in a messy bun, and not a drop of makeup on. And yet, when Will walks in from feeding the chickens, helooks at me like I’m still the girl who walked down the aisle with wildflowers in her hair and a baby in her belly.
He smiles, slow and smitten. “You two are my whole damn world.”
I grin sleepily. “We know.”
He crosses the room, kisses Billy’s head first then mine. “How’d the feeding go?”
“He chugs like his daddy drinks sweet tea.”
Will chuckles and drops onto the couch beside me, throwing an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close. “He’s got good taste.”
We sit like that for a while, the kind of silence that only exists when two people know each other by heart. Outside, the late spring wind rustles the trees. Inside, our son stirs and settles, and the scent of cedarwood and baby powder wraps around us like a memory in the making.
“How’d the doctor appointment go?”
He wanted to come, but Charlie insisted on taking me and little Billy. Said it was bonding time or some nonsense. I can still see the way he’d looked at me before we left, like his body was already aching to be near mine again.
“Well,” I say, keeping my tone casual as I stand, “there’s something I want to show you.”
His eyebrow arches with curiosity, and when I turn, he follows with no hesitation.
I carry Billy to his room, placing him gently in the crib and brushing a kiss across his soft cheek. Then I take Will’s hand and lead him to our bedroom, the air between us thick with unspoken things.
As soon as the door closes, he’s watching me like he knows something’s coming.
“Is everything okay?” he asks, voice low and careful.
“More than okay,” I murmur, sliding my arms around his neck and pressing my body to his. “The doctor cleared me for everything.”
His eyes flare.
“And by everything,” I breathe, tugging his bottom lip between my teeth for a beat, “I mean I need my Daddy to fill me up. Right. Now.”
His growl is more animal than man as his hands find my hips, and just like that, the waiting is over. His mouth crashes down on mine, hungry and possessive, like he’s been starved for this. For me. His hands roam my body with a desperation that sends shivers straight through me. One slides into my hair, fisting gently as he tilts my head back, deepening the kiss until I’m breathless.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this,” he rasps against my lips. “Every damn night, holding you, not touching you. It about drove me insane.”
