I’m too shocked to speak.
“Maybe you should talk about it with Johnny first,” Colt suggests carefully.
Johnny steps forward, grinning. “It’s okay. Anna and I have already talked about it… back after the accident. We agreed that when you were ready, Anna would offer. She wants to do this. And even though the thought of my best friend’s swimmers inside my wife makes me wanna hurl a little,” he says, grinning wider. “I know it’s the right thing. We want to help you guys. We won’t take no for an answer.”
“Well, that’s not exactly how it works, but I get the generalization,” I say with a laugh before emotion clogs my throat.
Colt walks over to me, cupping my face with his hands. His eyes are so full of love, so full of hope, mine immediately well with tears.
“What do you think, Dee?” he asks, his voice rough as he wipes away a tear rolling down my cheek.
I turn to Anna, who’s biting her lip, smiling so big it hurts to look at her. “Anna… you really need to think this through. There’s a ton of counseling. And all three eggs could take, and you could end up carrying triplets. There’s so much that could hap—”
“I know,” she says without hesitation, interrupting me. “I know everything that goes into it. I have done all the research. And I don’t care. I would carry ten babies if it meant giving you a family. I want to do this. Iamdoing this.”
I laugh, half in disbelief, half in awe.
Even Colt lets out a short laugh and says, “Well, I’m not knocking anyone up, but I’ll let my little swimmers find their way to Dee’s egg in a dish in a lab.”
We all burst out laughing, the heavy emotion breaking enough.
Anna steps closer, her hands gripping mine. “Please, Dee. Let me do this. For both of you.”
I turn back to Colt. He dips his chin in a slow, silent yes.
I bite my lip, tears brimming, and finally nod.
Anna squeals, bouncing in place, then wraps her arms around me so tight I almost drop my crutches. I clutch her back just as fiercely, overcome with emotion.
“Thank you, Anna. You don’t know how much this means to us,” Colt says, placing a hand gently on her shoulder.
“It’s my pleasure. Thanks for letting me,” she says, pulling back to look at me.
Beautiful, selfless Anna.
My best friend.
My baby’s future life-giver.
“Thank you,” I whisper, and she leans in, hugging me again.
And for the first time in a long time, I believe it’s really going to happen.
Our family.
Our future.
Chapter Thirteen
DEE
Colt helps me upstairs to our bedroom after spending the afternoon with Anna and Johnny. We ended up staying for dinner, celebrating the amazing gift they’re giving us.
I’m still floating, buzzing with gratitude, love, and a hope so fierce it practically hums under my skin. Neither of us can stop smiling from the best day ever as Colt helps me out of my clothes, his touch soft, reverent, like he’s feeling it all just as much as I am.
“I can’t believe it. I honestly thought it would take us months to narrow down a list of possibilities. I never even thought for one minute that Anna would want to do it,” Colt says as he pulls off my panties, then drags a waterproof bag over my cast, and secures a rubber band around the top ready for our shower. He yanks off his clothes quickly as Princess rolls around on the floor with her stuffed toy rabbit. I laugh at her while Colt bends down to help me up. I stand naked next to his shirtless body and peer down at his pants.
“Why don’t you join me in the shower?” I say with a raised eyebrow, and my hands make their way to his belt buckle. He grins as I undo his pants, and they fall to the floor. Surprisingly, he’s wearing no underwear, and I smile at him when he springs free.
