“I plan to do both.”
Lyric clasped me on the shoulder. “You ready to go see your wife?”
The ache still sat heavy in my gut, a longing so sharp it bordered on pain. I needed to see my girl, to hold her in my arms again… and if we were lucky, to hear my baby’s heartbeat.
“More than ever,” I told my brother, picking Griffin up in my arms.
Gyth and Kace led the way toward our vehicle after saying their goodbyes as well; Lyric followed suit, and with one lastgoodbye to the sheriff and the nice doctor, we headed to the car that would take us to the woman I loved with all my heart.
We drove, and we drove. Griffin slept the whole way—having been out for the count the second we got going. I wasn’t sure I’d taken my eyes off him for more than a few seconds at a time in the few hours it took us to get to our destination.
By the time the hospital came into view, my son was awake in my arms again. And as we made our way to Patience’s room, I was buzzing like a live wire.
The anticipation built, the need to be with her grew stronger, and the determination to always protect my family was cemented deep within me.
When I pushed open her hospital room door and she turned her tired, beautiful brown eyes on me, a gasp seeping from her lush pink lips, my world righted itself in a way I’d never known it could again.
Setting Griffin down, he ran to his mom’s side, and I followed. It didn’t matter if some of the ladies were still there, or the guys were outside in the hall; I only had eyes for Patience.
Her hand lay protectively over her belly, a soft smile forming on her gorgeous face.
I picked our son up, and gently set him next to his mother, who reached one arm up and pulled him down next to her. I watched as they cried together; she kissed his head, and breathed him in.
Then her gaze focused on me, and I didn’t wait another second to round to the other side of the bed. I leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, then to her lips. Laying my palm on top of her hand, where she rested it on her tummy, a huge sigh burst from deep inside me.
“Our family is together,” she whispered.
We’re going to be okay.
“We’llalwaysbe together,” I whispered back.
Chapter Fifty-Five
PATIENCE
It had been a busy month.
August had been filled with healing since Sloane had put the car crash and Griffin’s abduction into play—one she was paying for in jail, along with her hired help. Although I wasn’t sure exactly what was going to happen to her yet since she didn’t seem to be mentally stable.
As for Chaz, he didn’t give a shit, but he also couldn’t be held accountable for Sloane’s actions. A little piece of me was disappointed about that. But they were out of our lives, and we were safe, that’s what mattered. We were concentrating on moving forward.
My baby boy wasn’t doing too badly, but sometimes that day crept in, and he would have a bad dream. Jett, having had experience with that himself, had been amazing with Griffin when those moments of fear reared their ugly heads.
He’d do anything for his son. And while I didn’t need official documents to say Griffin was his, I knew Jett was over the moon to have the paperwork finalized. The joy on my husband’s face at being named on our son’s birth certificate, and for Griffin to have his last name, made my heart happy.
I might have been biased, but Jett was pretty phenomenal when it came to a lot of things. He was attentive, protective, fun, loyal, and sexy as heck. He had also been by my side planning every aspect of our small ceremony that was just a little over a week away.
We’d even added more wonderful memories to our growing list. Our whole group had gone to the fair to watch Lyric’s parents’ group,Nights of Lyric’sperform. I’d been shocked when they summoned Jett and me up to the stage to sing. I was so nervous, but Jett was again my strength, and it felt incredible afterward.
I was about to add to that list once again. After everything that had happened, and having been a little jealous of River and Gemma, who already knew the sex of their babies, I had a blood test to find out the sex of our little bean.
What Jett didn’t know was that I’d gotten the results back, and with the help of one of our friends, I was going to surprise him along with everyone else—all but the baker anyway. I snickered to myself, excitement running through me as I looked at the three cakes Capri had made for our co-ed, triple baby shower.
Some may find it odd that the guys were at the shower, but us ladies didn’t bat an eye. Even the kids were there for the party. The group did a lot of things together—except, the sleepover. That was girls only.
“What are you laughing about?” Jett asked as he came up behind me, encircling his arms around me, his fingers splayed across my stomach.
That protective, loving gesture melted my insides.
