“Let me see my baby,” he says as he pulls away, reaching for Dorothea. I pass her over, and tears pool in my eyes as I watch him cradle her against his chest, kissing the top of her head over and over. I need to tell him. I so badly need to tell him.
I get to my feet, running my hands over my pajama pants to get rid of my sweaty palms. I don’t know why I’m nervous about this. He’s going to besohappy. We talked about this before, many times. And it’s not that we didn’t realize this could happen…we knew it could. Hell, we knew it would. We never used protection, not once. And maybe that was stupid. I should let my body heal more after just having Dorothea, but that didn’t feel right. If I’m meant to be pregnant, I’ll be pregnant. I trust Grizz with my life, and with our child’s life. That’s why it was so hard to believe what happened, and why it hurt so much. It didn’t make sense. But now that I have the full story? Well, I can make sense of it all.
Am I still upset? Yeah, I am. He lied to me. But I’m starting to understand why he did it. It was to protect us, and sure, there was anger in there, too. Spite, and the need to get revenge. Had he just killed Gunner, we’d have had a different conversation. But he kept him for… weeks, if I think about it.
I’ve always known what he’s capable of, and maybe I should be afraid of him for it, but I’m not. I’m grateful. Grateful to have a man who wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone who threatens me and our family.
So yes, I am still upset with him for lying, and I hope he knows moving forward there will be no more lies. Even if it’s something I don’t want to hear, he better tell me. I won’t forget what happened, but I can move forward because I love him.Enough. Not only enough, but more than I can fathom. I want a futurewith him, and I am so glad we were able to work this out. I am so happy that he isn’t a horrible person like I thought he was for a short time. And seeing him now, with our daughter, whispering sweet things to her, I want to melt.
He leans down, puckering his lips and I smile as I lean up to kiss him. His arm comes around me, pulling me close.
“I love you,” he whispers against my hair, kissing my head. “I love you so much, and I can’t wait for you to come home.”
“I just need to pack,” I say.
“I’ll help you. Whatever you need, I’ll get it done.”
I give him a smile, but it’s forced, and it’s clear he knows that.
“What’s wrong?” he asks softly, rocking Dorothea gently.
Lucian disappeared at some point, the pancake mix and made pancakes still sitting on the counter. I appreciate him being able to read the room, or maybe he just didn’t want to see us making out like teenagers.
“Uh… there’s still something I need to talk to you about.”
His brow furrows and he stops moving. “What is it?”
He thinks something is wrong, and I hate that.
Just tell him, Anastacia. Just say it!
I ring my hands together and look him in the eye.
“I’m… pregnant.”
He blinks at me, almost comically. Then a whoosh of air leaves his lungs. “You’re pregnant?” he asks. I nod. “With my baby?” It isn’t accusatory or like he doesn’t believe me, it’s just like he can’t believe it at all.
“Yes,” I say with a small shrug. “We’re having another baby.”
His face goes blank, and then the biggest smile splits his face. His gaze drops to my belly, and then he drops to his knees, still holding Dorothea close to him. He lifts my shirt up and presses a kiss to my stomach before pressing his cheek against it.
“I love you.”
I know it isn’t meant for me—and I am completely okay with it.
Epilogue
Grizz
Six months later…
“Come on, baby, you can do it. You can do it! Come to dada.” I hold my arms out, opening and closing my hands toward Dorothea. She’s standing in the grass about ten feet from me, looking at me with the biggest smile. Her arms are outstretched, and every now and then she slaps them down onto her legs, which are trembling a little. “Come on, sweet pea. Come here.”
She takes a step, then another, then falls on her butt.
“You did it!” I run to her, swooping her up and spinning her around. She laughs uncontrollably, then I pull her to my chest and hug her. “Your mama is going to be so mad she missed it, but you can do it again for her, can’t you?”
“Uh-oh, what did she miss now?” Tommy says as he comes around the house, hammer in hand.
