“You know I could report you to the medical board, and you would lose your license, right?”He’d stopped pacing to let his uncle see how serious he was right now.
“I am aware of that, and if that’s what you want to do, I won’t stop you.”He stood up and came around to stand before him.“You were determined to have it done.You even said you would do it yourself, and at the point in time, I didn’t doubt you would try.I know what I did was unethical, but I love you too much to see you throw away your chance at fatherhood.You loved Lizbet so much.”Jed jerked back at the sound of his daughter’s name.Unsurprisingly, the pain was as fresh now as it was when he lost her.“You were a damn good father.”
Jed took a moment to poke around at old wounds and discovered that after the initial shock of hearing someone talk about his baby girl, it didn’t hurt as badly.Since talking to Sadie about Lizbet, a weight had lifted from his shoulders.Was the weight of loss completely gone?No.And it never would be.But he was able to breathe a little easier now.
“Do you want me to report myself to the board so you don’t have to?I’ll do it if you want me to.”Uncle Lee looked so damn sincere and apologetic; he didn’t doubt he would do exactly that if Jed asked him.
“No.I don’t want you to turn yourself in, and I’m not going to either.”He swiped a hand over his mouth.“You’re right.I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to make that decision.I guess I should be thanking you for not going through with it, but it feels too weird.”
His uncle clasped his shoulder.“I understand.”He pulled him into a hug then said, “Now tell me about this woman you want to have kids with.”
They retook their seats, and he told the condensed version of how he and Sadie ended up together.He told him about what a strong woman she was and that she was raising her five-year-old nephew all by herself.He told him how he loved her sassy mouth and that he convinced her and her nephew to move in with him.And he told him how he planned to marry her.
After he finished telling Uncle Lee all about Sadie and their plans for the future, he left to go tell Sadie the good news.
* * *
Jed
He found Sadie in their bedroom putting away laundry when he got home.He swooped in behind her and wrapped her in his arms.“How was baby Ransom?”he asked as he nuzzled her neck.
Dropping her head back on his shoulder, she closed her eyes and gave him better access.“He was so adorable.Oliver’s gotten so big, I forgot what it was like to hold such a tiny baby.”
“You’ll be having one of those tiny little things soon enough, and you can hold it all you want.”His hand drifted lower, settling on the baby bump she could no longer fit into jeans.
“I know.It’s exciting and scary all at the same time.”
Jed turned her in his arms.“Why is it scary?You raised Oliver so you know what you’re doing.”
She shrugged a shoulder.“I don’t know.It just is.”She smoothed a lock of hair that had fallen over his brow to the side.“How did you visit with your uncle go?”
“I told him I was there to see about reversing the vasectomy.”His focus moved from one bright emerald green eye to the other.
“And?”Her hands slid into his back pockets, giving his ass a nice squeeze.
“And I almost lost my mind when he told me he never did it.”He watched her eyes widen, and her mouth fall open in shock.
“What?!He didn’t do the vasectomy?”The way her brows hit her hairline really was quite comical.
“Nope.”He smoothed his hands through her hair, mesmerized by the perfect shade of blonde.There was a whole range of shades, from white to caramel, making it look like she’d had it professionally done.He brushed his thumb over one perfectly shaped brow.
“What does that mean?”She was completely flabbergasted by his news.
He picked her up and tossed her on the bed, quickly following her to the middle.He moved between her spread legs and got comfortable as he explained.“It means, had I not been so anal about wearing a condom, or, God forbid, one broke, I could have left a trail of babies in my wake.”
She clamped her gaping mouth shut with a snap.Her brows dipped for another reason now.He knew that look.She was pissed.At the idea that his uncle didn’t do the surgery, or that he could be the father of some random woman’s child?He fought not to smile at her jealousy.
“Why would he do something like that and not tell you?”Her breath hitched as he started placing soft kisses along her brow and down her cheek.
“He said I wasn’t thinking clearly because I was still in mourning,” he spoke against her skin.“And he wouldn’t let me make such a rash decision.One that could affect the rest of my life.”He kissed the tip of her nose.
“How on earth did he convince you that he did the surgery?”
He explained everything his uncle told him, ending with a high note.“The good thing out of all this is I can give you babies.”
The smile that spread across her face was breathtaking.It was filled with such love and hope that it was damn near blinding.
“I guess if I hadn’t already been pregnant with Darren’s baby, you might have knocked me up by now.”
