"I found out this morning." Her eyes are bright with tears. "I wasn't sure, I've been feeling off for a few weeks, but I took the test and..." She laughs, a wet, happy sound. "We're having a baby, Cade."
The booties blur in my vision. My hands are shaking.
A baby. Our baby. A tiny person made from both of us, growing inside the woman I love.
"Say something," Natalie whispers. "You're scaring me."
I drop to one knee on the porch.
She gasps. "Cade, what are you..."
"I was going to wait." My voice comes out rough. "I had a whole plan. Dinner at the lodge. The ridge at sunset. But I can't wait anymore."
I reach into my pocket and pull out the ring I've been carrying for three months.
Natalie's hands fly to her mouth.
"I bought this the day Kevin's trial started," I tell her. "I wanted to wait until the case was resolved, until you were completely free. But then you walk in here and tell me we're having a baby, and I realize I'm done waiting. I've been done waiting since the moment you walked into my life."
"Cade." She's crying now, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You saved me, Natalie. You probably don't know that, but you did. I was barely surviving before you. Existing. Going through the motions. Then you showed up, bleeding and brave and so damn beautiful it hurt to look at you, and something inside me woke up."
I hold up the ring. Simple. Practical. A small diamond set low in a white gold band.
"I love you. I love our life. I love this cabin and these dogs and the way you hum while you're writing." I take a breath. "And I want to love our baby with you. As your husband. If you'll have me."
She drops to her knees in front of me, cupping my face in her hands.
"Yes." She kisses me. "Yes, yes, yes."
I slide the ring onto her finger. It fits perfectly.
"I can't believe you had a ring this whole time," she says, laughing through her tears.
"I can't believe you're pregnant."
"Surprise." She grins at me, and I see our whole future in her eyes. Babies and sleepless nights and first steps and scrapedknees. A life full of love and chaos and everything I never thought I'd have.
"Come on." I pull her to her feet. "We need to tell the team."
"Now?"
"Are you kidding? Vivian's going to lose her mind." I wrap my arm around her waist, my hand spreading possessively over her still flat stomach. "Besides, Deck owes me fifty bucks."
Natalie stops walking. "You bet on this?"
"He bet I wouldn't have the guts to propose before the trial ended. I bet I would." I grin at her. "Technically I proposed after, but I had the ring before. I'm counting it."
She shakes her head, but she's smiling. "I'm marrying an idiot."
"Yeah, you are." I kiss her temple. "But it’s an idiot who loves you."
We pile into the truck and head for the lodge. The whole drive, Natalie keeps looking at her ring, turning her hand to catch the light. Her other hand rests on her belly, protective and wondering.
She's going to be an amazing mother.
And me? I'm going to be a father.
