I nod. “Damn right she did.”
Tamara moves toward her, crouching gently beside the couch. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Carina nods, but something in her face softens. “Tired, leaky. Emotionally unstable.”
Tamara just reaches out and squeezes her hand. “All part of the magic, right?”
Ivy stirs slightly with a wrinkle of her nose and a sleepy sigh. Eli steps closer, gaze locked on her. “That’s wild. She looks like a tiny Hutchy goalie baby.”
Tamara moves over to me, her eyes sharp but warm. She leans in, wrapping one arm around my waist.
“You’re doing good, Papa Hutch.”
I don’t say anything. Just nod once, because I can feel Carina’s eyes on me, and if I speak, I might fucking break.
Across the room, Eli clears his throat and turns to open the gift bag. “We didn’t know what you’d need,” he says gruffly. “So we got diapers and whiskey. You can decide who gets which.”
Carina lets out a soft laugh. “I vote I get both.”
Tamara grins. “Atta girl.”
Zoe and Chase start arguing over who gets couch space to hold the baby next, while Jake disappears into the kitchen and starts making tea for everyone. Logan’s tossing treats to Gremlin and managing Theo and Meadow with Lulu’s help.
And Carina sinks deeper into the pillows, eyes half-lidded, watching it all unfold like she’s found the best kind of chaos.
The last knock this time is polite. Two short taps, no bursting through and shouting, no one brandishing a taxidermied duck.
When I open the door, Heidi’s standing there with a tote bag slung over her shoulder, her dark hair pinned back in a low bun and a grin already stretching wide. Viktor looms behind her in his black leather jacket and jeans, carrying a ridiculously oversized stuffed sloth.
“Heidi,” I say, stepping back.
“Reid.” She hands me a paper bag. “For Carina. Raspberry oat muffins that help with lactation and some herbal stuff she probably won’t drink unless you guilt-trip her.”
“Perfect.”
Viktor nods once in greeting, then lumbers in behind her. He stops when he sees Carina, and for a second, something shifts.
Heidi’s face softens. “Hey, Park.”
Carina smiles, eyes watery. “Hey, Grant.”
Heidi scoots in next to her and leans in, her lip trembling at the sight of Ivy.
“Oh, Carina,” she breathes, and then they’re hugging.
It’s not long, but it’s the first real exhale I’ve seen from Carina all day. The kind that only comes when someone who knows every hard edge of you shows up to hold something sacred with you.
“You look wrecked,” Heidi murmurs, pulling back. “But in a good way.”
Carina hums. “I am.”
“I brought you padsicles and perineal spray.”
“I love you more than any man I’ve ever met.”
“Obviously.”
Across the room, Viktor is watching them with quiet curiosity. Then he glances at me, like he’s checking if he’s allowed toapproach. I nod toward the Carina, where Ivy’s stirring in her arms.
