Evie practically jumps out of her chair. “I’m gonna have two little brothers!”
“Or maybe a sister,” I say, brushing her hair back.
She grins. “Doesn’t matter, I get to teach them how to throw a ball.”
We’re still laughing when Brynn suddenly bursts into tears.
“Brynn?” I ask, leaning forward. “Are you okay?”
She nods, trying to speak between tears. “I don’t want to steal your moment, I swear I don’t. But…we got a call from the adoption agency.”
Knox takes her hand, his eyes shining. “We’ve been selected. The baby’s due in four months.”
For a heartbeat, no one says a word. Then the room erupts.
Kinsey’s sobbing again, reaching across the table to grab Brynn’s hand. “You’re gonna be a mom, Brynn. Oh my god.”
Cam’s grinning ear to ear, clapping Knox on the back. “I’m calling you daddy from now on.”
Knox rolls his eyes as Brynn laughs through her tears, and I swear I’ve never seen her glow like this.
Kinsey wipes her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Okay, someone needs to open another bottle of wine before I lose it completely.”
Knox smirks. “While you’re at it, Kinsey, there’s something you should know.”
She narrows her eyes. “What now?”
“The high school’s starting a girls’ rugby program,” he says. “They need a coach.”
Kinsey blinks, momentarily stunned. “You’re kidding.”
Cam shakes his head. “He’s not.”
She looks at Knox. “So what does that have to do with me?”
Knox shrugs. “Well, you played in college, Cam and I were thinking you could easily shift into coaching.”
A slow grin spreads across her face. “Well…I guess I could think about it. Only downside would be working with you two.”
The room fills with laughter again—warm, familiar, home.
I look around at the faces that have become my family, at the man who made me believe in love, at the daughter who taught me what strength is, and the son who’s proof of what comes after fear.
This is everything I never thought I’d have—and somehow, everything I always wanted.
Cam
I’m leaning on the porch railing with Knox, two beers between us, crickets filling the pause between words. Inside, the girls are still at the table, voices bouncing in that soft, overlapping way that sounds like family.
Brynn’s glowing—hell, all of them are. And Kate…she’s sitting there with her hair falling loose over her shoulders, smiling at something Kinsey said, one hand resting absentmindedly on her stomach.
My wife. The mother of my children. My entire world, sitting right there at our dining room table.
Knox breaks the quiet first, taking a slow sip. “Crazy how so much has changed over the past couple of years.”
“Feels like I got lucky,” I say. “So fucking lucky.”
He grins. “That’s how it happens. One day, you’re flying solo. Next thing you know, you’re the guy hanging string lights and making dinosaur pancakes.”
