“Tessa picked it.” Blake’s voice was rough. Wrecked. The kind of wrecked that only comes from watching someone you love bring new life into the world. “I just agreed to everything she said.”
“Smart man.” Ryker moved to stand beside Faith, his arm sliding around her waist like it belonged there. “Happy wife, happy life. That’s the secret.”
“The secret is epidurals,” Tessa said from the bed, her voice tired but amused. “The secret is definitely epidurals.”
Scarlett laughed, leaning into Jace’s chest. “Noted for future reference.”
Jace’s hand tightened on her hip, and I caught the look that passed between them. The kind of look that said future reference wasn’t hypothetical.
“Who wants to hold her first?” Blake asked, though his grip on Ellie suggested he wasn’t entirely ready to let go.
“Me.” Faith stepped forward immediately, arms already extended. “Aunt privileges. I’m invoking them.”
Blake hesitated.
“Blake”—Tessa’s voice was gentle but firm—“give your sister the baby.”
He transferred Ellie into Faith’s arms with the kind of care usually reserved for handling nuclear material, and I watched something shift in the room. Faith’s face transformed. Softened. Lit up in a way that made Ryker go completely still beside her.
I caught the look on his face. Want. Not the desperate kind. The patient kind. The kind that said,Someday, when she’s ready, I’m going to give her this.
Man. These people. This room full of chaos and love and terrible life choices that had somehow led to the best outcomes.
“All right”—Tessa pointed at me—“your turn.”
I froze. “My turn for what?”
“To hold her.”
“I’m good.”
“Knox.”
“I’ll drop her.”
“You won’t drop her.”
“I haven’t had practice with fragile things in a long time, Tessa.”
“And now you’re going to hold a baby.” Harper pushed me toward Faith with surprising strength for someone half my size. “Consider it character development.”
Faith was already extending her arms, and before I could protest further, seven pounds of new human was being transferred into my hands.
Everything stopped.
I looked down at Ellie Morrison, at her scrunched-up face and tiny fists, and felt something crack open in my soul, realizing I hadn’t missed this.
I hadn’t missed a milestone like this, one of my best friends becoming a father.
“You’ve got her,” Harper murmured, her hand on my back. “You’re doing great.”
I wasn’t sure if she meant the baby or the emotions threatening to drown me.
Maybe both.
“She’s got your nose,” I said to Blake because I had to say something. Had to break the spell before I did something embarrassing. Like tear up in front of my brothers.
“Poor kid,” Axel quipped.
