He rests his chin on my shoulder as his palm swipes across my belly. “Anything for you and tater tot.”
I lean into his embrace, still looking up at the ceiling mural with a dawning realization. “Is that a horse? Did she actually make some of them into shapes?”
I feel him nod against me. “That was my idea. I thought it would be fun to find them all with Jessie when she’s older.”
When she’s older.
The words promise permanence—a future with Griffin in our lives and at our side. First steps, first words, first everything. He wants to be there for all of it.
It’s not that he’s ever given me cause to doubt his sincerity, but the closer I get to my due date, the more everything is starting to sink in. This isn’t some elaborate dream I’ve created for myself in the wake of Tyler’s betrayal. This is my life now—every bit as real as the man holding me in his arms.
I thought going from living with Tyler to living with Griffin would somehow mean I’d be settling all over again. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I don’t feel like I have to compromise myself for his benefit, and there’s an unexpected freedom in that.
I can’t quite pinpoint when everything changed for me—when this place and this man started to feel like home. Maybe it wasn’t one moment, but a gradual merging of his life and mine to create something uniquely ours.
Chapter 30
Dick Measuring Contest
? Jealous - Nick Jonas
36 weeks: Baby is the size of a chihuahua
Angelina
Autumn blurred into winter—notthe snowy landscape, crisp frosty morning kind, but the gloomy grey skies and wet ground kind that makes you dread the day ahead. Combine those dreary days with persistent back pain and the constant urge to pee, and you have the perfect blend of misery.
Christmas lights shone from every home on the ranch, and ours was no exception. It turns out Griffin Hayes is a big fan of the holidays. He’d even taken to walking around with a sprig of ‘mistletoe’ in his back pocket, so he had an excuse to get down on his knees and kiss my belly. I didn’t have the heart to tell him it was holly, not mistletoe.
On December 23rd, Olivia went into labor, and one day later, on Ruby’s birthday, Elsie Rose was born. While Olivia and Wilder were preoccupied with the new baby, Jaxon andCallie presented Emmy and Gracie with their Christmas present—a fluffy highland cow named Poppy.
The news went down about as well as you would expect, but there isn’t a return policy on livestock, and Wilder could never disappoint his girls. As penance for his misdeeds, Jaxon built Poppy her own shelter next to the big barn, complete with a name plate painted by Emmy Lou herself.
Just after midnight on New Year’s Day, the twins were born. Alice and Annie Hayes were just under five pounds each. They spent a few weeks in the NICU before coming home to meet their doting big brother, Atticus. Wherever the twins are, you’re sure to find Atticus looming nearby.
The end of January brings the first big snow of the season, blanketing all of Oak Ridge and the mountains in the distance. The early morning sun sparkles across the landscape like it’s made of diamonds as I pull into my parking spot across from the clinic.
I push through the front door and kick the snow off my boots and onto the welcome mat. These days, my belly arrives before I do, and Marnie’s wide-eyed gaze confirms as much.
I stop dead in my tracks, planting my hand on my hip. “My eyes are up here.”
“The OB office is two blocks that way,” she quips. “We don’t do humans here.”
If there’s one thing I’m gonna miss about this place when I’m on my maternity leave, it’s Marnie’s cunty morning banter.
“Never change, Marnie.”
She snorts and picks up a nail file as I waddle past her into my office. That’s new, too—I waddle now.
What a privilege.
It wasn’t all that long ago that I was a bad bitch in stilettos and leather pants. Sometimes I miss that version of me, but then I remember this version is all she ever wanted. Motherhoodis a dream fulfilled. Stilettos and leather pants will be waiting for me on the other side of swollen feet and Braxton-Hicks contractions. I’m still me, I just have another title to add beside Doctor—Mom.
The office door swings open, and Micah rushes in. “You might want to sit down for this.”
“Are you quitting? Please say you’re not quitting. I can’t live without you.”
He shakes his head, his eyes darting to the door. “Worse. Tyler’s here.”
