There’s a spark of something in her expression I can’t quite place. She flips a sheet of paper and points to the section labeled father’s information. There, clear as day, written in permanent ink is my name. My eyes sting, and my throat goes dry. “Yeah. Yeah, it looks perfect.”
Angie smiles, phone in hand, snapping photos of me with my little girl.Mine.Officially.
“You alright there, Daddy?”
I let out a watery chuckle. “Never better, Angel. Never better.”
I feel those three little words creeping into my consciousness again, but I swallow them down. I don’t want Angie to think my love for her is contingent on having my name on Jessie’s birth certificate. I love them both in ways I can’t even begin to describe, but I loved Angie long before Jessie stole the other piece of my heart.
Angie’s laughter interrupts my thoughts. “Do you know what day it is?”
My brow furrows. “February second. You just wrote it on the paperwork.”
“No. Not the date. Theday.” She giggles again, holding her phone facing me. “It’s National Tater Tot Day.”
I grin. “Fucking perfect. Daddy’s little tater tot.”
A tap at the door draws my attention, and Olivia peers around the corner. “Can we come in?”
“Get in here, Livie. Meet your new niece.” I do the best I can to swaddle her in one of the blue and pink hospital blankets and transfer her into Olivia’s arms.
She immediately lifts the matching hat. “Evie told us she has a lot of hair, but I wasn’t expecting that much.”
“Italian and Greek,” Angie says. “She didn’t stand a chance.”
Our baby girl doesn’t look anything like Tyler, not that I would love her any less if she did. He’ll be out of our lives for good as soon as the paperwork is signed. As far as Jessie is concerned, I’m her daddy and the only man she’ll ever need in her life.
Yeah, I know. Someday she’ll grow up and fall in love with someone who doesn’t deserve her, but hopefully by then, I’ll have done my job in showing her the kind of love and respect she deserves—not only in the way I care for her, but in the way I worship the ground her mother walks on.
“She’s gorgeous,” Olivia says. “And I’m not just saying that.”
I’m already itching to snatch Jessie out of Olivia’s arms and keep her for myself, but I manage to dull the impulse. Will it always be like this? From the moment she was born, I’ve had this incessant need to shelter her in my arms and make sure she’s safe and happy. It’s agonizing.
Olivia transfers the tiny bundle into Wilder’s arms. His palm engulfs the back of her head as he stares down at her.
“Hey, Jessie girl,” he murmurs, his voice hoarse. I know then he’s not with us anymore—his mind is somewhere in the past. After a few heartbeats, he glances at my wife, her eyes glistening as something unspoken passes between them. “You did good, Ange.”
She narrows her gaze at him. “You’re not allowed to make me cry, Wilder Hayes.”
He chuckles. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Ok, give me back my baby,” I tell him.
Angie laughs. “You’re gonna have to learn how to share her, you know?”
I scoff. “It’ll be a cold day in hell.”
Wilder places Jessie in my arms and clamps a hand on my shoulder. “Welcome to the club, brother. It’s the best goddamn thing in the world… and Hell on Earth.”
Olivia and Wilder depart a short while later, and soon they’re replaced by Callie and Jaxon.
We entertain a steady stream of visitors over the course of several hours. Jessie seems content to sleep through just about anything, but Angie’s energy waned a long time ago. The last twenty-four hours have been a whirlwind, and she’s been a rockstar through it all. She’s earned her rest.
I pull out my phone and text everyone we know, thanking them for their well-wishes and requesting privacy for the rest of the day. Once that’s done, I settle onto the bed beside my wife and daughter, running my fingers through Angie’s hair until she drifts off to sleep with Jessie on her chest, and my entire heart in the palm of her hand.
The next morning, as we’re awaiting the official discharge paperwork, Caroline and Shawn arrive with a huge bouquet of sunflowers.
Shawn sets them in front of the window while Caroline heads straight for Angie, perching herself on the side of the bed, and wrapping her in a hug. “How are you feeling, my darling?”
