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“The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck.”

My hand flew to my mouth again.

“What?” I asked with tears in my eyes.

“That’s why his heart rate kept dropping. They got him out in time.”

“Is he okay?”

“Yeah. They are checking him over, but he is crying, breathing, and raising hell.”

I laughed through my tears.

“That sounds like your child.”

“Exactly what I said,” Daddy said with a smile.

MJ shook his head.

“Nah. If he’s raising hell, that’s Ma.”

Daddy looked at him.

“You better not tell her that shit.”

That finally made all of us laugh. It wasn’t even that funny. I think we just needed to laugh. I walked over and crouched in front of Daddy.

“You really brought them back.”

His smile faded just a little as he reached for my hand.

“I told you I got you.”

I leaned forward and hugged him carefully, remembering his hip at the last second. Daddy kissed the side of my head. Behind me, I heard MJ ask when we could see Mama and the baby, but I stayed where I was for another second. My mother was okay, my brother was okay, and Daddy was right here handling everything like he normally would. For the first time all night, I could breathe.

Chapter 21

Penelope

By ten o’clock, I had changed my shirt twice and decided I hated both for no real reason.

It wasn’t like Daddy was taking me anywhere that required me to dress up. He had simply told me he wanted to take me to breakfast while he was in town, but I hadn’t seen him in a few weeks, and breakfast with him had never really been just breakfast. We could start with pancakes and somehow end up shopping, looking at one of his newest properties, or sitting somewhere talking until the afternoon disappeared on us.

I finally settled on the first shirt that I had put on, grabbed my purse from the bed, and checked my phone while walking toward the living room. MJ had texted me earlier that morning to tell me his baby brother had arrived. That message had come after hours of wondering what happened once I had left his family’s house. I had barely gotten good in my sleep when MJ called to tell me that his mother had gone into labor, and by the time I woke up that morning, he had finally sent word that both she and the baby were okay.

There hadn’t been much more than that, but I knew enough not to bother him with questions while his family was still at the hospital. I sent him a heart beneath his last message and slipped my phone into my purse. I sighed a bit as I prepared to see my dad. He had been asking about MJ since the first time I accidentally mentioned him, and I already knew I wasn’t getting through breakfast without an interrogation disguised as casual conversation. Daddy would start with something innocent, probably ask what MJ did for work or school, and twenty minutes later I’d realize he knew his middle name, credit score, and every address he’d lived at since birth.

The thought made me shake my head as I headed for the door. I was checking my purse for my keys when my phone rang. I went to my living room window and moved the long blind with one finger to see one of my father’s black trucks idling outside.

Daddy

“I’m coming,” I answered.

“I didn’t say anything yet.”

“You didn’t have to. I know you’re downstairs.”

Daddy chuckled.