Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
“He bawled his eyes out when you moved out of The Pit,” I combatted. “So, yeah, I’m with Mary on this one.”
Mary smirked as Leo flicked me in the arm.
December in the Rockies was beautiful. Fresh snow covered the trees and mountains outside the windows of the massive cabin Clay and Giana had found for us, and a fire roared by the Christmas tree as the house hummed with the warmth of conversation.
We were all in the middle of busy seasons. The race for the playoffs was on, and every single one of our teams had a shot — whether we were top seeded or fighting for a wild card slot. But when Giana had Atlas, she’d insisted that we all find time to pause and get together in-between Christmas and New Year’s.
We had a new family member, and Giana wanted to set the precedent now that when this happened, we found the time whether we had it to spare or not.
Some of us were only here for one night, but we were here.
By the fire, Giana, Madelyn, and Riley were curled up on the couch and chatting, all of them sipping hot chocolate.
Zeke, Holden, and Sebastian were on the floor in front of the girls with their eyes cast up toward the television. They were playing Donkey Kong on the ancient gaming system the cabin had provided.
Julep was in the kitchen washing dishes and smirking to herself as she watched her husband getting far too into the video game, and the rest of us were gathered around the dining table still half-littered with remnants of the dinner I cooked.
“So, how are you feeling, Dad? Other than exhausted,” I added, clapping Clay on the shoulder.
His smile was tired but filled with joy I’d never seen as he stared at where Braden still held tight to Atlas — who was now wide-eyed and looking around while his little legs kicked, and soft baby gurgles left his mouth.
“I’ve never been this tired in my life,” he admitted. “Not even during my first semester at NBU when I was trying to figure out how to juggle football and college classes.” He shook his head on a smile. “But I’ve never been this happy, either.”
“He’s become quite a pro at changing diapers, I hear,” Julep called from the sink.
Clay brushed his shoulder off. “I can have him changed in sixty seconds flat.”
“Well, you get to show us your record-breaking skills in action,” Braden said, wrinkling his nose a little as he passed Atlas to Clay. “Smells worse than the locker room.”
“Impossible,” Clay said, taking his son into his arms and tapping his nose. “You poop roses, don’t you, Atlas?”
I chuckled, taking a swig of my beer as Clay disappeared down the hall to change Atlas. Mary and Leo started in on Braden, asking him when he was going to be bringing a special someone to these events, but my gaze had drifted to Madelyn.
She was mid-laugh, absentmindedly rubbing her belly as she listened to Giana, no doubt regaling her and Riley with the water birth story. Where Giana had found it spiritual and beautiful, Clay had been scared to death, his cell phone clutched in his hand should he have to call the ambulance.
But it had gone off without a hitch, their midwife leading the way, and now Atlas was already two weeks old.
Seeing Madelyn laugh made it easier for me to breathe. God only knew the last few months of our lives had been filled with the highest highs and the lowest lows. We had a baby girl on the way — healthy, as far as we could tell from the tests run so far. Sebastian couldn’t wait to be a big brother. He was even helping me put the nursery together. And we had enough room at the house that Madelyn’s parents had come to stay with us for a few weeks — both to help around the house for the holidays since I was still in full swing for the season, and to be there navigating the custody trial with us.
That had been the source of most of the lows.
If I thought I’d seen Marshall pissed off before, it was nothing compared to when he found out Madelyn was pregnant. He’d threatened to not only get full custody of Sebastian, but to find a way to rip our daughter from us as soon as she was born, too.
I didn’t know what fucking planet he lived on where he thought either of those things were possible.
I wasn’t the least bit afraid of that punk ass bitch, but Madelyn had years of being on the receiving end of his worst blows. She’d sobbed in my arms, so sure he had something up his sleeve to do everything he promised he would.
When we failed to find an agreement during mediation, I told our lawyer that I was done with Marshall’s shit.