Total pages in book: 168
Estimated words: 162369 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 812(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 541(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162369 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 812(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 541(@300wpm)
“Do you really love me more than a dog loves his butt scratched?” she teases as I approach her.
“Ten times more.” I bow down to kiss her, and her lips taste of honey from her tea.
She peeks up at me from behind her hair and grabs my hand. “Good, because I need you to take me to the hospital.”
I suck in a breath. “Now? Holy shit…” I blink at her, frozen with surprise and excitement and an intense fear that’s threatening to devour the first two.
Placing my hand on her stomach, she says softly, “Yes, now. I just got off the phone with Dr. Deborah. She said to head in. I texted my parents, they’ll meet us there later.”
My heart is pounding. “She’s really coming? Are you okay?” I rub my hand gently across her stomach. “Is she—”
Penny kisses my cheek, then lingers close to me. “We’re both fine. Take a deep breath, sweetheart. We’re all okay. I promise.”
I do as she says, pulling air into my lungs. “Okay.” I force an exhale and smile, trying to get my shit together. “Let’s go have ourselves a baby.”
Déjà vu creeps up my spine as I get Penny settled in the SUV, then run inside to get her overnight bag that’s been in the corner of the living room for weeks. Shadow stands by the front door with his ball in his mouth, his ears alert and twitching, sensing my excitement.
“We’ll be back soon,” I say, stroking his head. “And you’ll get to meet baby Juni.”
His dark eyes follow me, and his fluffy tail wags furiously as I lock the front door behind me. I rush to the car, and throw the bag in the back next to the baby car seat that I installed last month. Just to be sure it wasn’t forgotten. To make sure its absence didn’t somehow spawn a premonition.
“Are you okay?” I ask breathlessly when I get behind the wheel. “I didn’t forget anything—” This time, I’ll do everything right. I won’t fuck up. I won’t lose them.
She grabs my hand before I start the car and pulls it to her chest, placing it over her heart. “Alex,” she says softly. “I’m great. Juni is great. You’re the best, most amazing husband, and you’re going to be the most perfect, amazing daddy to our baby girl every single day of her life.”
I nod, my throat too tight to speak. Fear and grief. They never really go away. They root inside us like thin vines wound around our hearts and our minds, tightening at just the right moments to remind us that they’re still very much there, not letting go.
“I love you,” Penny whispers, her eyes so soft and mossy green, soothing my soul. “You won’t lose us. I promise you.”
“Thank you.” I lean across the car and press my lips softly to hers. “You’re my light, little darlin’.”
The sun shines on us from a cloudless sky as we drive the winding road to town. Holding hands, we drive past that horrible place where the guardrail has a seam that doesn’t quite match, where down below is a rock stained with our past, where a red cardinal nests.
Smiling, we make it to the hospital parking lot, where we’re met by Lily, Marcus, and Kelley, who plant Penny in a wheelchair and usher us inside.
Five hours later, we bring Juni Fox into the world. I hold her tiny, delicate body in my hands. I watch her let out her first cry. I kiss her beautiful little head and whisper to her a million promises that I’ll never break. I carry Juni to my wife and gently place her in her mother’s arms. Tears of happiness slip down Penny’s pink cheeks, and I kiss her softly as we stare down at our baby with her porcelain skin and fuzzy red hair.
“She looks like you,” I say quietly. “She’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“She’s adorable,” Penny breathes, stroking Juni’s cheek. “I’m so in love with her. And with you.” She looks up at me, her eyes swimming with so much love and happiness that I want to fall to my knees and thank the universe. “Alex… we waited so long for this. We finally have what we always dreamed of…we have Lily, and now we have Juni.” She reaches up and brushes her thumb across my lips. “And look at your smile. I’ve never seen you look so happy.”
Touching her cheek, I kiss her long and soft, with our baby falling asleep between us. They are safe. They are mine. “I’ve never been this happy.”