Page 146
Story: Dead Rinker
Tears reappear for us both as there’s a knock at the door.
“Come in,” I reply, holding my wife’s eyes with mine.
Gasps ring around the room as my mom, Hollie, Luna, Felicity, Jon, Zach, and Jessie all enter the room.
My mom makes a beeline for me as I stand from the bed, and she squeezes me tight. “Your dad’s on his way. His plane lands in twenty minutes.”
Luna and Felicity fawn over the babies as Jon, Zach, and Jessie look on with emotion in their eyes. Jessie shifts from one foot to the other. I know he’s emotional for us, but I also know this moment right here has to be so fucking hard for him.
“I think it’s time.”
“Thank f?—”
Felicity cuts Jon off with a death stare.
“Sorry.” He winces. “Forgot myself.”
“Ladies first.” I nod at Kate, desperate to know my daughter’s name.
Stroking her soft cheek with her finger, she takes a deep breath. “June.”
Luna’s hands fly to her mouth as she gasps again. “That’s so beautiful.”
“Wait,” I say, knowing the meaning behind the choice. “As in the month we...”
She nods her head. “Yes. And your JJ partner in crime.”
I lose it just like I did that day at the scan.
“I need to hear his name,” Kate says.
Pulling myself together, I look around the room, hoping this will go the way I truly want it to. He deserves that.
“I…I thought about a lot of names, but honestly, there was only one that felt right. Felt like his name belonged out here with us.” I look at Jessie. “Back with you.”
Jessie runs a palm over his shaking lips. “You, you named him William.”
I nod and walk across to my best friend. “I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to offer you a small part of him right here, back on this earth with us.”
Bringing him into a hug, I know the tears he cries against me are happy.
“You named him after my brother.”
“I did.”
Jon and Zach know Jessie lost his twin brother at birth, but they don’t know the whole story or the way his death tore apart his family in unimaginable ways.
That’s his business to tell.
“That’s everything,” Kate sobs. “June and William Jones.”
Luna looks over at me. “You have two princesses now. It's good you have Will to keep you from being outnumbered.”
Shaking my head, I round the bed and kneel by my wife. “Nah. Only one. Mrs. Jones is my queen.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
KATE
Table of Contents
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