Page 10

Eight Months Later

As I fight my way through the fog, I hear Grizz and Fischer laughing while Maddie hisses, “Stop filming him while he’s passed out.”

“No.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard my brother-in-law refuse his wife. I guess there’s a first time for everything. “I can’t pass up the chance to have a video of Temper Tempest sprawled the fuck out on the delivery room floor. Plus, I still owe the fucker for marrying my sister without telling me first.”

What in the hell is happening to me? I think as my memory slowly clears. I blink my eyes open and find two sets of laughing eyes and two sets of worried eyes staring down at me. I glance around as the events of the last few minutes start to trickle into my brain.

“Are they okay?” I ask and sit up way too fast. The room spins around as I search the crowded hospital room for my wife and daughter.

“Your wife is fine.” The kind nurse leans over and smiles at me. “And so is your son.” Son? The word echoes through my mind as the blackness envelops my field of vision again. I drop back on my elbows and take several deep breaths, trying to get myself under control.

“The doctor said we were having a girl,” I argue, remembering very clearly the doctor telling us our child would be a girl at the ultrasound.

“Shit happens.” Fischer reaches down and helps pull me to my feet. “My sister gave birth to a perfect little boy while your ass took a nap.” He can’t even give me a break on the day my first child is born. Dickhead.

“What are you assholes doing in here?” I distinctly remember us deciding that we wouldn’t have any visitors in the delivery room until Allie had time to recover from the traumatic ordeal.

“When you were still out after fifteen minutes, the nurse got worried and came out to the waiting room to ask for help getting your ass off the floor. Fischer volunteered, and the rest of us couldn’t resist checking out the show for ourselves,” Grizz offers helpfully.

“I’m so happy my suffering entertains you assholes,” I grumble and drop my wobbly ass into one of the hard hospital chairs.

“Glad we could make you happy.” My pain-in-the-ass brother-in-law shrugs. “We live for that shit.” I’m grateful to the fucker when he switches gears, turns to Grizz, and points at the door. “We need to clear out and let him meet his son.”

I watch the assholes leave then sit on the bed next to my wife. “Sorry, I was useless during the delivery.” If this ever gets out, my teammates will have a field day, but I don’t fucking care. I stare down at my son and wonder if they always come out that small.

“He’s so tiny.” I rub my finger over one of his little palms, and it closes around my finger. “Is that normal?”

My wife leans back and glares at me. “Your son is nine pounds and three ounces.” Is that small? I have no idea what size humans usually start off. I stare back at her in confusion. “He’s huge for a newborn.” Oh. “But he’s so perfect.”

“Absolutely perfect.” I wrap my arms around her shoulders and feel her melt against my side. “We can try again and see if we get a tiny little girl next time.”

“Can we at least wait until I get out of the hospital from having number one before we plan number two?” my wife grumbles.

“If you insist, but we have to get to work if we’re going to fill up the house with little ones.” I fucking loved watching my wife grow large carrying our child. I plan to keep her that way for the foreseeable future. “I’m not stopping until we get that little girl.”

“Are you disappointed in having a son?”

Worry fills her tired eyes, and I wrap my hands around her soft face. “Not at all. He’s the most perfect thing I’ve ever seen. I just look forward to having a little miniature of my gorgeous wife. I love you, honey bun.”

“I love you, too, king stud, but I think I’ll need a little break before we work on your plan to repopulate the world.”