Page 50 of Stuck with my Mountain Daddies (Men of Medford #4)

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Riley

The waiting room smelled of lemon cleaner and anxiety.

I shifted in the stiff plastic chair, tugging the hem of my sweater down as subtly as I could. It barely reached the curve of my stomach now.

Something had changed . I could feel it in the way my jeans pinched, in the way strangers started to glance, not at my face, but at my middle.

I pressed my palm to the swell of my belly, the fabric warm beneath my touch.

There was no hiding it anymore. I was showing. Not just bloated, but undeniably, unmistakably pregnant .

And every day, the weight of it became more real, both physically and emotionally.

A little life growing inside me. One I hadn’t planned for but now couldn’t imagine being without.

“Are you cold?” Garrett’s voice rumbled beside me.

I blinked up at him. He was sitting so close our knees brushed, his large hand resting on my thigh like it had a permanent home there.

He looked calm on the outside, composed, sturdy, but I could feel the tension rolling off him.

“No,” I said, offering a smile. “Just thinking.”

Across from us, Beckett sat slouched low in his chair, arms crossed, one foot gently tapping. He wasn’t looking at me, or at anyone, but he was listening to everything. That was how he always was, quiet, but so present.

On my other side, Asher flipped through a copy of Parenting Monthly , his brow furrowed like he was trying to memorize a foreign language.

He looked up suddenly, holding the magazine toward me. “Did you know babies can hear your voice starting around week sixteen? That’s, like now.”

“Maybe they’ll come out already annoyed with you,” Beckett muttered.

Asher smirked. “Then they’ll fit right in.”

I laughed, and for a second, the nerves lifted.

It was insane, really. How far we’d come. A few months ago, I was a burned-out influencer in a mountain town I didn’t understand, trying to rebuild a life I’d nearly lost.

Now I was sitting in a fluorescent-lit waiting room with three ridiculously handsome men who all looked as if they’d walked out of a lumberjack fever dream… and they were mine .

“You’re doing that thing again,” Asher said, nudging my shoulder lightly. “Where you disappear into your head and start making that face like you’re about to bolt.”

I gave him a look. “I’m pregnant, not being chased through a horror movie.”

“Same energy,” Beckett muttered.

Garrett’s hand came down to cover mine on my stomach. “You’re allowed to be nervous. It means you care.”

That earned him a soft smile, because damn it, he saw me. He always did.

“Riley Brooks?” a nurse called, stepping into the waiting room.

We all stood at once.

She blinked at the wall of broad, beard-stubbled men rising in sync. “Uh, you all want to come in?”

Garrett nodded. “We’re with her.”

The nurse blinked again, then smiled. “Okay, then. Come on back.”

The room was dim and cold, a machine humming quietly beside the padded table. The nurse had me lie back and roll up my sweater, the cold jelly hitting my skin with a jolt.

Garrett took the seat closest to me, his hand finding mine again. Beckett stood on the other side of the machine, arms crossed, lips pressed tight.

Asher paced behind them both, trying and failing to act casual.

The monitor lit up. Fuzzy grayscale, swirling movement.

“There we go,” the tech said, smiling. “That right there is Baby A. Strong heartbeat, right on schedule.”

The sound filled the room: a rapid, rhythmic flutter. Like wings.

Garrett’s grip tightened slightly. Beckett exhaled, a low breath through his nose. Asher froze in place, every trace of cockiness gone from his face.

“That’s…” I began, voice thick. “That’s our baby.”

“Yep,” the nurse said with a grin. “Now, give me a second.”

She moved the wand, adjusting the angle. I frowned.

Then she tilted the probe again, and something shifted on the screen.

Another shape. Another flutter. A second heartbeat, clear and strong.

“Wait,” I whispered. “Is that?—?”

The nurse smiled, clearly used to this exact moment. “And that is Baby B.”

The room went completely still.

Then chaos.

Asher: “I’m sorry, what ?”

Garrett: “Twins?”

Beckett didn’t speak. He stared at the screen like he was trying to solve a puzzle he hadn’t known he was working on.

I blinked up at the monitor, heart racing. “I… twins? Like… two?”

The nurse chuckled. “Two. Fraternal, judging by the spacing. Congratulations, you’re having twins.”

Garrett was the first to recover. He straightened, dragging a hand down his face before leaning down and kissing my forehead. “Okay. Alright. We can do this.”

We .

Dang, that word never felt more comforting.

Beckett finally moved, stepping closer to the screen. “They’re both okay?”

“Healthy heart rates. Perfect growth. You’re right on track,” the nurse confirmed.

He nodded slowly, his hand drifting toward my belly with something like awe. “Two little people,” he murmured. “Coming into the world because of us.”

Asher dropped into the chair beside me as if someone had knocked the wind out of him.

“Do you have any idea how much babies eat? Multiply that by two and…” He stopped, staring down at my belly, his eyes softening. “Shit. Twins .”

I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up. Hysterical, emotional for sure.

Tears welled in my eyes as I looked between them.

“You guys okay?” I asked, voice wobbling.

Garrett huffed a breath. “No. But we will be.”

Beckett’s hand was still on my stomach, callused and warm. He looked down at it like it was the first time he’d ever touched something sacred.

“I’ve never been more terrified in my life,” he admitted. “But I’ve also never wanted something this badly.”

I laughed again, wiping at my cheeks. “We’re gonna need a bigger house.”

Garrett kissed my knuckles. “We’ll build it. Whatever you need, we’ll make it happen.”

Asher reached for my other hand, lacing his fingers through mine. The screen still glowed beside us, those two little shapes dancing in the dark.

Our family was growing in unexpected, impossible ways.

And I had never felt so full.