Page 35 of The Sinner’s Son (Sawyer and Royce: Felonies and Fatherhood #2)

L ucy, now rocking a lime-green and violet pixie, moved the transducer over Kelsey’s belly during their twenty-week scan. Beside him, Sawyer squeezed his hand hard enough to break his fingers.

“Is our Lil Sweet Potato cooperating?” Royce asked.

“Mm-hmm,” Lucy said. “Sure is. Do you want to find out the—?”

“Yes!” Sawyer and Kelsey blurted before she could finish.

Lucy laughed and looked at Royce. “And you too?”

“We already know, but I would like to confirm it,” he said.

“Do you still think you’re having a girl?” Lucy asked.

“A girl,” the trio said.

“Hmmm.” Her response gave nothing away, and the twinkle in her eyes said it was no accident.

“Hmmm?” Sawyer asked. “Or mm-hmmm?”

Lucy made eye contact with them, one after the other, and then a huge smile spread across her face. “It’s a girl!”

The three of them cheered loudly. Kelsey could only manage an air pump with her fists at the moment, and Sawyer shimmied in his chair. Royce pressed a hand over his chest so his heart couldn’t beat its way out.

“This is the best birthday present ever,” he told Sawyer and Kelsey.

“You’re welcome,” Kels said.

Sawyer slapped Royce’s leg repeatedly. “This is so amazing.”

“You’re still going to use fruits as her nickname though, aren’t you?” Royce teased.

“You haven’t picked out a name yet?” Lucy asked.

“We have,” Royce said casually.

“I only know her middle name,” Sawyer said. “It’s Grace.”

“Very Southern,” Lucy said. “But why don’t you know your daughter’s first name?”

“Because Royce would have to tell me his Aunt Tipsy’s legal name since we’re naming our daughter after her,” Sawyer said. “It’s a game we’ve been playing for years. I’ve been guessing, but I never get it right.”

“Any person with a smartphone could learn that information,” Kelsey teased. “You’re a police officer who’s trained to find people.”

“True,” Sawyer agreed. “But where’s the fun in that?”

Lucy’s eyebrow shot up. “When do you plan to find out?”

“Probably when we’re filling out the paperwork for her birth certificate, if my guesses don’t improve.”

“He’s gotten so close,” Royce said.

“Oh my goodness!” Kelsey exclaimed, looking from her cell phone to Royce. “That’s the cutest name ever. And the most Southern of Southern names.”

“Hey!” Sawyer whined. “No fair.”

He’d been the best sport about…well, everything, and Royce took pity on him. “Can I have a sonogram, Lucy?”

“Sure.”

She handed him a black-and-white photo, which he extended to Sawyer. “Meet your daughter, Darla Grace.”

To be continued…

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