Page 69 of Unnatural (Men and Monsters #2)

Sam took a deep breath, his muscles relaxing as he gripped Autumn’s hand more tightly in his.

Of course she hadn’t wanted a hospital. Not the smell or the memories.

She wasn’t sick. She was welcoming new life.

They both were. That other emotion, the one that had sat just beneath the shock and the fear, emerged, stronger, mightier than the others. It was joy.

“Water,” Autumn murmured, closing her eyes again and leaning her head against the side of the tub.

Jackie gestured to a cup with a straw sitting on the table next to him, and he brought it to Autumn’s lips.

“I can’t have… I didn’t think…”

Autumn let out a small breathy laugh though her eyes remained closed. “Apparently you were misinformed.”

He gazed at her, his eyes roaming her beautiful face, the one he’d pictured every day for the last eight and a half months.

But even though he’d kept the vision front and center in his mind, it didn’t compare to the real one before him now.

She was the only woman who existed on God’s green earth.

“I love you,” he said. The words came easily.

They were simple because they were true.

Her eyes did open then, but only for a moment. “I love you too,” she whispered, the last word turning into a moan as she gritted her teeth and squeezed his hand. After a minute, she relaxed again, leaning back. “Did you know more babies are born during full moons?” she asked him.

“I didn’t know that.”

She smiled. “Well, now you do. Tell me about where you’ve been, Sam.”

So he did. He told her about the red-hued cliffs of Arizona and the rainbow-sheened springs.

He described the majestic mountains of Colorado rising over lush fields of wildflowers.

He told her of the ranch he’d worked on and then the supply room of the general store, moving from place to place, learning things about himself he’d never known.

He told her about the roar that had always come from inside him, the one he’d feared all his life.

Finally, he’d closed his eyes, and he’d listened, realizing that what he’d thought was the monster rising within was the howling song of his soul.

And though it was a song of sorrow, a wail of longing and loneliness and long-endured misery, it was a song all the same.

It was the expression of his humanity, an undeniable truth, the yearning for love and the hope that what was sorrowful now might someday be joy.

He’d hung his head, and he’d let it sing, tears coursing down his cheeks as the monster faded and the man emerged.

And he’d known it was time to go home.

Time to figure out what to do with the rest of his life—something using his hands, something that connected him to the earth. And time—apparently—to be a father and a husband if she’d have him.

She smiled, though her eyes remained closed as she focused on the growing pressure, and then she reached for him and laced her fingers with his.

Jackie left them alone as Autumn’s contractions drew closer together, and Sam blotted her skin with a cold washcloth, telling her how much he loved her and what a warrior she was. And she gripped his hand and murmured that he was a warrior too, and their baby would be as well.

Jackie returned to guide Autumn as she began to push, and Sam watched wide-eyed and breathless. Finally, with a mighty yell, she pushed their baby out, reaching into the water and bringing the small body to her chest.

Autumn sobbed, her cry filled with relief and victory, and a moment later, the baby joined her, its wail filling the candlelit room.

“It’s a girl,” Jackie said with a grin, rubbing her back and encouraging her lusty cries.

A girl. A daughter. I have a daughter.

Jackie cut her cord and then bundled her up and placed her in Sam’s arms before helping a shaking Autumn from the tub and then leading her to the bed. Sometimes miracles zap you right on your ass.

Sam let out a disbelieving breath, marveling at the tiny miracle in his arms. His daughter stared up at him, trusting.

Perfect. A beautiful, perfect girl. Life.

“I will protect you forever,” Sam vowed, protectiveness moving through him as he kissed his child’s head.

She had Autumn’s eyes and Sam’s lips. He couldn’t believe she was real.

He walked to the bed where Autumn sat, propped up on pillows. He sat next to her and carefully handed her the baby. “Hi,” she breathed, bringing her lips to the baby’s cheek and then running her finger along it. “My girl of fire and moonlight.”

Sam wrapped his arms around her, encircling them both. Them. His treasure, more precious than gold.

“What will we call her?” he asked.

“I thought Estella,” Autumn said, meeting his eyes. “It means star.”

“It’s perfect,” Sam said as they both returned their gazes to the baby.

This is it, Sam. The end of one journey and the start of another.

Bill’s sage words struck him again. And right then, he had all the faith in the world that their journey would be a wondrous one, filled with hope, challenges, adventure, and love.

And that sometimes, even the monster got a happily ever after.