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CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

SURPRISES

POPPY

A few weeks later, I’m deep into nesting mode. It’s the beginning of November and the weather has turned cold. The nesting urge has hit me full force. My due date is not for another week and my doctor keeps reminding me that first-time moms are often later than their due date, so I’m trying not to rush the process…but I am so ready to have this baby. I’ve spent the past week rearranging the nursery, fo lding and refolding tiny shirts, and obsessively checking the hospital bag. Everything is as ready as it can be.

When Henley and Tru invite everyone to Rose & Thorn for a night out, I’m eager for a break. I’m still not on maternity leave and don’t really feel like leaving the house, but I need a distraction.

I realize immediately it’s not just a casual gathering when we step inside the restaurant.

“What is going on?” I ask Bowie.

“Beats me,” he says.

There are only high-top tables surrounding a huge cake. There are flowers and music, and the whole crew is here. Henley and Tru beam at us when we walk in. Once everyone has a drink (sparkling juice for me, obvs), Henley clears his throat, and Tru loops her arm through his.

“So,” Henley begins, a grin lighting up his face, “we have something to tell you all…”

He glances at Tru, and she nods, grinning. “We got married!” she announces.

The room explodes in shrieks and whoops and laughter. My jaw drops.

“What? When?” I ask, along with everyone else.

“Two nights ago,” Henley says. “We flew to Vegas, just us and the kids, and had a quiet ceremony in a pretty little chapel.”

Tru smiles, leaning into him. “We just didn’t want a big event. Too much fuss. And we were tired of waiting for the right time, so we kept it quiet and took off after Bree dropped off the kids. We’re putting off the honeymoon until the season’s over, and wanted to spend more time and money on that than the actual ceremony.”

“I can’t believe you got married without us,” Penn groans dramatically .

“At least we’re here for the after-party!” Sadie says, lifting her glass.

Henley launches into a funny story about an Elvis officiant trying to marry them and they had to ask for the more subdued minister, please . He’s so animated in his delivery that I find myself laughing harder than I have in weeks. And then I feel it—a strange, low sensation, like the baby suddenly shifting downward.

I stop laughing abruptly, placing a hand under my belly, almost like I’m trying to hold it up. “Oh,” I say quietly.

Bowie’s eyes dart to me instantly. He’s learned to read every subtle change in my expression since he watches me like a hawk these days. A paranoid hawk at that.

“Something just happened,” I say, blinking in surprise.

His hand goes around my waist and another on my stomach. “Happened how? Are you okay?” he asks, worry filling his eyes.

“I think the baby just…dropped,” I manage, swallowing nervously. It’s different from all the other movements I’ve felt before—heavier, a more forceful press on my bladder. “Bowie…I think I need to go to the hospital.”

His eyes go wide, and the entire group falls silent, hearing me. I thought I was being quiet, but the urgency must have come through. There’s a rush of hugs and well-wishes, and we say quick goodbyes.

“I don’t even have my bag,” I say.

“We’ll bring it to you,” Elle says. “Don’t worry about a thing. See how things are going and we can bring Becca when you’re ready too.”

Becca hovers near me, concerned.

“I’m fine,” I tell her. “Stay here and have fun for a while with everyone. We’ll let you know what the doctor says. It might not even be time for baby brother yet, but we’ll find out.”

“I go too,” she says, stomping her foot.

I’m too nervous to have her there during the delivery, uncertain of how she’d react to all of that, but I know I want her there the minute our baby boy arrives.

“I promise we’ll make sure you’re there as soon as he gets here, okay?” Bowie tells her.

“Don’t worry, one of us will make sure you get there quickly,” Sadie says.

“I want to see him,” Becca says excitedly.

I hug her. “Me too.”

Bowie hugs her next and then the guys, and we’re led toward the exit.

“I wish we were married already too,” Bowie blurts out suddenly.

Henley pats him on the shoulder, grinning.

“Me too,” I tell him, smiling.

There’s no time to delve deeper into the sentiment than that because I feel an urgency to get to the hospital, but knowing he’s thinking this way settles into my heart like a warm promise.

Bowie tries to exit out the wrong door.

“Bowie, other way, buddy!” Weston calls after him.

Everyone chuckles softly, but I can see the concern on their faces too.

“You’ll be okay getting there?” Rhodes asks.

“Yes,” Bowie says.

But then we get in the car and my normally stoic man stammers, talking nonsense about traffic routes and shortcuts that don’t exist…and I wonder if we should’ve had someone else drive.

“We’ll take the highway—no, wait, the side street might be faster…I mean, I’ll just fly the car. Uh, no, not what I meant.”

I place a hand on his arm and give him a reassuring squeeze. “I’m okay,” I tell him softly. “I’m scared, but we’ll be okay.”

“Yes.” He nods and takes a deep breath. “I love you, Poppy.”

“I love you.”

The words seem to steady him, but it’s a miracle that we end up at the hospital. We arrive, shaky but ready. For all the preparing I’ve done, I wasn’t ready to have a baby tonight , but I’m not complaining.

I’m wheeled back and the wait isn’t too long before they come back to check my progress.

“We’ve put in a call to Dr. Talbot, just letting her know you’re here, and after we find out whether you’re in labor or not, we’ll update her.”

“Okay,” I say.

A few minutes later, they announce that I’m dilated to a two and that I’m staying overnight. It’s a little bit of a wait before I’m moved to my room and Bowie updates my family and everyone on our group text.

The hospital room is quiet compared to the steady hum in the hallway. I’m propped up against floppy white pillows and hooked up to a machine monitoring all the things, a band around my stomach to monitor contractions, which have picked up. Bowie hasn’t left my side. He has our delivery playlist going, hospital ice within close reach, and is holding my hand, looking slightly panicked.

“Are you hurting?” he asks.

“I’m okay. It hasn’t been too bad yet. Mostly just like bad cramps, although that last contraction wasn’t great.” I wrinkle my nose .

He shakes his head. “I don’t want you to hurt. That’s the worst part of this.”

“I’ll be all right…I think. The unknown is the scariest.”

“You’re—”

There’s a knock and Rhodes sticks his head in the door. “Hey…feel free to send us away, but we have a little surprise.”

“Oh…okay,” Bowie says, looking at me. “Who is us?” he asks Rhodes.

“All of us.”

Bowie’s eyes are wide when he looks at me again.

“I’m curious,” I say and he nods, his lips quirking up.

“Okay, come in. You let me know the second you need them out,” he tells me.

I nod. Everyone files into the room and the mood is charged. Becca hugs Bowie and looks worried when she sees me. I reach out and take her hand.

“I’m okay,” I tell her.

Penn steps in last with a woman I don’t recognize, and my eyes narrow.

“Penn,” Bowie says slowly, “what are you wearing?”

Penn looks crazy proud as he straightens his black shirt and taps the white strip peeking out at his neck. “Oh, this?” he says, nonchalantly. “I got ordained for you. Online. I’m a man of the cloth now. Always wanted to say that. Not really, but it sounded good.” He shrugs, grinning. “And this is Dorene. Not sure if you’ve met her yet, Poppy.”

“I don’t think so,” I say.

Dorene smiles warmly. She’s holding a file and says hello.

“Dorene is Joseph Collins’ cousin—our center, remember? Anyway…she works for the county clerk’s office and can get you set up with a marriage license. ”

I stare at Penn and then Dorene. “No way,” I breathe. I glance at Bowie, who looks as shocked as I feel. And then he starts laughing, hard . It catches everyone so off guard that they’re quiet for a full thirty seconds before they crack up too.

“Let’s have a wedding!” Bowie says. And just as quickly, he puts his hand on my face. “If you want to.”

I nod, grinning.

“Are you sure?” he asks. “I’ll still take you somewhere tropical for a full ceremony.”

“Yes, please. There won’t be much of a honeymoon though.” I make a face and he laughs.

“There will be plenty of time for that later,” he says.

Elle lifts our hospital bag. “We have your bag here if you need anything out of here before you say I do.”

“I’d like to at least get out of this hospital gown and into my cute pajamas,” I say.

“Okay, take five, everyone,” Bowie says.

They leave the room and I have a contraction as I’m getting up to change. I pause and breathe through it and then Bowie helps me change. Once I’m settled again, I sigh.

“Not exactly how I imagined looking on my wedding day.”

He tips my chin to look up at him. “You’ve never looked more beautiful to me than you do right now.”

“Remember this then because I’m about to scar your retinas when I give birth.”

He bursts out laughing and kisses me and then goes to tell everyone that I’m ready. As he turns back around, I’m having another contraction, and he’s by my side in the next second.

“It needs to be quick because her contractions are picking up,” he tells Penn .

Everyone gathers around the bed. Becca leans against Bowie and smiles at me.

“Dearly beloved,” Penn starts, and there’s more than one snort. “We are gathered around this hospital bed to celebrate the love of Bowie Fox and Poppy Keane.”

I get the giggles and then take a deep breath when my stomach starts tightening. Penn’s eyes grow round when he sees the machine tracking my contractions leaving a high peak.

“Are you having one right now?” he asks in a high voice.

I nod and squeeze Bowie’s hand hard.

“Keep going,” I say between my teeth.

“Do you, Bowie Fox, take Poppy Keane to be your husband? I mean, wife?”

More titters.

“I do,” Bowie says.

“Do you, Poppy Keane, take Bowie Fox to be your husband?”

The contraction starts to ease and I let out a shaky breath. “I do.”

“Do you have any words you’d like to share?” Penn says, looking between the two of us.

“I love you more than I ever thought possible,” Bowie says. “You have made me the happiest man, which is a miracle in itself. Sharing a life with you is all I want. And I’ll work on better vows when we get married on the beach.”

I smile at him. “Sounds like perfect vows to me already. I love you so much, Bowie. Being your wife is...” I breathe out through my mouth. “Everything,” I rush out. I try to focus on him, but it’s getting harder to talk through this one. I nod at Bowie, biting down on my lip as I try to work through the pain.

Bowie motions for Penn to wrap it up .

“ By the power vested in me through the state of Colorado, I pronounce you husband and wife, ” Penn says, so fast it sounds like a song being fast-forwarded. “You may kiss the bride.” His shoulders drop as he loses his breath, just as I’m catching mine.

I laugh and Bowie kisses me. Everyone cheers and congratulates us.

“Best wedding ever,” Penn says proudly.

“Thank you. That was the best surprise ever,” I say. “We’re married!”

“Are you my mommy now?” Becca asks.

“If you want me to be,” I tell her, eyes welling with tears.

“Yes,” she says simply.

“Yes,” I agree. “I love you, my sweet Tater Tot,” I say, and she beams.

“And we make Mommy and Becca pictures?”

“Of course, we will.”

Another contraction hits and Sadie ushers Becca out of the room, saying, “Let us know when the baby gets here!”

“Love you,” Tru says.

“I love you all,” I tell them.

When the room is quiet again, Bowie leans in and kisses me. This one is slow and so sweet.

“Hello, Mrs. Fox,” he says.

I tug on his hair and kiss him again, my husband .