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But this one… This one I was hopeful for.
Every month, my period came on time. It was like clockwork—The fifteenth of every month was my first day. But this month, nothing happened. And when a week passed and I still hadn’t bled, I knew I had to take a test.
So, there I was, sitting alone on the cold tiles of our bathroom floor, holding the test in my shaky hands. My heart was in my throat and my eyes stung as I waited. It only took a few minutes, but it might as well have been an eternity.
The timer on my phone went off and with a deep breath, I flipped the test over. My heart lurched, then stopped.
Axel
Skye was hanging upside down on the swing set, her cousin, Leif, wobbling around below. Addie was chasing him with outstretched arms, ready to catch him if he fell. Reid pushed Heather on a swing, making her go higher and higher. And even though she was squealing and begging him to stop, she loved it. Bash sighed as he sat beside me, a soft smile on his face as he watched his pregnant wife and son.
“You look happy,” I said quietly, staring at him. He glanced at me, his hazel eyes twinkling.
“I am happy, man,” he said. “You?”
“More and more every fuckin’ day,” I laughed, shaking my head.
When I looked back on my life, this wasn’t how I thought it’d end up—With a kid I fucking adored and a wife I was so in love with it physically hurt. I didn’t do shit to deserve this life but fuck if I’d ever give it up. I was fine being a selfish prick if it meant I could have my girls.
The backdoor opened and Koda walked out, her eyes red and cheeks rosy. I gave her a worried look, but she waved me off as she moved to me and curled up on my lap, resting her head on my chest. I pressed a long kiss to the top of her head, breathing her in.
Sometimes, I still remembered what she looked like when I saved her all those years ago—Beaten and bruised. But she’d still been beautiful. Her soul still shined through, and her light grew more and more every day.
I held her a little tighter, pushing the images of her injured body from my mind. She was safe. She was happy. And, most importantly, she was mine.
“Everything okay, little bear?” I murmured in her ear, just low enough so only she could hear. She tilted her head back, a smile playing at the corners of her full mouth.
“Better than okay,” she whispered before stretching up and pressing a soft kiss to my lips. She settled back and watched our family play with a small sigh.
After putting Skye to bed, I climbed into our bed beside Koda and held my arm out for her. She scooted closer to me and nestled into the crook of my arm, sighing as I wrapped her up.
This was my favorite part of the day, holding my wife in our dark bedroom. Sometimes we talked, sometimes we laid silently, just holding each other. But it happened every single night.
“I have a secret,” she said. I smoothed her dark hair in long strokes down her back.
“Yeah?” I said, smiling. “What’s that?”
She slid something small and hard into my hand. A long, skinny plastic stick. I didn’t have to look at it to know what it was.
“I’m pregnant,” she whispered, her voice breaking.
I quickly flipped the lamp on and stared down at the two pink lines. They weren’t faint, they were strong, proud lines.
“You’re pregnant,” I said as I turned toward her. Tears swam in her eyes as she nodded, a smile spreading across her face. “Holy shit, Koda! You’re pregnant!” I tackled her to the bed, peppering her face with kisses, making her laugh.
I trailed my kisses down her body, stopping at her still-flat stomach. I pressed a long kiss to it, right below her belly button and whispered, just like I had those two other times, “Hey, little one. It’s Daddy and I can’t wait to meet you.”
THE END
