Page 13 of Sudden Summer

“You’re a natural,” I whispered as I took the bag from her.

“You are, too. Give yourself some credit. The last twelve hours or so have been a bit of a whirlwind.”

I slid my fingers to the small of Birdie’s back. “Understatement of the century, Chickadee.”

Her hand landed against my chest, and just like in the kitchen, I couldn’t stop myself—I pressed a kiss to her forehead, and hoped she felt how grateful I was for her.

We walked up the front steps and into Lachlan’s house, not bothering to knock. I was, after all, the reason why everyone was gathered there. Time seemed to stop moving the second I gently nudged Birdie into the house. My dad and Colt were the closest to us at the front window. Lachlan was on the couch, next to Hayes, who was so deep in sleep that his mouth was hanging open. Must have been a rough night at the fire house.

“Bobo!” my nephew, Beckett, squealed as he charged towards me. I almost broke out a smile from his mismatched outfit: a cowboy hat proudly displayed on top of his head, white t-shirt covered in dinosaurs, and camouflage shorts. The kid was barefoot, as always. That’s how it should be. I had no doubt that one day Juniper would come home from playing outside with her cousins, and I’d have to tell her to hose her feet off out back before she stepped foot inside, just like Ma had yelled at me growing up.

“Birdie!” My sister, Jessie—the youngest of all my siblings—gasped, rushing forward, but not after her son. Beckett bonked into my legs, giving me a big hug.

“Hey, kid,” I whispered, getting a big smile back as his hat tumbled down to the floor.

Jessie’s eyes locked on Juniper. “Who is this?”

Birdie turned, looking over her shoulder at me. I stepped up beside her, pulling my hat off my head. The place where I was still touching her buzzed with nervous energy.

“This is my daughter, Juniper,” I admitted.

The room froze. Dad’s mouth dropped open, Colt’s eyes narrowed on me, Hayes snored from the spot on the sofa, and Ma’s eyes bounced between my face and the baby held in my best friend’s arms. Jessie’s husband, Hawk, was smiling like he’d just won the lottery, and my brother Lachlan’s mouth hung open in disbelief.

“What on God’s green Earth do you mean your daughter?! Beau Lindsay Ford, you cannot play with your mama’s heart like that!”

Birdie’s shoulders shook with the laughter she was trying to hold in at my mother using my middle name.

“That’s the second time in the last twenty-four hours someone has called me by my full government name,” I muttered, wanting to sink into the floor.

“Are you going to answer your mother?” my dad asked, arms still folded across his chest, eyes pulled tight as he peered at me.

“I’m not lying. Juniper is my daughter.”

“You had a kid, and you kept her from us?” Colt asked. “She doesn’t look much younger than Connor. Is that why…you stayed quiet?”

“I wasn’t hiding her,” I groaned, the unease I’d felt since holding her for the first time bubbling in my stomach. “I had no idea she even existed until last night! Some lady in a pantsuit came knocking on my door, saying I had a daughter I never knew anything about. And here we are.”

“What about her mother?” Jessie asked. “Who is she? Where is she?”

I swallowed, my throat aching for Juniper. My eyes looked over at my brother, Hayes, still fast asleep on the couch despite all the commotion around him. A pang of jealousy hit me square in the chest. “Remember that trip Hayes and I took last year to Austin?”

Heat scorched my cheeks as I realized Birdie was going to have to hear this all over again.

“Yeah, I remember Hayes saying you had a bad hangover after.” Jessie smiled.

“I slept with Rosa that night.”

“Rosa,” Ma whispered, her eyes softening as she stared at the little girl in Birdie’s arms.

“Was Rosa the woman at your door? Why isn’t she here now?” Lachlan asked. Jessie cringed, her hand coming up to rest on Birdie’s arm. But my best friend gave me a small smile filled with support. She was an angel, and I didn’t fucking deserve her. Again, would it be too much to ask the floor to open up and swallow me whole?

Working my hat over in my hands, I cleared my throat. “The woman who came to the door was with Child Protective Services. She told me that Rosa…” I swallowed, looking down at Beckett who was shockingly still paying attention to what we were saying. My brother-in-law got the message, nodding at me as he scooped Beckett up.

“I’ll just be outside until you guys are ready for little ears to be back in the room.” Hawk’s hand came up to squeeze my shoulder. “She’s precious, Beau. Welcome to fatherhood. You’ll be fine.”

I don’t know if anyone else heard the words, but it felt like they echoed all around us before I cleared my throat. Juniper had her fist in her mouth, happy little gurgling sounds catching Birdie’s attention.

“Would it be okay if we sat down?” she asked. “I think Juniper is going to need a bottle, or we all might get to hear how incredible her lungs are here in a moment.”