Page 100 of Unexpected Complication

“And we’ll find out…” I let the words trail off.

“Yes.”

I fist-pumped the air. We hadn’t found out the sex of the first two, but I wanted to know this time. Be prepared. Only paint once. Skylar had been so convinced that Raymie was another boy, she had me paint the walls in the nursery blue, then wanted them yellow when our daughter was born, insisting the color was too bright now. I promised her a new piece of furniture if she let us find out the sex early. I had taken up woodworking as a hobby and loved losing myself in the craft. The harvest table she asked for was slowly being planned, and I would start building it soon.

I pressed a kiss to her head. “I’ll handle grilling the burgers and bathtime. You can rest.”

She smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

“Daddy!”

I looked down the driveway to see my son running toward me, grasping something in his hand. Sean and Julia followed behind him, holding hands. They had picked him up from school today, always enjoying spending extra time with him.

I handed Raymie back to Skylar with a wink. “We’ll finish this conversation later.”

“I look forward to it.”

I kissed her hard and fast, then stepped forward, dropping to my knees as Colton flung himself into my arms.

“Hey, bud! How was school?”

“Good! I made you this!”

I looked over the picture, grinning. I was pretty sure the figures in it were our family, but I wasn’t sure what we were doing. There was a lot of blue in the drawing. “Are we, ah, on the boat?”

“Yeah!” he exclaimed gleefully. He tapped the little blob to the right. “That’s the baby! I made sure he has a vest on!”

I squinted at the picture, understanding the orange splotch better now. He was excited about being a big brother again and included pictures of the “baby” all the time in his drawings. He was actually pretty good at it, inheriting the talent from his mother. He also had her smart mouth, dark hair, and engaging smile. He was irresistible.

We exchanged high fives, and I was glad I had guessed right. “Good job!”

“Will you hang it in the bar?”

“I will. I’ll show it to everyone.” Colton was a favorite at the bar and in town. His bright, sunny disposition made everyone around him smile.

“Okay.”

He squirmed out of my arms to run over to Skylar. She lowered herself so he could kiss his sister’s head and get some love from his favorite person in the world. His mother.

I watched my family, a warm glow in my chest. Skylar was smiling as she listened to him chatter about his day. Raymie nestled against her chest, while Colton’s hand rested on Skylar’s cheek, making sure he had her undivided attention. They were my world, the reason for my existence. We had built a life here—a safe, quiet life we both loved—far from the violence of my past and the loneliness of hers.

Skylar looked up, and our gazes locked. The same thrill went through me now as it did years ago. She was my beacon and light. My children were my anchor. And with another one on the way, I couldn’t be happier.

Feeling that tug, I walked over to join my family, scooping up my son and wrapping my arm around my wife and daughter.

“Come on, family. Let’s go inside.”

“Daddy,” Colton asked around a mouthful of burger.

“Chew first, buddy.”

He giggled, chewing fast. He was just like Skylar. When he had a question, he couldn’t wait. He wanted an answer.

“I hafta tell a story at school.”

“Oh yeah? What kind of story?”

“How I was born.”