AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It feels so good to have the big question answered, you know?”
“I do know. I remember what that was like when I realized that Lucy was the only chance I had to be happy in this life and somehow was lucky enough that she felt the same way.”
“We’re all still trying to figure out why she picked you,” Max said with a laugh.
Colton chuckled. “Me, too, brother. Me, too. But thank God she did.”
“We’re thankful for that, too.”
“It takes a special woman to handle me, and Lucy is very, very special.”
“Enough already.”
“What? I’m just saying that asking a sophisticated woman like her to move to a mountaintop and live without indoor plumbing for years was not your average ask.”
“No, it wasn’t, and you’re a lucky man.”
“And I know it. It’s worked out well for all of us, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it really has.”
“Thanks to Dad and Gramps.”
“Oh jeez, don’t let them hear you say that. They’re insufferable enough as it is. At least they had nothing to do with me getting back together with Lexi.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. They’ve gotten very crafty over the years. Anything is possible.”
“I don’t care how it happened as long as it did.”
The next fewmonths would go down as the happiest of Max’s life. Lexi started her classes in mid-January and began working part time at the store on the days she didn’t have class. They’d waited until the three-month mark to tell everyone else about the baby, but before they did that, they had to tell Caden.
He’d gotten used to having Lexi around, and the three of them had fallen into a nice routine that included dinner together just about every day. They went on hikes and spent time with Max’s extended family and had helped her parents and grandparents move back into their Butler home in late February.
Max couldn’t wait to finally share the news about the baby with Caden, which they planned to do after dinner. He and Lexi had made stew over the weekend, and they were having the last of it with bread and salad he’d grabbed at the store on his way home.
Lexi was picking up Caden on her way home from work, and they were due to arrive any minute.
Max was excited and nervous. He thought Caden would be pumped to be a big brother, but he wasn’t entirely sure. He’d ordered a Big Brother shirt online and they were going to give it to him as a gift to tell him the news. He and Lexi had talked about it endlessly and had decided on that as their plan. She’d assured him that she felt confident Caden would be happy, but Max wasn’t as certain.
He'd been an only child for almost seven and a half years. That was a long time to occupy center stage. Caden was a special kid, and Max didn’t say that because he was his. Everyone said it—grandparents, teachers, coaches, Scout leaders and the parents of his friends. People had nothing but nice things to say about him, a fact that Max took tremendous pride in. He was counting on his son to come through for him at this critical moment.
Lexi was starting to show, so they couldn’t wait any longer to tell Caden the news.
Tonight was the night.
When he saw the headlights sweep over the yard, Max decided to stop being nervous and focus on the joy. He was so happy to see them both after a long day apart.
Caden burst into the house, and Daisy ran to him, jumping into his arms to lick his face the way she did every night when they got home. Soon, she’d be too big for him to hold. He loved the way she made Caden laugh with everything she did. “Easy, girl. Give a man a chance to get in the door, will ya?”
Lexi came in after him, carrying Caden’s backpack and the bag she took to work at the store. Her face was flushed from the cold and fuller now due to the pregnancy. She had never been more beautiful to him than she was carrying their child.
Max hugged her and gave her a quick kiss as he relieved her of the bags. They were careful not to overdo the PDA in front of Caden. “Hi.”
“Hi there.”
He loved the way she smiled at him, the way she looked at him, the way she loved him. Being back with her again had made his already satisfying life complete in so many ways, it would take hours to list them all.
“Are you guys hungry?” Max asked.
