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“What about Cayden?” Ryder asks, cheeks blazing red. “I saw it in one of the baby books. It said it means fighter.”
Raegan’s lips curl into a grin. “Cayden. That’s your name, little bunny. Cayden Reed Jamison.”
“It’s perfect.” I stroke his soft head. “He’s our little fighter.”
The three of us stare at our fussy miniature human, completely awestruck and in love.
Dad finishes taking care of Raegan and covers her up with the blanket. She falls asleep mid-sentence, softly snoring. Ryder sniggers and lifts Cayden out of her arms.
“Go find somewhere to sit so you both can bond with Cayden,” Mom says to us. “Your dad and I will stay with her while she sleeps.”
I follow Ryder out of their bedroom and into the living room. Rowdy has all the kids with him except for Renna, which means we don’t have to fight off a bunch of littles who want to see the new baby. Ryder sits down on the sofa in front of the fire. I settle next to him, unable to take my eyes off my son.
Ryder leans toward me and I meet him for a quick kiss. We did it. We went to hell and back, killed monsters along the way, fell in love, and made a baby. This is our happily ever after just like in all the books me and Raegan read.
Cayden continues to cry, but Mom shows up with a bottle of formula.
“She’s too exhausted to try to get her to nurse. Feed him and burp him. Later, we can try and see if he’ll latch on when she’s had proper rest.”
Ryder passes Cayden to me and I cradle him in my arms. Once I’m settled, Ryder hands me the bottle. Our hungry baby boy latches onto the bottle nipple and greedily gulps at it like he was born to feed. We both chuckle at him.
“This doesn’t feel real,” I murmur. “I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and it’ll all have been a cruel dream.”
Ryder pinches my thigh, making me scowl at him. “You’re awake. It’s real. Enjoy it, Daddy.”
Daddy.
Holy shit.
Cayden devours his bottle and when it’s time to burp, Ryder takes him from me. I grin stupidly at my brother as he expertly burps him.
“I’m happy, Ryder. Like really, really happy.”
He leans against me. “Me too, Ro.”
“You can’t hit Cayden,” I say with a frown. “That wasn’t nice, Deck.”
Declan’s bottom lip wobbles and then he puts his head on Cayden’s leg and says, “I’m sorry, baby.”
Cayden, completely oblivious to Declan’s jealous swat, continues to sleep in my arms, mouth wide open just like how Ronan sleeps.
“Can I feed him?” Dakota asks, rushing over to me with another bottle.
“He seriously ate ten minutes ago. You’re going to make him fat, Kota.”
“You’re fat!”
“You little shit,” I bark as he runs off. “I’m going to get Dad’s belt!”
Cayden, used to the loud people in our family, doesn’t stir. Declan peeks up at me and grins. “You said shit.”
My eyes widen and I scan the living room to make sure Mom isn’t close by. “Shh. Our secret.”
He giggles and then runs off to go play with Dakota. I stand from the sofa and go into Destiny’s bedroom where Renna’s crib is set up. Renna is already down for a nap, so I lay Cayden at the other end of the crib. I close the door and then eventually find Mom in the pantry gathering ingredients for supper.
It’s been a couple weeks since I had Cayden. And despite our house being mostly ready, Mom demands we continue to eat supper here every night. Since I don’t have to cook, I’m not complaining.
“Can you keep an eye on your grandson while I round up your boys at the house?”
