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Feedback buzzed from the speaker as the band suddenly halted mid-song. “Hey, yo!” My head turned to see Lee on stage, grabbing the microphone. “My big brother Duke is about to be a dad! Lift your glasses for Duke and Sylvie!”
I shook my head as the bar erupted in a cheer.Only in this town.
Lee leaped off the stage and ran toward the exit. I hurried to catch up with my brothers but stopped short. “They should know. Her family.”
I looked around the bar but didn’t see any of them. Beckett nodded. “I’ll take care of it. You go, and I will see you up there.”
I reached out to shake his hand but pulled him into a hug. “Thank you.”
Beckett nodded and patted my back. I rushed outside to load myself into Lee’s truck. He drove like a bat out of hell while Wyatt quietly texted in the back seat. “No news yet. Lark is giving me the play-by-play, but they’re taking care of your girl.”
I had never been more happy that the women in my family never listened to a word I said. They were there, by her side, when Sylvie went into labor.
Lee bounced in his seat as his foot slammed on the accelerator, zipping down the dark country road. “This is so exciting!”
August Kingston Sullivanwas born just shy of midnight.
“You’re sure about the name August, huh?” I lay curled around Sylvie, watching our son sleep on her chest. Nothing and no one existed apart from the two of them.
“I think it’s perfect.” She gently stroked a fingertip down his little upturned nose. Exhaustion was settling in, and I inched impossibly closer. “I think the name August is a perfect way to honor the little boy that your mother had loved so much.”
I was so overwhelmed with emotion, I could barely choke out a response. “I was thinking of Kingston for a middle name.”
Her eyes lifted from our son. “Kingston?”
“Mm-hmm.” I nuzzled into her hair. “You’re a King, but so is he. He should know that he is loved. All parts of him. Just like his mama.”
Sylvie exhaled a wobbly breath. “August Kingston Sullivan. It’s a mouthful.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure he’ll get a ridiculous nickname eventually.”
She laughed softly. “I guess you’re right.”
Baby August blinked his eyes open as he yawned, his mouth forming a tiny O. His irises were bluish gray, but I held out hope that the tiny flecks of green and gold would deepen to match his mother’s.
I nuzzled closer to her. “Everyone is still waiting to hear about him, but I don’t want to leave you.”
“They’re all here? Together?” Sylvie patted August’s butt after he started to fuss.
I shrugged. “Pretty sure half the population of Outtatowner came to show their support.”
Sylvie smiled down at our son. “You should go. I’ll try feeding him, and then maybe a few people can meet him?”
“If that’s what you want.” I unfolded myself from behind her and rose from the too-small hospital bed. With my back to her, I paused. “Our timing has always been off, but there’s something I need to tell you.”
I turned, and Sylvie’s eyes were already shimmering with unshed tears. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my mother’s ring. “Sylvie King, you deserve so much more—you deserve a helicopter ride or some grand gesture that proves my love for you.”
I dropped to my knees at her bedside. “But I’m here, on my knees, begging for the honor to call you my wife.”
My mother’s ring sparkled in the fluorescent hospital lighting. Sylvie’s arms wrapped around our newborn as her tears fell. “Yes. A thousand times yes.”
I scrambled to my feet and climbed back into the bed next to her, careful not to crush her or the baby. I openly cried, relief washing over me that she and August would be mine to protect. Mine to love. Forever.
I put my forehead to hers. “I choose you over anyone else, in any circumstance, for the rest of my life. You will always know what it means to be loved by a man like me. I promise.”
We kissed and cried and kissed some more until August made it clear he wasnothappy waiting to eat.
Sylvie laughed as she adjusted her gown to feed our baby. I was completely enraptured by my future wife and our beautiful son.My everything.
