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When he paused to really think about it, it was uncanny the way his life had changed so quickly. He had everything he wanted in his songbird—but she was a package deal, which turned him into a family man overnight. A year ago, he wouldn’t have thought it possible. Now, he wouldn’t have it any other way. More than that, he knew they were just getting started. He had every intention of making his girls Steeles and changing their lives the way they changed his.
After the night’s activities were complete and they returned to the apartment they all called home, it was well past Evelyn’s bedtime. Nora guided her through her normal nightly ritual before Lawson was requested for story time. She fought sleep through an entire picture book but succumbed to the pull of slumber in under twenty minutes.
As soon as he closed Evelyn’s bedroom door softly behind him, Lawson looked for Nora in the kitchen first, remembering the groceries she’d abandoned earlier in the night. When he found the counters bare and the room empty, he headed theopposite direction. He spotted her as soon as he darked their doorway. She was sitting on the side of the bed, fidgeting anxiously with something in her hands.
“Hey,” he murmured softly, earning him her attention. Propping his shoulder against the doorframe, he studied her closely and then inquired, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothin’,” she replied with a shake of her head. “I was just thinkin’, uhm…I don’t want to get married in April, because that’s Evie’s birthday month. She’ll be turnin’ five, and for some reason that feels like a big deal. I don’t want to overshadow her. But now I think May’s too late, which leaves March—because February’s in a few days. No matter what size weddin’ we have, I don’t want to throw it together in two weeks. Not to mention, Mitzi would have my head. She’s dead set on makin’ my dress. And after all this time, no matter where we get married, or who shows up, I don’t want to skimp on my dress. We’re only gonna do this once, you know? Anyway, if we picked a date at the end of the month, we’d have almost two months to plan it. I was hopin’ for warmer weather but—”
“Songbird,” Lawson interrupted, a frown pulling at his brow. “Pretty sure I told you I wanted to get married this year. Last I checked, we’re at the beginnin’ of it. You want warmer weather, we can wait until summer.”
“We could, but I’ll definitely be showin’ by then, and I was hopin’ to avoid that.”
“Showin’ what?”
Nora hesitated a moment, pinching her lips between her teeth as her eyes welled up with tears. Lawson pushed himself away from the door and was about to make his way further into the room when she held up the stick she’d been fidgeting with, causing him to stop dead in his tracks.
“I’m pregnant, babe.”
Lawson’s stomach dropped. “What?” he barely managed.
“Well, we haven’t exactly been avoidin’ the possibility. You know that,” she said on a teary laugh. “We never really talked about it, but we’re not stupid. I guess I just thought we were leavin’ it in God’s hands.”
His eyes pinned on her, he saw her mouth move, but he didn’t register what she was saying. Rather than ask her to repeat herself, he merely asked, “You’re pregnant?”
She nodded, the act causing a couple tears to roll down her cheeks.
This time, her silent response hit home. He laughed, the sound bubbling out of him against his will as he thought about his baby growing inside of her.Hisbaby.
‘I’ll definitely be showin’ by then,’ she’d said.
“We’re havin’ a baby?” he asked through a grin, reaching up to bury his fingers in his hair.
“Yes, Lawson,” she laughed. “We’re havin’ a baby.”
“Holy shit.”
He stood with his fingers gripping his overgrown hair until he couldn’t stand the space between them a second longer. He was in front of her in two long strides. He let go of his hair only to bury his fingers in hers. She smiled up at him, but he was quick to kiss her smile gone. She giggled, wrapping her arms around him as he eased himself on top of her, forcing her onto her back. The sound made him break their kiss.
“We made a baby,” he muttered, still in awe.
“Just like we always said we would,” she whispered in response.
He stared at her in silence for a moment, allowing the news to settle. His brain cleared just enough for him to register what she’d said only a couple minutes ago.
‘I guess I just thought we were leavin’ it in God’s hands.’
She was right. They hadn’t talked about it. The first night he’d loved on her back in December, he didn’t have a condomon him—but that wasn’t enough to stop them. Every night since, it didn’t matter that neither of them were making an effort to prevent a pregnancy. She was his again. Forever this time. If new life came about because of their love making, all the better.
Propping his forehead against hers, he said, “I’m gonna be a daddy.”
Reaching up to run her fingers through his hair, Nora murmured, “Again…”
It took him a second to realize what she meant. When he did, he lifted his head so he could see into her eyes. “You’re right. We’re gonna be a family of four.” Nora nodded, a couple more tears spilling from the corners of her eyes, racing for her hairline. “I swear to you, I’ll love this kid as much as I love Evelyn. She might not be mine by birth, but she sure as hell is gonna be mine by name.”
“I know. I know she will.”
As if to seal his word with a kiss, he brought his lips to hers and kissed her twice before he rolled onto his side, relieving her of his weight. Propping his head on his fist, he watched her mirror his position before he asked, “So, end of March?”
