AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As for me, I’ll be here no matter what. To support her. To love them both.
Looking up from the baby in my arms, I find Sadie watching me from across the room. She’s hiding a gentle smile behind her hand as her eyes grow moist. I shoot her a crooked smirk just as Faith smacks me in the face with a drool-covered giraffe.
Sadie laughs loudly as I look down at Faith. For a moment I’m afraid she might cry, but then she breaks out in a smile again, which warms my heart. Leaning in, I press my lips to her soft head as she coos in my arms.
After dessert, Sage takes Faith from me so she can feed her. Sadie and I help my mom take dishes into the kitchen. When I notice Sadie wincing from the pain in her back, I dry my wet hands on the kitchen towel and wave her toward me.
“Come here.”
She waddles closer and assumes the position. Pressing her back to my chest, she leans against me as I hook my arms under her round belly. Then she subtly drops her weight against my chest as I rock her gently from side to side.
It’s the only relief she gets on her back these days. Letting me hold her and take some of the pressure from the weight of her stomach.
“Want me to get you a heating pad?” I mumble softly against her ear.
Her eyes are closed as she holds on to my arms. “No. I’ll be okay until we get home.”
Kissing the side of her face, I look up right as my mother walks into the kitchen.
“Oh, poor Sadie. You okay, honey?” she asks.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Just ready to get this baby out of me.”
My mother softly pats Sadie’s stomach. “Pretty soon. It’ll be here before you know it.”
“How did you do this with twins?” Sadie asks.
Laughing, my mom shakes her head. “Don’t ask me.” After dropping some silverware into the sink, she turns toward us. “You know, Lucas and Caleb were born right on their due date. Right on time.”
Sadie looks back at me with a smile. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Twins hardly ever make it to term, but Lucas was on a schedule, and he refused to be any earlier or later than he was supposed to be.”
Sadie laughs as I smile, kissing her head again. “Well, I hope this baby comes early. Three weeks sounds like ten years right now.”
“I know it does,” my mother drawls as she touches Sadie’s face affectionately. “Honey, why don’t you go lie down in the living room? The birthday boy can help me clean up.”
Sadie lets out a sigh and stands, moving away from me. “Don’t tempt me with a good time.”
As she leaves the kitchen, I turn toward my mother because I know she’s manipulated her way into alone time with me for a reason. She nods toward the sink, gesturing for me to dry the dishes after she washes them.
This is where deep, significant conversations would happen growing up. Mom would draft each of us individually to drying dishes in order to get us alone and conjure up some personal topic. This is where Caleb admitted to her that he was in love with Briar—and again when he was in love with Dean. This is where I was standing when I first talked to her about how I was moving to New York for college and she promised that she would always love me, no matter how far away I was.
As she hands me a sopping wet plate, I glance over at her in expectation.
“How are you feeling with all of this?” she asks in her sweet Texas drawl.
“You mean the baby?” I ask.
“You’re essentially about to be a father,” she says, glancing sideways at me as she scrubs a pan. “And you just quit your job. You’re going through a lot, sweetie.”
I fall silent as I put the dry plate away in the cabinet. My mind is searching my emotions for how I truly feel about all of this.
“Believe it or not,” I say with a sigh. “I feel good. Everything with Sadie might have happened quickly, and I wasn’t planning on being a father, but I chose this. I chose to walk away from my job and move Sadie in. I chose to step up for the baby. Not because I feel like I have to, but because I want to.”
She smiles to herself as she nods. “I always knew you’d be a good father.”
I laugh as she hands me another plate. “That makes one of us.”
