Page 115 of Three Months Yesterday

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

She smiles, watery but real, and grips my shirt, holding me to her.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I whisper.

I feel her nod against me, and everything stills.

“Good timing,” Aiden says quietly.

I look up to see him standing by the window, arms crossed over his chest with Ruby by his side. They both look exhausted but relieved, and I realize with a pang of guilt that I haven’t even acknowledged them.

“We’re gonna join everyone in the waiting room,” Ruby says before I can say anything, reaching up to press a kiss to my cheek as she walks past.

Aiden squeezes my arm, and I watch them head for the door, pausing for only a moment when they notice Ryan standing there.

“I’ll be with them,” he says, spinning to follow.

The door clicks shut behind them, and I turn back to Madison, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face.

“I love you.” The words catch in my throat, and I swallow, needing to get the rest out. “I’m never leaving you again.”

“I love you too.” She studies me, and I don’t know if she’s looking for something or memorizing my face, but the next words out of her mouth are nothing like I was expecting. “It was Aaron. He⁠—”

“Aiden filled me in.” I shake my head, not wanting her to worry about any of that. “We’ll deal with that later. Right now, let’s just focus on bringing Shep into the world.”

She searches my face, her eyes worried. “Are you okay?”

“I have you. I’m perfect.”

The world shrinks down to this room, this bed, these two amazing people. The lights are dimmed, the hospital sounds muffled, and outside the April night presses against the window, but in here, everything is warm and golden.

Madison lies against the pillows; her eyes focus on the little human wrapped in a soft blue blanket in her arms. And it’s the most perfect sight I’ve ever seen.

Madison and Shepherd.

He’s tiny—impossibly tiny—with a fuzz of dark hair and a rosebud mouth that opens in a yawn as I watch. His little fists wave in the air and I can’t stop watching him.

“He’s perfect,” I whisper.

Madison smiles down at him, her expression soft and wonderstruck. “He is.”

I carefully climb onto the bed beside her, settling in so I can see him better. He has her nose, and maybe her chin. It’s too early to tell, but I plan to spend the rest of my life figuring it out.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Shepherd Hawthorne,” I murmur, reaching out to touch his little hand. His fingers wrap around my pinky with surprising strength, and my heart explodes in my chest.

Madison is quiet beside me, and I look over to find her watching me with an expression I can’t quite read. There’s tenderness there, but something else too. Nerves, maybe?

“Beckett,” she whispers.

“Yeah?”

She takes a breath, her gaze steady on mine. “Shepherd Keith Corbin.”

“What?” I release on a breath.

“I want to name him after a strong man, someone brave and loving,” she says, her voice thick with emotion. “Who better than the man who raised you?”

I stare back at her, speechless. My father. The man who taught me everything about being a good man, about working hard, about loving people fully. The man who died and left a hole in my life that never fully closed.