Page 4 of Josephine and Clay

Mom presses a hand to her chest, her eyes closing. Dallas lets out a sharp laugh, scrubbing a hand down his face. Boone’s shoulders drop just a fraction, but it’s enough to see the relief.

“Can we see them?” Mom asks.

The doctor nods, stepping aside.

I push off the wall and follow, a step behind, excited to see yet another niece or nephew joining the family.

We find Nash sitting up in the bed, looking wrecked and wide-eyed in a way I’ve never seen on him before. Tessa’s pale but smiling, her attention fixed entirely on the tiny bundle in her arms.

“Hey,” Boone says. “What do we have?”

Nash looks up, and his expression shifts when he sees us. Relief again. Pride. A little disbelief. “A little girl.”

I hang back near the foot of the bed while the others move in closer, Mom already fussing gently over Tessa, Dallas leaning in to get a better look.

“Come on,” Boone says over his shoulder to me. “Get over here.”

The baby is small. They’re always tinier than I expect them to be. She’s wrapped up tight, face scrunched, making soft little sounds, figuring out the world one breath at a time.

“Meet Hailey,” Nash says, and I don’t recognize his voice at first.

It takes me a second to realize what it is.

Love.

I swallow, nodding. “Hey, Hailey.”

“Wanna hold her?” Tessa asks gently.

My hands lift before I can think too hard about it. “Uh… yeah. Sure.”

Dallas lets out a quiet laugh. “This I gotta see.”

“Shut up,” I mutter, but there’s no real bite to it.

Tessa carefully passes her over, guiding my arms because I might drop her if left unsupervised.

And then she’s there.

I go still without meaning to, every instinct suddenly locked in place.

“Relax,” Nash says, amused. “She’s not made of glass.”

“Feels like it,” I murmur.

Hailey shifts slightly against my arm, settling in, and my chest tightens in a way I don’t have a name for.

I don’t hate it.

I hand her back after a minute, careful, almost reluctant, brushing it off with a small shake of my head. “Yeah, alright… you two did good.”

Nash huffs a laugh. “We’ll take that.”

They don’t keep us long after that.

Eventually, we’re ushered out with quiet congratulations and reminders to let Tessa rest.

By the time we step outside, the sun is already giving up on the day.