Kensley

 

“I’m guessing…ten-six,” I say, nodding once as I look out the window.

“I don’t know. I’m going to guess ten-ten, ten-twelve,” Liam says with a laugh. “That baby is big, Kens.”

I groan and shift in my seat, rubbing the large beachball that is now my stomach. “Ten-ten is a big baby.”

Liam chuckles, taking my hand and kissing it before placing it back to my belly. “Yeah. That’s a big baby.”

He pulls onto our street and we see it at the same time—if Liam’s slowing down and my small gasp are an indication.

There’s a car hanging out in front of the house.

And I’m pretty sure it’s Mark’s.

“Shit,” Liam mumbles.

I sit up as best as I can and take a deep breath. “Well. We knew it was coming.”

Liam pulls the SUV up the drive and I don’t get out before he can circle the car and help me. As my feet hit the ground, I can hear as the other car’s door shuts.

I can also hear Guinness barking, and it’s almost a foreign sound. He is so well-mannered; I don’t know that I’ve ever heard him bark outside of a demand for breakfast.

I’m suddenly glad we decided that Liam would pick up the girls after dropping me off. I’d been planning on taking a quick thirty-minute nap before they got home, but it looks like that’s not going to be happening.

Ever my rock, Liam keeps hold of my hand as we round the back of the SUV to meet my ex.

“Kensley.” Mark’s eyes drop to my stomach, then glances at Liam. He quickly dismisses him though, looking at me again.

“Mark.”

Liam holds my hand tighter, and I’m incredibly glad that he’s here for this.

“I know the baby is a boy,” he informs me, and I frown. “You will let me know when you go to the hospital, so I can sign the paternity papers.”

“I don’t even know that the baby’s a boy.”

Mark pulls something from his back pocket and produces a sonogram.

A sonogram with my name on it, and a clear view of the baby’s little boy parts. I gasp.

“How did you get that?”

Liam, though, speaks up differently. “That can be forged. Kens, he could have taken another, and put your information on it, or flipped the images, or anything.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Mark says, clearly annoyed. “You’re that fucking bastard who did this, aren’t you? You’re the one from the radio.”

Liam steps forward and, in doing so, puts me behind his back while still holding my hand. “I didn’t do anything. Kensley called. You failed.”

“And then you swooped in to save the day, didn’t you? Steal my woman and my kids.”

“Daughters you don’t even fucking want. Drop the act already, man.”

Again, Mark dismisses him, looking past him to me. “You’ll let me know when you go into labor, Kensley.”

As he’s walking away, Liam lays our last card down. “Our lawyer has the tape from the radio. I’d think twice about being an ass.”

Mark’s answer?

A real grown-up middle finger over his shoulder.

“Fucking asshole,” Liam murmurs as he turns back to me, his face still turned to watch Mark get in his car and drive off.

When we walk into the house, it’s no surprise that both Guinness and Doc meet us at the door. Guinness is visibly stressed, whereas Doc just looks happy to be out and about.

“You still going to nap?” Liam asks. He hasn’t let go of my hand, even as he disarms the system.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to,” I say honestly. “But I think I should try.”

“Okay.” He walks me to our room and after I get into bed, he kisses my lips, my stomach, and then my lips again. “I’m going to arm the house. Don’t let the dogs out; just stay inside.”

I nod. I don’t imagine Mark will come back, but…

The thought is there.

“Can I talk to Sharon about this?” he asks. I can see he’s struggling with the question. “I know Mark’s her son, but if Sharon’s going to be keeping the girls, and if she’s still our go-to for when you go into labor, I’d just feel better if she knew what was going on, from all angles.”

My God, I love this man.

“Yes. Please do. She won’t do anything that let’s Mark take the girls, but I think it’d be best that she knew.”

“Alright.” He lays a soft kiss to my lips.

Then another.

And another.

Soon, I’m laughing against his lips and pushing him back. “Go! Or else you’ll never get there.”

He pushes back with a wink, then leaves the room. And while I’m positive Liam didn’t give the command, Guinness moves to sleep in the doorway of our bedroom.

It’s that that allows me to fall asleep.

 

*   *   *

 

It’s the middle of the night when the pains start.

I glance at the clock and see that Liam’s alarm is going to go off in thirty-ish minutes, so I try to be quiet, letting him sleep.

A particularly strong contraction hits and, frown on my face, I breath out through tight lips, pressing on my tight stomach. I’m eighty-percent sure these are real, though, and not Braxton-Hicks.

If it’s false labor, I don’t want to wake up Liam.

But I’m counting, all the same.

Twenty minutes later, I come to terms with the fact that I’m going to have this baby today.

“Liam,” I whisper. His alarm will go off soon but…

I reach behind me to tap his hip. “Liam.”

“Hmmyeah?”

“Wake up, Liam.”

He groans and eventually pushes himself up—to look at the clock—before dropping down behind me again. “God. The night goes by too fast.”

It did, yeah, when you had to wake up at two, and only went to bed at eight. But the man refused to go to bed before the girls. Silly man.

“I think I’m in labor,” I whisper, right before another contraction hits. I squeeze my eyes shut and push against my stomach, not that that does anything.

I mean, neither does the swearing, but it makes me feel a little better. Mentally, anyway.

“You serious?” Liam’s voice is suddenly wide awake.

I nod through the pain.

“Shoot. Shit. Okay.” I feel him move from the bed. “Your bag. Where’d we put your bag.”

“Closet…right…”

“Okay. Yeah. Got it. Good. Let me call Sharon.”

Our plan all along was for Sharon to come be with the girls. We talked about it at length last night, but decided we weren’t going to change anything.

Fifteen minutes later, Sharon and Paul were at the house, and Liam and I were heading out of it.

I’d progressed quickly with Sawyer but…

“Oh, God,” I breathe out with yet another contraction.

Liam’s driving calmly, but when he grabs my hand, I feel the slight tremble in his.

God, I hope he’s ready…

Forty minutes later, thirty minutes after the doctor came in to break my water, my screaming baby boy was brought into the world.