As far as deliveries go, Dr. Hart said everything went great. Even Rain said it was a lot easier than Izzy’s birth. But seeing her in so much pain and then pushing a tiny human out of her body nearly did me in.

It was still fucking amazing. I was officially a father, as of 3:12 that morning. I had a son, Zachery Storm Holgate. No hyphen. I chose Storm to be his middle name to honor her parents. I had no desire to honor my father, and despite how my mother had seemed to accept Rain and the pregnancy after a disastrous start at Christmas, she thrived on sowing seeds of doubt whenever we’d speak, which was becoming less and less often. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to call her.

I was exhausted, but ecstatic, and I didn’t want anything to ruin this day for me.

I checked my shirt pocket to make sure Rain’s ring was there. She’d worn it for all of about four hours yesterday. By the time we packed up and checked out of the hotel, then drove to the hospital, she had to take it off in case they needed to put her under anesthesia. As long as she’d be putting it back on. That’s all that mattered.

After Rain was back in her room and resting, she sent me home. I took a shower and then slept for a few hours. When I woke, I made all the necessary phone calls. The only reason I called my brother was to tell him I’d be taking the day off and all of next week because Rain had delivered our son. He congratulated me and I thanked him, but there was still an awful lot of damage between us that needed to be repaired.

Today wasn’t the day to think about any of that.

I climbed out of my truck, grabbed the flowers I’d picked up from the market—the brightest mixed bunch they had—and jogged across the parking lot, excited to see my future wife and my new son.

I couldn’t stop grinning, my heart was so full. From Rain not only finally agreeing to marry me, but actually attempting to propose—I laughed out loud at the thought of yesterday’s sunrise debacle—to Zac’s arrival, I hadn’t stopped smiling for the last twenty-four hours. It wouldn’t have surprised me if I’d been smiling in my sleep.

When the elevator reached the third floor, I hurried down the hall so fast I nearly ran into one of the nurses exiting Rain’s room.

“How’s she doing?” I asked, wishing she’d step aside and let me in.

“She fell asleep a little while ago. I think she expected you earlier.”

Damn it. “Yeah, I overslept. I guess yesterday caught up with me. Is the baby back in the nursery?”

She nodded. “He was fussy and kept her awake most of the night, so she agreed to let us take him for a while to give her a little break. I can bring him back if you want. I was just dropping off a delivery of flowers for her.”

She looked at the supermarket bunch I carried in my hand.

“Those are nice too.”

“Do you have something I can put these in? I wasn’t thinking when I picked them up.”

“I’m sure I can find something.”

When she finally moved out of the way, I entered the room. Rain was curled on her side, one hand tucked under her chin. It was amazing how much I’d missed her in such a short amount of time. With her and Izzy both out of the house, it had been too quiet.

The flowers the nurse had been talking about were sitting on a low shelf in front of the window. Roses. At least three dozen red roses, arranged in a deep red vase.

I set my paltry flowers on the tray table next to the bed, and although it was wrong, I tore the card from the arrangement and opened the envelope.

Congratulations. Can’t wait to meet him. Love you xxx ooo.

It wasn’t signed, but it didn’t matter. I knew who had sent them. I crushed the card in my hand and lifted the arrangement off the shelf. On my way out, I dropped my flowers into the water pitcher on the tray.

“Mr. Holgate,” the nurse called after me. “I found you a vase.”

I waved her off and kept walking until I reached the elevator. Outside the hospital, I dumped the roses in the first trash bin I came to.

Then I climbed in my truck, and I drove.