Chapter Fifty-Five
December
Kurt
Knoah had given birth yesterday to Adaline Shaw, and earlier today, they’d been released from the hospital. Only the grandparents had visited the hospital late yesterday afternoon to meet their grandbaby. Knoah and Garrick had decided they wanted to be alone at the hospital, which I respected. Sawyer was chomping at the bit to meet little Miss Adaline.
I put Dylan in his car seat. Sawyer had gone to the garage to pull the car around. Why we couldn’t all go out to the garage, I had no idea. Sometimes it was just easier to not question it. There was a method to Sawyer’s madness.
I walked out the front door and paused when I saw George’s head peeking out of the sunroof. He looked my way, and I stopped short. Are those goggles on his face?
I opened the back door of the car to secure Dylan’s car seat. “What have you done to our dog?”
“They’re doggles. He loves the sunroof, but I don’t want his eyes drying out. We wanted to surprise you and give you the full effect.”
So, this was why we hadn’t all gone out to the garage. “How long has he had these?”
Sawyer grinned. “Couple of days. We’ve been trying them out.”
George dipped his head below to look at me like, “Duh.”
I smiled. This was my wife. Wife. I still fucking loved the term.
It was a miracle someone hadn’t posted the picture online yet. George was a celebrity in his own right. The fans adored him. In a week, we’d be doing another family photo magazine spread with Anna. The people were desperate to see Dylan. With us going on the road soon, we agreed it would be best to reduce the craze.
Sawyer gave me a sweet smile. “Hop on in, Mr. Rockstar. I’ll drive so you can see how much he loves them. Waldo sent them. He has different colors.”
Fuck. Waldo was as crazy as my wife when it came to dog accessories.
Sawyer’s knee bounced as she drove. “You nervous about something?”
“Who, me?” Her face was all innocent. Too innocent.
“Yeah, you.”
“No. Why would I be nervous?”
The response was too quick. I pinned her with a look, but Sawyer refused to look my way. Something was up.
“I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking.”
“Pfft…”
Yeah, she was nervous about something, but she didn’t seem worried. Her parents and Adriane were awaiting trial. The federal authorities had found unmarked graves on the property, which explained why they never wanted to part with the Colorado home. From the evidence Adriane gathered, the Wades had done Navarro’s bidding for quite some time. They were heartless people who never deserved children like Sawyer and Cameron.
The discovered bodies were linked to people suspected to have been killed by Navarro. From what Steve told us, Tonya and Christopher despised Adriane as much as Sawyer and Cameron. The transcripts still haunted me with how cold they spoke about their kids. They were a cover. A necessary evil.
At least they were out of our lives for good. If only my father could join them in hell. Stupid fucker. He’d tried to run a story, and I buried his ass in so many lawsuits he’d taken off with his tail between his legs. Cocksucker.
Sawyer parked the car and grabbed her bag. “Grab Dylan. Hurry.”
I looked at Dylan in his little blue jeans and shirt that said stud muffin. Definitely done on purpose. “I’m sorry, little man. Your mom is a force.”
Dylan clung to me, playing with my ear as we walked up the steps. Best fucking feeling in the world, having a child.
I followed the sound of the cooing. “Oh, she’s so sweet. Look at those little cheeks. It seems like forever since Dylan was this young.”
Knoah smiled from the couch, looking tired. “How’s it going, squirt.”
“Amazing. I knew motherhood would be wonderful, but I never imagined it would be magical like this.”
Garrick’s chest puffed out a little bit more today. I knew the feeling. Dylan and I joined Sawyer. Adaline was resting so sweetly. “She’s beautiful, guys.”
“Thank you. How’s my sweet nephew?”
Knoah reached for Dylan and I handed him over.
Who would have thought all those years ago, when I first met Knoah, this would be where life took us?
“Oh, Kurt, will you hand the bag to Garrick? It’s a present for Adaline.” Sawyer made more kissy faces at the new baby.
I gave him the bag. “I think it’s time to share the baby.”
Sawyer rolled her eyes. “Baby hog.”
Garrick pulled out the little pink shirt with the words miss stud muffin and shook his head. “Adaline isn’t allowed to date until she’s thirty.”
“Don’t be a party pooper, Shaw.”
Holding Adaline close, I touched her cheek. “Hey, sweet girl.”
Yeah, I could take another one of these at some point. Maybe two. Sawyer would kill me if she heard me say that out loud.
Garrick cleared his throat. “What’s on poor George?”
“His doggles. Sawyer thinks his eyes dry out when his face is in the wind,” I answered.
“They do!”
Everyone laughed. I removed the doggles and put them in the bag. Sawyer seemed full of nervous excitement again. And I kept waiting for her to tell me what was going on. She was terrible at keeping secrets.
* * *
When we got home, Sawyer busied herself in the kitchen making a lasagna and garlic bread. The house smelled delicious. Dylan and I had been playing up in his room, but the smells from the kitchen brought us downstairs. I paused when I saw the stack of mint chocolate chip cookies on a platter.
“So, what did you do?”
“Who, me?” Sawyer gave me a cheesy grin as she checked the oven.
“Yeah, you.”
Coming to the counter, she tilted her head and furrowed her features. “Well, technically, you did it.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you.”
Her face was deadpan before she burst out laughing. “Gah! I can’t keep it in. I feel like I’m going to explode.”
“What?”
Even Dylan stopped moving around, which was a miracle.
From a random cabinet in our kitchen, she pulled out a wrapped packaged. “I had this made a long time ago but forgot to give it to you because you infected me with forgetfulness. Then I found it. Remembered something, which led to something, and I found out something.”
I put cuss muffs on Dylan. “You’re not making any fucking sense.”
“Good job on the cuss muffs. Just open the package. I’m trying to do something suave and not so wham bam in your face.”
I thought back over her clues while I handed Dylan over to Sawyer. Has my wife gone crazy? I ripped open the package and unfolded a shirt. It had a cape and super sperm printed in the middle.
I chuckled. “That is awesome. But I think we’ve figured out how to manage the super sperm.”
“You sure about that?”
Is she saying what I think she’s saying? If Sawyer was pregnant, I would be the happiest man on earth. I’d been contemplating how in the world I was going to bring it up without being threatened for castration. My poor beans, as Sawyer called them, did not need to be harmed. “What?”
“Oh, they found a way.”
I leaned forward to put my hands over Dylan’s ears—cuss muffs. “No fucking way! Are you serious?”
“Yes. Looks like we have a little souvenir from our honeymoon.”
I kept the cuss muffs on. “No fucking way!”
“Oh yes way. See, I found the shirt. Which got me thinking about how I still hadn’t been regular since having Dylan, which got me to take a pregnancy test, which led me to the doctor to confirm.”
Absolute joy flowed through me. I put my hands in the air. “Super sperm! I knew it.”
“So, you’re happy?”
“Elated.”
Sawyer started jumping with Dylan, who laughed along with us.
“Don’t jiggle the baby, Sawyer.”
Dylan moved his arms to keep jumping. “You’re going to be a big brother.”
I stepped closer, worried Sawyer might not be ready. “You happy, baby?”
“Ecstatic. But after this one, we’re going to have to either put Mister Winkie on bread and water or take more drastic measures. Otherwise, I’m going to be thirty with half a dozen kids. And that is not happening.”
“Got it.” Then I kissed her hard. “You’ve made me the happiest person on earth.”
“Back at you, Mr. Rockstar.”