“He did save you,” she snaps while glaring at him, “and I promised him that I wouldn’t let you end back up in the hospital.”

“All right,” Jacob calls out coming back into the kitchen his eyes on me. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah.” I walk over to kiss Betsy’s cheek then tell Barrett goodnight before we leave the two of them in a standoff in the kitchen. On the way home, I call Franny to let her know that we have company and the smile in her voice is clear. It took a while after Barrett’s surgery for Jacob to come back around, and all of us were relieved when he finally did.

A couple of hours later, with our empty dinner plates still on the table, I sit back with my beer and Franny’s hand wrapped around mine on my thigh. I listen to her and her brother laugh about some vacation they went on as kids.

Their childhood was vastly different from mine, they had a home with two parents who put them first and everything from money to opportunities at their disposal. But it’s obvious listening to them that one thing their parents instilled in them is that happiness is not something that can be bought and that family is the most important thing you’ll ever have. I didn’t learn that until later in life, but our son or daughter will grow up with that being a core value, and that is something I didn’t know was important to me until now. And it’s one more reason I’m lucky to have Franny as the mother of my child. One more reason that I’m lucky to have her as mine.

CHAPTER 22

Francisca

Lying in the dark with Dayton’s hand wrapped around mine and the sound of our baby's heartbeat filling the quiet of the room, I’m catapulted back in time to a few months ago when he came to my first ultrasound appointment with me. So much has changed since then, and not just my body, but our relationship is so different now. We are no longer just two strangers who are having a baby, and although I learn something new about him every single day, I feel like I know him better than anyone.

“Where is it?” Dr. Bride asks no one in particular as he moves the ultrasound wand over my stomach, and I turn my head focus on the screen. Unlike my first appointment, you can clearly make out the tiniest details of our baby including the nose and lips, and even the outline of one tiny ear. “Okay you two, are you sure you just want me to tell you what you’re having and that you don’t want to do some fancy reveal?”