43. Sadie
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Sadie
Coming home with a newborn son was supposed to be a quiet, intimate moment. Instead, it was absolute chaos.
The second Adam carried me through the front door, Kai right behind him with our tiny, swaddled baby boy cradled in his arms, everything felt overwhelmingly real.
Home. Our home. With our son.
Samuel had barely shut the door before Adam sank onto the couch, exhaustion weighing heavy in his shoulders. He hadn’t left my side at the hospital, refusing to sleep unless I did.
Now, with our tiny baby tucked safely in Kai’s arms, I wasn’t sure any of us would ever want to let go.
Kai paced slowly, his fingers gentle as he traced our son’s impossibly small features.
“Still feels surreal, huh?” he murmured, his voice softer than I’d ever heard it.
Samuel sat beside Adam, leaning forward, his dark eyes locked on the tiny bundle. “You could say that.”
I eased down next to them, feeling the ache settle into my bones. Every part of me was exhausted, but my heart was full—so full it felt like it might burst.
Adam shifted, wrapping an arm around me and pressing a lingering kiss to my temple. “You did good, sugar.”
I sighed, sinking into his warmth as Kai finally stopped pacing, settling down beside us and carefully placing our son in my arms.
The moment his little body rested against mine, his soft weight melting into my chest, I felt a boundless adoration that hit me hard.
Love. Deep, endless, terrifying love.
Samuel reached out, his fingers tracing over the baby’s tiny fist as it curled tight. “He’s perfect,” he murmured.
Kai exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his face. “So, are we really calling him ‘the baby’ forever, or are we actually gonna pick a name?”
Adam huffed. “You got a better suggestion?”
Kai’s mouth twitched. “I stand by Everett.”
Samuel arched a brow. “Everett’s not bad.”
I let my head fall back against Adam’s shoulder, amusement curling through my exhaustion. But then, as I looked down at my son, my heart stirred deep inside me.
A name I hadn’t said in so long, it almost felt foreign on my tongue.
“…James.”
All three of them went quiet.
Samuel was the first to speak, his voice careful. “Your father’s name?”
I nodded slowly, my fingers brushing over my son’s cheek. “He was strong. Steady. The kind of man people could count on. I’d like our son to have that.”
Adam exhaled softly, pressing another kiss to my temple.
“James,” he murmured. “It’s a damn good name.”
Kai leaned in, stroking a fingertip over our son’s tiny knuckles.
“James,” he repeated, testing the weight of it. Then he smiled. “Yeah. It fits.”
Samuel’s hand rested on my thigh, his touch warm and sure. “James, it is.”
The baby stirred in my arms, letting out a little sigh, as if he’d been waiting for us to say it.
I smiled, my heart swelling to the point of aching.
James.
I glanced around at them—my men, my family. The ones who had stood by me, loved me, and now would love our son just as fiercely.
I had never, in my whole life, felt more surrounded by love.
And that?
That was worth more than anything in the world.
We barely had five minutes of peace.
Five glorious, quiet minutes, where James was asleep on my chest, Adam was half drifting against my side, Kai was resting his head back against the couch, and Samuel had stretched his long legs out in front of him, arms crossed, looking as close to relaxed as I’d ever seen him.
It was the calm before the storm.
Because then, the front door burst open.
“Oh, thank God,” Marlene’s voice rang out, loud enough to wake the dead. “We were dying waiting for you!”
James startled, letting out an indignant squawk.
Adam groaned. “Mother.”
Marlene bustled in, carrying a massive Tupperware container that I’d bet good money was filled with something smothered in butter. Behind her, Leona and Alicia followed, both holding gift bags, while Milo, Richard, and Hayley brought up the rear.
I blinked. “How did you all?—?”
“We have our ways,” Leona said smoothly.
Samuel shot his mother a look. “You tracked my location again, didn’t you?”
Alicia didn’t even pretend to look guilty. “I'd do anything for my baby. And my baby's baby."
Samuel sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, while Kai muttered, “And it's just the first day back home.”
Meanwhile, Richard and Milo were standing in the doorway, looking thoroughly out of their depth.
Richard crossed his arms, eyeing the scene with the same assessing look that Adam often wore. “You all surviving?”
Adam grunted. “Barely.”
Milo just nodded. “Newborns are a battlefield.”
Hayley smiled warmly, making her way over to me, her eyes soft as they landed on James. “He’s beautiful, sweetheart.”
My throat tightened, emotion clogging my chest.
She was the closest thing to a mother I had. And seeing her here, in my home, with my son, hit harder than I expected.
I swallowed, managing a small, shaky smile. “Thanks, Hayley.”
Marlene clapped her hands, immediately shifting the tone from sentimental to mission-oriented.
“Alright! First things first, food. Sadie, you need to eat. And someone, for the love of God, put a burp cloth on Kai before James spits up all over that shirt.”
Kai scowled. “Why am I the spit-up magnet?”
Leona handed him a burp cloth without hesitation. “Because I bet you’re the one who keeps picking him up after he eats.”
Kai muttered something under his breath but accepted his fate.
Meanwhile, Alicia had taken over the living room, rearranging pillows and blankets with military precision.
“You need a proper setup for rest,” she said firmly. “Where’s the humidifier? I told you to get one.”
“We have one,” Samuel grumbled.
Alicia raised a brow. “Is it plugged in?”
Samuel muttered something unintelligible and avoided eye contact.
Kai smirked. “That’s a no.”
Leona sat beside me, her hand warm on my knee. “And how are you doing, sweetheart?”
I hesitated, because honestly? I had no idea how to answer that.
I was exhausted. Overwhelmed. Emotional. But also happier than I’d ever been.
“I’m good,” I finally said, voice soft. “Really good.”
She smiled knowingly. “Motherhood is something else, isn’t it?”
I glanced down at James, who was curled up in my arms, his tiny hand resting against my chest.
I exhaled. “Yeah. It really is.”
Marlene sniffed dramatically. “Ugh, look at you! A little family! It’s disgusting how much I love it.”
Adam groaned. “Mother.”
She ignored him, turning to Richard and nudging him in the ribs. “Well? Say something nice!”
Richard looked cornered. “Uh. The baby’s… small.”
There was a beat of silence.
Milo nodded solemnly. “Good observation.”
I bit my lip hard to keep from laughing.
Samuel did not bother.
Marlene sighed. “You men are useless.”
Alicia smirked. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
The conversation spiraled from there… Leona fussing over the temperature of the room, Hayley giving me a look when I tried to get up, Alicia and Marlene bickering over the best baby books, and Milo and Richard just standing off to the side like two dads at a school function who didn’t know what to do with their hands.
It was chaos.
But it was my chaos.
A family I never thought I’d have.
A life I never thought I’d get.
And as I sat there, surrounded by all of them, loud and opinionated and exasperating, I realized something.
I loved every single second of it.
I had barely gotten an hour of sleep before I woke up to the sound of frantic whispers.
“Shit, shit, shit… where is it?”
“It was right here! I swear I put it right here!”
“Damn it, Adam, this is why we need a system.”
I groaned, rolling onto my side to see Kai and Adam standing over the changing table, both of them looking one spit-up stain away from a breakdown. Samuel stood a few feet away, arms crossed, watching the chaos unfold like a man who knew better than to get involved.
James, for his part, was completely unfazed, blinking up at his fathers like he knew they had no clue what they were doing.
“What’s going on?” I croaked, my voice still thick with sleep.
Adam turned to me, looking borderline betrayed. “The diapers are gone.”
I blinked. “Gone?”
Kai ran a hand through his hair, looking disheveled and exasperated. “We had a whole pack of them right here, and now… poof. They’ve disappeared.”
Samuel sighed, finally stepping in. “Did you check the shelf?”
Kai and Adam both froze. Then, as if in slow motion, they turned and looked at the shelf above the changing table… the one labeled “Diapers” in big, bold letters because we had all agreed a system was necessary.
Silence.
Then Adam muttered, “Shut up.”
Samuel smirked.
I rolled onto my back and laughed until I cried.
By day three, I had learned something important: three grown men could handle an infant, but it wasn’t always pretty.
Like when Adam decided to take over swaddling duty.
“Watch this,” he said confidently, laying James down on the couch between us. “I’ve got this down to an art.”
Kai leaned back against the armrest, sipping his coffee. “Oh, this should be good.”
Samuel sat beside me, arms crossed, observing like a judge at a talent show.
Adam shot them both a glare before getting to work. He folded the blanket with precision, tucked James’s little arms in, and started wrapping.
One twist.
Two folds.
A tuck…
And James immediately squirmed free, his tiny fist punching through like a champion breaking out of a wrestling hold.
Kai let out a low whistle. “Damn. Kid’s got skills.”
Adam groaned, flopping back against the cushions. “How does the nurse make it look so easy? It’s like swaddling a greased-up alligator.”
Samuel leaned in, effortlessly tucking James back into a perfect little baby burrito.
We all stared.
Adam pointed at him. “You’re a witch.”
Samuel just shrugged.
The first time we tried to give James a bath, we nearly flooded the entire kitchen.
“Not too hot,” I reminded Adam as he tested the water with his elbow.
“I know, sugar. I don’t wanna boil our kid.”
Kai stood beside him, reading from the baby book like it was a bomb-defusing manual. “Okay, so we need to support his head, cradle his body, and keep a firm but gentle hold?—”
James let out an unhappy wail the second Adam tried lowering him into the water.
Samuel, standing behind me with his arms crossed, watched the scene unfold like he was betting against them. “This should be fun.”
Kai knelt beside the tub. “Hey, little man, we’re just trying to get you clean?—”
James kicked, splashing water all over Kai’s shirt.
Adam snorted. “Well, that backfired.”
Kai sighed, peeling off his soaked shirt and tossing it onto a chair. “Great. First bath, and I’m already collateral damage.”
Meanwhile, Samuel took one step forward, reached down, and, without any struggle, picked James up, rinsed him off, and had him wrapped in a towel in under a minute.
Adam scowled. “Okay, seriously, are you a baby whisperer? Where did you learn all this?”
Samuel smirked. “You think I let you two idiots be the only competent ones?”
I laughed, stepping in to take James from him.
“You’re all doing amazing,” I assured them. “Even if Kai smells like baby soap now.”
Kai sniffed his arm. “Huh. Not the worst thing I’ve smelled this week.”
By the end of the first week, we were exhausted, overwhelmed, and completely, stupidly in love with our son.
And despite the chaos, despite the sleepless nights and the endless diaper changes, I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.
Because every time I looked at James, I saw my father’s strength. Every time I looked at my men, my partners, I saw a future filled with love.
And when we finally, finally got James to sleep one night and curled up together in a pile on the couch, I realized something else.
We might be a disaster sometimes, but we were a team.
And we were going to be just fine.
The end.
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What to read next???
Click HERE to read Lacey’s first book in the Men of Medford series, Stuck with my Brother's Firefighter Besties.
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Discover the seductive ‘stranger’ is my brother’s bestie… OMG.
Get stuck in a cabin and claimed by three off-limits firemen? No way.
After being robbed, I flew home with my pride in a carry-on and my faithful corgi stowed in cargo.
So when the passenger next to me looked like People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive, I did what any heartbroken girl would do.
I followed him into the tiny bathroom to forget my troubles at 30,000 feet.
And forget I did?—
Until my brother picked us up at the airport.
Mr. Sexy Face tossed our luggage into the trunk, smirking like we had a secret.
Because we did. A very naked one.
Then, lured by the promise of ‘all-inclusive relaxation’,
I accepted my brother's invite to the firehouse ski trip.
Cue the surprise blizzard.
Now I’m snowed in with three forbidden firefighters.
Jaxon , my wild ride in the sky… Now I’m his favorite landing strip.
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And Ryan , the golden retriever jokester who makes me beg between the sheets.
They’ve all claimed me. At the same time.
I’m so screwed.
I can’t choose between them. And I’m not about to burn it all down and run.
Not when my three firemen make me feel like I’m finally home.
Start reading Stuck with my Brother's Firefighter Besties NOW!
Here’s a sneak peek of chapter one…