Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Lachlan
My palms are sweating. I’ve wiped them on my jeans at least a dozen times, and they still feel clammy. I’m ready to stand and pace this damn waiting room, but I remain seated next to Maggie. Outside of wringing her hands together in her lap, she appears to be calm, cool, and collected.
“I’m freaking out too,” she tells me when she catches me staring. “We get to see our baby today. We get to find out if we’re going to have a son or daughter.” Her face lights up.
She’s glowing, and I want nothing more than to kiss her, and I’m considering it when the nurse opens the door to the back office and calls her name.
We stop at the scale, and I turn my head. I don’t give a fuck what the number says, but I know Maggie is self-conscious because of the dickwad she dated before, so I do the honorable thing and don’t look.
“We’re going to take you to the ultrasound tech first, and then you’ll switch rooms to see the doctor,” the nurse explains. She leads us farther down the hall and to the right to another long hallway. “Take a seat on the exam table. Sandra will be right with you.”
I help Maggie up onto the table, not that she needs my help at this stage of her pregnancy, but it gives me a reason to get my hands on her, and that’s something I will never pass up.
Bending, I press my lips to her forehead just as the door opens. I step back and wait for the ultrasound tech to enter.
“Hi, I’m Sandra.” She offers her hand to Maggie.
“Maggie, and this is Lachlan.” She nods toward me. I also shake Sandra’s hand.
“Are you ready to see your baby?” Sandra asks.
“We are,” we say together as we share a smile.
Sandra dims the lights and moves toward the exam table. “Can you lift your shirt for me, Maggie?” she asks, typing on the screen.
Maggie does as she asks, and I grin as she bares her baby bump. There is a tiny piece of us that’s growing inside her, and that’s the coolest fucking thing that’s ever happened to me. To get to witness her body grow and change for our baby, it’s truly a miracle.
“I’m going to use some gel. It’s warm, but I still like to warn you.” Sandra squirts gel all over Maggie’s belly, and I move in closer, not wanting to miss a single second of what’s to come.
She moves the wand all around, and the screen is still facing her. “I’m just going to get some measurements for the doctor.” Sandra works quietly and efficiently while I stand next to the exam table with bated breath, waiting to see my son or daughter.
“All right, all the technical stuff is out of the way. Your baby is very active. Do we want to know the gender today?”
“Yes,” we answer together, making Sandra laugh.
“Well, you’re in luck because this little guy wants to be seen.” She points to the screen. “Right there. Congratulations, Mom and Dad, you’re having a boy.”
A boy.
A son.
Tears well in my eyes as I let that news sink in. I reach for Maggie’s hand and my knees hit the bed. When I look down, I find her smiling up at me with tears in her eyes. She’s fucking stunning, and I have to kiss her.
I have to.
Bending my head, I press my lips to hers. “Thank you.”
She laughs through her tears. “Why are you thanking me?”
“For our son. For being my favorite human. I have an entire list if you want me to keep going.” I kiss her one more time, then move my forehead to hers. “A boy, Mags. We’re having a boy.”
“We are.”
I take a minute to get my composure before standing and nodding to Sandra. She’s smiling at us before she turns her attention back to the screen. She points out arms, hands, legs, his heart, and I’m overwhelmed with love for this tiny little man I’ve never met before.
I focus on everything Sandra is saying, and when she’s done, she hands me some towels and I help Maggie wipe up her belly.
“This is for you.” Sandra hands me a strip of images. “Baby boy’s first pictures.” She smiles.
“Thank you, Sandra.” I hold the strip up to show Maggie, and tears form in her eyes again.
“I’ll take you to your next room to see Dr. Holmes.”
I lift Maggie from the exam table and crush her in a hug. My chest feels tight, like it could burst at any moment, for the love I have for my child and his momma. I freeze and step back, staring down at her.
“You okay?” she asks, her hand resting against my cheek.
I place my hand over hers and smile. “Perfect, Momma. Come on. Let’s go see the doctor.” I take her hand in mine, lead her out of the room, and follow Sandra to the next exam room, where Dr. Holmes will check over her to make sure everything is going great.
Meanwhile, I’ll be sitting there in the chair, watching, listening, and wondering how in the hell I’m going to tell the mother of my child that I’ve fallen in love with her.
“Want to swing by my new place? We can pick up something to take back there and eat,” I ask Maggie once we’re in the truck after her appointment.
“Yes. I’d love to see it again. How was the closing?”
“Good. I wish you could have gone with me, but I know how dedicated you are to your job.”
“I took a half day. I have paid maternity leave, but I feel bad that I’ll be leaving them short while I’m off.”
“They’ll miss you, but they’ll manage. They did fine when Emerson was off after having Lilly.”
“I know, but that’s just me, you know? I don’t like to be a burden to others, even my coworkers.”
“You’re not a burden, Mags. You’re having a baby. It’s not like you’re missing weeks of work to go backpacking across the world and leaving them high and dry.” I laugh.
“You’re right.”
I want to tell her that I’m always right but think better of it. Instead, I pluck the key I made her after the closing this morning from the cupholder and hand it to her. “This is for you.”
“What’s this?” she asks.
“That’s your key to my new place. I didn’t have one made to the old one because I knew that I was moving.”
“Is there a reason you’re giving me a key to your new house?”
“You’re the mother of my son.”
Maggie chuckles. “That’s your reason.”
“Yeah. What if you need me or need to come in and I’m not home? What if our little man needs something at my place, and I’m not there?”
“Then we wait for you to get there.”
“No. I want you and our son to have full access to me at all times.”
“Lachlan, that might be nice right now, but what happens when you meet someone? When you move her in?”
“I won’t.” My voice is clipped. The thought of any other woman in my world besides her makes me ill.
It’s Maggie.
She’s my family. Her and our son.
If I thought she was ready to hear it, to accept it, I’d tell her, but we’re not there yet.
“Just keep it, Maggie.”
“Okay,” she quietly agrees and slips the key into her purse. “A juicy cheeseburger,” she says.
“What?”
“I want a big juicy cheeseburger, some onion rings, and a chocolate shake.”
“You hate onions,” I remind her.
She shrugs. “Order me fries, too, then, just in case I change my mind, but the breading on the onion rings sounds so good right now. I love the breading. Not the onion.”
“You got it.” I drive to the nearest fast-food joint and order our food.
“You got four orders of onion rings, and two fries. I can’t eat all that.”
“Well, one order of fries and a burger is for me. The second order of fries is yours just in case, and if you only plan to eat the breading, you’re going to need more than one order.”
“I can’t eat all of that. I know I’m eating for two, but not that much,” she rushes to explain.
“Then you don’t eat it. We’ll toss it or take them home and put them in the air fryer to warm them up later. I just want to make sure you get enough to eat.”
“And you're worried about your mom spoiling him.” She laughs, rubbing her belly. “Your daddy is going to take the prize on that one, huh, little man?”
That tightness in my chest is back. I’m beginning to think it’s a feeling that will always be there as long as Maggie is in my life.
Once we have our food, I head off to my new place. I help Maggie out of the truck, then grab our food and drinks while she uses her new key to let us inside. “Shit, we don’t have chairs. I didn’t think this through.” I set the bag and our drinks on the counter, then turn to face her. “Come here.”
She does as I ask. I grip her hips and lift her to sit on the island. “There, at least you can sit and enjoy your meal. I’m sorry I didn’t think about having somewhere to eat.”
“We could have just sat on the floor,” she tells me with a shrug.
“No. I’m not letting my—the mother of my child eat dinner on the hard floor.”
“So moody,” she teases.
I reach into the bag and hand her a burger and a napkin before setting out the onion rings and fries for her to reach, then I dig into my own meal. “I should have asked the guys to meet me after closing and I could have at least moved my bed here so we could stay here tonight.”
“You mean you.”
“No, I mean we . It’s my first night here. You have to be here for that.” What I don’t say is that she has to be here for every night from tonight on.
“Are you afraid to be in this big ole house all alone?” she teases.
“No, I just like my bed better when you’re in it.” I lean over and kiss the corner of her mouth. “Eat your dinner. Our boy is growing.” I wink and take my own advice and go back to my own dinner.
“So, how do you want to tell people that we’re having a boy?”
“Can I not just scream it from the rooftops?”
This makes her smile. “You can, but we can also think of a cool way to tell everyone.”
“How about we have our friends over here tomorrow night? Legend and Maddox are coming to help me start moving a few things. Roman and Forrest are at the shop until five, I think. We can have food, and maybe lawn chairs for enough seating, and we can tell them then.”
“I like that plan. How about my grandma and your parents?”
“Um, we tell them first, obviously. Why don’t we tell them tonight? Can we take them cupcakes with blue icing or something?”
“Pastry Heaven is already closed for the day, but we can stop at the grocery store and find something. Maybe a small gift bag with some blue fabric, or blue baby clothes or something.”
“I’m in. Eat up, and we’ll stop at Grandma Doris's first since she goes to bed earlier. Then we’ll go to my parents’.”
She peels some of the breading off an onion ring and pops it into her mouth. “We need to start thinking about names too.”
“I have some ideas. Well, one really.”
“Really?” Her eyes light up.
“Yeah, I was thinking we could name him after our dads. Yours in honor of him, and mine for the man he taught me to be, and the dad he taught me to be when he didn’t have to be. Sean Alan Noble or Alan Sean Noble. Sean for your dad and Alan for mine’s middle name.”
Her bottom lip quivers, and tears race unchecked down her cheeks. “I love that, Lachlan. Either or both, I don’t care, but I love that so much. Thank you.”
“We’ll let it simmer and decide. I kind of like Sean Alan better, but I’m easy.”
She nods. “Sean Alan Noble.” She looks down at her belly. “Mommy and Daddy love you so much, baby Sean.”
“Did we just name our son, Mags?”
She nods. “Yeah, we did.”
I move to stand between her legs and gently cradle her cheeks, wiping at her tears. “I—My heart is so damn full, Maggie.”
“Mine too, Lachlan. Mine too.”
I kiss her softly, knowing that my entire world is right here in this room with me.
“Oh, heavens, what are you two doing here?” Grandma Doris asks. She’s in her recliner, with the TV on low and what looks like a hot cup of tea in her hands.
“We brought you something,” Maggie tells her.
“You did?” Her eyes light up with surprise. “I have everything I need,” she tells us.
“Well, you don’t have this.” I hand her the small white gift bag. “Open it.” I step back and stand next to Maggie, wrapping my arm around her waist while we watch.
Doris pulls the small tissue-wrapped frame out of the bag and slowly unwraps it. “Is this the baby? Oh, goodness, look at that.” She runs her fingers over the frame. “Wait, the frame is blue. You’re having a boy?” she asks.
“We’re having a boy,” Maggie confirms.
“Oh, sweetheart.” Grandma Doris goes to stand, and I rush to help her. She pulls me into a hug and waves for Maggie to join us. The three of us stand in a small circle, celebrating the life of our son.
“We have a name,” Maggie says, pulling back.
“Tell me.” Grandma Doris smiles.
“Sean Alan. After Dad, and Lachlan’s dad.”
“Oh, my.” Grandma Doris places her hand over her mouth and tears well in her eyes. “He’d be so proud of you, Maggie. They both would be. He’s smiling down on you right now.” She wipes at her tears, then looks at me. “Lachlan, thank you for taking care of our girl, and that little one, the way you do. I know in my soul that my son and my daughter-in-law would have loved you. I’m so happy for both of you.”
I swallow back the lump in my throat. “Thank you, Doris.”
“That’s Grandma to you, young man, and soon-to-be great-grandma!” she exclaims.
We spend another half hour with her before we say our goodbyes and head to my parents’ place.
“What ya got there?” Dad asks, watching as I set the white gift bag on the floor next to where Maggie and I just took a seat on the couch.
“Just a little something we picked up for the two of you.”
“Rodney, we don’t care about what’s in the bag,” Mom scolds playfully. “You had your ultrasound today. I’ve been dying for your call. I was giving you time together, but I really want to know if we’re having a boy or a girl.”
“We did find out if we’re having a boy or a girl,” I say, placing my arm around Maggie’s shoulders and pulling her close.
“Yeah, yeah.” Mom waves me off. “Tell me. I can’t take it. Wait, you are going to tell us, right? You’re not going to make us wait?”
“We’re going to tell you. In fact, the answer you’ve been seeking is right here.” I bend for the bag and hold it up for her. Mom leans over from the loveseat, grabs the bag, and turns to my dad and grins.
“Are you ready for this?” she asks him.
“You know it. Open it, woman. You’ve been dying to know all day, and now that the answer is literally in your hands, you’re stalling.” He chuckles.
“Okay.” Mom flashes us a smile as she reaches into the bag and pulls out the tissue-wrapped blue frame, just like the one we gave Doris, with a sonogram picture inside. Slowly, she unwraps the frame, and stares down at the picture. “Oh my goodness,” she breathes.
“A boy!” Dad cheers.
“Wait, how did you?—?”
“The blue frame, Amanda.” Dad laughs.
Mom tosses her head back in laughter. “I was so focused on the picture, I didn’t even register the color of the frame. A boy!” Mom hands the frame to Dad so he can get a good look, and then both stand and pass out a round of hugs.
“Congratulations, you two,” Dad announces.
“Thank you,” Maggie tells them.
“Maggie, we need to plan another shopping trip,” Mom tells her. “Oh, this is going to be so much fun.”
“We will definitely have to do that,” Maggie agrees. “We decided on a name,” she tells them.
“You did? Do we get to know or is that a surprise?”
Maggie looks over at me and nods. “Sean for the first name. That was Maggie’s father’s name,” I tell them.
“Perfect.” Mom bobs her head.
“Alan, for the middle name.” That one doesn’t need an explanation. I watch my dad as he swallows hard and blinks back tears. Alan is his middle name. “After the man who was the father he didn’t have to be. Who taught me how to love freely and showed me how to be a good dad.”
Dad stands, and so do I. I meet him in the middle of the room as he pulls me into a crushing hug. “I love you, son. I’m so damn proud of you.”
“I love you, too, Dad.”
He steps back and clears his throat. “Ladies, why are our arms empty?” he asks.
Maggie giggles while she and my mom join us in the middle of the room. Dad pulls Mom into his chest, and I do the same with Maggie. She wraps her arms around my waist, and I kiss the crown of her head.
I love you.
I want more than anything to say those words, and I will soon. We spend an hour with my parents just visiting before we say our goodbyes.
“My place or yours?” I ask Maggie.
“It’s getting late.”
“I know, babe. Where are we sleeping? My old place or yours?”
I’m waiting for her to tell me we need to sleep at our own places and I have my argument ready, but it never comes.
“I don’t care as long as we’re together.”
Reaching over the console, I twine our fingers, and bring her hand to my lips for a kiss before resting our joined hands on her thigh. I point the truck toward my place because it’s closer, and all I want right now more than anything is to hold my girl, and our son.