Twenty-Five.
Maci
Nurse Debbie pushes a bassinet-like cart with my daughter—Olivia Grace—tucked soundly inside. She’s wrapped up like an itty-bitty burrito in a white and pink striped blanket and a pale pink hat.
“We’re ready to eat,” Debbie announces, wheeling her to my bedside with Duke following closely behind.
He strides to my other side, and I smile, reaching for him. He leans down to kiss me, his eyes suspiciously puffy. “She did great. Hated every second of it.” He grins.
The nurse hands me Olivia. “Hi, baby girl,” I beam, cradling her tiny frame in my arms.
“Five pounds, seven ounces. Twenty inches long,” Debbie tells me, helping me to position Olivia to latch onto my breast. She’s a natural, of course, and Debbie excuses herself with a promise to return in a bit to check on us.
“She’s so cute,” I coo. I can’t stop staring at her. She’s the most adorable baby in the world, and not just because I made her.
Duke brings his chair close to the bed, his hand finding mine as we watch Olivia snuggle into my chest. “She’s beautiful,” he says. “Just like her mother.”
We watch her for some time before Dr. Sanderson arrives with a clipboard in hand. “How are you feeling, Maci?”
“Sore,” I reply honestly.
She goes over a slew of things we can do to help with my level of discomfort. When she sets the clipboard on the table beside me, she says, “This is the formal paperwork for the birth certificate. Take your time filling it out for accuracy. Check all spelling, first and last names. And make sure to get all the parents’ information correctly before both parents sign.”
A slow smile spreads across my face at her choice of words, and she spares a glance at Duke who hasn’t taken his eyes off Olivia asleep on my chest.
She smiles, having to turn away when I catch the emotion welling in her eyes.
After she’s gone, I point to the clipboard. “Can you grab that for me?” I ask.
“Sure, babe,” he says, reaching over me, and as he goes to hand me the paperwork, I shake my head.
“I’ve listed you as my emergency contact since my first appointment here in Whitetail,” I confess. “When I got here, they had me sign something in case anything was to happen to me during the delivery. Who would take Olivia if I didn’t have the father of the child listed.”
Duke’s brow furrows.
I stare at her and start to cry. Duke takes my hand, and I smile. He fills my heart with so much love—the kind of love you want to keep for the rest of your life. And he’ll be my daughter’s first true love as well.
“I put your name down,” I say. “If something were to happen to me, you would be the sole caretaker of Olivia.”
He sucks in a breath. “Maci…”
“I know she’s not yours,” I choke out as tears fall from his strong dark eyes. “But she is. She’s yours. You were made to be her dad.”
His leg starts to jump as his chin quivers. He looks down at the paperwork in his hand. “I want to sign it,” he says, glancing between me and Olivia. “But I need to do something first.”
He sets the clipboard at my feet and stands. Pushing his chair back, he drops to one knee beside me.
“What are you—”
He pulls a little black box from his back pocket.
Duke takes my hand, clearing his throat. “From the second I saw you, stranded on the side of the road, I knew I was meant to find you,” he says, and I choke on a laugh before a smile splits my face. “You went from being a stranger to my best friend, to the one I want to spend the rest of my days with. I love you with everything I have, Maci Ann Baker. And I’d love nothing more than to be your husband.”
He opens the ring box to reveal a shimmering, oval-cut diamond sitting on a white gold band. “Angel, will you marry me?”
There isn’t a doubt in my mind. I nod vigorously. “Yes.”
My bossy, mountain of a mechanic leaps to his feet, his lips crashing against mine.
A slew of applause and cheers break us apart. I laugh at Butch, Cassidy, and Dr. Sanderson standing in the open doorway of the hospital room.
Duke takes my left hand and slides the ring on my finger. A perfect fit. I stare at him, wondering how I got so lucky to have found him. “I love you.”
“I love you,” he whispers, embracing our daughter and me.
When he pulls away, he grabs the clipboard. Having to swipe the back of his hand over his face as he tries to read the form through watery eyes. “Where am I supposed to sign on this thing?” he asks, peering at me with a widespread grin.
Dr. Sanderson tiptoes in to show Duke where to fill out his portion. And when he finally signs…everyone is in tears.
I shift Olivia in my arms. “Do you want to hold your daughter?”
He brings the chair to sit beside me as Dr. Sanderson takes Olivia from my arms and places her gently in Duke’s. She looks so much tinier in his strong arms—the same arms that have protected me, cared for me, loved me all this time.
Cassidy shuffles over to me and hugs me tight. While Butch stands by his brother, gazing at Olivia in his arms. “Well, little lady.” He cocks a half grin. “Guess I’d better get the shotguns ready for your daddy and all your uncles.”
Cassidy rubs her belly. “Count on her cousin still cooking, too. She’s too beautiful. You’re seriously in trouble, Duke.”
Duke grins from ear to ear. “Can’t wait.”
A knock at the door has us turning before it bursts open to a beaming Julie, Clayton, Rhett, Levi, Lily, and Parker holding a bouquet of flowers and a little pink teddy bear.
Pure joy envelopes me as my new family surrounds me with all the love and support I’ve ever wanted. Everything our daughter deserves.
Olivia Grace Montgomery.
All because my car broke down on the side of the road in Montana.