Chapter 28 Rowan #2
He clears his throat. “Because we have something to tell you guys.”
Donna whirls around, wooden spoon in hand like a microphone. “You’re getting married!”
“Probably eventually,” I say, laughing. “But that's not it."
Finn squeezes my hand tighter and says proudly. “We're going to have a baby.”
For a second, the whole room goes silent. Everyone looks at each other, probably trying to figure out who already knows and if we're actually serious.
Donna shrieks so loud that Lola barks. “Oh my God!” She drops the spoon and rushes over, hugging us both so tightly. “I knew it! I had a dream about a baby last week, and I said to Pete, ‘That’s a sign!’”
Pete’s eyes are glassy with tears. He smiles so big it feels like something is breaking in my chest. “That’s… that’s wonderful, sweetheart.” His voice cracks on the last word, and I feel Finn’s thumb brush over my knuckles. I know he's probably trying to hold this together, too.
“We wanted you to know right away,” Finn says softly.
Pete nods, his eyes shining. “I’m so glad you did.” He looks at Finn and claps him on the shoulder. “You’re going to be one hell of a dad, Son.”
Finn swallows hard. “I had a pretty good example.”
Donna sniffles loudly and pulls me back into a hug, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m going to be a nana again! Oh, I have to start knitting! And baking! And redecorating one of the rooms! We need a theme!”
“You don't knit or bake now, Nana,” Junie says, looking confused.
“It's time to learn to do more nana things,” Donna tells her, excited, and Junie shrugs.
I laugh through my own tears. “We don’t even know what we’re having yet.”
“Doesn’t matter,” she says, wiping her eyes. “We’re celebrating everything!”
Then she grabs my hands and starts spinning me in a ridiculous, happy dance right there in the middle of the family room. “We’re having a baby, we’re having a baby!” she sings, off-key and wonderful.
Mom's so happy, too, and she can’t stop smiling. Ivy’s recording the whole thing, cackling from the couch. Remy’s shaking his head, grinning like an idiot. “How about that, a baby,” he mutters, but there’s warmth in his eyes.
Dinner turns into loud, beautiful chaos. Plates clatter, laughter fills every corner, Donna’s garlic bread burns a little, and nobody cares because everyone is together and celebrating good news.
Finn’s sitting beside me, his arm over the back of my chair, watching his family with that soft, quiet pride he always gets when he's around them.
His thumb brushes small circles on my shoulder as if he's anxious about something and I can guess what that is.
It's like the lingering elephant in the room that we have to live as much life as we can with Pete.
Pete tells a story about the time Finn tried to build a treehouse and accidentally nailed his jeans to the ladder.
Donna rolls her eyes and threatens to produce the photo evidence when Finn denies it.
Ivy and Willa argue over who will get pregnant next.
Tate and Remy are staring at each other and having a silent conversation of 'what the hell is going on here. '
It’s loud, messy, and perfect. And it's my family. And this baby is so lucky to have these people.
For a second, I look around the table at my sisters, my mom, Finn’s family, this ridiculous group of people who somehow became ours.
And I think… this is what life's supposed to be like. Family, fun, and special memories. Love and laughter. The world outside with people like Sammy, Jessica, or the other small-town snakes, they don’t matter.
This is what matters.
Finn catches me staring and leans in to kiss my temple, his voice low and steady against my ear. “You okay, baby?”
I nod, smiling as tears sting my eyes. “Yeah,” I whisper. “Better than okay.”
Outside, the sun dips behind the trees, and inside, the house glows full of warmth, noise, and the kind of love that feels unbreakable.
The night air is thick with the scent of honeysuckle and the warmth of summer. Out in the yard, Junie’s throwing a rubber ball across the grass, her giggles mixing with Lola’s happy barks as the dog bounds after it.
Finn and I sit on Donna’s front porch, swaying slowly on the old swing. The wood creaks beneath us, steady and familiar. His hand is warm around mine, thumb tracing small, absentminded circles against my skin.
Finn nods toward the yard. “Maybe we should get a dog,” he says quietly. “Think Allen would like a friend?”
I laugh under my breath, leaning into his shoulder. “I think we have enough on our plate right now.”
He grins, eyes glinting in the porch light. “I love our life.”
Junie squeals when Lola brings the ball back, wet and slobbery, and I can’t help but smile. There’s so much life here. So much love. I love our life too.
Finn squeezes my hand, and for a second, I breathe it all in, the sound of laughter, the smell of honeysuckle, the warmth of his arms around me, making me feel safe and secure.
I lean my head on his shoulder. “Think Pete was happy?”
He nods slowly, looking out toward the dark tree line with the coast in the distance. “I’m glad we got to share this with him.”
“Yeah.” My throat tightens.
The swing creaks again as he shifts, turning to face me. The porch light hits his face just enough that I can see the faint smile tugging at his lips.
“You know,” he says, “I’ve built a lot of things in my life. Houses, cabinets, decks. But this…” He glances down at where his hand rests against my belly, his thumb brushing over my shirt. “This is the first thing that feels absolutely right.”
My heart stutters. “That’s dangerously close to something Donna would write in one of her books.”
He grins. “Yeah, well. Guess like mother, like son.”
I laugh softly, but it fades when I see the look in his eyes that's the mix of love and awe and something deeper, almost reverent.
“You know I bought that house for you,” he says quietly. “Every nail, every board… I wanted it to be perfect because I wanted you to see how much you mean to me, Row. I wanted it to be a place where you’d never question my love for you. You'd feel it there every day.”
“Finn…”
He shakes his head. “I always knew it’d be you, Row. I didn’t know it’d be this good.”
Tears burn behind my eyes, hot and sudden.
He reaches up and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, voice low and rough. “That house is ours. We’re gonna fill it with life. Plants, babies, laughter, and memories. It’s gonna be messy and loud and beautiful, and I can’t wait.”
I laugh through a sniffle. “I love you."
He leans in until his forehead rests against mine. “I love you, too.”
The world goes quiet again, just the sound of the porch swing and the low hum of summer all around us.
After a while, I whisper, “If it’s a boy…”
He hums. “Yeah?”
“I think I want to name him Pete.”
He pulls back just enough to look at me. His eyes go soft, glassy, even.
“Pete,” he repeats.
I nod.
Finn lets out a shaky laugh, rubbing his thumb under his eye. “He’d love that.”
“I know.”
He kisses slow, sweet, lingering and we almost forget we have an audience around us. We finally pull apart and I rest my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, steady and strong.
“This,” I whisper, eyes closing. “This is what it’s supposed to be like.”
He kisses the top of my head. “Yeah, baby. It is.”
The swing keeps rocking, soft and slow, and everything feels right.