CHAPTER THIRTEEN

 

Gravel spun under the tires as Jared skidded onto the shoulder and then righted his SUV from the U-turn. Sugar wasn’t one to panic. The woman would rather sit on a grenade and save a small town than let a modicum of sweat dampen her brow. That tinge of get home quick in her voice meant she was in pain, and there were very few times he’d heard his wife in a vulnerable state before. She’d be past the level of uncomfortable and likely timing a contraction or two before she’d let him in on what he already knew.

The woman was in labor.

He pressed the gas pedal, his heart pounding, and reached for his phone, dialing Mia Winters.

Mia answered on the first ring. “Please tell me Sugar’s having a baby!”

He grumbled at Mia’s over-the-moon excitement. His own excitement bordered on high blood pressure.

Everything was under control. He’d mapped all possibilities out. Everything had a plan. The plans had contingencies. He would be cool under pressure as always. But his wife was about to deliver his daughter.

He cleared his throat, cracking a knuckle for good measure. “She didn’t say that.”

“Why would she?” Mia rounded her kids up off the phone before coming back. “It’s Sugar. On my way over.”

“Could be nothing.”

“Could be a baby!” Mia gushed.

When she said it like that, Jared’s stomach jumped the way it had when he was that high-school freshman called out for varsity football. He had known it was coming, but when it did, it still shocked the hell out of him. But on the scale of exciting life events, varsity football versus a baby, the baby was magnified about a thousand times over. “Grab Winters.”

“Colby’s already wrangling Ace into a car seat.”

“Good.” Jared floored the gas when the light ahead turned yellow, ignoring what was certainly a heart palpitation in his throat. “Could be nothing.”

“Then we have a pizza party with Asal, and Sugar can complain about heartburn.”

“Right. See you soon.” He hung up and tossed down the phone then thought better of it, pulling it closer in case Sugar called, as though those extra inches between him and the phone would make a difference. He cracked a knuckle and cleared his throat.

Sugar. Was. In. Labor.

Minutes later, Jared screeched into the driveway and jumped out. He left the garage door up because why waste time if he would haul ass out again? He burst inside, groceries in hand just in case he was blowing Sugar’s tone of voice way out of proportion—although he knew he wasn’t.

Asal’s huge grin met him. “Mama’s having the baby!”

Sugar hovered on the edge of the couch arm, not exactingly sitting, a forced smile on her face, gritting her teeth more than saying hello. “Think so.”

For one long-assed second, all of his plans went out of his head. They stayed locked in a look until Asal clapped. “Clara and Ace are here!”

Jared blew out a breath. “Backup. Alright. Good. They’re here.”

“Honey,” Sugar said, taking a deep breath and turning her head to look at their daughter. “Colby and Mia and the kids are spending the night.”

“I know.” Asal rushed to the front door to let them in. “You guys have only been over the plans a thousand times.”

This was true. They were nothing if not well prepared. Though in the eyes of a ten-year-old, that was likely as boring and annoying as Asal had just made it sound.

The brood walked in. The kids went a million miles an hour. Winters made a joke. Sugar threatened to kill him. Mia smacked her husband and went to Sugar to start timing the contractions. They were close but not close enough to head to the hospital. Jared turned on the oven, per Mia’s instructions, that little drill sergeant, and took the bag of frozen pizza that she had brought over for the kids.

Clara and Asal ran through the living room with Ace in the back of a giant dump truck. “Don’t dump your brother face-first on the floor,” Winters yelled. He smiled and made his way into the kitchen.

Jared crossed his arms over his chest, watching their two families’ lives unfold as Winters propped next to him against the counter.

“This is some crazy shit,” Jared mumbled.

“Pretty damn awesome, huh?” Winters agreed.

Pride swelled in Jared’s chest. Hell yeah, it was. He nodded at his guy, who went to grab a beer, and Jared went to his wife. Sugar had still opted to sit on the edge of the couch arm instead of the actual couch cushion, and she and Mia were lost in conversation about Delta team and the new Titan recruits.

He wrapped his arm around Sugar’s shoulders, settling on the back of the couch, and she leaned her weight against him.

Ten years ago, if Jared had been offered a million dollars to predict the future of his household, there was no way he could’ve guessed correctly. Yeah, maybe he could’ve nailed the fact that Winters would settle down. Maybe him too. But that his fortress of a house was… a home? He took it all in: Happiness bounced off the walls as a pizza baked in the oven, and his impatient wife waited for a phone app to tell her it was time to head to the hospital.

Could he have foreseen this? Never. He couldn’t have dreamed anything this great.

“Okay. Press that little damn button,” Sugar growled to Mia, who hit the start button on the phone. All four adults watched the timer. Actually, three—Jared watched Sugar.

Ding. Ding.

Mia’s eyes danced. “Baby time.”