Well, fuck.
“Hopefully it’ll pass soon,” I said.
“Branna? Can… Me… Branna? Hello?”
“I can’t hear you.”
“Call... later. Hello?”
“Okay, babe. Talk to you later.”
The reception had been so shitty whenever my sister or friends called over the last few days, but it was really bad now that a storm was rolling in. It was another reason I was excited to get home. I couldn’t wait to have a real chat with them without being cut off.
“Ryder!” I hollered when I hung up my phone. “Ryder, quick, come here!”
“Branna?” I heard my husband roar in response. “I’m coming!”
I heard his feet pounding against the floorboards as he ran down the hallway. I jumped when the door to our room flew open and crashed into the wall with a resounding bang.
“What’s wrong?” my husband asked, his eyes wild.
“Aideen had the baby!”
“For fuck’s sake!” He breathed and place his hand on his chest. “You scared the shit out of me. I thought something was wrong with you, Branna.”
Fuck.
I winced. “I’m sorry, I forgot.”
He closed his eyes for a few seconds then reopened them.
“Is Ado and the baby okay?” he asked, dropping his hand to his side. “Everything went like it was supposed to?”
I nodded. “Aideen is doin’ great and so is our new nephew.”
“Another boy?” He laughed, his worry for me easing from his face. “I bet Kane is loving that.”
“I’m sure he is.” I chuckled. “Ring ‘im, I’m sure he’ll want to hear from you. Just don’t be surprised if you get cut off, the storm messed up me call with Keela.”
Ryder did just that. He gave me one more once-over, and when he was sure I was okay, he took out his phone, tapped on the screen, and pressed it against his ear.
“Kane?” he said, smiling wide when his brother answered. “Bro, congratulations to you and Ado. Another boy! I’m so happy for you both.”
Ryder laughed at something Kane said, then replied, “Ah, it could have been worse. You could have almost missed the birth like when Jax was born.”
I could practically hear Kane’s, “Fuck you,” from across the room. I smiled when Ryder laughed once more, but smiled wider when he got very quiet very fast.
“Say that again,” my husband requested. “I think I’m losing you. It sounded like you said his name is Locke Ryder.”
He did say that.
My heart warmed when Ryder began to shuffle a little from side to side.
“Kane, I don’t know what to say other than I’m honoured.”
They spent a minute or two on the phone after that, and when the reception went shitty, Ryder hung up.
He looked at me and said, “They gave him my name.”
“Isn’t that brilliant?”
“Yeah,” he said, clearing his throat. “Brilliant.”
Butterflies exploded in my stomach when he rubbed his eyes.
“Are you goin’ to cry?” I asked, smiling so wide my cheeks began to hurt.
“No,” he said quickly. “I just have something in my eyes. You were right about it being a little dusty in here.”
“Yeah,” I teased. “It must be the dust because you’d never cry over your little brother given his newborn son your name.”
“Of course not,” my husband countered. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Yep,” I deadpanned. “Not a big deal at all.”
Ryder sniffled and rubbed his eyes again.
“I’m going to the restroom,” he managed to get out before he turned and fled the room.
I covered up my giggles because I knew he was going to unleash his ‘man emotions’ when I wasn’t around. All men were supposed to follow that code, according to the brothers. Never ‘pussy out’ and cry in front of anyone. The Man Bible had a whole chapter on it—or that was what Dominic said anyway. That damn code they lived by would soon change once they all had children, and they watched them grow. I’d bet my life on it.
That evening, when I emerged from my nap—that was really like a six-hour coma—I found Ryder in the kitchen cooking us dinner. He hadn’t spotted me yet, so I quietly walked into the room and simply watched the magnificence that was my husband.
I leaned against the kitchen counter and rubbed my belly when the baby kicked.
“The little one is active today,” I said.
Ryder looked up, smiled, and then rounded the counter to kiss me in greeting.
“Sleep well?” he asked.
“So well,” I purred, shaking out my relaxed limbs.