“I love you, Lucas.”
“I know.”
“You bought our old house? You—”
“Damn, slow it down, girl. I just woke up. I don’t want to fight already.”
“Dad told me you never cashed his check all those years ago.”
“I built the house for you. Your stubborn ass wouldn’t take any money,” I explain then look around for water. “Baby, can we argue later? I need water, and I’d like to know what the hell happened to me.”
“Right, sorry.” She grabs a cup and positions the straw. Holding it to my lips, she explains, “You have two stints in your heart. Two very clogged arteries that are perfect now.” She starts to cry again.
“Okay, so why are you crying?”
“I talked to Ava. She talked to Ashley. I’m so sorry your dad is such a piece of shit, Lucas.”
“Right now, I don’t care.”
“Ava is on her way, and she asked me not to call Logan. Jade is picking her and my boys up from the airport, and then they’ll go get Logan and come here. I told Harper and Maddox to stay put because of—”
“They’re all coming here?”
“Of course they are.”
I don’t know what to say, how to express what I’m feeling, and I’m so fucking exhausted. “Will you do me a favor and climb up here; lay with me so I can hold you?”
“Oh course. Of course I will.” She kicks her shoes off and climbs up beside me.
Out of all the shit that happened today, I should feel completely shattered, but I don’t. Not one fucking thing matters. I’m lying next to my one true love. The girl I have loved yet broke us both. The one who shaped the man I have grown into—hers.
“What are you thinking?” She kisses my cheek.
“That I obviously, finally got it right. That I don’t give a shit about anything that happened today because, right now, I am holding you. Our children are on their way here. All of them know to their souls what family is supposed to mean and how it’s supposed to work. That it doesn’t matter that I fucked up back then—I can let myself off the hook. I’m thinking I’m one lucky son of a bastard to be alive. And I’m thanking God that He made your heart so incredibly strong to love me, anyway. And you? What are you thinking?”
“I wouldn’t have made it if I lost you.”
“You would have had to.” I laugh. “You’re going to think I’m crazy, but that little Piper is the closest thing to a second chance of us having a child together as we’ll ever have.”
“We could adopt.”
“You’d do that?”
“If you need that, then I would. But think of what we have now. Five kids who are going to all have babies. Imagine all the babies we can help raise, and do it together.”
“Perfect. I was also thinking how incredibly hard my dick is getting. How do you suppose we fix that, Nurse Tessa?”
She laughs and sniffs back more tears. “Well, after I get you home, we’ll see what happens. I bet I can come up with something.”
“I’m fucking exhausted.”
“Go to sleep.”
“Can you stay? I mean, at least until the kids get here, and then—”
“I’m staying.”
She’s careful not to touch any of the lines, but she rests her hand above my heart and kisses it gently. “I’ll take care of you, if you take care of mine.”