Taking a step back, I opened my mouth, shut it, opened it, and then smiled like a crazy fool. “Are you serious? That fast?”
She nodded and giggled. “That fast!”
“Holy shit! Oh, sorry, Pastor Scott!” I said, quickly looking at the pastor.
He held up his hands. “No worries.”
Without even thinking, I cupped Emmerson’s face and kissed her. She laughed against my lips as Noah tapped me on the shoulder.
“Can you not go for more than five minutes without kissing her?”
I looked out at everyone and without even thinking, I shouted, “We’re going to have a baby!”
Surprised gasps mixed with cheers, but the only thing I seemed to hear was Malcolm’s booming voice. “For fuck’s sake, can they not just do one thing in the order they’re supposed to?!”
Five Years Later
WHEN I PARKED my truck and got out, two dogs came running at me full speed. Lady got there first, the proud look of a winner on her face, as Tramp, my handsome Vizsla, came in a close second. And behind him was my four-year-old daughter, Macie.
“Daddy!” she cried out as I bent down and quickly gave each dog some attention before Macie reached me and jumped into my arms.
“Hello, my beautiful girl. What did you do today?” I asked, kissing her on the cheek.
“Pwayed with Bwaden.”
“You played with Braden, huh? Are Uncle Noah and Aunt Amy here?”
Noah and Amy had followed in Emmerson’s and my footsteps, with a quick wedding and a baby soon after.
Macie nodded. “Hailwey is here too!”
“Is that right?” I said as I started to jog into the house, pretending I was a galloping horse. Macie laughed and told me to go faster.
Once I got to the front door, I smiled at my stunningly beautiful wife. “Emme, you look lovely.”
She laughed and stretched up to kiss me. “You just saw me a few hours ago, Landon.”
“And a few hours is too long to be away from you.”
After we walked into the house, I set Macie down. She ran off toward the living room, where I could hear a plethora of voices all talking.
“Who all is here?” I asked, leaning down and kissed Emmerson for a bit longer this time. When I drew back, she seemed to be dazed for a moment before she shook her head and spoke.
“Um, Noah and Amy stopped by with Braden. And Hailey and Jack stopped by with Kaitlynn. Macie and Braden don’t understand why Kaitlynn can’t play with them yet.”
I laughed. “Once that baby starts crawling, they better look out. She’ll be wanting to hang out with them all the time.”
My sister and Jack had gotten married two years ago, and they’d had their first baby, a girl, three months ago.
“Why is everyone here?” I asked as I made my way through the house.
“They all stopped by at the same time,” Emmerson said. “It was pure coincidence. Hailey and Jack were at your folks’, and Amy and Noah picked up Braden from my folks’, so they all decided to come here after.”
Right before we got to the living room, Emmerson grabbed my hand and pulled me to a stop. “I have a special night planned for us, so Amy and Noah are going to take Macie home to spend the night with them.”
I wiggled my brows at her. “Is that right? We get the whole night alone?”
Emmerson smiled. “Yes, we do.”
“And what are we going to do with this free night?” I asked.
“Well, I thought we would maybe go out to eat, then come back home and celebrate.”
“Hell yeah, I’m down with celebrating some alone time.”
Her teeth dug into her lower lip, and her cheeks turned pink. “That’s not what we’re celebrating.”
“Then what are we celebrating?”
She handed me a piece of folded-up paper.
“What’s this?”
Rubbing her hands together nervously, she said, “Open it.”
With a slight chuckle, I unfolded the paper and read the note.
Dear Landon,
Are you ready to fill the house with another little Landon or Emmerson? Check yes or no.
I quickly looked up at her—and noticed the pen she held out for me. My heart started to pound in my chest, and I felt the prick of tears at the back of my eyes. I took the pen and checked yes, then folded up the paper and handed it back before I pulled her into my arms and kissed her.
When we both had a moment to catch our breath, I leaned my forehead against hers and let out a contented sigh. “You’re pregnant?”
Tears slipped free from her eyes, and I drew my head back and kissed it away. “Six weeks,” she said.
My heart threatened to beat nearly out of my chest.