Southern Pleasure (Southern Heart 1)

She shrugs. “Don’t care. He got us back together, so he gets the name sake, but this little man,” she rubs her belly, “is Walker Chamberlin.”

Lexi climbs up in my lap. “Wove you, Daddy.” She kisses my cheek.

My heart melts.

She leans over and I hold tight, so she doesn’t fall, and kisses McKinley on the cheek too. “Wove you, Mommy.”

Just like they have every time before when Lexi says those words to her, McKinley’s eyes fill with tears.

We settle on the couch and finish watching Cinderella, me and my girls. I cannot wait to meet our son, to welcome him to our family, and if I have any luck, in a few years, make him an older brother.

It doesn’t take long before Lexi is asleep in my arms. McKinley is leaning into me and my hand is on her belly. “I love you, McKinley Chamberlin.”

“I love you, too,” she replies with a yawn and it doesn’t take long before she and I are napping with our daughter.

“Mommy ouch,” I hear Lexi say. I rub my eyes and sit up on the couch. I focus in on Lexi as she sits on the arm of the couch watching McKinley.

“Kinley, what’s wrong?”

“Well, I think it might be time.”

It takes a few seconds for my brain to register what she’s just said. “Now, he’s coming now? You’re in labor?”

She laughs. My wife laughs at me. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I am. I only dozed off for a few minutes. A sharp pain in my back woke me up. They started out about fifteen minutes apart. Now we’re at nine.”

“Shit!” I stand from the couch and pull my phone out of my pocket. “How long did I sleep?”

“Daddy, bad wowd.” Lexi points her little finger at me.

“Yes, Daddy said a bad word. Little girls don’t say bad words,” I say, looking at my watch. Fuck! I slept for two hours. “Were you going to wake me?” I ask, hitting a few buttons on the screen and placing the phone next to my ear. “Hey, man, Kinley’s in labor. Can you come get Lex?” Aaron tells me he is on his way and I hang up.

“Aaron?” she asks as her face grimaces in pain.

Fuck! I don’t want to see her hurting. “Yeah, what can I do, baby?”

“Evan, this is normal. It’s not supposed to feel like a relaxing massage.”

“I know, but . . .”

“It’s fine. We’re twenty minutes from the hospital. The bags are packed, both ours and Lexi’s. Take a deep breath.”

“Is my sister, who is in labor, giving you tips for staying calm?” Aaron laughs.

“Fu . . . Funny,” I catch myself.

“Unca Awon!” Lexi exclaims.

“Here you go. Thanks for coming, man. I’m going to run upstairs and get the bags. Don’t leave her.” I point toward McKinley. I take the stairs two at a time, rushing into our room and then Lex’s to get our bags.

“Okay.” I hand Aaron her bag. “Here’s her bag. You have a key. Use it if you need it. McKinley, babe, I’m going to go pull the Durango out of the garage and load our bags. I’ll be right back.”

I hear Aaron laughing and I’m sure a smart-ass comment rolls off his tongue, but I don’t have time for that right now. My wife is in labor!

By the time we make it to the hospital, her contractions are seven minutes apart. I pull up to the entrance and run in to get a wheelchair. I’m sure I look like a crazy person because a nurse comes rushing over. “Sir, can I help you?”

“My wife is in labor.” I take a deep breath. We made it on time.

She grins. “Got ya. Let’s go get her.” She follows me out the double doors where we find McKinley standing outside the car.