Until the End (Sea Breeze #9)(83)

Micah let go of Sienna’s hand and took off up the stairs and straight into the house.

“He’s so anxious to tell them,” Sienna whispered beside me.

“You should have see him deciding what to buy,” I told her.

She laughed softly, then laid her head on my shoulder. “Thank you. I want him to feel involved. Like this is his baby too.”

“It is,” I assured her.

“Stop. You’re gonna make me cry again,” she said, slapping my chest, then kissing my cheek again.

“Stop kissing and get in this house,” Momma said as we reached the door. She was smiling from ear to ear as she said it.

“They do that all the time,” Micah piped up. “Makes us late for everything.”

“Hey, now. Don’t be telling on us,” I scolded him, then winked.

“Can we give it to them now?” Micah asked, waving the bag around.

Momma’s smile turned to a confused one.

“Yeah. Where’s Dad?” I asked her.

“In the living room. Come on,” she said, leading the way. “Dave, the kids are here!” she called out as we approached the living room. “You should’ve met them at the door.”

Dad was in his recliner. He turned to look at us and smirked. “Why? You just about tackle them when they get here. Don’t figure they need me hovering over them too.”

Momma slapped his arm, and he winked at her as Micah headed to hug him. That little boy was the best thing that had ever happened to my parents. Especially my dad. He smiled a lot more now. He also got outside and played with him. It was nice to watch.

“We got y’all a present,” Micah announced, holding it up. “It’s a really good one too.”

“A present? Well, what day is it? Did I forget something?” Dad asked, looking up at Momma.

She shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

“Here.” Micah shoved it into my dad’s hands. “Open it.”

Dad glanced up at me, and I shrugged. But the grin on my face was hard to mask.

Momma walked over to stand behind Daddy. “Go on, Dave. Open it up.”

Dad held it in his hands like he was afraid it was about to burst into flames.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake. Open the bag,” Momma said, taking the bag from him and opening it herself. She reached in and pulled out the white box that was inside.

Sienna slipped her hand into mine as Momma lifted the lid.

She didn’t speak at first. Then her hand went to her mouth as she stared down at the bib Micah had chosen with care. When she lifted it up, she showed Dad and then burst into tears, laughing and crying at the same time.

Dad read the bib out loud: “‘I’m perfect. Just ask my grandparents.’”

Then he turned to look at us. His gaze dropped to Sienna’s stomach, and Micah couldn’t take waiting on them to speak. So he announced, “We’re going to have a baby!”

Dad’s face broke into a huge grin, and his eyes misted over. They had been robbed of this with Micah too. They would get to experience it all with this baby.

“I’m just so . . . ,” Momma squealed, then ran to wrap Sienna in her arms. “Thank you. Thank you. I couldn’t ask for a better mother for my grandkids.”

When she was done with Sienna, she grabbed me around the waist and held on tight. “My boy’s gonna have a baby,” she sobbed into my chest.

Dad walked up and hugged Sienna. “If this ain’t a surprise.” He chuckled, trying to hide the fact that he had gotten a little emotional.

“Dad, can we go eat now? I’m hungry,” Micah asked.

Both my parents froze from hearing Micah call me Dad for the first time. Honestly, it was a little intense for me, too. He was my brother’s son. But in my heart he was mine. “Yeah, kiddo, we can go eat now,” I replied.

Then my mother promptly burst into a new round of happy tears.

Sienna

When I jumped up from bed and ran to the bathroom two days later, Dewayne was right behind me. He had my hair pulled back and was wetting a washcloth by the time I hit my knees in front of the toilet. Yesterday I had made it through the morning until the bacon Micah had requested for breakfast wafted past my nose and had me running for the toilet. But today I woke up this way.

“I love you,” Dewayne said so sincerely as he held my hair back while I dry heaved. If I wasn’t puking my guts out, I would laugh. This isn’t where most women expect to hear their men tell them they love them.

Once I was finished, Dewayne flushed the toilet and started cleaning my face for me. I was getting spoiled by this. He helped me up and began fixing my toothbrush for me.

“I can do it,” I told him.

“I know” was his response as he continued to put the paste on my brush, then handed it to me.

I laughed as he filled the glass with water for me to rinse and waited patiently like I was a child for me to finish.

When I was done and had dried my mouth, he took my arms and turned me around to face him. “Marry me,” he said simply.

“You already asked me that. I said yes.”

He gave me a crooked smile. “I mean today. Now. Tomorrow. Just soon.”

Today? Had he lost his mind? I couldn’t get the wedding together for today or tomorrow.