Love in the Light (Hearts in Darkness, #2)(60)

The doctor laid the baby on Makenna’s belly and clipped off the umbilical cord while a nurse dried him off and put a striped cap on his little head. And, God, he was so little. Little and beautiful and amazing.

“Would you like to do the honors?” the doctor asked Caden, holding the scissors out to him.

“Yeah?” Caden asked, smiling. Makenna grinned and nodded, and Caden cut the cord, bringing his son fully into the world.

Finished rubbing him down, the nurse covered the baby with a blanket and lifted him higher so Makenna could hold him in her arms. Seeing Makenna hold their son for the first time was something he would never forget. He shook his head as he looked at the two of them, just so filled with awe. This…this was his family. Leaning over, he stroked her hair. “He’s beautiful.”

“He really is,” she said, her voice shaky. “Hi, Sean, it’s so nice to finally meeting you.”

Caden gently cupped his hand around Sean’s little head. Sean David James Grayson. It was a big name for such a little guy, but they’d both fallen in love with it as a way to recognize the important people in their lives—his brother, the paramedic who’d saved Caden, and Makenna’s family. Wherever they were, Caden hoped his mom and brother would be proud.

The nurse gave the three of them wrist bands and took the baby’s footprint and weighed him, and then asked, “Would you like to try to feed him, Makenna?”

“Yes,” she said, her face lighting up. It took a couple of tries, but Sean caught on pretty fast. And the wonder on Makenna’s face was so f*cking sweet that it made Caden’s chest ache.

Caden held the boy’s tiny hand, the little fingers curling around one of Caden’s. And it gave him the best idea. Because today he was making this family official. He had the ring and the approval of her father and brothers—even Ian, who finally seemed to have warmed up to the idea of Makenna being with Caden—and now was the perfect time.

After a while, the baby pulled away and fussed, and Makenna nuzzled him, cooing and talking until the boy calmed down. For long moments, she and his son just stared at one another as she spoke quietly to him. Watching them, Caden had never felt happier or more grateful in his whole life.

“Your turn to hold him,” she said, smiling up at him.

Caden’s heart tripped into a sprint. Sean’s little body barely filled the crook of Caden’s arm. He was so little, so vulnerable, so beautiful, with a head of silky brown hair peeking out from beneath the cap and blue eyes that Caden hoped stayed that color. Part him and part her.

When the baby started to cry, Caden shook him gently in his arms and walked in a slow circle by the bed. “You and me are going to be good friends, little man. I’m going to teach you everything. I love you,” he said, “you and your mom both.”

The baby’s little arm escaped from the blanket, and when Caden had his back to Makenna, he slipped the ring from his pocket and put it in the baby’s palm. Sean’s fingers closed tightly around it. “You can do the honors for me,” he whispered, then he turned to Makenna, nervousness suddenly racing through him. “He’s perfect, Makenna,” Caden said, laying the baby on her chest again. “And I think he has a gift for you.”

She gave Caden a questioning smile and grasped Sean’s hand. The diamond glinted and Makenna gasped as she slipped it from his little grasp. “Oh, Caden.”

Heart in his throat, he went to one knee beside her hospital bed and took her left hand in his. “Makenna James, you are everything I want and need in this world. I love you with all my heart, and I promise to devote myself to loving you and taking care of you and building a wonderful life for you and Sean. For the three of us together, as a family. You are the best thing that ever happened to me, and I would be the happiest man in the world if you would agree to be my wife. Makenna, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she said. “Oh, Caden, Yes.”

Caden took the ring and slid it on her finger. Finding where he belonged in this world—and that it was with her—was a gift bigger and more meaningful than he’d ever imagined possible. He rose and kissed her, softly, sweetly, with so much love.

“I’m the luckiest man who ever lived. Thanks to you.” He kissed Makenna again, then kissed Sean’s head. “And you, too.”

Makenna smiled even as her baby blues filled with happy tears. “I love you, Caden. So much.”

Caden smiled back, his heart so damn full. “Aw, Red. I love you, too. Forever.”





Read on for a sneak peek at Laura’s sexy and suspenseful new series, beginning with Ride Hard…



The Raven Riders MC

Brotherhood. Club. Family.

They live and ride by their own rules.

These are the Raven Riders . . .




RIDE HARD





CHAPTER ONE


To say that Haven Randall’s escape plans were not going as she’d hoped was quite possibly the understatement of the century. Especially since she wasn’t at all sure her current situation was any better than the one she’d run from three weeks before.

But today could be the day she found that out for sure.

Staring out the window through the slats of the blinds, Haven watched as another group of motorcycles roared into the parking lot below. They’d been coming in groups of four or five for the past hour or so. And, God, there were a lot of them. Not surprising, since she was currently holed up at the compound of the Raven Riders Motorcycle Club. A shiver raced over her skin.