Catia (Starkis Family #6) (25 page)

“Hey, girls,” Catia said, smiling as she tried to sit up straighter while I adjusted the down pillows behind her back.

She’d insisted on getting cleaned up and slipping into a fresh white cotton nightgown so she wouldn’t “scare” our guests. I’d gladly helped her to ensure she wouldn’t overdo it.

“Come in here,” she said, waving the girls in. “There’s someone who wants to meet you.”

He was sleeping in the hand-carved cradle my father had made for him, wearing one of the white sleepers Catia had bought. She’d insisted on having the nursery finished weeks before his due date just in case he arrived early. I thought it was silly since he would be sleeping in our room for the foreseeable future, but I knew better than to argue with a hormonal woman whose nesting instincts had kicked in.

“Oh my gosh,” Emily said, slapping a hand over her mouth when the baby stirred. “He’s so tiny.”

The girls stood at the end of the cradle, looking at him in awe.

“Were we ever that small, Daddy?” Elsie asked.

I chuckled. “Even smaller.”

“Really?” she asked in wide-eyed wonder.

“What’s his name?” Emily asked Catia.

“Well, we were just talking about that,” Catia said, reaching for my hand. “We wanted you guys to be the first to know.”

“We’ve decided on Alexander James Clement so he’ll have both of his grandfathers’ middle names.”

The girls smiled as Elsie said, “I like that.”

“Can I hold him?” Emily asked tentatively.

“When he wakes up,” Catia promised.

Each of the girls climbed up beside Catia as I cautioned them to be careful. Catia put her arms around them gently and kissed their foreheads.

In the months since we married, they’d grown so close. They helped Catia prepare dinner. She colored with them. They took Pina for walks together, and when I couldn’t make it home from work in time, she read them bedtime stories and tucked them in. Since I’d talked her into taking a leave of absence from work, she claimed her favorite part of the day was picking the girls up from school and hearing all about their days.

We’d agreed to let them spend time alone with Karen again after she’d proved to the court, via our sessions with the therapist, that she was trustworthy. The time would soon come when the girls would spend weekends with her again, and I wanted that for them. A healthy relationship with their mother was important, and since Karen had been so supportive of my relationship with Catia, I knew I had to support her too. To accept and forgive her mistakes just as Catia and I had learned to forgive each other’s.

“Stay right there,” I said quietly, reaching for my phone. “I want a picture of my three favorite girls.” As I pressed the button, Alex let out a wail that made us all smile.

“I think he wants to be in the picture, Daddy,” Emily said, giggling.

“I think you’re right.” I went to the cradle, picked him up, and nestled him between Catia and our girls before I stepped back to take another picture. “Perfect.”

I finally had everything I’d ever wanted, and I wouldn’t waste a single day taking it for granted.

“I love you,” Catia mouthed, looking from me to our son.

And I knew
that
was something I could always count on.

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Thank You

Nashville Nights

Shameless

Fearless

Ruthless

Reckless

Relentless

Heartless

Hopeless

Careless

Nashville Nights Next Generation

High Stakes

Trade Off

Holiday Homecoming

Game On

Burn Out

Fast Track

Time Out

Face Value

Blown Away

Breathless

Imagine

Starting Over
(Single Title)

Music City Moguls

Stone Cold

Envious

Forbidden

Haunted

Jaded

Hero Worship

Texas Titans

Strike Out

End Zone

First Down

Cheap Shot

Fast Break (Holiday Novella)

Wild Card

Free Agent

Going For It

Possession

Starkis Family

Deacon

Damon

Tiana

Kara

Darius

Catia

Steele Brothers

Ryker

Nex

Seb

Steele Brothers Christmas Novella

Brody (Coming Soon)

Kane (Coming Soon)

Gabe (Coming Soon)