Maddie chuckles, taking him from me. “You’re a little stinker, aren’t you? Just like your father.”
I press a hand to my chest. “I was an angel. Just ask my dad.”
Maddie snorts. “I did. He didn’t tell me the same story.”
Scoffing, I steal my kid back and walk into the kitchen for a bottle of water. Maddie shouldn’t be carrying him anyway, but like always, she never listens.
“Thank you again for watching him today,” Maddie says, and when I got back to them, I see Sophie’s hand on Maddie’s stomach.
“He’s kicking,” Sophie says, smiling at me.
Maddie then presses a hand on Sophie’s big bump. “C’mon, baby girl. Kick for Auntie Maddie.”
“She only kicks for her favorite uncle,” I taunt.
With furrowed brows, Maddie turns and drops her hands. “You touch my sister…a lot?”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not stepping into that trap.”
Sophie chuckles. “Wait, she’s moving now.” She brings her hands to her stomach, and Maddie’s follows.
“Told ya,” I singsong. “The kid loves my voice.”
“The kid thinks you’re Mason. Don’t flatter yourself,” Sophie says with a smirk.
“How crazy that you’re going to have two girls, and I’m going to have two boys,” Maddie says.
“Unless you try for a girl next?” Sophie says. “Keep going until you get a little ballerina!”
“Trust me, if it were up to Liam, he’d keep me barefoot and pregnant constantly. Then I’d still probably end up with all boys anyway.”
“Don’t get me horny now,” I tease, waggling my brows.
Sophie glares at me for my word choice in front of Layla. I shrug.
“I’m content with having my nieces in ballet classes,” Maddie says, but sometimes I wonder. Does she wish we could have a girl of our own for her to share her biggest passion with? I’d be happy to try for a girl the rest of my life, but I’m pretty sure she’s already overwhelmed, and baby number two isn’t even here yet.
“We’ll see,” I chime in, smirking. “I might be able to do some convincing…”
Sophie rolls her eyes with a gag, and Maddie shakes her head.
Maddie holds out her hand toward me as she looks at Sophie. “You see how I’ve gotten pregnant twice in three years.”
I waggle my brows again and grin.
Grabbing Maddie’s face, I press a kiss to her sassy mouth. “Change clothes so we can go.”
“Alright.” She kisses me back.
“Make sure to tell Tyler we all said hi and we’ll see him Saturday at the cookout,” Sophie says before she grabs her purse and Layla, then heads toward the door.
Twenty minutes later, we’re finally on the road for a three-hour trip to pick up Tyler.
Today’s finally the day.
MADDIE
As we pull into the prison parking lot, anxious butterflies swarm my stomach as I think about this being the last time we’ll ever have to come here. Finally.
For the past five years, we’ve visited Tyler almost every month. During my last pregnancy, we weren’t able to for about four months due to me being high risk, but then we came and brought the baby for him to officially meet. I’ll never forget when we told Tyler we really did name the baby after him.
It was the first time I’d seen Tyler tear up with happiness.
Baby Tyler will grow up knowing what the man he’s named after did for us. How he risked his own life to save mine and brought Liam and me back together. I’ll never forget his sacrifice and naming our first son after him felt right and perfect.
“I don’t know why I’m so nervous,” I say, my legs shaking as we wait for him to come through the gates.
Liam comforts me by putting his hand on my knee. “Settle down, Mads. It’s not good for the baby.”
I roll my eyes. He worries too much.
But I love him for it anyway.
Looking in the back seat, I smile as I watch Tyler sleep. He’ll finally get more than thirty minutes to spend time with his Uncle Ty, and since he’ll be living with us for a while, I hope they create a special bond.
“There he is,” Liam says, and I snap my head around.
“Oh my God. He’s wearing street clothes!” My emotions start to bubble over, and I can’t wait any longer. I throw open the truck door and carefully hop out.
“Mads!” Liam groans, but he knows me well enough to know I won’t listen to him anyway.
“Tyler!” I shout and walk as fast as I can toward him. As he approaches me, he opens his arms wide, and the dam breaks. I finally get to hug him after five years. Tears blur my vision as I wrap my arms around him, and he embraces me in a hug. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re out!”
Liam joins and pulls him in for a side hug. “Dude. You look buff as fuck.”
Tyler chuckles. “Gotta make sure I’m prepared for the real world now, ya know?”
I wipe my face, and Tyler smiles at me. “You look huge.”
Laughing through my emotions, I playfully push his chest. “Shut up. I know. And I have two more months still.”
Tyler cringes. “Yikes. Good thing I’m only staying for a few weeks.”
My face drops. “What? That’s it? Why?”
We walk to the truck, and Liam helps me get into the back so Tyler can sit shotgun.
“You know I didn’t even want to go to Sacramento,” he says after we all buckle up. “I found a job back home. I need a fresh start. There’s nothing here for me.”
“Ugh,” I say offended. “Me! And Liam and baby Tyler.”
“And you all have your own lives to live. You won’t mind me invading your space for a little bit, but after a while, you’ll want to have your privacy again, so it’s just best if I try to go back into civilian life the best I can.”
Liam starts the truck and drives us out of the parking lot. “Babe, he’s made his decision,” he tells me when he knows I want to keep arguing.
I slump my shoulders. “Fine, but I’m using these next three weeks to change your mind.”
“You will after you realize my cooking game is weak,” Tyler teases.
Three weeks pass way too fucking fast. Tyler promised to visit, but I have a feeling he won’t be anytime soon, which makes me sad because I was hoping he’d be here for Tobias’s birth. But I do get why he needs to start over fresh. His grandma still lives in Lawton Ridge, Alabama, and I’m pretty sure his high school crush, Gemma, does too. Though he stopped talking about her in our letters, I have a feeling he’ll be talking about her again soon.
“Why. Is. It. So. Hot!” I shout, ripping off my shirt. “Liam! We need to move!”
He pops his head out of the bathroom with a toothbrush between his lips. “Huh?”
“It’s too hot here! We need to live somewhere colder!” It’s the middle of August, and I’m dying of heatstroke.
Liam flashes an amused grin with a cocked eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Where would you like to go, baby?”
I pull off my shorts and chuck them across the room. “I hear Antarctica is nice this time of year!”