Six pounds, eleven ounces.
Now, I know why they say the greatest gifts come in the smallest packages.
“C’mon, we need to get you a wristband,” she says as she pulls me through the doors and ushers me down the corridor. “Jack and Connie are in there with them. Oh my God, Blackie, she’s beautiful.”
“How’s Lacey?”
“Tired, but she did so good,” she replies as she brings me to the nurse’s station. “Hi, excuse me, this is Lacey’s husband. Does he need a wristband like the rest of us?”
“Oh, yes, give me one second,” the nurse says as she rises from her seat. “Go right in and I’ll bring it into the room.”
“Why do I need a wristband?”
“It’s hospital protocol and allows you to stay with Lacey and the baby,” Reina explains. “They check the bands to make sure they match.” She pauses as we reach a room. “Here, we are,” she whispers and for a moment, all I can do is stare at the closed door.
Forever is on the other side.
All my tomorrows just waiting to be claimed.
I slowly turn the knob and the second my eyes adjust to the darkness of the room I spot Jack. Sitting next to Connie, he holds a tiny pink bundle in his arms. He lifts his head, and a smile spreads across his face.
“Looks like Grandpa’s time is up,” he says softly to my daughter. “Daddy’s here, Jacqueline.”
Jacqueline.
Until a few days ago, we still couldn’t agree on a name. I remembered Lacey saying if we had two sons, she wanted to name them Jack and Dominic, so I suggested Jacqueline. She volleyed with Dominique. I still wasn’t sold on naming a child after me, but I was all for naming our daughter after the best man I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.
My feet start to move, the soles of my boots swallowing up the space separating me and the new girl in my life. I pause in front of Lacey’s bed and take in her sleeping form. My hand touches her foot as I take a moment to watch her sleep. She was barely legal when I first fell in love with her and at times that love was selfish. I’ll never understand why she chose me, but I’m done questioning it. If life has taught me anything, it’s accepting my blessings and Lacey, she’s my greatest one. My dream girl. The mother of my child. My queen.
A whisper of a cry sounds, pulling my attention away from one beauty to another. Jack stands, gently rocking my baby as he moves to stand in front of me and I get my first glimpse of heaven. My chest tightens as I stare at the single most perfect little human ever to grace this Earth. She squirms in her grandpa’s arms and I watch in awe as she scrunches her button nose. Her lips part and a yawn escapes her. It’s such a simple act and yet my fucking heart explodes at the sight of it, making me very aware of how deep a father’s love runs. Every breath I take, every beat of my heart, are hers from this point forward. A man doesn’t realize how much has been missing from his life until he stares at the child he created and suddenly becomes complete. He doesn’t know how vulnerable he is until he looks at his daughter for the first and realizes he will never share such emotion with another soul.
Blinking away my tears, I welcome them as they slide down my cheeks and silently hold out my arms. With a gentleness I never knew he was capable of, Jack eases my little girl into my arms and we’re a perfect fit. These arms of mine were made to hold her.
“Hey, there, sweetheart,” I say huskily. “It’s Daddy. God, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on,” I whisper, bending my head to kiss the tip of her nose.
My nose.
A little bit of leather in a tiny package full of lace.
“You look just like your mommy,” I murmur. “My two girls.”
Just as I utter the words, I recall Jack’s promise to me.
They’ll be there waiting for you when you get out, I promise. Until then just know I’ve got them. I. Got. Them.
Always, a man of his word.
Lifting my eyes, I meet his gaze.
“Thank you,” I rasp. “For taking good care of my girls.”
“Always, son,” he winks.
“She’s named after you,” I add.
“Poor kid,” he teases but there is no mistaking the emotion in his voice or the gratitude in his eyes.
“I don’t know,” I say. “I think she’s pretty lucky.”
Patting me on the shoulder, he stares at me thoughtfully.
“Yeah, she is,” he agrees before drawing out a heavy breath and turning to Reina and Connie. “I think our job here is done, ladies. What do you say we leave the happy family?”
Connie stares at the baby longingly for a beat before Jack mutters a curse.
“For fuck’s sake, Connie, I’ll give you and Reina free rein with my credit card. Go buy baby shit and let the man bond with his daughter. They’ll let you hold her again. I promise.”
“To be fair, you’re the one who has been hogging her since she was born,” she fires back. “And don’t curse in front of her. I don’t want my granddaughter’s first word to be fucking shit.”
“That’s two words,” he says, throwing one arm around his ex-wife’s shoulders and the other around his Sunshine’s. Cradling Jacqueline closer, I laugh as the three of them exit the room bickering.
“They’re an odd bunch, aren’t they?” I whisper to my daughter. “But they’re the best. You’ve got a whole lot of people who love you, sweetheart. Especially me and your mom,” I say, looking at Lacey. “Let me tell you something about your mom…” I pause, taking time to make my way towards Lacey. Carefully I take a seat on the edge and position Jacqueline in my arms so that if she opens her eyes her mom will be the first thing she sees. “When God was handing out mother’s he gave you the best. She’s the strongest woman I’ve ever known, a real warrior. She’s compassionate, and she loves with everything in her, but I bet you already know that.”
Jacqueline releases another yawn and this time she opens one eye. I smile in awe as she slowly opens the other and looks at her mom.
“She’s pretty too, isn’t she?” I whisper, nuzzling the side of her face. “You look so much like her.” I breathe her in, memorizing her scent before pressing a kiss to her chubby little cheek. “I love you, Jacqueline, and I promise you, I’m going to be the best dad to you. I may mess up from time to time, but I think the greatest thing I can do for you as a father is love your mother and baby girl, I love her with my all I am and all I can ever hope to be.”
“I love you too.”
At the sound of Lacey’s voice, my head snaps up and I meet her gaze.
“I see you’ve met our daughter,” she whispers.
“You mean I’ve met the second great love of my life.”
“Oh, yeah, who’s the first?”
“I’m looking at her.”
Chapter Sixty-Three
Lacey
I didn’t think it was possible to love him any more than I already did but seeing Blackie hold our daughter made me fall even harder. So hard that my heart feels as though it might explode. I could watch them together for the rest of my life and be the happiest woman to ever walk the earth. The way he talks to her…oh my God, it's everything.