Twenty-Two

“ A re you ready to hear your baby’s heartbeat for the first time?” Dr. Kumar smiles at us both as she applies the warm gel to the ultrasound probe.

“Beyond ready,” I reply, giving an excited Ashley a toothy grin and gently kissing her hand, which is interlocked with mine.

There were days when it felt like we’d never be here. Never have the opportunity to even walk into a building together, freely holding hands like we did today.

Ashley’s smiling face quickly changes to a gasp. Snapping her head to the monitor, she watches in awe as our baby moves around inside of her uterus.

The strong heart sounds like a horse galloping through a field.

“It's so fast…” Ashley whispers, tears in her eyes as the most perfect noise I’ve ever heard fills throughout the room. “Oooh, fast heartbeat.” Like she just remembered something, she smirks at me. “You know what that means… Are you ready to be a girl dad? ”

I chuckle through the tears of joy. “Someone’s been looking at the old wives’ tales.” Nodding, I squeeze her hand. “But yes…I’m ready for whatever we’re blessed with.”

That’s the thing about something you never knew if you’d have…it just makes you appreciate everything so much more. I couldn’t care less if it's a boy or a girl. I want a healthy mama and baby; the rest doesn’t matter. Even if he or she isn’t mine by blood, they’ll never know anything but the fatherly love I have for them.

I honestly don’t even care to know, but Ashley was insistent on a blood test. So, she had my brother draw labs for us last week for a non-invasive test. They are supposed to be returned anytime in the next three days.

The doctor continues taking pictures of our little one. “And I think I remember correctly; you both want to wait to find out the sex of the baby?”

We discussed it at length and decided it would just add to the excitement of welcoming our first baby into the world.

Ash and I nod.

Dr. Kumar smiles. “That’s so fun. As a doctor, it always excites me even more to be with you at the birth.”

She uses the ultrasound machine to take some measurements of the baby. “I know you aren’t certain of your conception date since your birth control had gotten a bit out of whack, but it looks like this baby was conceived right around Halloween, or even a few days after.”

Ashley’s head snaps to mine, a big smile on her face and more happy tears in her eyes. I close my eyes, trying to control my emotions. I know it's not a complete confirmation, but it's damn close .

“For now, I’m estimating your due date to be July 24 th .”

“A summer baby,” I whisper.

“Good, just take me to Nori beach and let me lay around, looking like a beached whale until then.”

The image of her growing belly in a bikini sounds incredibly sexy to me, and I plan to make sure she knows it every step of the way.

“Trent, Trent.” I hear from behind me.

I know that voice.

“Hey there, Amelia,” I say as she approaches, and I feel Ashley stiffen beside me. I pull her in reassuringly to my side.

“I thought that was you guys.” She smiles, but barely looks at Ashley.

I rest my hand on Ashley’s tiny baby bump. “Yep, we just got to hear our baby’s heartbeat for the first time.”

Amelia recovers quickly from the shock on her face and replaces it with a smile. “Ah, you’re going to be a dad? Congrats.”

“Yep! Ashley is making me the luckiest man alive.”

“That’s awesome.” She finally looks in Ashley’s direction and gives her a halfhearted smile.

“I’m here with an internship. How’s school going?”

“It’s going good. Taking my time, not rushing to finish.” In another words, I’m already working with my brother every week. I enjoy learning at school too, but I’m in no hurry to graduate. Plus, I just got Ashley all to myself, so most days, I have no desire to leave her side.

“Oh, wow.” She pauses for a second, and then says, “You have changed so much since that first semester.”

Her words piss me off. She was a study partner, but she never really knew me. “Or maybe you didn’t really know me so well.” I shrug, shaking my head. “Everyone is different, but I realized where my priorities lie.” Interlacing my fingers with Ash, we turn toward the exit. “Good luck to you.”

“Good luck with…everything,” Amelia calls out.

“Overachieving witch,” Ashley mutters under her breath.

A chuckle leaves me. “She really is, isn’t she?”

“Hell yes, and she still wants your dick.” Ashley narrows her eyes on the last part.

I roll mine at the thought. “Well, she definitely isn’t getting that.”

She smacks me on the ass. “Oh, I know.”

Laughing, I open the passenger door for her, but Ashley stops before getting into the car. Her beautiful blue eyes find mine. “On a real note, are you sure you are happy with how things are going with your studies?”

I kiss her forehead. “Yes, Doll. Especially with the baby coming, I don’t want to be far from either of you.”

That’s one thing I’ve realized about truly being in love with someone. You genuinely want them to be happy, no matter what that may look like, and I know that’s why she’s questioning me. It’s exactly why I’ll be doing everything I can to help Ashley get back into creating and sewing in whatever capacity makes her thrive .

She smiles softly, biting her lip before I press a kiss there. My attempt to soothe her overthinking. “I know, but I want you to be fulfilled in your own life and career, too.”

“I am, truly. Now that we aren’t caught up in Junior’s shit, I’ve been going to more actual medical calls with Trevor. It’s crazy how much I’ve learned from him out in the field already.”

Ashley must believe me, because she kisses my cheek, then ducks into the car, and I walk around to my side.

As soon as I get in, she says, “Speaking of Trevor, I want the tea on what we saw this morning.”

“He is so private when it comes to her. Always passing it off as nothing, but I know it's more than that.”

Which honestly worries the hell out of me. I mean, she is our boss’s very off-limits daughter.

“I totally ship it. I mean, the hot older guy and the gorgeous, younger forbidden fruit. So sexy. It sounds like something out of Lottie’s romance books she’s always reading.”

My nostrils flare. “Do not, under any circumstances, call my brother hot again.”

She huffs a laugh. “What?It runs in the family.”

We pull into the underground parking at our new place. When the penthouse next to Trevor became available a few weeks ago, we jumped at the opportunity. Now we just have to make the place our own. We have a lot of missed time to make up for, so as far as furniture goes, we haven’t made it past picking out a bed .

My phone starts to ring. Putting the car in park, I answer my brother’s call.

“Hey, have y’all gotten home yet?” His southern drawl comes out more with his question.

“Just pulled in. Why, what’s up?”

“Stop by here on your way in.” He sounds like he’s nervous.

“Kay, but we can’t stay long. We need to take Nori on a walk,” I say before hanging up, my mind racing with why he wants to see us right now.

Ashley grabs my arm, a wide-eyed look on her face. “Wait, do you think he has the results?”

The thought did cross my mind, but trying to control my nerves, I say, “Maybe, but then again, I think he may have just said that.” I hop out and run around to help her out of the car.

The elevator ride up is quiet, which is very unlike Ash and me, but we are both thinking the same thing.

Does he have the results?

Was the doctor correct about the timeline?

Trevor buzzes us in, and we are greeted by not only my brother, but hers as well. A vase of flowers with balloons tied to them sits on the entryway table.

“What’s going on?” we ask at the same time, our words tumbling out.

Trevor smiles, but his voice is a bit shaky. “Well, I kind of saw the results when I was printing them to put in an envelope for you, so I called Micah.” He shrugs. “Sorry, this is what y’all get for not having sisters; this is the best we could come up with. ”

Ashley grabs hold of Trevor’s arms. “What are you saying, Trev?” Tears already pool in her eyes, and I’m barely holding back my own.

He nods. “Yes!”

“Yes?” she whispers.

“Yep, Micah and I are, in fact, both the biological uncles of the little bean growing inside you. We’re going to have another little manning in the family.”

Ashley falls to her knees, letting out a joyous cry. Immediately, I land beside her, holding her petite frame in my arms. She grabs onto my shirt for dear life, sobbing in my chest.

I know this is a relief for her after everything Junior put her through. She already loves the baby, no matter what, but carrying his child would have been an extremely hard pill to swallow.

“This baby was created with nothing but love,” I tell her in a hushed tone as warmth consumes me.

Her words are broken through the tears. “I’m sorry, I’m just… I’m just so happy. So thankful.”

I push her hair out of her face, kissing her forehead. When I look up, I see the emotion in both our brothers’ eyes. It's been a rough few months, but no one has endured what she has for the past three years, and we all know that.

It will haunt me forever, but I’ll spend every day showing her what she deserves in this life and giving her anything she wants. If I can’t make it happen, I’ll find someone who can.

“I wasn’t sure if we’d ever have this, and now, we have it all. I’m just overwhelmed. It feels like a dream.” Ashley presses my hand on her stomach. “Our baby. Our fate…”

I finish her thought. “The light through all the darkness.”