“Why?” I grumbled.

“Because it’s time.”

“Time for what?”

He stared at his phone, smiling to himself. “I guess your girlfriend likes to stay ahead of schedule, too.” And he looked up at me. “She went into labor two hours ago. Where’s your fucking phone?”

My heart leapt into my throat. What?! I patted my jeans, looking around me.

Shit!

I spotted it laying on a pile of boards and darted over, swiping it up. Pressing the power button, it didn’t light up.

“Fuck, it’s dead. Where is she?” I barked.

Two hours. She’d been in labor for two hours?!

But he just laughed. “At the hospital. Let’s go.”

Why was he laughing? Maybe he forgot how frantic he was when his kid came a few months ago.

I charged out of the room, hearing Kai tell the guys to lock the place up at five, and we hurried out of the building and into my car.

We rushed into the hospital, knowing Labor and Delivery was on the third floor from when Banks had her kid in May. I didn’t even know Winter was in the city today. What the hell’s the matter with me? She probably texted, but I’d forgotten to charge my phone last night, and I didn’t know how long it had been dead.

We went up the elevator and bolted out as soon as the doors opened, heading for the nurses’ station, but I immediately spotted Banks sitting on some chairs, holding her and Kai’s son.

Madden.

Mads, for short. Mads Mori. Poor kid sounded like an assassin.

I brushed her face as I walked by, and she smiled big, excited for me. Mads gnawed with his toothless mouth on her jaw, making cute sounds and shit.

But then a scream pierced the air and a gasp, and I heard a man’s voice and Alex’s coaching. “I’ve got you!”

Without waiting, I burst into the room, my heart jumping into my throat. I’d never heard Winter sound like that before. Jesus. Was it supposed to sound like that?

She laid on the bed, and I rushed up to her, helping Alex hold her up as she pushed for the doctor.

“Six, seven, eight…” the nurse continued counting.

“Baby,” I breathed out, kissing her.

“Damon,” she gasped, realizing I was here.

“Nine, ten,” they finished.

And Winter let out a breath, sucking in air.

“I was so scared you weren’t going to be here,” she said. “My water broke while we were shopping, and he’s coming so fast.”

“I was with her,” Alex told me.

I steeled my arms around Winter and kissed her forehead, cheeks, and lips, making sure she felt me close.

“Thanks,” I told Alex.

Winter shook, and I studied her face, seeing her biting her bottom lip and tears hanging at the corner of her eyes.

And just like that, she was eight again, our fingers hanging on by a thread in the treehouse, and I couldn’t stop what was happening to her.

“Why is she crying?” I barked at the doctor.

“Because it fucking hurts!” she yelped, answering for him.

“Well, give her something!”

“It’s too late for that now,” he mumbled through his mask and then peered over Winter’s legs. “Plus, you wanted natural childbirth, right?”

“What the fuck for?” I burst out, looking down at her like she had three heads. “We didn’t talk about that.”

She growled and pushed back up on her elbows.

“Alright, deep breath and push!” the doctor said. “One, two, three, four…”

“Ahhh!” she gritted through her teeth, her whole fucking body tense and rigid, and I wanted to look, but I didn’t want to leave her.

“Five, six, seven…” they called.

Winter looked flushed and sweat beaded her brow.

“Eight, nine…”

Her face twisted up, and she let out a small scream, and a tear fell, and I tightened my fists, unable to take my eyes off her. Jesus, fuck. Why the hell would she turn down perfectly legal drugs?

“Ok, the head is out!” the doctor told us.

My lungs emptied, and my stomach somersaulted. I moved to look, but she pulled me back. “Don’t leave me.”

I leaned back down and kissed her, but I started to laugh, and I couldn’t help it.

I didn’t know why I was feeling what I was feeling, but it was incredible. Whatever it was.

“I’ll bet it’s a boy,” she said, sucking in deep breaths.

“If you’re wrong, you have to do that bathtub thing for me,” I remind her of our bet.

We hadn’t found out the sex of the kid, wanting to be surprised.

But she just laughed despite herself. “I do it for you anyway. You know that?” she shot back.

“Ok, one more push,” the doctor told her.

Alex and I lifted her up again, and she took a few deep breaths, and then inhaled one more and held it, squeezing her eyes shut and pushing as the count began.

“One, two, three…”

I stared at her face, so much shit washing over me as I watched her, but most of all I just wanted to hold her close. I couldn’t believe this was happening.

“Four, five…”

I was going to be such a screw up. I’d do so many things wrong with her and this kid.

“Six, seven, eight…”

But fuck, I was going to love them. I didn’t care about being perfect. I just wanted to be everything my father wasn’t. I wanted this with her a million more times, and no matter all the shit that still lived inside me, I already knew I was better than him.

“Nine, ten…”

The doctor pulled back, Winter collapsed, and I heard a shrill cry fill the room.

“It’s a boy!” the doctor said.

I looked over, seeing red, little arms and legs as they cleared out his mouth and checked him, and then I watched as they brought him over and put him on Winter’s chest with a little blanket.

She smiled but started crying, wrapping her arms around him, and I just stood there, unable to breathe for a minute.

“A boy,” she said. “Told you.”

“Jesus Christ.” I smiled, lightly touching his head, almost afraid to touch him. “Holy shit.”

I checked his fingers and counted his toes, holding one of his long legs as he kicked.

“Twenty-two and three-fourths inches long, eight pounds and eleven ounces,” the nurse said somewhere behind us.

“That’s big,” the doctor commented. “He’s going to play basketball, Damon.”

I smiled but didn’t take my eyes off my girl and my kid.

I kind of wished we were fucking married now, but with the business, Winter’s dancing, and the pregnancy, we decided to take our time and do it right. I wanted to have it our way.

Alex left, probably to tell everyone waiting that he was here and healthy, and then I remembered that Will wasn’t here.

I faltered. He should be here for this. Out of all my friends, he should be here.

“What does he look like?” Winter whispered up at me, her voice raspy.

I smoothed my hand over both their heads. “Like next year he’ll be running around in the fountains with us,” I told her. “He’s perfect, baby. Black hair, a little pissed off…”