Page 95 of All My Love

The back door kicks open, and Bear’s thundering feet sound through the house until he’s standing in front of us, chest heaving, a grin on his lips.

“Guess what, Honey Bunny?” he says to his sister. From behind his back, he produces a bunch of flowers picked fromthe hill near the creek. Not just any flowers—they’re the wild honeysuckles that grow on the ridge where Dolly saved Bear nearly two years ago. “I got you flowers for your birthday.”

Honey pushes off me, her sticky little fingers leaving dampness on my shirt as she topples into Bear’s arms. He hugs her, keeping the flowers above her head so they don’t get crushed. I take them, then sit back and watch Bear wish a happy first birthday to his little sister.

My gaze rises to the doorframe, where Dolly stands, feet bare, mud smeared up her calves. Her blonde hair is up, a few wild strands pulled out by the breeze, leaving her looking windswept and gorgeous. In her white sundress with a tiny shawl wrapped around her shoulders, she props one hip against the doorframe, bringing her hands together beneath her swollen belly.

In three months, we’ll have another and it’s Honey’s first birthday today.

I can’t keep my filthy hands off of her and her obsession with me? It’s only grown.

And I return it tenfold.

“Happy birthday, Honeysuckle,” she croons quietly from the door. She’d taken Bear out early to collect flowers for his sister while I got Honey dressed and up for the day.

When Honey hears her mama’s voice, she pushes off Bear urgently, a little whine in her chest as she barrels full steam toward Dolly.

“Careful on Mama’s belly,” Bear warns his sister. I take his hand and pull him toward me.

“That was really nice of you to get your sisterflowers,” I tell him, thumping a fingertip against his sternum. “You’re a gentleman for that.”

Just then, the back door opens, Everly, Deuce and Ace come through, a large cake in my sister's hands.

“Happy birthday, Ace!” Bear announces to his cousin, running to give my one-year-old nephew a hug. Somehow, our babies were born the exact same day. I’ll admit, the idea of hosting joint birthday parties out here at Gray Farms for our kids forever? I love it.

“How you doing this morning, Dol?” my sister asks my wife, pulling her into a hug.

Deuce crosses through the kitchen, curving around the couch to drop a hand to my shoulder. “Ev and I want to take the kids to get pancakes for their birthday this morning. A special godparent birthday tradition we want to start,” he says. “That cool?”

Ev and Deuce are godparents to both of the kids, as Dolly and I are for Ace. “That sounds good. Dolly’s been out with Bear this morning—she’ll need a few minutes to wash up?—”

Deuce shakes his head. “Nope. Special godparents thing. No Mom and Dad.”

I shrug. “Okay, that’ll give us some time to finish setting up.” I glance out the back window to where half of the farmers markets’s canopies are set up outside, tables in every one of them. We invited every kid in Bluebell to come to a paint party for Honeysuckle’s first birthday. We got most everything set up last night—just need to add some balloons.

Getting to my feet, I walk out with my family, helping Deuce get all the kids strapped into the car seats. Honeyholds Bear’s hand, who sits between her and Ace, and I swear my heart melts every time I see them together.

Since the day Honey was born, Bear has only referred to Dolly as Mama. It finally stuck, and seeing how happy it made her to hear that word on his lips always? That’s when my beginner’s obsession with my wife turned into something else.

Worship.

Once we’re back inside, she leads me to the shower where she tugs off her white dress, presenting her beautiful pregnant body to me. The only thing she’s still wearing? A necklace. The same necklace I have on my neck.

Inside?

Blood.

I wear her blood, and she wears mine. At one point, I recognize I would have thought it insane to wear someone’s blood on your neck.

But now? The way I feel about my wife? I touch that little vial on my chest at least once an hour and think about how much I love her, everything she’s given me, and how much I want to give to her.

When Dolly went into labor, she begged me to deliver the baby. Begged me. Went hysterical over it. Said she wanted to watch me receive the best gift she could give me. She said she wanted to see my face when she pushed our baby into my arms.

I was scared as hell. We had an EMT outside.

But I did it.

Holding Honey against my chest as Dolly watched with teary eyes, her legs open, chest heaving—it’s a gift I’ll never forget. And I’ll spend my life repaying her for it.

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