Page 30 of Breath By Breath

“I love watching you with our boys.”

I glance up to see a sleepy, exhausted smile on my wife’s face. “Three boys.”

Her smile widens. “Three handsome boys just like their daddy.”

“We’ll keep trying for a girl,” I promise her.

“We can keep trying, but I don’t care if we have girls or boys. Happy, healthy babies. That’s all I want.”

“We have three. Does our family feel complete to you?” I ask her.

“I think we have at least one more in us.” She laughs.

Warmth fills my chest. “You’re not going to hear me complain.” I love making babies with her. I love seeing the result of our love grow and thrive in our boys.

“Is there a name from our list you like more than others?” she asks.

“Yeah, actually, I like Grant. Grant Riggins.” I stand and walk toward the bed, lowering our son into her arms.

“Grant Riggins. Royce, Owen, and Grant Riggins. Yeah, I like it.”

“Me too. It’s a strong name to match his older brothers’.”

“Speaking of, we need to introduce them.” She offers me an exhausted smile.

“Your mom has Owen, and my parents have Royce. They’re here with them. Let me go get the boys first so they can meet their little brother.”

“We’ll be here,” she says, smiling down at Grant.

I rush out to the waiting room, say hello to our parents, thank them for keeping the boys, and tell them I’ll be back to get them soon. With Owen on my hip at two and Royce, who’s four, holding my hand, we make our way back to the room.

“Are you ready to meet your little brother?” I ask the boys.

“I’ll teach him all the things, Daddy,” Royce tells me.

“I teach too,” Owen adds.

“I know you will. Now, remember, he’s tiny, and Mommy is real tired, so we need to be easy with both of them, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy,” they both reply.

Slowly, I push open the door.

“There’s my boys.” Lena smiles and pats the bed next to her. Royce looks up to me for permission.

“Easy,” I remind him. He nods and rushes to climb on the bed. I move to the other side and place Owen there while I watch over the four pieces of my heart in the hospital bed.

I lean over, kissing Owen’s head, then Royce and Grant. Lena smiles and turns her cheek to me as she giggles. I kiss her the same as I did my sons. Kiss by kiss, I show them they are the best parts of me.

We’re now a family of five.

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

Lena

“Lena!” Stanley calls. The front door slams behind him. I can tell from the sound of his voice that it’s excitement, not fear. I’m just glad the boys aren’t napping because, between his loud voice and the slamming of the door, they would have definitely been woken up by the noise.

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