Page 77 of Ride or Dies

“Evie-girl,” Mason spoke slowly, staring at me, “did your water just break?”

I nodded. “Guess those’ve been real contractions and not just Braxton-Hicks, huh?”

Levi pointed at me. “We’ll talk about that later. Now, let’s get you to the hospital.”

The next six hours were something surreal, a blur of pain and waiting and fatigue and surging emotions, but in the early hours of the morning, as I sat in my bed, exhausted but finally clean, I knew it’d all been worth it. All for the little girl in my arms. And for the three men standing around me, gazing down at her like she was the center of the universe.

And she was. For all of us.

I chuckled softly.

“What’s so funny?” Levi whispered.

“I know why I couldn’t finish my song,” I said, brushing my fingertips across her forehead. “Because I needed to see her to do it. Our little Melody.”

The song of what was going to be a beautiful life.