Page 19 of Love Takes Home

“I figure if there was ever a good time, it was then. I did just leave my wedding and open my life up for judgement and the scrutiny of the town, did I not?”

“Fuck,” Ranger mutters beside me, his eyes sliding over the room, both of us watching as everyone pulls their phones out to start sending messages.

“I’m so sorry.” Her mom puts her head onto her shoulder and pats her face.

“Not your fault, Mom,” Ginny assures her. “It’s mine. I did it to myself. I put myself in that situation and imploded my life.”

“You didn’t implode shit,” Mr. Mills’s gruff voice booms. “He did by treating you the way he has for two very long years. And Ihear ‘red flag’ is a term you kids are using these days? That dress was one fucking big red flag.”

“I didn’t get to see the dress. What was it like?” Ranger asks.

I make eye contact with Ginny, who smirks at me before nodding her head for me to explain.

“If you created a torture chamber out of fabric, that was the dress. High neck, suffocating and making her chest break out in hives. It was heavier than Nat.”

“Don’t forget about the feathers!” Lottie throws in with a grin.

I shiver. “So many feathers.”

Ginny bites her lower lip to hide a smile, which makes me perk up immediately, but before we can go on, the door opens and Davis comes in, a grin as wide as his face, beaming at us.

“It’s a boy!” he screams.

All of us jump to our feet and pass him around for hugs and backslaps. When he gets to Ginny, he pauses, his eyes misting up, same as hers. He pulls her in for a tight hug, and when he pulls away, her tears run unchecked down her cheeks. Mrs. Mills, Lottie, and Elle are also crying. The kids are dancing and celebrating. Owen is the happiest of all.

“Oh, gosh. A boy? Do you have a name yet?” his mom asks when she’s gotten her emotions to a place she can speak.

Davis cuffs the back of his neck. He’s nervous. “Yeah. It’s umm, Aaron Matthew.”

Mr. Mills’s head snaps up so fast I worry he pulled something. Ginny’s doing the same. It’s almost comical how alike the two are in their mannerisms. Mrs. Mills is full on sobbing again.

“It’s a beautiful name,” Ginny tells him, a soft smile on her face.

“It’s—” Mr. Mills starts but has to stop and compose himself. “It’s a good name, son.” Before anyone can say anything else, he turns and leaves the room.

“Didn’t take long for him to run away, did it?” Davis asks, a hint of bitterness in his tone.

Ginny smacks his chest. “Be nice. You just had a baby and named him after your dad. And I think you overwhelmed the man, Davis.”

“Sure.” He gives his sister his own small smile, but his eyes are gleaming again with his emotion.

“When can we see them?” Mrs. Mills asks.

“In a few minutes. The lactation lady was in there helping Trish nurse. They kicked me out to come see you.”

“Like we’ve never seen boobs before,” Mrs. Mills scoffs, making us all chuckle.

“Just give her a few, okay?”

“Fine. Oh, my first grandbaby boy!”

“Mom, what if he had been a she?” Ginny grins at her mom.

“Then it would be my first grandbaby girl, duh!”

Mr. Mills returns and pulls Mrs. Mills into his arms. He looks like a man who has had a breakdown and is on a tenuous ledge. Davis looks like he wants to say something, but he sighs in relief when his phone dings with a text.

“Hey, Gin, want to go meet your nephew?”

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