Page 139 of Knight Life In Vegas

“Eduardo did on my behalf.” I nodded, emotion clogging up my throat. “He does have a grandmother named Emilia, but when it came time to cast his vote for his daughter, he deliberately chose that one to also honor Emily. Elizabeth comes from Charlotte’s mother.”

“Amazing women the world lost too soon.”

My son kissed his new sister’s head. Lord, that was an odd thought. Thirty years separated them and his own daughter was older than my new children. We had never been good at avoiding complications, and strange as they might appear to the uninitiated, I loved the lives my son and I had found and woven together.

“You’ve got a lot to live up to, little lady,” Bryce said softly, standing back up with shiny eyes and a sniffle. “Nature is damn potent, making me love her already.”

“I cried all over all three at the hospital,” I confessed. “Everyone did.”

“How’s Charlotte feeling?”

“Tired, but elated.” Joy had been rebounding through the bond ever since the first baby made their appearance. I replaced Emilia in the crib after a kiss to her plump cheek, and scooped out the oldest of the triplets. “This is Marcelo Nicholas, Francisco’s biological son.”

“Family names for him, too?”

“Yes. Marcel was Francisco’s father, and Nicholas was Charlotte’s, two more wonderful people taken from the world too soon.”

Bryce sucked in a slow breath. “Your pack’s had a lot of loss.”

“We have,” I agreed. “A lot of gain, too, though.”

“You really have grown,” Bryce said with a laugh. “I’m proud of you.”

“Oh god, don’t make me cry while I’m holding a baby.” Tears snuck up anyway and Bryce hugged both of us, making sure not to squish little Marcelo. I’d been nervous Bryce might resent my new children, but those worries melted away.

“Introduce me to my other new brother, please.”

I kissed Marcelo’s cheek and laid him back down, scooping up our middle triplet. “Dylan Bryce Junior.”

“You—” Bryce’s voice caught. “You named him afterme?”

“We did.” I let Bryce take him from me, my oldest son gazing down at my youngest. Surreal didn’t even begin to cover it. “Do you mind?”

“Mind?” Bryce’s voice cracked hard. “I love it.”

“Oh, good.” Tension drained out of my muscles. “I was hoping you’d like it, but I wasn’t sure.”

“I’m honored.”

I kissed baby Dylan’s cheek, then Bryce’s, heedless of the fact that he was an adult now. “I love all of you more than I can stand. I’ll be remorseful forever that I couldn’t be the father you needed after I lost your mother. You deserved more than I was capable of, and I have never deserved the second chance you gave me, but I will always be grateful you chose mercy.”

“It was what we both needed.” Bryce sighed, sucking back tears. “I thought I might hate seeing you with your new children, but I’m relieved I don’t. You fought hard to stay and all I saw growing up was what was missing. I couldn’t have done otherwise as a kid, but I think I see things more clearly now. I’m proud of you, that you kept fighting when you could have given up thousands of times.”

“It wasn’t easy.” I chuckled nervously.

“I know. You’re not alone anymore, so you have to promise me you’ll do better for my brothers and sister, no matter what the future brings.”

“I will. I swear.”

“I know that, too.” Bryce’s smile filled in the few small cracks remaining from the loss of my life. I hadn’t losthim. “Are you guys going to call him Dylan Junior all the time or go for something easier?”

“We—” I swallowed past my tears. “We were thinking DJ would be cute.”

“It is. Dylan named his kid after himself?”

“If anyone was going to, he would,” I replied lightly, offering a wobbly smile as I kept pulling myself together.

“You’re not wrong about that,” Bryce said with a laugh. “Thank you for letting me meet them all early.”

---