Page 137 of Red River

Tears streamed down my face in an unstoppable flood.

This wasn’t just crying—it was a release. A scream, pouring out years of longing I had carried inside me.

I reached him and threw my arms around him, holding him as tightly as I could—

And he held me just as fiercely, like he’d never let go.

Everything around us disappeared into silence, as if we had stepped into the eye of a storm.

I couldn’t see, couldn’t hear anything—only the beat of his heart, mirroring my own.

"River… my baby… my sweetest baby… my firstborn son… soul of my soul," my dad whispered, his arms crushing me against him. I wasn’t sure even Archer could have held me this tight, like he was afraid that if he let go, he would lose me all over again.

Then I turned my face—and met my father’s gaze.

For the first time in thirty-seven years, I saw something in his eyes that I had never seen before. Tears. Slipping down his cheeks.

My father was crying.

"Forgive me, River," he whispered.

I reached out my hand to him, and he grabbed it, pulling me in—pulling both me and my dad against his broad chest.

And so we were like this, the three of us, locked in an embrace of reconciliation.

The people who had given me life—were here with me again.

When I finally turned for just a moment, I saw my brothers surrounding us, their faces a whirlwind of emotions—shock, joy, disbelief.

And then, somehow, I managed to choke out just one sentence.

"I’m back."

In the next moment, my brothers’ arms wrapped around us too, pulling me into their embrace.

And I knew, without a doubt, that there was no better word I could have chosen—

I had come back to this family.

5 MONTHS LATER

Labor pains had never been particularly difficult for me. This time, they barely showed up at all. After five births, I was a veteran.

Dad sat nearby on a pouffe, watching me closely. His beautiful face was glowing like the sun.

"You're handling this like a pro, River! I used to cling to your father so he could take some of my pain!"

"But I don’t feel any pain, just mild contractions," I replied with a smile, preening a bit.

Archer was sitting on the bed, observing me, while I paced back and forth between him and the pouffe. My large belly had dropped very low now—the time was close.

Dad glanced at Archer, his expression a bit shy.

"So… excited to welcome your first son?"

"More like a calm confidence. I know River’s going to handle it like a pro."

"I believe that too. And I’m glad you chose a home birth. It’s just like how River was born."

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