Page 50 of Time Out

“You really did have a girl.” And she was so sweet.

“Max and I made sure to check a few times.”

Her voice was soft but filled with joy and oh damn… I wiped my eyes. Hot damn they were leaking faster than a kitchen faucet.

“We have a girl,” I whispered back. “She’s so damn cute, Annie.”

“She’s perfect. She’s already eaten, and Mom and Dad left before she got here so they could bring the boys back in the morning, but I wanted you to see her first.”

“Goddamn. You’re amazing.”

“She’s Wonder Woman,” came a deep voice I recognized as Max from somewhere else in the room.

“Yeah you are.” I stared at the little baby girl’s face, so fresh and new.

And shit. That was going to be me soon, calling Maggie Wonder Woman while she held her baby just like this.

“Tell me everything. How big is she? How long? How was it?”

Annie chuckled and then readjusted her hold on her little girl so I could see both of them.

“Meet Reese, Davis. Your niece. Probably should have started out with that part, huh?”

“Reese… she’s beautiful.”

We talked for a few minutes, both of us teary-eyed. For the first time in maybe forever, Annie didn’t give me crap about crying either. Reese was eight pounds four ounces and twenty-one inches of absolute, stunning perfection. When Annie yawned, the move reminded me so much of Maggie and our situation I almost blurted it out right then.

But Annie needed her sleep.

I needed to as well. I let them both go, pressed my fingers to my lips and then to the screen over sweet little Reese’s sleeping face and said my goodnights.

Thank goodness for cell phone plans now having all unlimited minutes. If I didn’t, my future phone bill was going to be disastrously high.

I wasn’t missing a moment of this little girl growing up.

“I’ll see you soon, Miss Reese,” I said. “Six, eight weeks I promise.”

“Better hurry,” Max teased and stepped into the frame behind them. “She’ll be running by then. Probably working. Dating.”

My sister laughed.

I scowled at him. “You’re a mean old man, Max.”

I was in the kitchen, making oatmeal and a spinach and egg omelet when Maggie rushed down the hall, hair a mess.

Her eyes were wild, her face still sleepy. “Did I miss it? You were supposed to wake me up!”

Like hell I was going to wake a sleeping pregnant woman.

“Annie called at two in the morning. I didn’t want to wake you then.”

“Oh.” She came to me then, glanced at the pot in my hand and the empty glasses I had next to orange juice on the island. “So what’d she have? Is she okay?”

“Annie’s good. Healthy, did awesome.”

“And….?” Maggie was practically bouncing on her toes. I hadn’t expected her to be so excited but I wasn’t complaining. “Did she have her baby?”

I shook my head, and a grin stretched my cheeks before I could stop myself. Not that I wanted to. This was exciting shit. “I have a niece. Little Reese.”

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