I nod. “Thank you.”

“No thanks needed, honey. It’s what family does.” Nothing I could say right now would adequately describe what I feel. She seems to sense that and handles it for me. “I really better be on my way. Rhett wants me to make his favorite meal, and I haven’t done a thing yet. You go on and find out what you’re havin’! Then call me.” She winks.

“You got it.”

She rushes off, and I head home, which is comical since we live on the same land. The entire time she rides behind me, I replay the words she spoke and how she just held me and let me cry on her shoulder. She is warm and loving—the kind of woman you love instantly. I decide right then that I want to be more like Mrs. Hennington than my own mother.

She veers off toward the main house, and I head to our place. Huh. Our place. I really like the way that sounds.

When I pull into the driveway, Wyatt is there waiting. “Hi, baby!”

I jump out of my car and rush toward him. “Hi, honey!”

He gives me a long, wet kiss before releasing me. “How was your day?” Wyatt asks.

“Good. Yours?”

“Better now.”

I smile and he leads me toward the truck. Once we get settled and are on our way, I fill him in on my day. He laughs, rolls his eyes randomly, and comments here and there.

“Oh!” I exclaim.

“What?”

“Mrs. Kannan is putting in a cappuccino machine!” I grow excited again. “She said that she’d been thinking about putting one in, and she heard I know a lot about them. She made me promise to show her how to use it when it gets here.”

He nods, but his eyes stay focused on the road. “That’s great.”

I figured he’d comment a little. I mean, he knows my deep love for coffee. This is about as close to a Starbucks as I’m going to get, and I was trying to open the conversation a little. “Wyatt?”

“Hmm?” he doesn’t even glance my way.

“Did you hear me?” I ask with a little bite to my voice.

“I did. You love coffee. It’s great. I’m happy you’ll have the comforts of home while you’re still here.”

What the fuck?

I lean back in my seat and try to figure out what the hell crawled up his ass. I don’t think I said anything wrong. If anything, I was trying to get him to ask more questions so we could talk about me staying for a bit longer. My mind was truly made up weeks ago, but the last few days solidified it. I’m not ready to leave him. I’m not saying I’m ready to get married or anything . . . just maybe give this parenting thing a real shot together.

Then it clicks. Today is the first time he’s going to get to see nugget—he’s probably just nervous.

We get to the office where I’ll have the ultrasound. He doesn’t really say much, but he doesn’t miss a beat as he helps me out of the car, opens the office door, and makes sure I sit.

“Did I do something?” I ask, unable to ignore it anymore.

“No, why?”

Am I losing my mind? “You’re being distant. I talked about the cappuccino machine, and then it was like boom!” I clap my hands together. “Wyatt disappeared.”

“I’m sorry, Ang. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Okay . . . like what? We talk about everything. I don’t understand why you’re pulling away from me right now.”

“Angelina Benson.” My name is called by a pretty nurse by the door.

I guess this conversation is tabled.

We get up, and he places his hand on the small of my back. I’m half tempted to swat it away, but I’m a little nervous suddenly. She leads us into a room with the ultrasound machine, gives me some quick instructions, and leaves.

I hop on the table and fear starts to invade my mind. I worry my hands, and Wyatt walks over. “What’s wrong?”

“Now you want to talk?”

He sighs and takes my hands in his so I can’t fidget. “Why are you worrying yourself?”

I pull my hands back. “Oh, you can have your feelings, but I can’t have mine?”

“I said nothing’s wrong.”

Right. He really should be more convincing. “Well, nothing is wrong with me either.”

I’m being petulant, but he’s being an ass.

He shakes his head. “Women.”

I’ll give him ‘women’. “Asshole.”

Thankfully, the technician enters. She introduces herself and gets me set up.

“This is a little cold,” she warns as she squirts the goo on my belly. “Do you guys want to know the sex of the baby if I can see it?”

“Yes!” I answer before he can say a word.

Wyatt chuckles. “We’d like it if you can. I think she’s going out of her mind not bein’ able to shop.”

I roll my eyes and look over. With a few clicks on the machine we start to see actual human body parts. “Oh my God! Wyatt! Look!” I wave my hand, calling him closer. His fingers lace with mine as we both watch the screen.

Then, the most amazing thing happens. Our tiny little baby shows on the screen. The sounds of my and the baby’s heartbeats echo in the room as we stare at the life we’ve created.

“That’s our baby?” he asks.

The technician smiles and nods. “This here is the heart,” she says and points to the image on the screen. “Four chambers. All look healthy.”

“It sounds so fast,” I say in awe.

“Is it supposed to be that fast?” Wyatt questions.

“It’s a very healthy heartbeat, Mr. Hennington. A baby’s heart beats at a much higher rate than an adult.”

He nods.

I look back to the screen and she continues on. It’s so cool and so real. This is nothing like the ultrasound pictures Presley had with the boys. Now the photos look so detailed since it’s 3D. I can literally see the baby’s body. She shows us two legs, two arms, and all the organs look good. We can see its little face and all of the features are formed. It’s a real freaking baby.

“Okay, now let’s see if the baby will cooperate and show us the goods.” She smiles as she clicks and twists the wand over my belly.

I can’t believe this is our baby. I know I was excited before, but this is beyond my dreams.

“There we go.” She smiles.

Wyatt and I both look at the screen closer as she types: It’s a girl!

“I SWEAR TO GOD, ANGIE,” Presley warns. “If you don’t tell me what the sex of that baby is tonight . . . I’m not responsible for what’ll happen.”

I laugh. I’ve made them all wait for the last three and a half weeks. I don’t know why I wouldn’t tell them, I just wasn’t ready to share, which of course drove everyone nuts. Added bonus.

“I’ve been patient, sugar, but I’m dyin’ here. You wouldn’t want to let an old lady die before knowing what her grandbaby is gonna be, do you?” Macie lays on the guilt.

Wyatt glances at me and grins. “Fine,” I huff. “I guess we can tell you.”

Both of their eyes shift between us and then we yell, “It’s a girl!”

“I knew it!” Presley hurries forward and hugs me tight. “You totally needed a girl.”