In the front pew sat only one girl. As I walked past, she gave me a beaming smile and my heart clenched with love for the girl. Kenzie was now a major part of our family even if she was here in Tennessee more than on the West Coast with us. The moment Axton and I had arrived at the orphanage to pick her up, she had been so emotional that it had taken a full week for her to fully understand that Axton had really and truly adopted her. From there it was history. She wanted to be a part of our family as much as we wanted her to be and had come to live with us for the summer before starting the University of Tennessee in the fall just before the tour had started.

I won’t lie, I loved the fact that she had chosen Tennessee for school. It gave us a reason to visit there more often. I’d fallen in love with the state and especially the little town just outside of Nashville where Tink and my dad lived. My dad had built Tink a house on Huntington Estate because it was where Tink was the most happy. Without the income that Tink brought in, Sharon Huntington had been forced to sell the house that Axton had been raised in and she moved farther north…

My dad had surprised me a few weeks ago with a Christmas present and I was still trying to figure out if it was a good thing or not. He’d bought Axton’s childhood house and deeded it to us. We hadn’t talked about what we were going to do with it yet. I would have loved to revamp the whole house and make it our base here, but if Axton decided he wanted to take a wrecking ball to the fucking thing, I was okay with that too.

Finally I reached the front of the church and my father stepped forward to brush a kiss over my cheek. I gave him a happy smile and took my place. My walk down the aisle had been slow on my aching feet but had really only taken about a minute. I turned my head toward the back of the church as Tink and Axton stepped into place and couldn’t help gasping at the sight.

Tink was beautiful in her simple lacy wedding dress that she had found in some vintage shop. My dad had been flabbergasted at her wanting to have a cheap dress when he could have taken her to Paris or Milan and bought her any designer dress her heart desired. But Tink had been adamant about wanting the pretty little dress she had found.

Beside her, my husband looked edible in his tux. When he caught my eye he winked, making my panties wet with a need that always seemed to burn hot between us. The closer they got the wetter my panties got…

Until I realized that the wetness now running down my thigh was anything but desire. Biting my lip to keep from groaning, I kept my face blank as Axton handed his aunt off to my dad and took his seat beside Kenzie.

The next twenty minutes were awkward for me if nothing else. I tried to avoid eye contact with Axton as my dad and Tink exchanged vows, the whole time amniotic fluid dripped down my legs making a puddle on the carpet under my feet. A contraction hit halfway through the ceremony and I bit back my cry of pain while Austin Bradshaw promised to love, honor and attempt to obey his new wife.

The whole time I could feel Axton’s gaze drilling into me but I knew better than to look at him. He would know that something was up and stop the ceremony and I couldn’t have that. So I just stood there, with a forced smile on my face and my eyes blank to keep anyone from seeing I was in some pain and a little nervous for what was about to happen.

Cannon was apparently ready to meet his crazy family, but that didn’t mean I was ready for him.

When the minister finally pronounced Austin and Tink husband and wife, I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Everyone stood, clapping and congratulating the happy couple. Of course, another contraction had to hit me. Screw it, I thought as I let out a whimper in pain. They were married now, so who cared about the reception.

I was in fucking labor, after all.

Axton must have developed super human hearing because he heard my whimper over the noise of the rest of the church as they laughed and clapped my dad on the back or shook the newlyweds’ hands.

“What’s wrong?” Kenzie asked from my other side.

“Oh, nothing really.” I gave her a tight smile. “My water just broke and I’m starting to have contractions. I’m fine, though. I’ll be okay.”

I was trying to keep calm, not because of myself but for Axton. My attempt to set an example failed though, because Axton started to freak the fuck out. One minute I was standing on my own two feet and the next I was in his arms, as he yelled at people to get out of his fucking way. Which only set off mayhem. Sighing, I just buried my face in his jacket and let him do what he had to do to deal with impending fatherhood.

The next few hours passed in a blur but I’ll admit that it was a happy blur. Everyone we loved in the world was in the waiting room as we brought our son into the world just a few rooms away. They all probably heard me cussing the place down as I pushed one last time and a moment later my son’s crying filled my ears.

Exhausted, I reached for the squalling bundle of mess while Axton cut the cord. Tears were pouring down his face as he struggled to cut the stubborn thing, but when it was finally done he kissed me. “I love you, Dallas.”

I smiled through my own happy tears. “Love you more.”

“Should I go tell everyone that you’re okay?” He didn’t look like that was what he really wanted to do so I shook my head and pulled him closer until he was practically lying down beside me while the doctor did what he had to do to my aching body.

“No. You’re exactly where you need to be.”