Page 160 of Over the Line

Anger flashed in his eyes, but just as he was opening his mouth to say something, understanding seemed to dawn. His shoulders dipped a little beneath my hands. He exhaled. Took a breath. Took another.

Without a word, I pressed the call button. When we stepped inside, Chris closed his eyes and took some slow, deep breaths. By the time we reached the maternity floor, he was still obviously worried, but he was collected now.

At her door, he paused again for another breath, rolled his shoulders, and then pushed it open and stepped inside.

Jasmine had been strong as hell the whole time we’d been here. The second she saw Chris, though, she burst into tears. She started to get up from the yoga ball, but he gestured for her to stay, and he leaned down to hug her.

“Hey, baby,” he murmured. “I’m here. I made it. I’m sorry.” He stroked her hair and let her cry.

I had a feeling she was just overwhelmed. Labor, hormones, and the relief of him arriving—yeah, tears were understandable. On Chris’s end, too—he wasn’t the one in labor, but his eyes were certainly welling up as he hugged her.

As they collected themselves, she looked at me. “Are you staying?”

“Uh. I can. Or I can—” I gestured at the door. “If you’d prefer⁠—”

“Please stay,” she said quickly. “If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all.”

She looked almost as relieved as she’d been when she’d realized Chris had landed. And… so did he. As if he’d thought I was going to take off, and he wanted me to stay, too.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I told them.

“Thanks, Dad,” Chris said, and that tired, relieved, grateful smile was the best thing I’d ever seen.

I came so close to missing all of this.

Fortunately, before the moment could get too emotional, my phone pinged, and I checked the screen.

Liam

How are things going? Did Chris make it?

He’s here with time to spare.

No baby yet?

Not yet. Probably still a few more hours at least, but it’ll definitely be tonight or tomorrow.

Awesome! If you need a break, we can FaceTime.

Just reading that text made me hyperaware of how exhausted I was, and how much I did, in fact, need a break.

Are you sure? It’s late as hell.

Not quite as late in Denver.

He had a point. I was so tired, I’d forgotten what city he was in.

I looked at my son and daughter-in-law. “Hey, now that Chris is here, I’m going to step out and grab some coffee. I’m not leaving—just stepping out for a minute.”

Jasmine nodded.

Chris smiled. “Take your time.”

I returned the smile and the nod. “Do you need any coffee?”

He looked at Jasmine. “Do you mind? Will the smell bother you?”