Page 161 of That Last Secret

“But then you also told me to take care of her, cherish her, and be there for her when she needs me. You asked me if I was serious about how I felt, and without hesitation, I said yes.”

I turn to face Emiline again.

“I know this comes as a shock to you too. But after having that conversation with your brothers and thinking thingsthrough, I don’t want to be the man who put work before you or our baby. I don’t want to worry about not making it home to you two.”

“So what will you do?” she asks.

I turn to Silas. “Silas and I have decided to open our own boxing gym. We’re going to work with children and teenagers to teach them basic self-defense skills. It won’t be as intense as adult classes, but we want to give the kids something to do and something to look forward to after school.”

Emilie’s eyes widen, and tears glisten in her eyes. Her features soften almost instantly as her palm delicately connects with my cheek. “You’re the most amazing man I have ever met, Logan Bennett.”

“I want to go!” Mackenzie shouts.

“Me too, Uncle Logie,” James adds.

I laugh at them. “You two are welcome anytime, you know that.”

Both cheer in unison as I scan the table again. It’s taken me a lot to get to this point, to actually feel proud of myself, to feel like I’m doing something right in life.

I did it, Dad.

February

“Logan! Wake up!”I shout through the dark room.

“What? Who? Where’s the fire?” he says, sitting up straight in bed trying to open his eyes.

“My water broke!”

“How? You’re scheduled for a c-section next week. Your water can’t break when the baby is flipped upside down.”

“Yes it can, Logan,” I groan before pacing the side of the bed. “This can’t be happening right now.”

He rushes out of bed to my side, both hands gripping my shoulders. “We got this, baby. Let’s get the bags and head to the hospital. They’ll tell us the next steps.”

I nod in response but still don’t move.

I don’t know how this works with a scheduled procedure.

I’m not ready to have a babytoday.

What day is it anyway?

Logan moves effortlessly around the room, while I stay planted where he left me. Getting dressed and moving in and out of the room to grab the things we packed weeks ago.

I kept it light and only the essentials we needed.

Peyton having her baby a few months ago helped me to understand what I need to pack and don’t need to pack. She assured me I didn’t need three suitcases like people on the internet tell you that you need.

After what feels like forever, Logan comes back in the room with an outfit for me.

He knows me better than anyone does. Even without saying the words, he knows I’m currently in a state of shock that this is really happening. He removes my sleep shorts and tank top and slips on a pair of comfy sweats I had picked out for the day we planned to go in. Then he pulls a quarter zip sweater over my head.

I smile at him.

I can’t help it because I’m so lucky he’s even here for this.

I’ll never take anything he does for granted because there was a time where I thought I would be delivering this baby on my own. Where I thought this baby would be without a dad.

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