Page 114 of That: Taylor & Brooks

Brooks carefully lifted Denver from Taylor’s arms, cradling the tiny bundle against his chest with a gentleness that belied his size and strength. He settled into the chair beside the bed, staring down at his daughter’s sleeping face with an expression of complete devotion.

“Hey, little bit,” he whispered. “It’s your daddy. I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you.”

Denver slumbered on, unaware of the profound affect her existence was having on the man holding her.Brooks traced the curve of her cheek, marveling at the softness of her skin, the perfection of her tiny features.

“I’m going to give you the world,” he promised quietly. “Everything I never had, everything your mama deserves. And I’m going to be there for it all, first steps, first words, first everything. I promise you that.”

His voice was barely audible, but the conviction behind the words was evident. This tiny human had completely upended his priorities, realigning everything in his life to orbit around her and her mother.

“Your mama’s the strongest, smartest, most beautiful woman I know,” he continued, his eyes drifting to Taylor’s sleeping form. “And I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure you both know how much you’re loved.”

As if sensing his thoughts, Denver stirred in his arms, her tiny face scrunching before relaxing again into sleep. Brooks adjusted his hold, moving her to his shoulder where she settled with a contented sigh.

In that moment, with his daughter’s steady heartbeat against his chest and Taylor sleeping peacefully nearby, Brooks felt a sense of completion he’d never known was possible. This was what it meant to have everything, not the money or the businesses or the respect he’d built, but this. This family he’d help create. This love that filled every corner of his being.

It was terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure, this new vulnerability, this visceral understanding that his heart now lived outside his body in these two people. But Brooks Bishop had never backed down from a challenge, and he wasn’t about to start now.

With Denver secure in his arms, Brooks leaned back in the chair, eyes drifting between the soft rise and fall of Taylor’s chest and the tiny life breathing against his own.

He didn’t need a ring to know what he already had. But it was there, tucked in the velvet box in his jacket pocket. A promise he’d been ready to make long before labor pains and hospital monitors.

He couldn’t imagine a single breath without this woman and their baby in it.

He’d already told her what she meant to him. Showed her with every action. But soon, he was going to honor her publicly—the way she deserved. Not just as his girl or the mother of his child, but as his partner. His Forever. His wife.

For now, he’d let her rest. Let her sleep in the peace she helped build, finally off her feet, her body recovering from the fight it had just gone through to bring their daughter into this world.

Brooks adjusted in the stiff hospital chair, careful not to wake Denver. She lay against his chest, warm and still, the tiniest reminder that life could shift in an instant.

He looked over at Taylor—face soft in sleep, hands relaxed at her sides. He’d never seen her this still. It affected him.

He’d had a good father. Solid. Strong. Respected. The kind of man people listened to when he spoke. But Brooks also knew what it felt like to grow up under that weight—to feel like expectations could crush you if you let ‘em.

Now here he was, with a daughter of his own, and he didn’t want to lead with pressure.

He wanted to lead with presence. Softness. Stability.

This wasn’t just a new chapter, it was the beginning of a everything.

One he wanted to build intentionally. Not perfectly. But with love, all the way through.

His mother would’ve loved this moment. She would’ve loved her grandbaby. She would’ve adored Taylor.

“Thank you,” he whispered, to her memory, to God, to fate, to everything that led him here.

Because this was it.

Not the house. Not the money.

Them.

Taylor stirred slightly, her lips parting as she shifted in sleep. Denver sighed against his chest.

Brooks closed his eyes, wrapping both arms around his daughter, his mind full of devotion. He would spend the rest of his life proving he deservedthem.

Epilogue

A Year Later

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