Page 60 of Wild Heart

Natalie exhaled into the embrace. Her hands clutched lightly at Olivia’s back, grounding herself. Her throat felt thick, and her eyes stung, and something inside her that had been coiled so tightly began to loosen.

“I know things… things haven’t been simple between us lately.”

Olivia leaned back, both hands on Natalie’s arms now, tearsshimmering. “There is nothing more healing than new life. Especially when it grows from love. And from loss. It means you haven’t given up.”

Natalie glanced down at her abdomen and blinked quickly. “I didn’t plan this. But I don’t think I could let it go now.”

Olivia pulled her into another brief hug before turning toward Mason and reaching for his hand.

“You’re going to be a father again.”

Mason’s smile was slow, cautious, and warm. “I still can’t quite believe it.”

Davey had been quiet. He shifted now, sitting straighter, his expression unreadable.

Natalie turned toward him. “We wanted to tell you in person. Before anyone else.”

Davey nodded once, his lips pressed into a thin line. “I appreciate that.”

There was silence again, not cold, but uncertain. As though they were all trying to figure out what this news meant to each of them.

“I know this is… a lot to take in,” Natalie said gently. “And I want you to know this doesn’t change what’s already been built between us. It just… adds to it. If we let it.”

Davey ran a hand through his hair, then let it fall to his lap. He looked at Mason.

“You knew when you told me you were my father?” he asked quietly.

Mason shook his head. “No. I didn’t. I found out afterward. After the fire.”

“I’m pleased for you, I really am.”

Mason’s voice was calm but weighted. “I didn’t want to make things more complicated between us and nothing changes what I said about us.”

Davey looked at Natalie, then down at the floor. “Okay.”

The word was simple. Heavy. A placeholder for more complicated emotions.

“I’m not upset,” he added after a moment. “Just… I’ve never had something like this before. A whole family.”

Natalie’s heart softened. She reached out and placed a hand gently on his arm. “You’re not losing anything, Davey. You’re gaining.”

He gave her a faint smile. “Guess I’ll be the cool older brother.”

Olivia laughed through her tears. “That poor baby.”

Mason smiled at Davey with more pride than he could voice.

The tension broke like a thawing river. Olivia wiped her eyes with a corner of her sweater. “I didn’t realize how much we all needed good news,” she whispered.

“I didn’t realize I could be part of it,” Natalie whispered back.

They sat again, and Olivia poured tea, her hands steady even as her eyes glistened.

“This baby,” she said, handing Natalie a mug, “is going to be so loved. By all of us.”

The fire popped softly behind them. Outside, a breeze stirred the branches, and the scent of pine drifted in through the window screen.

Natalie looked around the room. The cabin was plain, built for utility, not beauty. But in that moment, surrounded by these people, it felt sacred. A beginning.

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