Page 31 of Dare to Live
Chapter 13
Kade
Holy fuck! We’re going to have a baby.
I started pacing in short strides next to Lacey’s bed. I wanted to scream to the world that we were pregnant, but something deep in my gut told me not to get ahead of myself. Maybe because Lacey wasn’t freaking out like I thought she would. Or maybe because all this was happening too fast.
Dad had always told us boys,“Make sure you have all the facts before you react.”
“Just to be real sure, I have to hear you say it again, Dr. Johnson.” Maybe hearing his great fucking news for a third time would make it stick like glue.
“You’re going to be a father, Mr. Maxwell.”
My heart exploded. Hearing him say I was about to be a father was surreal, scary, and exhilarating.
Father. I’m going to be a father. I need to tell the world. I need to call my parents. I can’t wait to see Mom’s face when I tell her. Hell, my old man is going to be just as stoked.
I stopped wearing a hole in the floor and eyed Lacey.
Tears floated in her eyes as she nodded once.
Suddenly, I wanted to cry with her. But crying wasn’t part of my MO.
“I’ll give you two a minute,” Dr. Johnson said before he left the room.
When we were alone, silence stretched between us as we stared at one another.
A lone tear escaped Lacey’s eye and trickled down her rosy cheek. “Come here.” She held out her hand.
An electric charge zinged up my arm the minute my fingers closed over hers. As if her touch was enough to open my vault of emotions, tears shot out. “So it’s true?”
She giggled through a sniffle. “You heard the doc. Blood tests don’t lie.”
“But what about your IUD?”
She shrugged. “It happens,” she said casually, as though a baby growing inside her was no big deal.
I blinked a few times to dry my own tears. “And you’re not disappointed?”
Snap out of it, man. Your wife is happy. She’s glowing. Look at her.
“I’m not going to lie. I’m nervous as hell. I’m also happy and shocked. But disappointed? No. I want kids.”
“What about baseball?”
She sighed heavily. “Tara said a pregnancy wouldn’t end my career, and I have to trust her. Now we’ll see if the Sea Dogs live up to their words.”
Lacey wanted to believe the Sea Dogs would support her when she got pregnant, but she had her doubts.
“You’re going to be a dad, Kade Maxwell.” Her tone was giddy. “And a great one too.”
I grinned as my nerves spun a web inside me. I liked the sound of Dad. But my gut was telling me not to get too excited. I didn’t know why. Maybe because I had a slew of questions that I couldn’t answer.
Would I be a good dad? Would my kid be healthy? Would it be a boy or a girl? Would Lacey have a tough pregnancy?
I lifted her hand up to my lips. “And you’ll be a fantastic mom.”
She gave me a ball-busting smile as the weight of the world seemed to whoosh out of her. Then in a flash, her smile was gone. In its place was a look I couldn’t quite figure out.
