Flame and Ink: An Anthology (Happy Ever After #1)(8)

Bile rose in his throat and he had to pull away from Meghan and run to the nearest bathroom. He threw up everything left in his stomach and sat on the cold tile, knowing he needed to get up before he missed something important. He hadn’t thrown up in years. Not since he’d been on a bender with his cousin Shep down in New Orleans.

“Here, take this.” His younger brother Griffin held out a stack of wet paper towels, and Austin took it gladly.

“Thanks,” he said gruffly, then wiped his face. Griffin helped him up and Austin washed his hands and splashed water on his face. “Meghan call you?”

Griffin nodded. “I was closest to the door so I ran back here. She didn’t know if you wanted her in the bathroom with you. You want me to sit with you in the other waiting room? Or get someone else.”

Austin closed his eyes and took a deep breath before squeezing Griffin’s shoulder. “Thanks for being here. And yeah, I want you in with me.”

“Okay then. Let’s go see what the doctors say.”

Austin swallowed hard then made his way to the waiting room. They didn’t have to wait long until a man in scrubs Austin hadn’t met before came out, his face not showing any emotion. Austin wanted to throw up again but held himself back.

“Mr. Montgomery?” the doctor asked.

“Yes. How is Sierra? The baby?”

“Both are fine and came through the surgery well. The baby’s healthy and a ten on the Apgar scale. We’re doing more tests to make sure he’s ready for you. Sierra is getting ready for her room now. There were some complications that we will talk with the both of you about, but you can expect a full recovery.”

Austin blinked. “He?”

The doctor smiled then, making him look ten years younger. “Yes, Mr. Montgomery. You have a healthy baby boy. Want to go back and see him? Sierra is going to be a bit longer until you can go in and see her.”

Austin looked at his brother who nodded. “Will you?”

Griffin smiled and hugged him hard. “You got it, Dad. I’ll tell the family the good news. Go see your son and wife. We’ll be here when you’re ready to show them off.”

Austin let out a shaky breath and followed a nurse to the nursery where his son lay in a bassinet, his little legs kicking up a storm.

Damn.

His son.

Leif was going to freak out about being a big brother.

Austin was already doing a little bit of a freak out himself.

“Mr. Montgomery? You want to hold him?”

He looked down at a tiny nurse and nodded. “I’ll wash up, right?”

The nurse smiled. “Yes. I’ll help you.”

He washed up and put on the gown they gave him. Soon, he found himself standing, his knees weak, holding his seemingly too small son in his arms.

It felt as if the breath had been knocked out of him.

He had a son.

Another son.

Another Montgomery.

He couldn’t wait for Sierra to wake up.





FOUR


Sierra looked down at her tiny son in her arms and couldn’t help smiling. Her body ached and her soul did a little, as well; but the new life in her arms made those bad things go away—if only for a little while.

“Colin Montgomery,” Austin said from her side. He ran his large finger along their small son’s cheek. “I like it.”

Sierra rolled her eyes. “You’re the one who came up with it. Of course you like it.”

Leif stood on the other side of her bed and bounced on his feet. “He’s small.”

Sierra grinned at her other son. “Yes, yes he is. But they grow up fast.” She winked at him, and he blushed. The two of them were still learning how to be a family with one another, but she loved him as if she’d been the one to give birth to him.

“Not too fast, buddy,” Austin mumbled, his gaze on their sons.

She looked down at her sons and then up at her husband. The birth hadn’t been the easiest, and she’d be sore for a long while, but in the end, she had her family.

The door opened and the rest of the Montgomerys scattered it, the entire mass of them it seemed.

Yes. All her family.

It may have been a delicate arrival, but in the end, they’d added another to the Montgomery lineup.

Not a bad day at all.





Edward and Pat’s Day Off


A Redwood Pack Short Story



Author’s Note: This is a special story about Edward and Pat from The Redwood Pack series. It’s set after Trinity Bound (Redwood Pack Book 3) and might have spoilers but not many for you!



Edward Jamenson sank into the rocking chair on his porch and sighed. Damn, he was getting old. He’d raised seven children, led a Pack of the most fierce and loyal werewolves in the world…and was getting tired.

He knew his sons were doing much of the work for the Pack. After all, they were the Pack’s future, rightly so. They needed the responsibility, the experience.

And it was a testament to their characters that he trusted them to do so. Because even though he loved his pups more than he could breathe, he needed to believe that they could live without him.

He let out a laugh. God, he sounded like one of those emo boys that didn’t hold their pants above their asses—or, maybe, just like an old man.