by Stacy Gail
“Uh-huh.” Sleepy-eyed, his firstborn stared at his new siblings like he couldn’t quite figure out what they were. His eyes were dark blue like his mother’s, but his face shape and dark brown hair that tended to fall over his forehead was all Hardwick. “Do the babies know who I am, Daddy?”
“We haven’t had a chance to introduce you yet, but I promise we’ll do that tomorrow, okay? Before you know it, those little guys are going to be following you all over the place and wanting to be just like their big brother Jax.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yeah. You’re gonna be the coolest guy they’ll ever know. Sometimes they might drive you crazy, but that’s okay as long as you remember one thing—you’re the big brother, just like me. And when you’re the big brother, that means it’s because nature decided you were the one who was strong enough and trustworthy enough to protect all your younger siblings. At least when it comes to the small stuff,” he thought it prudent to add, bouncing his boy gently until he giggled. Damn, there was no better sound on earth than his little boy laughing. “I’m your daddy, so that means I get to protect all my boys when it comes to the big stuff. Okay?”
“Okay.” He yawned and dropped his head to his shoulder. “What are their names, Daddy?”
“Yeah, Daddy, what are their names?” Beside him, his father, with his mother by his side, came to clap a hand on the shoulder not being used as a pillow. “I called you and Trey Thing One and Thing Two for the first couple years of your life. Didn’t hurt you any.”
“Arthur, don’t give Terrance any ideas. Though I have a teensy little suggestion once you do finally name them, honey,” his mother added with an oddly sheepish grimace. “Make sure that once they’re named, you have a system in place for telling them apart. It’s, uh, entirely possible that you’re actually Trey, and Trey’s actually Terrance.”
Holy shit. “What?”
“Your uncle babysat you kids when you were about eight or nine weeks old. One of you puked on the other, so he gave you both baths and accidentally wiped off the mark we’d made on one kid to tell him apart from the other.” His father shrugged like it was no big deal while Styx gaped at him. “Personally, I think we guessed right as to which kid was which, but who knows? Now that you’ve got identical twins of your own, you’ll find out just how easy it is to get that shit confused, Trey. Er, sorry. I mean Styx.”
“You suck,” Styx sighed while his dad laughed at his dorky dad-joke and his mother tried—and failed—to look unamused. “I’m sure Syd and I will come up with something.” The moment her name left his mouth, he glanced again toward the viewing room’s door. What the hell was taking so long? Minutes after they’d gotten to the hospital, Sydney’s water had broken, and within a matter of minutes she’d been whisked away to the Women’s Pavilion wing. Her doctor had already been notified and had shown up just as a fetal heart monitor was being strapped around Sydney’s belly. Because she was so petite, her doctor had warned them that he’d be very surprised if she’d managed to carry the twins to term, but he was clearly pleased she’d gotten as close to her due date as she had.
Once the twins had decided they’d wanted out, they’d clearly wanted out now. Even as the doctor consulted with his delivery team, Sydney had announced in no uncertain terms that someone had better get ready to catch her babies, because they were making their debut whether the doctor’s team was ready or not.
Within an hour of arriving at the hospital, she’d given birth to two healthy baby boys, and since both were around five pounds, neither one had to spend any time in the neonatal unit, the way they had been prepared to deal with.
He’d been so proud of his wife, and so in awe of how calm she’d been throughout the twins’ delivery. He was the one who’d been a basket case, positive her tiny body would be destroyed by bringing their children into the world. When the nurses brought their newborns to them so he could help Sydney hold both boys to her heart, it had been the most beautiful moment, equal to when Jax had been held in his arms for the first time.
But it had ended all too soon, and before he knew it the nurses took the twins away and he’d been shooed out of the birthing room with the promise that he’d soon see Sydney once they had her settled in the suite they’d reserved for her.
That had been almost four hours ago.
What the hell was going on?
Even as he thought that, Sydney’s doctor strolled through the open doorway and made a beeline for Trey. “Well, Mr. Hardwick, your wife is resting comfortably—”
“Great to hear,” Trey announced and looked to Maeve. “So glad you’re resting comfortably, hon.”
“Doc, that’s my twin.” Handing a now-dozing Jax over to his father, Styx stepped into the doctor’s path. “What’s going on? Is Sydney okay? Why is it taking so long for me to see her?”
“Holy crap, you’re twins. That’s cool,” the doctor grinned, looking from one to the other. “I was going to go over the unique and fun times you can look forward to having while raising identicals, but your parents probably know far more about it than I do, so I’ll let that part of the speech slide. As for your wife, like I said, she’s now resting comfortably in her room. After you left, there was a problem with the placenta tearing from the uterine wall. Usually we can see something like that on the ultrasound, but the attachment was so small we missed it. We were all caught by surprise when she started bleeding. Her blood pressure dipped just a bit, but my team and I stopped the bleeding quickly and got her stabilized without too much fuss. We just had to be sure she was stable before letting her see any visitors.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck… “Syd was too damn tiny to carry twins,” he muttered, while his mother took his hand and gave it a bracing squeeze. “I should’ve told her to hell with her ballet production and forced her to be on bedrest.”
“Actually, it’s because she’s in such excellent physical shape that she was able to bounce back almost immediately once we realized what was going on,” the doctor said. “This complication started at conception, which means it was unavoidable. But it happened in the best place, with the best team to take care of it, and the best possible patient who knows how to take care of herself. I couldn’t have asked for a happier outcome, so you can relax. She did a great job, she brought those two big boys into the world like a boss, and since the tear was so small to the uterine wall, we don’t see any reason why she can’t one day choose to get pregnant again.”
None of that mattered at the moment. “I need to see her.”
“That’s why I’m here. Sydney’s demanding to see you and is threatening all sorts of violence if she doesn’t have you by her side as soon as humanly possible.”
“So, basically you’re saying that El Syd rides again,” Trey said, deadpan. “Looks like she’s good to go, brother.”
Thank fuck.
In a handful of minutes, Styx pushed through the suite’s heavy door, and though the walls were covered in a soothing peach-tinted textured wallpaper and the floors looked like polished wood, there was no mistaking that this was still a hospital room. An IV and pulse/ox monitor was by the adjustable bed, and Sydney’s head rested against a single pillow. He hadn’t thought he’d made a sound, but the moment he stepped into the room, her eyes were on him and she was trying to sit up straighter.
“Don’t move.” In a heartbeat he was next to her, pushing her back against the pillow and drinking in the sight of her. Her thick golden-brown hair hardly looked mussed, framing her delicate face that he now knew far better than his own. A shapeless pink hospital gown covered her, but he’d bet his boat that as soon as she was able, she’d find a way to change into the lounging gown and robe she’d packed in her go-kit. “I have no idea if you should be sitting up.”
“I’ve already been told they’re going to run me around the halls before this evening is done, so sitting is definitely on the menu.” She grabbed his hand with both of hers and brought it to her lips. His chest clenched with the sweetness of it before
she gave him a beaming smile. “How are our boys doing? I’ve been so worried about Jax. Did someone take him home?”
“He’s here, using my old man for a pillow. The fam just saw the boys and ragged on me for not having names ready for them, but I wanted to talk to you first before we did the official naming.” He leaned over the bed’s railing to kiss her. The moment their lips touched, the chaos of the world stilled and everything inside him sighed in relief. “You had me worried, baby.”
“I’m sor—”
“Don’t apologize.”
Her chuckle made him feel like he’d swallowed sunshine. “I still want to name them Styx and Terrance.”
“No.”
“But,” she went on with a loud sigh, “since you won’t say yes to that, I’ll settle for the second choices of James Arthur, the reverse of your father’s name, and Jace Andrew, the reverse of your uncle’s name. Sound good to you?”
“Yeah.” His throat tightened as he heard the names of his children, so much so that it made his eyes water. “Yeah, that sounds real good, Fun-Size.”
“Good.”
“You’ve been amazing throughout this whole thing, you know that? You’re still being amazing.” Relieved now that his youngest sons finally had names he could live with, he kissed her again before backing away just far enough to smile at her. “You’ll always be amazing.”
Her laugh hit him right in the heart. “You sound like a fan.”
“I’m your biggest fan. Never doubt it.” He kept his gaze trained on her as he brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss into her palm. “You’ve made all my dreams come true, Syd. You know that?”
Her eyes softened even as they filled with tears. “You mean you dreamed of having a house full of crazy Hardwick boys under the age of four? Weirdo.”
“I’m serious.” He gave her hand a squeeze, unable to stop himself from touching her and reassuring himself that she was still with him. “You find ways to complete me when I didn’t even know I was in pieces. I love you. I love us. I love our family, and I love our future. Until you came along, I didn’t know any of these things could be loved like I love them. This is the gift you’ve given me.”
Those tears finally fell as she smiled, and it was a smile so beautiful he had no doubt that he’d remember it for the rest of his life. “You do the same for me, every single day.”
“Yeah?” Gently he wiped his thumb at her tears. “Then why are you crying?”
“Those aren’t tears. They’re liquid joy. You’ve made all my dreams come true as well, so I’m not making any apologies for crying happy tears.”
“No apologies ever, Syd. Promise?”
That smile of hers widened before she pulled him down for another kiss. “Promise.”
Note from Stacy Gail
Hi again! I hope you enjoyed Sydney and Styx’s story!
I have a confession to make. I used a bit of my own life’s story in this particular book. Remember how Styx got his name? Well, like Styx, I got kicked out of Sunday school for the same reason he did. Also, when my father was a wee lad, he also got kicked out of Sunday school (for throwing blocks at a kid he didn’t like, not because he called the teacher a liar, heh). So if you think it’s impossible for a child to get kicked out of something as welcoming and innocuous as Sunday school, think again! My fam apparently has an embarrassing knack for it. :D
As for what’s coming up next from the world of Stacy Gail, it’s Loki’s turn! This guy has a lot of baggage, and I’m busy unpacking it now so I can see where it’s going to lead me. When a man has lived in nothing but darkness, it’s almost impossible for him to believe there’s light in the world. It’s going to take a special kind of woman to bring that light to him, but I believe she’s out there somewhere, waiting for him. Look for updates on HOUSE OF PAYNE: LOKI on all my social media platforms!
There’s more lust, lies and love to be had in the House that Payne built. Look for HOUSE OF PAYNE: LOKI coming January 2020!
Look for the 4th and final book in the Brody Brothers billionaire cowboy series, BROKEN, coming in April 2020!
About the Author
A competitive figure skater from the age of eight, Stacy Gail began writing stories in between events to pass the time. By fourteen, she told her parents she was either going to be a figure skating coach who was also a published romance author, or a romance author who was also a figure skating pro. Now, with a day job of playing on the ice with her students, and writing everything from steampunk to cyberpunk, contemporary to paranormal at night, both dreams have come true.
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