I do have questions. A lot of them, like usual, but I’ll keep them to myself until after the ultrasound is done.
Kenna lifts her shirt and the doctor squeezes some gel onto her abdomen before the TV screen displays our baby’s profile.
“Before we take a look at baby, I’m going to get a measurement of your cervix considering your history.”
That raises my hackles. I’ve been on edge worrying about Kenna and preemptively trying to put her on bed rest. She wasn’t having it, though she did agree to lighten her activity.
“McKenna, your cervix is looking great. As we’ve discussed, just because you’ve had a shortened cervix in the past, doesn’t mean you’ll have it each pregnancy.”
I give Kenna a reassuring squeeze with my hand and place a chaste kiss on her forehead.
Tears of relief fill Kenna’s eyes and mine as we stare at the screen. Before us, our baby is growing, kicking, and thriving.
“Did you want to find out the gender today?”
“Yes,” I say just as Kenna answers, “No.”
Kenna rolls her eyes at me. “Fine. Yes, we would like to find out if we’re able to.”
I bring my fist to my mouth, trying to muffle my chuckle. It doesn’t work because Kenna lightly pinches my hand she’s holding.
“Alright, let’s see if baby wants to cooperate with us today,” the doctor says, and she moves the transducer across Kenna’s small bump.
It doesn’t take the doc to tell me what is clear as day on the screen. We are Turners, after all.
We’re having a boy. A son.
“Congratulations, you’re having a boy,” Dr. Bahati confirms. “I’m going to finish taking some measurements, and then I’ll get pictures printed.”
“Come here, Sunshine.” I bend down and kiss her softly while our tears mend together on our cheeks.
When I pull away, I brush my thumb across her cheeks to wipe her tears. “A boy, can you believe it?”
Shaking her head, Kenna says, “I have no idea how to be a boy mom. What if I’m terrible at it?”
“McKenna, you are the best mom ever to Cadence. There hasn’t been a single thing you haven’t succeeded at in the past seven years of motherhood. You’ve managed to get your teaching degree whileraising our daughter and playing D1 volleyball. Oh, and need I remind you that you’re a badass gold medal Olympian? Our son is going to be the luckiest boy in the world to have you as his mama. Now quit thinking nonsensical thoughts, and let’s look at how big our Rook is.”
“Rook?” she questions.
“Yeah, he’s the newest rookie on our little team.”
Tears spill down Kenna’s cheeks again. I quickly wipe them away and bring her in for another kiss, wishing I could deepen it.
She’s never looked more irresistible than she does growing my baby. That’s another thing I was pleasantly surprised to learn about pregnancy. Once the first-trimester exhaustion subsided and her morning sickness waned, McKenna becameveryhorny. Like, jump me in the middle of the airport parking lot to have sex in the back of her car, horny.
I’m loving every minute of it. Not just the horniness, because, yeah, I’m a guy. But all of the little moments I missed the first time around. I love that I’m the one to rub her back, get her water, and hold her hair when she’s sick. That I was the first person she ran to when the test was positive. That I’ve been here for each doctor’s appointment—hearing the heartbeat, seeing the baby today—all of it. That I get to see her belly grow with our child. That I get to witness Cadence snuggle up to Kenna’s stomach and tell stories to her little brother. That I get to give her foot rubs before bed each night. Hell, I even like it when she gets feisty with me—she’s so sexy when she’s mad.
“I’m the luckiest man in the world to live this little life of ours, Sunshine. I can’t wait to add our son to our wild bunch. I can already tell he will be such a good big brother someday to his four little siblings.”
My Sunshine’s head snaps toward me. “Griffin. Owen. We’ve discussed this. We will be capping it at three. I’ve only just made it halfway through this pregnancy. Are you crazy?”
“About you? Always.” I kiss her again before whispering in her ear, “It’s all those damn mafia romances you’ve been reading lately. My breeding kink has been activated, and there’s no stopping me.”
She shakes her head and even in the darkened room, I can see the blush in her cheeks as I pull away. I can’t wait to see where life takes us. I know for certain as long as McKenna is by my side, we’re in for the adventure of a lifetime.
