Delaney's POV:

Just like Becky had known immediately that I was carrying a child, Mama had known. And just like I had thought, all it had taken was one look and she knew. Well, one look and me running to the bathroom like my life depended on it no sooner than I;d walked into the house and smelled the familiar scent of sun ripened peaches –the same candles that had sent me running to the bathroom last night and ended up with me taking a pregnancy test. The candles had been a staple in my childhood home, something that I had carried with me into my adult life. But now, it seemed that baby Gilbert was not a fan of the scent. God, I hope that changes since I have those candles on autoship...

And just like Becky had been, mama was supportive when Brantley and I told her that we were waiting to tell everyone until after the first appointment. She understood the reasons behind it, reasons that I hadn't told anyone but here –not even Amanda and Layla; and those bitches knew everything about me. Don't get me wrong, I trusted those two girls with everything in me, but talking about miscarriages and things like that wasn't something that I liked to talk about, especially when I'd had more than a three before I had a successful pregnancy with the twins.

According to the doctors that I'd seen, the specialists that Alex and I both had seen, the miscarriages hadn't been my fault at all. No, they had been the result of Alex's sperm not being strong enough swimmers. The way the doctor had explained it to us, the sperm used so much of its energy to make its way to the egg sack that by the time it got there, it was almost impossible for it to fertilize the egg properly. In fact –and only mama knew this– Alex and I had had to resort to invitro for the twins. Only we didn't think for a minute that the one embryo was going to split and turn into two. The doctors didn't think it was going to be the case either, claiming that that happening was so rare, that it was almost unheard of. Leave it to me to be a walking-talking history maker...

But those visits with all those doctors had also taught me something about myself that I had never heard of either, something else that I needed to sit down with Brnatley and talk about. You see, before those visits, I didn't know that it was possible for a woman to only ever have twins. Well, not always since something could happen and you could lose one of them but my chances of having twins was significantly higher than other people's chances.

"So, have you told him yet?" asked Mama, pulling me from my thoughts as we sat out on the back deck sipping sweet tea. The kids were out playing with their puppies while Daddy and Brantley manned the grill.

"That I'm pregnant?" I asked, keeping my voice low since daddy didn't know yet.

"Sweetheart, I know that he already knows that. I can tell it from the way he's been so protective of you since you two got here today." said Mama. "I meant, have you told him that there is a very high possibility that you could be carrying twins?"

"No." I said with a sigh. "Though I don't think that it will matter. Mama, he was so supportive when we found out. You couldn't have wiped the smile off his face if you tried. So, no, I dont think that telling him that this pregnancy could result in us being a family of eight instead of seven will change anything."

"But he deserves to know," she said, gripping my hand tightly. "Give that man a chance to wrap his head around the fact that this could be multiples before he ends up seeing on an ultrasound screen. He seems like the type that likes to be prepared for things."

"He is." I smiled. "It's just... mama, I don't want to tell him that there is a high risk of me having twins and then he gets his hopes up and then we find out that that's not the case, that it's a single pregnancy."

"I get that."

"He told me that he always wanted more kids. That he and Amber wanted to have as many as the good lord saw fit. But then, well, life happened and he thought that his chance of having more kids was done. Then, here I come. We were stupid one night, didn't use protection, and then because we are irresponsible adults, decided to play pregnancy roulette, deciding to live with whatever happens, happens." I said in a rush.

"I know you expect me to scold you for being irresponsible, but baby, you are grown. You knew the risks and you accepted them." She said, "The difference from this happened if you were a teen and it is happening now, if that I know for a fact that you will do whatever it takes to look after this child, You've proved that with Chole and Colton. But I also know that Brantley will do whatever he has to do to make sure that those kids know they are loved. I know that the baby will never want for anything and it will never not know that they are loved. Look at how he is with his two. Look at how he is with Chloe and Colton."

"He loves them so much that I can't even describe how it feels." I said, tears streaming down my cheeks.

"He loves them like a father is supposed to love his kids." she whispered, passing me a tissue. Where she pulled it from, I have no idea.

"But mama, he's not–"

"He is, baby." she said, interrupting me. "He might not be by blood and he might not be on paper, but even in a short amount of time, he is more of a father to them than their own. It's very clear to see that he puts them and his kids above everything, unlike Alex who chooses to put his career above them.

"I know." I signed. "Do you know Colton told me not long after we moved here that he wanted Brantley to be his new daddy?"

"Oh may," said mama, her hand landing on her chest. The words obviously struck her just as hard as they had me that night.

"Yeah, it was one night after Brantley and I had hung out with the kids. When we'd gotten back here, Colt and Chloe wanted to talk to Alex. And just like usual, he didn't answer. Mind you, we hadn't been back here more than a couple days but in those couple of days, Alex had not so much as picked the phone up to ask about them, to tell them goodnight, or to even make sure we made it here in one piece. And it wasn't the first time. I can't tell you how many times that they have wanted to talk to him and he would use the excuse of work or William keeping him busy. But do you know what lifted both he and Chloe out of that fuck? It was a simple phone call to Brantley, one that he didn't have any obligation whatsoever to answer, and yet he did. It was after ending that call that Colton had looked at me and dropped that bomb on me."

"Kids know when they are loved," said Mama. "Even though they might not know the how's and the why's of life yet, they know when someone really cares about them. And from what I've seen, Brantley has made that very clear from day one. They know where they stand with him and they never have to worry if his intentions are true. Long story short, he's the daddy that they deserved all along."

Before I could respond, the ringing of my cell phone sounded loudly from the table beside me. Lifting it, I glanced down at the number not recognizing it, but the first three numbers told me that it was a Charlotte number. Curiously, I swiped the screen and answered.

"Hello?"

"Is this Delaney Davidson?" said the caller.

"Well, it's Delaney Connor now but yes." I said. Something in my gut told me that whatever this call was about was going to ruin the high that I had been riding since last night.

"My name is Stephanie Kelce. I'm one of the doctors here at Western North Carolina Care Center. Is this a good time?"

Western North Carolina Care Center... Western North Carolina Care Center... Why did I know the name of this place?

And then like a light bulb, it dawned on me. Western North Carolina Care Center was the name of the facility that Alex's parents had been placed in after their accident. It was a long-term care facility for people who were on ventilators, who's families didn't want to accept that their loved ones would never be the way that they remembered them. In fact, it had taken me practically begging Alex to do the humane thing and let his parents bodies rest the way they deserved.

So if they are calling me, that only means one thing...

The phone slipped out of my hand and time seemed to stand still. I looked out over the backyard, looking at the kids who were playing joyfully, oblivious to how their life was about to take a drastic turn.

Within moments, Brantley was by my side, worry written all over his face. But I was numb. The woman on the phone hadn't even told me what the purpose of the call was but deep down, I knew. I knew that I was going to have to tell my children that their daddy wasn't going to be around.

I'm not sure when I picked the phone back up. I'm not even sure if I did or if someone had simply held it to my ear. All I knew was that my suspicions had been confirmed. Alex was on life support and had been moved to their facility following a motor vehicle crash. And since he had never changed any of his paperwork that said I was his emergency contact, they had reached out to me to make the call about what I wanted to do about his future care to which I told her that I would have to get back with her. She understood, stating that any plans for his care could be done over the phone, something that I'm sure was a relief to some but for me, it just felt impersonal.

I may hate Alex for the things he did to me, for the way he talked to me on so many occasions, and for the way that he put other things in his life before his two children, but no one deserved to spend the years and years on a ventilator with no possibility of their condition improving.

I knew what I had to do. I just hoped that I was strong enough to do it and be there for my kids. Because this was going to devastate them.