Brantley's POV:

About a month has passed since I'd told Delaney that I wanted her and the kids to move in. In that time, I've been happier than I have been in a long damn time. There was something to be said about waking up with your arms wrapped around the woman you loved. There was something to be said about cuddling with her on the couch while the kids had a movie night.

But if one thing came from spending so much time with someone, it was that you learned when something was off.

And things were off. But not in a bad way. Moreso in a way that made me more aware of how tired Delaney had been lately and about how she couldn't seem to get enough chocolate. Both symptoms had my gut telling me that she needed to take a pregnancy test but the side of me that thought that my chances of having more kids after losing Amber was doing its best to convince me that Delaney was just tired because she had been busting her ass trying to get a curriculum set up for the school and to boost he enrollment numbers all while wrangling four kids since I had been in a writing mood lately. Even though I'd told her to call me and I would put down my guitar when things got too hectic, she'd told me that she didn't want to ruin my creative process and that she didn't want to be the reason that my fans didn't get the new music that I had teased a few days ago on social media.

But my conscience was eating at me and so was the guilt over her carrying all that she had been for the past week or so. Which was why when she had headed over to the school to meet with a potential student and their family to show them around, I'd taken it upon myself to call mama and call in a favor. Of course mama had agreed to keep the kids without argument so that Delaney and I could have a couple hours to ourselves; hours that would be spent papering the woman I loved, feeding her food that was both tasty and nutritious, and having a conversation about what I thought I knew.

I had just lit the peach scented candles that Delaney had placed in the living room when I heard her SUV pull up into the driveway.

Dressed in worn jeans that had a hole near the crotch, no shirt, and my hat backwards, I walked to the door and stepped out onto it, leaning against the pole. I watched as her steps faltered when she saw me. Even from a distance, I could see that she liked what she was seeing.

"Kids are with mama." I said when she stepped up onto the stairs of the porch. "She's watching them for a few hours so we can have some alone time."

"Is that so."

"Yep." I said, pulling her into me. "I know you have been tired lately and I wanted to give you a few hours just to sit down, relax, and decompress."

"Thank you." she said around a yawn, proving just how tired she is.

"Come on, let's get you inside." I said, taking her by the hand. "Food will be here in a few minutes."

"Ugh, I don't think I can eat, B. My stomach has been weird all day."

Alarm bells went off in my head, telling me that my suspicions of her being pregnant were legit. My heart was racing and I felt short of breath as I tugged her hand, forcing her to stop and look at me. "What do you mean weird, baby?"

"I think I'm getting a bug or something." she said, waving her free hand dismissively. "Oh god, what's that horrible smell?"

"Baby, I think–"

Before I could finish what I was about to say, Delaney took off at a run, headed for the bathroom. She didn't have time to shut the door before I heard her emptying her stomach into the porcelain throne. When I walked in, she was bent over the toilet and was retching so I pulled her hair back and ran my hand down her back soothingly.

When the retching finally stopped, Delaney sat back on her heels. I grabbed a towel from the hanger and dampened it before passing it to her. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Told you I thought I was getting a bug." she said, wiping her mouth with the damn cloth.

"Laney, I don't think its a bug, baby." I said, sinkign down onto the floor and pulling her into my arms.

"If it's not a bug, then what– oh god, B. You don't think–"

"That you could be pregnant?" I said, finishing her thoughts. "Yeah, I think you are. We haven't exactly been practicing safe sex so this was bound to happen."

"B, I..."

"Only one way to find out." I said, dragging the test I'd bought earlier in the grocery store from my back pocket. Boy, had that gotten me more than a few curious glances.

"I'm scared." she whispered, her green eyes locking with mine.

"I'll be right here with you the whole time." I said, cupping her cheeks.

Delaney's POV:

How three minutes could feel like an eternity, I would never know. But it damn sure did when those three minutes could change everything in your life. And the questions running through my brain? Well they were about to drive me insane.

How was Brantley going to react?

Would it be a good reaction or would it be a bad one?

Were either of us ready for this?

Was it too soon for us to be thinking about bringing another child into the mix?

How would the other kids take the news?

Would they think that they were being replaced? Would they think that

How was I going to make sure that the school was everything that he wanted it to be, to make sure that I did Amber's legacy justice if I was responsible for a newborn?

The questions were literally non-stop, making me feel like I was going to be sick again.

I was so lost in my thoughts of what that test was going to reveal and the million questions that I didn't even know how I was going to ever have the answers to, that when the alarm Brantley had set on his phone started to chime, I'd nearly jumped out of my skin. Brantley's hands had landed on my shoulders, steadying me.

"You like first." I said, nerves making it hard for me to speak.

"Not how this works, baby. We got into this together, so we find out together."

"Okay." I whispered.

With a deep breath for courage, I laced my fingers with Brantley's and stood from the edge of the tub. The two of us walked over to the counter and stood staring at the test that we had agreed to slip back into its wrapper so we weren't tempted to peek. I don't know how long we stood there staring at it before Brantley spoke, asking if I was going to see what it said ro if we were going to stand here all night.

My fingers were trembling as I reached for the package and pulled the blue and white test from its wrapper. Tears pooled in my eyes as I looked down at the two pink lines. There was no denying that I was pregnant, not when the lines were as dark as I'd ever seen, not faintess at all in them whatsoever.

"What's it say?" asked Brantley.

I was so stunned that all I could do was pass him the test. As I did, I stared at my reflection in the mirror, waiting for reality to sink in for him. When it did, I watched a smile spread across his face. With it, one of the biggest worries I had disappeared. I knew that without a shadow of a doubt that he wanted this baby and was more than ready to take on the challenge.

"So... I guess we're about to be a family of seven then?" I asked.

"We absolutely are." he said, wrapping his arms around me and spinning me so that he could kiss me.

He then lifted me into his arms and placed me onto the counter, stepping between my legs. Breaking the kiss, he cupped my cheeks. "Tell me what's on your mind." he whispered.

"Nothing that we need to worry about right now." I said, slamming my lips down over his. I pushed every thought I had, every question that had been plaguing me only seconds ago, and poured every ounce of love I felt for Brantley in the kiss.

My hands moved from his chest down to his jeans, making quick work of working the button. I didn't bother to push the pants down before I slipped my hand inside, finding a lack of boxers.

"I really approve of this." I said, wrapping my hand around his cock and stroking him from root to tip.

"Good to know." Brantley said over a hiss when I let the pad of my thumb brush over the slit at the end of his cock.

I didn't know how to explain it other than that finding out I was pregnant had flipped a switch in me, one that made me hornier than I think I have ever been. Things had always been hot between Brantley and I and I was always ready and more than willing to have him impale me at any minute. But now, even if it was just mere seconds ago that I found out, it was like there was a new fire raging inside me for him, making me want him more than I ever had.

"B, I need you. Like now. Right here, on this counter." I said, using the heels of my sandals to push his pants down below his ass while I used my hands to tug up the skirt of my dress.

"You never have to ask."

Author's Note:

Just wanted to take a minute and thank every single one of y'all again for taking the time to read this one. I will never be able to thank y'all enough. 

~J