Trust - Page 227

Blake: Holy shit. T

Axel: “T” what?

Axel: Hello?

Axel: Did Blake just get abducted by aliens mid-sentence? “T” what? “T-he aliens just grabbed me”?

Axel: BLAKE.

Axel: You can’t leave a man hanging on a consonant. That’s psychological warfare.

Blake: Tessa’s water just broke.

Axel: Please tell me it wasn’t on the Persian rug.

Blake: AXEL.

Axel: THAT RUG IS VINTAGE.

Ryker: His wife is in labor.

Axel: AND I SUPPORT HER FULLY. But that rug survived two World Wars.

Me: We’re on our way.

Axel: Wait for me. I need to grab the playlist.

Axel: AND TOWELS. FOR THE RUG.

Blake: I’m turning off my phone now. See you at Mercy Harbor.

Axel: GODSPEED, TINY HUMAN.

66

KNOX

The maternity ward smelled like baby powder and hope.

Harper’s hand was warm in mine as we filed into Tessa’s room, and I found myself cataloging every detail the way I used to catalog threats in the yard. Old habits. Except now I was cataloging something worth remembering.

Tessa sat propped up in the hospital bed, exhausted and glowing in that way new mothers do. Blake stood beside her like a sentinel, cradling a tiny bundle wrapped in pink.

His daughter.

“You going to hog her all day, or are you going to let us meet her?” Axel’s voice cut through the reverent silence.

Blake didn’t even look up. “I’m considering it.”

“Ignore him.” Faith crossed the room to her brother’s side, her eyes already glistening. “She’s beautiful, Blake. She’s so beautiful.”

Blake finally tore his gaze away from his daughter long enough to address the room. “Everyone, meet Elaine Morrison. Ellie for short.”

Ellie.

I tilted my chin down, letting the name settle into my bones. It suited her. Something delicate but resilient. The kind of thing that grew, even in the darkest places.

“Ellie,” Harper breathed beside me, and I felt her squeeze my hand. “That’s perfect.”