Invisible String

52

It had been six days since I gave birth to Baylor, and somehow, it felt like six minutes and six years all at once. Every day blurred together-feeding, burping, bouncing, dozing off mid-sentence, and trying to keep up with Mira and Lily in a house bursting at the seams with kids and pillows and half-eaten snack cups.

But today was different.

Kylie was coming home.

With Rhett.

Their fifth baby. Their first boy. And even though I was running on next to no sleep and my body still ached in places I hadn't even known could ache, there was something exciting about it. Like we were closing one wild chapter and stepping right into another.

I stood in the kitchen with Baylor tucked into the wrap against my chest, his tiny fist curled under his chin as he slept. Travis was crouched beside Mira, trying to peel a puff off the bottom of her foot. Lily was coloring at the table with Elliott and Bennett, all three of them too hyped to sit still but trying anyway.

Wyatt was pacing by the front window like it was Christmas morning.

"When do they get here again?" she asked for the fourth time in ten minutes, craning her neck to look down the driveway.

"Soon," I said, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "Jason texted that they were on their way."

Wyatt stopped and looked over her shoulder at me, a nervous grin tugging at her mouth. "He's really coming home."

"He is," I said, smiling at her. "And he's going to love you, Wy."

Her face softened and she nodded, letting out a breath like she'd been holding it all morning.

Right then, Travis stood up and pointed. "Car's pulling in."

Suddenly, it was like someone hit fast-forward on the whole house.

Finnley shouted from the other room. Bennett started grabbing pillows off the couch like that somehow helped. Elliott yelled "HE'S HERE!" even louder than necessary. Mira squealed, caught up in the energy, and flung herself into Travis's arms.

I moved to the doorway just in time to see Jason carefully lift Kylie out of the passenger seat. She looked exhausted, glowing, and a little dazed in that classic post-hospital haze. But she was smiling.

And in her arms, wrapped in a soft sage blanket, was Rhett.

Jason opened the front door for them, and the room fell quiet for half a second-just long enough for the moment to settle in.

Kylie looked up, eyes meeting mine. "We made it."

I stepped forward, heart full, voice catching. "Welcome home, mama."

Wyatt was already reaching for her new baby brother, eyes wide, hands out but careful. Jason helped guide her to the couch, setting her up with a pillow before gently placing Rhett in her arms.

"Hi buddy," she whispered, her whole face softening.

Kylie sank into the cushions beside her, exhaling like she'd been holding it in for days. "Never thought I'd be a boy mom."

"You already are," I said, settling into the armchair nearby as Baylor began to stir. "And you're gonna crush it."

Travis came in with Mira balanced on one hip and a juice box in the other hand. He looked between the two of us and grinned. "Well... now there's eight."

I laughed under my breath. "Eight kids under eleven in one house. What could go wrong?"

He raised a brow. "Don't tempt the universe."