Page 170 of Payoff Pitch

We’re walking into my wife’s twenty-week ultrasound. And by we, I mean Bailey, me, Harper, Kamryn, Arizona, Ripley, and Fallon. It’s a damn army of women. It always is.

Despite my initial hesitation, Bailey insisted that Fallon be here. Aside from the fact that the two of them are extremely close, she said our babies are Harper’s siblings and Fallon should be with us. Yes, babies. We found out at nine weeks that it’s twins.

The evening we discovered that Bailey was pregnant, Bailey, Fallon, and I sat down with Harper and told her that Bailey and I were together and getting married. We decided not to also throw the pregnancy at her that night.

Harper was understandably a little confused at first. Fallon giving her full support helped put Harper at ease. And then she became exceedingly happy at the prospect ofBailey being in her life forever as herbonus mom. That’s the term Fallon used. Bailey burst into tears when Fallon said it, and the two of them cried and hugged for minutes on end.

We got married quickly. Within two weeks of that night. Bailey didn’t care at all about a big wedding. She wanted something intimate at the house. It was family and close friends. She let Harper and Kamryn plan most of it, which made parts of it…interesting, but Bailey was happy, and therefore, I was too.

No bride has ever looked more beautiful and happy than Bailey that day. She wore a simplistic silk white gown with spaghetti straps. It almost looked like a nightgown as it hugged her curves perfectly. The emotions I felt as she walked down the aisle were like nothing I’ve ever experienced.

I spent a lot of time considering my vows, remembering how impactful Layton’s were. As he stood beside me as my best man, I got to recite my own vows to my bride.

Bailey, as you know, I wasn’t searching high and low for someone to share my life with. I spent years closing myself off to that possibility. I never let people in. I never opened my heart.

As it turns out, I was waiting for you, sweet girl.

In you walked that first day, a ray of sunshine. Beautiful, perfect sunshine. That’s what you are. You light up the lives of everyone around you. You’re mature beyond your years. You’re kind, selfless, loving, compassionate, and so stunningly beautiful that here we are more than a year and a half later, and I still can’t take my eyes off you. I love everything that you are.

You seem to know what I need exactly when I need it. You challenge me. You make me a better man. I’ve always prided myself on being the boss. Being in charge. Being in control.

Yes, she both smiled and blushed at the control comment.

But with you, I don’t have to be all those things all the time. You’re my true partner. My equal. My everything.

I know I’m supposed to make you feel secure and cherished, but it’s you, sweet girl, who makes me feel those things. I will strive every single day to be worthy of your love and return it back to you a million times over.

It’s my absolute privilege to build a family with you, go through life with you, and to grow old with you, though I’ll be doing that well ahead of you.

That line earned me a lot of laughs.

I love you today. I’ll love you tomorrow. I’ll love you forever.

When we returned from our honeymoon, we told Harper about the baby. She was so happy that she burst into tears. I don’t think I ever realized how much she ached for a sibling. The next day, we found out it wassiblings.

Bailey will be taking this season off from softball. It’s easy to say that it’s because she’ll be heavily pregnant during the season, but the reality is that she’s not fully recovered from the accident and we don’t know if she ever will be. There’s still something slightly off with her fingers. Her doctors have said to give it more time and hard work, but that it’s more likely than not that her playing days are behind her. She can lead a completely normal life, just not one as a professional athlete or as an Olympian. She was calm as they told her the prognosis. Oddly enough, I think it made her more determined than ever to get back into playing shape and to make that Olympic team. She has time to decide whether or not she’ll make that push. I’ll support her efforts in any way I can.

Here we are at the ultrasound. Kamryn is pacing, doing her daily dose of driving me nuts. The technician is moving the wand all over Bailey’s stomach until our two littlebabies come into view. The sounds in the room are music to my ears. Their heartbeats are strong.

Harper gasps. “Wow. That’s prodigious.”

The technician stops what she’s doing and stares at Harper. The rest of us smirk at yet another person in awe of Harper’s vocabulary.

Kam asks, “Well?”

The technician gives a fake smile. “I take the videos and photos. The doctor will be in to discuss the results.”

“Just fucking tell—”

“Kamryn!” I bark out. “Let her do her job. I swear to god, I will kick you out. Nothing would make me happier.”

She bats her eyelashes at me. “Yes, Daddy Tanner.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I can’t believe I’m stuck with you for the rest of my life.”

“Pft. Just be glad I’m not living with you…for now.”

I mouth, “Never again,” to her, and she smiles.