He was about to answer when the waiting room door flung open, and a weary-looking Mason walked toward where they all stood and waited patiently.

His black hair was all over the place, like he had been running his hands through it several hundred times, and his shirt was buttoned incorrectly.

When he finally stopped in front of them, Rachel stood frozen, waiting for whatever news he was about to deliver.

Surely, if it were bad and something had happened to Lena, he would be crying and be unable to come out here.

What the hell is wrong with me? This is giving birth, not open heart surgery.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, Mason’s face finally broke into a smile so wide that it looked like it was going to fall right off his face.

Rachel felt Cole’s arm come around her waist as Mason continued beaming at them.

“Well, spit it out, Mase,” Shelly finally piped up.

“He’s speechless. Leave the man alone,” Josh joked as he hugged Shelly in close.

As Mason looked at them all, he nodded, and Rachel could see tears welling in his blue eyes.

“Lena and Catherine are both beautiful and perfect.”

There was silence for a moment, and then—

“Hell yeah! Another girl in the group!” Rachel hollered with a little wriggle, making Savannah sit up and pay attention.

Moving in close to her brother, Rachel leaned up and kissed the cheek he offered.

“I’m so very happy for you, Dad,” she told him with a wink as she pulled away. “Full name?”

“Catherine Carly Langley.”

Mason pulled Rachel and the baby in close and hugged them tightly as he kissed her on the head. He whispered, “I’m destined to be surrounded by women, and I’m so happy I can’t even think right now.”

When he let her go, Rachel took a step back and watched Josh step forward and offer his hand. Mason reached out, shook it, and pulled his best friend in for a hug.

“Pretty amazing feeling, huh?” Josh asked him.

As Mason let him go, he turned to Shelly and nodded. “Yep, have to say, you women are pretty damn incredible.”

Shelly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. “You better believe it. It helps that we have wonderful men in our lives. We can’t do it all on our own, you know.”

Mason chuckled as he let her go, and Josh pulled his wife in for a hug and kiss.

“Thank God for that. Half the fun is in the doing.”

As they all started to laugh, Mason turned to where Rachel was standing beside Cole.

Cole held out his hand to him in congratulations, and Mason took it in a strong shake before he tugged him in and hugged him, just as he had with Josh.

“Congratulations, Mason.”

As Mason thumped him on the back, Rachel’s heart warmed when she heard her brother reply, “Thanks, brother. I appreciate that.”

As they parted, Mason pushed his hands into his jeans. “So, how about it? You want to come and say hi to the new woman in my life?”

Everyone answered, “Of course.”

As Mason turned and started down the hall, Josh and Shelly followed behind, and Rachel turned to Cole as she hugged Savannah to her.

“I love you,” she told him, once again finding it incredible that she had almost overlooked him.

“I love you, too,” he replied. As he glanced at the child in her arms, his eyes took on a look of affection.

As they made their way down the hall and into Lena’s hospital room, Rachel couldn’t help but remember a moment years ago when Cole had told her that he was exactly what she needed. It was a relief to know that he had known what she couldn’t see, and as she stood in the hospital room, being introduced to her brand-new niece, she knew that this was home.

There would never be a moment where she would ever feel alone again because the people in this room, each and every one of them, were her family, and she was the luckiest person in the world to be loved so very well and so very much.

As she handed Savannah back to Shelly, she gave her a quick kiss and whispered, “I have to go and meet another little angel, but I’ll be back.”

Shelly and Josh smiled at Rachel as she turned and walked around the bed to where Lena was sitting up with baby Catherine in her arms. Mason was on the bed beside them, and when Rachel reached him, she felt tears gathering in her eyes. Stopping beside her brother, she placed a hand on Mason’s shoulder and looked over at the sweet pink bundle in Lena’s arm.

“Do you want to hold her?” Lena asked, offering her to Rachel. “Aunt Rach.”

Taking the swaddled baby into her arms, Rachel pulled her in close and looked down into the perfect little face, and somewhere deep inside her, she truly felt that her mother and father were in the room with them.

Turning to face the man standing in the corner of the room, Rachel rocked the baby as she moved toward him. She kept her eyes on the small bow lips and the black hair that was peeking out from under the pink hat.

When she reached Cole, she looked up at him with tears falling down her cheeks. “Isn’t she perfect?”

Cole reached out and brushed a tear from her cheek as he looked down at the tiny baby in her arms. “Yes, she’s absolutely perfect.”

Rachel blinked watery eyes and whispered, “I want one.”

Cole grinned and leaned down to kiss her quick. “Me, too.” He lifted his head and reminded her softly, “But you can’t keep that one.”

With that soft reminder, the entire room began to laugh. Rachel pouted and turned to face Lena and her brother, who were sitting on the bed watching her.

“Well, I don’t know about all of you, but I think it’s time to pass on a family tradition.”

Everyone stared at her as Rachel began to hum and then started to sing, “I’ve got sunshine, on a cloudy day—”

As everyone joined in, singing the ode to girls everywhere, Rachel felt the love in the room grow. That was the moment when she knew she would not have changed one thing on her journey to right now.

This was her life, this was her truth, and not one person could have ever convinced her how perfect it would all be.