Chapter Twenty-One Annabel #3
Breakneck blew through the door followed by Rev. The good doctor had his standard black medical bag, along with a rolling suitcase. I guess he had raided the maternity ward at the hospital for all the necessary supplies.
He then went to work, assessing Alexandra and barking orders to me and Kim.
Breakneck handed me a basin. “Go fill this with boiling water. Tell the women to keep a pot constantly boiling.”
With a nod of my head, I hurried out of the room. When I got outside, I almost tripped over Deacon who was sitting with his back against the wall.
He raised his haunted eyes to mine. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. Breakneck is with her, and things are progressing as they should.”
Deacon nodded and then hung his head. I knelt down beside him and took his hand. “She isn’t going to stay mad at you, Deacon. Pain does things to you, makes you say and do things you don’t mean.”
“If something happens to her or the baby because of me, I’ll never be able to forgive myself.”
“Listen to me. Alexandra is young and strong. She’s had a perfectly healthy pregnancy. She will be fine.” I rose to my feet. “I have to go get the water.”
Without another word to him, I sprinted to the kitchen. Thankfully, Boone’s wife, Mary, had the presence of mind to have a pot already boiling.
When I returned with the boiling water, Rev was seated beside Deacon, his arm slung over his brother’s shoulder.
I gave him a fleeting smile before hurrying back into the room.
Mama Beth had replaced Kim at the bedside.
She sat on the edge of the bed, holding Alexandra’s hand and keeping her as calm as she could.
Everything seemed to start happening at a whirlwind pace. I tried to help Breakneck when he asked me, but I felt completely and totally clueless. Some moments felt like the hands on the clock were spinning out of control and others seemed to drag by.
"And there's the head. You need to keep pushing now." A beaming smile lit up Breakneck's face. "He's got a gorgeous head full of hair."
"He does?" Alexandra questioned.
"Yes, dark hair just like you and Deacon."
At the mention of Deacon's name, Alexandra's eyes filled with tears. "Oh Deacon," she murmured before she turned to me. "Please get him for me! He didn’t get to be there when Willow was born, and I don’t want him to miss seeing his son come into the world."
I spun on my feet and hurried to the door.
As I flung it open, I prayed Deacon was still just outside and hadn’t gone to do something stupid like get drunk.
My heart leapt at the sight of him still sitting beside Rev with his head buried in his hands.
"Deacon, come quick. Alexandra is asking for you. "
I had never seen someone move so fast. He was on his feet in a flash and by my side. He didn’t wait for me. Instead, he barreled on inside and went to Alexandra’s side. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” he murmured over and over again as he bestowed tender kisses all over her face.
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. I’ll give Rev my cut right now if you want me to leave the club.”
My head spun over to the doorway where Rev stood in open-mouthed disbelief at his brother’s suggestion. We then both looked back to the bed to await Alexandra’s response.
She gazed up at Deacon. “How could I ask you to do that? This club is your life.”
“You and our children mean more to me than anything in the world,” he argued.
“Let’s just leave things as they are for right now. How’s that?”
Deacon brought his mouth to Alexandra’s and kissed her passionately. “God, do I love you.”
“I love you, too. But I need to push now.”
He immediately stood upright. “Okay. What do I need to do?”
She laughed at his bewildered expression. “Just hold my hand and talk to me when the pain gets bad.”
“I can do that.”
Now that Deacon was taking care of Alexandra, I went over to Rev who stood in the doorway. I wasn’t sure if we should stay in or go, but when Alexandra met my gaze, she shook her head. “Stay.”
“If you’re sure.”
“You’ve already seen the worst part. Might as well see the best. Besides, it makes sense his godparents are in the room.”
Together,Rev and I smiled at her. It was an honor to be a part of seeing life come into the world. It was a double honor to be named the baby’s godparents. So Rev closed the door behind him.
When things got dicey for Alexandra with the pain, Rev would squeeze my hand. I knew in some ways he could imagine me being in that much pain, which would kill him. Deacon certainly wasn’t faring well at seeing Alexandra hurting.
The mood in the air shifted, and with a hearty cry, Deacon and Alexandra’s son came into the world. After cleaning his lungs and cutting him free from Alexandra, Breakneck held out the wailing baby to me. I momentarily froze.
“Annabel, aftercare for infants isn’t terribly different from animals. Prepare the baby for Alexandra to hold.” At his encouraging look, I grabbed a waiting blanket and took the baby into my arms.
“Shh, it’s okay, sweetheart,” I murmured to him, as I wrapped him up.
As Breakneck dealt with the afterbirth and making sure Alexandra was okay, I took the baby over to the tub of warm water and began to gently clean him.
At the contact with the water, his cries grew louder, and Deacon came to my side.
With a smile, I glanced at him over my shoulder. “I promise I’m not hurting him.”
“That’s not what I thought at all,” Deacon replied, but I could tell his fatherly instincts to protect his son were kicking into overdrive.
Once the baby had been washed and dried, I took a fresh blanket and wrapped him snugly in it. When I turned around, Deacon was staring expectantly at me. “Ready to meet your son?”
“Hell yeah,” he replied with a smile.
I passed the baby over to his waiting arms. Then Deacon did something I would never have imagined. Cradling his son to his chest, he broke down into quiet sobs. When I glanced from Deacon to Rev, I saw the same expression of disbelief on Rev’s face as I was sure I had on my own.
Deacon quickly recovered and dragged his free arm across his wet eyes. “Look at you, little man,” he murmured.
“Does he have a name?” I asked.
After glancing at Alexandra, who nodded, Deacon smiled. “It’s Wyatt David Malloy.”
“Nice choice,” Rev replied.
Deacon went over to Rev. “He’s handsome, isn’t he?”
Rev grinned. “Very handsome. Although I think he’s going to favor his mother.”
With a slight frown, Deacon eyeballed his son. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”
“Don’t sound so sad about it,” Alexandra joked.
“He should be honored to take after his mother as good looking as she is,” Deacon said and then he winked at Alexandra.
“Well, everything looks good. I think it’s time this mother got to hold her baby,” Breakneck said.
As Deacon started to take Wyatt over to Alexandra, Rev leaned down to place a tiny kiss on the top of Wyatt’s head. The simple gesture was my undoing. All the emotions of the day converged on me in that moment. I knew I had to get out of that room.
Without a word to Rev or the others, I hurried for the door.
I don’t know how he made it so fast, but he was at my side before I got it open.
Taking me by the hand, Rev led me into our bedroom.
Thankfully, it was empty. He went over to the bed and laid down, pulling me down beside him.
“I know that had to be hell on you, so cry all you want to.”
But the tears didn’t come. Instead, I looked at the amazing man before me in disbelief. “I’m such a selfish asshole.”
Apparently Rev hadn’t been prepared for my response because he burst out laughing. “No, you’re not,” he argued.
“Yes, I am. This is such a happy day for you, not to mention we’re in the middle of lockdown because of Mendoza.” I shook my head. “You’re too good to me. In fact, you shouldn’t marry me.”
“Just because you think you’re a selfish asshole?” he asked almost teasingly.
“No. It’s just…The way you kissed Wyatt’s head…the way you are with Willow.” I exhaled an agonized sigh. “I can’t give you the children you want…the children you deserve.”
“We don’t know what the future holds.”
I shook my head. “I can’t have a baby, and we can’t adopt. No judge would give us a child with your background.”
“Hmm, so I guess we’re both a little to blame?”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I protested.
Rev wrapped his arms tighter around me. “Annabel, none of us know what tomorrow holds. But I do know that we’ll have a child one day.
” When I started to argue, he said, “I’ve done a lot of reading on surrogacy, and I’ve talked to some of the girls in the club.
When the time comes, we’ll have a baby. You have to believe that. ”
I jerked my head off his chest to stare into his eyes. The conviction in them gave me hope. I shouldn’t have been surprised that he was already thinking ahead for us—that was just his way—but his confidence gave me hope.
Just like we would weather the Mendoza storm together, we would make it through the child issue. Somehow, someway. I just had to have faith.