Chapter 33
ROXY
The following afternoon, an autumn breeze carried the crisp scent of pine needles across the farm.
Tires kicked up gravel in our driveway as the rest of the Six Sinners rolled in to check on us.
Reign, Levi, Bishop, and Deacon spilled out of their massive trucks and marched up the front steps.
They stood gazing at my new door with Angel.
‘This the scene of the crime?’
Reign asked the question as he slapped his palm against the fresh oak jamb.
‘I can’t see Evangeline and her tiny self firing off a sawed-off shotgun at you. I pictured more of a pea-shooter.’
‘Believe it, brother,’ Angel scoffed with a scowl. ‘She must have stole it from her dad’s place, and she used it with impunity.’
‘The audacity,’ I muttered, resting my hands over my bump. ‘If I hadn’t been carrying these extra pounds, I swear I’d have turned the barrel on her.’
‘Badass,’ Levi growled as he kissed me on the cheek and prowled in.
Gathering on the terrace with beers, they piled on more grief on Angel for his shoulder injury, but I sensed the love and deep concern underneath their teasing.
Sofia arrived moments later loaded with bags, followed by Jude, carrying two huge pans that released the rich aroma of roasted garlic and parmesan.
At the door, she pulled me into a long, tight hug.
‘You OK?’
‘More than OK, honey, now that it’s over.’
‘Other than my cousin Anya, I never had a sister, honey, and it feels like you’re my sorella,’ Sofia murmured against my hair, squeezing me tight. ‘So please treat me like one. Call, pester, whine, whatever you need. I’m here for you.’
I blinked back tears because for most of my life no one had ever extended true sisterhood to me.
‘Thank you, Sofia. I see you as a sister too, along with five crazy brothers and one delicious husband. I appreciate the feast as well. It’s so kind of you, honey.’
‘Anything for you.’
‘Out of my way, queens,’ Jude called out from behind his wife, sauntering in with full hands to set his payload in the kitchen.
Sofia commandeered my kitchen as she unpacked a feast of baked lasagna, chicken piccata, and warm garlic knots.
We chatted and laughed together as we prepped the serving dishes, and the men set the dining table.
We gathered around soon after, digging into the delectable food while lively banter bounced off the kitchen walls.
‘So, Angel, did you hit Evangeline with a left hook or just bore her to sleep with a lecture?’ Levi teased, grinning wide.
‘Want to really know, mate? I’m happy to demonstrate on you,’ Angel shot back, with an arched brow.
I sat back, leaning my head against his broad shoulder, contentment swelling in me as we all laughed.
Later that afternoon, the guys moved to the living room to watch a game.
Sofia and I soaked up the sunshine on the terrace, sipping fruity mocktails and swapping stories.
When dusk settled, hugs and kisses went all around as the crew and Sofia packed up to leave.
As we waved goodbye at the door, Angel squeezed me hard, and I turned my face into his neck.
So happy, so content, in the arms of the man of my dreams.
‘Love me Rox?’
‘Always.’
He kissed me then, giving it to me wet, sweet, melding, showing me with more than words how precious our love was.
At three in the morning, I knifed out of bed, gasping as a sudden, blinding cramp seized my lower back.
‘Angel.’
I gasped, clutching his forearm through the dark.
‘Baby’s coming. Right now.’
I clambered out of the sheets just in time as a rush of liquid flooded my legs, puddling onto the floorboards.
Angel rubbed his eyes as he woke, knifing up in bed to stare at me in the dim light. ‘The hell?’
Another flood followed.
‘Honey, my waters have just broken,’ I choked out.
He threw off the comforter, rounding the bed with speed.
‘OK, breathe, we’ve got this,’ he said, more to reassure himself than me.
He helped me into the bathroom shower as another stab of agony rolled through me.
He cleaned me up fast, dressing me in comfy sweatpants, a long-sleeve top, thick socks, and Ugg boots.
He switched on the hallway lights, guided me downstairs into his SUV, and then dashed back inside to grab our overnight bags at high speed.
He drove like a madman through the quiet, star-lit streets of Nashville, his hand gripping mine all the way.
‘If you don’t drive faster, Angel, I’m delivering this kid in your front seat,’ I panted through another rolling surge of pain.
‘You breathe, mama, and do whatever you need to,’ he growled. ‘Fuck my seats.’
We reached Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital in record time.
Angel slid into a parking slot and bundled me out.
We burst through the double doors, where a veteran nurse named Brenda swept us into a delivery suite with practiced, no-nonsense swiftness.
Angel left to get our gear while the nurses prepped me.
‘Alright, tough guy, brace yourself,’ Nurse Brenda instructed when he returned. ‘She’s already fully dilated and wracked with contractions.
Dr. Keller, my assigned obstetrician-gynecologist, strolled in an hour later, checking the monitors while the steady beat of our baby’s heart echoed through the room.
The atmosphere in the room turned electric, filled with my deep inhales in between quiet curses, and the midwife’s quiet instructions.
Angel squeezed my hand. ‘Push, Roxy, you’re doing amazing. Just keep pushing.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘I swear, if you say push one more time, I’ll snap your wrist in two!’
I made the utterance as I crushed his hand with enough force to crush steel as another strong contraction hit.
With one last ferocious effort, a loud, healthy cry shattered the quiet room.
Dr. Keller placed our tiny daughter onto my bare chest, wrapped warm in a soft pink blanket.
She opened her smoky grey eyes, and I swooned.
Along with a sweet, rounded face and dusky curls, she was the spitting image of her father.
‘Hi, Mila Tabitha Forrest,’ I sobbed, tears blurring my vision as I stroked her fine hair.
‘So beautiful, she has your nose and a little pixie face,’ my husband murmured, enraptured.
‘Her eyes are all you, and her lush mouth,’ I whispered, glancing up at Angel as he wiped his eyes.
Angel pressed his lips against my temple, his finger wrapped by her tiny hand as she gripped him with surprising strength.
‘Never thought I could love you more, but in this moment, I do,’ Angel rasped as he kissed me long and hard. ‘Yet, I’ve also got more love for her.’
‘I can’t believe she’s ours,’ I murmured when he tore his mouth from me.
‘She’s phenomenal, but then again so are we, for we made this perfect, gorgeous bundle of joy,’ Angel rasped before dipping for yet another me with another deep, breathtaking kiss.