Epilogue
EPILOGUE
BLAZE
A fter what felt like the longest nine months of my life—but also the happiest—I was finally a dad. And I was going to be a fuck of a lot better one than mine had been. That was a promise I made to myself, my wife, and our barely-minutes-old son as I stared down at him.
“He’s perfect,” Courtney whispered.
“He is.” Brushing a kiss against her damp brow, I murmured, “And you’ve never been more beautiful.”
“Liar.” She shook her head with a tired laugh.
It’d been a long twenty-five hours giving birth to him, but she’d come through it like a fucking pro. “I’m not lying. Not even a little. I’m in awe of you, baby.”
“As you should be.” She beamed a smile at me, a hint of sass in her exhausted eyes. “I worked hard to give you our little bundle of joy.”
“No denying that.” I cupped the back of his tiny head with my palm. “Hard to believe someone so small could cause so much trouble.”
“You’re telling me.” She snorted and shook her head. “And I can’t even complain too much since he weighs almost three pounds less than Cadell. I have no idea how Stella managed it, but I’m grateful you didn’t give me a giant-headed baby to push out like King did to her.”
I winked at her. “You’re welcome.”
There was a knock on the door, and then the nurse who’d helped during the labor and delivery peeked her head into the room. “Ready for visitors? You have a ton out in the waiting room.”
I turned to Courtney. “Up to you, baby. You did all of the hard work. I was just here to hold your hand.”
“Aw,” the nurse cried, pressing her hand to her chest. “How is it that the toughest-looking ones are always the biggest marshmallows on the inside?”
“Don’t let anyone else hear you call me that,” I grumbled.
“Marshmallow.” Courtney giggled before nodding at the nurse.
“Who would you like to start with?” she asked.
“My brother, please.” My wife glanced up at me. “As long as that’s okay with you. I’m not sure how long he can stay, and I want him to get as much time with his nephew as he can.”
“Whatever you want, baby.”
She beamed a bright smile at the nurse. “Definitely my brother.”
The woman disappeared from the doorway, quickly replaced by my brother-in-law. He strode over to the other side of the bed, dropping onto the chair next to it before leaning in to give his sister a kiss on the cheek.
“Congratulations, Courtney.” He glanced at me with a smile. “You too, Blaze.”
At first, he hadn’t been thrilled with the idea of his baby sister getting together with a biker, but once he’d returned stateside after a deployment and seen how I was with Courtney, he’d come around.
After punching me in the jaw for marrying her while he was gone—the only hit I’d ever willingly let a man get in on me since I understood where he was coming from and appreciated how protective he was of her.
“Hey, big bro.” Courtney shifted her arms so that her brother could get a better look at our son. “Meet Arlen Pierce Driscoll, named after two of the men most important to Pax and me. You both stepped in when each of us needed someone, and we really appreciate it.”
When we found out we were having a boy, I immediately agreed to how she wanted to name him.
I hadn’t gotten the chance to get to know my brother-in-law very well, but I respected the fuck out of him.
More because he’d done a hell of a good job looking after my girl before I came into her life than the fact that he was a Navy SEAL.
Arlen looked stunned as he asked, “You named your son after me?”
Courtney patted his hand. “He’s got big shoes to fill, but I’m sure he’ll live up to them with his dad, uncle, and all of the guys around to show him what’s what.”
“Fucking hell,” he muttered, stroking a finger down the baby’s cheek. “You don’t know what that means to me, sis.”
“Not as much as everything you’ve done for me since Mom and Dad passed away and growing up,” she replied, sniffling.
She managed to hold back her tears during that talk, but she lost the battle when we repeated it later that day and had the same conversation with Pierce.
For some reason, it was easier for her to handle the gratitude she felt for her brother than the appreciation she had for the man who changed my life.