Chapter 2
Noah
Some days were easy. Everything went according to plan, work ran smoothly, and flights were on time.
Then there were days like today.
When guitar strings broke repeatedly, cables shorted out, and technology seemed to be relying on a drunk hamster running on a wheel somewhere. Every god damn thing that could have gone wrong during a sound check did, culminating with me losing my phone. And I hadn’t even realized it until I was on my way to the airport.
Panic washed over me because Kiki, my pregnant fiancée, was going to kill me.
I was already on thin ice with her so this was the last thing I needed. She’d been spectacularly annoyed with me lately, and while I’d gotten somewhat used to her pregnancy hormones, this felt like something else. It was hard to put my finger on it from so far away, though, so I was doing the best I could.
Granted, our relationship had been a dumpster fire since day one, but she’d come into it with her eyes open. It wasn’t like I’d lied about being an addict. Hell, we’d fallen in love while I’d still needed alcohol to get me through every shift at the catering company I’d worked for back then.
Then my sister started dating the drummer for Nobody’s Fool, a hot, up-and-coming rock band, and suddenly this amazing opportunity had fallen into my lap. It wasn’t just a job, it was a career, something a loser like me had never thought possible. I’d found friends—brothers—in the Nobody’s Fool family, and then I’d found out I was going to be a dad. Kiki and I had been too new to have planned something like that, but fate seemed to have plans of its own.
I was the first to admit I hadn’t taken the news well, overdosing and winding up back in rehab. That had turned out to be a good thing because it had been a huge turning point for me, but it seemed to have put a rift in my relationship with Kiki, which scared me. We’d done a lot of talking and soul-searching, and she’d said all the right things, but it was getting harder and harder to read her. As her pregnancy progressed, the distance between us grew as well, and I didn’t know how to fix it from so far away.
I’d been working crazy hours, taking on small jobs for the headlining act of the tour, Onyx Knight, in addition to my work with Nobody’s Fool. I wanted Kiki to take as much time off as possible to recover after childbirth, but we needed her salary to survive, so I’d been squirreling away money to surprise her. Hell, everything I’d been doing had been for her and the baby, but all she seemed to see was that I was gone for long periods of time.
It probably didn’t help that I was busy and hadn’t taken the time to really talk to her about it. I’d tried, but she’d been cranky and resistant to everything I said initially, so eventually I’d stopped trying. And frankly, I was hurt. I was busting my ass to change, get better, and be the man she and our unborn baby deserved, all while trying to surprise her with the extra money I’d been making. In return, she was busting my balls about how long it took me to respond to texts or how often I could get home to visit.
I didn’t know what she wanted from me, but I wasn’t going to miss the birth of my kid. I’d already had a flight booked for today and had left right after soundcheck to get on a plane to Las Vegas. The plan had been to surprise her at work, so imagine my surprise when I’d arrived at the catering company’s shop to hear she was at the hospital.
In labor.
And if she’d been trying to call me, it was going right to voicemail, which I was sure had pissed her off.
I couldn’t afford to buy another phone at the airport, so I’d figuratively held my breath during the flight and as I’d taken cabs around town. Luckily, I managed to get to the hospital just before she started to push. I didn’t know what I would have done had I been too late, but at least I didn’t have to worry about that now.
“Noah!” Her eyes widened when I finally got to her room, as if she couldn’t quite believe it was me, and then a smile broke out.
“Hey, beautiful.” I practically ran to her side, leaning over to brush my lips across her sweaty brow. “Sorry I’m late. Lost my phone. It was a long day.”
Her eyes narrowed for a split second, but then she just shook her head. “Only you, babe.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m just glad you’re here.” She reached up, putting a hand on my cheek. “I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too, but I’m here now. And so excited to meet our baby girl.”
“Me too. She’s still not in a hurry to get here, though.”
“Hey, bro.” My sister came over, gave me a quick hug and headed for the door. “I’ll see you guys later.”
“Where are you going?” Kiki called after her.
“I’ll just be in the waiting room, but you don’t need me,” she said softly. “There are already a bunch of people in the room.”
“Thanks, sis.” I gave her a quick nod before turning my attention back to Kiki. “Did you get an epidural?”
“Yup.” She nodded.
“So not too bad so far?”
“Not bad at all, she’s just taking her time. I’ve progressed really slowly, but I think something is happening.”
“It’s time to push, Kiki,” her doctor said, speaking up for the first time.
“Let’s do this,” Kiki whispered, her big blue eyes meeting mine.
And four hours later, Elizabeth Brianna Ellis was born.