by Esme Beal
“You’re almost there,” Marshall said. “You can do this. All you have to do is keep pushing. I love you.”
He leaned close to me and kissed me on the cheek. Face red and covered with sweat, I’d never been so happy to have Marshall here with me. To share this moment with an Alpha was something I never dreamed of. I would’ve wanted this moment to last forever if it wasn’t so painful. I was happy that he was here with me now. Every second that went by was something incredible, regardless of the pain of my body being stretched apart.
“I see the baby beginning to crown,” the doctor said. “Keep pushing, Spencer.”
“Push, Spencer. Push.”
Marshall’s words of encouragement gave me all of the focus I needed. I squeezed my eyes tight and gritted my teeth until my jaw hurt. I tensed every muscle in my body. Marshall grabbed my hand I gripped it tight.
“Push, Spencer.”
I braced myself on his hand used everything inside of me to push. I pushed so hard that I swore I could feel the baby moving.
“That’s it,” the doctor said. “Almost there.”
“Breathe and push… Breathe and push…”
I steadied myself and pushed hard again. Despite all my efforts, the baby still hadn’t come out.
I opened my eyes, desperate for some sense of relief. My vision was blurry with all of the sweat and hair coming down over my forehead. But I could still see Marshall in my vision. He was right there before me.
“I love you, Spencer…”
I couldn’t respond. All I could do was give him that same smile before shutting my eyes.
“…You can do this.”
I mustered up as much strength as I could and held my breath before pushing with every ounce of my being. I forced myself through it, holding on for as long as I could before finally collapsing on the bed.
Through everything, I heard it. The squeal of a child filled my ears.
That can’t be…
It was music to me. The unmistakable cry of a baby… It filled my heart with such joy that I thought I was dreaming.
“Congratulations,” the doctor whispered. “She’s beautiful.”
“She?” Marshall said.
“Yes. A baby girl. Completely healthy.”
I blinked my eyes open just in time to see the doctor hand the child to my Alpha. Marshall took the baby in his arms. She immediately started to quiet. She wiggled in Marshall’s arms. Her body was red and covered in fluids but she looked just as beautiful as the doctor said.
“You did it,” Marshall whispered to me, a smile on his lips.
The tiniest tear leaked from the corner of his eye. It was enough to make me do the same.
I sat up as best as I could. Marshall gently placed my daughter into my arms. I cradled her and examined her face. Her eyes were closed like she was already fast asleep. Her whole body moved with every soft breath she took.
“She’s beautiful,” I said, swallowing to keep everything down. “She’s so beautiful.”
“Have you decided on a name?” the doctor said. “I’d like to get the information down on her birth certificate as soon as possible.”
I looked at Marshall and he nodded to me, a soft smile on his lips.
“Ava,” I said.
She squirmed again in my arms when I said her name. Marshall let out a chuckle and put a hand on my shoulder.
“Ava,” the doctor said. “Wonderful. I’ll get everything down now and give you two a moment.”
The doctor excused herself.
“What do you think?” I asked Marshall, my eyes still locked on our daughter.
“She’s perfect.”
“Perfect… Yeah, she is, isn’t she?”
“Spencer.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
I looked up at Marshall and smiled.
“I’ll always be here in Snow Falls with you,” he said.
“…I know. I’ll always be here, too.”
Chapter 27
MARSHALL
A few days later…
Paradise wasn’t much to look at. There wasn’t anything wrong with it. Most of the bars in the Southern Block all looked the same. Old, run-down places that did just enough to pass a health inspection. Nobody here cared one way or another. Everybody was just trying to get a drink.
Today, I wasn’t an exception.
“Relax. Spencer is in good hands with Noah and everybody else at the shelter. I’ve hired a few more volunteers, so your Omega will have everything he needs.”
Ashton put a hand on my shoulder to reassure me.
“I know,” I sighed. “I just—”
“You miss her. Believe me, I remember when little Felix was keeping me and Noah up all night. You start to lose track of time and the days all blend together.”
“Yeah, it’s great, isn’t it?”
Ashton and I shared a laugh.
“Yeah,” he said with a nod. “Don’t worry. You’ll get back to Spencer soon enough. I wouldn’t have taken you out here without his approval. Just a bit of time to relax and take a break. Noah understands, too. Sometimes Alphas just need to go out and have a drink.”
I took a sip of the whiskey. The stinging pain down my throat loosened me up enough but my thoughts didn’t shift from the Omega who I knew was waiting for me.
“I didn’t invite you out here just so you could take a break from your duties as a father though,” Ashton said.
“And why’d you bring me here? Wanted me to see the place where Spencer spends his time?”
“I don’t imagine that Spencer will be coming back here to work anytime soon. With his hands full, I think he’ll be plenty busy.”
“Sure. But the reward money you gave me for saving Amy will only go so far. I only want the best for Ava and Spencer. I’ll have to figure out a way to make more money.”
“I think I have the solution.”
I raised an eyebrow in curiosity. I knew better than to ever doubt a man like Ashton Webb. He was rich enough that any ideas he had were probably good ones.
“Hudson is getting locked up for a long time,” Ashton said. “Prosecutors are going in hard on him.”
“Throwing the book at him, eh?”
“They’re trying to set a precedent. Police department isn’t about to put up with anything like that. They figure if Hudson gets the maximum penalty then everybody else will think twice about trying it.”
“Makes sense.”
“Of course, there are still some people out there who get the wrong idea. I love Snow Falls but I’ll be the first to admit that it’s not perfect.”
I took another sip of alcohol and smiled.
“You’re not painting the prettiest picture for me,” I said.
“This picture will be pretty enough. I can assure you of that.”
“Let’s see this picture.”
Ashton straightened up in his seat and fixed his tie.
“I’m putting a lot of money into the shelter,” he said. “I’ve purchased the surrounding properties. It wasn’t much, considering they’re abandoned. I’m expanding into the nearby areas. I figure the younger ones could use a bigger playroom. A bigger dining hall means a bigger kitchen. And for the older folks, a place to relax and enjoy their free time. That’s along with hiring more full-time staff. The shelter can only go so far with volunteers.”
“You’re right… That does look like a pretty picture.”
“I want you to be a part of it.”
“I’m already a part of it,” I said with a shrug. “You know I will.”
“But you’d be a part of it because Spencer is already a volunteer. I want to make you official.”
“In what way?”
“Like I said, Snow Falls isn’t perfect. I want you to be the head of security. With the shelter on Broadway growing as big as it is, there are going to be a lot of eyeballs on it. I want to hire you to make sure that everybody stays safe. You’ll get everything you
need. Including a salary that will allow you to provide Ava with the life she deserves.”
“I see…”
I stroked my chin as I considered everything Ashton said. I couldn’t imagine turning him down. It was everything I needed.
“I have just one question,” I said.
“What’s that?”
“If I agree to this offer, do I get a signing bonus?”
“A signing bonus? I thought you retired yet here you are, still trying to negotiate on this deal.”
“Hey, being in charge of protecting the shelter… This is the last assignment I’m ever gonna take. I need to get the most out of it.”
I gave him a wink and gulped the rest of my drink. Ashton’s head rocked back as he cackled with laughter.
“All right,” he said. “A big signing bonus. The last assignment you’ll ever take, Mr. Marshall. We got a deal?”
He stuck his hand out to me. I’d been taking deals all my life. Doing mercenary work for everybody who hired me. To think that I’d never have to do it again… I wasn’t sure what to think.
“Deal.”
I shook his hand firmly and got up from my seat.
“Thanks for the drink,” I said. “I know it hasn’t even been a few minutes yet but I miss my daughter.”
“You don’t have to explain it to me. I understand. Besides, I have a meeting today.”
“A meeting?”
Ashton looked around me. I turned around and saw the dirty biker sauntering over me, a smug grin on his lips.
“Hey, look who it is,” Cyan said. “The town hero.”
“Cyan… It’s good to see you again. I couldn’t have done what I did without you.”
“Hey, I told you I’m a man true to my word. Now…”
He rubbed his hands together as he took a seat in front of Ashton.
“…What do you think about getting me and my friends a place in the Northside?”
Ashton looked up at me, a skeptical look on his face.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked me.
“Cyan may not look like it but you can trust him. Without him, we would have never gotten to Amy.”
“Just because I’m a biker doesn’t mean I’m a bad guy,” Cyan said. “I heard what they’re doing with that Hudson fella. Man, if that ain’t enough to watch what we’re doing around here, I don’t know what is.”
“Very well,” Ashton sighed. “Let’s discuss where on the Northside would be most suitable for you and your crew…”
The two men got to work negotiating. I didn’t waste another second with them. I left Paradise and got on my ride.
Someone was waiting for me. I couldn’t get to them soon enough.
Epilogue
SPENCER
One week later…
“Are you sure about this?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?
“Well, considering you gave birth about a week ago… I figured your hands are already full.”
“You make this sound like work.”
“Isn’t it?”
Eunice raised an eyebrow at me with the kind of concern a parent would. I smiled back at her knowing that she already knew my answer.
“Coming to the shelter and volunteering isn’t work,” I said. “It’s never work.”
“And you, Marshall. How about you?”
Eunice and I both turned to him. He gave Eunice a nod then moved forward to the desk.
“After everything we’ve been through, I don’t see any other way.”
He picked the pen up and scribbled his name on the sheet of paper.
“Your turn,” Eunice said to me.
I grabbed the pen and signed on the line right next to Marshall.
“And the only thing left to do is for me to sign it,” Eunice said.
She gave Marshall and me one last look before finishing the paper off.
“There we have it,” she said. “It’s official.”
We all turned toward the little girl off to the side of the room.
“Amy,” I said. “Do you hear that? It’s official.”
“Do you mean it?” she said, her eyes wide and full of wonder like they always were.
“Yes, I…”
I swallowed when a sudden burst of emotion made it hard for me to talk. I held back the tears building up and coughed to clear my throat.
“…You’re our daughter,” I said. “The adoption is official.”
She closed her arms around my leg and squeezed. One hand cradling Ava, I held Amy with the other one. Marshall took Amy and me both in his embrace. A bundle of everything good in my world was here with me now. The most important people in my life surrounded me, filling me with the kind of joy that so few people ever got to experience. I was truly blessed.
“We’ve already processed the paperwork so that Amy can head to school when the next year starts,” Eunice said. “She’s a little behind but I’m sure a bright girl like her will catch up in no time.”
“Do you hear that, Amy?” I said. “Heading to school. You can show off how talented you are to your teachers.”
Most kids would’ve dreaded the thought about having to go to school but Amy remained smiling and optimistic as ever.
“Well,” Marshall sighed. “It’s time to head out there for another celebration. Noah just can’t seem to get enough of them.”
“The baby shower was one thing,” I said. “But this… I’ll make an exception for this.”
We headed out of the office and into the next room where the shelter residents were all waiting. They were all staring at us, holding their breath in anticipation of the announcement.
“Do you want me to say it?” I asked.
“How about you say it, Amy?” Marshall said.
“It’s official!”
Amy squealed with enthusiasm, her voice as cute as ever. The children all ran up and embraced her, hugging her. Even though she wasn’t going to be staying at the shelter any longer, they still had the same kind of love for her when they always played with her.
“Congratulations,” Ashton said as he walked up to Marshall and shook his hand. “Both of you.”
“Thank you,” Marshall replied. “I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you.”
“A newborn baby and now another daughter,” Noah said. “It makes me want to have another child…”
“I don’t see why that’d be a problem,” I said. “Ashton can surely afford it.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Ashton said as he put his hands up. “One child at a time.”
We all shared a laugh together. The shelter was filled with the kind of joy and enthusiasm that made you forget about the circumstances of why everybody was here.
The party went on. Amy was the center of the celebration with everybody wanting to talk and play with her. The food was plentiful and I stuffed myself as much as I could. Despite everybody filling themselves up more than they could handle, the end of the festivities were nowhere in sight.
I was off to the side of the room, stuffed full of pizza and ice cream. With my daughter in my arms, I watched my other daughter play with Marshall by my side.
“I always wanted to be closer to her,” I said.
“You were always close to her,” Marshall said. “I saw that as soon as I met you. You were willing to do almost anything to get to her.”
“I know. But now I know she won’t have to worry about anything for the rest of her life. I can be there for her always.”
“We can be there for her always.”
“Two daughters,” I said in disbelief. “If you’d told me I’d be a father just a couple of months ago, I would’ve laughed at you.”
“Maybe it’s not so crazy. Maybe there’s something more you can do.”
“Something more?”
I raised an eyebrow at Marshall but he ignored me. I watched him walk over to Amy and pull her away from the small crowd playing with her. He brought her over and I became more curious.
“What’s going on?”
“I want to show you something,” he said. “Come on. Follow me.”
I looked Amy but she shrugged like she had no idea what was going on.
We headed outside and stood in front of the shelter. The sun was just beginning to go down. The streets were mostly empty like they always were in the Southern Block.
“All right,” I said, rocking Ava back and forth in my arms. “What’s this all about?”
“Amy,” Marshall said as he softly caressed her cheek with his thumb. “You’re my daughter now. I love you. I’ll do anything for you. No matter what. You keep smiling and if you ever feel like you’re losing it, you tell me and daddy will fix it, okay?”
Amy smiled and nodded to him.
“And you, Ava…” he said as he smiled down at her. “You don’t understand it now but I love you. When you get older, I’ll always be here with you.”
Seeing how tender Marshall was with our children was a sight I never thought I would see. That alone was enough to stop my heart in my chest. I was so distracted by it that his smile made it hard for me to focus.
“Spencer,” he said. “The Omega to my children. The one who showed me what Snow Falls is all about. The man I fell in love with.”
“I…”
I held back whatever I was going to say, not wanting to interrupt him. It didn’t help that all of my words were stuck in my throat.
“You’re everything to me,” he said. “And I want you to be even more.”
“What are you saying?”
I gave him a confused look.
He responded by the doing the one thing I least expected.
Marshall slowly lowered himself down and fell on one knee. A shiver shot through my spine and made my knees buckle. I watched in disbelief as he pulled a small box out of his pocket. He opened it up and revealed the small silver band resting inside.
“I was planning on asking you earlier,” he said. “But that night, we were interrupted by some unfinished business.”
“That night… When we went out to dinner…”