Cautious: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

by Candice Wright

  “Who’s coming with me?” I ask, biting my lip as tears prick my eyes.

  And that is how I find myself arriving at the hospital twenty minutes later with six hot guys, each wearing t-shirts that say: Guns don’t kill people, uncles with pretty nieces do.

  Blake

  “If you don’t slow down, you’ll arrive at the hospital in an ambulance instead of this car,” my grandmother says from the passenger seat beside me, her words slurred and halting, but understandable, unlike just after the stroke when she accidently used the wrong words or forget some altogether.

  The doctors declared her somewhat of a miracle, having been convinced she would never regain her speech at all. I think it's because she is the most stubborn person on the planet and hates being told what she can and can't do.

  “Sorry, I just don’t want to miss this.”

  She makes a noise I take to mean she gets it, but still, I slow my speed a little, because she’s right. I’ll be no good to Callie arriving at the hospital needing treatment myself.

  Thankfully, we aren’t far away so it doesn’t take long to get there.

  I try to keep my cool while looking for a parking spot, eventually finding one in the back before parking and dialing Arlo.

  “I’m outside, right at the back.” I hang up, knowing he’ll be out here in a moment to help.

  I climb out of the SUV, grab the wheelchair from the back and set it up, making sure the break is on before reaching into the car and lifting my far-too-thin grandmother into my arms. Instead of lowering her though, I hold her for a moment, resting my forehead against hers as I try to get a grip of my emotions.

  “Love you,” she whispers. It sounds more like “lobe you,” but I let it wash over me, knowing how close I came to never hearing her say those words again.

  “I love you too. How about we go meet your great-granddaughter?” I lower her to the seat of the chair and make sure she is comfortable before locking up.

  “Hey, June, looking ravishing as usual.”

  I turn at the sound of Arlo’s voice and step aside so he can kiss her cheek.

  “Go, I got her, we’ll meet you there,” he orders me.

  I look at her, and she nods with a half-smile, one side of her face unresponsive, and smile back at her before turning on my heel and sprinting across the parking lot.

  I head straight to the maternity unit and find everyone except Marcus and Callie in the waiting room.

  “Where is she? Is she okay? What the hell are you all wearing?” The last one makes them laugh and lets me know Callie is just fine.

  “She’s doing great, but your daughter is getting impatient waiting for you, so hurry up. She’s in the last room on the left.”

  I head there, not stopping until I reach the door and ease it open. Everyone turns to look at me as I enter. Callie is on the bed with her legs spread wide and a doctor standing between them with a nurse at her side. Aiden and Marcus are on either side of Callie, each holding one of her legs.

  “It's about freaking time!” Callie yells at me, making the doctor between her legs chuckle.

  “Sorry, Callie, I’m here now,” I soothe, walking over and placing a soft kiss on her lips.

  “Okay, Callie, you are ten centimeters dilated. On your next contraction, I want you to push,” the doctor informs her.

  “My doctor told me first babies take hours. He promised me drugs, dammit. Why did he lie to me? I don’t like liars. I’m not ready. What if she hasn’t finished baking?” She panics, before her face clouds with pain making her eyes snap shut as she tries to breathe through it.

  Fuck. I thought I was prepared but seeing her scared and in pain like this is so much harder than I imagined.

  “Most take longer, but this little one is ready to meet her mama, that's all. Now push, Callie,” the doctor urges her.

  I slide my hand into hers and she holds it in a death grip, her face turning purple as she pushes with all her might.

  “Good job, Callie, same thing on the next one, okay?” the doctor prompts as the contraction passes and Callie sucks in a deep breath.

  “Oh god.” Callie’s head falls back, her skin sweaty as she looks up at me. “This is your fault. Why did you have to be so big? This baby is gonna come out the size of a toddler and ruin my vajayjay. Looks like I’ll have to use the womb raider after all,” she wails before another contraction overwhelms her.

  “Push, Callie,” the doctor tells her once more.

  Callie glares at her like she is possessed by a demon. “I am fucking pushing. If you think you can do a better job, get your bony ass up here and do it yourself,” she snarls before a scream rips free, her back arching off the bed.

  “You’re doing awesome, keep going,” the doctor encourages her, not bothered by Callie's words.

  “I hope you like this kid, Bundy, because we are never having another one,” Callie snaps at me as another contraction starts immediately on the back of the last one.

  “She’s crowning,” the doctor interrupts her. “One more really big push, Callie.”

  I move to look at my daughter being born but Callie yanks me back with a surprising amount of strength.

  “Nope, some things you can’t unsee. I don’t want you picturing the movie Alien every time you go down on me,” she yells, making the guys roar with laughter but Callie screams so loud, I worry she’s going to cause damage to her throat.

  And then I hear it, the most beautiful sound in the world.

  My baby girl crying.

  “Congratulations, Mom, she’s beautiful. Dad, would you like to cut the cord?”

  With shaky hands, I take the scissors from the nurse as the doctor lifts my gunk-covered little girl up for me to see.

  I cut through the cord, separating her from Callie and follow her with my eyes as the nurse takes her to the little table in the corner of the room to check her over while the doctor helps Callie deliver the afterbirth and cleans her up

  “We’ll give you some time alone. Well done, Callie.” I

  turn at Aiden’s voice and watch as he kisses her brow.

  Marcus follows suit, smoothing her hair back from her face. “You did so good, Callie. I can’t wait to meet her.”

  They both congratulate me and slap me on the back on the way out, but I only have eyes for Callie.

  “I’m so fucking proud of you, baby,” I tell her, bending to first kiss the back of her hand, then her forehead before placing a kiss on her lips.

  “Mom, Dad, are you ready to meet your little girl?” the doctor asks as the nurse walks toward us with a pink swaddled bundle and places her on Callie's chest. I look at her tiny pink scrunched-up face and understand what people mean when they say they fell in love at first sight.

  But it's even more than that. I fell the moment I found out about her. Before she even took her first breath, I was hopelessly and irrevocably in love.

  “She’s so beautiful,” Callie whispers reverently with tears in her eyes.

  “Do you have a name for her?” the nurse asks us.

  “Willow June Price,” Callie tells her without looking up from her precious bundle.

  “Oh, so pretty. Let me pop these bands on Willow and Dad so everyone knows who this little beauty belongs to. I think there are some people in the waiting room wanting to meet her.” She pops the band around Willow first then me before leaving with the doctor, giving the three of us our first moments alone.

  When the door closes, I climb up onto the bed beside my girls and wrap my arms around them, basking in the warmth and knowledge that they are safe and sound. “Who would have thought you waving a cock around would have led us here?” I joke.

  She lifts her eyes and laughs. “I’m pretty sure it was you waving your cock around that landed us here.”

  I shrug, conceding she may have a point. “I’m feeling pretty fucking smug right now, not gonna lie.” I turn a little more, watching as Willow's eyes flutter open, and I smile at Callie. “I held back, always so caut
ious with my heart, but you smashed through every defense I had.”

  “We were both cautious,” she murmurs softly, “but the heart wants what it wants, and mine knew what it wanted way before my brain got on board.”

  “And what did your heart want, Callie?” I ask her softly as Willow’s eyes move toward the sound of my voice.

  “I wanted a safe haven. Instead, I found so much more. Family, love, happiness, and peace. I have almost everything I’ll ever need.”

  I pause at her words and frown. “What else do you need?”

  “Nuggets. I really, really need some chicken nuggets,” she tells me deadpan, leaving me roaring with laughter as our friends and family fill the room.

  I look at everyone cooing over Willow, at my grandmother's soft smile, at the guys fighting over who is going to be the best uncle and know Callie’s right.

  I have everything I’ll ever need right here in this room, making me the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet.

  The End

  KB Worlds

  Want to keep up with all of the other books in K. Bromberg’s Everyday Heroes World? You can visit us anytime at http://www.kbworlds.com/ and the best way to stay up to date on all of our latest releases and sales, is to sign up for our official KB Worlds newsletter HERE.

  Are you interested in reading the bestselling books that inspired the Everyday Heroes World? You can find them HERE.

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  2nd link for Driven books: https://www.kbromberg.com/books/everyday-heroes/

  If you enjoyed Cautious and would like to find at more about Emmy and Grant, check out Cuffed by K. Bromberg.

  Books by Candice Wright

  THE INHERITANCE SERIES

  Rewriting Yesterday

  https://books2read.com/u/3JVj6v

  In This Moment

  https://books2read.com/u/bxvnJd

  The Promise of Tomorrow

  https://books2read.com/u/bowEy1

  The Complete Inheritance Series Box Set

  https://books2read.com/u/mBO7ev...

  THE UNDERESTIMATED SERIES

  The Queen of Carnage

  https://books2read.com/u/47EMrj

  The Princess of Chaos

  https://books2read.com/u/mBOX9Z

  The Reign of Kings

  https://books2read.com/u/b55AL7

  THE PHOENIX PROJECT DUET

  From the Ashes

  https://books2read.com/u/bO65pN

  From the Fire

  https://books2read.com/u/38ZQ9w

  THE FOUR HORSEWOMEN OF THE APOCALYSE SERIES

  The Pures

  https://books2read.com/u/3np7N9

  Acknowledgments

  Kirsty-Ann Still – Designer extraordinaire. Thank you for bring my cover to life.

  Tanya Oemig – My incredible editor - AKA miracle worker - who goes above and beyond.

  Missy Stewart – Proofreader, lifesaver, sweetheart.

  Gina Wynn – Proofreading and Formatting Queen. Nobody does it better than you.

  My girls. You know who you are. Through thick and thin, you have been by my side since the start. It is an honor and a privilege to be able to call you my friends.

  Julie Melton, Rachel Bowen, Sue Ryan - My Beta Angels. You ladies are the bee’s knees. I will never be able to tell you how much I love and appreciate everything you do for me.

  Thais Neves – Thank you. Such a simple thing to say and yet it will never be enough. I adore you and feel truly blessed to have you in my life.

  My kids – For always believing in me and not giving me grief when I’m too tired to cook.

  My readers – You guys are everything to me. I am in awe of the love and support I have received. You are the reason I keep going even on my darkest days.

  Thank you for taking a chance on my book. If you enjoy it, please leave a review.

  About the Author

  Candice is a romance writer who lives in the UK with her long-suffering partner and her three slightly unhinged children. As an avid reader herself, you will often find her curled up with a book from one of her favorite authors, drinking her body weight in coffee. If you would like to find out more, here are her stalker links:

  FB Group: https://bit.ly/CANDICEWRIGHTFBG

  Amazon: amazon.com/author/candicewrightauthor

  Instagram: https://bit.ly/CANDICEWRIGHTIG

  FB Profile: https://bit.ly/CANDICEWRIGHTFB

  Twitter: https://bit.ly/CANDICEWRIGHTtwitter

  BookBub https://bit.ly/CANDICEWRIGHTBB

  Goodreads: https://bit.ly/CANDICEWRIGHTGR

  Also Written By K. Bromberg

  Driven

  Fueled

  Crashed

  Raced

  Aced

  Slow Burn

  Sweet Ache

  Hard Beat

  Down Shift

  UnRaveled

  Sweet Cheeks

  Sweet Rivalry

  The Player

  The Catch

  Cuffed

  Combust

  Cockpit

  Control

  Faking It

  Resist

  Reveal

  Then You Happened

  Hard to Handle