by Jewel, Bella
I shake my head and roll my eyes. “Two doors down. You guys look super busy today?”
“We’re packed. The club brings in more business than we can handle, we have to turn half of it away but we’re makin’ a killing. It’s fuckin’ great.”
I smile at him, taking his shirt in my hands again. “So you’re happy?”
“So fuckin’ happy. Best thing I ever did was stayin’ here with you. Mom and dad are visiting soon, and I know it’ll all be perfect.”
I love his new faith in life.
Hell, I love my own new faith in life.
It feels good to finally be...free.
“Ethan is coming tomorrow, too. He said he’s not missing his godson’s birth.”
Tanner rolls his eyes, “Well, he doesn’t have to worry about missing his godson’s birth, just his goddaughter’s.”
I laugh and rub my belly, “I guess we’ll find out.”
“Yeah,” he grins, “I guess we will. I gotta get back to work, baby. I’ll see you at home, yeah?”
Home.
With Tanner.
In a house he bought us. A beautiful big, white, two storey house with trees and a yard. A home I could only dream about. A home that makes my whole world come together in one beautiful package.
My phone rings and I look down to see my dad’s name flashing across the screen. He has been calling a lot more in the last few months since he found out I was having a baby. He’s been making an effort, and I’ve been letting him in, giving him my time and letting him fix what he broke.
He’s trying.
Even Max has called a few times, checking in on me. He told me he’d come to visit soon. Mom still doesn’t talk to me, but Max said she does ask about me, she’s just too stubborn to make the first move. I’ve spent my life doing the hard yards, it’s about time she stepped up and did some herself. She really needs to make the effort this time. She needs to be a mother.
I glance at Tanner and he says, “Take it, I’ve got to get back to work.”
I smile at him and pick up the phone saying, “Hey, dad.”
“How are you Callie?” he asks right away, “any baby yet?”
“Not yet, but don’t worry I’ll let you know when bub arrives.”
“Are you having any pains?”
“Nothing yet. It’s all very quiet.”
He chuckles. “The calm before the storm. How is everything else?”
I talk to my dad for about twenty minutes, promise three times to let him know as soon as the baby is born, and then meet Jo down at the café just a few blocks away from the garage. She’s already sitting and waiting when I arrive. Just like I suspected she would be.
She stands, and smiles. “You’re getting bigger by the second, I swear. Is that baby eating everything you’ve got left?”
I laugh, “I’m starting to think so.”
“I’ve ordered us some burgers, I figured you’d be hungry.”
I sit down and roll my eyes. “Not too much in the last few days, the baby is taking up all the room.”
“Maybe he or she is ready to come. You know what they say about when you stop getting hungry, it means they’re ready.”
“Where did you learn that?” I frown.
“In a baby book,” she grins proudly.
She’s reading baby books. That’s so freaking nice I don’t even know what to say. She cares so much about this baby already, and I know she’s going to be an incredible part of its life.
“Since when have you been reading baby books?” I ask.
“Since you got pregnant. I want to know everything, so if you’re having a hard time, I’ll be there to fix it. I won’t let you suffer, I have all the information.”
“Stop it,” I croak, “you’ll make me cry if you keep being this incredible.”
She shrugs, as if it’s nothing that she’s so amazing. “You’re my best friend, I’d do anything for you.”
“I know you would which is why-”
I trail off and my eyes get wide as a flush of water suddenly soaks the seat beneath me. I open my mouth and try to say something, but an incredible pain grips my stomach and has me doubling over.
Just like that. Out of the blue.
I thought this only happened in movies?
“Callie!” Jo says, standing and rushing around the table, leaning over with her hands on my back. “What’s wrong?”
“My waters broke,” I cry, panting between the incredible pain. “Oh Jo. Call Tanner.”
“Shit,” she says, “shit! Oh no. I’m not ready. Hey! Call a paramedic, hurry!”
The waitress she just yelled at stares at me, her eyes get wide, and then she nods and rushes off to call an ambulance. Jo pulls out her phone while rubbing my back and calls Tanner.
“You need to come now. Callie’s waters just broke. I think she’s having the baby.”
She hangs up the phone and kneels down in front of me, squeezing my hand. “Breathe, Callie. Big breaths. It’ll be okay.”
God.
It doesn’t feel okay.
It feels like my insides are about to launch out and splatter all over the ground. I groan in pain as another contraction grips my core, nearly bringing me to my knees. An older lady comes rushing over with a cool cloth and presses it against my head. “The ambulance is on the way. I’m a nurse, try and take deep breaths. What’s your name?”
“It’s Callie,” Jo says.
“Hi Callie, I’m June. It looks like you’re in very sudden labor, are you experiencing any pressure down below?”
I shake my head, wailing as another contraction takes over my body. Only seconds from the last.
Then I feel the pressure, the incredible pressure. The urge to push is so overwhelming I can’t breathe.
“She’s going to have this baby now,” June yells, “get her out back.”
People are scattering around just as Tanner runs through the door, his eyes going to me. He rushes over and drops to his knees, taking my hand, “I’m here baby. I’m here.”
“She’s not going to make a hospital, if I’m correct,” June tells him, “you need to carry her out the back.”
He nods, lifting me into his arms, even though he looks utterly terrified.
“She’s going to have the baby now?” he asks.
“Oh yes,” June nods. “I think she is.”
Lord help me.
“THE AMBULANCE WILL be here soon, Callie, but you’re fully dilated and ready to push. I’m going to help you and we’ll get your baby out safely, but you’ll need to do as I ask. Do you understand?” June asks, staring between my legs which are now wide open in the back office of a café.
“Yes,” I wail, clutching Tanner and Jo’s hand, praying for this to be over already.
“Jo, can you get some more towels, just in case. A blanket maybe, if they have one. Anything we can use to keep the baby nice and warm if the ambulance doesn’t make it on time.”
Jo nods and stands, rushing out. June wets a cloth and presses it against my forehead again. “You’re in a little bit of shock, Callie, because this is so sudden. You’re probably going to feel that once the baby is born. I’m just preparing you.”
“I need to push!” I scream, launching forward as a contraction buckles my body and every instinct inside of me urges me to push, to get this baby out.
“She’s ready,” June says, moving back down to the area between my legs. “Push on your next contraction, Callie. With everything you have.”
I do as she asks, just as Jo rushes back in with an armful of towels. She drops back down beside me as I crumple forward, screaming as I push with all my might during a contraction.
“Good,” June says, her voice frantic. “Another.”
I do as she asks, pushing during the next contraction.
“Your baby is coming, one more push Callie. Tanner, come and deliver your little one.”
Tanner lets me go and moves down just as I push with all my might. He leans down, everyt
hing feels blurry for a moment, and then I hear the cry. The beautiful, crackly cry of my baby. June hovers over, using her fingers to clear the airways, and then Tanner looks up at me, a tear running down his face as he says, “It’s a girl.”
A girl.
A beautiful little girl.
June wraps my baby and Tanner cuts the cord with some sterilized scissors, and then she hands me my daughter.
The first thing I notice, is her hair. It’s the whitest hair I’ve ever seen on a newborn. Tanner and I are both dark haired, but this little girl has the hair of an angel. So light blond it’s practically white and thick, so thick it’s covering her tiny head.
She has the softest, palest skin I’ve ever seen, and the sweetest button nose.
She’s crying but the moment I press her to me, she stops. As if she knows she’s safe. As if she knows she’ll always be home when she’s with me. Tears run down my face and I look at Tanner, who is beside me again. “She’s perfect,” I whisper.
“So fuckin’ perfect,” he murmurs, gently stroking her skin.
“Oh Callie,” Jo cries. “I’ve never seen such a beautiful child.”
I smile at her through my blurred vision.
“She’s as fair as an angel,” June smiles. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” I croak. “Thank you for helping me.”
“You’re very welcome, dear.”
She continues cleaning me up, and we continue staring at the beautiful miracle we created.
I look to Tanner and I say to him, “You were right, a little girl.”
“Fuckin’ most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“She’s so fair, it’s like...” Jo trails off, and her eyes well up.
It’s like the heaven’s opened up and gave us the one thing we knew we could never get back. With her white hair, and her pale skin...I just know her eyes will be blue. I just know it. I know it because she was sent to us.
That’s why Tanner knew all along she was a girl.
He could feel it.
He knew.
“What are you going to name her?” Jo croaks.
I look to Tanner, and I smile. I smile because he knows. He knows who sent her to us. He knows why she’s here. He knows there is a reason they look the same. This little girl is our completion. The glue to all our broken pieces. The most beautiful soul come back to complete us once more.
“Celia,” Tanner whispers, his eyes red and glassy.
Jo sobs.
I look down and smile, my whole world finally complete. “Welcome to the world, Celia.”
THE END
Wow, you guys.
What a ride that was.
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
You’ll be pleased to know that Alarick and his club will be getting an entire series starting in 2020. Until then, I have a Christmas book coming, which you want to keep your eyes peeled for!!!
Happy reading x
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Darkest Hour
Sassy Little Thing
Our Final Tale
Whiskey Burning
Hushed Torment
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Melancholy
Anguish
Desolation
Precarious
Jokers' Wrath Boxed Set
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Valiant
MC Sinners
Hell's Knights
MC Sinners Next Generation
Manacle
Drifter
Rumblin' Knights
Knights Rising
Knights Fury
Knights Lady
Knights Burden
The MC Sinners Series
Knights' Sinner
Heaven's Sinners
Standalone
Number Thirteen
Wingman (Woman)
'Til Death
'Til Death Pt 2
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Flawed Heart
Flawed Love
How To Fall In Love
Pandemonium
Fleeting Moments
Amore - Boxed Set
Wild Child