Chapter Six
Butch burst through the hospital doors. He went to the main desk, got the directions he needed, and took off. He followed all the signs, and as he threw open the doors, he came to a stop as he caught sight of Alex and Michael. He’d left Ned and the others behind.
Ned offered to drive him.
As if he’d trust that old fool to get him to the hospital in one piece.
“Where is she?” Butch asked. He was panting for breath as he looked at Alex.
“She’s in the delivery room.” Alex walked past him to the counter.
Butch ran a hand down his face, his heart racing.
They’d planned this for the past couple of weeks, how it would go down. They’d even done some practice runs so he didn’t panic in getting her to the hospital. Only right now, he was panicking.
“Cheryl, my wife, I need to go and see her.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but that’s not possible.”
“She’s in labor, and she needs me by her side. At least tell the doctor who is handling her care that I’m here.” He gave the doctor’s name while Alex tried to negotiate with the women to get him into the damn room.
One of the women took off with his details, and he stood, waiting.
“Was she okay? Did she seem okay? Was she in a lot of pain?”
“She was in a lot of pain with the contractions. Her water broke in the café that we were eating in, and she seemed fine. More than fine. She looked healthy.”
He nodded. “She’s fine. She’s going to be fine.”
“Yes, she is. Believe me, she looked ready for this.” Alex put a hand on his shoulder. “She’s going to get through this.”
He nodded. Pacing the length of the floor, he saw that Michael was staring at him.
He walked over to the kid and smiled. “You still want to punch me in the face? Last time you saw me you said you were going to put me on my ass.”
“You said that?” Alex asked, taking a seat beside his kid.
“Yeah.” Michael’s face was red.
“It’s a good thing it was your stepfather you threatened and not a grown-ass man who’d put you on the floor,” Alex said.
“You teaching him some manners while he’s with you?” Butch asked.
“I’m sitting right here,” Michael said.
“Exactly, and as a good young man, you’ll take it.”
“I don’t have to sit and listen to this,” Michael said.
“Sit your ass down. You think about causing me any trouble, and you’ll have your allowance cut and your privileges removed,” Alex said.
“Adulting sucks, right?” Butch asked.
“I don’t remember being this big a pain in the ass. I wonder where he gets it from.”
Michael folded his arms and slumped down in his seat as if the weight of the world was on his singular shoulders.
Butch saw the truth though. The kid, with all his attitude, was worried about his mom, and it was making him lash out.
“She’ll be okay.”
“You don’t know that,” Michael said.
The doors opened, and a nurse was waiting. “Cheryl’s waiting for you, Butch.”
Taking off, he didn’t look back at Alex and Michael. He needed to see his woman.
The nurse made him quickly put a gown on to cover his clothes, and he had to wash his hands.
Once that was done, he entered a room, and there was his wife, on the table, legs spread, and she looked in pain.
“You’re doing so good, Cheryl. Look, your husband is here right now.”
“He did this to me,” she said, whimpering.
He smiled. The doctor had told him when the pregnancy started that during the birth, the man is responsible for everything. The woman is always the victim.
“If my memory serves me well, Cheryl, you loved every second of it.” Butch said, moving behind her and taking her hands.
He’d dreamed of this moment and dreaded it with equal measure.
He’d been warned of the dangers of pregnancy, and it scared him to think of his wife going through this.
Holding her hands tightly, he tried to offer her the support she needed.
“It hurts,” she said, crying out.
“I know. I know. Come on, baby. Another push, and you’re almost there.”
“I tried to wait for you,” Cheryl said.
“I’m here now. Alex called me immediately. Don’t worry. I’m here, and I love you. Come on, baby. One more push. I’m right here. Your pain is my pain. Come on.”
Cheryl lifted up, and he saw she was exhausted.
“One. Two. Three. Push.”
She pushed with all of her might, and she still had some strength in her. She held his hands as she screamed out her pain, and he took every single second of it.
Each scream and clench of her hand, and then he heard it.
The sound of the newborn baby.
His child.
His son or daughter.
Cheryl collapsed against him, and he watched as the doctors and nurses got to work.
“Butch, what’s happening? I want to see my baby. Is everything okay?”
He saw the fear in her eyes, and he saw the doctors doing their work. They’d been told the process, and as their doctor turned toward them, he waited, and finally, after what felt like a lifetime, he smiled.
“You have a beautiful, healthy baby girl.”
Butch watched as the doctor brought their baby girl toward them, and as he laid her down on Cheryl’s chest, Butch saw his little girl.
“Look what we did.”
He reached out, putting his fingers beneath her hand and marveled at how tiny she was. She gripped his finger and let out a little baby noise, opening her eyes.
“She’s so pretty,” he said. Kissing Cheryl’s head, he couldn’t believe that he was finally a dad.
Sharing in this moment, he felt all the love consume him, for his wife, for his child, for the life they’d built together.
What they’d gone through these past months, for this moment, he’d never forget, and it had been so worth it.
There was no other feeling in the world that could ever replace this one. His love was so damn strong.
He stayed by Cheryl’s side, and as she was being processed to go to another room, just for observation as she’d struggled to take a baby to term previously, he took his daughter in his arms.
“Am I okay to take her out? To show her to her brother?” Butch asked.
The nurse nodded. “Of course. Make sure you support her head.”
“I will.”
He was going to protect this girl for his entire life.
He walked out of the hospital room. He expected to only see Alex and Michael, but Ned had arrived, as well as several fighters. Javier, Mistletoe, and Cruz were waiting for him as well.
They were all there to show their love and support.
“I have a beautiful baby girl,” he said.
Ned was the first to approach. “How is Cheryl?”
“She’s doing well. They’re just going to get her settled into a room, and then I’ll go back with her.”
The men each took a turn to come and see her, and then he went to Michael. Sitting down in the available seat, he smiled.
“Hey, sweetheart, this is your big brother. He has attitude, but I think one day he’s going to see what an amazing man he’s turning into and he’ll protect you. He acts all hard, but he’s really a big marshmallow.”
“I’m sitting right here.”
“That I know. Look at her, Michael. Don’t be a pain in the ass.”
Michael turned his head, and he waited. “She’s so small.”
“She is. She’s going to need a big brother someday.”
“I’ll be around,” Michael said. “Can I see my mom?”
“Of course. Come on.”
He made sure to look to Alex, who gave him a nod.
Michael followed him back toward Cheryl’s room, and there his wife sat, looking so damn exhausted and cute.
She smiled at him, and as he moved out of the way, he saw the joy on her face at Michael. She held open her arms, and her son went right into them.
“You’re getting so big. It’s illegal for you to get any taller. What are they feeding you?”
Michael laughed. “Food, Mom, just good food.”
“Well, I’ll just have to deal with you being a lot taller than me.”
****
Cheryl didn’t have anything wrong with her. The doctor had said to her that the body was a beautiful and mysterious thing. No one knew why she’d suffered the miscarriages before while this pregnancy went by without a single hitch. Either way, she loved it.
Lying down in the sitting room, she stared at her baby, who was wriggling beside her.
“We need to think of a name,” Butch said.
He lay on the other side of their little girl.
Alex and Michael had gone back to Fort Wills. She’d been able to spend a couple of days with her son, but for the most part, it had been in the hospital. The doctor wasn’t going to take any risks with her health, and she had a feeling that was down to Butch. He was pretty scary when he wanted to be.
“I know. What about Anna?” she asked.
“Nah, it doesn’t suit her.”
“Elizabeth.”
“Lexie and Devil’s kid is called that.”
She laughed. “They have so many kids, they probably have all the good names.”
“That’s true.”
“Are you happy?” she asked.
“More than happy.” Butch cupped her cheek, their baby between them. “I’ve got you. That’s always been more than enough for me.”
She turned toward his open palm and kissed him. “I love you with all my heart.”
“You own me.”
“I love it when you say that.”
Their daughter gurgled, and the sound filled her with even more love. “She is just so perfect.”
“You know I’m going to get arrested right? I’m going to have to fight all the guys that want to date her.”
“You’re going to be old, and don’t worry, I’ll handle everything. She is going to break some hearts, that’s for sure.”
She ran her hand down her baby’s body, touching her toes.
For so long she’d been worried that her baby wouldn’t make it.
Right now, it was kind of surreal that not only had she made it, but she was just so perfect. Every parent went through this. She’d felt the same way with Michael.
“You’re a beautiful little girl.” Cheryl chuckled. “I keep saying the same thing.”
“I know. We still need to pick out a name. Susan.”
“Nah, what about Carla?” Cheryl wrinkled her nose. “That doesn’t suit her either.”
They continued to throw out girls’ names, and each one just didn’t suit her until Butch finally called one.
“Jade.”
Staring at her little girl, Cheryl lifted up and smiled. “Hello, Jade.”
“It suits her.”
“It really does. Our baby girl is called Jade. I can’t believe it.” She held Butch’s hand as she stared down at their daughter.
“Come on, I think our Jade needs to go to sleep.” Butch got to his feet and carefully lifted Jade up in his arms.
There was no better sight than seeing the man she loved cradling their little girl.
She followed him up to the nursery. Standing beside the crib that they’d assembled just hours before, he gently placed their little girl down.
Jade had started to fall asleep downstairs, and now as they turned the light down and watched, she fell asleep completely.
Cheryl moved to Butch’s side, taking his hand.
They were a family.
The three of them.
All together.
Resting her head against his arm, she knew that even as she wanted to pause this moment, it wasn’t going to happen. They had to make some decisions.
Pulling Butch from the room, she got the baby monitor and they headed downstairs to the kitchen.
She grabbed the ingredients to make the hot chocolate, tension in the air.
“Alex told me you were talking about Fort Wills when your water broke,” Butch said.
“Wow, that didn’t take long.”
“I need to know if you’re wanting to head back there,” Butch said.
She put the milk in the saucepan and placed it on the stove to start heating. Turning back to face the man she loved, she gripped her shoulders.
“I don’t know.”
“If you want to go back there, we can.”
She stared at him. The wall that Butch put in place to protect himself was very much there. She found it a lot harder to read him when he was like this.
“Tell me what you want,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter what I want.”
“Bullshit. It matters to me.” She ran fingers through her hair. “I don’t want us to go on this merry-go-round, Butch. Just tell me what it is you want.”
“I want you. That’s all I want.”
“But where exactly do you want me?”
“Wherever you want to be.”
She laughed. “All of your life you’ve done everything that everyone else has ever asked of you without complaint. I’m asking you as your wife, as the woman who loves you, what exactly it is that you want, and you’re not being honest with me.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Cheryl.”
“What are you thinking? What are you feeling? Do you want to go back to Fort Wills? Do you want to stay here? What is it you want to do? Why can’t you be honest?”
“Because I don’t want to be selfish. For a long time, Fort Wills was my home, but it’s not where I want to be. But I’m not willing to put yours and Jade’s happiness on hold for something I want.”
“You want to stay here?”
“Yes. I like it here. I’ve made a life here. We’ve made a life here, and I happen to like Ned, meddling old bastard that he is. He’s something else. I love being here, and I can’t go back, not now. We can’t go back, Cheryl.” He’d stood up, and she watched as he closed his eyes, the fight leaving him.
“You don’t have to hide who you are from me. You’re not this passive person you claim.” She took a step toward him. “Don’t hold back. Tell me what you want?”
She watched and waited. He didn’t say anything for the longest time.
“Your milk is burning.”
She turned back to the stove to see the milk boiling over the edge of the saucepan. “Shoot!” She quickly pulled the pan off the stove and cursed. Looking at the spilling, she turned the stove off and then pressed a hand to her forehead.
Butch moved up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I want to make you happy.”
“That’s a copout, Butch. For once in your life be honest with me and trust me to have your best interests at heart. Is that too much to ask?” She turned in his arms, cupping his face. “Tell me what it is you want.”
Silence fell between them. She held her breath as he continued to stare at her.
Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, he started to talk.
“I don’t want to go back to Fort Wills. It’s not where our home is, and a couple of the guys have talked to me about us starting a club here, as a charter.”
“Like the Vegas chapter or something?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“That’s good, right?”
“It all depends if Lash wants to expand.”
“Have you spoken to him about it?”
“No, the guys have had a lot on their plate.”
“So? This is your future like everyone else. Why can’t you, I don’t know, bring it up to him?”
“I will. When the time is right.”
“Do you think you can be a Prez, is that what you call it?” she asked.
“I think I’ve got what it takes. Yeah. Do you think you can handle being my old lady?”
“Butch, I threw my body over yours and threatened your entire club to get them to help you. I will do whatever it takes to help you, to be by your side, to love you.”
“What about Fort Wills?” he asked.
“What about it?”
“It’s your dream.”
“Since when? If Fort Wills was my dream, we wouldn’t have ever left it. I didn’t want to stick around that town. I had you.” She went up onto her toes and kissed his lips. “We took our punishment. You’ve done your time, and you need to stop wearing it like a damn noose around your neck. If Lash has any sense, he’d see what good it would be to have you here with Ned, keeping an eye on things. Especially with it all getting a little messy for them.”
He sighed. “There are times you speak a whole lot of sense.”
“This is one of those times. Come on, Butch, step out of that darkness you seem to enjoy being in. We made it. We have a beautiful daughter. Michael is flourishing with Alex.”
“He told me you two even managed to have a full-blown conversation, you and Alex I mean, without arguing.”
“It’s called adulting. It’s so hard.” She rolled her eyes, pretending to hate it. “We’ve got this.”
Butch lowered his mouth against hers and kissed her.
No matter what happened, no matter what they faced, she’d do it, by his side, for the rest of their lives.