Her Shelter, page 18
* * *
I lowered the car I’d just finished changing the oil in and then had one of the prospects who was interning at the garage drive it out of the bay. Walking into the shop, I gave my sister the slip for the customer.
“Unc!” Finn yelled from where he was playing behind the counter. “Is my new baby cousin born yet?”
Lexa, who had her five-month-old daughter, Tali, strapped to her chest in one of those wrap things, shot me an eye roll as she punched in the report on the computer in front of her. The beautiful little replica of my sister was sound asleep with the sound of her mother’s heart as her lullaby. I doubted the baby girl would have even flinched if someone drove their car through the front window. She was a hard sleeper and being cradled against Lexa the way she currently was tended to be her favorite place in the universe.
For the past few months, Finn asked me that same question every time he saw me or his aunt Delaney. And each time, I had to disappoint him by telling him, “Not yet, bud. But soon.”
At least, I hoped so. Delaney was a week past her due date and so miserable that she couldn’t find a comfortable position, no matter what she did. Sitting up. Propped body pillows on either side of her. Being held by me. She was getting cranky because she couldn’t sleep from the discomfort of our son putting pressure on her lower back and other places.
Thankfully, she was at Mom’s today instead of working in the office doing all of our orders and the books. After she’d gotten her GED the summer we’d gotten married, she’d started taking business classes at Trinity and began working at the shop. I’d told her she didn’t ever have to work if she didn’t want to, but she hated sitting around doing nothing. She was stubborn and didn’t want anyone to think she was with me only because of what I could give her.
No one had ever thought that, or if they had, they’d known better than to run their mouth. Not only would they have had me to deal with, but also Mom and Aunt Kelli as well. Plus, every other member of our family, River and Lexa both topping the list of those overly protective of my little treasure.
“I’m taking off,” I informed my sister. “If you need anything, the prospect is shadowing Trigger for the rest of the day.”
Lexa gave me a smile. “Give Delaney a kiss for me. Let me know if anything changes. I promised I would call Tavia as soon as there was activity suggesting Ronan is on his way.”
“She should just wait and fly out at the end of the week when they come to pick up Nova for the summer,” I grumbled.
“You’re just grumpy because you know everyone is going to be gushing over Delaney, and you won’t get any cuddle time with your wife and newborn son.”
I pressed my lips together, because she wasn’t wrong. I knew the second Delaney went into labor, I would be lucky if I got to hold her hand with how all the women in my family had been acting lately. Mom and Kelli were already keeping me away from my treasure for most of the day as it was. When she went into labor, they were both supposed to be in the delivery room with us, and between the two of them, they took over my girl.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like that she was getting pampered by everyone. I loved that they were making her first pregnancy so special for her. But fuck if I didn’t want a few hours alone to just hold my beautiful wife—and, when he arrived, Ronan too.
Picking up my keys, I gave Finn a fist bump before walking out the back door and climbing into the driver’s seat of my SUV. For the last three months, I’d been mostly driving it around rather than my bike so I could take Delaney to and from wherever she needed to go each day. Mom, Kelli, and River were always trying to take her to her doctor’s appointments or shopping for the baby’s room in our new house just a block over from Lexa’s place, but those three had gotten an earful from me. Didn’t they trust me to do any of that stuff? And hey, I wanted to be at all of her prenatal appointments. I got a kick out of hearing Ronan’s heartbeat at each visit.
Not to mention, I had to make sure the fucking doctor prick didn’t linger when he was examining my wife’s cervix or whatever the fuck he was doing when he was down there. The guy was new to the area, had taken over for the local OB-GYN not long after River had her own baby boy, Rocco, and I needed to make sure he understood that Delaney Reid was only a patient and not someone he should even chance taking a second look at if he wanted to spend his life delivering more babies in Creswell Springs.
It wasn’t like I was the only one to make sure the fucker understood that. Hell, Ben had been more than a little vocal when Lexa was pregnant with Tali. Not to mention Lyric when Mila had been pregnant with her second set of twins, Israel and Ireland. The doctor should have gotten the hint by the time Delaney became his patient, but no, the dickhead couldn’t keep his eyes to himself when he had a beautiful woman on his exam table.
But I had to admit he was a really good doctor, and for that alone, I hadn’t put a bullet in his skull.
Pulling up in front of Mom’s house, I saw that Kelli’s car was already in the driveway. It was nothing I didn’t expect. If Delaney was at my parents’ place, then so was Kelli. And if Delaney happened to be at Kelli’s, Mom tended to be over there. It was like they were afraid to be too far away from her in case she went into labor and neither one of them was there.
And as much as I was aggravated that they were both hogging so much of the alone time I wanted with Delaney, I was still thankful they were taking such gentle care of her for me while I was at work.
Exiting the Tahoe, I walked up to the front porch, but before I could turn the knob, it opened. Nova grimaced as she glanced over her shoulder then back to me. “I’m going to warn you now—”
“Fuck,” I muttered, already dreading what was going to come out of my cousin’s mouth.
“She started having contractions about two hours ago. The lights are off and they have her comfortable, but she doesn’t want to go to the hospital yet. Keeps saying she knows how grumpy you will be, and she wants things to be as calm for you as possible.”
I raked my hands through my hair, my heart already thumping heavily against my chest at the thought of my treasure in pain. Of course, her only worry was for me.
“What should I do?” I asked Nova in desperation. “She should be at the hospital, but I don’t want to stress her out.”
She gave me a reassuring smile. “When you go in there, just sit with her. Aunt Raven and Aunt Kelli are taking turns rubbing her back and feet, trying to get her as comfortable as possible. My mom is feeding her ice chips, and the entire house is very zen right now.” She patted me on the arm. “Take your cues from them, cuz. They are the ones with all the experience after all, seeing as they’ve each had a baby or two of their own.”
I sucked in a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “You’re right. Okay. I’ve got this.” Tears stung my eyes for the first time since I could remember. “She’s going to be okay, right?”
“Of course she is!” Nova gave me a quick hug. “Now, get your ass in there and hold your treasure’s hand.”
With that, she bounced down the stairs, her phone already to her ear. I could hear her speaking to Ryan, most likely letting him know that Ronan was on his way. I trusted that he would let Tavia know and figured they would be on their plane within the hour.
“Fuck,” I muttered to myself again, but I opened the door and walked in.
As Nova had said, the house did have an instant zen vibe to it. The lights were off, and even though the AC was blasting, there was a fan pointed right at Delaney as she sat on the couch. Mom stood behind her, massaging her back, while Kelli sat on the coffee table in front of her, rubbing my very pregnant wife’s swollen feet. Aunt Flick sat beside her, spooning crushed ice into Delaney’s mouth.
Sweat dotted my treasure’s upper lip and brow, making her face glow. Her cheeks were flushed, and when she opened her eyes as I walked closer, I could see they were glazed with pain. She gave me a bright smile as soon as she saw me. “Hi,” she signed. “You’re here early.”
“I missed you,” I told her honestly. “Thought I could come steal my beautiful wife for some cuddle time. Looks as if you need it.”
“The contractions are only ten minutes apart,” Kelli informed me, signing the words as she spoke them. She’d become fluent in ASL in the last four years, helping her become even closer to her niece. Between her and Mom, Delaney didn’t feel the loss of not having her mom nearly as much as she used to. “They need to be closer together before we can go to the hospital.”
I nodded, giving them all a tight smile, trying to hold it together for them—but more importantly, for my treasure.
Flick stood and handed me the container of crushed ice. As she did, she gave my arm a squeeze, whispering to me that everything was going to be fine and I could do this. I didn’t know if she was right, but I schooled my face so my wife didn’t see how freaked out and scared I was.
For the next three hours, I sat there, feeding her the ice and holding her hand. When she moaned in pain from the contractions, my heart rate would jack up a little higher, but I only rubbed her belly. It comforted her when I did, speaking to my son. I was just glad she couldn’t hear the quiver in my voice when I told him how much I loved him, or she would know I was holding on by a thin thread.
Finally, the contractions were five minutes apart. By that time, Lexa and River had arrived, both of them having dropped their kids with their fathers. As soon as Mom said we could go to the hospital, I scooped up my treasure and sprinted to our Tahoe, making her giggle even as another hard contraction hit her.
That thin thread broke the second Delaney started pushing, not half an hour after we were placed in a labor and delivery room. She’d been adamant about no epidural, and there had been no time for one even if she’d changed her mind. Things had moved at warp speed, and the doctor barely had time to suit up before she was dilated to ten.
The first few pushes were fine. She did what Mom signed for her to do, exactly as we’d practiced. Ronan’s head appeared, covered in thick, dark hair. But then the doctor said to wait before she pushed again, and she tried. The pain was too much for her, though, and she screamed when the doctor gave her the green light to push again.
My son’s shoulders were wide, and she began to tear, causing her to scream again.
That was when I lost it. Her pain was too much for me, and I began sobbing, unable to control my emotions even for another second, let alone until she was no longer in excruciating pain.
With one more push, I watched as my son was born through my tears. Scrubbing a fist over my soaked face, I kissed my treasure.
Breathing hard from exertion, she widened her eyes when she saw the condition I was in. “Max?” she whispered.
“I’m okay, treasure,” I rushed to assure her. “It was just hard to see you in pain.” I kissed her again, swallowing down the next sob, but this one from total happiness. My wife had just given me the most amazing gift. “Our son is perfect.”
Her concern morphed into an exhausted but content smile. “Just like you.”
“No, treasure,” I told her, and I watched the nurses clean off our firstborn. “Just like you.”
Family Tree: Rockers
Emmie & Nik: Mia (Barrick—Emerson and Hendrix), Jagger (Shaw)
Jesse & Layla: Lucy (Harris—Hayat and Evan), Luca (Violet—Remi, aka Love Bug), Lyric (Mila—Ian and Isaac, Israel and Ireland)
Drake & Lana: Nevaeh (Braxton—Conrad and Carver), Arella, Heavenleigh, Bliss, Damian
Shane & Harper: Violet (Luca—Remi, aka Love Bug), Mason
Axton & Dallas: Kenzie (Bishop—Knox and Vera), Cannon, Shaw (Jagger)
Wroth & Marissa: Jackson, Bryant, Liam, Dorothy/Doe
Devlin & Natalie: Harris (Lucy—Hayat and Evan), Trinity
Liam & Gabriella: Asher, Piper
Zander & Annabelle: Michelle, Mieke (Kaden—Michelle and Nash), Jaco
Linc & Rhett: Lennon, Ripley
Jenna & Angie: Iris, Morgana
* * *
*Siblings*
Drake, Shane, Natalie, Jenna
Layla, Lana, Lucy
Liam, Marissa
Family Tree: MC
Raven & Bash: Lexa (Ben—Finn and Tali), Max (Delaney—Ronan)
Spider & Willa: Maverick (River—Rocco), Mila (Lyric—Isaac and Ian, Israel and Irland), Monroe (Gian—Gianna and Lillianna)
Hawk & Gracie: Jack
Jet & Flick: Garret, Nova
Raider & Quinn: Kingston
Matt & Rory: Chance
Colt & Kelli: River (Maverick—Rocco)
Tanner & Jos: Reid, Elias
* * *
*Siblings*
Jet, Hawk, Raider, Colt, Raven
Tanner, Matt
Family Tree: Mafia
Scarlett & Ciro: Zayne, Zariah, Ciana, Vito, Benito
* * *
Victoria & Adrian: Theo (Tavia—Rai), Sofia
* * *
Allegra & Dante: Jenny, Adley, Mateo
* * *
Cristiano & Anya: Ryan, Samara
* * *
*Siblings*
Cristiano, Scarlett, Victoria
Adrian, Anya
MC/Mafioso Kids Birth Order
Lexa—26
Theo—25
Reid—22
Zayne—21
Zariah—21
Max—21
Jack—19
Kingston—19
Maverick—19
Mila—19
Monroe—19
Chance—19
Elias—19
Sofia—19
Ryan—18
Ciana—18
Garret—18
River—18
Vito—14
Benito—14
Nova—13
Samara—8
Timeline Reading Order for The Rocker…Universe
Our Broken Love Collection (Alexis)
The Rocker Who Holds Me
The Rocker Who Savors Me
The Rocker Who Needs Me
The Rocker Who Loves Me
The Rocker Who Holds Her
The Rockers’ Babies
Angel’s Halo
Angel’s Halo Entangled
Angel’s Halo Guardian Angel
The Rocker Who Wants Me
The Rocker Who Cherishes Me
The Rocker Who Shatters Me
The Rocker Who Hates Me
Angel’s Halo Reclaimed
The Rocker Who Betrays Me
Defying Her Mafioso
His Mafioso Princess
Angel’s Halo Atonement
Angel’s Halo Fallen Angel
Marrying Her Mafioso
Angel’s Halo Avenged
Her Mafioso King
Angel’s Halo Forever Angel
Forever Rockers
Needing Forever Vol 1
Catching Lucy
Craving Lucy
Rocking Kin
Un-Shattering Lucy
Needing the Memories
Tainted Kiss
Tainted Butterfly
Forever Lucy
Tainted Bastard
Tainted Heartbreak
Tainted Forever
Needing Forever Vol 2
Salvation
Holding Mia
Off-Limits
Needing Nevaeh
Sweet Agony
Savoring Mila
Surviving His Scars
Loving Violet
Wanting Shaw
Needing Arella
Sacred Vow
Her Shelter
Heartless Savage (Ryan & Nova)
Playlist
“Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol
“Everything” by Art of Dying
“Watch Over You” by Alter Bridge
“Beautiful Pain” by Andy Black
“ocean eyes” by Billie Eilish
“Middle Finger” by Bohnes
“Consequences” (orchestra) by Camila Cabello
“Every Breath You Take” by Chase Holfelder
“The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed
“Everything” by Lifehouse
Terri Anne Browning, Her Shelter
