T-Bone - L. Wilder Page 0,82
I was in complete awe as I peered down at our son. He had beautiful dark eyes, the tiniest bit of dark hair, and the most precious little fingers and toes. Beckett was right. He was beautiful. Tears filled my eyes as I asked, “When can I see him?”
“The nurse said she’d be back in a couple of hours to take us down to the NICU.”
“Okay, good.” I studied the picture for a few more moments, then Beckett put the phone back in his pocket. “I know I said it before, but I really am sorry.”
“You should’ve told me, Alyssa. I deserved a chance to explain.”
“I know. I was just so confused.” I couldn’t bear to look him in the eye, so I stared up at the ceiling. “I just couldn’t believe that you and Clay would do something like that.”
“This isn’t the time or the place for this conversation, but I’ll tell you this.” He inched closer, making sure that none of the nurses could hear him as he whispered, “Those men were the ones responsible for shooting Gus, and they had it in their heads that they were coming after the rest of us. We did what we did to protect our family, Alyssa.”
“I didn’t know.”
“’Cause you didn’t ask.”
He leaned over and kissed me on the temple. I don’t know if it was my raging hormones, the effects of the anesthesia, or the enormity of finally seeing Beckett after so many months, but I was overcome with emotion. I started to cry and soon I was sobbing, making it difficult to say, “There’s something else I need to tell you.”
“You don’t have to say anything, Lyssa. I already know.”
“No, I need to say it.” His eyes met mine. “I never stopped loving you. Not for one second. Even after what I saw, I still loved you, and I still love you now. I think I always will.”
“I love you, too, Alyssa Hanson. I really do.”
“Do you think we can figure this whole thing out ... start over or something?”
“No reason to start over. We both made mistakes. We just gotta learn from them and do better next time.”
“You make it sound easy.”
“Because it is. I want you in my life, and I’m gonna do everything in my power to show you, and our son, just how much you mean to me.”
“I do love you.”
“And I love you.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine, kissing me softly. “I’ve waited for you my whole life, Alyssa, and trust me when I say, you are worth every second.”
19
T-Bone
Naturally, it alarmed me when I heard Alyssa was in the hospital, but to say I was in shock after finding out the reason why was putting it mildly. Never once, in all these months, did I suspect that she might be pregnant. It just never crossed my mind. Even now, as I sat there studying the picture of my newborn son, I just couldn’t believe it—I, Beckett Walker, was actually a father, and the woman I loved more than anything in this world was his mother. I hated that I’d missed all of her pregnancy—doctor’s appointments, ultrasounds, and watching our son grow inside of her, but I couldn’t focus on that now. Instead, I needed to concentrate on making up for lost time and being there for Alyssa and JT. I needed to make things right and prove to her that I could be what they both needed—that I could be the one if she’d let me.
Knowing they were all waiting to hear how Alyssa and the baby were doing, I made my way to the waiting room to find my brothers. The second I walked into the room, they all gathered around and listened as I gave them the rundown of everything the doctor had told me. While they were all surrounding me, I took the opportunity to show them the picture of Josh. Blaze was the first to give me hell. “Thank god, he looks like his momma.”
“Can’t disagree with you there, brother.” I chuckled as I said, “I gotta tell ya, I still have no idea how this happened.”
“If you don’t know that by now then I ain’t gonna bother explaining it to ya.” Gus teased.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” I argued. “We were always careful.”
“Well, you know they say condoms are only ninety-seven percent effective.” Murphy slapped me on the back as he chuckled. “Leave it to you to be in that