Last Mile (Vicious Cycle #3) - Katie Ashley Page 0,103
piece of chocolate cake when a scream of pain echoed through the room. Two tables down from us, Kim’s daughter, Cassie, was bent over, huffing and puffing. Considering the special circumstances of her pregnancy—she was the surrogate making Rev and Annabel’s dreams of parenthood come true—everyone’s attention was immediately riveted to her. Turning over their chairs in a rush, Rev and Annabel sprinted over to Cassie.
“Are you okay?” Rev questioned.
“Is it Braxton Hicks?” Annabel asked.
Cassie looked up and gave a grim smile. “My water just broke.”
“Holy shit!” Rev shouted as Annabel started to cry happy tears. “We need a doctor! Where the hell is Breakneck?”
“I’m right here,” Breakneck replied with a grin. Rev was so beside himself he hadn’t realized Breakneck was sitting next to Cassie.
“Oh, sorry,” Rev said sheepishly.
Breakneck rose out of his chair. “First thing we need to do is to take a deep breath and calm down.”
“But—” Rev started to argue.
Breakneck shook his head. “You have to calm down. This will go a lot easier for you and especially for Cassie if you’re calm.”
With a reluctant nod, Rev asked, “Okay, what else?”
“We need to get her to the hospital. Cassie, do you have your suitcase?”
“It’s at Mom’s.”
Kim shot out of her chair. “I’ll go get it.”
After she raced out of the room, Breakneck said, “Then let’s get you to the car.”
Bishop and I got up and followed the crowd outside. Once Cassie had been eased into the front seat of Rev’s SUV, Rev turned to Bishop. “I can’t drive.”
“What?”
He held out a hand to show that it was visibly shaking. “I’m too fucking nervous to drive.”
While I bit back a smile, Bishop wasn’t quite so thoughtful. He busted out laughing. “Seriously, dude? After everything we’ve been through, you’re losing it now?”
“This is my child, B. A child we’ve been through hell to get,” Rev argued.
Bishop’s expression grew serious. “I get it. I’ll be happy to drive you.”
“Do you want me to wait here?” I asked.
Shaking his head, Bishop said, “Of course not. Hop in.”
“But aren’t we going to be a full house with five of us?”
“You, Rev, and Annabel can squeeze into the back.”
“If you say so.”
When we opened the back door to get in, Cassie turned to us with tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry to have ruined your night.”
I leaned forward in the seat to pat her back. “Oh, honey, you haven’t ruined our night. You just made it a whole lot more special by having our future nephew or niece come into the world.”
“Exactly,” Bishop said as he cranked up the engine.
Deacon and Alexandra waved to us as they got in their car. We then led a caravan of cars to the local hospital. Bishop roared up to the ER entrance and screeched to a halt. Before the car was in park, Rev was out the car door and running inside to get a wheelchair. When he returned, he and Annabel got Cassie into the wheelchair and then Rev wheeled her inside.
After a flurry of activity at the front desk, the mechanized doors opened up, and Cassie was whisked away with Rev, Annabel, and Kim. At the sight of us standing around, a nurse said, “You all should go on up to maternity to wait.”
Our herd then moved on to the fourth floor, where we took up half the room and got settled in to wait. Deacon and Bishop played cards while I helped Alexandra with Willow and Wyatt. Hours went by. Wyatt fell asleep in my arms, and finally Willow went to sleep in Deacon’s.
It was a little after two a.m. when the doors opened up and Rev appeared with a beaming smile and a tiny bundle. “It’s a girl!” he cried.
A whoop of joy went up in the room. Rev and Annabel had wanted the sex to be a surprise until delivery. Everyone started hugging and swiping tears from their eyes. Then we gathered round to ooh and aah at the baby, who looked an awful lot like her father. “What’s her name, Daddy?” Bishop asked.
“Natalie Elizabeth . . . for me and Mama Beth.”
Mama Beth grinned. “Good choice, son.”
“You’re welcome,” Rev said. He then passed Natalie into Mama Beth’s waiting arms. With tears in her eyes, she kissed her newest granddaughter, then handed her off to Deacon, who then gave her to Bishop.
“I better get her back to the room. You can come back and see Cassie in a little while. She did amazing.”