“It’s nice to meet you, Deacon. I’m your dad,” Speedy said, not knowing if he should reach to hold Deacon. He didn’t want to scare him, but he wanted to wrap this little boy in his arms.
Deacon stared for a second, then tears spilled out of his eyes. He threw his arms around Speedy’s neck. Speedy inhaled the scent of little boy, soap with a hint of the outdoors.
“Hey, I’ve got you,” Speedy whispered against the top of his head as Deacon shook in his arms. Speedy patted and stroked his back, just holding Deacon.
When Speedy realized this wasn’t ending anytime soon, he stood up with Deacon in his arms and walked over to the rocking chair Regina kept in the kitchen. She’d sit there while she waitedon the baking. He set the chair to rocking and whispered that Deacon was safe and that Speedy would be taking care of him.
Once Deacon settled against him and wasn’t shaking, Speedy wondered what to do.
“Deacon, do you want to introduce your little sister?” Violet asked. She’d been holding the little one in her arms.
Deacon sat up in Speedy’s arms, nodding his head. He hopped down off Speedy’s lap and grasped his hand, tugging to have Speedy come with him. Speedy let his son lead him to the—oh my gosh, she was tiny—little girl. Her eyes were closed. She was dressed in one of those pink outfits that had footies at the end of the legs. He supposed since he now had two children, he’d be finding out what all those things were called.
Oh fuck! He had two children.
He’d been doing okay since the shock of the social worker’s words but seeing both children together hit home. He was a dad to a five-year-old and an infant. How the hell was he going to do this on his own?
“That’s Tessie,” Deacon said with a little lisp on the esses.
“She’s very beautiful,” Speedy said, his finger reaching and stroking her little fingers laying atop the blanket.
“I loves her. Even when she poops,” Deacon said.
Speedy bit his lip, trying not to chuckle. Violet was having the same issue.
“Deacon, maybe you can show your dad how he should hold her,” Violet suggested.
Speedy wasn’t sure why Violet offered that, but if it helped him connect with his son, he was all for it.
“You have to sit,” Deacon said, leading Speedy back to the chair.
Violet walked over with Tessie. “It’s good for him this first time, but remember we talked, and it’s okay for adults to walk holding Tessie like your mommy used to,” Violet said.
Violet laid Tessie in his arms. He’d held a lot of babies since coming to Bluff Creek. They seemed to be everywhere, and someone was always handing him a kid to hold while they did something. Now, he was very grateful they had.
“Okay. Support her neck,” Deacon said.
Speedy smiled at the serious tone in Deacon’s voice. Speedy bet that Anita had told Deacon that while he was holding Tessie.
He held his daughter in his arms and wondered if Deacon was this small. He’d never know because Anita hadn’t given him the chance. He pushed that down. He’d deal with his anger later. For now, he needed to take care of Deacon and Tessie.
Beth had stayed quiet in the room as she texted on her phone. She walked closer.
“The house is ready, and my dad brought one of the side-by-sides over to give everyone a ride to it. Deacon, have you ever ridden in one?” she asked.
He shook his head no and reached for the hand Beth held out. Speedy stood up with Tessie in his arms. He was totally in charge of these little ones all by himself, and it scared him to death.
“I’ll grab the bags the kids have if you want to take Tessie,” Violet said.
Speedy was glad someone was thinking of the logistics because holding his kids had made his brain short-circuit. How was he going to do this?
Chapter Five
Violet helped get the room ready for Tessie. The house the MC had moved Speedy and his family into had four bedrooms.
Violet had wondered where the furniture would come from and the answer was from everyone. Violet hadn’t realized the MC had a garage where furniture was taken when someone bought something new. They’d used some items from there and the rest had been loaned or given by MC members.
Roam and Sprite had brought over a crib, a twin bed, and a recliner. Winnie and Bear had brought over baby items along with toys for Deacon. Between all the donations, the rooms had beds, and the family room had a TV being hooked up in front of a couch and recliner.
