“You think it could be your dad or the motorcycle club?” Ollie asks.
I shake my head. “Motorcycle clubs aren’t calling CPS for complaints. They handle their own business. And my dad is in hot water with CPS, so he’s not making complaints. He’s probably lying low.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Ollie says, kissing the top of my head, and I press closer to him, heart racing but steady.
This is chaotic, but this is us.
And no one is taking any of it away.
Chapter 26
Ollie
You For A Reason by Warren Zeiders
The nurse comes in, smiling, with paperwork, and says the words I didn’t realize I’d been holding out on and was scared to hear. “You’re cleared to take your baby home.”
My chest loosens all at once. “Home,” I repeat, like I need to hear it again. She gets to come home with us. Having the social worker and the CPS worker here made it seem as if that might not be possible. And I’ll be damned if I’m leaving her here.
“We still haven’t figured out a name,” I admit. Something so important takes time. Most people have their entire pregnancy to decide, and I had just a few hours. I double checked, and the nurse said Madison didn’t give the baby a name.
“You’ve got time to decide on a name,” she says. “For now, she’s still Baby Kendrick in the system. Here are instructions on what to do when you have a name.”
I look down at our baby, swaddled and sleepy in my arms. Baby Kendrick. Holy hell. This feels so real. I feel like I’ve been in a fever dream all day.
“Do you have a carseat?” the nurse asks.
I don’t have anything, but I don’t tell her that because I want to take her home, and I assumed I’d figure out the rest later. I completely forgot the carseat.
“Yes,” Violet says from across the room. “We have a brand new one in the box that they can have. I’ll order another one. One perk of early nesting is that I have a nursery started and supplies to get you by until you get whatever you want.”
Walker’s already on his phone. “I’m calling Mack,” he says. “She and her friends are at the house and can bring things.”
“I’ll text her exactly what to bring.” Violet is texting, and her fingers are flying across her phone.
Walker ends his call and says, “Violet went a little wild buying baby stuff early. There’s a whole nursery sitting there doing nothing. I told them to load up everything and bring it here.”
I laugh, the sound shaky but real. “Thank you. I appreciate it. I can replace everything or pay you back.”
“I won’t hear of it,” Violet says proudly and shakes it off. “Consider it your first baby gift. I’m so excited for you guys.”
True to her word, Mack shows up not even forty-five minutes later. I head downstairs to help and stop short when I see the back of her truck.
It’s packed full of boxes and bags. A bassinet wedged in sideways, still in the box. Diaper boxes stacked like a game of Tetris. Stuffed animals and toys peeking out of bags in the backseat.
“Wow,” I say. “It looks like you guys robbed a baby store.”
Mack beams. “Violet told us to grab everything that would fit in thetruck.”
“I think we accidentally grabbed a lamp that wasn’t supposed to be in there,” one of her friends adds.
“Thank you, guys. I have no words. This is so amazing,” I say, gratitude and overwhelm filling me at the same time. I don’t know why I thought I couldn’t do this. We do have a pretty amazing village.
I grab the carseat box and haul it upstairs to the hospital room, my arms full and my heart pounding. Walker helps me set it up, showing me how everything clicks into place. I nod like I know what I’m doing. I absolutely do not and I’m still scared as hell I’m going to mess this up.
Violet hovers the whole time, bouncing on her toes. “I can’t believe this,” she says. “I mean, I can, but also I can’t. Look at her. She’s perfect.”
Poppy’s standing close to me, hand warm on my back, steady and grounding. I glance at her, and she smiles as she cradles the baby.
