Instead, she handled the top-side breathing and reassuring through crushed fingers, while Knox, Craig—turned out he was the daddy—and Grace did whatever they did on the other end.
“You’re doing great,” she said as Cathy made another attempt at breaking multiple bones in Irina’s hand while panting.
And then there was a baby’s mewl.
“Congratulations. A little boy,” Knox said, holding the baby under the arms and glancing back down between Cathy’s legs. “There’s just one baby, right?”
“Yes,” Cathy said, taking deep breaths and reaching for her son.
“Looks like he’s full-term given the vernix situation,” Knox said, lifting him to Mom’s belly.
Irina couldn’t quite move, keeping her focus on Knox with a new little boy. Knox who dealt with the umbilical cord, and rubbed the squirming little person down with a blanket until he started to really wail.
Irina’s eyes got teary and not because she had to pretend. There was something seriously special about what she’d just witnessed.
The cabin behind the curtain erupted in applause.
“There’s your lungs,” Knox said, gently, like the little guy actually understood him.
Maybe he did, because he let out a scream in response that demanded Knox keep talking to him.
He took the cue. “You did a great job. So did your mama. And when you’re a teenager, you better be nice to her, because she just pushed you out at like ten thousand feet in the air.”
Knox being sweet, her hand being nearly crushed, and that wailing sound? All of it together punched Irina right in the heart. Her throat clogged, her eyes misted more, and Knox lifted the naked, wailing little guy to his mother’s arms.
“Welcome to the world,” Knox said, in that low, soft tone of his that made Irina want to jump him on the spot.
This man was a serious mystery to her, and she wasn’t entirely loving that, because, it turned out, she actually wanted to know everything there was to know about Jeremy Dillion.
“We’re approaching Denver. Ready to land now,” Grace came behind Knox again. “Ambulance is waiting at the terminal.” She glanced to Irina, then to Knox. “How do you want to handle that? We can keep you on the plane until everyone else departs?”
“Why would you do that?” Craig asked. “You should be on the news for what you did. You’re a hero.”
“Uh, no, I just took a class.” Knox scratched at the back of his neck. “I’m not interested in the hero thing. You do it.” He smacked Craig on the back.
“You don’t know who he is, do you?” Grace asked.
“Uh, Grace.” Knox made a nix-it motion across his throat. “Let’s not—”
“They’re gonna figure it out when they open this week’sPeoplemagazine,” Grace said.
“Yeah, let’s not talk about that.” Knox didn’t love the things they’d said about him last week.
“They weren’t very nice to him,” Irina mouthed.
There’d been more photos from a club he’d visited with Mach and Tanner. He sort of looked like he’d smelled something funny in all the pictures. The tabloids made fun of him.
“Who the hell are you?” Craig asked.
Knox held his hand out. “Jeremy.”
“Are you an actor or something?” Cathy asked.
Irina stepped in to say something that might diffuse the situation, but Grace chimed in first, “He plays keyboard for Dimefront.”
Craig’s jaw slipped open. “Seriously?”
“Let’s focus on the important thing, like this little one’s name,” Knox pulled off his gloves like he’d been on Grey’s Anatomy and come out of a particularly gnarly surgery.
