“And I love you.” He grins.
Smiling at him, I take the burger out and take a bite, tasting the food for what seems like the first time in days.
I don’t know what I’d do without Dagger. It’s like I’d be a shell of the person I used to be before him. With him, my world is beautiful. I have family in a way I haven’t before. He gave me that, and I’ll love him til my last breath for giving it to me.
EPILOGUE
Dagger
“This is all your fault, you asshole,” Katrina pants, squeezing my hand tightly.
“I know, baby, just breathe through it.” If I could take her pain away I would, but there was nothing I could do.
“God, it hurts.”
“It’s almost over with. Just think, soon you’ll get to hold our little boy in your arms.”
We ended up finding out we were having a boy by accident when Chelsea blurted it out as she studied the sonogram Katrina showed her. It hadn’t mattered either way what we were having, but honestly, I wasn’t sure I was ready to have a little girl yet.
After finding out, Katrina demanded he be named Tyland Korbin Delgado. I don’t know where she came up with the name, but I agreed to whatever name she wanted as long as it wasn’t Herbert or something like that.
“Oh God. I’m going to murder you in your sleep,” she threatens, squeezing my hand once again as another contraction hits her.
“Just squeeze my hand, baby, that’s it. Just keep squeezing.”
She’s done so damn good this entire time, even if she’s threatening to murder me. The last threat had been to cut my balls off, which would probably be worse than her just murdering me.
Tears glisten in her eyes as she breathes through the contraction and nearly breaks my fingers. I’d take the pain for her if I could, but she refused the epidural and other meds they’ve offered her.
A quick knock came at the door before it opened. “How’s it going in here?” Doctor Callum asks, moving to the sink to wash her hands. A nurse comes in following her.
Everything seems to happen quickly after that, from checking her contractions, to bringing in another nurse, and preparing her to push.
“Dagger, you’re going to help her hold a leg, and Janice will get the other,” Doctor Callum states.
Once they have her ready, I do as I’m told, eyes locked between my woman’s legs, watching as Dr. Callum instructs Katrina on what to do and when to do it.
“You’re doing good, Katrina. On this next one, I want you to give me one hell of a push as I count.”
Time ceases as I watch our little boy make it into the world and be placed on my woman’s chest.
Fucking miracle.
Katrina cries, holding him to her. All I can do is stare at the two most important people in my life. Never before haveI felt such a powerful surge of emotion that my throat constricts. Never before have I witnessed something so raw and beautiful. The tiny, squirming bundle on Katrina’s chest is covered in blood and fluids, his little face scrunched up in that newborn cry that sounds more like a kitten than a human.
“He’s perfect,” I whisper, my voice cracking.
Katrina looks up at me, tears streaming down her face, and for the first time since her labor started, she smiles. “He looks like you,” she says, running her finger along his cheek.
I lean down to kiss her forehead, then gently touch our son’s head, feeling the soft downy hair. “You did amazing, baby.”
The nurses move around us, cleaning up the baby, weighing him, wrapping him in a blanket. I can’t take my eyes off him. When they place him back in Katrina’s arms, I sit on the edge of the bed, wrapping them both in my arms, the rest of the world blurring in the background.
I never thought I’d be this man. This man, who gets choked up at the sight of his son. A man who would kill or die for this woman and child.
Tyland’s little fingers curl around my index finger when I reach out to him. So small, so fragile. But there’s strength there too. I can feel it in his grip.
“He’s got your hands,” Katrina says, her voice weak but happy. She looks exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes, her hair plastered to her forehead with sweat, but she’s never been more beautiful to me.
