“Fuck you,” I growled through another grueling contraction.
And damn him, but he flashed one of those bright, shit-eating grins of his. Like he knew and was depending on my anger to push me through. “Come on, trouble. You got this.”
He glanced beyond me, and I followed his gaze to find Bad settling a thick layer of towels and anything soft for the delivery. He offered me a single, determined nod.
Well, damn. This was happening.
My heart thumped so hard and wildly I wasn’t sure how it hadn’t come out of my chest, but a rush of determination surged to life in me, mingling with the fear and panic.
“Okay,” I whispered, blowing out a breath as I turned forward to meet Cash’s gaze once more. “Let’s do th—” My words fell away, a groan tearing from my lips as the overwhelming urge to pushrippled through me. I didn’t fight through the wave this time, I embraced it, let it flow and just…pushed, letting the air whoosh from my lungs as I bore down and let it out.
“Good. Chey. Good,” Bad urged, calmly.
I sucked in a string of deep breaths, letting Cash wipe the sweat off my face with the towel. “You got this,” he murmured.
With a deep breath in, another contraction pulsated through me and I pushed and pushed and pushed, expelling the air from my lungs in a slow whoosh once more.
Bad and Cash walked me through each contraction, each push, each breath, in tandem. Cash knelt before me, holding me as I clamped my arms around his shoulders and used his support to push down through the waves of unrelenting, agonizing contractions. He whispered soft words of encouragement, rubbing my back, trying anything to ease my fears and worries.
My entire body shook with exhaustion, my breath sawing in and out of my chest. The adrenaline and determination I’d felt moments ago dwindled and fizzled out like a firework. God, it hurt. And burned. I felt like I was on fire. It was fucking painful. Brutal.
“I…c-can’t…” I sobbed after another round of pushing.
Cash pulled back enough to cup my face once more. “You can’t stop now. You’re almost there.”
“One more push, Chey.” Bad’s deep, gravelly voice soothed some of the fear. “Come on. You got this. One more.”
One more. I met Cash’s determined stare.
He pressed his forehead to mine. “One more, Chey.”
I swear, the shout that tore from lungs as I pushed through that final contraction damn near shook the house. Or maybe it was just me shaking so hard.
“Yes. Good. Good girl, Chey,” Bad’s words were like a balm as the pressure began to lessen and ease until…
A cry pierced through the room, rising above a clap of thunder. Lightning flickered, casting the room in a white glow for a moment. I sagged against Cash, my entire body trembling as tears fell from my eyes. And then Bad placed a little piece of heaven in my arms.
She cried and cried and cried, more like a banshee than an angel, but she was beautiful no less. Even covered in blood and amniotic fluid and God knew what else. But I wiped at it gently, so gently, with the swaddling blanket Bad had waiting for her arrival.
I’d done it… I’d actually done it. She was here. And every fear and doubt and worry I’d had since finding out I was having her vanished in that moment. The road leading here had been hard, and the road going forward would be full of dips and turns and highs and lows, but none of that mattered. All that mattered, right here and right now, was this precious little being I cupped to my chest.
“She’s gorgeous, Chey,” Cash said, still kneeling beside me.
“He’s right. I ain’t seen many gorgeous babies, and that’s includin’ my own.” Bad chuckled as he sat himself in the armchair and pulled the rubber gloves off his hands.
“Hey! Mama said I was the best damn lookin’ baby she’d ever seen.”
“She was lyin’, boy.” He nodded toward my baby, who still fussed and whined, but had begun to settle as I held her against me. “That right there is.”
A smile curved my lips as I met each of their gazes before looking back down at the being I’d created. “Welcome to the world, my little storm cloud. This here’s your Uncle Cash and your Grandpa Bad.”
As I glanced up at them once more, I found both men’s eyes lined with silver.
Chapter fifty-nine
I Don’t Wanna Go To Heaven
Maverick
