Page 88 of Penn

The resident’s eyes widen as he realizes the man in scrubs is actually a member of the Hellfire Daredevils MC. And he just offended me by offering to perform something unnecessary on the woman I love.

“I... I was just making a joke,” he stammers, his voice cracking. “It’s a joke. I didn’t mean it.”

“A joke?” I ask, walking toward him. He stands from the rolling chair and backs up until he hits the wall. “Let me tell you something, you little cocksucking prick. If you touch her, I’ll break every fucking bone in your hands so you can never hold a scalpel again. Get out of here.”

“Brenda, can you call the chief and let him know Dr. Miller’s off this floor for the foreseeable future? Dr. Miller, I’d suggest you get out of here before he and the rest of the men out there decide to make good on his threat and then some,” Dr. Alvarez says. “I’ll take care of the stitches.”

The resident doesn’t need to be told twice, and he slips past me only to be met by Zep right outside the door. He manages something that sounds like an apology before his shoes squeak as he runs the other direction.

“I’m so sorry, Dixie,” Dr. Alvarez says.

“Thank you,” she says, but there’s a smirk on her face when I turn to face her. “That was excessive.”

“Nobody’s going to talk to you like that when I’m around,” I say, walking back over to gently touch the baby’s hand. “Besides, excessive would be taking him to the parking lot and curb stomping his jaw like I wanted to.”

Nodding, she giggles. “Yeah, that would definitely be excessive. The rest was really restrained.”

“That was mild!” I exclaim, but I laugh as she just continues to giggle.

Brenda grabs a clipboard and smiles at us. “Have you picked out a name yet?”

Dixie looks up at me. “He looks like a Jeremy to me. What do you think?”

“Jeremy Knapp,” I say. “Sounds perfect.”

“Jeremy Calloway.”

I know she wanted me to sign the birth certificate, but I didn’t think she’d want to give him my name. “Really?”

“Unless you object.”

“Brenda, babe, write that down. In pen. I don’t want her changing her mind,” I say, tapping the clipboard.

Both women laugh, as does Dr. Alvarez. She hands me the clipboard. “Ready to sign?”

My fingers tremble as I take the pen, but I quickly put my name down. Father: Penn Calloway.

The tightness in my chest is nothing but pure love. For years, I’ve been running from everything I’d lost. Family. Love. Loyalty. And here I am, getting all at once.

Dixie reaches up to take my hand as Brenda takes the baby to do a proper cleaning, and she smiles at me. Tears fill her eyes, and I don’t care that my own stream down my face. She just gave me everything I could ever want. More than I ever thought I deserved.

“I love you,” I whisper, kissing her hard.

“I love you, too.”

Chapter 34

Dixie

Staring down at the baby in my arms, I smile. It’s strange being told I’m a natural when it comes to breastfeeding, but there is something surreal about feeding your baby with your body.

Jeremy latched onto my nipple right away, and he happily suckles away. This is going to take some getting used to, though.

He wears a little striped beanie, and his skin is so soft and warm. We’re being discharged in a few hours, and I can’t wait to take him home.

Penn and I both realized we never got a car seat, and he ran out to get one. Knowing him, it’ll be the best one he can buy off the shelf, and it’ll be far too expensive. But it’ll make him happy, and that’s what really matters.

Jeremy finishes his meal, and I adjust myself and prop him up slightly. I still can’t believe he’s here, and he’s so perfect.