Page 3 of Road to Absolution

Even though Lilah and I fell in love in high school, and lived together in college. Then in our parents’ homes, still together and sharing a bed while our own home was being built, this father was a tad bit troubled when his daughter suddenly became pregnant. There was an embarrassing me running for my life in his front yard after he heard the news, which led to what Vixen referred to as the ‘shotgun wedding’.

Lilah and I hadn’t planned on starting a family so early, but I was ecstatic when she told me she was pregnant. That incredible woman birthing my child? Could it really get any better than that? Not for me! Our bank account kept growing since I went pro in the boxing world and recently moved up to being a Heavyweight. Lilah was a partner with her dad’s company and killin’ it. I knew we’d be fine with another mouth to feed.

Wanting to be the best mom possible, Lilah decided a small wedding was the easiest and cheapest. She wanted all the money we had been saving to go toward making our home perfect for the baby. That’s why I said, “Sir, knocking up your daughter was the best—”

As soon as he playfully charged, I ran around the hood of his truck.

Smiling, he met me at the rear and whispered, “She’s going to love this, Maverick.”

It wasn’t the bed I had been waiting for. It was this delivery.

I couldn’t stop staring at the covered rocking chair and matching footstool I had sneakily bought my wife. “Breastfeeding our baby for the first few months is so important to her. I want her as comfortable as possible.”

John lowered the tailgate and joked, “For twenty-five hundred dollars? She better be, or you need to demand a refund.”

From behind, Tuck grabbed my shoulders and shook. “Ya did real good. She’s going to shit herself over this surprise.”

I swallowed, already imagining Lilah in this chair, cradling our newborn. “Jesus. V’s right. I’m such a puss! And so fucking happy.”

Mr. Ward stared at me with such an intense expression, I felt it in my bones. “It feels good, don’t it? To provide for your loved ones?”

I found myself blindly grabbing my chest. It was hard to contain my joy as I nodded my head. “I had no idea, but…” I fought my throat strangling me again, “that smile of hers—fuck. My heart, man.”

John exhaled long and hard. “I remember meeting you for the first time in the bathroom. You on the floor, holdin’ my baby that was hungover as Hell.” We all started laughing at that memory until he added, “But then you worried about your little Peanut.”

In a tank top because I’d been working out with my boxing trainer that morning, I kissed my Bailey tattoo on my bicep.

John nodded. “If a seventeen-year-old could love his little sister—only five years old at the time—that fucking much, I knew you were the one for my daughter.”

“Fuck, Dad.” Tucker backed away, wiping under his ‘dry’ eyes. “No need for all the dramatics.” He sniffled. “Shit.”

John, a more filled-out version of Tuck, was a hell of a good man. He loved his family endlessly and gave back to the community in so many ways. He even helped my mom when I couldn’t.

The reason I had moved my mom and little sister to this town was to escape a death that ruined our lives. My dad was killed by a drunk driver… and my mom was losing the battle of her broken heart. And there was no distance that could save me and Bailey from her developing depression. New town, new home… but Mom still went down in a fiery blaze of sadness.

Once pills took over, Mr. Ward stepped in…

And he was doing it again.

I told him, “I’m so sorry I have to leave you to pick up the pieces.”

Due to Lilah being so far into her pregnancy, Doc would no longer let her fly.

He dismissed my worry. “Maverick, you can’t help that your fight was postponed so now you have to leave right after moving in. That ain’t you abandoning my baby. That’s you doing what it takes to keep taking care of her.” As if not willing to let me stress over him helping my wife unpack boxes without me, he grinned. “You gonna win?”

I teased, “Why, you got money riding on it?”

Comically, his face scrunched. “Noooo. That shit’s illegal.”

Tuck had no shame. “I have five-hundred on your win. No pressure.”

I went to punch him, but the front door opened, capturing all our attention. Viola, after shutting the door behind her, happily jogged to us. “On the couch, with water, and resting. Back bedroom door unlocked.” Mischievously, she rubbed her hands together. “Let’s get to being sneaky.”

Eventually, the rocking chair would go into the nursery. But in the beginning, I wanted my little family with me. I was chomping at the bit, dying to see my child and wife bonding right before my eyes as I lay in my new… “For real, where’s the bed?” I peered down the dirt road. “I’m leaving soon and want to—” Feeling a glare that nearly burned holes in my head, I looked to Mr. Ward and added, “Uh, I want to wait on my wife, hand and foot. Breakfast in bed. That’s all.”

“Bullshit!” laughed Vixen before she started twerking against her husband’s thigh. “Mavy Wavy wants to get lucky.”

I grumbled, “V,” not appreciating her also throwing me under the Tucker-Fucker bus… until we heard a Harley barreling down my dirt driveway.