Reckless Redemption: A Bad Blooded Rebel Novel (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) (31 page)

“He
has your lips, I can already tell,” Ryder told her, sniffling and wiping away a
few tears that had fallen down his cheeks. “Evie, you did so great, I love you
so, so much.”

He
kissed her reverently and wiped his cheeks before leaning down to kiss Max’s
head.

“Hey
little man, I’m your Daddy. We’ve been waiting a long time for you.”

As
I watched the steady flow of tears coming from both Ryder and Ev as they bonded
with their son, I suddenly felt like I was intruding on their moment.

I
moved over to her bed and leaned closer to her.

“He’s
amazing, Ev, really. You three need to be alone right now, so Beau and I are
going to let everyone know little Max is here.”

“Thank
you for being here, Danni,” she said, and I leaned down and kissed her cheek.
“I hope you weren’t too freaked out.”

I
laughed nervously and said, “Well, maybe a little, but it’ll be fine, right?”

In
all honesty I was terrified but I didn’t want to take away from her moment.

“Right,”
she smiled, kissing Max’s tiny little head. “I love you, Danni.”

“I
love you too. Ryder, thanks for knocking up my friend. Your son is perfect.”

“You’re
welcome, Danni,” he replied, laughing quietly.

“We’re
going to let everyone know and then go down to the gift shop and buy everything
blue in the place. We’ll see you soon,” I stated.

“Okay,”
Everleigh replied, barely registering anything I was saying as she looked at
Max with so much love.

From
the doorway, I glanced back at the happy little family one last time and my
heart almost burst with joy. This time two years ago, Everleigh was alone
watching her father slowly die of pancreatic cancer. Now she was holding her
newborn son in her arms with her handsome husband by her side. Sometimes life
really does work out perfectly.

A
few hours later, Everleigh was comfortable in her post-delivery room. As soon
as Ryder came out to the waiting room and told us we could visit, I practically
sprinted to get to her and the baby. Once I held Max in my arms, I started
bawling all over again. He was so precious; he really did look just like Ryder
but with Everleigh’s full lips. He had a head full of dark hair and his eyes
were bright blue although the doctor said they might change over time.
Everleigh told us that Max weighed in at nine pounds, six ounces, and he was
twenty-two inches long. I had a new respect for Everleigh when she told me
that…how in the hell she pushed out a baby that size and without drugs was
beyond me.

Handing
Max over to Beau, I melted as I watched him hold the baby with such care. Even
though I was mildly horrified at the knowledge I would soon be going through
what my best friend just experienced, I was so eager to meet our little girl
and to see Beau holding her in his arms just like this.

After
Max had been passed around our family for everyone to hold (seeing Jude hold
him had been so heartwarming), I was beginning to feel the long, tiring day
creeping up on me. I could tell Everleigh was fighting sleep too. She didn’t
want to miss visiting with everyone, but she was exhausted and needed her rest.
Beau helped me out of the chair and I walked over to her bed and hugged her.

“Well,
Ev, I’m still pregnant and miserable so I’m going to go get some rest.”

She
smiled happily at me. “Yes, girl, you go and take care of that little princess
in there. I’ll still be here tomorrow.”

“Thank
you so much for letting me be a part of this day. I’m so crazy happy for you
and Ryder.”

“Thank
you again for being here, Danni.”

Ryder
walked over to me with Max in his arms. He leaned his head down and pressed a
hard kiss to my forehead.

“Thank
you Danni. It meant a lot to both of us that you were here for her today. You really
are a sister not just to Evie, but to me too and I love you.”

I
choked back tears and nudged him lightly with my shoulder. “Aw, you aren’t getting
soft on me now, are you?”

“Shut
up,” he teased, and snuggled his newborn to his chest. “Go get some sleep.”

“I
will. Night everyone. Goodnight, Max,” I said softly, kissing his little cheek.
“Aunt Danni will see you tomorrow.”

We
said our goodbyes to Kris, Jessie, Jude, and Sadie before Beau and I went home,
tired yet happy. This was the best Halloween I’d ever had.

Three
Weeks Later

“Thank
you ladies for coming with me today,” I said as I hugged Sadie. Everleigh,
Jessie, Sadie, and I had gone for a day at the spa instead of having a baby
shower and we had just gotten back to my house. I was thirty-eight weeks
pregnant and my feet were swollen and sore all the time, so getting a pedicure
was almost orgasmic for me. It had been a bit hard to get Everleigh to leave
baby Max for the afternoon, but she did it for me. He was in excellent hands
because Ryder was going to have his first “Daddy/son” day with Max, Beau, Jude,
and Kris while they watching the Bengals game together.

To
say Ryder was enjoying fatherhood was a huge understatement. Everleigh told me
that he changed diapers, got up for feedings, gave him baths, and was present
at all of his doctor appointmens. Being a great dad was just one more thing
that made Ryder Matthews so lovable.

“Are
you kidding? We wouldn’t have missed this for anything, girl,” Sadie replied as
she pulled back and rubbed a hand over my enormous belly. “Less than two weeks
until she’s here. How do you feel?”

“Ginormous,”
I replied, and she laughed.

“Well
you look fabulous,” said Jessie as she put an arm around me.

“It’s
so exciting…I can’t believe we will all get to meet this little princess soon.
I might be as stoked to meet her as I am for my own little one to arrive.”

I
smiled at her. “Aw, that’s sweet, Jess. Well just think, you have Max and our
little girl to love on until your baby is born this summer.”

Jessie’s
eyes began to glisten and she smiled. “I know.”

“Jess,
what is it?” Everleigh asked her.

She
shook her head, her light brown hair flowing around her shoulders.

“It’s
just that…Kris and I went through so much heartache to get to this moment and I
just can’t believe this is for real. I’ve wanted to have a baby with him for
so
long
and now that it’s finally happening I just keep getting overemotional about
it.”

I
hugged her and smiled. “It’s okay to be emotional. Having a baby is a very huge
deal. This is just the beginning. You are going to be a sobbing mess one minute
and ready to rip Kris’ face off the next.”

She
laughed and sniffed as she let go of me.

“Well,
I hope not. I don’t want to scare him off with my hormonal craziness.”

“I
doubt anything you do would scare that man off,” Sadie chimed in. “He’s yours
for life, girl.”

“That
he is,” Jessie answered dreamily.

“Well,
I had a blast with you all today. I wasn’t too sure about leaving Max, but I
know he was in good hands,” Everleigh said.

“Of
course he was. He was with his dad, Ev. Ryder has as much of a hard time
leaving that little boy as you do,” I answered.

“I
know, he’s like Mr. Mom or something.”

“I
always knew Ryder would make a great dad someday. Glad to see I was right,”
Sadie said.

“I’m
not saying I’m still not shocked as hell though that he actually procreated.”

“Or
actually found someone to procreate with,” Jessie laughed and Everleigh shot
her a look. “I’m just kidding Ev. Ryder won the lotto when he met you.”

Everleigh
left my side and hugged Jessie.

“Thank
you girl.”

They
broke apart and she added, “Well, I hate to be the first to run off, but I need
to get home to Max.”

I
grinned and said, “It’s okay, Ev, go be with your son.”

“Thanks,
Danni. It’s not just that I miss him, but my boobs are killing me right now. I
need to get home and either pump these things or feed my baby boy.”

Giggling
loudly, I walked her to the door.

“Well,
have fun with that. I’ll call you tomorrow, Ev.”

She
hugged me one more time before waving and walking to her car.

“Well,
I think I’m going to head out too. This morning sickness is still kicking my
ass,” Jessie said.

“Today
was fun, Danni. Did you have a good time?”

“I
did, thank you again for hanging with me at the spa instead of doing the baby
shower thing. This was much more fun.”

“Yes
it definitely was. Goodbye, Danni,” she waved as she walked out the door to
head home.

“So,
are you heading out too?” I asked Sadie.

“Yeah.
It’s not like I have anywhere to go though.”

“Aw,
I feel so loved,” I said to her. “Well, you have your whole night free now, so
do you have any other plans?”

She
shrugged her shoulders. “Nah, not really. I might go home and watch some bad TV
or something.”

“Why
don’t you do something with Jude?” I asked, winking at her.

Sadie
rolled her eyes and sighed. “Yeah, not going to happen.”

“Why
won’t you tell him how you feel, Sadie? I think you two would be amazing
together and you would be good for him.”

“I
just can’t, Danni. It would ruin everything,” she said sadly.

“Oh
Sadie,” I said, putting my arm around her.

“Is
this about Beau? Girl, I love my husband with all of my heart, but how he feels
about this relationship doesn’t matter at all. If you tell Jude how you feel
and it turns out he feels the same way, then that’s great.”

“But
what if he doesn’t, Danni? What if I make a fool of myself and tell him I love
him and he tells me he doesn’t want me like that? I will fuck up what we have and
I can’t stand to think about that. Jude is one of my best friends and I care
about him so much. It’s worth keeping quiet just to keep him in my life.”

“Jude
will always be in your life, Sadie, and you know that. He’s a fiercely loyal
friend and if you tell him and he doesn’t feel the same way, he won’t let it
mess up your relationship. You can bank on that.”

“Well,
what if he does feel the same way? What if he wants me too, and we start this
relationship and we give it a real shot and it doesn’t work out? Our friendship
will be destroyed anyway and both of our hearts will be broken,” she questioned,
shaking her head.

Before
I could answer, the front door opened and in walked Beau.

“Hey
girls,” he said, taking off his jacket and hanging it in the coat closet. As
soon as he turned to us his eyes went to Sadie and he frowned.

“What’s
wrong?”

Sadie
waved her hand in the air and smiled as he walked over.

“Nothing.
I’m just tired…that massage took everything out of me. I think I’m going to
head home.”

Beau’s
brows furrowed as he hugged her goodbye.

“You
sure there isn’t anything wrong, kid?”

“Nothing
that ordering a fat ass greasy pizza and Netflix won’t cure, big brother. Love
you,” she answered, releasing him and then hugging me.

“Thanks
for today, Danni, and take care of my niece. Keep her warm for me.”

I
smiled and whispered into her ear, “Call me later and we’ll talk more, okay?”

She
nodded and whispered back, “I will. Love you girl.”

“Love
you too.” She slipped into her coat and with a wave, she walked out into the
cold November air.

As
soon as I closed the door, I felt Beau behind me. “So, how was your day?” He
asked me as he kissed my neck. “Did you girls have a good time at the spa?”

“We
did. We all needed a day of pampering. My feet are so swollen that they look
like baked hams, Everleigh is trying to be super mom and needed a break, Jessie
is just getting over her morning sickness, and Sadie is overworking herself to
the point of exhaustion, so this day was long overdue for us all.”

“Yes
it was,” he replied, rubbing my back. “I’m glad you had fun, baby.”

“I
did. I really needed a day with my girls. I wish Mom could have made it though,
but it’s okay. She will be here for the birth and that’s all that matters.”

“Exactly.”

He
kissed me and I snuggled into him. As soon as my stomach rested against his
side, I felt my belly jerking…she was kicking up a storm. I already knew this
little one was going to be a daddy’s girl. She did this every time I was touching
him in any way. I gasped and giggled as she moved and he placed his hand on my
belly.

“Everything
okay, baby?” he asked, concern in his voice.