Reckless Redemption: A Bad Blooded Rebel Novel (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) (34 page)

“She’ll
get through this because she has you. My daughter loves you more than anyone
and she doesn’t just give that love away to someone undeserving of it. You
fought hard for her before, Beau. It’s time to fight hard again. We’ll see you
in a few hours.”

I
nodded to myself and said, “Okay. Drive safe.” I couldn’t think of anything
else to say.

“Goodbye,
son,” he answered and the line went dead.

I
held my phone in one hand and ran pulled at my hair in frustration with the
other. I sat in the chair waiting for someone to come tell me I could go to
Danni. I was about to go and tear down the doors to the OR when I heard someone
call my name from down the hall. “Beau!”

I
looked up and saw everyone coming toward me…Ryder, Everleigh, Jude, Sadie,
Kris, and Jessie. Ev was practically running and Ryder trailed behind her
holding Max in his carrier.

“Beau,
what the hell happened?” she asked me, throwing her arms around my neck.

I
hugged her back and said, “She’s in the OR being prepped for an emergency
C-section.”

Ev
gasped and everyone looked tense and as scared as I felt.

“Do
they know what happened, man?” Ryder asked. I weakly repeated the situation to
everyone as best as I could. Why the hell hadn’t they called me back there yet?

Sadie
moved to me and hugged me tight.

“She’s
going to be okay, big brother. Don’t be scared.”

“I’m
not scared,” I lied. I was fucking terrified.

“Come
on, it’s okay to be freaked out but you don’t need to be. Danni’s a tough girl,
but I have a feeling your little baby girl will be just like her daddy…stubborn
as fuck and not willing to go out without a fight.”

I
wiped my face with my hand and hugged Sadie back.

“I
hope so, kid.”

I
looked up at Jude who looked as white as a ghost.

“Beau,
man, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to leave her but she made me go and help Sadie
out.”

I
wanted to be pissed at him but I couldn’t. I didn’t have the energy. He looked
as miserable as I was. I sighed.

“It’s
okay Jude. I’ll admit, I was pissed as hell at you for not being there, but I
get why you had to go. If you hadn’t left, Sadie would have been stranded on
the side of the road and,” I paused, blowing out a frustrated breath, “this was
going to happen to Danni whether you’d been there or not.”

Jude
looked devastated and I doubted anything anyone said to him at this point would
make him feel any less guilty. Before I could say anything else he pulled me
into a strong hard hug.

“She’s
going to be okay, brother. You’re going to hold your daughter soon.”

Emotion
threatened to choke me and I reluctantly hugged him back. I had already cried
in front of Danni, and I didn’t want to cry in front of my band brothers right
now. Before I knew it I felt more arms around me as Kris, Jessie, Sadie, and
Ryder wrapped themselves around Jude and me.

We
were still in a group hug when I heard someone say my name. “Mr. Cavanaugh?”

My
head snapped up. “Yes?”

“We’re
ready for you now,” said a nurse.

I
looked at everyone one last time before our family went from nine to ten.

“Good
luck, big brother,” Sadie said.

“Tell
Danni I love her, please,” Everleigh added, tears pouring down her face.

“I
will, Ev,” I answered.

I
hugged Jessie one more time before I went in.

“Go
sit down…we don’t need another pregnant woman to worry about tonight.”

She
smiled weakly and nudged me.

“Go…it’s
time to become a father. We love you, Beau,” she said.

I
gave them one more glance and then turned to follow the nurse. Soon I was
wearing scrubs and being led into a sterile operating room. Danni was lying on
the table with her arms out on either side of her and they were strapped down.
There was a blue tent-like thing that shielded her view of her stomach…knowing
how queasy she could get over things it was probably a good idea she couldn’t
see anything.

She
had an oxygen mask covering her nose and mouth and her honey colored hair was
tucked into a cap. Even with all of those things covering her she was still the
most breathtaking woman I’d ever seen.

“Beau,”
she whimpered through the mask, a tear escaping her eye. “I was afraid you
wouldn’t make it in time.”

“Hell
no, nothing could keep me from your side, beautiful.”

“Okay,
Danni, I’m going to begin,” said Dr. Fields. “You might feel some pressure and
some tugging as we get your baby out, okay?”

All
Danni could do was nod and blink her tears away.

“How
long will it be until you get her out once you, uh, start cutting?” I asked
nervously.

“I
can have the baby out in less than a minute. But since she’s been low on oxygen
she will need to be seen immediately by our pediatric team,” he answered me.

“Hey
doc? Listen, these two girls…they are my whole world. Please don’t let anything
happen to them,” I said, looking him right in the eyes.

“I’ll
take care of your girls,” he said, and I looked at Danni.

I
pressed my forehead to hers and quietly whispered, “We’re about to meet our
little girl, Danni.”

She
blinked her big blue eyes at me and all she could do was nod. I watched her
face twist in discomfort as the doctor worked to get the baby out. I could feel
the fear radiating off her while we waited for any word that our baby girl was
safe.

“It’s
okay Danni, breathe,” I whispered to her. “You’re doing great, baby.”

“Beau,”
she breathed, “what’s taking so long?”

“Just
stay calm. It will be over soon, I promise.”

“Okay,
Danni,” said Doctor Fields, “the baby’s almost out. Just a few more seconds.”

Those
few seconds were the longest of my whole life. Our eyes never left each other’s
and when I heard a tiny little cry, my heart almost stopped. Suddenly Danni’s
eyes that had been full of fear and worry were now full of relief and happiness
like I’d never seen in them before.

“Well,
hello, little one, you gave us quite a scare,” Doctor Fields said with a smile.
“Ready to meet mommy and daddy?”

We
both looked up toward the top of the sheet and when my eyes landed on a
perfect, tiny, crying, beautiful little baby girl the tears began to pour down
my cheeks. She was
gorgeous
…our daughter. In that moment my heart grew
and was about to explode with love. I’d only ever fallen in love with one girl
and now, because of her, I just fell in love all over again.

“Oh
Beau, she’s so beautiful,” Danni cried. “I love her so much.”

I
just stared at my newborn daughter in awe and couldn’t find the words to
express how much I already loved that little girl. I leaned my head down and
pressed my forehead to Danni’s.

“We
have a daughter, Danni.”

She
nodded her head as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I
know.”

Our
baby was quickly handed off to a nurse as Danni asked, “Wait, where are you
taking her?”

“The
baby was low on oxygen for a while so the neonatal team needs to assess her and
make sure she’s all right. She was crying when she came out so that’s a good
sign.”

“Thank
God,” Danni whimpered. “Beau, go check on her.”

“Are
you sure, sweetheart?” I asked. I wanted to see my little girl but I also
didn’t want to leave my wife’s side.

“I’m
sure. Go be with our daughter. She needs her daddy,” she said, happiness in her
tone.

I
leaned in and kissed her forehead through the mask I was wearing and said,
“I’ll be right back, baby.”

“Take
your time. I’m not going anywhere,” she tried to joke.

I
stood up and walked over to where a doctor and several nurses were examining
our daughter. Peering over the nurse’s shoulders, I smiled at my new little
girl. She was so tiny and so perfect. Getting a better look at her, I could
already see so much of Danni in her features. She had a bunch of honey blonde
curls covering her tiny head and she had Danni’s full lips and nose. I’d never
seen anything so perfect in all my life.

I
watched as the nurses and doctors checked her out for several minutes. I ached
to hold my daughter with a pain I’d never felt before. The wait was killing me.
Everything the doctors were saying sounded like a foreign language and I was
desperate for them to dumb it down for me so I’d know if my child was okay.

Finally
after the longest wait of my life, a nurse came toward me holding a tiny pink
bundle.

“Mr.
Cavanaugh, are you ready to hold your little girl?”

I
smiled as I held out my waiting arms and the nurse placed her into them. As I
snuggled her close I was overcome with a sense of peace. From the moment I locked
eyes with my daughter and her tiny little hand gripped my pinky finger, I was
gone. I was instantly head over heels in love with her.

“Hi,
Jelly Bean. I’m your daddy,” I whispered, afraid to scare her.

She
was so quiet and calm and just stared sleepily into my eyes.

“Your
mommy and I have been waiting for you, angel.”

“Beau,
is she okay?” I heard Danni ask.

I
turned to look at her and she had that worried mom look already.

I
walked over to her, ready to show her our baby.

“She’s
perfect, Danni, absolutely perfect. She looks just like you.”

“Are
you sure she’s okay? She was without oxygen for so long,” Danni asked
nervously.

“Mrs.
Cavanaugh, your baby is just fine. Her APGAR scores were excellent and her
lungs are nice and strong. We got her out in just enough time before there was
any permanent damage. She’s a very lucky little girl,” a nurse said.

“Oh
thank God,” Danni cried. “Beau, bring her to me, please. I have to see her.”

I
sat down beside her, cradling our daughter in my arms. I held the baby up so
she could see her and as soon as Danni’s eyes fell on our baby she burst into
tears.

“Oh
my God, Beau, she’s so beautiful!” she cried.

“She
is, isn’t she?” I whispered, emotion clogging my throat. I leaned closer so
Danni could kiss her little head.

“She
has your eyes,” Danni answered. “And apparently my hair.”

I
laughed softly and the baby cooed in my arms.

“She’s
gorgeous. Thank you, Danni.”

“For
what?”

“For
loving me and…for
her
,” I choked out, and I leaned down to kiss Danni’s
forehead. “Which reminds me, what are we calling this little angel?”

Danni
smiled and after a few moments, she said, “Well we decided on two names and I
love them both. I will be happy with either one so why don’t you choose?”

My
eyes widened slightly and I smiled. “Really? Are you sure?”

“Positive,
I trust you. So,” she began, pausing for a moment before asking, “what’s our
daughter’s name, daddy?”

Looking
down at our little girl, I took a deep breath and said, “Harlowe.”

Danni’s
eyes twinkled. “Harlowe?”

“Yeah.
You like it?”

“I
love it. She looks like a Harlowe, doesn’t she?”

“She
sure does. Hello, beautiful Harlowe,” I whispered and leaned down to kiss her
tiny little nose.

“Can
I give her the middle name?” Danni asked.

I
chuckled. “You carried her for nine months and went through hell tonight to get
her here safely, baby. Of course you can.”

“I
like Alexandra.”

I
blinked in surprise. I was honored that Danni chose to essentially give her my
middle name. “I like it too.”

“Harlowe
Alexandra Cavanaugh,” Danni answered, staring at our daughter in awe.

“It
suits her, doesn’t it?”

“Absolutely.”

I
continued to hold Harlowe in my arms as the doctor finished with Danni’s
surgery. As soon as they were ready to move her to a recovery room, I stood
with our daughter still in my arms and stepped back to Danni’s bedside. Her
arms had been strapped down during her C-section and now that they were free I
knew she needed to hold Harlowe. I’d had my time with her and now it was time
for Danni to bond with our daughter.

“So,
Mommy, are you ready to hold our little girl?” I asked, leaning toward her.

Danni
winced as she tried to sit up but still fought through it and held out her
arms.

“Yes,
I’m ready,” she answered, a bright smile shining through the pain she was
obviously in. She held out her arms and as soon as I placed Harlowe into them,
Danni started to cry happy tears.

“Oh,
Beau, she’s so precious.”