Reckless Redemption: A Bad Blooded Rebel Novel (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) (36 page)

Once
we were in the hall, Beau had just rounded the corner when a deep voice said,
“Mind if I drive?”

I
looked up to see John standing in the hallway, looking like a proud uncle.

“John!
It’s so good to see you!” I exclaimed, kissing his cheek when he leaned down to
me. “I didn’t know you were back yet.”

The
guys had sent John on a well deserved extended vacation, and he’d gone home to
Kansas to visit his family. As much as he needed a vacation, I had to admit I’d
missed the man and I was so elated to see him here now.

“Well,
I got in this afternoon and I didn’t want to miss the big exit today. Sorry I
wasn’t here when she was born, Beau,” he said in a sincere tone.

Beau
patted him on the arm and answered, “S’alright man. You were on a much needed
vacation, we understand.”

“You’re
here now so that’s all that matters,” I said.

John
looked down at Harlowe and his whole face changed. He’d fallen for her in an
instant just like we had.

“So,
this is her, huh?” he asked. “She’s gorgeous.”

“Thank
you,” I said. “Listen, are you busy? Can you come to the house? I know she’s
strapped in right now but I’d love for you to get to hold her.”

“Oh
I don’t know, you’re going home for the first time as a family. I don’t want to
intrude on that,” John replied.

“John,
you are family to us and we want you there. Besides, I’m sure everyone is
already waiting at home for us anyway,” I answered. “Please come?”

John
smiled at me. “How can I say no to a beautiful lady? All right, I’ll be there
Danni,” he replied, stepping behind my wheelchair and wheeling me down the
hall.

Once
we made it to the new van, John stayed with me while Beau got Harlowe’s car
seat snapped in place.

“Okay,
Harlowe’s all ready to go home,” he announced.

He
gently shut the door as to not startle her and came back to my chair. He and
John both helped me stand and walked me to the passenger side door, which Beau
had already opened for me.

“I
could have walked on my own, you know,” I laughed as they both practically
lifted me into the car. Once I was comfortably inside the van, I smiled at
John.

“We’ll
see you back at the house, right?”

“I’m
right behind you,” he replied.

“See
you in a bit, man,” Beau said to him and they embraced quickly before John left
us and walked to his car. As soon as Beau was behind the wheel, he cupped my
cheek and said, “You ready to head home?”

“Yes,
definitely. Get me the hell out of here.”

We
drove home for the first time with Harlowe in contented silence. Beau drove ten
miles under the speed limit and flipped off several angry drivers that honked
their horns at our slow speed. Soon we were pulling into the driveway and I
smiled as I saw all of the familiar vehicles parked outside. As soon as we
pulled into our spot, Beau shut off the engine and I got out just as John was
pulling in behind us.

John
got out of the car and gave Beau a nod as he headed toward the house. I
unbuckled my seat belt and moved slowly so I wouldn’t hurt myself as Beau got
out and tended to Harlowe. We walked (well, I barely walked as Beau carried
Harlowe’s car seat) to the front door. Beau opened it and I smiled as I walked inside
and saw everyone I loved gathered under one roof…Mom, Dad, Everleigh, Ryder,
Max, Jessie, Kris, Sadie, Jude, and John, all gathered to welcome Harlowe home
properly. There was a huge “Welcome Home Harlowe” banner hanging across the
living room wall, a table set up with tons of food, and another table that was
piled high with lots of gifts.

“Oh
my God, you guys…” I choked out, emotion spilling out in my voice. “You didn’t
have to do this.”

Mom
walked to me and enveloped me into a gentle hug. “Of course we did, honey. We
all love you and Beau and we’re so excited to welcome this new little angel
into the family.”

“This
is so amazing, thank you everyone.” I felt a few tears slip down my cheeks and
Mom wiped them away.

Jessie
grinned and moved toward me. “It’s our pleasure, Danni. Here,” she said,
leading me to the couch, “why don’t you sit down and I’ll fix you a plate of
something to eat.”

“Jess,
I’m really okay. I have been in a bed for three days. I need to get up and move
around.”

In
all of my post-hormonal weepiness I hadn’t noticed that Beau had already taken
Harlowe out of her car seat and had moved behind me.

“Jess
is right, Danni. You’re going to be sore for a little while and I want you to
take it easy. Sit down,” he commanded as Harlowe began to stir in his arms.

She
started to cry a little bit and was sucking on her fists. “She’s waking up and
she looks hungry. I’ll get something to cover you so you can feed Harlowe and
we can get you something to eat.”

Knowing
resisting was pointless and that my baby girl was hungry made me give in and I
sat down on the couch. Beau gently handed Harlowe to me and I cradled her to my
chest.

“You
might want to look away Jude, I’m about to whip out one of my girls,” I laughed
and Jude cleared his throat.

“Yeah,
I’ll just go check and see if we need more ice,” he mumbled, and left the room.

I
giggled and pulled my top down as Beau placed a soft pink fleece blanket over
my chest. Harlowe instantly found me and latched onto my nipple. I winced at
the sting…she must have been really hungry. Beau dropped a kiss to my forehead
and asked, “What do you want to eat? Don’t say nothing because you are nursing
and you need to eat several times a day so you can keep producing enough milk
for Harlowe.”

“Ugh,
I can still hear you!” Jude called from the kitchen.

I
laughed. “I’ll have whatever you’re having,” I answered, and Beau kissed my
lips softly before leaving me to make me something to eat.

The
whole afternoon was wonderful as everyone ate, talked, and laughed. Ev and I
spent most of the afternoon sitting side by side with our babies and answering
all of the pregnancy and labor questions Jessie asked us. Sadie looked bored
but still tried to engage in the conversation even thought she had nothing to
add to it. I noticed her eyes were glued to Jude almost the entire afternoon. The
look of longing in her eyes was getting harder for her to hide. She literally
looked like she was aching from somewhere deep and it bothered me to see her
holding all of those feelings inside.

Jessie
was starting to show a little tiny baby bump and I loved seeing how blissfully
happy she was being pregnant. Jessie never liked to talk much about her past
with her mother, especially after she got together with Kris. But whatever it
was that caused her to avoid the topic, I was sure had something to do with her
mother and why it seemed to take so long for her and Kris to conceive. I loved her
like a sister and I didn’t want to push her to tell me anything about her past.
I just hoped she knew she could talk to me about anything and that I’d be here
waiting if she ever decided to let it out.

Eventually,
everyone began to leave, and it was finally time to begin our first night at
home as a family. Harlowe was sleeping in Beau’s arms as he came to me, where I
was still planted on the couch.

“So,
you ready to head to bed, Mommy?”

I
stifled a yawn and smiled. “I’m really starting to feel this day,” I replied,
slowly standing up. “You set up Harlowe’s bassinet in our room, right?”

“Of
course,” he answered, nodding down the hall. “I don’t think either of us could
be away from her for even an hour or two, let alone a whole night.”

I
slowly walked down the hall toward our room but stopped when I saw a big pink
bow hanging on the door of Harlowe’s nursery.

“What
is this?” I asked, smiling at Beau.

“I
promised I’d get it finished,” he answered, winking at me. “You ready to see
your new room, Harlowe? I hope you like it because Daddy worked really hard on
it with Uncle Ryder, Uncle Kris, Uncle Jude, and Grandpa.”

Tears
were burning my eyes as he used his free hand to open the door.

“Take
a look,” he encouraged, and I went inside and turned on the light.

I
gasped and immediately started crying. Her room looked just like something out
of a fairy tale. The whole room was pink except for one wall that was painted
to look like a scene right out of a Disney movie, with a castle sitting on top
of a hill in a magical kingdom. Huge letters spelling out her name decorated
the wall right above her crib and everything Beau and I had bought for her the
day we found out she was a girl was unpacked and neatly put away.

“Oh
my God…Beau, this is beautiful! When did you have time to get this finished?”

“Like
I said, I had help,” he answered, winking at me.

“Not
bad for a bunch of rockers and an old man, huh?”

I
wiped a tear from my cheek with the back of my hand.

“Not
bad at all. I need to buy them all gifts for doing this,” I laughed.

I
walked to Beau and he gently placed Harlowe in my arms.

“What
do you think, angel? Our boys did a good job, didn’t they?” She cooed softly in
my arms before she yawned and smacked her tiny little lips.

“I
think she likes it, Daddy.”

Beau
pulled me into him and toyed with the ends of my hair with his long fingers. He
placed his other hand gently on Harlowe and stroked her hair.

“Good…I’ll
do anything I can to make my girls happy. Always,” he answered, kissing my
forehead.

“You
know, Danni, I’ve been thinking so much over the past few days and it’s really
hitting me hard how close I came to losing you and Harlowe.”

“Beau,”
I whispered.

“When
I came home and found you lying on the kitchen floor surrounded by blood…” he
trailed off, clearing his throat, “that was the most horrific and terrifying
moment of my life.

“I’ve
had bad dreams for as long as I can remember. I’d have them when I was a kid
about our mother doing horrible things to me and Sadie, and I had them worse
after we signed our deal and I had to leave Sadie behind. But then…they got
better when I met you. But when you left me…”

“Beau,
it’s okay.” I traced his strong jaw with my fingertips as I cradled Harlowe to
my chest.

He
shook his head. “The dreams came back when I lost you and they kept getting
worse but when I got you back again they left and stayed gone…until three days
ago when I’d stepped into not just a bad dream, but my own personal nightmare.
Danni, my entire happiness is rooted in you. If you ever left me I’d be lost.”

He
had tears clouding his deep brown eyes, and I wrapped my arm around his neck
and pulled his lips to mine. He enveloped me in both arms and kissed me as we
cradled our daughter between us.

“Danni,
I don’t think you will ever really know just how much I love you and this
little girl. When I think about the fact that this could have ended differently
and you and Harlowe could have died…” he trailed off, more tears falling from
his eyes.

“Beau,
we didn’t, we’re right here because of you. You came back here and saved us
just in time and I will be forever grateful to you. You are the reason Harlowe
is here for more reasons than one, and you saved me in every single way I needed
saving. I’ve loved you longer than I actually knew you. You aren’t just the
reason all of my dreams came true…you are my dream.”

He
kissed me again but this kiss wasn’t full of fear over losing Harlowe and me,
it was his way of letting me feel how much he truly loved me. He kissed me with
everything he had, every feeling he’d ever had for me, all the love he had to
give. When Harlowe stirred between us, his lips reluctantly left mine and he
kissed the tip of my nose lightly before smiling down at her. “Sorry, Jelly
Bean. Daddy didn’t forget to kiss his little angel,” he answered, pressing a
soft kiss to her forehead.

“I
love you so much, Beau Cavanaugh.”

“I
love you more, Danni Cavanaugh. Come on, let’s get some rest.”

He
led us out of the nursery and down the hall to our bedroom.

“You
look exhausted, baby. Why don’t you go take a nice hot shower and get comfortable?
I’ll take the first shift with Harlowe so you can get some sleep.”

I
sighed and smiled. “Thank you, I’ve been dying to get a shower since I got
home. I’ve missed the giant shower head,” I answered, and he laughed.

I
handed Harlowe back to him and got some pajamas out of the dresser.

As
I walked to the bathroom he said, “Take your time, Danni. Yell if you need me
for anything, okay? The nurse said to be really careful when you clean your
incision.”

“I
will, I promise. I won’t be long.” As I walked into the bathroom and turned on
the shower, I peeked back out into the bedroom and watched Beau cuddling
Harlowe to his broad chest. I felt warmth spreading through me and it sent
tingles to my fingertips. It hit me in that moment as I watched my husband
lovingly holding our daughter in his strong arms that this was meant to be. All
of it. The concert, the wonderful week we had in Muncie, the horrible event in
New York, the year without each other, and our reunion…it all led to this. We
were married and we had a breathtakingly beautiful baby girl. If we hadn’t gone
through all of the bad times we’d never have gotten to the good. I was thankful
for all of it but I had learned one lesson that would forever stay with me:
when you find that one person that makes you feel different than anyone else
ever had, don’t be afraid to take a chance. Because you never know what you
might miss out on if you let them slip away.