Wild Heart (Viper's Heart Duet Book 2) (34 page)

“You must be Sherman.” I stepped past Andy and opened my arms wide. “It’s so nice to finally meet you!”

He gave me one of the warmest, most comforting hugs I’d ever received in my whole life. “Nice to meet
you,
Michelle. I feel like I already know so much about you through that pain in the ass of yours, but it’s great to finally put a face to the name.”

“I feel the same about you. We both put up with a lot from him, don’t we?”

He leaned in close. “That’s an understatement.”

I let out a quick laugh. “Here, come sit by me.” I introduced him to everyone else and within a minute, the guys took the ice and the crowd started cheering.

I stood up and scanned the white and green jerseys, looking for my guy, who was skating straight for us. He came over and banged on the glass, grinning like a proud little kid. Matthew stood on the seat and pumped his little arms in the air, while Maura ran up to the glass and blew him kisses. Finally Viper looked over and shot me a quick wink. I raised both hands and pointed next to me. His eyes slid to Sherman and practically bulged out of his head as his mouth dropped open.

“I didn’t know you were gonna be here!” he yelled, though we barely heard him over the glass and the crowd.

Sherman pointed to me with him thumb. “She did!” he shouted back.

Viper’s eyes drifted back to mine and he pulled his brows down low, giving me a sweet, thankful smile.

“I love you!” he shouted as loud as he could.

“Love you, too!” I mouthed back quietly.

He winked at me one more time, punched the glass playfully, and skated away.

The game moved, fast and intense. The Wild won and Viper even scored one of their three goals. As soon as he shot the puck and the red light turned on, the place erupted and I jumped out of my seat. Poor Maura covered her ears and started sobbing, but Kacie scooped her up and let me have my moment. Viper hugged and high-fived his teammates before skating over to us and giving Matthew a thumbs-up. Matthew, so proud of his Viper, started cheering and high-fiving complete strangers in the aisle.

“Matthew, get back here.” I giggled, waving him back to me.

“Hang on, Mom. I’m telling them that my
dad
just scored a goal.” He beamed proudly.

I froze and felt Kacie’s hand on my shoulder. “Did you just hear that, too?” I asked her without turning around.

“I sure did.”

“I don’t know what to say about it.” I started to panic. Matthew had never called Viper his dad before. I knew now that he was going to school he was going to start questioning it and maybe ask me about it one day, but I didn’t picture it like that.

“You say nothing,” Kacie answered. “Viper
is
his dad.”

I turned back to her. “But not his real—”

Kacie closed her eyes and shook her head quickly, interrupting me. “It doesn’t matter. That’s all he’s really ever known, so just let it happen. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love Mike or that you can’t tell him stories about him as he grows up. It just means he’s a little boy who is very lucky to have two great daddies. One in Heaven, and one down here with him.” Kacie squeezed my hand and I took a shaky breath.

She was right. Matthew was lucky. So was Maura. So was the baby kicking up a storm in my belly.

So was I.

One Month Later . . .

I’d been back on the ice full time for a month. Michelle and I were totally back to normal. We’d just finished decorating the baby’s room—with a hockey theme, of course—and life was about as perfect as it could get.

I should have known . . .

I was just pulling into the parking lot for practice when my cell phone rang. It was Michelle.

“Hello?” I said as I pulled into a parking spot.

“Hey,” she said with a heavy sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, really . . . I guess . . . I don’t know. I was at my doctor appointment and everything was fine and we were chatting and I told her that I felt like I was peeing my pants more than usual yesterday and she did this weird napkin test to make sure I wasn’t leaking amniotic fluid and it turned blue.”

My heart started racing around in circles inside my chest. “What does that mean?”

“It means it was amniotic fluid.”

“Okay. Shit. So what now?”

“I don’t really know. She’s sending me over to the hospital for more tests and so they can monitor the baby. I might have to stay overnight.”

I put my car in reverse and backed out of the parking space. “I’m on my way.”

“Viper! No!” she argued. “I didn’t tell you all this so you’d come home. Probably nothing is going to happen anyway, so there’s no point.”

“I don’t care. I’m on my way. I should be there within an hour. I’ll text you when I get close.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, sounding guilty.

“Positive. I love you. Talk to you soon.” My hands gripped the wheel tightly as I made my way to the hospital. Every muscle in my body, especially my shoulders and neck, felt tight.

I hit a button on my phone and called Coach Collins’s office. After a handful of rings, his voicemail picked up. Without leaving a message, I hung up and called Brody instead.

“Hello?” he asked, his voice raised in surprise. I heard lots of voices behind him and figured he was already in the locker room.

“Hey, it’s me. Do me a favor, please. Tell Collins I’m not gonna make practice. Michelle is leaking fluid or something and I’m on the way to the hospital to meet her.”

“Holy shit. Okay. Keep me posted, please.”

“I will. Thanks.” I turned the phone off and tossed it on the passenger seat without waiting for his response.

I pulled into the hospital parking lot, found a spot, and grabbed my phone, dialing Michelle’s number as I rushed across the pavement.

It rang and rang. No answer.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

She always answered her phone.

Following the signs in the hospital through the hallways to the Labor and Delivery Unit, I prayed that that’s where they had sent her. It was a total guess between that and the ER, but with her not answering, I did the best I could.

I tried the door to get in but it was locked. There was a small intercom off to the side of the door, so I pushed the silver button.

“How can I help you?” a woman’s voice asked.

“Uh . . . hi. My girlfriend was at the doctor this morning and they said that she was leaking something and so she came to the hospital. I called her, but she didn’t answer, so I’m just trying to find out if she’s here.”

“What is your name, Sir?”

“My name is Vi—Lawrence Finkle.”

“Okay, Mr. Finkle. What is
her
name?”

“Michelle Asher.”

It was quiet for a minute, then the door made a clicking sound. “Come in, Mr. Finkle. Please stop at the nurse’s station inside.”

I pulled the door open and hurried over to the desk. “Hi. I was just at the door.”

A woman looked over at me and gave me a small smile. “I know. I was the one talking to you. Do you have an ID on you, Mr. Finkle?”

“Yeah.” I reached into my pocket and took out my wallet. “Here.”

She looked down at it, back up at me, and then scanned it into the computer. A little machine next to me printed out a sticker with my information. “Put this on your shirt and this band goes on your wrist.” She snapped a plastic band around my wrist and typed a few more things into the computer. “Okay, I’ll take you to her.”

“Did they decide to admit her?” I asked nervously.

She looked at me with wide eyes as she walked around from behind the desk. “Admit her? Oh, absolutely. She’s in active labor.”

“What?” I exclaimed loudly as panic shot through me. “What the hell is active labor? Our hospital visit isn’t until next week.”

“Next week?” She gave me a sympathetic look. “Mr. Finkle, I have a feeling you’ll be holding this baby before the end of the day.”

“Wait. Seriously?”

She nodded. “Ready to go in?”

I took a deep breath and listened to my body. It wasn’t screaming and shaking and freaking out like I’d expected it to be. I was nervous, but more than anything, I was ready.

“Yep. Let’s do it.”

She pushed the door open and immediately, a loud, slow beeping filled the room. I moved to my left and peeked around her to Michelle who was lying in the hospital bed asleep. Other than the IV in her hand and the blood pressure cuff around her arm, she looked totally peaceful.

“Is she in pain?” I asked the nurse quietly.

She shook her head. “So far, so good. We gave her a little something to help with the pain and it made her sleepy. She came over because the doctor sent her, but by time we got her in here, she’d already started dilating and was past the point of no return.”

“Isn’t she too early?” I asked anxiously.

Looking back at Michelle, she nodded. “She’s thirty-five weeks, so she
is
early, but the baby’s survival rate is very high at this point. Sometimes they don’t even need time in the NICU.”

“NICU? Holy shit.” I ran my hand through my hair and sat in a daze on the chair next to Michelle’s bed. The word NICU was so intimidating . . . and terrifying.

The nurse lifted up a strip of paper and read a graph on it. I opened my mouth to ask her what she was doing, but before I could speak, Michelle rolled over and groggily opened her eyes. As soon as she focused on me, a lazy smile crossed her lips.

“Hey,” I said as I crept over and kissed her forehead. “Looks like we’re gonna have our boy today, huh?”

She blinked for a long time and nodded.

“Are you in any pain?” I rubbed her cheek with the backs of my fingers. She looked so beautiful and so happy and I couldn’t believe she was about to have my baby. My son.

“Nope. I feel good.” She rolled her head toward the nurse. “Am I even having contractions?”

“You are. Pretty strong ones, actually.” She crinkled her brow and looked down at Michelle. “The contractions aren’t too bad?”

Michelle shook her head. “I definitely feel them, but they’re nothing I can’t handle right now.”

“Okay. Dr. Avery is going to be over soon and she wants to check on you, so just sit tight for a little bit.”

“Mmhmm,” Michelle answered, and the nurse left the room. She turned back toward me. “Come here. Come sit by me.”

“I
am
sitting by you.” I scooted my chair closer to her.

“No . . . like on my bed with me.”

“What?” I asked incredulously. “No way. I don’t want to hurt you, or unhook anything—”

“Stop it, you big bonehead. Get up here.” She moved all the way over against the far rail and I undid the one closest to me, lowering it quietly.

I lifted one leg onto the bed and sat down as gently as I possibly could, careful not to bump her. “Does this hurt?”

“No. Stop treating me like glass and get over here.” She wrapped her hands around my bicep and pulled me tight against her. We both got comfortable and she rested her head on my shoulder. “Are you ready for this?”

“I am,” I answered without hesitation. “I really am. I’m excited. As long as he’s okay, and you’re okay, I don’t care about anything else.”

I felt her smile against my arm. “I can’t believe he’s coming today. And what a weird morning. I went to the doctor, but now I’m in labor—even though I don’t feel like I’m in labor. So strange.”

“I hope I do okay.”

She lifted her head and stared at me. “What do you mean?”

I shrugged. “For both of you. I hope I do everything I’m supposed to today and don’t screw up. And then when he gets here . . . I just want him to be proud of me. I was never proud of my dad—not one single time in my life—and I don’t want that with my son. I want him to be proud of me.”

“He will be. That’s the great thing about babies. All you have to do is love them and they love you right back. You got this, Finkle.” She raised her fist and I bumped it, then rested my hand on her stomach.

We sat there in silence and stared at her stomach move and roll. It was hard to believe that in just a short while, that little bump would be on the outside of her, moving and breathing and crying. After several minutes, Michelle let out a soft groan and I jumped off the bed. “Did I hurt you?”