Page 61 of Hard Corps (Selected Sinners MC 7)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Early Winter 2014, Austin, Texas, USA

Life, at least for me, had always been full of surprises. To say that things happen when they’re least expected would be the understatement of a lifetime. Although Vee was further along than Kace in her pregnancy, Kace gave birth first, a little prematurely. I received a text message and multiple calls from both Shane and Ripp, but I was out for a ride on my motorcycle and didn’t see them until I stopped for gas.

The ninety miles I rode from south of the city passed in less than an hour, and I came to a screeching halt beside the entrance of the hospital. After parking my motorcycle on the edge of sidewalk leading to the hospital, I rushed through the door and to the receptionist desk.

“Dekkar. Childbirth, they’ve moved them. I need the room number, please,” I said.

“Spell the name,” she receptionist said.

“D. E. K. K. A. R. Dekkar,” I said excitedly.

She pecked at the keys, stared at the monitor, and glanced up. “Room 724. Down the hall, on the elevator on the left, and up to seven. It’s on the right.”

“Do you have a flower shop?” I asked.

“Right down the hall, on the way to the elevator. Third door on the left,” she said.

I chose the perfect bouquet of flowers and ran down the hall to the elevator. As the door opened on the seventh floor, I clutched the flowers, gazed down at the toes of my boots, and exhaled. I calmly walked down the hallway, glancing at each of the numbers until I reached their room.

724.

I rubbed the palms of my hands against the thighs of my jeans and took a deep breath. On the other side of the door I could hear Ripp’s voice over everything else. Another deep breath, and I pushed the door open.

“Uncle A-Train is here,” I whispered as I walked into the room.

Kace’s hair was an absolute mess, and she looked exhausted. Shane looked equally worn out, but was smiling from ear to ear. Ripp, dressed in his typical shorts, wife beater, and Chucks despite the fact it was winter, and Vee was wearing cotton pregnancy pants, a cute black top, and flats.

As I walked into the room, Kace’s eyes shifted to the flowers I held, and she forced a slight smile as she tried to sit up.

“These are for you,” I said as I leaned over the edge of the bed and kissed her cheek.

I placed the vase of flowers on the table beside the bed.

“Fellas,” I said as I nodded my head toward Shane and Ripp.

“Congratulations,” I said as I shook Shane’s hand.

“Thank you,” he said.

I did my best to contain my excitement, but it didn’t last long. Beside the far side of the bed a bassinet sat with a heat lamp over it. I craned my neck and did my best to peer inside, but from the end of the bed I could see nothing.

I tossed my head toward the side of the bed as I edged my way past Ripp. “Can I hold…”

My throat constricted and my mouth went completely dry. It was much tougher than I imagined it would be. I wedged myself between the edge of the bed and the small bed the baby was sleeping in. I glanced at Shane, shifted my eyes toward Kace, and met her gaze. She nodded her head and grinned.

I peered into the bassinet.

Innocently sleeping and undoubtedly developing into a man with each passing second, he was much smaller than I remembered my first nephew being. After admiring him for a few seconds, my eyes began to well with tears.

“Don’t worry, Alec. You won’t break him,” I heard Kace say from behind me.

I turned away from the bassinet and faced the bathroom. “My hands. I need to wash my hands.”

I walked into the bathroom, closed the door, and stared down at my boots as I washed my hands. After more than a decade of experiencing my fair share of death, embracing a new life being introduced to the earth was almost more than I could stand to witness. I dried my hands, inhaled a shallow breath, and stared blankly into the mirror. I couldn’t let this nephew escape me.

You keep him healthy, Lord, and I’ll keep him safe.

I reached for the door, pulled it open, and paused.

Thank you.

“Good to go,” I said as I raised my hands in the air.

I quietly walked to the bassinet, reached inside, and carefully picked up my nephew.

Ripp continued to tell a story, Shane argued about the size of the man Ripp had challenged to a fight, and Kace quietly laughed.

For me, the room fell silent.

I gazed down at the child cradled in my arms and couldn’t help but smile. A new life. Another chance for someone to grow into the next person to make a difference on earth. Potentially the future President of the United States, a doctor who may cure cancer, or possibly the man who just might convince the world to live in peace.

I turned away from the crowd, began to hum him a tune, and allowed a tear to roll down my cheek.

And for that moment, as I held my sleeping nephew in my arms, nothing else mattered.