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Sure enough, Frankie had found the tit and was sucking it into her tiny mouth in steady rhythmic draws. Mary closed her eyes. “Oh, thank you, Jesus.”
She said it just the way Gray had earlier. With a relief that was palpable.
“You can hold her if you want when she’s done,” Mary murmured.
Luke did want to.
But not now.
Not when he had blood on his hands. Literally. His bruised knuckles were still lined with red.
Catching the direction of his gaze, Kyle frowned. Yeah, the man was probably wondering about the bloodstains too.
Luke glanced back at his sister. “You two need your rest. I’ll come back in the morning, Mare.”
She nodded sleepily.
“Yes. It’s probably best you all take off,” Paul said, scowling in Kyle’s direction. “Mary, Frankie, and I haven’t had a moment to ourselves since I got here.”
“You only got here an hour ago,” Kyle said heatedly. “Maybe next time you should think twice before hopping a flight when your girlfriend is only days from giving birth.”
“I was attending a funeral,” Paul hissed. “And she’s not just my girlfriend. She’s the mother ofmychild.” His mouth tilted up smugly. “Hopefully, more than that if she’ll have me—”
“Quiet!” Mary whisper-shouted, eyes flashing fire as they flew open. “If either of you disrupts this latch, I willkillyou.”
Dylan bumped Luke’s shoulder. “Dang, brah. Mama Bear is scary.”
Kyle — tense as he was — relaxed into a grin. “Yup. She’s Scary Mary.”
Luke’s sister glanced his way once more, expression softening. “Thank you for everything you did today to help me. I really appreciate it. But I’ve got this now—”
“We’vegot this now.”
Kyle ignored Paul’s correction as he stared at Luke’s sister. Another suspended moment passed between them before his gaze dropped to Frankie. His hands clenched at his sides as though he was fighting the urge to ruffle her wispy-soft hair. Then he nodded and strode from the room.
Luke and Dylan followed him out. As soon as the door closed behind them, Luke rounded on his friend. “Dude, was Mary saying what I think she was saying back there?” He pointed to the streaks of blood on Kyle’s jersey. “Did you deliver Frankie?”
A snort burst from Kyle. “I wouldn’t say that. Mary did all the work. I basically just showed up at her house in time to catch a baby.”
“She delivered Frankie at her house! What the hell happened?”
“Mary called me this afternoon as I was leaving Connor’s game. Said she had a batch of those soaps ready for the club, so I told her I’d swing by to pick them up since I was on the road anyway. It was a damn good thing I did too. First thing I saw when I walked into the house was Mary hunched over on the stairs. She was breathing hard, skirt soaked.”
“Her water broke?”
Kyle nodded at Dylan. “Yeah, I scooped her up and carried her down to the living room. Thought I might be able to get her to the hospital in time, but” — he shook his head, eyes a bit wild — “she was just in so much pain. I ended up calling 911. The operator sent an ambulance but kept me on the line and walked me through what to do to help Mary. By the time the EMTs showed up, Frankie was already out.”
“Jesus,” Luke whispered. “And she’s okay? Both of them are okay?”
Kyle smiled. “Yeah, man. Aside from being four days early, Frankie’s totally healthy. Mary checks out too. The doctor wants to keep an eye on them for tonight, but they should be cleared to go home tomorrow.”
Luke swallowed, suddenly so overcome with emotion that all he could do was throw his arms around his friend. “Thank you, brother! I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to Mare—”
“It didn’t,” Kyle cut in calmly. “Your sister is fine. She’s amazing actually. And so is your niece.” He chuckled. “It’s all good, bro!”
Pulling loose, Kyle grasped Dylan’s hand and was tugged into another hug.
Luke, meanwhile, could only stare down at his hands as right on the heels of his relief and jubilation came a flash of guilt. Despite telling his sister multiple times to call if she needed him, he hadn’t been there for her when she had.
