Shield My Heart (Heaven Hill Book 9) (29 page)

Tatum held the door open for her older sister, making sure she got out of the car okay. The two of them got to the door of the clubhouse, talking about Drew’s bike, which they saw parked around to the side. He’d just gotten new mufflers and had them chromed.

“I wonder if they’re louder?” Mandy asked as they opened the door.

Almost immediately there was a loud yell of
Surprise!
which caused her to take a full step back, she was so shocked. Looking around, she saw the faces of everyone she knew and loved, and then she saw the big mound of gifts over to the side, all in blue, green, or yellow. Raising her eyes, she saw a banner hanging that proclaimed this a baby shower.

“Oh my God, is this my baby shower?” she gasped, not sure what to think. It hadn’t even crossed her mind.

“It sure is.” Tatum clapped her hands together. “Thanks for being so damn cooperative.”

Mandy laughed and cried at the same time, realizing how blessed she was to have the people she did in her life.

*

“Are you sure this is where you want it?”

Mandy counted to ten, telling herself Drew was doing her a favor. Dalton had to work today, and all the furniture they had gotten at the shower needed to be put in its proper place. Being the amazing brother he was, he’d offered to help her move it where she wanted it. The problem? He made her doubt everything she said.

“Yes, Andrew.”

He laughed. “Don’t start using my full name. It’s not my fault you’re in a bad mood ’cause you can’t see your feet.”

“You are an evil brother. I have no idea how the two of us got along enough to live in the same household.” She flipped him the bird.

“You love me, sis, and you know it.”

She did love him and knew he teased her because that’s what he did. She threw a package of diapers she’d gotten at her shower towards his head.

He caught it easily. “Thanks for this.” He held them up. “We’ll be needin’ them in about eight months or so.”

Mandy opened her mouth for a smart-ass comeback, but it hit her what he’d just said to her. “Oh my God! Are you serious? You and Charity?”

He blushed. “Yeah.” The grin he wore was huge. “We’ve known for a while, but you’re the first person I’ve told. Seems fitting, huh? We’ve literally known each other our whole lives—me and you. So I wanted to tell you first.”

Tears escaped from behind her eyes, and she toddled over to him, giving him a huge hug. “Drew, you are such a sap sometimes, you kill me. As much as you’re an ass to me in moments, there are other moments you kill me with your thoughtfulness.”

He hugged her back, hard. “You really made me want this, the way you’ve embraced being a mom, even when you thought you were going to have to do it on our own. Don’t want you to have an experience without me, ya know?”

She stiffened, wincing and letting out a loud groan.

“Are you okay?” his voice panicked.

She shook her head. “I’ve been hurting for the past couple of days, just small twinges here and there, but that one hurt like hell.” Another one hit her, and her eyes widened. “Drew, I think you’re about experience something else with me.”

“Fuck.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “You’re in labor, aren’t you?”

“I think so.” She glanced down at the water trickling down her leg. “Ninety-nine percent sure.”

“Can you walk?” He grabbed her arm.

She set one foot in front of the other. “Yup, I’ll get to the car, can you grab a towel?”

Looking up at the sky, he mumbled. “God, when I said I couldn’t let her experience stuff without me, this isn’t exactly what I meant. Please, let us get to the hospital in time. There’s no way I’m looking between my sister’s legs.”

*

“I don’t think I can do this anymore.” Mandy moaned, gripping Dalton’s hand in hers.

“You can,” he encouraged, rubbing her sweaty face with a cool rag, pushing her hair back from her forehead. “You’ve got this, and you’ve come this far. A few more pushes and we get to meet our son. You want to meet our son, don’t you?”

She nodded. “I do, but I’m so tired.”

Dalton looked over at Denise, hoping like hell he was saying all the right things. “C’mon, I’ll help you,” he offered, getting behind her and holding her up. Denise did the same.

“Now when I tell you to push,” Dr. Sparks spoke from behind her mask, “I want you to give me the biggest push you’ve given me. Take their support and use it, Mandy. We’re so close.”

Dalton had one hand on her knee and when Dr. Sparks gave them the go ahead, he bared down with her, giving her all his energy, all his strength and support. If he could do this for her, he would have, but if this was the only way he could help, then he would do that too.

Mandy screamed like he’d never heard her scream before; she was a warrior as she pushed through the pain. Dr. Sparks was encouraging, and so was everyone else.

“Baby, you got this,” he whispered in her ear, hoping it gave her some motivation. “You got this, and I got you. Give us our son.”

All of a sudden, Mandy slumped back, and he glanced down, seeing a child in Dr. Sparks’ arms, but he wasn’t crying.

“Why isn’t he crying?” Mandy asked tearfully, looking up at him with scared eyes.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Dr. Sparks was saying as she cleared his airways and gave him a smack on the bottom.

At that, loud wails filled the room, and Dalton felt like he’d been punched in the gut. Those minutes where their child hadn’t cried had been the scariest of his life. He cut the umbilical cord and thought he was going to pass out before they took their son away to clean him up and weigh him.

When they handed him back, he wore a blue beanie on his head and a diaper.

“Mom.” Mandy reached for Denise’s hand. “Go get Dad real quick, please.”

Mandy glanced up at Dalton, and he knew it was time.

Liam hurried into the room on Denise’s heels. “You alright, honey?” he asked as he glanced at the baby she held, checking Mandy over too with his eyes.

“I’m perfect.” She reached out her hand to her dad. “But I want to introduce you to somebody.”

Dalton was nervous. They hadn’t told anyone what they were going to name their son because they wanted this man to known first.

“Dad, meet Walker Barnett, your grandson.”

Liam’s eyes went from Mandy to Dalton and back again. “You named him Walker?”

“I think it’s a fitting namesake,” Dalton told him. “The last name of one of the strongest, toughest, and best men I know? Seems damn perfect to me.”

And it was.

‡
Chapter Thirty-Nine

D
alton knew he’d never held anything more precious in his arms than he did right now. They’d handed his son over to him so he could walk out and greet the family that had gathered. His arms shook because he held them so rigidly, but he was scared to death he was going to drop him.

“Go straight out those doors and an entire waiting room is there to see you,” one of the nurses told him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many people so excited for the birth of a child.”

It filled his heart to know that his son was already loved by so many people. It gave him hope and made him believe maybe this was the end of the cycle. Perhaps he had broken it by having his child and bringing it into this group of people who would love unconditionally no matter what.

“There he is.” He could hear Drew as soon as he opened the doors and stepped out. He was bombarded.

Liam, who’d already met his grandson, stood to the side, letting everyone else get a turn. The questions were frantic as Dalton tried to answer them. His name was Walker Barnett and he weighed in at eight pounds three ounces, he was twenty-five inches long, which yes, was long for a baby, he was probably going to be tall. They all oohed and aahed over the headful of dark hair he sported. No wonder Mandy had such heartburn. In the middle of everything, he spotted Samuel and Deacon, standing off to the side.

He grinned over at his family, motioning them to come forward once the excitement had died down some. Samuel had a look of awe on his face as he reached out for the newborn.

“I remember when both you and Deacon were born; you both looked just like this little guy here.” He took him in his arms and cuddled him. “There weren’t nearly this many people here to see you, but I can remember being just as excited when your dad walked out from the hallway to introduce you to me.”

Dalton tried to think of what it would have been like back then. Who would have been there to see him? Probably no one, and to see the amount of people here to see his son, it choked him up. “I’m glad you were there when we were born.” It was all he could push through the tightness in his throat.

“I wouldn’t have been anywhere else.”

Dalton felt a hand at his shoulder and turned, seeing Deacon standing behind him. “He’s a good-looking kid, bro. You did good.”

“Mandy did good. I was just there as moral support.”

Samuel handed him off to Deacon, who took him with his own awed look on his face. “I can’t wait to teach this guy so much stuff. He’ll be in trouble before he can even speak,” Deacon promised.

Dalton wanted to refute what his brother said, but knew with this group, it was more than likely the truth. “The least we can say is he gets it honest.”

And everyone agreed to that.

*