Page 100 of Trial By Fire
"Breathe, baby," Kace says. "You're doing great. Fantastic. Just keep breathing."
Once Pierce has the floor protectively covered and other items ready and at hand, Gabe and I turn around long enough to lock arms behind Lindsey's back and each grab a knee, lowering her to the floor. Kace shifts quickly behind her, cradling her in his arms. He helps settle her against his chest for support with a blanket rolled under her hips to give the baby some arrival room.
Pierce is in delivery position and focused as she starts to shift Lindsey's dress up to do her own assessment. Gabe and I quickly avert our eyes and turn our backs once more.
"Ow, ow, ow! I want to push. I have to— Oh, I have to push!"
It doesn't take long. In a matter of minutes, Lindsey gives one last choked and gasping whimper, and the baby's cries fill the air. We give Pierce time to get Lindsey settled and turn when she gives the all clear.
I can't stop the grin that forms when I see the happy couple. There're tears and laughter, kisses and so much love. The room seems too small to hold it.
"Congratulations, Mom and Dad," Pierce says, and Gabe and I echo the sentiment.
Gabe claps me on the shoulder, smiling from ear to ear as we watch from a few feet away, giving the couple and their newborn privacy for a moment.
Poor Pierce is crying, too, but ignoring the tears rolling down her cheeks other than an occasional brush of her shoulder as she wipes them away, watching as Kace holds two of the most precious beings in his life and repeatedly tells them he loves them.
Kace is a big dude. Big hands, broad shoulders, long legs. And right now he's blubbering like the baby he and Lindsey hold, and I can't even give him a hard time for it because the moment is just that special. He will be the best dad Lindsey's kid could ever have. Kace has a big heart and is especially protective of women and children. As every man should be but often isn't.
Gabe excuses himself to call Bronwyn and cheers ring out in the other room as Lindsey's office mates celebrate the good news. Kace holds the baby while Pierce and I get Lindsey on the gurney and ready for transport. While they get going, I put the office back to rights before Gabe and I head back to the station.
It's a fast hour until shift change, and I'm out the door the moment my time is up. I take my Harley, and as always, I find myself near the Pelican, drawn to it because I know she will be there.
The streets are quiet. It's midweek, and Valentine's Day to boot, but the island isn't as crowded as it is in summer.
I love this time of year, despite the cold nights, if only because things are quieter than the constant chaos and noise of tourist season. The island never truly sleeps. But right now it…breathes a little more softly. A little easier. Resetting itself.
My thoughts return to Kace and how he's a single dad who also took in his teenage niece to raise and now another man's baby. But those lucky kids will never be treated as anything other than his own.
As I park the bike and cut the motor, I think of my old man and his utter lack of love for his wife and the children he'd brought into the world. And then, as I often do, I think of a certain night years ago.
My steps falter on the way toward the bar as my sister’s image comes to mind. Like a punch to my gut, I see her lying there helpless and broken and bleeding, and fury fills me. I shake it off as best I can, dragging the cold night air into my lungs and comforting myself with the fact her ex took his own life which meant I wasn’t in prison because of it.
I hear a door open with a squeak of the hinges and turn to look as I approach the Pelican. Violet Greene is hauling something twice her size out to the dumpster, and I curse and make my way down the side street that's little more than a dark alley.
She startles and barely manages to stifle a scream as she whips round to face me with wide eyes. “Evening, sunshine."
