Page 17

Chapter Seventeen

Griffin’s Beach Kent

K ent pulls up to the Short house to find it completely dark. He walks up the front porch and knocks, hoping Gracie didn’t forget they made plans to go out for her birthday.

Talking with Gracie was comfortable in a way he hasn’t had with many women. Most want to hop into bed with him and would prefer he didn’t talk. It felt like they were friends, and he’d like to see what that would be like.

No one answers the door, but just as he turns to walk back to the pickup he borrowed from his grandpa, the door swings open. “Kent!”

Whipping around, he stares into the round face of a terrified Gracie as she braces herself against the doorframe with one hand on her belly. “What’s wrong?”

“My water broke, and then I dropped my phone when I tried to call Mom. Broke that, too.”

Her face scrunches up as she cries out in pain, and her eyes stare at him with pure panic. He runs up the steps, takes her free hand, and guides her to his pickup. “Okay, let’s get you to the hospital. You can use my phone to call your mom.”

“Kent?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m scared,” she admits as he all but lifts her into the passenger seat.

Taking her hand, he squeezes it. “It’s going to be okay.”

She cries out again, pulling her hand from his to grip her belly with both, and he knows they shouldn’t be this close together. “This does not feel good at all!” she screams.

“Gracie, how long ago did your water break?”

Her bottom lip trembles. “Hours ago.”

She stayed home alone rather than going to a neighbor’s to use their phone? For hours?

Kent shuts the door and runs to the driver’s side. He pulls out of the driveway as fast as he can but also being as careful as possible. There’s precious cargo in the cab with him, after all. “Your contractions are pretty close, babe. Too close.”

“I panicked and just sat there. I was hoping Mom would come home,” she says, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I didn’t think they’d leave me alone all day on my birthday!”

That one he has to give her, and he pulls out his phone. Ky’s phone goes right to voicemail. “Dude, your daughter’s in labor. I’m bringing her to the hospital, but it sounds like it won’t be long now before you become a grandpa.”

“He didn’t answer?”

“I think his phone’s off. What’s your mom’s number? I don’t have it saved.”

She takes the phone and screams, bracing herself against the dashboard as another contraction hits. “I don’t know!”

“You don’t know?”

“I’m a technology kid! I’ve never needed to learn phone numbers. They were just in my phone!”

Continuing to sob, she just stares at the phone in her hand as he pulls into the emergency parking lot. He jumps and runs to her side, opting to just carry her inside to save time.

“Come on, birthday girl, looks like we’re giving you a present in the form of a baby today.” Kent walks through the sliding doors as a nurse runs up to them. “She’s in labor.”

Gracie screams out again, her hands gripping his forearms as he sets her down on her feet. “Oh my God, get this baby out of me! He or she wants out. Now!”

“Okay, we’ll get you a wheelchair and take you back—”

“Ah!” she cries out again. “I have to push. It feels like I have to push.”

The nurse looks around in a semi-panic as she searches for a wheelchair, and Kent just picks Gracie up in his arms again. “Just lead me back to where she needs to go. It’ll be faster.”

His long legs quickly land them in a delivery room, and he sets Gracie down on the table. A doctor rushes in with a wide smile on her face.

“Okay, Gracie, it’s good to see you. Is this the father?”

“No!” Gracie cries as she pants with sweat dripping down her forehead. “Doctor, I need you to get this baby out of me or give me something. I don’t really care which right now, but this is not fun.”

“It’s never as fun giving birth as it is making the baby,” the doctor says and slips her hand under Gracie’s skirt.

She looks up with wide eyes. “Well, I have good news. This baby is ready to come out. I feel the head. The bad news is that we can’t give you anything for the pain because you’re too far along. ”

“Mom was supposed to be here,” she says and begins to cry again. “She’s my birthing partner.”

“I can do it,” Kent says. “What do I do?”

“I’m Dr. Samuelson. What’s your name?”

He finds it odd how perky she is considering the situation, but he brushes it off. “Kent.”

“Okay, Kent, looks like you’re helping Gracie bring this little baby into the world. Gracie, sweetie, lean forward. Kent, climb behind her and support her as she pushes.”

Swinging his leg over the bed with ease, he pulls Gracie back against his front, letting her rest against him as another contraction hits.

Dr. Samuelson pushes her skirt up and places Gracie’s legs into the stirrups.

There’s a strange sense of responsibility to do everything he can for her, and when her head falls back against his shoulder, he tries to comfort her.

“You got this, kid,” he says. “I’m right here.”

“Okay, Gracie, I have a nurse calling your mom, but we’re not going to be able to wait for her. When I tell you to, I need you to push. This baby wants out.”

Nodding, she pants. “Can I push now?”

“Push!”

Gracie cries out, and on instinct, she lifts her legs back into an almost unnatural position. They shake as she pushes, and Kent reaches down to grip each thigh to help brace her.

“Take a second,” Dr. Samuelson says. “You’re doing great, sweetie.”

“I want this kid OUT OF ME!”

“Push,” the doctor says.

Her wide eyes at Gracie’s shout makes Kent smirk. She screams as she pushes, and this time, Kent leans forward with her, hoping it helps give her leverage. At this point, no one’s directing him, and he’s moving on instinct.

“Okay, take a breath,” the doctor says.

They lean back together, and Gracie looks exhausted. The nurse hands them a wet cloth, and he dabs her face and neck. “You’ve got this, kid. We’re almost there.”

“Ready for one last push?”

She nods, and Kent braces himself again. She cries out, screaming, “Oh God!” before he sees the little baby in the doctor’s arms.

They lean back, and the baby’s quickly cleaned off, a little suction device going into the nose and mouth before cries fill the air.

“Would you like to cut the umbilical cord?” Dr. Samuelson asks.

“Uh, I guess,” he says, which makes Gracie giggle.

It doesn’t require much movement on his part because she’s compact compared to his long limbs, and he cuts where they tell him to after handing him surgical scissors.

Wiping her face more with the cool cloth, he whispers, “I saw what you had,” into her ear.

“It’s a boy, isn’t it?”

“He is.”

She smiles as she’s handed the baby. “Congratulations, Gracie. You’re the proud mother to a beautiful and healthy baby boy.”

Slipping out from behind her, Kent helps guide Gracie to lie back with the baby on her chest. “Look at that. You did it, kid.”

“He’s beautiful, isn’t he?” she whispers.

“He sure is. Looks just like his mama.”

She smiles as the doctor continues working between her legs. What the hell else is going on down there? Isn’t this kind of the end of it?

“Do you want to hold him?” Gracie asks.

“Really?”

“Well, if it weren’t for you, he’d have come out on the kitchen floor of my house.”

Taking the small baby from her arms, he smiles down at the little guy. He yawns and closes his eyes, falling asleep as though he knows he’s safe. “I imagine coming into this world like you did is exhausting, huh?”

He glances back at the mother, and she looks at him with sleepy eyes of her own. “He had the easy part.”

“I don’t know if I’d call coming out of a ten-centimeter birth canal that easy,” he says with a chuckle. “Now, guess what, little guy. In eighteen years, you’ll be wearing a leather just like I am.”

“Hey, now,” she says with a laugh.

“You gave birth to a Drifter, kid. Get used to it.”

She yawns and nods her head. “I guess I have a few years to adjust to the idea.”

“Gracie!” Felicity cries as she runs into the room with Ky not far behind. “Baby?”

“You’re late, but Kent was here,” Gracie says. “Gotta say, he’s a lot sturdier than you are, Mom.”

Hey, look at that. I did help rather than just doing things.

Kent continues to stare down at the baby in his arms. It’s not his baby, and he hasn’t thought much about having kids, but this kid has changed that. He doesn’t want to ever let go of this little guy, and he knows he’ll protect this child with his life for the rest of his own.

Must be an attachment from helping bring him into the world.

“I got Kent’s voicemail, but he didn’t answer when I called back,” Ky says.

“I think my phone got left in the truck. There was a contraction when I gave it to her to call Felicity because I don’t have her number. Turns out, neither does your daughter,” he says and reluctantly moves to hand the baby over to Ky’s waiting arms. “Here you go, Grandpa.”

“Fuck you,” he says but stares down at his grandson. “Oh my God.”

“It’s a boy,” Gracie says. “Kent’s already reminded me he’ll be wearing a kutte in eighteen years.”

Felicity runs her hand over Gracie’s brow. “It was fast?”

“I broke my phone when my water broke, and I panicked,” she admits.

“She’d been home alone for hours before I showed up to take her out for her birthday dinner,” Kent says, reminding everyone it’s not just the baby’s birthday today.

Eyes wide, Felicity looks horrified. “Oh my God, I forgot what the date was.”

“It’s okay, Mom.”

She tears up and shakes her head. “No, it’s not. You shouldn’t have been alone on your birthday, let alone when you went into labor.”

“Kent showed up. He made it easier. He’s remarkably calm even when I’m freaking out,” she says and laughs. “Thank you, Kent.”

“No problem. I don’t think we’ll be making dinner, so we’ll figure something else out. Although, I don’t know if there’s any way to top this birthday excitement.”

Squeezing her hand, he winks and walks out of the room. Ky hurries after him, calling his name, and he no longer has his grandchild in his arms when Kent turns around.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for being there. We should’ve been.”

He shrugs. As much as he wants to tell Ky he definitely should have been with his daughter on her birthday, he knows he shouldn’t sass off to his Vice President.

“No problem. Not exactly what I expected when I showed up, but I’m pretty good at rolling with the punches. Before you ask, she hasn’t told me the name of the asshole who knocked her up is. But when I find out, I plan to break quite a few bones.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever given your father enough credit for how he raised you. Because, no offense, but this is not your mother.”

Smirking, Kent shakes his head. “Probably because when people think about Dad, all they seem to remember is his very active sex life with Melanie. Everything else pales in comparison.”

“Fair.”

They shake hands, and Kent heads out to his pickup and takes a deep breath. Why does he feel empty? This isn’t his baby, but he feels connected to him somehow. And the urge to hold him again hits him strong enough to startle him.

What the fuck?