Page 25 of Shine: Sins of the Father (Evil Dead MC: Second Generation #8)

Fiona—

The lady types away at the computer, and I answer her questions to fill out little Dylan’s birth certificate while he sleeps nestled in my arms.

A knock sounds, and I glance at the doorway to see my brothers and their wives troop inside.

Kyle carries a giant teddy bear, and I almost laugh at the sight of him.

“What is that?” I eye the fuzzy bear.

“I tried to stop him,” his wife, Sutton, defends.

“What? This baby is getting everything he could possibly need.”

“I don’t think he will ever need that.” I shake my head.

Rafe holds a small bag of his own and sets it on the rolling tray table next to my half-eaten breakfast platter.

Hospital food truly does suck. Thank God Janey brought me a smoothie and a muffin when she visited this morning.

“Mine’s a baby outfit.” Rafe holds his hands up in self-defense.

“Don’t act like yours is any better,” Tori chastises.

I eye the bag suspiciously.

He shrugs and pulls out a onesie, holding it up for me to see. I burst out laughing, causing little Dylan to make a tiny whimpering sound that has my heart melting. I’m already so in love with this boy.

The onesie he holds says, My Uncle Rafe is smokin’ hot .

“Really? You couldn’t have just said uncle . Felt the need to clarify, did you?” Kyle grumbles.

“And why exactly do you need to broadcast to the world that you’re smokin’ hot?” Sutton tilts her head, raising her eyebrows accusingly.

Rafe glances at Tori, who is now giving him a death stare.

“Yeah, why do you need to broadcast that?” she agrees.

“Okay, first off, thank you for agreeing I’m hot, Sutton.”

She huffs, shaking her head at his audacity.

“And second, don’t go getting me in trouble. I just like to flaunt it.” He winks.

“Jesus Christ, who did I marry?” Tori closes her eyes, shaking her head.

“Apparently, the smokin’ hot uncle,” Kyle drawls, putting quote marks in the air as he says it.

The hospital administrator chuckles, drawing my attention back to her. “Are they always like this?”

“Worse,” all three of us women say in unison.

“Sorry.” I look at the lady. “What was the next question?”

She turns her attention to the computer screen. “We finished up all your side. So, now we are on to the father.” She leans closer, locating where she left off. “What is the father’s name?”

At the question, the whole room goes quiet.

I glance nervously at my brothers, and they both stand there expectantly, waiting for an answer. I bite my lip, realizing I don’t know Shine’s real name, even if I wanted to give one.

“Yeah, Fiona. What’s the father’s name?” Rafe can’t seem to restrain himself.

My eyes shift from him to Kyle, who quirks an eyebrow, and then to the hospital attendant who waits for my answer.

“Um, it’s just me.”

She nods slowly, realizing the tension in the room.

“It doesn’t have to be, Fee, if you just tell her the name. I promise he’ll be in the boy’s life, if that’s what you want.” Kyle’s approach is a little more tactful than Rafe’s.

“Or, if we need to beat the shit out of him, we can do that too,” Rafe chimes in before Tori whacks him in the chest.

“Umph. What’s that for?” he grumbles, rubbing where she hit him.

“Your sister just had a beautiful baby boy. Your nephew. Get your ass over there and see him instead of harassing her.” Tori points to where Dylan still lies nestled in my arms.

“We can finish this later. I’ll just come back when you don’t have,” the woman surveys the room unsure what to say, “guests.”

With that, she closes her computer and scurries from the room.

“Now you scared her away.” I glare at Rafe.

He glances over his shoulder to the door she disappeared through. “Oh, she’ll be fine. Now let me see this nephew of mine.”

I carefully hand him Dylan. “Make sure you cradle his head.”

“I know. I know. I do have my own son, you know. Oh, I can already tell you’re going to be a stud.” He grins at the little bundle in his arms.

“He’s so cute. Just like his big cousin.” Tori leans over Rafe’s shoulder.

“Where is my little nephew?” I ask.

“Grandma’s got him, so we could come see this little sweetie.” Tori runs her finger along his plump cheeks.

“Okay, you’ve had him enough, my turn.” Kyle reaches forward to take Dylan.

“He’s so light.” Kyle looks at me. “Is he supposed to be this small?”

“Yes, he’s a newborn,” Sutton replies.

Kyle tries to adjust him, and Dylan cries out, his eyes blinking open. Kyle’s eyes immediately widen. “Is he okay?”

“Of course he is.” Sutton scoops him from Kyle’s arms and begins rocking him. “Aren’t you, little bug?”

Dylan quickly settles in Sutton’s arms.

“She’s a natural.” Tori elbows Kyle in the arm.

Another knock has everyone turning in time to see Cody enter carrying a blue congratulations balloon tied to a small teddy bear.

“See that.” Sutton points to it. “That’s a normal-sized baby gift.”

“I still don’t see anything wrong with the gift I brought,” Kyle grumbles.

“If it makes you feel better, I face-timed my mom, and she picked this out.” Cody holds the floppy teddy bear up.

“Thank you, Cody.” I smile at him.

“How are you doing, sweetheart?” Cody asks, and both my brothers immediately narrow their eyes.

“I’m doing good. A little nervous about leaving here tomorrow and heading back to my place with this little guy. But my mom said she’d stay with me for the first two weeks. I imagine I’ll be exhausted a lot, so the help will be huge.”

“The beginning is really hard. It takes a toll on the body with all the lack of sleep. So, when your mom leaves, you call us”—Tori gestures to herself and Sutton—“if you need to take a nap or a shower or just have an adult conversation, okay?”

Tears flood my eyes, and I nod. “I thought the crying would have stopped after I had him.” I wipe at my eyes.

“No, your hormones will be all over the place for a while. I’m serious, you call, we’re there.”

“Thank you. That means a lot.”

A little while goes by before Dylan starts nuzzling Sutton.

“Oh, I think he might be looking for something I don’t have.” She grins as she hands him over to me.

“Well, that’s your cue to leave.” I laugh.

“Kicking us out already?” Rafe asks.

“Um, yes.” I nod emphatically. “I don’t need my brothers seeing my breasts.” I glance at Dylan, who is starting to get frustrated.

“Say no more.” Kyle jumps up and shields his eyes. “Love you. Dylan is beautiful. You did awesome.”

“I’m not going to whip them out this second. You can come give me a hug.” I roll my eyes.

“Ugh, don’t say whip them out. It’s just wrong.” Rafe cringes.

“You’re the one who didn’t get the hint.” Tori shoves his shoulder.

After saying goodbye and feeding my hungry little man, I admire him.

“Well, it’s just you and me, kid. I wish I could give you a dad.

Maybe one day, but for now I’ll have to be enough.

Of course, in this world, we’ll never really be alone.

That’s one of the perks of the life you were born into.

You’re going to have about fifteen bonus uncles and aunts to dote on you and help you through this crazy thing called life.

They’ve done it for me, and I have to say they’re pretty great. ”