The Cruiserweight (34 page)

Phoebe dialed a number on her phone. “No time
like the present.”

*****

“Hey, Brett!” Park Perry called out to him in
the corridor. “Boss wants to talk to you. Says it’s
urgent.”

Now what’s wrong? Can’t think of anything I
did off-script.
“Did she say what it was
about?”

“No, but she had a big old grin plastered on
her face when she told me. First time she’s smiled tonight, so it
must be something big.”

“Maybe me beating your ass some
more.”

“You just got lucky, bite size.”

“That’s Mr. TV Champ to
you
. Anyway,
thanks for the message, and give my love to the wife and
kids.”

“Sure, man. Later.”

Brett made his way to Stephanie Cross’ office
and tapped on her door. “You wanted to see me?”

She looked up with a bright smile and rose from
her desk. “There you are! Congratulations to my newest champion.
You and Park performed very well tonight.”

“Thanks. Park said you wanted to discuss
something urgent?”

“Oh, yes. You’re owed congratulations for
something else tonight.”

Brett was confused. “I don’t get
it.”

“Someone named Phoebe Sellers tried to contact
you, but your phone’s turned off, and she didn’t want to leave
anything on your voice mail. She called the switchboard and
explained to the operator what happened. I had the call patched
through to me.”

“Yeah, I know Phoebe. She works with my
girlfriend. They’re good friends. Did something happen?”

“You could say that. At the same moment you
captured the TV Title, your little girl was born.”

Brett beamed; he couldn‘t believe his ears.
“Oh
…
damn
…
holy shit! Are you
serious?”

Stephanie chuckled and said in a teasing tone,
“Don’t look so disappointed.”

“This has to be the greatest night of my
life!”

“I think you need to schedule a flight to visit
your new family. You can take the rest of the week off.”

“Thanks, Steph, I really appreciate it.
Probably won‘t get a flight until morning, but I‘ll take what‘s
open.”

“There’s some nice boutiques at the airport.
You may want to stop and pick up something before you board your
flight.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m going to spoil that
little princess
and
her mother more than anyone would
consider.”

Brett left the office, feeling as if he was
floating on air. Just when he thought life couldn’t get any better,
he became a champion and a father in one night.

Who would have thought this would
happen over a year ago?

CHAPTER 63

One of the maternity floor nurses rolled the
clear cradle that contained a sleeping baby girl into her mother’s
room the following morning. “Someone would love to meet her mommy,”
the nurse said as she picked up the baby and placed it in Karen’s
arms.

Karen undid the pink blanket and studied her
newborn daughter. “My goodness, you’re a perfect copy of Daddy,”
she said in a soft voice.

“Don’t let her nurse,” the nurse told her.
“Your pain medication could pass to the baby through your milk.
We’ll get you a breast pump.” She handed Karen a bottle before
leaving the room.

The baby fussed a little when Karen kept her
from trying to nurse. “I’m sorry, honey,” she said, “I don’t want
to do anything that might hurt you.” She gave her the bottle. “Try
this.”

She smiled as she watched her tiny daughter
suck the bottle greedily. “You’re even an eater like Daddy,” Karen
said with a chuckle. “I think you two are going to get along fine,
if he ever gets a chance to see you.”

Eddie and Phoebe came into the room. “Hey,
there’s the new mama,” he said, a foolish grin on his
face.

“Pay no attention to him,” Phoebe said. “He’s
high on Vicodin.”

Karen saw the sling. “My God, Eddie, are you
okay?”

“Could be worse. How are you?” He came over to
study the baby. “This must be the little princess.”

“She’s gorgeous,” Phoebe said. “Just like her
mom.”

Karen laughed. “She looks like
Brett.”

“Hey, Pheebs, where’s your Smartphone? We
should take a shot of these two ladies and send it to him,” Eddie
said.

“Great idea!” Phoebe began rummaging through
her bag.

“Oh, guys, don’t,” Karen replied. “I look like
a disaster
…
”

“Never bothered him before,” Eddie said, taking
the photo after Phoebe handed him her phone.

“Did you think of a name for her yet?” Phoebe
asked.

Karen nodded. “Autumn Skye.”

“That’s beautiful.”

“I heard the name somewhere and liked the sound
of it.”

“Yeah, got to admit it’s a much better choice
than Crash Landing,” Eddie replied. He stroked the baby’s dark
head. “Poor kid, you had one hell of an arrival. Sorry about
that.”

“I’m sure she isn’t upset in the least,” Karen
said. “I have a feeling Autumn was about to make an early debut
anyway. Want to hold her?”

“Uh
…
”

“Come on, Eddie, she won’t break,” Phoebe said,
a touch of encouragement in her voice.

Karen handed Autumn to him. “Make sure you
support her head.”

“Wow
…
this
is
…
different.
She’s so
tiny.”

Karen smiled. “Consider it your first lesson of
practice for when you start your own family.”

“Pheebs, this is awesome. You should have a
turn.”

Phoebe came over and gently took Autumn from
him. “Have you ever seen anything so precious? A full head of
hair!”

“Hey, Pheebs, you’re a natural. I think we
should look into that adoption thing.”

“I think you two should consider setting a
wedding date first,” Karen said. “But first, I’d like my daughter
back.”

CHAPTER 64

Brett hadn’t checked his bag before leaving
Orlando, yet the airport staff took it from him at the gate and
informed him that he had to wait for the bag to arrive in
Pittsburgh.

Freaking hell, can this day get any
worse? First the flight’s delayed, and now this bullshit. What does
a guy have to do to see his new daughter? If they lose the gifts
for her and Karen, there will be hell to pay.

He found his seat, relieved the plane wasn’t
booked to capacity. Not only was his seat located near the
lavatory, but the accompanying seats were empty for his flight.
At least
something’s
going right.

During his trip, Brett became engrossed in the
script for the next set of TV tapings that would take place in
three weeks, oblivious to the activity around him. Peaceful flights
were rare, and it felt great for him to be able to concentrate for
a change.

“Everything all right, Mr. Kerrigan?” a flight
attendant asked.

He looked up and smiled. “Perfect.”

“Can I get you anything?”

Brett would‘ve preferred a beer, but since he‘d
planned to go straight from the airport to the hospital, he wanted
to keep a clear mind. “A bottle of water if it isn’t too much
trouble, thanks.”

She nodded and left to retrieve his order while
he returned to reading, laughing at some of the script’s content.
This is better than some of the stuff I’ve done in the last
eight years!

When his water came, Brett took several gulps
and stared out the window, wondering what his new daughter looked
like. He was concerned about Karen’s involvement in a car accident
when Phoebe finally contacted him, but relieved when she said Karen
was recovering well and the baby fine.

An announcement over the PA system for
passengers to fasten their seat belts jarred him out of his
thoughts. They were landing. Brett hoped his suitcase also waited
for him.

CHAPTER 65

“God, parking around here
sucks,”
Brett
said as he drove his rental car around the hospital parking garage
searching for an empty space. “Of course, I shouldn’t really bitch,
since I’ve seen much worse in L.A. and Orlando.”

After several more minutes, he found a prime
spot near an entrance to the hospital once someone pulled out,
grabbed the gifts that lay in the back seat, and sprinted
inside.

“Shit,” he said in a low voice, looking
around.

“May I help you, sir?” someone
asked.

Brett turned around and found a female security
guard. “Yeah, could you tell me the best way to go to the maternity
floor?”

She smiled. “Go down to the third elevator on
your right, take it to the fifth floor, and make a left once you
get off. You’ll walk right onto the ward.”

“Thanks.”

He dashed toward the elevator, and stepped off
once it reached the desired floor. Brett found the floor quiet, but
he figured with so many babies around, it would have to be that
way.

“Excuse me,” he said after stopping at the
nurses’ station, “I’m looking for Karen Montgomery’s
room.”

“Room 516, just around the corner, but she has
her baby
…
” He didn’t stay to hear
the rest.

Brett found Karen’s room. She was asleep, with
their daughter in a contented slumber in her clear cradle beside
the bed.

He beamed upon seeing the baby and picked her
up. “Look at you,” he said in a soft voice while he cuddled her.
“Aren’t you a little beauty.”

Autumn fussed a little, not happy her nap was
interrupted. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” he said. “The funny-looking
short man holding you is just Daddy.”

Still holding her, he sat by a window and
studied his new daughter. “Hey, you have more hair than I did when
I was born,” Brett said with a laugh. “At least, according to your
grandmother, I only had a little peach fuzz.” He paused a moment.
“Oh, that reminds me. I didn’t tell Grandma or your aunt and uncle
about you yet. I know! Let me get a picture on my phone and show
them what a pretty girl you are.”

He pulled out his phone while he positioned
Autumn on his lap. “Okay, now stay still, so Daddy can get a nice
shot.” He pushed a button and then showed her the screen. “Look
there, one of your first baby pictures. I didn’t do bad, if I say
so myself.”

Karen was awake and groggy. “Brett?”

He looked over. “Well, hi, Mommy.”

“When did they bring the baby, and when did you
get here?”

“About ten minutes ago, and she was here when I
came in the room.”

“I thought you were working house shows this
week.”

“Change of plans once this little lady
arrived.” Still holding Autumn, he came over, sat beside Karen’s
bed, and gave her a long kiss. “I’ve missed you.”

“Missed you too. Who told you I was
here?”

“Apparently Phoebe tried to get through to me
last night to say that you and Eddie were in an accident and they
had to deliver the baby by C-section. She ended up calling the
switchboard and getting through to my boss instead.”

She gave him a wan smile. “Serves you right for
turning off your phone.”

“How you feeling, baby?” he asked.

“They have me on some painkillers for a couple
of broken ribs and the C-section that put me in La La Land most of
the time and I can’t nurse. Other than that, I’m fine. Eddie broke
his left arm and will be in a cast for about six weeks.”

“You know, I was just going to email a picture
of the newest family member to Washington, but I don’t know her
name yet. Imagine me telling Ma, ‘Meet your granddaughter of
unknown name.’ Yeah, I’d come across as a total idiot.”

“Autumn,” Karen replied. “Autumn Skye
Kerrigan.”

He beamed. “You gave her my name?”

“Why not? She’s
your
daughter. Look at
her; Autumn’s a total carbon copy of you, right down to her
appetite and lung power.”

“Except for all the black hair on her head.
That comes from Mama,” he said.

Karen glanced at Autumn, who was still cradled
in Brett’s arms. “I think someone already loves her
daddy.”

Brett looked down and saw the baby snuggled
against him, her tiny fist curled around his index finger. “Guess
she isn’t afraid of the funny-looking guy after all.”

“For the last time, you’re not funny
looking.”

He felt something rumble on his arm. “Uh,
Karen?”

“Yeah?”

“I think we may need to get someone in
here.”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

“I think our daughter left us a present of her
own.”