The Rockers' Babies (The Rocker... Series) (33 page)

my head I kissed the top of my angel’s head. “Nevaeh,” I told her, “Nevaeh Joy Stevenson.”

Her eyes filled with tears all over again. “Perfect,” she whispered. “Completely, absolutely.” She lifted

the baby, offering her to me.

I took her willingly and as soon as I touched her my heart felt like it was going to explode. How could

anyone be this happy and not die? I kissed the top of her head, then reluctantly handed her back to her

mother, terrified I would get her sick. The cold that had been kicking my ass hadn’t even crossed my mind

during the hours of labor, but now that Nevaeh was here I was starting to feel the sore throat, chest

congestion, and all over body ache.

Dallas turned to the two rockers standing across the room as the doctors left the room. “Out. Momma

needs to breast feed and I know Demon man isn’t going to welcome you witnessing that.”

“Fucking right,” I growled. “Get lost, assholes.”

Laughing, Axton and Cole crossed the room. Cole dropped a kiss on his daughter’s forehead then one

on his granddaughter’s. “I’ll be back in the morning, darlin’. I’ll bring lots of presents.”

“You don’t have to do that, Dad,” Angel protested.

Cole stilled, not used to being called ‘Dad’ by her, but seemed to enjoy it. A huge grin split his face and he kissed her on top of the head again. “See you, darlin’.”

Axton hugged her, then pulled me into a bear hug. “I’ll be in the waiting room, man. Congrats on the

new addition. She’s as beautiful as her mother.”

I pounded him on the back a few times. “Thanks for being here.”

Ax shrugged. “You’re my family, bro. I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.”

When he was gone it was just Dallas that remained. For the next half hour she helped Angel get

comfortable with breast feeding. Her milk wasn’t in yet but Nevaeh showed how smart she was by latching

on like a pro and getting what little Angel had to offer her. To me it was probably the most breathtaking sight I had ever seen in my life. My woman feeding our child like this. Fuck, it was both awe-inspiring and hot as hell.

After the baby had had enough, Dallas took her to the nursery so that she could get her settled. Another

nurse and a CNA came in to get Angel comfortable. Helping her to shower and putting a fresh gown on her

since we hadn’t brought anything with us. There was a bag packed in the closet at home, but I hadn’t

wanted to leave her to go fetch it. There was plenty of time to do that later.

With her finally settled in bed once more the nurse and her aid brought in a jug of ice water and two

cups, then left with the promise of bringing us something to eat. I wasn’t hungry, but my angel said she was starving so they promised to hurry.

We were alone for the first time all evening and I wasted no time before I kissed her like I had been

aching to do. Her arms lifted, wrapping around my neck as she kissed me back. It wasn’t a passionate kiss.

It wasn’t about lust. This was a kiss full of love and understanding. When I finally pulled back she had a

sleeping smile on her face.

“Sleep with me?” she asked, already scooting over so that I could climb in beside her.

With one leg on the floor and the other on the mattress I laid down and pulled her head onto my chest. I

sat like that for hours, rubbing my fingers up and down her bare arm. She fell asleep and when the nurses

brought her tray I asked them to set it aside. Angel needed her sleep more than the food at the moment.

Dallas stuck her head in to tell me goodbye. I wanted to hug her, to thank her for being here. She had

helped not only Angel through the labor, but me as well. She, like Emmie would have done if she had been

here, had made sure I kept my shit straight. I’d always be indebted to her for this night. “Dallas…”

She shook her head. “Shut up. Don’t you dare thank me, asshole. I love you guys. That’s the only

reason why I was here.” With a wink she was out the door without another word.

Angel stirred and lifted her head. Her sleep-filled eyes took a moment to adjust and then she was

glancing around. “Where’s Nevaeh?”

“She’s spending the night in the nursery so you can sleep, Angel.” I stood and pushed the table with her

meal on it to the bed. “Sandwiches, salad, and lots of milk and water. Eat up.”

The few hours before dawn were all we had to ourselves over the next two days. Emmie and Nik

arrived with Shane and Harper following soon after. My father and stepmother made an appearance, having

driven up at Jenna’s insistence. Natalie dropped by and Linc was with her. Through it all Angel had a huge

smile on her face, but I could see the sadness in her whisky brown eyes.

We were missing a big chunk of our family who were still in California. Layla, Jesse, and Lucy hadn’t

been able to come out to New York. The twins were unfortunately still in the hospital. Thankfully they no

longer had tubes and monitors attached to them, and Emmie had said that if the sleep apnea alarm didn’t go

off tonight then the twins would finally make it home the next day. That was great news, but Angel was still missing her sisters.

The morning that my girls were supposed to be released from the hospital, two detectives showed up.

They questioned both Angel and me for two hours about Bethany and what had happened on Friday night.

I didn’t have much to offer. I’d taken two cold tablets during the show that night and fallen asleep not long after going backstage with everyone else. I’d been out pretty hard until the chick had started screaming in pain.

After they questioned us they filled us in on a few things themselves. Bethany really was a psycho. An

obsessed psycho. They’d found an entire wall with pictures of me. Some of them had been from

magazines, tabloids, and posters. Others had been pictures she had taken herself. She had been stalking me

for over a year and I hadn’t even known it. My having her fired as a stipulation for my returning to

America’s Rocker
next season had pushed her over the edge. Not because she had lost her job, but because she wouldn’t have been able to get as close to me as she was used to. The detectives suggested we file for a restraining order immediately.

“Am I in trouble?” my angel finally asked, looking more than a little worried as she set on the edge of the hospital bed.

They both shook their heads. “She wanted to file charges, Mrs. Stevenson… But someone convinced

her that it was in her best interest to drop it.”

“Who?” I asked, wondering if Emmie had been working her magic as usual.

“Cole Steel was at the police station around the same time as Miss Johnston, sir. He spoke with her for

about ten minutes then she informed us that she wasn’t going to be filing charges on your wife after all.”

Angel gasped but didn’t say a word as I showed the two men out. I watched from the doorway as they

stepped onto the elevator down the hall before stepping back inside. She was biting her lip. “He paid her

off.”

I shrugged. “Most likely.” It was what a father should do, something I would gladly do for Nevaeh

should the situation ever arrive. No way would I let anything hurt her. “We can file for the restraining order tomorrow.”

“He really does love me, huh?”

I wrapped her hair around my wrist and pulled her head back until our eyes met. “He’d be an idiot not

to.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “Ready to go home?”

“So ready, babe.”

Epilogue

Shane

We were going to be late, but I had to make this stop.

Harper sat beside me in the front seat of the Ford Raptor that I had gotten a few weeks ago. Drake had

turned me on to trucks and really I needed one if all things went as I was hoping they might in the next

hour or so. When I pulled to a stop in front of the little farm house just outside of LA and I cut the engine, she frowned, glancing around us. “When you said we had to pick up a few things before the party I didn’t

think we would be driving out into the middle of nowhere.”

I let my eyes eat her up. Since we had found out we wouldn’t be able to have kids, Harper had been

seriously depressed. A few times she had let old fears invade our lives and try to wedge us apart. That

wasn’t going to happen on my watch. I’d been talking to a few people about how she was handling

everything and they had suggested giving her something else to love and cuddle since it wasn’t going to be

our child. It had taken me weeks, but I had finally found the perfect thing.

“I love you, beautiful.” I reached for her seatbelt and unsnapped her before pulling her onto my lap.

“You mean everything to me.”

Her fingers combed through my hair. “I love you too. But that doesn’t explain why we’re here.” She

smiled. “I’m starting to worry for your sanity, babe.”

I kissed her lips long and hard, leaving us both a little breathless before opening the door and pulling

her out with me. It was quiet out here, really peaceful. Linking our fingers I led her toward the old farm

house. As we stepped onto the first steps the screen door opened and a chubby little woman with short

curly hair stepped outside. When she recognized me she grinned. “Good to see you, boy.”

I inclined my head. “Ma’am. This is Harper,” I introduced. “Are we all set?”

“Sure are.” She nodded her head toward the door. “Come on, you two. We’ve been expecting you. The

house has been full of excitement. He knows he’s going home.”

Harper resisted as I pulled her up the steps. “Shane… What’s going on?” she whispered, but I didn’t

answer as I finally just picked her up and carried her into the house.

The inside of the house was just as old and well lived in as the outside was weather worn, but it was

cozy and warm. Welcoming. I followed our hostess to the back of the house, having made the same journey

just two weeks before, alone. By the time she opened the kitchen door Harper was getting irritated with me

and was stabbing me in the chest with her finger to make me put her down.

“Here they are, Ranger. Momma and Daddy are here to take you home.”

Harper’s protests stopped as soon as the words left the old woman’s mouth. Her head snapped around,

looking for Ranger. When she saw him sitting on a bed by the stove, her breath caught and those violet eyes that had captivated me the first time I had met her filled with tears. Carefully I sat her on her feet as Ranger yawned and stretched before climbing to his feet.

The nine-week-old German Shepherd stepped forward and sniffed my feet, wagging his tail with

excitement. I bent to pet him, letting him lick my face. “Hey there, buddy. Ready to go home?”

“Oh my gods,” Harper whispered. “You got me a puppy?”

I grinned. “Well, only if you want him. He’s house trained and pretty spoiled by Mrs. Hash. He’s the last

of her most recent litter. Mrs. Hash and her husband raise them, train them for law enforcement. She made

an exception for me though when I told her we needed a baby to take care of.” Her chin trembled and I

caught her hand, tugging until she knelt down beside me. “What do you think? Should we take him home?”

Her arms wrapped around me so suddenly I fell backwards, taking her with me. “I love you. You know

that? I love you so much. Yes, I want the puppy. I want Ranger.”

Ranger seemed to decide he wanted us too because he joined us on the floor, licking first my face then

Harper’s as he tried to get between us. “Looks like we’re a family.”

Giggling, she pulled the dog against her and kissed his snout. “Yeah. I guess we are.”

Jesse

There were some things you don’t want to see first thing in the morning. Or right after breakfast. Or

before lunch… Okay, fuck it. You don’t want to see it any time of the day—especially when it was seeping

out the sides of my twenty-four-pound, nine-month-old son’s diaper. Oddly enough I hadn’t gotten used to

that smell or disgusting sight in the months I had been changing diapers.

Luca giggled up at me as I gagged and wiped his ass clean. “You are the smelliest boy I have ever met,”

I told him, and he reached for my shirt, fisting his little hand in the material and jabbering at it. “How does that much shit come out of something so small?”

Layla’s laugh filled my ears as she entered the nursery with Lyric, having just finished feeding him his

breakfast. “He’s not so small, Jess. The doctor said that he’s in the ninetieth percentile for his weight and height. No one can get over the fact that the twins were premature.”

I glanced at her over my shoulder as she set Lyric on the second changing table and undid his diaper.

When she made a sound that bordered on a gag of her own, I laughed. “Not so funny when it happens to

you, is it?”

She tossed a bottle of baby powder at me. “Shut up. Seriously, Ric. Where do you keep this stuff?”

I watched her as she dealt with our son who was just as big as his twin. It surprised even me at times

that these two beasts of babies had been born far too early. The day we had brought them home, after more

than two months in the hospital, was one of the happiest days of my life. The joy on Layla’s face alone that day had shined from the inside out.

“Gross, it smells so bad in here.” Lucy stuck her head in the door, making a face at me when she saw

that we were both changing extremely messy diapers. “You need those hazmat suits to deal with them.”

“Hey,” Layla scolded teasingly. “Not nice. These are your brothers, not toxic waste.”

“They smell like they produce toxic waste, Mom. I can’t breathe in here. I’m going over to Aunt

Emmie’s.”

“We’ll be over in a little while,” Layla assured her. “Don’t just sit around, either. Ask her if she needs