“Lorna does what Lorna wants to do. No one stops her.”
The whole thing is so transparent. “She’s doing this as a reaction to what Leith said. He called her a whore so she’s going to behave like one. How soon does the club open?”
“Maybe a month or so, depending upon construction.”
“Then we have time to talk her out of it.”
“Good luck with that. Lorna can be a real hard-ass.” Good thing I’m a bigger one.
“Westlyn and I can talk some sense into her.” We have to.
“Speaking of jobs, I’ve been thinking about mine lately. I’m kicking around the idea of sending someone else to law school to replace me as solicitor,” Sin says.
I like this idea a lot. “I’m all for it.”
“I’m juggling three positions. Husband. Leader. Lawyer. Father to two newborns will soon be added to that list. It’s a lot. My position as leader is growing by leaps and bounds every day. It’s interfering with my role as solicitor for The Fellowship and that’s not beneficial to the brotherhood. But it’s interfering more with my time at home. I think it’s best to head it off now rather than later.”
I know the perfect person to take his place. “I think it’s a wonderful idea. You should offer the position to Linsey. She’s already familiar with the job and she’s driven. She would be great at it.”
“You think?”
Without a doubt. “She’d be an asset to The Fellowship.”
It would be beneficial for the other women to see a female in an important role such as solicitor. It might inspire them to shoot for higher goals.
It doesn’t escape me that all decisions being made now are in preparation for Sin to take over. I’m not ready for that. I don’t want to sour this happy time by thinking about this right now.
I take his hand and pull him toward the door. “I couldn’t choose which color paint I liked best for the nursery so they rolled on samples of my two favorites. We have to choose the one we like best so they can paint tomorrow.”
We examine the samples on the walls of the room our babies will soon occupy. I went with gray, just as I planned. “The one on the right looks too lavender.”
Sin laughs. “They look the same to me. Both gray.”
“One’s more on the purple side while the other is more green.”
He stands behind me and puts his arms around my tummy. Won’t be long until they’re completely stretched to encompass my roundness. “Whatever you say, Bonny.”
My doctor said he wanted me to make it to thirty-seven weeks. That’s thirteen weeks away. Not long. “We’re going to have babies soon.”
“That’s what they keep telling us.”
“Two little people are going to be sleeping in this room in just a few months. They’re going to depend on us for food and shelter and safety. And love. Lots of it.”
“You’re the one they’re going to depend on for food.” Sin pats his chest. “They’ll get nothing from me.”
The thought overwhelms me. “Two babies needing to nurse at the same time. How do you even do that?”
“Two babies. Two breasts. I bet we can figure out something.”
I hear a ringtone in the sea of boxes. “That’s my phone but I have no idea where it is in this mess.”
Sin finds it and passes it to me. I don’t recognize the number. “Hello?”
“Hi, Bleu. It’s Brooke.” The widow of Callum Drummond, one of the brothers killed during a raid on The Order several months ago. “I bet you can guess why I’m calling.”
“Your baby must be coming.”
“Aye. My water broke about an hour ago and I’m already dilated four centimeters.”
I look at Sin with wide eyes. “That’s wonderful. Everything is going well, then?”
“They say it is, but I’m scared and alone. I know it’s a lot to ask––and I’ll completely understand if you can’t––but I’d love for you to come to the hospital to be with me.”
I’ve spoken with Brooke on several occasions since Sin’s swearing-in but I was not expecting to be asked to attend her baby’s delivery.
Sin vowed to personally take responsibility for Callum’s family. He died by Sin’s side. As Sin’s wife, the duty falls to me if Callum’s widow needs someone to be with her while she gives birth. I can’t tell her no.
“Of course I’ll come. I’ll be there within the hour.”
I end the call and look at Sin. “Brooke is alone. She asked me to come be with her.”
He looks as surprised as I feel. “Is that a good idea? It might make you want to back out of having these two.”
“Ha-ha. Very funny.”
I’m not sure I need to see all of that so close to my own delivery. “There must be dozens of women she could’ve asked. Why me?”
“The women of The Fellowship adore you. I’m sure she considers it an honor to have the wife of her leader attend the birth of her child.”
Maybe, but it still feels weird. “She has no immediate family?”
“No. She and Callum were both orphaned when they were children.”
And now she doesn’t even have her husband. It must be horrible for her. “She has no one.”
“Not true. She has her Fellowship family. We’ll always be here for her.”
There’s one very honorable thing about The Fellowship. They take care of their own.
I need to change. I can’t go to the hospital wearing a T-shirt and yogas. “Will you call Sterling while I get dressed?”
“You can’t go to the hospital alone. I’m going with you.”
“What will you do while I’m with her? I’m sure it’ll be hours.”
“I’ll sit in the waiting room. I can catch up on reading since I haven’t had as much time for that lately.” He waggles his brows at me.
“Her water is broken and she’s four centimeters so maybe it won’t be a long time.”
“The pregnancy book says normal progress is a centimeter an hour for a first-time mother. We should be looking at a delivery about three in the morning.”
I guess he would know. I swear he’s a walking, talking pregnancy encyclopedia. And I think it could possibly make him even hotter.
* * *
“Thank you for coming, Bleu. Ye’ll never know what it means to me that ye’ll be here for the birth of my daughter.”
My heart melts. “Ah! A baby girl! Have you chosen a name yet?”
“I still don’t know. I decided it would come to me when I look at her face.”
“I’m sure it will.” Maybe that’s what Sin and I should do since we can’t seem to agree on anything.
“Do ye have names for yer babies yet?”
“We have a few we’re thinking about but nothing definite.”
“Still haven’t found out what they are?”
“It’s a mystery.”
“I don’t know how ye can stand not knowing, especially with two of them.”
It’s really not been that difficult. “I was forced to learn patience at an early age.”
Brooke grabs her abdomen and begins breathing deeply. “Another one already. They’re coming much closer.”
She’s hurting so I think it’s safe to assume she doesn’t have an epidural. “Nothing for pain?”
“Don’t need it. Women have been having babies forever without anesthesia. I can too.”
Baby number one was breech on the last sonogram. Of course there’s time for him or her to turn but as it currently stands, it looks like the only anesthesia choice I’ll get is spinal versus going to sleep for a C-section.
“Have they checked you for dilation since you called?”
“Aye. Up to six.”
That’s two centimeters in an hour. “You’re making great progress.”
“I know. The nurses are a little concerned about how much bleeding I’m having.”
She needs reassurance. “I‘m sure they’ll keep a close watch on it.”
“Where’s Sinclair?”
br />
“In the waiting room.”
She’s beaming. “I’m so grateful ye came to be with me. Thank ye.”
“You’re family. We want to take care of you.”
Four hours after my arrival, the doctor places a screaming baby girl on Brooke’s chest. She’s wrinkly and bloody, looking around through squinted eyes. Simply beautiful.
“Oh, look at her, Bleu. I can’t believe she’s finally here. I think she’s the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen.”
“She is lovely.”
Brooke strokes the top of her head. “She has Callum’s dark hair. I was so sure she’d take after me and have bright red.”
“Think of it as a nice reminder of your husband when you look at her.”
“I hope she looks like him.”
Five minutes pass. Ten. Thirty and Brooke’s placenta hasn’t delivered. I’m not sure that’s normal.
“We’ve given it plenty of time,” her doctor says. “It should have released on its own so I’m going to remove it by hand. The nurses are going to take yer baby to the nursery now.”
No way that’s going to feel good without an epidural and after having a seven-pound baby pass through. “You can hold my hand if you’d like.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t want to hurt ye.”
I remember the way Harry would talk to me when a nurse would poke me with an IV. “Just breathe. In deep and out slow. Try to not tense up. It’ll be over in a minute.”
But it’s not. The extraction is becoming more aggressive. And bloodier. I’ve never seen so much blood in all my life.
Brooke’s yelling. She’s no longer tolerating the pain. It’s too much for her.
The doctor sighs. “Even manually, I can’t get it to deliver. The only option we have is to take ye into surgery to remove it.”
Her eyes grow large. “I’ve never had surgery before.”
I move out of the way so the nurses can prepare Brooke. She’s frightened. It’s my job to calm her. “It’ll be fine. They do this every day.”
“Ye have to promise ye’ll take care of my baby if I die.” This is fear talking.
“You aren’t going to die. All they’re going to do is put you to sleep and take the placenta out. It’s not a life-threatening procedure. The doctor is going to take wonderful care of you.”
“My baby has no one if I don’t make it. I need ye to promise ye’ll take care of her for me.”
Another thing I can’t say no to. “Of course I will, if the need arises. But it won’t. You’re going to be fine.”
The staff comes in to take her to the OR. “Dream up a great name for her while you’re snoozing. She’ll need one soon.”
Brooke grins. “I’ll do that.”
I go to the waiting room to sit with Sin while Brooke is in surgery. “That was intense.”
“Then the baby’s here?”
“Yes. A girl. Seven pounds, eight ounces. Nineteen inches long.”
“Mom and baby are both well?”
“Baby’s fine, but Brooke had to go to the OR for the doctor to remove the afterbirth. She’s never had surgery so the poor thing was scared to death. Made me promise I’d take care of the baby if she died.”
“Damn. That is some serious fear when you start saying things like that.”
“I know.” I feel so sorry for her.
I lean over and place my head on Sin’s shoulder. Between the move into the new house and being here five hours past my bedtime, I’m exhausted. “You predicted three o’clock. She delivered at 2:12. Not bad.”
He wraps his arms round me and pulls me close. “I should have made some kind of bet with you.”
“I wouldn’t have bet against you. You’ve done too much research on this pregnancy stuff for me to ever think I know more.” I yawn. “Sorry.”
“Close your eyes. Take a nap if you’re able. I’ll wake you when Brooke’s out of surgery.”
He doesn’t have to tell me twice.
Chapter Twenty
Sinclair Breckenridge
“You’re with Mrs. Drummond?”
“Aye.”
I nudge Bleu’s shoulder. “Wake up, Bonny. Doctor’s here.”
Bleu straightens in her seat. She pushes her hair from her face. “Everything went all right with Brooke?”
The doctor sighs before beginning. Uh-oh. That typically isn’t a good precursor. “There were some unforeseen complications.”
“But she’s okay?”
“Mrs. Drummond had an undiagnosed placenta percreta. That’s a condition where the baby’s placenta grows deeply into the muscle of the uterus. The degree was extensive. The placenta had grown into her organs. Her bladder was nearly taken over by it. I’ve never seen a worse case.”
He said undiagnosed. Shouldn’t they have seen something like that on her ultrasound?
“How do you treat that?”
“Hysterectomy and corrective surgery for the involved organs. I called a general surgeon to assist but Mrs. Drummond had excessive bleeding in the meantime. That blood loss led her body to develop a condition where the blood clots abnormally. The disorder resulted in the formation of a life-threatening clot. I’m very sorry. She didn’t survive.”
“No.” Bleu dissolves into a sobbing mess in my arms.
“I’m so sorry. Do you know if Mrs. Drummond has family we should notify?”
“No. She was a widow and her parents and in-laws have been dead for years. We are her only family.”
“Our social worker won’t be in until the morning, but she’ll need to speak to you in regards to the baby and the handling of the body.”
“Of course.”
The doctor leaves and Bleu sits upright. “That poor woman. She was terrified and I told her not to be because they did procedures like this every day. I convinced her everything would be fine. And she believed me.”
“Then you did your job well.”
“I didn’t. I think she knew she was going to die. She made me promise I’d raise her baby if she didn’t make it through the surgery.”
“Bonny. We can’t take her baby.”
“I promised her I would.”
“Surely you don’t think the hospital is going to hand her over to us. We have no claim on her. The legal system isn’t going to recognize her as a child of The Fellowship and allow us to have her.”
“You’re a lawyer. A damn good one at finding ways to bend the law. Even if it’s not us who takes her, I’m certain you can find a way to keep her within The Fellowship.”
“I don’t know family law.”
“Then learn it fast. Because we aren’t allowing that baby to go to anyone outside of The Fellowship. She’s one of us, so she stays within the circle. It’s what Brooke would want. Otherwise she wouldn’t have asked me to take her.”
* * *
My wife is very good at getting what she wants. Probably better at it than I am.
Bleu stands over the bassinet intended for our children, rocking Brooke and Callum’s baby. “I never imagined we’d become foster parents before we became parents to our own children.”
When we bought this house, I pictured us bringing our babies home to it. Not someone else’s. But Bleu was adamant. No strangers in the foster care system were taking this baby.
We had to jump through a lot of legal hoops but we managed to be granted temporary custody of the baby until the case goes to family court. That means we have to find a family to adopt her before the proceedings are heard by a judge.
Bleu’s eyes are a little too dreamy so I feel the need to remind her again that she shouldn’t develop too much of a fondness for this child. “Don’t get attached.”
“I’m not. I understand this is temporary until we can choose a family for her.”
We have to work on that immediately. It isn’t wise to let Bleu spend too much time with Brooke’s daughter. “I’m going to set up interviews for Friday with all couples who are interested.” Bleu isn’t listening to me. “Di
d you hear what I said?”
“I’m sorry. What?”
“I said I’m going to have all the interested couples come so we can interview them. We’ll stagger the appointments on Friday.”
“How many do you suppose there will be?”
Infertility isn’t something every husband and wife would choose to make public within The Fellowship. “I’m not sure. There are a few couples who’ve been married for several years and have not had children. That could be by choice, so I have no idea how much interest there will be.”
“We have to call her something. It, her, the baby, she—not working anymore. She needs a proper name.”
Choosing a name for her probably isn’t the best idea. It’ll only deepen what Bleu feels for her, but she’s right. We can’t continue calling her “the baby.” “Do you have a suggestion?”
“Brooke was going to choose her name when she looked at her. She said it would come to her based on her looks. To me, she looks like a Lourdes.”
I like it very much. “Very pretty.”
“But it’s not Scottish.”
“Doesn’t have to be. And it probably won’t be her permanent name anyway. Whoever adopts her will want to give her a name of their choosing.”
“I know. So I guess for now, Lourdes it is.”
“Is it a name you had chosen for us to use if one of the twins is a girl?”
“I had considered it.”
“Are you sure you want to use it for her? That means we can’t give it to our daughter.”
“We don’t know that we’re getting a girl.” Bleu caresses the baby’s cheek with the back of her hand. “I want her to have it. It suits her.”
We have to find a family for this baby soon. I can’t let Bleu become too attached. It’ll cause her too much pain when she has to let her go.
* * *
The third couple we interview is barely out the front door when Bleu rejects them too. “I don’t think they’re right for Lourdes.”
Finding parents for this baby isn’t going well. “You don’t think anyone is right for her.”