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.”