“What?” he rasps.
“Car accident. She died and...”
He shakes his head. “No,” he rasps. “I saw her...only twelve months ago.”
“I’m sorry, Mack.”
“She fuckin’ left me,” he roars. “She left me twelve months ago, and I couldn’t fuckin’ find her...now here you are tellin’ me she’s dead?”
Oh no. This isn’t good.
“She left because...she left because...” she looks down at the child and it clicks. Oh no. Uh oh. “She was pregnant.”
Mack actually takes a few steps back, his hand pressing to his heart. “You’re lying...”
Tracy shakes her head. “She was scared. She didn’t think you would stick around...things were rocky between the two of you. She was going to tell you, after he was born she started looking for you, but...there was an accident and...”
“No!” Mack bellows.
I walk past Tracy, carefully approaching Mack.
“Don’t fuckin’ come near me!” he roars.
Oh shit.
“She did up a will...she made it clear what she wanted to happen to Diesel if something was to take her...”
Diesel. That’s Maddox’s middle name.
“What did you call him?” Mack breathes, panting.
“She called him Diesel after your brother. She knew how much you loved Maddox and...”
“No!” Mack roars again.
She turns the baby over, showing his face. God he couldn’t be more than a few months old, the poor little thing. There’s no missing it though, even at this young age. He’s got a mop of dark hair, the brownest eyes I’ve ever seen, and his skin is a gorgeous light olive. That is a mini Mack...no doubt. God, he’s beautiful.
I turn slowly to Mack and he’s staring at the baby, panting so hard his body is shaking.
“That ain’t my kid...”
“It is...and you need to take him, Miakoda. You’re all he’s got left. You know it was only Ingrid and I...we don’t have anyone else who can take him.”
“You take him,” Mack says, his voice frantic.
“You know I can’t...I have four kids and I’m struggling. I can’t give him the life he needs. She wanted you to have him, please don’t make me send your son out for adoption.”
“No,” Mack says, his hands on his head.
He backs up towards his bike.
“No.”
“Mack,” I say.
“NO!”
He turns and paces towards his bike, getting on. It roars to life and he disappears. Shit. I turn to Tracy, who has tears running down her cheeks. Dammit. I walk over, placing a hand on her shoulder. Ash and Pippa are at the door, watching the whole thing go down, silent.
“It’s okay,” I soothe. “I promise it’ll be okay.”
“I can’t take him with me,” she sobs. “He needs to be with his dad.”
“He will be, I promise you that. Mack will come around – he will.”
She turns to me, dark blue eyes scanning my face. “Are you his girlfriend?”
“No,” I say quickly. “I’m Santana...I’m with Maddox.”
She nods. “I’ve heard of you...”
“It’ll be okay,” I assure her, even though I’m not sure it will.
“I have to go and...” she stares down at Diesel. “I can’t take him.”
“I can take him,” I offer.
“If Miakoda doesn’t accept him... I can’t just leave him if he won’t accept him, and...”
“What choice have you got?” I say softly. “If you take him you’re going to have to take him straight to an adoption center. You leave him here; we have the chance to bring Mack around. I promise you, Tracy, right here and now...I won’t let anything happen to him.”
She studies me, really studies me. “You’ll take care of him?”
“He’s my nephew, in a sense, so yes. I promise you no harm will come to him. If Mack refuses to accept him, I’ll make sure he goes to the most loving home, but not before I do everything in my power to keep him with us.”
“Santana,” Ash says from behind me.
I turn and stare at her. “He’s family, Ash. We’re taking him.”
Facing Tracy again, I say. “I promise you.”
Tracy is crying heavily now, God the poor woman. I can’t help it; I pull her in for a hug. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“She was all I had left,” she sobs. “The only family I had...now she’s gone, and...”
“It’s going to be okay.”
“This baby was her life, I can’t bear to see him left without a family, too.”
“He won’t be, I’ll do everything I can to make sure of that.”
And I will. There’s no way I’ll just let Mack run from this, and if he does then I’ll find someone who will give this little baby the love he deserves. We’re a family now, all of us, the entire club...this little man is a part of that.
Tracy, sobbing, lowers her face and kisses the baby. My heart breaks.
“Can I...can you please let me know what happens?”
“Of course,” I whisper, my emotions getting the better of me.
“And...maybe I can visit...bring my kids to see him.”
“Of course.”
She nods, tears still running down her cheeks. “I would have taken him, but...I can barely feed my kids...it’s not fair.”