Fighting to Stay (Fighting Madly Book 2) (29 page)

“Camera better be ready, Reed,” Dr. Lewis interrupts.

“Is that—”

A loud cry crashes through the room.

Dr. Lewis lifts our baby over the curtain. Our huge-ass baby over it, and I press that stupid button at rapid speed, not missing a beat of this moment.

“Ten fingers, and ten toes. One heck of a set of lungs on him.”

He hands him over to nurses. I’m stuck with a choice to stay with Hads, or with our child. Fucking first decision of a parent and already a wrong one.

“It’s okay, go with him, Reed. Go with our boy.”

The stool slides out from under me as I climb, my legs wobbling, and I drift to the screams bellowing out of my son’s mouth. Our son. My eyes land on him, full of blood and yuckiness covering his whole body, and his face vaguely looks like he could be actually from an alien.

Yet he’s here.

Half me and half Hads. And I’ve never wanted to pound my chest and scream at the top of my lungs more.

My girl was always sexy, hot as shit. But her holding our baby in her arms is fucking beautiful.

“You ready for the crowds to feast?” Hads questions. She’s dead tired, but her face beams.

“Not really, I want a little more time with just us. The three of us.”

“It’s going to happen whether we say it or not. Either we open the door, or they kick it down.”

“Like fuck they will.”

“Watch your language, Daddy.”

“Daddy, I think I need to be his Pops. Daddy doesn’t sounds like me. And he better get used to it. Those words have been in my vocabulary for as long as I can remember, and I turned out all right,” I say, a smirk plastered on my face. I sent a text to Hads’s family seconds ago.

“I beg to differ about you turning out all right.”

Hads’s whole family, Lance, Courtney, Laura, Bash, and James burst through the door, the room filling with the crazy people. Everyone we love is here. All wanting to get a look at my son. I glue my sights on my son, being passed around by all these fuckers like a hot potato. He’s going to be safe. No one will drop him, everyone will wash their hands before they touch him or hold his neck wrong on my watch.

My arm drops on Hads’s shoulder then her hand comes up, her tender touch settling my nerves. “We should probably tell them his name since we kept in under lock and key.”

“What’s the fun in that when they haven’t asked yet?”

“Reed, do it. Grab the attention of the room.”

“Hey, hey, calm down.” My loud voice booms against the walls. “We gathered you all here today.” Hads pinches the skin in my hand, fucking hard. “All joking aside. Our son, all nine pounds twelve ounces, was born this very afternoon, and we figured you wanted to hear a name. Which the new hot mom is going to tell you.”

Hads’s hold tightens on my shirt, pulling me down to her level, terror on that face of hers. “I’m going to lose it.”

“You’re not.”

Courtney places our son in Hads’s arms and her fingers drift over his sleeping face. “We had a hard time with names. Reed wanted to make sure no one could pick on him, and we both wanted something with meaning, not just something picked out in a baby book. At first, we were going to name him something that means faith because of one of the last conversations with Mom, but we didn’t need to remember our faith anymore because of this.” Hads peers down, so much emotion written on every line in her own face. “He is our faith now. So after many Google searches and nights fighting not to
fight
over names, we picked out the perfect one for him: Owen Jace Collins. Owen means young warrior, a fighter like his dad; Jace means Moon to go with his sister Astra in heaven; and well, Collins because I won’t be a Thomas much longer.”

I peer around and there’s not a dry eye in this room. There’s Hads’s family—who have also become mine after all the shit we went through—my friends who became hers, and that damn James who I put up with because killing him would’ve hurt my girl. They will all watch over Owen. He will fucking never know what it’s liked not to be fucking loved, not a damn clue what it’s like not to have someone want the best for him.

It’s damn near out of this world.

Hadley is my one person, the one designed just for fucking me.

Our hellos, our ugly-ass goodbyes.

Like a clock that ticks off beat,
our
time was off by fucking years.

But we got here, in this damn moment.

It brought Owen to us in this very spot.

Now that shit is right on time.

My dress, my perfect blush-rose wedding dress—which I had to squeeze my body into—the strings drawn tight on my back causing my breaths to come up short. My hair pinned to the side, curls drape over my shoulder, and I’m on constant motion to settle my nerves.

This needs to hurry up, I’m ready to marry him.

I peer out the window to the people waiting just above the line of trees, all in the glass chapel ready for our lone minutes turned to hours, hours morphed to months, and months flashed to years, but the day has come for my dream to become my reality. To become Reed’s wife. Almost a decade in the making, tears, laughs, and memories to get here. But we’re here.

Ready to cross over the next bridge.

My reality.

Ours.

My father walks in the room, places three wrapped presents down, and the silence lingers between us as he stares at every inch of me. He clears his throat, a soft grin forming on his face. “Baby girl…wow… I mean, I’m speechless.”

“Does the dress look okay?”

One nod and my father gathers me into his arms. “It’s perfect, truly. Are you nervous? If you don’t want to get married, I’ll sneak you out.”

“Nope, Reed is it, and strange, but no second thought nerves. Just anxious nerves to get to it. It’s been too damn long in the making. But I wish Mom was here. I had a hard time getting dressed because, well…”

His hand lifts up my chin and the tears cascade down his face. “Hadley Marie, she is. With every step down that aisle, she’s with you, and umm, one minute.”

He bends down and places the largest box in my hands. My lips part and my heart seems to freeze. My fingers graze over my mother’s delicate handwriting. “Daddy, what is this?”

“Something your mother did when she knew she wouldn’t be here for you. Open it.” He steps back, his hands to his sides, and his face so torn between joy for me and sadness for missing his wife today.

My fingers carefully remove the tape, savoring every second of the last present my mother has given me. I open the box, and in it lays an old pair of ivory ballet slippers with crystals over the top. And an envelope with my name on it lays over them. My hands shake as I open it. My stomach quakes because my mother’s handwriting is still fresh like she just wrote it yesterday, instead of when she was riddled with cancer.

My precious Hadley,

The time has come for you to walk down the aisle. I’m not sure to who or when that time is. But let me give you a few words of wisdom I have learned being married more than half my life. Marriage is beautiful and stressful, and sometimes, that same person you love more than life, you could also smother with a pillow. It’s in those times you must remember the great, soak up all the good. Because when those bad times hit—and they will, baby girl—you are going to need the light times to bring you through it. And live through the mundane day-to-day things. It’s life and love. And the best gift we can get.

And you, Hadley Marie Thomas, are one of the three best things to happen to me. It was a pleasure to be your mother, raise you, and watch you grow. I’m beyond proud of you.

I hope you have your “something blue,” “something new,” but I wanted you to have these as your “something old.” They aren’t high end, or made from the best Italian designer. I bought them at a thrift store the day before I married your father. I know, I know, your mother wore these, and not to mention they aren’t heels. But we had no money and I wanted fancy shoes, so these are the ones I found.

I so unbelievably wish I was there to help you pin your hair or tie your dress or hold your hand when those nerves of yours get overwhelming, but sadly I am not. And I’m sorry for that.

Yet I want to able to walk with you down the aisle, and this is the only chance I’ll have to do it.

Enjoy this day, and don’t you dare ruin your makeup with those tears from this. It was meant to be a happy thing, not a sad one. You hear me? Or I’ll have to call in some favors and make it rain on your big day.

Love you to the moon and back!!

Mom

PS. If it’s not Reed you’re marrying, you need to do a double check on this marriage thing.

“
Daddy…did you…did you know about this?” My eyes are already drained from the tears. My mother gave me this gift on one of the days I would miss her most.

“I may have.”

“I’m scared to find out what’s in the other two.”

“Nah. Don’t be, one is from me—nothing too special, just your ‘something blue’ your mother made me promise to make sure you got. Just in case you forgot.” He bends down, picking one of the other presents from the chair. I take it from his hands, and just as carefully, I open it. And a stunning pair of deep-blue sapphire earrings dangle in the box.

“Oh, daddy. Thank you
so, so, so
much! They match my engagement ring to a T.” I stand on my tiptoes and press a kiss on his cheek.

My father’s face turns a deep red from my praise. He shakes it off. “Yep. Sarah and Courtney helped pick them out for me. I’m going to head out for a few, get some air before I have to hand over my baby girl and he just plucks you away.” He squeezes me tight before leaving me alone.

I sit down then place the slippers on my feet. They fit me like a glove. I stretch my legs out. The light from the outside dances off the crystals. One day I will have a daughter, either adoptive or biological, and I will pass them on to her, along with the note and the strong meaning behind them. I always said it means the world to me, but never once did something take hold as well as this.

I rise to my feet, and each step feels like walking on air. It’s bittersweet, knowing I’m walking in the same shoes my mother did. Certainly big shoes to fill.

“What are you doing?”

“Shit, Reed, you aren’t supposed to see me.” My arms fly up, trying to hide my dress from his view.

He takes slow and steady steps toward me, so devilishly handsome in his black, button-up shirt, and red tie. “I couldn’t have the first time I saw you in this be with all those fuckers around. Wouldn’t want to hold myself back from getting my hands on you. Probably bad wedding shit to rip off the dress with guests around.” Reed’s hands meet my hips, gathering me against him.

“Who is taking care of Owen?”

He pinches his eyebrows together. “Who doesn’t want to hold a six-month-old bad-ass in a three-piece suit?”

“You’re having him passed around so you can get laid?”

“Nah, I’m not that big of a pig, just wanted to scare the shit out of you. Don’t worry, Sarah and Laura have their eyes on him. Now stop all this mindless chatter and let me get down to business about the reason I’m here.”

I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and grin up at him. Leave it to Reed to break tradition to get laid before the wedding night. Yet I can’t even pretend to be mad at him for doing it because him in a suit, and those tattoos peeking out of his sleeves and neck, does wild things to my insides. “And what would that certain business be?”

“Why, to fuck my beautiful bride up against that wall before my dick breaks in these pants. But first, I want to give you my present.”

“Is that what the other present is that my dad had? It’s not going to make me cry, right?”

“Who knows with you?” He drops one hand from my waist, picks up the box, and shoves it in my hands. “Now this is from Owen and me, and no, your dad doesn’t know I’m up here.”

This time, I pay no attention to the wrapping and rip it as fast as my fingers can move, the pieces of paper falling to the floor. I’m stunned as the small, red box lies in my hands and Reed pops open the top for me.

“Reed…what did you do? This…” I stare up at him, my face has to be beaming with a lifetime of love, happiness, and contentment. My heart overfills with emotions.

“I never said I didn’t do all this romance shit.”

“This will never be taken off.”

Reed takes the necklace out of the box, then turns me around and hooks it behind my neck. My fingers slide all around the charms, a sparrow, a moon, and a star. They are the things that mean the most to me. “It’s perfect.” I twist my neck, kissing him dead on the lips. My heart beats feverishly against my chest.

“You can thank me now.”

“That I can do. But we only have ten minutes till you have to be waiting for me.”

“Quality over quantity babe. And my quality is the shit.” He pushes me up against the wall and crashes his lips to mine.

“May I have this dance, Mrs. Collins?” Reed reaches down, holding out his hand for me to take.

“You certainly may, Mr. Collins.”

“Don’t call me that shit. Mister is for someone not cool like me.”

We move along, dancing across the makeshift floor outside, and the stars shine bright down on us. “Tonight’s been magical, Reed. Really, thank you for making this come true.”

“I always said if you wanted to get married on the fucking moon, I would make it happen.” The light shines on his wedding band just right, making it glitter. And never did a piece of jewelry look so good on someone. Now I know why he is always kissing mine.

“It’s not the moon, but pretty damn close.” I lay my head on his shoulder, glancing around at the loved ones around us. Laura, Gus, Courtney, Lance, and James all laughing at the date Matt brought. My father has Owen on his lap, making funny faces at him. Sarah and Mark are lost in their own moment. Jadon and Gracie are moving to their own beat next to them.

Everyone here, all of these people that helped us along the way.