Page 68 of The Stepbrother 2: Noah

I woke up to the sound of beeping machines and the smell of antiseptics. My memories immediately started replaying in my head. Noah had been arrested. I went into labor. The beeping machines, I soon realized, were tethered to me.

My eyelids fluttered open, heavy and reluctant, as they adjusted to the sterile brightness of the room. The faces of everyone I loved came into view. Why was everybody looking so sad?

“What happened?” My voice sounded foreign, even to my own ears, as I broke the silence. Everyone's eyes shifted uncomfortably, looking at everything but me. Momma was the first to speak. The flood of information she gave me was overwhelming. It took me a minute to decipher everything she told me, and another to make sense of it all. Noah had been in jail the entire time, and I had been in a coma for three weeks, teetering on the brink, battling for my life after a placental abruption. I had survived, but my baby, the tiny life growing inside of me, didn’t make it. The grief was instantaneous, a sharp, gut-wrenching pain that felt as if it was tearing me apart from the inside.

Then someone was shaking me. Shaking me so much I felt woozy. The sound of a crying baby jolted me awake, and I instinctively reached out. My eyes popped open and landed on Noah, his face wide-eyed and filled with worry. How was he here when a minute ago I was told he was in prison? And whose baby was crying?

"Wake up. Meet our daughter, Creed," he said softly.

It took a moment for his words to register, for the fog of my dream—or nightmare—to clear. The realization that it had all been a dream, a terrifying look into another reality, left me feeling profoundly grateful.

My heart slowed.

“How long was I out?” I asked.

“Two hours. You pushed one, big time, our daughter slid out, and you fell right to sleep.”

I didn’t remember any of it.

Noah drew my attention back. “Meet our daughter. She’s already as loud as her mother and grandmother.” He chuckled. “I sent everyone down to the cafeteria; you’ve got an hour alone before the circus breaks out,” he added, placing my tiny, wriggling daughter into my arms. Black hair and dark eyes were the first things I noticed, then her tiny fingers and lips. Her skin was a shade darker than mine. "Shh, baby girl," I whispered, instinctively rocking her.

Noah stood at the end of the bed, staring at me with a goofy grin on his face.

“Why aren’t you in jail?” I whispered.

Noah's grin softened into a smile filled with relief. "Because I was never supposed to be in jail. Months ago, I asked someone I knew who had access to federal data to run my name, to make sure there was nothing illegal tied to me. Coincidentally, dear Grandpa and Grandma were trying to have me arrested. They reported that I was a gun runner. They’d had someone investigating me for months. My name had been mentioned in association with some bad people a few times. They had pictures of me with those bad people that they have the ATF. There wasnothing to worry about, which is why I didn’t tell you. My lawyer was handling it, but some overzealous ATF agent found out who I was and thought he could make a name for himself by arresting the son-in-law of Scarlett Rose and the son of Wolfgang Engel. Now he doesn’t have a job at all, and I might show up at his home and wave a gun in his family's face,” he said, sounding and looking very serious.

I shook my head. “Noah, please leave well enough alone.”

Noah’s expression softened. Just then, the door opened, and the nurse walked in to inform us that our daughter needed some tests. Reluctantly, I handed her over.

I immediately went back to the subject at hand “I mean it, Noah. Do not do anything stupid.

Noah shook his head. "I know, I know," he sighed. "It’s just… after everything we've been through, the thought of someone trying to take me away from you, from her," his gaze drifted to the door, "it stirs something crazy in me."

“Oh Lord. Where’s my daddy? I’m going to have to tell him to watch you because I don’t believe you aren’t going to do anything. . That little vein in your neck is going crazy. Are you taking your meds? I will tell my momma to make sure you do if I have to, and you know how she is. Do you want her treating you like she treats Daddy about his meds? We need to focus on the here and now, Noah. Don’t go messing with that man.”

“You’re going to tattle on me to your parents? Creed, you know they’ll probably plot with me, not against me.” He laughed, then grew serious again.

Moving closer, he sat on the edge of the bed. He reached out, gently stroking my cheek. “Thank you, Creed, for everything. I never saw myself in a position where I’d feel worthy of love,of affection.” Tears sparkled in his eyes. “I promise I won’t do anything to mess it up.” Noah’s phone rang, interrupting our moment.

“Answer it,” I told him when he hesitated.

He frowned after a few seconds of listening to the caller. “Creed, your mother wants to know if she can have a second to talk to you alone.”

I readily agreed. He told her so, and she immediately came into the room as he left to give us privacy.

She was Scarlett Rose in all her Scarlett Rosiness, wearing a tight band T-shirt that showed off her waist, ripped jeans, and a pair of white and beige Jordans on her feet. I remembered when she would buy me every pair of shoes she got herself. I missed those days.

She rubbed my forehead, pushing my hair back. She started with a whisper. “I wanted to talk to you.” She paused to clear her throat, then began again. “I know we aren’t on the best of terms, but I thank you for letting me be here to see my first grandchild being born. I love DJ with all my heart, but he’s not of my flesh. He won’t look at me and search my face for familiarity. Your daughter will. And I hate myself for being the reason I almost missed the moment.” She burst into tears. “I was so scared I would be turned away. And I would have deserved it. I was a terrible mother when I had the means and know-how to do better. I’m sorry.”

I reached out, taking her hand in mine. “Momma, you shouldn’t hate yourself. You navigated life the best way you knew how, and I was mad, but I was never going to really cut you off forever. Especially after I got pregnant and realized life is hard when you have to figure out how to take care of someone elsebesides yourself. I don’t even want to rehash any of it unless it’s in counseling.” I was tired of missing my parents, of being angry and sad. I was willing to forgive and forget.

Momma leaned in, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “I’m here for you, Creed. Whatever it takes.”

Momma and I talked until Noah brought everyone in. Besides Daddy and Wolfgang, Tempest, Demarco, and Lyfe were there. Demarco and Tempest didn’t stay long but promised to come back.

Noah, after everyone had greeted me with hugs, kisses, and flowers, came over and retook his place at my side. He reached for my hand, squeezing it gently. "I heard what you said to your mother," he said, a soft smile playing on his lips. "I’m proud of you. I wil—"

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