Page 32 of Until Waverly

I nodded.

“Do you know what that means, son?” Mack Sr. asked.

I let my head fall back on my shoulders. My gaze took in the expansive night sky blotted by streetlamps and the flash of emergency vehicle light bars. Not to mention the media floodlights.

“Son?” Mack Sr. hedged. This time, he gained my full attention. “Do you know what that implies?”

“Yeah. It indicates when my daughter is released, it won’t be me who goes and gets her. Chances are, I won’t be able to see Waverly either.” I snorted. “Seems Waverly had it all figured out.”

I wasn’t sure which one cut me deeper. Even if I’d been given an option, how the fuck did I choose? I’d already lost four months of Alandria’s life. Did another day or two matter? Seeing Waverly after her surgery might not be the best option. I didn’t know shit about medicine, but what I realized—thanks in part to TV—was that the patients shouldn’t be stressed out. It delayed their recovery or some shit like that.

Sarah Jane laid a comforting hand on my forearm. “Mack and I’ve been talking. We think it might be best after I retrieve Alandria, you take her back to Waverly’s apartment. Get her settled and back into her home, where she’s most comfortable. I’ll go up and be with Waverly for tonight. Then once they fully open the hospital, her father will join me. Does that work for you?”

Thankfully, I wouldn’t have to make a choice. Waverly’s parents had decided for me. I appreciated them doing so.

“Where does she live?” I said, ignoring the clench of pain in my heart at the emptiness she’d left behind.

Sarah Jane smiled. Not for the first time in the handful of hours we’d waited, her kindness made me miss my mom so acutely. “I’ve been there. I can show you were she lives.”

“I’ll do it.” They left me standing there until Cobi came back out. Hopefully, he had better news for us. “Just send me the address.”

“Waverly was taken into surgery about twenty minutes ago. According to what I was told, they’ve speculated she’ll be in recovery in about two hours.”

“Thank you, Cobi,” Mack Sr. said. “We appreciate your hard work.”

Cobi nodded. “They’ve allowed all hospital personnel to sign out their children from the daycare.” He looked at Sarah Jane. “If you want to come with me, I’ll escort you in and out so you can pick up Alandria.”

“Yes, please,” she stated before following Cobi into the hospital, leaving the rest of us behind.

To wait yet again.

My eyes remained glued to the door as Sarah Jane and Cobi slipped through. They’d only be gone for ten minutes, yet it felt like a fucking lifetime. Ireland appeared on my right, Hunter on my left, and Landon behind me. They were eager to see the baby too. Bond with her, even. But now, they were simply giving me their support.

I appreciated the hell out of it. Fatigue swamped me. Today had been a roller coaster from hell. Eventually, it had to end.

Cobi reappeared, holding the door open for Sarah Jane. My gaze was steady on the car seat the man was holding. It looked empty. Waverly’s mom hurried out the entrance next, carrying a bundled-up lump in her arms.

My heart squeezed. Palms were sweaty.

Sarah Jane’s eyes found mine, and with no hesitation, she walked directly to me. I had to give this woman credit. She could’ve taken Alandria to Mack Sr. or even Macey. She didn’t though. Instead, she bypassed them all, bringing my daughter to my waiting embrace.

With shaking hands and emotions I couldn’t name welling up within me, I pulled the blanket back, revealing the baby’s head. Ireland gasped beside me. I smiled like a crazy fucking idiot while staring at her curly tufts of red hair the same color as mine and Ireland’s. Sarah Jane shifted her, turning her to face me.

Alandria’s eyes lazily opened. Hazel-blue. The green flecks were distributed around her irises in a beautiful pattern, making them a perfect combination of Waverly and me. Alandria glanced around, then closed her eyes again before snuggling into her grandmother.

Having now seen my daughter, no one could doubt I was her father. I didn’t need a damn paternity test. Sure, they might assume Alandria belonged to Ireland. However, her hair and eyes were an exact match for Waverly and me.

“She’s gorgeous,” Ireland murmured with a loving sigh.

I couldn’t agree more.

My sister was holding back. She vibrated next to me, no doubt wanting to embrace her niece, but she waited. If anyone was holding my daughter first, it was me. After all this time, I deserved to bond with my little girl.

“May I?” I asked Sarah Jane.

Thanks to Mack Junior-Junior, I knew how to hold a baby, and had no fear of taking my daughter from Sarah Jane once she nodded. Alandria snuggled right into the crook of my arm, resting her head on my shoulder like she’d done it every day in her short life. My heart burst with love. The weight of her slight body in my grasp settled me instantly. The pains in my stomach were gone. My headache eased. The powers of a baby weren’t quantifiable. The click of Ireland’s camera on her phone drew my attention, and I smiled, even though I knew I looked like shit warmed over. Right now, I felt like a million bucks.

I also owed my sister an apology for mouthing off like I had earlier.

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