Page 133 of Starting Over

“Really? Will I still be sexy when I’m puking every hour of the fucking day? Will I still be sexy when I am too fucking fat to tie my own shoes? Will I still be sexy when I drag you to the doctor to have your balls cut off?”

I swallowed hard at the last question. “Baby, why would you—”

“Hell, we’ve got two fucking doctors here, let’s cut them off now. Where’s the drunk one? I want it to fucking hurt,” she said, looking around the room for Bane.

Why he was still here we had no idea, but he had taken a sabbatical from work and decided to hide out in Nebraska.

“What the fuck did you do?” King whispered.

“No fucking clue.”

“Maureen, honey, I don’t know what I did…”

Maureen pinned me in my seat with a look that said I might never know because she was going to kill me first.

“You wanna know what you did?” Throwing her arms in the air she shouted, “YOU FUCKING KNOCKED ME UP!”

Epilogue

Declan

It was a new year, and with it came new challenges. Like becoming a father, again. I still couldn’t believe Maureen was pregnant. She was forty-eight. I didn’t know women could still get pregnant at that age.

I had a lot to learn over the next eight months. A lot of new experiences that, despite our ages, I was fucking excited for. I had missed it all the first time.

Jesus Christ, I would be holding my grandson in one arm and my son in another.

Yes, I was convinced it would be a boy. My son and his nephew would grow up more like brothers. Just like King and I had.

We still had nothing more than an identity for the woman found at the Powell Ranch. No leads, no evidence to point in any direction other than the cows trampled her. Thankfully, the report showed she had died before she was trampled.

I was sitting in my office, studying the autopsy report Dr. Wallace had finally sent over, when Jackie knocked on my door and popped her head in.

“A call just came through. Unresponsive female, twenty-five years old at the clubhouse.”

“Beck,” I whispered my daughter’s name.

Grabbing my coat and my keys, I ran through the station. Climbing into my car, I hit the sirens and sped out of the lot.There was no point in going to the clubhouse. I would just be in the way. It was better to meet them at the hospital.

Turning my patrol car toward the hospital, I hit the gas and prayed the whole way there.

Please God, let her be ok. I just found her. I can’t lose her, or the baby. Things are finally going right. You’ve taken enough goddamn people from me.

I saw the ambulance in the bay as I climbed out of my car. Running through the doors, I frantically rushed to the counter.

“Unresponsive female just brought in. What’s her name?”

“I’m sorry, Sheriff, I don’t have that information.”

“Well, fucking get it!” I shouted, slamming my hand on the counter, causing the woman to jump.

“Daddy?”

My shoulders sagged in relief when I heard my daughter’s voice. Rushing over, I pulled her into my arms and held her tight.

“Are you ok? The baby?” I asked, holding her away from me and looking her over.

“We’re both fine,” she said, tears streaming down her face, and I pulled her back into my arms. “It’s Rachel.”

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