Page 93 of Delayed Offsides

Ami takes a sharp intake of breath, her hand covering her face. “What?”

Mase laughs. “He’s fucking with you, honey.”

I glare. “Don’t ruin my fun. I was going to play this card with everyone today, even Callie.”

“She’d kill you if you did that,” Mase says, laughing.

He’s right. She would, but she’s going to want to kill me for a lot of things when she wakes up.

Ami peeks at the baby, her eagerness to hold him making her hands twitch. “How’s Callie?”

“They took her away for a blood transfusion. She lost too much blood because of placental abruption. They said they’d tell me when I can see her.”

Mase’s shoulders sag forward. “Have you seen her since the baby was born?”

“No. They took her away immediately. Just brought him to me.”

It’s quiet so I look down at the baby. His eyes are closed, his little pink lips pushed out into a pout as he sleeps peacefully in my arms. Fuck. He’s so goddamn cute and squishy. I don’t want to ever put him down. But then regret washes over me that I’m getting to have these first few moments with him and Calle’s not. My heart races at the thoughts of her in that street. I want to kill the guy who did this to her, but unfortunately, I know the chance of ever catching that guy is slim.

Then I begin to wonder what this will mean for Callie. How will she deal with this? Will this bring more nightmares?

Ami can’t help herself any longer and stands. “Can I hold him?”

“Okay, don’t piss your pants over there.” I stand carefully and turn to her. She holds out her hands. With one last look at him, I give the baby over to her. Instantly my body misses the heat. It’s amazing how much heat these little things put out.

“Oh my God,” Ami breathes out. “Look at him, Mase. He’s so cute!”

“Of course he is,” I point out. “Look who his parents are.” I sit down in the chair again, running my sweaty palms over my jeans and then casually leaning back in the chair, trying not to let my mind wander to Callie.

She has to make it. She needs to experience this feeling I have right now, staring at that little miracle.

CHAPTER24

OFF MAN RUSH

CALLIE

When the number of offensive players heading into the attacking zone is greater than the number of defenders (such as a 3 on 2 or 2 on 1.)

I feel pain.Most of it’s centered around my stomach, but my head is pulsing with throbbing pain.

Instantly, my thoughts are on the baby.

My hand moves to my stomach. It’s not swollen anymore.

Oh God, have I lost him?

No. Please don’t tell me that.

To my right, I notice someone is standing there, watching me. “Hello, Callie, I’m Marla, your nurse.”

I nod and clear my throat. “Where’s my baby?”

The nurse smiles, soft and sweet, as she takes a syringe, scans it, and then inserts it into the IV. “He’s with his daddy. He’s been hogging the little guy, and all the nurses have been dying to hold him. You have one cute guy there.”

“The boy or the man?” I try to laugh, but it hurts too much.

“Well, both.” She chuckles. “Not too often we get a Chicago Blackhawk in here. Unless we’re stitching them up.”

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