Page 153 of Bad Bishop
“Darlin’.” I crouched down, pressing her hand to my lips. “This is the last time I’m leaving you for more than ten minutes. Whose stupid idea was that?”
The door swung open again. Fintan lumbered in with Dr. Delgwhatever. An overweight, bald man with the grace and poise of an elderly water buffalo.
“Mr. Callaghan. How do you do?”
“Take a wild fucking guess, Einstein.” I held my wife’s hand in mine like it was a grenade I didn’t want popping. “You’ve got news for me?”
“She came to earlier. She’s asleep now. We ran some cognitive tests and she seems alert and coherent. The operation, as you know, was successful.”
“And the baby?”
He cleared his throat, taking a step back just to be on the safe side. “He’s well. Strong heartbeat. We’re monitoring both of them.”
There wasn’t a word in the English dictionary for how I felt in that moment.
Relief. Joy. Unimaginable peace.
Escaping Igor’s hell was just another Tuesday in comparison to this.
“That’s good,” I said. “We want everyone in this room to make it out of this ordeal alive.”
Fintan shot me an alarmed glare. Yes, I did, in fact, just threaten a doctor in uniform.
“O-of course,” the doctor mumbled. “Please let me know if you have any further questions.”
“Will she be up soon?”
“She fell asleep an hour ago, so I think you have some time,” the doctor said.
“I’ll go see my sister, then.”
“She’s awake in the next room,” Fin said, his smile a little wobbly.
_______
“Your priorities have changed,” Tierney croaked.
She looked like shit.
Face swollen, lip busted, every inch of her flesh painted purple and blue.
I sat next to her bed, holding her hand. I didn’t deny it.
I came to Lila first.
And I would do it all over again if I had to.
She smiled sadly at my silent admission. “I heard the baby will be fine.”
“Physically, yes,” I drawled. “I’m going to be his father, so not too much hope for him in the other departments.”
“Will you?” she asked sleepily, her eyelids fluttering like keeping them open took a Herculean effort. “Be his father, I mean. The plan was to…what were your exact words?Unhandher as soon as she gave birth.”
“Plans change.”
Apparently, so do fucking I.
Tierney nodded silently, a tear escaping her black eye.
