Reckless (Thoughtless, #3)(139)

I couldn’t help my startled expression. “You want a newborn on a tour bus with you?”

Griffin shrugged and looked around the room. “Sure. Why not?”

Anna seemed conflicted. Her maternal instincts had kicked in, and they were fighting with her natural, carefree spirit. “I don’t know, Griff. It seems unsanitary.”

Griffin snorted. “I’m probably the dirtiest thing on the bus, and you sleep with me every night.”

I tried not to laugh at that. And failed miserably. Kellan elbowed me as he shook his head in amusement. Anna still seemed uncertain. She looked from Gibson to me. “What do you think, Kiera?” Her eyes were wide, fearful. Now that Gibson was a tangible object, Anna was terrified of doing something wrong. She was desperately afraid of making a bad choice.

I could feel Griffin boring holes into me, and I could see the hope on my sister’s face, but if I was going to honestly answer her question, I needed to put the two of them aside and think about Gibson. What would be best for her? If she were mine, what would I do? I really didn’t know much about babies, but I knew a lot about the people on our bus. Aside from my parents, who both had jobs that they couldn’t just abandon to help my sister, there was no one better on earth to help raise this baby than the D-Bags.

Turning to my sister, I told her, “I think in most cases, having a baby on a bus, living the life we live, is absolutely insane.” Anna frowned, and Griffin started to protest. I held up my hand to stop him. “But in this particular case, I think it works.” I focused on Anna. “Your baby was never going to have a typical childhood, and I can’t think of anywhere else that she could possibly be loved more than that bus.”

As Anna’s face broke into a tearful smile, I added, “Besides, didn’t the nurse say they mainly sleep, eat, and poop for the first few months anyway?”

Griffin nodded his thanks to me, then seemed to realize he’d placed quite a burden on the rest of his band. “You guys . . . cool with that?”

Kellan wrapped his arms around my waist as he kissed my neck. “I think it sounds great.”

Evan nodded in agreement; nothing much fazed him. Matt smirked. “Loud crying coming from your room at all hours of the day and night”—he twisted to look at Evan and Kellan—“I think we’re already used to that.”

After light laughter went around the room, Kellan frowned and looked over at Matt. “We’ll have to have a talk with Holeshot.”

Matt nodded. “Deacon is pretty easygoing. I’m sure he’ll be fine with it.”

Twisting my head, I told Kellan, “They can always hop on Sienna’s bus. Didn’t she say she was tired of riding alone?”

Kellan let out a laugh that startled Gibson. “That is an excellent idea.”

Griffin glared over at him. “Dude, keep it down. You freaked out my daughter.”

Kellan grinned at his bassist. “Sorry.” Then he made a whipping noise like Griffin frequently made. I had to bury my head in Kellan’s shirt so I didn’t laugh too loud and get yelled at by the overprotective new father.

Kellan and the boys left a little while later. The show was over, and the process of tearing it down and moving on was probably already underway. I waited in the hallway with Evan, Matt, and Kellan while Griffin said goodbye to his family. Kellan was hugging me while we waited. “I’m going to miss you,” he said.

Resting my chin on my chest, I peered up at him. “I’m going to miss you too, but you’re only going to East Rutherford. That’s not far.”

“Feels far.” He smiled at me, then looked over to Anna’s door. “Do you think Griffin will be a good father?”

Smiling, I looked over to the closed door as well. He’d been in there saying goodbye to his wife and child for over fifteen minutes. “Yeah, surprisingly, I think he’ll be great.” I was still shocked by that fact.

Kellan turned back to me. “Do you think I would be a good father . . . one day?”

Tightening my arms around his neck, I eagerly nodded. “I know you will be.” Kellan smiled at the subtle promise of our future in my words. Kids wasn’t a matter of if for us, just when.

When Griffin finally emerged from Anna’s room, he was subtly swiping his eyes dry. I gawked at the raw emotion on his face. I’d never seen him look so distraught. He frowned as he glared at all of us. “What?” Then he moodily walked down the hall, away from the two people who had just become his entire world.

Matt and Evan hurried after him, Evan tossing an arm over his shoulders while Matt playfully punched him in the arm. Kellan watched them leave then sighed; his smile was a sad one as he gazed at me. “Guess I’m off to work. I’ll see you soon.” His brow bunched in concern as he twisted me to face him. “Please be careful.”

Leaning up, I placed a tender kiss upon his lips. “I’m always careful. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

As he walked away from me, I tried to not think about how much I was going to miss him while we were apart. Watching the way his clothes molded around his body helped with that. He turned at the door and gave me a small wave before exiting. I noticed a young nurse nearby sigh as she blatantly stared at him. Laughing a little, I waved back. When he disappeared, I exhaled just as forlornly as the nurse had.