The Promise (The 'Burg #5)(111)

Across from me sat a man who’d introduced himself as Pete Riley, Vi’s father. He’d arrived not very long ago from Chicago.

Standing and swaying a sleeping baby named Jack in her arms was Keira.

The baby belonged to two other people who were there. Kate introduced them as “Colt and Feb,” and I knew them because Vi talked about them as her neighbors, though I hadn’t met them (until then).

I also knew them, because a while ago, they were all over the news when a serial killer had gone on a killing spree in Feb’s name. Obviously, she did not want this or the attention it garnered after he’d killed a slew of people and committed suicide by cop. But still, shit happened in life and you got on with it.

In Feb’s case, she got on with it by finally marrying her hot guy and high school sweetheart, namely Colt, and giving him a baby.

There was also another woman there. Her name was Cheryl. She had a lot of blonde hair, showed a lot of skin, what skin she didn’t show she still hinted at since everything she was wearing was skintight, and she had a lot of attitude. I liked her immediately and wished there would be a time when I could introduce her to Nat (if I ever started speaking to her again) so she’d be inspiration to be what you were, not give a damn, but not be a skank doing it.

She had her son with her, Ethan, who had long since fallen asleep in a chair, his weight slanted sideways and resting on Colt, who had his arm around the kid.

Colt and Feb had brought an enormous bucket of KFC. Cheryl had brought “everything they had left” from Mimi’s, a kickass coffee shop on Main Street in Brownsburg that I’d discovered a couple of weeks before. This meant a plethora of cookies and brownies.

Thus, the snack stash Kate and Keira brought was unnecessary.

Calls had been made and a number of people would eventually descend. Before I got a chance, Keira had called Vinnie and Theresa. They’d also (weirdly, to my way of thinking) called Vi’s dead first husband’s parents, who, apparently, were tight with the new family, including Cal. Not to mention they’d called their grandfather, who wasted no time getting there, and a variety of other people, as evidenced by Colt, Feb, Jack, Cheryl, and Ethan being there.

So all was in order.

Except no word from delivery.

We did get an update, procured for us by Colt, who was a cop, since he arrived when we’d been there over an hour and hadn’t had one. He’d flashed his badge and we’d found out that Vi’s water had broken in Cal’s truck and things went fast. Fast, as in, upon arrival, she was nearly fully dilated. A hint that things would continue to go very swiftly.

But that was hours ago.

“Is this okay?” Kate asked quietly from beside me, and I saw Keira’s head whip around when Kate asked the question.

I reached out and took her hand. “Yes, honey.”

“It seems to be taking a long time,” she noted, her voice uncertain and shaky.

“That happens,” I told her.

“On TV, people can visit a woman in labor for, like…ages before she goes into delivery,” she informed me.

This was true and it happened not on TV as well.

I didn’t tell Kate that.

I said, “Like all babies are different, all births are different. Sometimes it takes time in delivery.”

“I don’t like it,” she whispered, and I squeezed her hand.

“It’s gonna be okay,” I told her, my eyes on Keira and suddenly, Feb moved, getting up quickly and going directly to Keira.

My head turned the other way when I felt movement there, and I knew why Feb went to claim her boy.

Cal, in scrubs, was coming our way.

He looked haggard and my heart skipped a beat, but he didn’t even get to a full stop before he announced in a gruff voice, “Vi’s good. Angie’s good. Everybody healthy.”

Kate shot out of her seat and, almost simultaneously with Keira, did their best to take Cal off his feet when they hit him full on. They did their best, but Cal was a big, powerful guy. He rocked but stood strong.

It was then I received one of those unexpected but precious gifts life could send your way, that being watching Cal wrap both girls in his long, strapping arms, drop his dark head, and kiss the hair on both of theirs, murmuring, “It took Angie a while to wanna join us, but now it’s all good, babies.”

I heard Kate’s choked sob, but Keira just burrowed closer into Cal.

I stood with everyone else and we approached—but didn’t get close, giving them their moment—stopping and huddling.

“You wanna see your mom and sister?” Cal asked the girls, his focus totally on them. No one else was in the universe (except, of course, Vi and his new daughter).

“Yeah,” Keira said unsteadily.

“Absolutely,” Kate said croakily.

Finally, his eyes came to the gathered crowd and he murmured, “Be back.”

He shifted the girls, turned them, and moved them in the direction from where he’d come.

I watched them go. Then I gave jubilant smiles to people I barely knew, who returned them just as jubilantly, and I went right to my purse.

I grabbed my phone and called Benny.

Only when I heard his deep, easy, sweet voice saying, “Give me good news, baby,” did I start crying.

But my tears were jubilant.

* * * * *

Benny parked in Frankie’s guest spot, shut down the Explorer, and jumped out, turning toward Frankie’s apartment only to see her hustling his way, hair big, makeup heavy but sweet, wearing a bright orange sundress that showed skin and cle**age. This was paired with some sexy, high-heeled sandals. She was carrying a huge basket covered in cellophane that had a massive pink bow and looked to be filled with a gigantic mound of baby clothes, all pink. She was holding it awkwardly to the side so she could see him.