Chapter 363: Redhead
*She’s beautiful, just like her momma. Look at that red hair. – Nico*
Shiloh walked down the hospital corridor with Alyssa holding one hand and Pagan the other. Ashlyn held her father’s other hand. She was starting to pull away from him as most kids did at that age. He was not ready to let go. He was not ready for his babies to grow up.
As Molly told him recently, no matter what you did, they were still going to grow up.
Squeezing her hand, he looked down at his oldest child. “You excited?”
“Do you think I can watch their baby like Camille did us?” she asked with a hopefu; and excited smile.
“Probably.” He wondered if his eleven-year-old was ready to take care of a baby. Sensing his concern, his wife squeezed his hand. “Maybe not on your own for a little while. Newborns are a lot of work.”
“Is our baby going to be a lot of work?” Alyssa asked.
“Yes.” Shiloh confirmed with a smile as they joined the large crowd of Saints in the waiting room.
Pagan looked around the room looking for Camille. His eyes landed on her father, Trigg, and he shook his head. He then saw Dutch telling his other sister, Allison, to leave. The blonde was getting a lot of dirty looks from the brothers. Mainly from the ones that belonged to the Shack. But even the ones from her father’s club gave her a wide berth.
Pagan and his family had not been out in the patio area when the sisters had their confrontation. But he had gotten the mass text and ordered the girls and Shiloh to stay where they were with Gertie as he went to try to help defuse the situation. Camille passed him as she left the patio and headed for the roof.
Stepping outside, he had seen Dom slam the older sister down on a table before threatening her. With a warning, the assassin jumped off the table and followed her young friend. Allison slinked away like the snake that she was quickly becoming. Looking around, her husband could not be found, and Pagan wondered if that was part of the reason Allison was striking out against her sister.
With a huff, Allison turned from her brother and headed towards the hall where the family had just come down. A flash of angry resolve crossed her face as she headed straight for Ashlyn. Just before she plowed the girl over, Shiloh pulled her daughter out of the way and grabbed the other girl by the throat.
“You can take the girl out of the Family,” Nico chuckled behind his cousin, “but you can’t take the Mafia out of the girl.” He gave Allison a cold, warning glare as he gently pried his cousins hand off the other woman’s neck.
“Do not anger my cousin. Unlike your Dom, she will not ask for permission before taking care of a problem.” Grinning, he conveyed that they both knew quite a bit about the incident on the fourth. “And she already has property in several non-extradition countries.”
Grabbing the young woman’s chin, Nico pulled her close to him and whispered in her ear before releasing her. With a small motion of his head, she was dismissed and warned at the same time. Allison swallowed hard before she ran down the hall in her thin stiletto heels.
The waiting room was silent as the light click of her shoes echoed down the corridor. Nico moved and pressed a light kiss to Shiloh’s cheeks. He whispered in Italian, and she slowly relaxed and smiled at him.
“Thank you for coming.”
“Speak to that scary little Scottish witch. She said that I needed to be here.” He admitted quietly and turned to search the room for the woman he spoke of.
Nessie sat on her husbands lap on the other side of the room. She nodded at him slightly and then curled into Knuckles’ chest. His arms tightened around his wife as he turned to focus on the group of old ladies that were huddled around the other babies of the club.
The door to the opposite hallway opened and Cookie stepped out with a giant grin. His seven-year-old twin nephews rushed over to him with their mother following them. Cookie hugged his sister and then his nephews and nodded at his brother-in-law.
“Well?” Siobhan demanded.
“Berenice Marie Williams was born at nine seventeen, she weighed seven pounds, five ounces and eighteen inches long.” The proud father declared. “She is a dark mocha color and has some crazy red hair.”
“Ha!” Toad scoffed. “Trust me, boy, if she’s a redhead, all of her is crazy.”
“What are you saying?” Siobhan asked her husband with a grin.
“That you’re crazy as fuck, and I wouldn’t have you any other way.” He admitted as he pulled her closer to him.
“Good save.” She smiled at her husband.
“Thanks.” He grinned and pressed a kiss to her own bright red hair.
Cookie gently pushed his nephews back to their parents and baby brother before walking towards Shiloh. “She asked for you.”
Shiloh nodded and turned to her husband. He grinned at her and gave her a light kiss. “We’ll be here when you get back.”
With a gentle prod, Shiloh turned back towards Cookie and released Alyssa’s hand to follow the large black man down the hall. They approached a room, and he knocked on the door and waited for Karan to open the heavy door.
She smiled at her husband and friend. “You’re the first one that she wanted to see the baby.” Karan said as she stepped back and let them in.
Shiloh rushed over to her friend. Her red hair had grown back out and was pulled back in a low ponytail with some of her loose curls coming over her shoulder. Currently, she wore a custom black hospital gown with tiny white flowers on it. The bed was covered with a fleece blanket that Shiloh recognized from her store.
“How are you feeling?” Shiloh asked her friend as Cookie brought a chair over for her.
“Like I had a million hands in my abdomen, and they pulled out a penguin.”
“A penguin?” Shiloh asked as she smiled her thanks to Cookie as she sat down. “Why a penguin?”
“I really don’t know.” Gertie shrugged as she watched Karan present Shiloh with the newborn.
Sitting back, her own rounded belly covered by a black material with skeleton hands forming a heart over the growing baby. The newborn was wrapped tightly in a dark gray blanket with pink satin trim. She did indeed have wild red hair that contrasted her dark skin.
“She’s Beautiful, Gertie.” Shiloh whispered as dark honey eyes opened and then drifted closed. Her little mouth opened in a yawn and then began to make sucking motions. “Where did you get her name?”
“Cookie and Karan’s moms.” Gertie said as Karan sat on the edge of the bed with her. The two women linked hands and Gertie rested her head on the other woman’s shoulder. “They’ve been so supportive.”
“More than your own.” Shiloh muttered.
“I wish I had your strength.” Gertie told her friend. “I just wanted to make my parents happy, and nothing does.” She swiped at her tears. “But you had the strength to cut your family out altogether. I mean, not the two good guys.”
Shiloh looked up at Cookie’s confused expression and smiled. The club had been told not to discuss what happened and he had not. But he had expected Shiloh to at least tell her best friend that Elizabeth and her latest husband were dead. Obviously, that had not happened.
“I had to endure a lot to find that strength.” Shiloh admitted as she handed the baby to her father. “That, I would not wish on anyone.” She struggled for a moment and then looked over at the only man in the room. “You’re either going to have to help me up or go get Pagan.”
Laughing, Cookie placed the baby in Gertie’s arms and then helped the other woman to her feet. “How are you walking in those shoes?”
Shiloh laughed as she adjusted her dress and shifted on her feet. “I tried wearing regular shoes and kept falling. I’ve gotten so used to the platforms, it’s hard for me to walk without them.”
Walking over, she placed a light kiss on her friends’ temple. “I love you, Gertie.”
“I love you too, Shy.” She smiled at the baby and then at her oldest friend. “The three of us want you and Pagan to be godparents.”
“I would be honored.” She gently touched the tightly curled red hair on the tiny head.
