Walk Off (Double Play Series Book 5)

by Nicole Rodrigues

  “Alessandra,” I gasp. “You don't have to do that.”

  She shakes her head.

  “I shouldn't have allowed him to force my hand. It wasn't right and it kept the two of you apart for way too long. It was all my fault.”

  “Hey, it was not. It was Weston's fault. I can't say I wouldn't have done the same in your position. Comin’ forth with the truth to Nico even after knowin’ the danger was extremely brave. I really misjudged you and I'm sorry for that.”

  “Thank you, Lacey. Thank you for being so forgiving and allowing me to have this opportunity. To work for something I'm proud of, giving me a purpose.”

  “Thank you! You're doin’ great things for the company and I can't see what else you have in store.”

  She smiles and I see her hesitancy. I pull her in for a hug and I feel the anxiety leave her as she hugs me back.

  “Feel good. I'll see you Monday,” she says waving as she walks towards Normani’s car.

  I wave at the girls and shut the door, smiling.

  Nico

  “So, teams are talking. End of your contract, what are you gonna do next year?” asks my buddy Jimmy as we sit in the dugout.

  “Don't know. My agent is on it, I'm sure.”

  The truth is, I want to be in Louisiana. The Cajuns just signed Devin to a long term contract a couple years ago, so I doubt they'd go for me, but I'd gladly take less money if it means I can be closer to my girls.

  “You'd be a monster in Arizona, their stadium is t-ball sized.”

  It's funny how three years ago, before Lacey came along, I would jump at the opportunity to inflate my numbers. Go to a stadium where I could smash 50+ homers a season, set records. Now all I want to do is go home and smash my woman, set the table for dinner we cook together and anxiously awake the arrival of our baby girl.

  Jimmy slaps me on the back when the inning is over and I jog out to third base, pacing around the line as the first batter comes to the plate. It’s now the top of the 9th inning and we need to hold them for the win.

  The whole game has been a blur. All I’ve been thinking about is getting back to Lacey. I’ve had my phone in the dugout, just in case but it’s been silent. No news is good news.

  The batter walks to first as the stadium erupts in boos and I focus again as the next batter comes to the plate.

  This one strikes out and my mind wanders again, to Lacey. Her confession in her state of orgasmic bliss, wanting to marry me as soon as she can. She hasn't mentioned it since and I wonder if she even remembers.

  The sound of the ball cracking against the bat wakes me up and instinctively I dive, my arm extending in the air as my glove wraps around the ball. I land on the dirt with a hard thump trying to get to my feet fast enough to get the runner out on first, but he gets back to the bag before I can get to my feet.

  Dammit! Could have turned the double play and ended it.

  The next batter comes up as I squat, waiting for the swing and it never comes. The batter walks to first and I curse. If this goes into extra innings, I swear I am going to lose my shit.

  The next batter comes up and thank God for the rookie ego. Kid is swinging for the fences and strikes out in three. I jog off the field like my ass is on fire, straight to the locker room and I’m out of the stadium and in an Uber to the tarmac in a half hour. Straight to my girls, right where I belong.

  Chapter 21

  Lacey

  Nico dances around our kitchen, spatula in hand as a microphone, as he slowly takes off his t-shirt, the song, “I'm Too Sexy for My Shirt” echoing around the house.

  I'm sitting at the kitchen island, tears streaming down my face and I can't catch my breath from laughing.

  “I swear your ego is suffocatin’ me. I can't...breathe,” I say feigning not catching my breath.

  “Yeah, on the catwalk

  On the catwalk, yeah

  I shake my little tush on the catwalk”

  Nico turns and walks, dropping his shorts as he shakes his ass in front of me and I grab my belly as I feel it bounce from my laughter.

  “Nico, stop! I swear, I'm gonna piss my pants,” I say in between breaths.

  “I'm too sexy for my car

  Too sexy for my car”

  “How do you even know all these words?” I laugh.

  He flexes his bicep and I feel my stomach cramp as I laugh and then wetness, a lot of wetness and my face drops.

  “What the hell? Did you really just pee yourself?” Nico laughs.

  “No,” I gulp. “That's...my water just broke.”

  Nico's jaw drops and we just stare at each other, neither one of us really comprehending what's happening. Nico snaps out of it first and scrambles around the kitchen for his clothes.

  “Okay, your hospital bag is upstairs. Let me get it, just...sit there, okay? How do you feel? Pressure? Pain?”

  “I'm...fine. I'm okay. This is..it’s really happenin’. She’s not supposed to...I...it’s not until next week, Nico,” I say, panic lacing my voice, tears forming in my eyes again.

  “You got this, Blondie. You’re a rock, you’re a beast. Time to meet baby girl.”

  He kisses me fast then jogs up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He comes back within seconds and scoops me in his arms, jogging us down to his truck. I’m trying to focus on my breathing, trying not to let my fear overtake my happiness.

  This wasn’t supposed to happen yet.

  We drive to the hospital in silence, Nico’s hand engulfing my own. I can feel him stealing glances my way throughout the ride and I close my eyes, breathing through the pain. The contractions are coming faster now and my grip on his hand tightens.

  “Another one? That was three minutes apart. Almost there, okay? Hang in there baby girl,” Nico says rubbing my belly.

  He pulls in front of the hospital, grabbing my bag from the back and walking to open my door. He throws the keys to the valet boy and we walk to admissions.

  A painful contraction rips through me and I stop walking, gritting my teeth, an agonizing groan escaping past my lips.

  “Fuck me! I can’t do this! Shit, Nico, I-I can’t do this,” I pant.

  “Yes you can,” he says cupping my cheeks. “Look at me. Breathe, Blondie. In and out, okay? Grip my hand.”

  I grab his hand, squeezing it with all my might, trying to ease some of the pain, focusing it all in my hand. I take a deep breath and let it out, thinking about holding our baby girl after all this is over. The pain slowly subsides as I let go of his hand and open my eyes.

  “Good girl,” he says kissing my forehead. “That was two and a half minutes. Can we bypass all this and go straight up to labor and delivery? My wife needs a doctor right now.”

  Nico calling me his wife causes my chest to explode. I know we’re not married yet, but hearing those words come off his lips confirms what I told him the other night. I am marrying him the first chance I get.

  “Do you need a wheelchair?” a nurse says from next to me.

  “No, I can walk.”

  Nico grabs my hand and we walk quickly to the elevators, another contraction hitting me inside. Nico rubs my back, trying to talk me through it, but it’s killing me.

  “Breathe, breathe.”

  “Nico, what the hell do ya think I’m doin’? Oh God, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you,” I chant, squeezing my eyes shut.

  “I’m sorry, Blondie. You’re doing great. No more babies, okay? I promise. It’s up to you. I won’t-”

  “Stop. Talkin’,” I say through gritted teeth, my death grip on his hand tightening.

  “I love you,” he whispers.

  “I swear I’m gonna punch you in your balls for a week straight. This...sucksssss,” I groan feeling the contraction at its peak.

  “Can you give her something?” he frantically asks the nurse in the elevator with us.

  “We need her in a bed, she may be past the point of an epidural.”

  We get out of the elevator and walk down the hall, turning
into a room, the contraction finally subsiding, and I’m hooked up to a bunch of machines within seconds, the nurse spreading my legs and feeling for dilation.

  “You’re...do you feel pressure? The need to push?” she asks furrowing her brows.

  “It feels like a fuckin’ human is tryna escape my body, so yes,” I snap.

  “I’ll get the doctor.”

  I lean my head back, closing my eyes as another contraction hits. The machine on the side of the bed starts beeping and I open my eyes looking at Nico.

  “What is that?” I ask sitting up straighter.

  “I don’t know.”

  The doctor rushes in and turns me to my side as another three nurses come into the room. They’re all looking at the beeping monitor and I hold my breath, the pain from the contraction on the back burner as panic starts to settle in the pit of my stomach.

  “What’s happenin’?” I ask.

  “The baby’s heart rate is droppin’. She needs to come out right now. Can you push?” the doctor asks walking to the front of the bed.

  “If she needs to come out then yes, I can push. What kind of fuckin’ question is that? Let’s go, I’m ready,” I say holding onto the side rails of the bed.

  I feel another contraction hit, only seconds from the last and the pain is excruciating. My stomach tightens, the cramping searing into me, making my vision blurry.

  Nico’s hand is cupping my cheek, his lips on my forehead. He’s saying something that I can’t make out. I’m concentrating on only getting this little girl out, safe and sound as the doctor tells me to push.

  I grip the bed rails as hard as I possibly can, my knuckles whitening, holding my breath as I push down, the nurses and doctors all encouraging me to push harder.

  I take a deep breath and push again, my head dizzy, holding my breath in. The contraction slowly eases as I catch my breath, the doctor telling me she is almost out. I’m so close, the beeping starting up again and I feel another contraction.

  She needs me, she’s so close. One job, Lacey. You have one fucking job right now. All the shit you had to deal with in your life, you are getting this baby girl out safe and sound and relishing the happily ever after.

  I grab Nico’s hand off my forehead and squeeze it, bearing down, gritting my teeth as I take a deep breath and push with every ounce of energy I have left in my body. I feel the calm, my body empty as I hear a cry and see smiles. Everyone is smiling. She’s okay, she’s safe. I did it. My eyes close and I drift off.

  Nico

  “Oh my God, Lacey you did it, baby. You did it,” I cry kissing her forehead as the doctor cleans up our baby girl and places her on Lacey’s chest.

  I look down and Lacey’s eyes are closed, her breathing slow.

  “Lacey, baby wake up! What happened to her? Lacey, baby!” I yell panicking.

  I feel her cheek and the nurses all talk at once, throwing an oxygen mask over her face and I grab her hand kissing her knuckles as tears stream down my cheeks. Another nurse takes the baby off Lacey and I glance back and forth between my two girls. I would die if anything happened to either one of them.

  “Blood pressure 80/50. Oxygen level 55.”

  “What does that mean?” I ask, squeezing Lacey’s hand harder.

  “She’ll be okay, Mr. Johnson, We need some space to monitor her,” says one of the nurses.

  “I’m not leaving her side,” I boom.

  The nurse nods, putting a wet cloth on Lacey’s forehead.

  “Temp, 101.2.”

  “What happened?” I ask confused.

  One minute Lacey was gripping my hand, pushing out baby girl out like a beast and the next she’s passed out. I look over to the small bassinet as the nurses weigh and tend to the baby.

  “She just pushed a nine-and-a-half-pound baby out of her body, Mr. Johnson. Her oxygen levels and blood pressure are low. She lost a lot of blood. She tore in a few places. We’re taking care of her, don’t worry,” says the doctor sitting on a chair in front of the bed.

  I glance over Lacey’s bent knees and almost pass out from all the blood.

  “Does she, is she gonna need blood?” I ask, my voice shaky.

  “She shouldn’t. I’m stitching everything up down here, she should be fine. The bleeding is slowing down. Her levels should return to normal.”

  I wipe my eyes, feeling the pressure on my shoulders slowly start to subside, but not fully.

  It feels like hours before the room starts to clear out. The last nurse takes the mask off Lacey’s face and puts some type of stick in front of her nose.

  Lacey coughs, opening her eyes slowly, blinking a few times.

  “God, you scared the shit out of me, Blondie,” I sigh, crying as I grab her cheeks and kiss her.

  “What happened?” she groans, her voice scratchy.

  “You passed out for a while, how do you feel?”

  “Shit, like shit. Where’s the baby?” she says straightening up.

  “In the nursery. They took her for some tests, she should be back any minute.”

  “She’s okay?” she asks her eyes watering.

  “She’s perfect. So perfect, Blondie.”

  “Oh God, Nico. I was so scared,” she says starting to cry.

  I wrap her in my arms, and I cry too, feeling so helpless standing there, watching as the woman I loved exerted her body to exhaustion to bring our baby girl into the world.

  “Me too, baby. Me too. Everything is okay though, the baby is fine, you’re okay.”

  We hold each other for a while longer and there’s a quiet knock on the door. Savannah and Jackson come in and Savannah is already crying, grabbing onto Lacey as if she would float away.

  “I’m so happy y’all are okay,” she cries.

  “We’re okay, Mama,” Lacey says through the tears.

  Jackson slaps me on the back, wiping his own eyes as another soft knock sounds on the door and the nurse comes in wheeling the bassinet.

  “She’s hungry, Mama. You feelin’ up to try a feedin’?” the nurse asks.

  Lacey smiles and nods, wiping her eyes as she sits up a little straighter. The nurse reaches into the bassinet and hands Lacey our little girl and she cries again, laughing and smiling, peppering her little face with kisses.

  “My little baby girl,” she whispers. “Grace Lee,” Lacey says looking up at me and then to Savannah.

  We decided on the name a few days ago, saying we would see if it would stick once she came out. It’s perfect.

  “Baby,” Savannah says smiling wiping her tears. “I’m so honored. Gammy Savvy is gonna spoil you rotten little Grace,” Savannah says rubbing her finger down Grace’s cheek.

  Grace starts fussing so Savannah and Jackson both kiss Lacey goodbye and leave the room, letting Lacey try and feed her for the first time.

  I watch, amazed at after all her body has been through with labor and pregnancy that she still has more to give.

  “Are you pervin’, Daddy Hulk?” Lacey smirks.

  “Amazed, Mama. Pure amazement. You’re...I literally don’t have words. This little fuckin’ body literally pushed out a mini Hulk, you know that right?” I laugh.

  “How big was she?”

  “Nine and a half pounds, 21 inches.”

  “Jesus Christ. That’s what I get for shakin’ up with a guy double my size, huh?”

  “Damn right, Blondie. I got your ring right in my pocket, you’re mine, don’t forget it.”

  I walk over and kiss her softly on her lips, Grace fussing in between us.

  “And the cockblockin’ begins,” Lacey grumbles. “Bella warned me about this.”

  “We’ll just have to get more creative,” I smile. “Thank you, Blondie. Thank you so much.”

  “For what?”

  “This gift, this life, this love.”

  Chapter 22

  Nico

  I'm sitting in the chair next to Lacey's bed, watching my two angels sleep. Grace is in the side bassinet and I hear a soft knock on the do
or.

  Miguel and Alessandra walk in with Peter and I motion for them to go back out. My girls had a rough day yesterday, I don't want them to wake up.

  Miguel pulls me into a hug in the hallway and then Alessandra. I lift Peter up, but then he reaches for Miguel.