With my name on it.
I inched to the right and plucked the piece of paper resting on top.
Shayna -
For you. Hope it’s everything you both want. You will be taken care of the right way. I’m sorry for what’s happened, but you get the greatest reward I could possibly imagine - Finn. If you won’t love him the right way, I will.
- Mara
I put the note down and opened the bag.
I touched my stomach and gasped.
It started to make sense now.
When I got into the SUV, I had been complaining of my pain…
I reached into the bag and took out the pregnancy test.
~
Once again, the three minutes took damn near forever.
I sat on the edge of one of the tubs and cried my eyes out. When Finn opened the door and rushed to me, he dropped to his knees and touched my face.
“What is it? Are you in pain? I’ll call an ambulance.”
“Finn. No.”
“What? What is it?”
And I had to say it. I was able to say it. It would all mean more than anyone would ever know.
“I’m pregnant.”
Finn’s eyes went wide. “For real?”
“Yes. Those pains… the test… I need to see a doctor to be sure. But, yeah, I’m pregnant, Finn. After all this stuff. He got what he wanted, right?”
Finn stroked my cheek. “No, sweetie, he didn’t. I got what I wanted. You.”
A tear ran down my face to his finger. “Finn, this is insane. We have nothing. I don’t have a place. Your cabin… I mean, if you don’t want this… I’m not going to give anything up though. I mean…”
“Shayna,” Finn said. “Shut up for a second. The cabin is going to be rebuilt. Okay? Zander is dead. Fiore has been taken care of by his family. And I just signed a major contract with legal fighting. And my trainer is Henry, Cormac’s trainer.”
“Wait, what?”
“It’s going to be okay.” Finn placed a hand to my stomach. “And you’re the real fighter here, Shayna. Not me. You did all this. You took a crazy, stupid chance and look how it turned out. If you think for a second I would turn my back on you or our baby, you’re the insane one. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
I lost it for good then. I cried like a baby. Finn held me the entire time. It felt so good to be in his arms. He was my ultimate protector. And now… holy shit… he was the father of my baby.
47.
(Finn)
* 10 months later *
I didn’t think the call would ever actually come. But it did. I hadn’t seen or talked to Mara since the night we left Pete’s mansion. Part of me never wanted to hear from her again. I went straight into training and took over the fighting world, as planned. Me and Henry worked together harder than ever before. The old man challenged me, pissed me off, and a few times, I ended up with my hand at his chest, ready to punch him. He was that good and that loyal. I loved him.
I held Shayna’s hand tight as I pulled to the side of the small cafe.
“What are we doing here?” she asked.
“Let’s get a coffee. Just sit and chat.”
“What town is this?”
“It doesn’t matter, sweetie. We’re taking a road trip, right? I have time off until the next fight.”
Shayna reached over and touched my eye. The swelling was gone, the stitches out. There was just a yellow dot there now. The leftovers from my last fight. He had really given it to me. My toughest fight ever. But I pushed through and ended up with a TKO in the final minute of the fight. I wore him down and got the final punch.
“Your eye looks good,” she said. “They’re going to want you to fight again.”
“Come on,” I said.
I got out of the car.
I opened the backdoor and grabbed the carseat. Little Cormac was sleeping, but his eyes popped open when I lifted the carseat. He looked at me and smiled, then moved his hands.
The kid’s going to be a fighter someday.
And, yeah, we named the little guy Cormac. How could we not? The world didn’t need another Finn… but another Cormac? Yeah, that was good.
I held Shayna’s hand and carried the carseat with the other.
We went into the cafe and sat down. I put the carseat on the table. Cormac let out a noise and Shayna rocked the carseat to her. That baby loved Shayna more than I did, which I always thought would be impossible. The connection was like nothing I’d ever seen before. Christ, I’m supposed to be this big, tough fighter, but each time I saw Shayna with Cormac, it choked me up. It was the most beautiful sight in the world.
She had powered through nine long months of pregnancy. It took me four of those months to really convince her I was staying. I understood it though. Our circumstances were completely fucked up from day one. But I wouldn’t have changed a thing. Except Cormac dying. When I thought about that big Irishman holding the baby, it made me smile. He’d be the one who would rub whiskey on the baby’s gums when he teethed. He’d probably call himself Uncle C-mac or something stupid. And you know what? The kid would have grown to love Cormac.