Page 73 of Preacher

The kids haven't asked about their father. No one has seen him in a while. Even before we killed him, he hadn't been seen in months. From what I've overheard Ailbhe and Ruairi say, they believe he's gone to England. I'm going to let them believe that. I don't want Ailbhe to feel the guilt of knowing her father's dead. She'll only blame herself, when the man only had himself to blame.

The Gallaghers have earned massively from Jed's death. They've taken over his business, giving us part ownership of the apartment blocks he once owned. Denis' daughter-in-law Melissa did a thorough background check on the buildings. A developer got into a lot of debt with Jed, and in turn, lost every apartment complex he owned to the asshole.

We've spent the past month having each apartment renovated to a high standard and ensuring there's adequate security on each building. We've been able to up the rent and it's bringing in a decent monthly sum. There were fourteen apartment buildings in total. Denis had wanted to split it between the Fury Vipers, the Gallaghers, and then with Freddie, Maverick, and Stephen. But shit went south between Stephen and Denis' wives for a while, and they ended up in danger. It was a huge clusterfuck. In the end, Denis and Stephen called in every favor they could. They had the entire backing of the Houlihan gang, the Gallaghers, the Fury Vipers, the Gallos, and the Devil Falcons MC. It was brutal. Stephen's currently hauled up in the country with his wife while they recover, while Denis is staying close to Callie as is her brother.

I reach the hospital, and I can't stop the grin when I see Ailbhe waiting for me at the door. She's even sexier than ever. The bump she has is small and her boobs have grown. She complains that they're heavy, and I hate that she's struggling, but I can't deny how fucking great they look.

"Babe," I call out once I'm close.

She turns, and that blinding smile of hers is so fucking perfect, it lights up her entire face. "Hey, handsome, everything go okay?"

I reach into my pocket as I nod. "Yep. I wanted to give you this." I hand her the patch and watch as her eyes widen and fill with tears. I guessed she'd be overwhelmed with emotion.

"Kane," she whispers. "Are you sure?"

I roll my eyes. This woman has no fucking idea just how much she means to me. I pull her into my arms. "Listen to me, babe. You're the only woman I want. You're my old lady now and there's no changin' it. I fuckin' love you, and I'm proud that you're my old lady."

Her lips part and her tears continue to fall. "You love me?" she questions. "Really?"

I frame her face with my hands. "I fuckin' love you."

She blinks furiously, almost as though she's trying to stop the tears from falling. "I love you too."

My heart swells, and that heaviness that's been settled on my chest eases. Christ... She has no fucking idea what it means to hear those words leave her lips. I slam my mouth against hers, cursing the fact we're in public. Had we been at home, I'd be balls deep inside of her.

"Let's go see our baby, then we can go home and celebrate," she tells me as she wipes away her tears.

"Sounds like a fuckin' plan."

She sighs. "You're going to have to stop cursing, Kane. You've practically paid for a year's college for Evie already."

I chuckle. She's not fucking wrong. "Who taught her to ask for money?" Whoever the hell it was is a damn asshole. That child is an evil genius and she's only six. She's going to rule the world when she's older, that's for damned sure.

"Mikey," Ailbhe replies, sounding exhausted. "He teaches them everything. But please try to ease up on the cursing."

I shake my head. "Not goin' to happen."

She throws her hands up. "Whatever. Don't complain to me when she bankrupts you."

I slide my arm around her shoulders, pulling her into me. "Come on, babe, let's go see our baby."

It takes a while for us to get called back. It's her twenty-week scan so the nurse is measuring the baby and ensuring everything's okay. My eyes are glued to the screen. I'm utterly fascinated watching my baby move around as the nurse moves the wand over Ailbhe's stomach.

"Are you ready to find out the gender?" the nurse asks after what feels like hours.

I glance at Ailbhe, wanting to make sure she's all for this, but my woman's already nodding her head, smiling brightly.

"You're having a boy. Everything is measuring correctly. He's growing perfectly."

A weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Knowing how Tyson was when he was born, this is going to be completely different. Ailbhe and Pepper are night and day. There's no doubt in my mind that Ailbhe would never do anything to put our child in harm's way.

I press a kiss to my woman's lips. "Thank you, baby," I say, still in awe of the fact I have a baby on the way. I ran from New York after losing a child, and now just over a year later, I'll be having another. It's fucking crazy.

"I can't wait for everyone to find out. They're all going to be so happy."

She's not wrong. My brothers have been taking bets on what we're having. I can't complain; I've done it plenty of times in the past when my brothers were having their own kids. I know Reaper has money on our baby being a boy. Looks as though he's cashing in.

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