Tempting Perfection

The nurse carefully picked him up. “Be sure to support his head.”

She handed Dylan to me, and I was rigid as fuck as I held him.

“Relax. You won’t break him. Promise.”

I swallowed, wishing to hell that Sawyer was here. She should be experiencing this with me and showing me what to do.

The nurse stepped back. “There you go. You’re a natural. I’ve put a bottle of formula right here if he gets hungry. We had to give him one feeding, given the situation. Press the call button when you’re ready, and I’ll show you how to feed and burp him. I bet he’ll sleep for a bit.”

“Thanks.”

The nurse closed the door and I sat in the chair, holding my son. My son. “Hey—” My voice cracked. “Hey there, buddy. Dylan. We’re going to hang tight here until your mommy wakes up.”

Dylan opened his eyes when I spoke, and something passed through me. I was totally and helplessly in love. Love at first sight. And in that moment, I knew I would never leave this child or Sawyer. Ever. I was not my father, nor would I ever be.

I closed my eyes, whispering, “Please bring Sawyer back to me. Don’t take her from me. I can’t lose her. Dylan needs his mother.”

I held Dylan closer to me, humming one of the songs from his lullaby playlist I’d made. Sawyer played it every night.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

The phone startled me. Dylan opened his eyes, shifted, and closed them again. I adjusted my position to answer the call. “Do you have an update?”

Waldo responded, “Temporary injunction has been granted. It was one hell of a hoop to jump through. Garrick’s contact helped. I’m emailing you a copy and having it faxed to the hospital now. We’ll have the full injunction once the judge has the rest of the evidence regarding Adriane.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“How’s Dylan?”

“Perfect. I’m holding him now.” He just needs his mom.

“Good. Send my love.”

About twenty minutes later, Garrick texted me.

Garrick: Dustin is still in surgery. Damage was worse than initially thought. George is out of surgery. Vet said he did well.

Me: Thanks for the update. I have the injunction and Dylan is with me. I need to wait until Sawyer sees him before anyone else does.

Garrick: Knoah and I send our love to Dylan.

Me: Thank you. Make sure Adriane doesn’t get bail.

Garrick: I’ll have our lawyers coordinate to make it so. It might be easier for mine to assist since yours are on the West Coast.

Me: Whatever it takes.

Garrick: Understood.

From what I gathered, George had saved Sawyer’s life. The distraction he caused with Adriane allowed Dustin to intercept Sawyer before Adriane could get a direct shot at her.

Adriane. That bitch. She would never see the light of day again by the time I was done with her. Hopefully her parents rotted in hell right along with her. Somehow, they were involved in what had happened. I knew it in my bones.

Now I needed patience while I waited to see Sawyer. I bent down and kissed Dylan. “Everything is going to be okay, little man.”

An hour later, the doctor walked in. “We’re going to bring Ms. Wade in now. Her vitals are strong and I’m happy with her blood counts. Now, we just wait for her to wake up.”

“How long until she does?”