Free Unbroken (Fighter Erotic Romance #4) by Scott Hildreth

to be a boxer like his father. Personally, all I wished for was that he continued to be healthy and happy.
    Neither Ripp nor Vee had expressed any outward desires for a particular sex preference, and only indicated they wanted a healthy baby. The thought of Vee having a little girl excited me and made me a little jealous. I think secretly all women want a little girl in their life. Thinking of Ripp, however, with a little girl…
    Not in a million years.

SHANE. Witnessing another life being brought into this world through the birth of a child is proof of the existence of a power greater than all of mankind – a miracle, and nothing less. I reserve hope my newfound faith in God, life and love remain as clear as it is today for as long as I continue to walk this earth. Today, I draw every breath with a better understanding of all that life has the ability to offer a man who loves a woman with every ounce of his heart.
    “Get that little Marine out of that shit you got him wrapped in Kace, you’re smothering him,” A-Train grunted.
    “Keep your hands off of him, Alec. He’s sleeping. You can hold him later. How long are they going to be in there? I popped mine out in like ten minutes,” Kace turned and said as she paced the floor.
    “I know he’s hot, he’s got to be,” A-Train said as he reached into the car seat Casey was laying in.
    As A-Train began to pick Casey from the seat, I smiled.
    Kace stopped pacing and rested her hands on her thighs, “Stop it Alec, you’re going to wake him up.”
    A-Train slowly lifted Casey out of the car seat and cautiously raised him to his chest. As he paced the floor with the baby resting against his chest and shoulder, he began to hum. I turned to face Kace, who smiled at A-Train; shaking her head as he walked around the perimeter of the room waiting for an answer from Ripp.
    Kace, A-Train, Kelsey, Ripp’s parents, Bug, and Manda were all waiting quietly for an announcement of some sort. Although they’d been in delivery for almost an hour, we had heard nothing. Exhausted, we all used our own method to relax and wait. A-Train, on the other hand, seemed to have a special attachment to Casey, and it couldn’t be hidden. Possibly his newfound love for Bug made it easier for him to develop feelings of compassion. As he paced the floor, his humming turned to a soft hymn. Holding Casey to his chest, the pleasant sound of his singing provided all of us a little comfort. As he walked, his step developed a little bounce to comfort the baby and provide him rhythm. The song he sang was unmistakable; the Marine Corps Hymn.
     
    “From the Halls of Montezuma …”
    “To the shores of Tripoli …”
     
    “We fight our country's battles…”
     
    “In the air, on land, and sea …”
     
    “First to fight for right and freedom…”
     
    “And to keep our honor clean…”
     
    “We are proud to claim the title…”
     
    “Of United States Marine…”
     
    “You see, we’re first to fight . Anytime, anyplace, anywhere. As soon as you wake up, I’ll tell you a story about the night Gunny Marshall and I got drunk in Okinawa, Japan. You’ll appreciate it when you’re a little older,” he chuckled.
    “You will not, Alec. Don’t fill his head with stories about your drunken escapades,” Kace laughed.
    “Just reassuring him he’s safe in my arms,” A-Train grinned.
    Kace turned to me and smiled as she tilted her head toward A-Train.
    “I see them,” I grinned as I shook my head lightly.
    The unmistakable sound of Ripp’s size fourteen Chuck’s slapping the floor of the hallway became louder as he obviously got closer to the waiting room. As we all walked toward the door he jumped into the room, his face filled with joy and his feet still securely tied into a pair of blue and red bowling shoes. He looked like a big, bald, tattooed Bozo the Clown.
    “You motherfucker’s ready?” he hollered from the doorway.
    “Michael,” his mother gasped, “don’t say that in