Tainted Forever

by Terri Anne Browning

  I didn’t want to make a scene in front of all of them, so I tapped on Harris’s shoulder. “Your wife is asking for you,” I told him. “She’s in your bedroom, about to lie down.”

  His head snapped around, worry and concern already shining in his aquamarine eyes. “Is she okay?”

  I forced a smile. “She just wants to talk to you.”

  “Oh, okay.” He straightened to his full six-and-a-half-feet height and dusted off his hands. “You got this?” he asked Jace.

  “How hard can it be, right?” Jace said with a laugh.

  “You would be surprised,” Harris said with a snort, his long legs eating up the distance to the door. “If you can’t figure it out, see if my dad is still around and get him to help.”

  I went to follow him, but Jace caught my hand, stopping me in my tracks. “She okay?”

  “I don’t know,” I told him, keeping my voice quiet. “It could be nothing. She’s just uncomfortable, I guess.”

  “Yeah, she’s been pretty miserable lately. Keep me updated?”

  I nodded, smiling down at him. “Good luck with that.” I nodded toward the glider he was trying to put together, and his lips twisted in grim amusement.

  “For some reason, I feel like you being one of Lucy’s birthing coaches is the easier of the two jobs.”

  Laughing, I walked away.

  Back in Lucy and Harris’s bedroom, I found Lucy lying in bed, body pillow cradled around her while Harris rubbed her lower back. His face was pale, but Lucy was smiling with contentment.

  “Feeling any better?” I asked as I shut the door.

  “I think today just drained me,” she said with a sigh as Harris rubbed what must have been a particularly tender spot. “I feel so much better now.”

  “What can I do?”

  “Tylenol is in the bathroom medicine cabinet,” Harris instructed. “Can you grab her two? Them maybe go down and pretend like everything is okay so her dad doesn’t freak out and make things more stressful for her?”

  “You got it,” I assured him as I went into their huge bathroom and found the bottle of Tylenol.

  There was a bottle of water already on Lucy’s bedside table, so I uncapped it and handed over the two tablets. Harris helped her raise up long enough to swallow them as I made my way to the door. Closing it behind me, I headed downstairs and went about everything like nothing had just happened.

  Only a few people remained in the house now. Lucy’s brothers were out on the beach with a few of the other kids, and I could hear them screaming and laughing through the open back windows. I picked up stray glasses, paper plates, and balled-up napkins on my way to the kitchen.

  Layla was putting away the last of the food and Natalie was doing the dishes when I walked in. Lucy’s mom beamed at me as I came into the room. “Hey, sweetheart. Haven’t had time to talk to you much today. How are you?”

  I handed Natalie the two glasses I’d found and moved to help Layla wrap up the last of the platters with cling wrap. “I’m good. How about you two? Today must have been exhausting for you both.”

  “We wanted this day to be perfect,” Layla said with a smile. “After we fucked up so abysmally with the wedding, throwing this shower for Lucy was the least we could do.”

  “You guys did a great job,” I assured them. “I’ll have to enlist your services when I throw a baby shower for Amara.”

  “Cash’s girlfriend?” Natalie asked as she closed the dishwasher and wiped her hands on a dish towel.

  “Yes. She’s actually one of my new roommates.” I lifted two of the wrapped platters and slid them into the huge fridge. “I don’t know if you met the other one or not, you two were so busy. She came with Nate.”

  “Pocket Venus with the black bob haircut?” Natalie asked.

  I beamed. “Yes, that’s Riley.”

  “Angie isn’t living with you now?” Layla asked with concern.

  “Oh no. She moved in with Jenna…” Natalie gasped, her jaw clenching as she turned away. “You didn’t know they are dating? But they were both here earlier.”

  “We… We don’t talk,” Harris’s stepmother muttered, busying herself with wiping down all the flat surfaces in the kitchen.

  I looked at Layla. Her brown eyes locked with mine, and we both sighed. Natalie and Jenna used to be really close. But then the Tessa thing happened, and Natalie hadn’t forgiven her sister. Everyone else was willing to let it go, especially Lucy and Harris, but Natalie loved Harris like a son, and she couldn’t get over what her sister’s ex did to him.

  I got it, but at the same time, I loved Jenna. It wasn’t her fault she had a psycho ex. She’d just fallen for the wrong person and gotten in over her head. Between rehab and staying clean for two years, she’d worked hard to show everyone she was someone they all could rely on now.

  “So they’re serious?” Layla asked after another minute passed without Natalie speaking.

  “Very. Angie came out to her dad, which was really hard for her. She’d never told him or my mom before, although I’m pretty sure Mom suspected. But she never asked her, and I don’t know if they ever talked about it before Mom died.”

  “Has Jenna told Stella and Clyde?”

  I glanced at Natalie. From the set of her shoulders, I knew she was listening intently. “Not yet. I don’t think either of them is ready for that kind of crazy in their lives yet.”

  “Of course not. Dad probably won’t care. But Mom will never accept Jenna’s sexuality. Every time she’s ever tried to come out to them in the past, Mom always cut her off.” Natalie tossed her cloth in the sink, her jaw clenched angrily. “She knows, but as long as no one says the words out loud, she doesn’t have to face the fact that her daughter is a lesbian. God, I hate that bitch.”

  “Your mom?”

  Natalie looked at me with pained eyes. “Stella Stevenson is a narcissistic, manipulative cunt. I hate her. She still hasn’t accepted that I’m married to Devlin. She’s only met my daughter twice, and that was because Dad forced her to when we were in Ohio for a concert. It doesn’t matter to her that I’m happy and in love. It won’t matter that Jenna is either. She has her standards, and neither of us has ever or will ever meet them in her eyes.”

  “I’m sorry, Nat,” I told her, crossing to her and hugging her.

  She hugged me back. “It’s her loss,” she said after a moment, giving me a small, tight smile. “That’s why Jenna and I have always had each other’s backs. We don’t need Mom if we have one another.”

  I met her gaze, hoping she would realize what she as saying. Her chin began to tremble, and she bit her lip, hard. Swallowing, she glanced at Layla. “Uh, Lay, could you maybe…”

  The other woman smiled. “No problem. We got this, don’t we, Kin?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Don’t worry about it.”

  She grabbed her purse. “Could you tell Dev that I don’t know what time I’ll be home?”

  “Dev knows,” a deep voice said from the kitchen doorway. We all turned to look at the rocker, a loving smile on his face making his dimples pop. “Go on. Trinity and I can walk home from here. That’s a perk of living so freaking close to our son. Just drive carefully, baby.”

  She rushed across the room and kissed him. “I love you.”

  “Love you, Nat.” He stroked his hands over her hair. “It’s about time you two cleared this up.”

  “Yeah,” she whispered a little shakily. “I’ll be home later.”

  “Take your time. Don’t rush on my account.” He kissed her again. “I know you’ve missed her.”

  Natalie hugged me on her way out the door. “Thanks, Kin,” she breathed.

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “You did more than you realize,” she said with a laugh, dashing tears off her cheeks. “I owe you one.”

  Chapter 16

  Jace

  The sound of my phone blasting beside my ear had me jerking upright in bed. Hea
rt pounding, I didn’t even glance at the clock before answering.

  But before I could ask what the fuck was going on, Harris was already talking a mile a minute. “Get here, man! I’m about to be a dad.”

  “She’s in labor for real?” I was slightly skeptical.

  Lucy had been having contractions on and off since her baby shower on Sunday. It was the middle of the night now, Tuesday going into Wednesday. Kin had been sending me various texts letting me know Lucy’s progress, and I’d been a little grumpy because that was all she would talk to me about. If I mentioned anything heavier than that, she would go radio silent on me, and I’d be left staring at my phone, begging those three dots to appear.

  “Her water broke. We’re at the hospital, and she’s being wheeled up to a room right now.”

  “Hey, Jace!” Lucy’s voice called out. “Please hurry. Harris needs you to keep him calm.”

  I grinned as I got out of bed. “I’m on my way. Be there as soon as I can.”

  “Pick up coffee,” my best friend instructed, and I could hear the stress in his voice under all the excitement. Lucy was right; I would need to keep him calm.

  “Kin there?” I asked as I pulled on sweat pants and grabbed a shirt. Picking up my keys and wallet, I sprinted through the apartment and out the door.

  “Right here beside me.”

  “Good. I’ll pick up enough for everyone, minus Lucy.” The elevator arrived seconds after I pressed the call button, and I stepped inside. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, bro.”

  Coffee in hand, I walked into the birthing center of the hospital where Lucy had planned on having the baby from the moment she found out she was pregnant. The place was like a fortress, and I had to show ID to get through. Luckily, my friends had already put me on the list of guests who could be allowed entrance. I still had to step through a metal detector and then be wanded down before I was allowed to proceed to the room Harris texted me earlier.

  In front of the double doors to the labor and delivery floor, Marcus was already standing at attention, along with the guard I remembered normally shadowed Emmie’s daughter, Mia. Seeing me, the man who had been a part of Lucy’s life for as long as I’d known her opened the door for me.

  A closer look at him made me realize he was gray under his normal tan, the only outward sign he was nervous. The guy loved Lucy, and I figured this was going to be hard on him, especially since he was out here while she was inside somewhere, going through the pains of labor.

  Moments later, I was inside the spacious private room where Lucy would eventually deliver baby Hayat. Lucy was sitting on a workout ball, her hips shifting from side to side. Harris’s long legs were stretched out in front of him as he sat behind her on a rolling chair, rubbing her back. There was an IV hooked to Lucy’s hand, some kind of monitor I didn’t understand attached to her stomach, and a pained look twisting her beautiful face.

  Kin sat in front of her, showing her how to breathe through the pain, but I wasn’t sure how much help that was because Lucy looked like she was in agony.

  As I entered the room, the three of them looked up. “How is it going?” I asked as I set down the drink carrier filled with coffees. “We going to have a baby soon?”

  “Not even close to soon,” Lucy grumbled, her body seeming to droop, and I could only guess her contraction was over for the moment.

  “She’s only dilated to a three,” Harris explained. “This will probably take a while.”

  “Good thing I got extra shots of espresso in all the coffee, then,” I said with a grin, passing him his cup and then taking Kin’s and mine so I could sit beside her.

  She took her cup, sipping it like it was liquid gold, and moaned when she realized I’d gotten her the chocolate mocha with caramel drizzle just the way she liked it. I sat back, dropping my arm across the back of the surprisingly comfortable couch, watching her enjoy her coffee. “Did they make it right?”

  She nodded. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

  Her blue eyes met mine, and fuck, I wanted to kiss her so damn bad. If I hadn’t screwed everything up, I wouldn’t have hesitated. But I didn’t have the right to kiss her freely now, and that realization made my chest feel like it was being squeezed in a vise. Instead, I pushed a few strands of hair that fell from her ponytail back behind her ear and reminded myself it was my own fault.

  “I’m surprised your dad isn’t already here, Lu,” I told her a few minutes later, after she’d gone through another painful contraction.

  “We’re waiting to tell everyone I’m in labor until I’ve progressed a little further. I don’t want Daddy freaking out the entire time.” Kin fed Lucy a scoop of ice chips, and she started crunching on them. “Let him sleep through most of this.”

  “But Emmie knows?”

  “We had to call her so she could get in front of security issues and keep the paps from trying to sneak their way in.” She pressed her lips together, disgusted. “That’s all I need—for one of those assholes to sneak in and get a picture of me with my legs spread and my baby’s head crowning.”

  “Gross, Lucy,” Kin said with a snort.

  “Ah, fuck,” Lucy groaned, her face a mask of pure pain.

  Kin thrust her coffee into my hands and then grabbed both of Lucy’s, helping her focus and breathe through the worst of the pain. Harris rubbed her back the entire time. Sitting there, unable to do anything to assist, I felt useless. But at the same time, I didn’t want to be anywhere else but with the three of them.

  Hours passed, sunlight began to peek through the windows, and suddenly, Jesse Thornton was there and making the room feel suffocating. I stayed back, keeping quiet in the corner of the room while the Demon freaked out with every small sound that left his daughter’s throat. I didn’t know who I was more concerned about—Lucy, in so much pain from the labor, or Jesse, who looked like he was going to pass out at any moment. He was sweating just as badly as his daughter, his face ravaged by worry.

  Not long after the Thorntons arrived, the Cutters made an entrance. With all the people filling up the room, I knew it was only a matter of time before the staff started kicking out the nonfamily members, and I wasn’t ready to leave my friends yet.

  But no one told me to go, and I stuck around, thankful to be a part of this crazy experience with them.

  And to be with Kin.

  She was amazing with Lucy and even got Jesse to calm down and laugh a few times. But those moments were short-lived, and when she wasn’t helping Lucy breathe through her contractions, she tended to come back to sit beside me. She looked exhausted, but damn was she still beautiful. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright with lack of sleep, and her hair was now in a messy bun because her ponytail had fallen twice already.

  I would have been content just to sit there and look at her for a million years.

  I was a little relieved, however, when the doctor came in and announced it was time to push. Lucy’s pain was escalating, and those moans she was making every time the contractions hit were making me sweat. I didn’t like that she was in so much pain. I wanted to take it all away from her, and I could tell Harris was about to lose his mind if this wasn’t over soon.

  I was ready to sprint out of the room, but Jesse didn’t want to leave, and I was wondering if Devlin and I were going to have to physically drag him out of the room.

  “Daddy!” Lucy suddenly snapped. “I’m about to have my bottom half exposed for the entire world to see. Please, for the love of gods, just go before you see something neither one of us can come back from.”

  Jesse’s face paled, and he nodded. “Okay, Lu. Okay. I’ll be out in the waiting room. If you need me, just scream.”

  “I’m about to scream now,” she cried. “I’m not pushing this baby out until you are out of this room.”

  Kin, Natalie, and Layla stayed behind with Harris, and I heard a few laughs as the door shut behind me and the two grandfathers. They both seemed shell-shocked, an
d I herded them down the hall to the waiting room.

  There wasn’t a free seat in the place, as all of Lucy’s family and friends had filtered in to await the birth of baby Hayat. It looked like a party was taking place in there, and I heard a few of them telling stories about when Lucy and Harris were younger and how hard it was to believe those two babies were having a baby.

  Lana stood as soon as she saw Jesse and came over to usher him to a seat between her and Drake, who was holding their newborn son in his arms. Lana patted Jesse on the arm every few minutes, trying to comfort her brother-in-law, but he looked like he didn’t hear a word she or anyone else said to him.

  Kassa and Gray were just walking through the door when I pulled a cup of weak-ass coffee from the vending machine. Seeing me, my sister came over to join me.

  “How is she?”

  I scratched my chin, the lack of sleep starting to make itself known. “She’s pushing right now. Hopefully it won’t be long now.”

  Twenty minutes later, Kin walked into the room, and everyone seemed to hold their breath. Beaming, she announced, “She’s here!”

  As everyone cheered, Kin went straight over to Jesse and hugged him. “Lucy says you can come back now. She’s all covered up, and she wants to introduce you to your granddaughter.” His throat began to work as her gaze went to Devlin. “You can go back too, Pop-Pop,” she told him with a wink.

  If I hadn’t seen how fast the Demon moved to get out of the room, I never would have believed it was possible. He ran out the door, Devlin right behind him.

  The entire room watched him with a mixture of amusement and loving concern. Devlin gave Kin a quick hug, thanked her for coming to tell him, and rushed after the other drummer.

  Kin looked like she was about to drop, and I moved toward her as Lana and Emmie started throwing questions at her about the delivery. While they talked about Hayat’s weight and length and the mop of dark curls she had come into the world with, I slowly eased in beside Kin and then edged her away from the group.