Inevitably (RiffRaff Records Book 8)

by L. P. Maxa

  “You’re smiling.”

  “I’m a funny guy.” I put a bandage on her arm, using the leftover tape to stick the port to the empty IV bag. “How are you feeling?”

  “Better.” She stretched her arms over her head, making her shirt ride up and the covers move down. “Where are my pants?”

  “I took them off.” I winked, chuckling when her eyes went wide. “I wanted to make sure you were comfortable, Ems.”

  “Thank you.” She rolled onto her side, facing me. “I’m sorry about my parents and my dad hitting you, and all the crying and passing out.”

  I shook my head, grinning. “You don’t need to thank me, and you don’t need to apologize. We’re in this together, and we’re doing fine.” Other than the fistfight, the dehydration, and IV drip, I suppose. “You hungry? I’m supposed to make you eat.”

  “Can I have some cookies?” She clasped her hands together, like she wasn’t above begging. “Please?”

  “Sure, Ems, you earned them today.” I kissed her forehead, then got to my feet. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”

  Come hell or high water, I’d find that chick some damn cookies. She’d had one heck of a bad day, and if cookies were all she could stomach at the moment, then cookies it was. I stopped short when I realized Katie and Cash were still awake and lying on the couch. “Hey, I figured you guys went to bed hours ago.” I hadn’t heard them, hadn’t heard the TV. I’d fallen asleep on and off, waking to check on Ems like Landry had instructed.

  “I wanted to make sure you guys didn’t need anything.” Katie sat up, rubbing at her eyes. “I came in there a few times, but you were both asleep.”

  “You were spooning her.” Cash raised an eyebrow. “Are you two together now? I thought this was friends and co-parents.”

  “It is.” I collapsed on one of the two leather chairs opposite them. “But she’s carrying my kid, and she had a shit day because of it. The least I can do is watch over her while she takes a damn nap.” When Cash didn’t say anything else, I turned my attention back to my sister. “You got any cookies around here?”

  She nodded, pointing past me and into the kitchen. “Flour is in the pantry, chocolate chips in the freezer.”

  “You expect me to make cookies? Like from scratch?” I stuck out my bottom lip, which always seemed to work when we were kids. “Can’t you make them for me? Please, Katie Bug.”

  “Don’t ask your sister to do it for you.” Cash jerked his chin, his lips twitching like he was fighting off a smirk. “Come on, dad, step up for your kid.”

  “You’re a real pain in the ass.”

  “And you’re the asshole that knocked up my baby cousin and caused a rift between her and her parents.” His eyes narrowed, all humor gone. “Unless you want your eye to match your jaw, I suggest you go make the damn cookies.”

  ***

  “Ems? You awake?”

  “No.” She pulled the covers up over her head. “I’m going to sleep until the baby is born, okay?”

  I perched next to her, setting the plate of sugar I’d made myself on the nightstand. “I have fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies.”

  She peeked her blonde head out, pulling the blankets down to her mouth. “They smell really good.”

  “I can’t promise how they’ll taste. I made them myself.”

  The recipe was printed on the back of the chocolate chip bag, and I’d followed every step carefully. But I’d never baked anything before, so it was really a crapshoot whether they’d be edible. Cash had catalogued the whole process on social media, leaving out the fact that I was baking for my baby momma.

  Her eyes filled with tears. “You made me cookies?”

  “Uh, yeah?” I scratched the back of my head, not sure what to do about the crying that was seconds away from taking place. There’d been lots of that tonight.

  She sniffled, then wiped her cheeks. “That was really nice.”

  “So cookies are really the only way you turn into a sweet, weepy pregnant chick?” I made room, setting the plate between us. The cookies did smell amazing, even if the shape was a bit more triangle than the perfect circles I’d seen Devin create.

  She giggled, the sound warming me from the inside out. And then her smile crumbled and she started crying all over again.

  “Awe, Ems.” I wiped her tears away with my knuckles. “Your parents will come around.”

  “I know they will.” She sat up, taking a deep breath like she was trying to get her emotions under control before she drowned us both. “I’ve never really fought with them before, though. I’m not used to disappointing them. I hate that they’re mad at me. I hate that they reacted the way they did.”

  “Did you really expect them to take the news well?” I hadn’t.

  “I didn’t expect them to be so hurt, and so angry.”

  “They’re scared for you, Ems.” I watched warily as she bit into one of the cookies. When she didn’t immediately spit it out, I relaxed. “But what they don’t know is that you, me, and this kid? We’re going to be okay. I’m here for both of you, and we’ll figure this all out. Together.”

  Because if I could figure out how to make cookies from scratch, I could pretty much do anything I put my fucking mind to.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Emmie

  I returned home the morning after I told my parents about the baby. I felt better after a full night’s sleep, and the IV boost from Landry had helped almost as much as sleeping cuddled up next to Kase had.

  When I’d woken and felt his body against mine, his hand on my stomach, I’d melted. The butterflies I’d banished so long ago had returned full force. I’d slipped out of bed as quietly as possible, needing all the self-preservation I could muster to help me find the strength to leave. I didn’t want him to think I was ungrateful, or running away. So I’d made him breakfast in bed, told him it was a thank you for the cookies he’d baked me in the middle of the night.

  It was now three days later and my parents still weren’t speaking to me. Other than the occasional unsupportive comment, they were either avoiding me, or sending me disappointed looks from across the room. It was like they couldn’t bring themselves to kick me out, but the sight of me was making them ill.

  It was exhausting and stressful. I didn’t tell Kase, though. I didn’t want him to worry. These were my parents, and they were my problem. I knew he thought that everything to do with the pregnancy was on both of us, but he shouldn’t have to shoulder my parents’ hatred. He didn’t deserve it, and I refused to let him help me carry it.

  It was Friday night, and that meant family dinner. I wanted to stay in my room, buried under my covers, and sleep until it was over. But I wasn’t a child, and hiding from my problems would only prove my parents’ point. That I was naïve and unprepared for the course I’d set for myself.

  Emmie: You coming to family dinner tonight?

  Kasen: Would it be easier or harder on you if I came?

  Kase had been amazing all week. He texted me constantly, checking on the baby. He made me take my blood pressure every morning. But he kept his distance, not wanting to do anything to cause me any more stress.

  Emmie: Harder. My dad will start all his “I told you so” stuff.

  Kasen: What “I told you so” stuff?

  Emmie: He thinks you’ll end up bailing on the baby.

  When my dad did speak to me, it was to remind me that I needed to get rid of Kase. Once a player always a player, Emmie. This one always made me tear up, even though I never let him know it. He’s here now because it’s all new and dramatic, but it’ll wear off and he’ll be gone. And then my favorite, the one that hit me in the heart with its truth. He’s never going to settle down, he’ll only hurt you both in the end.

  Kasen: I’ll be at dinner Ems.

  I let out a sigh of relief, lying back on my bed. I needed Kase there beside me if I was going to survive this dinner. I hadn’t talked to my aunts and uncles in the last few days either. But the
y had to know I was pregnant. My dad would have run to his brothers immediately. The parents were as close as all us kids were.

  Which was where we got it from.

  But that was part of the problem, wasn’t it? They chose to lean on each other and away from us, the same way we did to them. There was a clear line drawn down the middle of this compound. There always had been. The more Kase pointed all these things out to me, the more I realized that he was right.

  They were clueless. And they didn’t deserve the right to reprimand me, to reprimand any of us. The longer they treated me like I was disowned, the easier it was for anger to take place of the hurt inside me.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Kasen

  Smith James was starting to piss me the fuck off. Granted, the guy didn’t know me, not the real me. He had no way of knowing that when I said I was going to do something, I was going to do it all the way. But that still didn’t give him the right to constantly bring Emmie down. His disapproval was weighing on her, making her already heavy load all the more tiresome.

  Emmie was exhausted but she was too anxious and on edge to sleep through the night. How did I know this? I moved to the guest room at Cash and Katie’s that gave me a clear view of her window. When I asked her why her bedroom light was on in the middle of the night, she told me she was studying. But I knew that wasn’t the case. Since she wasn’t training anymore, she had plenty of hours in the day to get her schoolwork done.

  I wanted her to come stay with Cash and Katie, but I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to bring it up. I felt like I was still walking a fine line when it came to my input in her life. I wanted what was best for her and the baby, but I wasn’t the boss of her.

  She had enough of those hanging around.

  “Hey, Katie, can I talk to you about something?” I skidded to a stop when I saw that Landry was there too. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you weren’t alone, it can wait.”

  “Nonsense.” My sister gave me a toothless manic smile. “Unless you’re going to tell me you knocked up another one of my in-laws. If that’s the case, let’s wait ’til Landry leaves so she’s not an accomplice to murder.”

  “Hilarious.”

  “I thought so.” Katie patted the space next to her on the couch. “Come tell us what’s on your mind, punk.”

  Ems and the baby, they seemed to always be on my mind these days. But that was expected, right? I was on the compound, living in her space. And I couldn’t seem to fall asleep at night until her bedroom light went off. It was like my body wouldn’t relax until I knew she was resting. Once I was back to my normal routine, my brain would be able to function at full capacity again.

  “You sure?” I looked to Landry, making sure that she was cool with my interruption.

  “One, Brody has all three boys by himself for the first time in weeks. I’m not leaving this house until it’s time to head to family dinner.” She patted the same patch of couch Katie had a few seconds earlier. “Two, I love gossip of all kinds. So, let’s hear it, little fucker.”

  Lovely. Smith was sharing his new special name for me with the whole compound.

  “You guys should take your comedy act on the road.” I sat on the loveseat, choosing not to wedge myself between them.

  “If Brody gets me pregnant one more time, I might.”

  I slouched down, kicking my legs out in front of me. “Smith is still being a dick to Ems.”

  “Don’t you think you should call him Mr. James, you know, at least until he doesn’t openly hate the sight of you?” Our mother would be so proud of my sister trying to correct me.

  “No.” I was raised Southern and I knew my manners. But Smith James lost all my respect the night he made Ems cry. “Emmie’s not sleeping well and she’s constantly on edge, like she’s waiting for the next disappointed comment to come her way. It’s not good for her or the baby.”

  “I’ve been worried about her too. She lost some weight in the first trimester when she was training all day and I think the stress of the last week has made everything even worse.” Landry shook her head. “Stress and anxiety, lack of sleep? You’re right, it’s not good for either of them.”

  I kept tabs on her blood pressure, forwarding the texts to Landry every morning to make sure she was okay. But I didn’t know she’d lost weight. Maybe I should make her weigh herself every morning too? That was probably pushing it. And Ems would eventually push back.

  “I want Emmie to move in here, with Katie.” I’d been thinking about it for a few days now, and it seemed like the perfect solution. “Cash leaves for baseball training camp on Tuesday so you’ll be here all alone for a couple months. And you’re my sister, you won’t talk constant shit about me.”

  Katie raised an eyebrow, grinning. “Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?”

  “Fine, you won’t talk constant shit about me bailing on my kid.”

  “Is that what Uncle Smith is saying? That you’ll leave Em to do this all on her own?” When I nodded, Landry frowned.

  “I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a liar. I’ll be there for Ems and for the baby. I fly out in less than a week and I can’t go until I know that they’re both okay.” I looked between the two of them. “So, will you help me?”

  “Of course we will. I can get the other guest room ready.” Katie hopped to her feet. “And order some healthy yummy groceries and cookie dough so she doesn’t riot.”

  Landry polished off her wine, standing as well. “I’ll talk to Em. I’ll let her know that I think her being here would be what’s best for now, medically.”

  I got up, crossing my arms over my chest. “And you’ll both make sure that all the spawn stop giving her a hard time? Stop eating off her plate. Stop treating her like a baby and talking over her?”

  Both girls stopped, staring at me with wide eyes.

  “She needs all the food, and she needs to know that you guys believe in her, that you believe in us.” I shook my head. “I swear, I will set up camp in front of her bedroom door if this shit doesn’t stop.”

  “Is Brody right? Are you two boning?”

  Cash chose that moment to walk into the house with Jett, Talon, and Beau. “What’s going on? Kase is banging Em?”

  I rolled my eyes. “You guys know that it’s possible to truly care about someone without fucking them, right?” They all wrinkled their foreheads, like they were confused by the concept. “No. I’m not boning Emmie.”

  Jett sighed, shaking his head. “Well, you need to bone someone, because you seem stressed as fuck.”

  I ignored him, walking out of my sister’s place and toward the pool house where this giant Friday family dinner was being held. I seemed stressed as fuck because I was stressed as fuck. I was going to be a father, Emmie’s parents were treating her like she’d tossed her life in the shitter, and I had to be on a damn plane in three days.

  Boning someone else was so far from my mind that it wasn’t…Whoa. Since when had sex been a back-burner activity for me? I paused in the middle of the kalachi road, trying to recall the last time I got laid. There was that model I shot with in the Bali. Yeah, we’d spent the night together after our campaign ended. It hadn’t been that long ago.

  But since then I’d been kind of preoccupied. Finding out I got Ems pregnant, deciding I wanted to be a father, coming down here and helping her tell her parents.

  But I left soon, in a matter of days. I’d fly out of here and I’d be me again.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Emmie

  Dinner was as miserable I thought it would be. The conversation with the ’rents was strained. My father looked like he was going to throw up every time Kase leaned over to talk to me. My aunts and uncles kept shooting worried glances between my parents and me, not sure what to do. And my cousins? Well, I had to assume they were going for distraction.

  “I have a video of Kase baking, if anyone wants to see it.” Cash held out his cell. Jett immediately snatched it. “He wore his sister’s cute Mrs. Matthews
apron.”

  Kase groaned, hiding his face behind my back. “You try to do something nice for the chick carrying your child and your own brother-in-law records it.” He shook his head, a disappointed yet playful expression on his handsome face. “Is there nothing sacred these days?”

  “Apparently not,” my dad answered from his spot way down the table.

  My cheeks heated, my stomach flipping on itself. Kase and I coming to dinner tonight was to show that we were okay, united. Me shutting down in front of everyone would only add to my parents’ opinion that I couldn’t handle my life. So I ignored my father. I pretended like I hadn’t even heard his backhanded comment.

  “Kase, where are you headed next?” I stifled a groan. Beau had a polite smile on his face, thinking he was being nice when all he was actually doing was bringing up the fact that Kase worked out of the country all the time.

  Kase put his hand on my knee under the table, comforting me automatically. “Uh, Italy.”

  “That’s got to be pretty awesome, getting to take pictures all over the world.” Beau was a photographer, and he sounded genuinely impressed with Kase’s career. “I traveled around the US for a while, and the content I got was amazing. I can’t imagine the things you get to capture in other countries.”

  “Yeah, it’s beautiful. And humbling in a—”

  “Beau traveled because he was hiding from his family, running from his mistakes.” My dad was staring down the table, eavesdropping on our conversation. “Is that why you travel, Kasen?”

  Halen’s eyes narrowed as she adjusted her sleeping baby on her lap.