Revived (Unexpected Series Book 1)

by S. E. Roberts

  She reaches across the table and grabs my hand, which throws me by surprise.

  “What happened?” This girl is vastly different from the one I saw at Ryke’s.

  “He showed up at my best friend’s wedding in Miami and tried to hurt me, but, thankfully, Ryke showed up before he did anything.”

  She gasps and puts her hand to her mouth. “Oh, my God.” She has a tear running down her face, and I can tell that she really does care.

  “He admitted to trying to have me killed. He’s currently sitting in a jail cell until his trial.” I’m still trying to fathom the fact that my husband wanted me dead.

  “Let me know when it is and I’ll go with you to testify.”

  “Really?” I’m not sure how Ryke will feel knowing his ex is helping me, but she is exactly the witness we need to prove him guilty.

  “Of course. I owe you and Ryke for trying to cause problems. I know I’m his least favorite person, but I really do want to help.”

  I decide not to respond to her because I don’t want to sound unappreciative. She really hurt him, but she already knows that. I don’t need to add salt to old wounds.

  “You don’t have to answer me now, you can talk to Ryke first.” She pauses and puts her head down.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “I thought maybe Kayla could meet Brady.” She looks up at me cautiously.

  “I think that’s a great idea. I think it’s important that he knows his sister.” I can tell she’s surprised by my answer but then a smile lights up her face.

  I don’t imagine us ever being best friends, but I think I could enjoy spending time with her. Who would have thought?

  We talk some more about random things and finish our coffees before making plans to meet up soon with both kids.

  I’m not sure what Ryke is going to say about me spending time with Monica, but I want Brady to know Kayla. They both will grow up without their father, but at least they’ll have each other.

  I leave the coffee shop feeling oddly relieved. I hop up into the truck, ready to see my guys.

  64

  Ryker

  Today, I am fucking elated. We’re at Sierra’s house gathering the last of Claire and Brady’s things before they move in with me. Sierra found out a few weeks ago that Miles will be home tomorrow. Claire was a little hesitant to move in with me since we’ve only been together for a short time, but she quickly got over it. The thought of having her in my bed every night makes me feel like the luckiest damn man alive. I converted my guest room into Brady’s new Mickey Mouse room. Since they’ve been spending most their nights with Sierra and her son, it was easy to surprise them with it. I also let her pick out new things for our bedroom, so it felt like ours instead of just mine. We’ll have to find something bigger before the baby comes, but I’ve already started looking some.

  “Alright, Sier. I think we got everything loaded up.” Claire gives Sierra a hug and she starts to cry. Damn pregnancy hormones.

  “Thanks for staying with us.” Now Sierra is crying. They act like they’ll never see each other again when they’ll only be fifteen minutes away from each other.

  I walk to the living room and lift Brady in my arms.

  “Come on, buddy. Let’s go wait for Mama outside.” When we got back from Miami, the first thing I did was get a car seat for my truck. It was a bitch trying to figure out which one to get, since Claire wasn’t with me, not to mention, trying to put the damn thing in correctly. Thankfully, buckling him in doesn’t take a scientist.

  “Ike, go!” Brady says from the backseat. He’s so smart for his age. I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with him since Claire started working at the daycare down the street from my house. We have guy time on the days she’s gone. She’s also been writing again but won’t let me read the book she’s working on until it’s done. Romance would bore the hell out of me, but I’m damn proud of her.

  “We have to wait for Mama.” I turn toward the boy and squeeze his foot.

  The passenger door swings open and Claire climbs in. We’re going to have to get her a car before she gets much bigger or she won’t be able to get in and out of this thing.

  “Sorry for taking so long.”

  “It’s alright. You okay?” I squeeze her hand. I’ve done my research on pregnancy and know that women can become very moody. Afterward, it doesn’t get much better.

  “Yeah, I’ll just miss seeing her every day.” She rests her head against the back of the seat.

  “You can come see her anytime or have her over. Miles comes home tomorrow, right?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Why don’t you invite them and Evan and Avery over this weekend and we’ll grill out. It’ll be nice to meet Miles and I know you haven’t seen much of your brother lately.” Her relationship with Evan has been very up and down since she moved to Phoenix, but since the accident, they have grown closer. I’m glad she had them when she couldn’t remember me.

  “Thanks, baby.” She smiles.

  When we get to the house, I unload their things into the living room.

  “Stay put until I’m done, okay?” I tell her as I run out to my truck. I’m excited to show her and Brady his new room.

  I grab Brady’s diaper bag and a box for his room, deciding to get the rest later.

  I walk back into the house and Claire gives me a questioning look.

  “Uh, why can’t I leave?” She sits next to Brady who has just climbed up on the couch. Damn, I’m so excited to have them here with me. I just hope I Brady-proofed my house well enough.

  “Come on, I’ll show you.” I lift Brady in one arm and grab her hand.

  “What did you do, Ryker Allen?”

  “You’ll see.” I slowly push the door to Brady’s room open and, once she has a good view, she gasps.

  “Oh, my God! You did this for him?” She squeals and then takes Brady from me.

  “Of course, I did. I wanted him to have his very own space here. This is his house too.”

  I look over at her and she has a tear running down her cheek. And here come the emotions again.

  “Brady look what Ryke did for you!” The boy runs into the room in excitement.

  “Icky!” He yells and has me and Claire laughing in hysterics at his attempt at saying Mickey.

  “That’s right, buddy.” I lift him into the crib that has Mickey bedding, a fancy one that will later convert into a toddler bed. We’ll have to get another crib for the baby.

  With Austin’s help, I painted the bottom half of each wall red, the top half white, separated by the wood paneling. Mickey Mouse stickers are strategically placed all over the room. A yellow lamp with a red shade sits on a mouse-shaped table next to the rocking chair in the corner. I know Claire likes to rock him to sleep every night, so now they’ll have their own special space.

  Brady takes it upon himself to climb out of the crib.

  “We might have to change that over to a toddler bed sooner than I thought.” I chuckle.

  Claire laughs.

  While Brady continues to roam around his new room, she grabs my arm.

  “I can’t believe you did this.” She pulls my face down to her and presses her lips to mine.

  “I’d do anything for you guys and this little one.” I rub her now protruding stomach. She still has a while until she delivers, but I look forward to seeing all the changes to her body.

  “I love you, Mr. Allen.”

  “Claire, don’t tease me.” I peck her nose with a kiss and then join Brady.

  “Hello!” Claire’s loud ass friend yells as she comes through the front door. I seriously believe that she doesn’t know what a doorbell is.

  “Hey, Sier.” The two women hug as if it’s been months since they’ve seen each other when it was just two days ago.

  “Babe, this is my bestie, Claire.”

  “I’ve heard so much about you,” Miles says as he wraps my girl in a side hug.

  “Oh, trust me. This girl never shuts
up about you.” At that, Sierra playfully punches her in the arm.

  “Hey, man. I’m Ryke.” I hold my hand out to him.

  “Nice to finally meet you. Thanks for putting up with her while I was gone.” He points at Sierra. It’s obvious these two are in love.

  “Well, she always steals my girlfriend away, so I kind of had to.” I wink at Sierra and she mumbles a curse word at me under her breath.

  The doorbell rings.

  “Hey, Sierra. That’s what we call a doorbell.” I tell her.

  “Oh, shut the hell up. This is Claire’s house now too, so I can barge in whenever I damn well please.”

  “Sorry, man, I can’t control her.”

  We both laugh.

  “Can I get you a beer?”

  We both head back to the kitchen when he agrees.

  “Hey!” Evan yells as he comes into the room, carrying soda and chips.

  “Hey, man. This is Miles. The lucky man who gets to put up with Sierra for the rest of his life.

  Evan slaps Miles on the back.

  “Nice to meet you, man. Thanks for your service.” Miles smiles and nods.

  Claire comes into the room and hugs her brother.

  “Hey, bro. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.” Evan leans down and kisses her on the head as he wraps his arm around her.

  “Because you have a damn boyfriend now” He smirks at her and she punches him in the side.

  “Whatever. You’re just glad we’re out of your hair now.”

  Avery comes into the kitchen.

  “Now we can have sex whenever and wherever we want.”

  “Seriously, Av.” Evan rolls his eyes at his wife but then laughs.

  “Avery! I do not want to hear that and you know this.”

  “Oh, come on, seriously? You’re pregnant. You guys obviously have sex.”

  “Avery!” Evan covers his ears in disgust. “Did you forget that she’s my baby sister. Don’t say shit like that.”

  The guys finish off their beers and then we all head to the backyard. The girls sit with their feet up while they pass Auggie around and watch Brady play.

  “Are you excited to be a dad?” Evan asks me as he pats me on the shoulder. Claire and I have discussed it, deciding that we would keep talk of the baby to a minimum while we’re around him and Avery. For the last several years, they’ve been trying to get pregnant without any luck.

  “Yeah.” I smile wide, not being able to control myself. “I’m going to talk to Claire about adopting Brady once her divorce is finalized.”

  “That’s awesome, man. Hopefully, Trevor doesn’t give you guys any trouble.” I cringe at his words, knowing there’s a strong possibility that he’ll try to raise hell.

  “Yeah, I know. I’ll do anything for those two, you know?” I look over at him as I flip the burgers over on the grill.

  “I know. Just take care of them.” At that, he pats me on the back again and walks away.

  I finish at the grill and the women grab all the side dishes from the kitchen and bring them out to the patio table. Before Claire and Brady moved in, I bought a lot of shit, so this would feel more like a family home. I also set up a small swing set in the yard where Brady can swing and go down the slide. I’m looking forward to watching him and the baby play on it together in years to come.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” I say as Claire wraps her arms around me from behind.

  “Thanks for everything, baby,” she whispers and I can hear the emotion in her voice.

  I spin around so I’m facing her.

  “You don’t have to thank me. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but, fuck, I’m so glad I have you.

  She stands on her toes and grabs me by the back of the head as she devours my mouth, not caring that we have company.

  I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with this woman.

  65

  Claire

  Five Months Later

  I pull into the parking lot of the bar. I never thought I’d be a mini-van mom, but here I am. Ryke insisted because it’s safer than driving a car with the kids. I let him think whatever he wants.

  I open the door and I’m immediately hit with a cool breeze to my face. These pregnancy hormones have me hot and sweaty all the damn time. Thank God I’ll be having this baby before summer hits full force.

  I know I look ridiculous strolling through the parking lot in flip flops and capris. I’ve only been in Phoenix for one summer of extreme hell. Sierra laughs at the way I dress, but this mama can’t deal with the heat.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” Ryke hollers from the bar as soon as I walk in.

  “Hey, baby.” I take a seat right in front of him. Tonight is a slow night, so he doesn’t have any customers to take care of right now.

  “I’ll be ready in a few minutes.” He leans over and pecks my lips before running back to his office.

  I have no idea why he had me meet him here. He called me this afternoon and had me ask Sierra to watch Brady. This better be good because I’m exhausted and just want to put my feet up.

  I decide to walk to his office instead of waiting at the bar.

  Ryke’s back is to me when I enter the room.

  “Whatcha doin’ in here?” I ask and he jumps. “Sorry, babe. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

  He holds his chest. “It’s okay.” He laughs. “Just needed to grab something, but I’m ready now.”

  “What are we doing? Are you taking me for ice cream? Because I’d love you forever.”

  He leans in to kiss me. “No, but you’ll still love me forever.” He smacks my ass as he walks behind me.

  “Hey, man. I’m taking off,” he tells Austin as we pass the bar. “I’ll be in at noon tomorrow.”

  “See ya, guys.” He smiles at us. Austin recently got married to his long-term girlfriend, Amanda. Ryke was his best man.

  “Are you going to tell me what we’re doing?” I ask again as he helps me up into his truck. “What about the van?”

  “We’ll come back.” He runs around the front of the truck and then gets in and grabs my hand. “You know how you like surprises?” He laughs, knowing damn well that I do not like surprises.

  “Uh, no.” I chuckle. “What did you do?”

  “I just want to show you something.”

  We drive through town, but then I realize that we’re headed toward the mountains.

  “Baby, where are you taking me?”

  He looks over at me and smiles. “We’re almost there.”

  “We’re in the middle of nowhere.” I look out the window and all I see is desert with a few houses scattered throughout. I have no clue where the hell he’s taking me.

  Finally, he turns on his signal for no reason at all, as we’re the only people out here.

  He turns down a long drive-way that looks like it belongs to a house, but if it does, I can’t see it yet.

  Once we’re reaching the end, I notice a light from ahead. Then it comes into view. The most gorgeous, two-story, western-style home. The house is built of stucco like every other one in Phoenix, but it has a unique vibe to it.

  “Babe, what are we doing here?”

  He parks the truck. “I’ll show you.”

  He runs around to my side to help me down. Being enormously pregnant makes it near impossible to get in and out of his truck.

  “Doesn’t someone live here?” We continue toward the house, but he doesn’t answer my question. “Babe?”

  He pulls me up to the beautiful wrap-around porch.

  “Yes, someone does live here.” He gives me his signature smirk.

  “Who?”

  “Us.” He smiles from ear to ear.

  “Oh, my God! Seriously? You bought this house?” We only talked about buying a house once and I honestly kind of forgot about it.

  “Yes.” He gets down on one knee and my heart leaps from my chest. “This is where I want to bring my beautiful bride home to.” He reaches in his back pocket and pulls out a beautifu
l, white gold ring, with a heart-shaped diamond surrounded by a circle of diamonds. It’s gorgeous. My knees nearly buckle out from beneath me. “Will you marry me, sweetheart?” He looks both nervous and excited at the same time.

  “Yes!” I join him on the ground, tackling him in a kiss.

  He laughs at me. “Careful with my baby.”

  “The baby is fine.” I grin. “Where’s my ring?” I reach for his hand, acting like a greedy child.

  “So grabby.” He swats at my hand. He helps me up from the ground and then grabs my left hand before sliding the beautiful band on my finger.

  I hold my hand out to admire it and then wrap my arms around his neck.

  “It’s perfect,” I whisper into his ear as I nuzzle into him.

  “You’re perfect, sweetheart.” He kisses my cheek. “I want to spend the rest of my life in this house with you.” He gives me an intoxicating kiss and I know that I’ll never tire of this.

  He pulls away from me.

  “Let’s go see your house, sweetheart.”

  He walks me through the front door and I get eager thinking about my future with this man.

  66

  Claire

  “Come on, Claire, we just need one more good push,” Doctor Eckman says calmly.

  “I can’t!” I yell. I’m in so much pain and can’t wait to get this baby out of my freaking vagina. How could I have possibly forgotten how godawful this was? I guess if women remembered every grueling detail about childbirth, they wouldn’t do it again.

  “Yes, you can, you’re doing great.” Easy for him to say.

  “Yeah? How many times have you pushed a baby out of your vagina, huh?” I’m totally being a bitch, but how can he possibly know how much this sucks?