Guarding Her Heart (Guardians Inc. Book 1)

by Belle Calhoune

  The sudden peal of a cell phone caused Caleb to grin as he heard the telltale beats of Sierra's ring tone. “Excuse me. My lady's on the phone. We can finish this conversation once I finish this call.”

  The ringtone cut off as he quickly picked up the call, anxious to hear his wife's voice.

  “Hey, baby. What's going on?” he said in a silky voice.

  “Caleb, you need to get to the hospital. This baby's coming.”

  Panic fluttered through him as he heard Sierra's words. “How far apart are the contractions?

  “Last time we checked it was five minutes. I thought they were just Braxton Hicks since the baby's not due for a couple weeks.” She let out a low moan, followed by panting sounds. “She definitely wants out of captivity. My sister is going to run me over to Trinity Hospital.”

  “Baby, just hold on till I get there. I love you,” Caleb said, his heart full of emotion.

  He heard heavy breathing on the line, followed by the words, “I love you too, babe.”

  Caleb ended the call in a daze as a mixture of emotions flooded through him. Nine months of waiting for the baby to arrive, and now she was ready to make her appearance in the world. He looked over at his best friend who had heard every word of the conversation.

  “The baby? She's coming?” Matt's face was filled with wonder and amazement. For the first time since he'd known him, Matt actually resembled a wide-eyed little kid.

  “Yeah, Sierra is in labor. She's on her way to the hospital. I have to get over there right now. There's no way I'm missing the birth of my first child.”

  Caleb began striding towards the exit, his steps full of purpose and power. Halfway there he turned back towards Matt, gripped by a feeling of excitement and a hint of anxiety.

  “Aren't you coming? It's not every day you become an Uncle.”

  Gratitude was written all over Matt's face. “I wouldn't miss it for the world,” he said as he jumped off his barstool, taking a moment to steady himself before racing out of Tumbleweeds on Caleb's heels.

  As they jumped into his midnight colored truck, Caleb turned towards Matt, his face a mask of determination. “For the next five minutes I'm going to ask you to forget that you're the town Sheriff.”

  Matt frowned, confusion evident on his face. “Why is that?”

  “Because I plan to break every speed record known to man to get us to the hospital so I don't miss the birth of my first child.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Caleb Matthews considered himself to be a blessed man. He stood in his wife's hospital room, cradling their newborn daughter to his chest as Sierra took a much deserved nap. Pride swelled within him as he gazed down upon the woman he loved more than his own life. She was amazing, he thought, as he recalled the twenty-four hours of labor she'd endured without the benefit of pain medicine. She'd been like a warrior princess – strong, resilient and beautiful. When she'd finally pushed their baby girl out into his waiting arms, the joy in the delivery room had been effusive.

  Sierra opened her eyes and smiled at the sight that greeted her. Six foot two feet of handsome goodness stood holding their newborn daughter in his large, capable hands. If a picture was worth a thousand words, she could go the rest of her life without uttering a single one. This moment was sheer perfection, she thought. She didn't know what she'd ever done in this lifetime to deserve such happiness, but she felt truly blessed.

  “Hello, handsome. How's Lily doing?”

  Lily Jackson Matthews, named after her great grandmother, Lilli Beth Rose Jackson. It was fitting, they believed, to name their daughter after the woman who had orchestrated their reunion from beyond the grave. If not for Lilli Beth, the two of them could have gone the rest of their lives without reconnecting. And perhaps they would never have realized that they'd never stopped loving each other.

  “She's amazing. As gorgeous as her Mama and almost as sweet.”

  “Let me hold her, Caleb,” she said as she opened her arms to receive seven pounds six ounces of happiness.

  Caleb handed the little bundle to his wife, transferring her to her mother's loving arms with all the care and tenderness in the world. She was more precious to him than anything else in this world, and although everyone kept telling him he wouldn't break her, he wasn't taking any chances. For a good twenty minutes he watched baby Lily nestle at her mother's breast, battling a feeling of wonder at this awesome miracle. Life was so very precious.

  “I never imagined I’d ever feel this type of immense love,” Caleb said, his throat clogging with emotion.

  “Aren't we the two luckiest people in the world?” Sierra cooed as she gently nuzzled the baby's scalp.

  “I don't think there's a word in the English language to describe what I'm feeling.”

  Caleb sat down on the edge of the hospital bed and clasped Sierra's hand in his own. Sierra squeezed his hand and let out a deep sigh of contentment. “All's right with the world,” she whispered as Marissa dozed off to sleep, sent off into the land of Nod by her Mama's milk.

  “Baby, I need to put Lily in the nursery for a little bit.”

  “Why? She's good right where she is.”

  “I know, but this little darlin’ needs to work a little magic,” he said with a wink.

  “On?”

  “We've got two friends out there who are circling around each other like love struck kids on the playground. Neither one wants to make the first move,” he said with a dry chuckle. “We’ve got to help push them toward their happy ending.”

  “Sounds like they've got it bad,” Sierra said as she transferred Lily to Caleb's capable arms.

  “You don't know the half of it. Matt looks like he's about to die of a broken heart and Marissa looks as if she's going to burst into tears at any moment.” Caleb leaned over and placed a kiss on top of Lily's forehead, getting a whiff of her baby fresh scent in the process.

  “Put her in the nursery for an hour, then bring her back to me,” Sierra instructed her husband. “If they don't melt over this little angel, then they're all kinds of crazy.”

  ***

  Thank Heaven, for little girls. Thank you, Lord, for giving Sierra and Caleb an angel here on earth. The prayer filled Marissa's heart as she caught her first glimpse of baby Lily through the nursery window. A pink cap adorned her tiny head and she was nestled on her side in a pink onesie with flowers. Lily had the cutest button nose and the chubbiest, rosiest cheeks she'd ever seen. Marissa let out a rapturous sigh as she gazed upon this princess in training. The last few hours had been such a whirlwind at the hospital. When she'd seen Jason in the cafeteria he'd alerted her to the fact that Sierra was upstairs in labor and delivery, moments away from delivering her baby. She'd been shocked at the scene that awaited her in the waiting room. The entire Jackson and Matthews clans were gathered in the room, which appeared to be bursting at the seams with people. As she’d looked around the room in amazement her eyes were immediately drawn towards Matt, who was staring at her with a look of longing that made her heart ache. She stared back at him, not with hatred or animosity, but with a mixture of fear and longing. The truth was she was scared to death. How do you bridge a gap so wide you could run a truck through it? How do you put your heart on the line without knowing if you'd ever get love back in return?

  So instead of feeling awkward in the waiting room she had made her way to the nursery to catch a glimpse of Lily.

  As she had her nose practically pressed against the plate glass window, she felt a presence beside her. “She's something, isn't she?” The sound of Matt’s voice, heavy with emotion, gave her goosebumps.

  “I think she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen,” Marissa gushed, her eyes flooding with tears at the miracle that lay before her. Marissa was the living, breathing embodiment of Sierra and Caleb's love for each other. She was sheer perfection in every way – cuddly, innocent, radiant. Beautiful.

  “She's the second most beautiful thing I've ever seen,” he said pointedly, his eyes filled wit
h tenderness and a yearning she'd never seen before. He was making her melt. The way he was looking at her, his eyes filled with need – and another emotion she couldn’t wrap her head around. If she could bottle up this feeling and sell it she'd be a millionaire many times over.

  All the anger went out of her, till all she felt was deflated, like a balloon with all the air taken out of it. She loved this man with every breath of her being. Living a life without him in it wasn't an option. She'd been walking around for the past few days like a zombie, a shell of her former self. She hadn't eaten or laughed or felt anything beyond the painful shattering of her heart. And she knew she couldn't let pride or anger get in their way – not ever again.

  “This is killing me,” he said in a ragged voice full of heartbreak, his words echoing her own feelings. “I want..no, baby, I need you in my life. I love you, Marissa.” He reached out and cuffed the back of her neck with his palm, his eyes full of love and devotion. “I want to build a life with you. I want to be there for you every day for the rest of our lives. I want to make a houseful of babies with you. I want it all.” He let out a harsh laugh. “All of the things I never thought I wanted or needed.”

  Tears clouded her vision as she gazed at Matt – bold, proud, beautiful Matt Cruz. He'd been her protector and her friend, her truth and her lifeline. She would never have made it through this whole ordeal without him by her side, sheltering her from the storm and guarding her from harm. She loved this man with all her heart and soul; She knew she always would. In fifty years, if they were lucky enough to still be breathing, she'd still be loving this man.

  “Matt, I need you too. I was wrong to blame you for Tony getting shot. I said so many hurtful things to you, things I wanted to take back as soon as I said them.” She lowered her eyes as a wave of shame ripped through her at the thought of all the mean words she'd hurled at him. “I let my pride get in the way of us being together.”

  “Don't ever be too proud to tell me what you're feeling. I've been going out of my mind not being with you,” he said with a groan. “I don't ever want to feel this way again.”

  She pulled him down to her level by the collar of his shirt, showering him with a multitude of kisses all over his face. “You've done so much for me. You've guarded me, nurtured me, sustained me through one of the darkest times in my life. I'm so grateful to have you in my life, loving me, showing me the way.”

  “Baby, you've given me what I thought I'd never have...love.” Matt leaned down and kissed her tenderly, his lips moving over hers in a kiss that spoke of deep desire and longing. Although she wanted to go on kissing him forever, she placed her hands on his muscled chest and gently pushed him away from her.

  “I have something to tell you,” she announced, her gut tightening in expectation of the news she was about to deliver. “Something I haven't been able to tell anyone else. I don't want to hurt my family, but I need to get this out before I explode.”

  Ever since the shooting at the Limelight she'd been struggling with strong flashes of memory that had nothing to do with Ronnie's death. The dreams she'd been having since childhood about a raging fire and the smell of burnt leaves had been getting stronger and more frequent. After remembering Andrew killing Ronnie and the trauma of Tony's shooting, Marissa had recovered a memory from her past that had left her reeling in shock. It was time, she thought. Time to tell Matt what she remembered about her family.

  “I remember, Matt. I remember what happened to me. And my family,” she said in a choked voice. She saw the surprise in his eyes and the beginnings of a smile as he silently encouraged her to tell him all about her discovery. In a halting voice she began to tell him about what had happened to her family on New Year's Eve when she was five years old.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Guilford, Connecticut

  Twenty-three years earlier

  “I'm not too little to stay up. I'm not!” She'd stood with her hands firmly planted on her hips, her peanut head tilted at a sassy angle as she prepared to do battle.

  “You may be able to hang tough, Marcie, but this old man is dog tired. You girls ran me ragged today. Everyone else is asleep, sweetness.”

  “I wanna stay up till the ball drops. I wanna see the New Year,” the little girl protested, her bottom lip quivering with a mixture of defiance and emotion.

  The old man looked at his watch and sighed. “Child, it's only eleven o'clock. Those droopy eyes of yours are sleepier than Rip Van Winkle.”

  “Grampy, when is Mama coming home?” Marcie asked in a plaintive voice.

  She'd asked her grandfather the same question a dozen times or more during the evening and she knew she'd probably ask it a dozen more until Mama arrived home safe and sound. Her grandpa patted her hand reassuringly.

  “She'll be getting home before too long, I imagine. If I know your Mama she'll be missing her girls too much to stay away for much longer.”

  “Mommy looked like Cinderella, all shiny and sparkly.” Marcie began to twirl around in circles, curtseying low to the ground in her imaginary shimmery dress. “Bippity boppity boo,” she sang in an off-key voice.

  “She sure did, pumpkin. She sure enough did,” Grampy replied with a chuckle. “Dorothy's always been a looker.”

  “I miss Mommy, but I want her to have fun with Uncle Conrad.” Marcie knew Mommy had been so sad ever since Daddy died. Even though Uncle Conrad looked right through Marcie and her sisters, she liked the way her Mommy lit up like a Christmas tree whenever he was around. It didn't take much to make Mommy beautiful. She used to be a famous model. That's what Grampy always said.

  “I have an idea. Let's get the sparkling cider and the fancy glasses out from the hutch. Let's have a party!” Marcie squealed with delight at the brilliance of her own idea.

  As Dick Clark counted down the numbers from a booth in Times Square, Grampy and Marcie watched as the silvery ball made its rapid descent to the ground. Marcie brought her hands together and clapped with delight, her laughter sounding like tinkling bells in the silence of the house. Marcie raised her glass and clinked Grampy's glass, the way her Mommy had shown her last New Year's Eve. She felt like a fancy princess

  “Happy New Year, Grampy,” she shouted as she planted a wet kiss on his cheek.

  “Happy New Year, peanut,” he said as he smoothed back her unruly hair and watched as her eyelids grew heavier and she began to drift off to sleep.

  As she drifted off to sleep Marcie imagined that her father was still alive and she dreamt of being swept up in his powerful arms and thrown high in the air till she could almost touch the sky. “Papa,” she murmured as her Grampy lifted her in his arms and carried her upstairs to her bedroom, the pink and white princess room that she'd begged for on her last birthday.

  Marcie woke up to total blackness. She couldn't breathe. She felt like she was choking. No air. The nasty smell of smoke. She felt herself being carried, lifted out of the darkness. A cold blast of air hit her face and she shivered in the bitter chill of the January night. She felt herself falling, tumbling until she was ankle deep in a snow bank. Suddenly, Grampy's face was next to hers, black and ashy like a cigarette tray. He was on his knees, cradling her in his arms. His mouth was open and he was talking to her, but everything was so confusing. What was he saying? Why was she outside in the cold with Grampy? What was that yucky burning smell?

  Grampy placed his hands on her shoulders and gently shook her small body. “Peanut, you stay here away from the house. I've got to go back for your sisters. The fire truck should be here any minute if there's a God in heaven.”

  Marcie watched as Grampy limped back towards the house, his breathing ragged and heaving. She wrapped her arms around her waist, silently thanking her lucky stars that she'd worn her flannel bunny pajamas, the baby blue ones with the woolly feet. Santa had brought them, along with the Barbie townhouse, an Easy bake oven, a Slinky and a Strawberry Shortcake doll. Santa brought Chantelle matching pajamas, only hers were pink.

  Flames
were everywhere now, lapping against the yellow farmhouse like a fire-breathing dragon brought to life. Was she dreaming? If she pinched herself would she wake up in her own princess room, far away from this scary dream? Grampy had given her the special honor of picking the shade of paint for the house. She'd picked a special shade of yellow because it reminded her of her favorite vegetable, corn. Corn yellow, Lynsey had called it. Magical yellow, she'd insisted.

  Why was this happening? Where was Mama? And Grampy? Where were her sisters? Why hadn't he come back with them? As the minutes ticked by she was gripped by fear and panic. She stood under the Maple tree watching as the fire engine roared into the stone driveway, waiting to see the faces of those she loved being rescued from the smoke and flames. The longer she waited, the more her fear grew, until she could no longer contain her sobs of anguish.

  For the first time in her life she was alone.

  ***

  Matt held her as the tears freely flowed down her face and the sobs wracked her petite frame. His own heart was breaking for her as she struggled with the knowledge that her entire family had perished in a house fire. It didn't matter that she hadn't seen them in over twenty years or that her memories of her loved ones were fragmented and scattered. She remembered the love and comfort of her mother, her sisters and her beloved Grampy; He knew she ached at the realization that her grandfather sacrificed his life to save his family.

  All he wanted to do was take away her pain, to ease the grief coursing through her. But, he knew from his own experience with loss, that healing was a process. She would walk through it at her own pace, whether it took weeks, months or years. And hopefully, he prayed, she would be able to deal with the horrific memories.

  “What can I do?” he asked, wanting to take away her pain but knowing she had to walk through it in her own time.

  “Stay with me,” she whispered as she reached for his hand and firmly clasped it in her own.

  “I'm not going anywhere.” His words were a promise.