by T. S. Joyce
“Ms. Miller, I wasn’t expecting you for another week. Have you run into trouble?” His eyes widened as he stepped around the desk. “Is the baby all right?”
“Yes, of course.” Riley pulled off her coat and angled herself to the side so he could see her very pregnant belly. “She’s fine. The doctor says she’s healthy as a horse.”
Mason snorted behind her, but when she turned, he was standing motionless near the doorway.
“Great.” Damon took a deep, steadying breath as he approached. “That’s great news. And please, don’t apologize. I’m happy you’ve come now. As you know, if it were my choice, you would’ve been here the entire pregnancy. I respected your wish to continue with your life until the delivery date approached, though. Was the money I sent you enough? Shall I give you more?”
“No.” Riley shook her head and repeated, “No. I’ve actually got the money you sent right here. I wanted to give it back.” She pulled the envelope from her duffle bag and offered it to him. When he crossed his arms over his chest, refusing, she explained. “I know it was drawn up in our contract you would pay me a certain amount, but I didn’t want to be a surrogate for money. I did it because I wanted to do something nice. And Diem and Bruiser’s letter left its mark on me. I wanted to help them start a family, not get rich. I can make my own way, sir.”
“Ms. Miller—”
“Riley, please. You are the grandfather of the child I’m carrying. It kind of makes us family until I deliver.”
Damon’s stoic face softened, and he nodded. “Riley, I didn’t give you the money because I thought you were a charity case. I gave it to you so you could be comfortable while you are growing my granddaughter. You see, she is very important to me, and to my daughter and son-in-law. More important than you could ever imagine, and we’re eternally grateful you have chosen our family to help. It’s a very selfless thing you are doing, but I’d feel better if you’d let me compensate you for your time and effort.”
“You’ve already paid all my doctor bills, Mr. Daye. And you got me in to see that specialist in record time when my morning sickness got to be overwhelming. I know I’m a week early, but I could use a place to stay until the delivery if you’ll have me. That’s payment enough.”
“Done. You’ll have a room made up, a key to the house, access to my driver, any food you desire and crave, and the money. Deal?”
Wait, that didn’t feel like a compromise at all. “You’re not going to let me give this money back, are you?”
A small smile took his lips as he shook his head.
“Okay, deal.”
“Mason, go pull Diem from her office and tell her she has an important visitor.” When the large man left to do Damon’s bidding, Mr. Daye leaned forward with a mischievous smile. “I want to be here when Diem sees your stomach for the first time. It isn’t customary for my people to be overly emotional about anything, but I must confess, I’ve rather enjoyed watching my daughter prepare to become a mother over this last year.”
Riley giggled and nodded. “I’ve been excited, too, especially to meet you and the Kellers.”
Damon retrieved a cold bottled water for her from a miniature fridge behind his desk while Riley straightened her sweater over her stretchy maternity jeans. She’d worn a fitted outfit today so Diem could see the pregnancy better when she met her for the first time. It was an enormous relief to be out of that heavy trench coat.
She sipped water and shuffled her feet, eyes on the door as her nerves kicked in. Sure, she’d talked to Diem on the phone a lot, probably more than any friend she’d ever had, but it was different meeting someone in person. Down the hall, she could hear the clacking of Mason’s shoes and the squeaking of someone following.
Riley made an O shape with her lips and exhaled slowly. This was it. The counselor had said the first meeting would be awkward, but they would settle into a comfort with each other eventually. For that, she was prepared. She’d imagined this moment a hundred times.
After setting the water bottle down, she clasped her hands behind her back and faced the door.
Her heart was beating against her chest as if it wanted to eject from her body.
Mason entered. Here we go.
A dark-haired woman with porcelain white skin and amber colored eyes like her father’s entered. She wore comfortable-looking jeans with holes at the knees and sneakers much like Riley’s. Her expression was questioning, but when her gaze dipped to Riley’s belly, her face crumpled completely.
“Oh, my goodness,” Diem said, voice thick. She approached slowly, and Riley prepared for the awkwardness.
Diem jogged the last few feet and wrapped her up tight in a hug. The woman’s shoulders shook with quiet sobs, and Riley patted her hesitantly, then wrapped her arms around her and hugged her close. Tears burned her own eyes as she imagined how much of a relief the woman must be feeling.
“Oh!” Diem gasped, easing back and staring at Riley’s stomach.
“Yeah,” Riley said with an emotional laugh. “She gets feisty if you crowd her space.” When the baby bumped her again, she grabbed Diem’s hand and pressed it over the spot the baby was kicking or elbowing.
Diem’s dark eyes were rimmed with tears as she knelt down in front of Riley. “Hi, Harper.”
The baby rolled languidly, moving Riley’s entire stomach. “Harper. I think she likes it. That’s a beautiful name.”
“Thank you,” Diem whispered, as if she didn’t want to break the magic of the moment. “Bruiser came up with it.”
A shadow darkened the doorway, and Riley looked up to see a muscled behemoth standing splay-legged in the doorway, breathing heavy. His hair was short and dark, and his eyes a strange green-gold color. Chest heaving, he strode slowly into the room and offered his hand for a shake. His manner was much more reserved than his wife’s. Riley shook it and introduced herself.
“Horace Keller,” he said in a gravelly voice. “Friends call me Bruiser. You’re early. I wanted to be at the airport when you landed to pick you up.”
“I took the bus. Sorry for not giving notice. It was a last minute decision to come up here right now instead of waiting.”
“I’m glad you came,” he murmured, eyes still on her undulating belly and one hand stroking Diem’s hair.
His wife stood and asked, “May I?” She held Bruiser’s hand palm out.
Bruiser ducked his chin, looking decidedly uncomfortable. “No, it’s okay.”
Riley smiled her understanding and said, “I don’t mind at all. I’m not uncomfortable with touch, and she’s your daughter after all.”
“My daughter.” The soft words left Bruiser’s lips like a prayer.
Tears streaked down Diem’s cheeks as she pressed her husband’s hand against where Harper was moving the most. A soft gasp left his lips, and he looked up at Riley, a startled expression on his face. She laughed and nodded. “Welcome to my world. Harper has been active since sixteen weeks. Especially at night when I’m trying to sleep. You’re going to have a little party animal on your hands when she gets here.”
“Can we tell everyone now?” Bruiser asked Diem, a hopeful smile splitting his face.
“I think we should.”
“I don’t know why you waited,” Damon murmured from behind them where he leaned against his desk with his arms crossed and a lingering smile on his face.
“Well, because we just wanted to make sure the baby was okay before we got all of their hopes up.”
“Tell who?” Riley asked curiously.
“The Ashe Crew.”
Riley froze. “The Ashe Crew of lumberjacks?”
“How did you know?” Diem asked.
“Because I kissed Drew.” Heat blasted into Riley’s cheeks at the slip-up. “Met Drew. I meant to say I met Drew…Hudson. The lumberjack who is also part of the Ashe Crew.” She scrunched up her face as the Kellers stared at her. Clearing her throat, she nodded once. “Yep.” There was that awkwardness the counselor had warned her about.
Bruiser narrowed his eyes at her in an unsettlingly thoughtful expression, but it was Diem who saved her from the scrutiny. “I’m going to get her settled into a room,” she announced, tugging Riley’s hand and leading her toward the door.
The room she led her to was actually an elevator ride away, and then down another long marble hallway lined with half-naked statues of Grecian-style men and women. As beautiful as this house was, Riley found herself afraid to touch anything for fear of smudging her fingerprints on something.
“Okay,” Diem murmured, closing a thick, refurbished wooden door behind her. “Lay it on me. What’s going on?”
“What? Nothing,” Riley lied.
“Then why does your hair look all chopped up like you did it yourself in some cheap motel, and why is half your duffle bag full of socks?”
Hmm, Diem was extremely observant. Riley tried and failed to zip up her too-full luggage and tossed it onto a king-size bed with a towering headboard suited for royalty. She lay on the bed and spread her arms and legs like a star. She frowned up at the mural of muscular men wearing next to nothing. Their penises must be extravagantly small to fit behind those tiny fig leaves.
“My ex is a bit of a jerk about the whole surrogacy thing. It was just easier for me to come out here now instead of next week. The reason my bag is half full of socks is because I packed in a hurry and wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“Riley,” Diem said in a careful tone, sinking down onto the bed beside her. “I’m going to tell you this one time, and then I’ll let it rest. You’re safe here, but it’s best if we know if there is something we need to keep you safe from.”
Unable to admit her fears about Seamus out loud, Riley nodded. “If I think I’m in trouble, I’ll tell you first.”
“Okay. Now, your hair. You’re free to leave it like that, but I can even it up a bit if you like.”
Riley sat straight up. “Really?” If she and Drew crossed paths again, she wanted him to see more than a street urchin.
“Yes, really.”
“Diem, can I ask you another favor?”
“Anything.” She leveled her with such an honest look that relief slid the weight off Riley’s shoulders.
“When you go tell the Ashe Crew about Harper, would you mind if I go with you?”
A knowing smile spread across Diem’s face, but she didn’t mention Drew or tease her, which made Riley like the woman even more. “Of course. I think it’s only right you come. It’ll get you out of this stuffy house, too.” Diem stood and sauntered off toward an open on-suite bathroom. “I’d bring your duffle bag if I were you when we go.”
“Why? I thought I was staying here?”
Diem cast her a beaming grin before she said, “Asheland Mobile Park might not look like much, but magic happens there.”
Riley followed behind slowly. She couldn’t imagine wanting to stay in a dingy, dirty old trailer park over this place, but she’d only just met Diem and didn’t want to argue. Instead, Riley would bring her duffle bag to appease the woman.
Magic didn’t exist in her world.
Just the dark reality of fear and broken promises, and the singular goal to get this baby safely delivered to make up for some of the harm she’d done.
Chapter Seven
Riley smoothed her hair with her hand again in an attempt to stifle the nerves fluttering around in her belly. Harper was definitely asleep, so this was all jitters caused by the fact she could very well see Drew again.
Her hair was really short now, stacked in the back and longer up front in what Diem called an asymmetrical cut. Whatever the name, Riley was utterly impressed with Diem’s creativity with scissors. This haircut was as good as any she’d gotten in the cheap salon in the shopping center near her apartment—perhaps better.
Bruiser was humming along to a country song on the radio with his elbow resting on the open window. Diem had a dreamy smile on her lips from her seat in between her and Bruiser, and she kept glancing at Riley’s belly. Every time she did, Riley warmed from the inside out. She was doing the right thing.
With a sigh, Riley caught the air currents outside the window with her open palm. Even though the night was cold, she felt all warm and glowing in her figure hugging sweater, skinny maternity jeans and lace-up snow boots she’d packed just in case it was as cold as the Internet had said when she researched Wyoming. No more hiding her silhouette now. For the first time since she’d left Minneapolis, she felt like she could loosen up and forget about her troubles for a while.
And she was going to see Drew again.
Illuminating the woods, twinkling lights flashed near and far. “Look!” she said breathlessly as she pointed to the trees.
“The fireflies come out when it’s cool,” Bruiser said, a smile in his voice.
“They’re beautiful out here.” Perhaps Diem had been right about magic after all. Stunned, Riley leaned forward and rested her chin against her folded arms as Bruiser guided the truck down a steep switchback.
“About Drew,” Diem said in a soft voice. “He’s not in the best place right now.”
“What do you mean? What’s the matter with him?” Riley asked, swinging around to her.
Diem and Bruiser gave each other a loaded look.
“He’s lost someone close to him, and his inner…well, he’s hurting. I just wanted to warn to you be careful with him. For both of you.”
“Okay, noted.” Disappointment pierced her chest cavity as Riley looked out at the lit trailer park ahead. Drew was more complicated than some smart-talking, stranger-kissing, Adonis. It made sense now. Even though his mouth had been bracketed by sexy smile lines, she’d had to drag out every teeny ghost of a grin from him.
She understood loss. She’d buried family and friends before, but that wasn’t what had caused her to hunch into herself, shielding her heart from the world. She’d lost herself two years ago and had fought and clawed to transform into someone new. Someone who was less broken than she used to be, but she’d never replace the person she was. The old Riley and all of the parts she loved about herself were dead. Never in her life would she wish the pain of loss on anyone. Especially Drew, who’d shown her kindness and made her heart thump back to life with that unexpected kiss of his.
She was here until Harper was delivered, and then she would head home to sort out the mess with Seamus. Was she stupid to face-off with her dangerous ex? She liked to think not. It wasn’t stupidity that would push her to reclaim her life in her hometown. She wasn’t a runner. The only reason she’d left recently was because of the baby. She didn’t want to endanger Harper’s life in the battle. But someday, someway, she was going to make Seamus let her get on with the life she’d fought to create in Minneapolis.
Diem was right. Throwing interest at Drew would only bring trouble to them both.
A raucous group sat in colorful plastic chairs around a giant bonfire when Bruiser pulled the truck through the back entrance to the park. One of them, a fine-boned woman with dark hair and bright green eyes stood telling a story to the laughter of the group. Riley couldn’t take her eyes off the woman. She radiated confidence—held her own in front of all those burly men. She held their attention rapt, and when she looked up and caught Riley staring, she offered a friendly wave.
Riley lifted two fingers and smiled. The truck screeched to a stop in front of a trailer with a red door. Everywhere, outdoor lights were strung from house to house and hung from poles along the gravel street, immersing the entire park in a warm glow. Riley opened the door, slid from the truck, and waited for Diem to slip out next.
“This is Tagan and Brooke’s house. They are like king and queen of this trailer park.” Bruiser rested his hands on both of their lower backs and guided them up the creaking, splintered steps. “Don’t be nervous, though,” he said as an aside to Riley. “Tagan is one of my oldest friends and the best dude I know.”
Bruiser stepped forward and knocked. Moths and gnats buzzed around the single porch light
, and behind them, a purple bug light zapped. One bug down, a billion to go.
“Come in,” a woman called from inside.
Bruiser opened the door and stood aside for Riley and Diem to enter. They were met by the most adorable toddler clad in a diaper and the remains of what looked like a spaghetti dinner.
“Sorry,” a blond-haired woman apologized. “We’re just finishing up dinner, and this little one is fast! Hi, I’m Brooke.” The petite woman held out her hand for a shake, and Riley clasped it quickly and released, grateful Brooke was nice and welcoming, even while chasing a rambunctious, giggling baby.
“Riley Miller. Your son is adorable,” she said with a smile, ignoring the pang of sadness that always washed through her when she saw a baby. Her pregnancy was for Diem and Bruiser, she reminded herself, biting her lip as punishment for her lack of control over her maternal instincts.
When she looked up at the two men who stood near a small kitchen table, she froze. One man, Tagan likely, stared at her with a troubled look through his blinding blue eyes, while Drew stared openly at her stomach.
“What the hell?” Drew said on a breath. “Are you pregnant?”
Riley laughed nervously. “Obviously.”
“No, not fucking obviously. I kissed a pregnant woman.”
“Uck, uck,” the toddler chanted.
An odd, wild sound emanated from Drew as he stepped around the table. “Can I talk to you? Alone?”
Why did she feel like she was taking a long walk to the principal’s office when she followed him outside?
“Is it Damon’s?” he asked, turning on her, eyes a feral, searing blue.
“What?”
“The baby. Whose is it?”
She reared back, feeling utterly slapped. “Not that it’s any of your business, but it’s Bruiser’s.”
“The fuck?” His voice wrenched up an octave. “No, no, no, that’s not how it works. Bruiser’s mated and bonded. He’s Diem’s, and she’s his.”
