by Vicki Green
“No big deal? That is a big deal, beauty. Can’t have you not being able to feed yourself or the baby. It’s not healthy.” Looking up at him, I see his brows are down low, the look of concern etched on his gorgeous face and his forehead all creased. Shit! How can I be sitting here half naked and thinking about how hot and sexy he is and wanting to jump him? Focus, Paxton!
The doctor clears her throat causing us to both turn back to her. “Actually, even though it may not be as severe as Tucker is saying, he’s right. Not being able to get food into your system to help nourish your baby can do harm in the long run. Better to get that corrected now. I will give you a prescription for something that will help ease the queasiness along with prenatal vitamins.” My eyes look at Tuck to see his gloating self and sitting there with a raised eyebrow that I am choosing to ignore.
Another person enters the room rolling a table with a computer looking thing on it. “This will help determine not only the health of the baby but can sometimes tell how far along you are. It’s used a lot for checking a baby’s development. Now, let’s just take a quick peek and look at your results to see if we can determine how far along you are.”
Tuck helps me lay back while I put my feet in the stirrups. I shiver when the doctor starts poking and prodding in the area only Tuck has ever been. “Paxton, dear. Nothing to be worried about. There is no pain with this but there could be a little discomfort, just relax.” Shit! I guess I did tense up a bit but how in the hell do you relax with a foreign object poking around inside you? Seriously? “There now, much better. There, see? All done. I’ll let you get situated and will be right back.” She leans over and takes a picture the technician hands her and then she and Tuck help me to a sitting position and she hands me some Kleenex to wipe up. The other person smiles at me while rolling the cart back out followed by the doctor.
Tuck sits back down next to me, takes my hand and kisses the top. “Let’s get you dressed. You did great! I can’t wait to hear what she tells us!” He says excitedly.
After getting dressed, we are sitting there for what seems like hours and then the doctor finally returns. “Oh, so sorry it took so long but I wanted to make sure everything was documented.” She sits back in her roll chair and crosses her legs. “Well now, it appears you are nine weeks along which will give you an estimated due date of February 12th. We’ll be able to confirm the date as you get further along.” Tuck and I look at each other, my mouth drops and his is wide with his beautiful dimpled smile. “Now, I’m sure you both are excited but please stop by the front desk to get your prescriptions and make an appointment for one month from now. But if at any time you have questions or concerns please call me immediately. Call me at home if needed. Here is a picture of your baby.” She pats my leg, hands me the picture and stands with a smile, leaving us alone.
Before I know it I’m in Tuck’s arms and being swung around the room. “Oh!” I yell out, clamping my mouth shut quickly. He sets me down and bends over to look at me.
“Sorry! Sorry! I guess I got a little carried away. Are you ok?” He backs me up until my bottom hits the end of the table, lifts me up and sets me on it. “I can’t believe we’re gonna be parents. Seriously, my new life mission, well besides being the best husband and lover to you, is to be the best daddy in the world. I can’t wait to hold her, love on her and give her everything, within reason of course.” We both look at the picture in my hand and the smile brightens up his entire face, his eyes gleaming.
I lay my hand on his chest and look up into his eyes. “Babe, slow down. I’m just barely pregnant and what’s with the ‘her’? We are having a boy and that’s final! I am not gonna have a princess to have to guard with my life away from all the mad boys out there and… He’s going to look just like his father and you…” I poke him in the chest. “Are gonna have to fend them off little unsuspecting girls and give him the big ole talking to.”
He laughs as his arms wrap around me, my head immediately lays on his strong, broad chest. “Ok, beauty. Whatever you want. Let’s just make sure him or her is healthy then we’ll deal with the rest.”
Chapter Eighteen
“No! And stop calling me! I will NOT!” Paxton slams down her phone on the coffee table as I walk in with a glass of milk for her and a beer for me. She grabs the milk out of my hand and guzzles it, then slams the empty glass down on the coffee table. I watch as she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. Ok, that was hot! Shaking my head from my lustful thoughts, I sit down next to her and take her hand.
“Good ole dad?” She looks at me, her eyes filling with tears until she wipes them away quickly. My tough girl.
“He won’t leave me the fuck alone. Telling me to come home, trying to put on the ‘I’m a caring parent’ façade bullshit.” She stands and starts pacing the room, her arms flailing around as she rants. “Does he really think I’m that much of an idiot? Does he really think because I’m blonde that I’m an airhead?” She stops and puts her hand on her hips. “Really?”
Standing I walk over to her and take her in my arms. “Beauty, I know I’m gonna regret saying this but do you think he might, maybe, even a little bit, mean it?” For that I get an eye roll. I’ve missed that. “I know. It’s ridiculous! But what if he does mean it? What if… What if he’s actually telling the truth? Maybe since you’ve been gone he and your mom realize what fuck ups they are and that they’ve really lost you. What if…”
Her eyes move to mine, and I can tell she’s thinking by the look on her face. “I’m not gonna cry.” I shake my head, and she sighs. “But how will I know if that’s really what it is for sure? What if I’m wrong and they haven’t changed?”
“Baby, there’s no way to know unless you give them a chance. We could leave tomorrow, just to see. If they aren’t on the up and up, we’ll just head back. But if they are then…” Her eyes now fill with tears, and I rub her cheek as one slides down. She lays her head on my shoulder, and I rub her back. “We’ll leave tomorrow.”
The flight was bumpy. The most uncomfortable ride ever but as long as my girl is laying up against me, I’m good. Luckily, Pax slept most of the way. Hulk sat behind us. By the time we gather up all her luggage and my one small bag, and we get out front, we see Charles walking towards us. He nods his head and starts taking her luggage to the SUV limo. We get settled inside, with Hulk riding up front with Charles, when my phone rings. I check to see who’s calling and immediately end the call. Pax raises her eyebrows. I nod, and she sighs.
“Ok, Charles. Fess up. What in the fuck is going on?” She says calmly as she pushes the intercom button. “I mean it, tell me.”
I can hear a low chuckle and then the clearing of his throat. “Miss Davenport, I’m not at liberty to say however… Just know it’s on the up and up. That’s all I can say.”
She looks over at me, her nose scrunched up, and I have to stifle my laugh. She’s too fucking cute. I take her hand and thread my fingers through hers. “Beauty. It’s gonna be ok. I have a gut feeling. Ya know people can change.” Her brow raises. Her eyes move to the phone in my other hand and then back at me. “Well, not everyone can. But I think maybe your parents could have.” She gives me her snarky smirk.
We drive into the circle driveway, and I grab Pax’s hand that is bouncing up and down on her leg. She looks at me with a frown and fear in her eyes. Once Charles has parked, he gets out, runs around the back of the car and opens our door. Pax squares her shoulders, shakes her head and nods at me. I take her hand and help her out, and then we walk up to the front door. She rings the doorbell, and we wait.
The door opens, and my hand is stretched as Jonsey pulls my girl into a huge hug. “Princess, so good to see you.” He lets her go but holds onto her arms and looks at her up and down. “You look like life has been treating you right. How are you?” He doesn’t wait for an answer. He puts her arm through his making me release her hand and walks into the house talking a mile a minute. Well, I’m great. Thanks for asking.
I tu
rn around and jog back to the SUV and help Charles and Hulk with Pax’s luggage, and by the time we get inside the house Pax’s mom and dad are there hugging her, rubbing her back and basically falling all over her.
“You must be exhausted, my dear. Come, let’s go up to your room and you can get some rest,” her mom says as she begins leading her to the stairs. She turns her head and gives me a concerned look. “Um, your friend can stay in the guest room down the hall from your room.”
Pax comes to a halt, looks at me and then pulls out of her mom’s grip. “Uh, no. That is my fiancé and he will be staying with me or we’re leaving. We can either stay at a hotel or go home, either one works for me.” She crosses her arms and taps her toe on the floor.
Her mom looks at her dad, at me and then back at Pax. “Fiancé? Oh… Oh… Oh, my dear. You all can stay in your room. Please… Please stay.” Pax sighs, nods and proceeds to go up the stairs with her relieved mom.
Her dad walks over to me and reaches out his hand. “Son, I owe you an apology. Well, her mother and I both do. We’re sorry for treating you so badly. Please, let us make it up to you.” I look at his hand and then back up at his sad face and take his hand.
“Mr. Davenport, I’m not your son and you don’t owe me a thing. Who you do owe is your daughter for treating her so badly her entire life. Make it up to her, not me.” He nods, wipes away a tear, and we shake hands.
“Alan, please. Beer?” I nod, and we walk into the living room. “I know we haven’t been the best of parents…” He looks up at me after taking two beers out of the fridge behind the corner bar. “Ok, we haven’t been parents at all. Since Paxton has moved out we’ve come to realize that and that it’s more important to have her in our life as a daughter and not someone to be there for us. We’ve been very selfish and for that we are truly sorry. We love Paxton and want to be there for her, as we should have been all her life. We know we’ve missed out on a lot of her growing up and we don’t want to miss out on anymore. I only hope she’ll forgive us.” He walks back over to me and hands me a beer. I take a long pull and then give him my best cocky look.
“Well, Alan. How I see it is… As long as you really mean it and can start treating her and loving her like parents should then I think you’ll be ok. But… It’s up to Pax to forgive you, not me. You love her and treat her as you should and I’ll stand behind you, one hundred percent. You cross her, treat her like you have been her entire life, then you’ll have me to deal with but… You’ll lose your daughter completely. She’s on a fine wire with you right now, better not blow it.” I take another swig of my beer and watch as his face grows pale.
He nods and stretches out his hand to the couch for us to sit down, I choose the leather chair. “We’re not about to lose our daughter, I assure you. We’ll do whatever it takes. Now, tell me about your band. How’s the career going?”
I lean my elbows on my knees and he follows suit. “The band is great. We actually just added a new lead singer. You might have heard of her, the voice of an angel but can rock the shit outta our sound. Paxton Davenport.” He sits back up quickly. His eyes are wide, and his mouth drops open.
“Our Paxton? Really?” I sit back, cross my foot over my knee and take another drink of my beer. “Well, if that doesn’t beat all. I know she can sing, never needed any voice lessons. She has her mother’s voice but I never…” He leans on his knees again. “Son, my company can make your band hit the big time. Would you let me help?”
I chuckle and take another drink. “Alan, no offense, I’m still not your son but… I would have to ask the members of the band. You see… They are kinda particular where we play and for whom we work with. We own our band and make all our own decisions. We won’t lose that. Ya see…” I lean on my knees again. “We love what we do. If we don’t make it in the big time, so be it. We won’t give up our freedom to be successful. The way we see it, we’re already successful just playing at Barton’s Bar on the weekends. We have a great following there and have a great time. And… The biggest thing? It would depend on what Pax says. She’s part of the band now and has a say so too.”
He nods, leans back on the couch again and takes a drink. “Fair enough. You ask the rest of the band, including Paxton or we all can talk about it while you’re here. Sound ok?” I stand up, walk over and throw my empty bottle away and turn to him.
“I’ll speak to Paxton and the guys and let you know. Right now? I need my girl. If you’ll excuse me.” He stands as I walk passed and head to the stairs. It’s been all of about half an hour, and I need my fix of being with my beauty.
* * *
“My dear, I’ve missed you so much. I’m so glad you came home. I can’t tell you how much we are sorry for the things we’ve done or not done. How can we make it up to you, how can we show you we’ve changed and that we love you?” Mom says as we sit on my bed, her hand on mine.
I wipe a tear from my eye. “Mom, I’d really like to believe you guys but can you understand how skeptical I am? Who changes like that, that quickly? That’s like a 360 degree turn! I want to believe you, I do! But… I’ll try but I can’t promise it will be easy or fast.” I watch as the tears flow down her cheeks. “All I ever wanted was to be loved by you all and not made to feel like all you wanted me for was to parade me around, have me be your poster for a model daughter, ya know? All I wanted was to be in a family.” Now we’re both bawling. Damn hormones anyway!
She hugs me and starts rubbing my back. “Oh, baby girl. I’m so, so, so sorry! Please forgive me. I do love you and I…” She starts hiccupping just like I am. “We’ll do anything… Anything to make it up to you.”
I start hiccupping harder now and whisper in her ear, “Don’t make it up to me, Mom… Just… Just love me…” I pull back quickly, throw my hand over my mouth and run into the bathroom. As I kneel in front of the toilet, losing my entire stomach, I feel a cold cloth on my forehead, and my hair is pulled back. My mom is yelling for dad in concern but then a growl comes out of nowhere.
“WHAT IN THE FUCK DID YOU SAY TO HER?” The cool cloth is taken away and then it’s back on my forehead. “Beauty? I’m here, baby. It’s ok now… I’m here.” Tuck! Thank God!
“No…” I try to get out but choke and bend my head into the toilet again.
“Shhhh, it’s ok.”
I feel like I’m dying, my stomach starts cramping and then it dies down again.
“GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE! HAVEN’T YOU CAUSED ENOUGH PROBLEMS?” Tuck yells out.
I look up and find Tuck’s pissed off look, a snarl on his face. “It’s ok, Tuck. I’m fine.” I start to get up, and he grabs my arm to help me and then he pulls me close in a protective gesture. “It’s not her fault. We were actually bonding and crying together and then all of a sudden I got really nauseous. Really it’s ok, sexy.” He leads me into the bedroom and helps me lay down and then covers me up. I look at him and smile and then at Mom and Dad, now that he has joined us. “I just need to lay down for a bit, ok? Mom, it’s ok.”
She and Dad both look relieved, smile at me and then leave the room closing the door quietly. I look back up at Tuck, who’s sitting on the bed next to me and wink. “Come here, sexy. I need my man.” His smile is priceless as he winks back, jumps over me, and then I snuggle into him, my hand on his broad chest, my leg intertwining with his. “Now, this will make me feel all better.” The last thing I remember is my man kissing my forehead, tightening his hold on me and telling me how much he loves me.
I awake to near darkness in the room, my man’s side of the bed is empty, so I stretch and head into the bathroom for some much needed teeth brushing. Ew! Nothing worse than the taste after you get sick, not to mention your breath. I almost just gagged. After a deep scrubbing, I touch up my makeup, spray some perfume and then head downstairs. I hear voices coming from the living room, so I head that way and stop at the entry way.
“The boys like the idea but as you know, I haven’t gotten to talk to Pax yet about it. Until she agrees,
if she agrees, and we see a contract, I really can’t commit.” Tuck is sitting on the leather chair while my parents are both are on the couch. Looks like Mom is having a martini while Tuck and Dad are having beers.
“Agrees to what?” I ask as I walk in, heading straight for the fridge. I lean down, kiss Tuck on his cheek and then proceed to get a glass of milk. I am sipping it as I walk over and sit on Tuck’s lap. His arm folds around me and he kisses me on my cheek. “Agrees to what, babe?”
I look at my parents and then back at Tuck. “Your dad has offered to help the band… Help us further our career. He knows you’re our new lead singer and he wants to help.” I give him a questionable look, and he nods.
I take a drink of my milk and then look at dad. “First of all, I’m not sure that’s a good idea Dad because of you being family and I don’t think you could be very constructive when it comes to the band. So I…”
“Wait! No. I would put it in the contract that I would have no say so to anything. You know Gregory handles all our band management. I swear, unless you ask for my opinion, I would not say a word. Let me do this for you, princess.” He puts his arm around Mom. “Let us do this for you and Tuck.” Well, that’s certainly new.
Turning my head to Tuck, I whisper in his ear causing him to chuckle, and he nods. I look back at my parents and take another drink. “Well, you see. I may not be in the band for very long.” They both give me looks of concern and straighten up in their seats. I get up, with Tuck’s help and refill my milk from the fridge.
I lean against the front of the bar and take a big gulp. “You see, Tuck and I are going to be married but I will also be very busy having a baby so…” I almost fall over when I am rushed and enveloped in hugs and kisses from my parents.
“Oh, princess! I can’t believe it! I’m so happy and excited for you!” Mom looks over at Tuck and then back at me. “For both of you!” She leaves me and runs across the room and embraces a surprised Tuck. I can’t help but giggle. I watch as his arms are stretched out like he’s afraid to touch her. I giggle again. My poor sexy rocker. Then slowly his arms come around her and he lightly pats her back. Now, I can’t take it anymore and start laughing out loud. “Please, call me Beverly. I’m so happy for the two of you,” she says as he continues to pat her back.
