As I pulled away, leaving the car I’d bought my wife for Christmas upside down on the side of the road, I prayed for help. I needed help more than I ever had before.
Petra
When I came out of the bathroom, I was dizzy. Wrapped neatly in the bathroom wastebasket was the test I’d taken. A positive test. I was going to have a baby.
I had to sit down for a moment. I had to catch my breath that had become ragged and harsh without me realizing it. I was thirty-three and about to have my fourth child. How was it that I didn’t feel ready?
Every other time I’d found myself pregnant, I’d been overjoyed. I wasn’t overjoyed. I was devastated. Five more years of staying in the same place, the same town, the same job, with the same everything. I wanted things to change and I had my wish, only it wasn’t what I’d wished for.
I’d be fifty-one when this kid graduated from high school. That was old, in my opinion. All the rest of the parents would be in their forties when their last kid was graduating, and I’d be old. And Owen would be sixty-four!
How the fuck were we going to do it?
A couple of years back, Owen’s father had died at the age of sixty-five. His mother died the very next year. She was sixty-six. What if Owen died around that age?
I’d be all alone with our kids!
I counted on my husband where the kids were concerned. He was every bit as hands-on as I was. What if something terrible happened and he left this world before me, leaving me alone with our kids?
I just couldn’t take it. I was freaking the fuck out.
A knock came to the bedroom door. “Mom, are you okay in there?”
Shaking off the dark energy I knew I had around me, I answered, “Yeah. Get into Dad’s truck. I’m coming.”
Gathering my laptop and my purse, I headed out. I’d put the baby out of my head for the time being. I had to. I had other things to focus on, like my speech for the ladies’ luncheon. The drive to Big Bear would be my chance to hone it to perfection. I’d be able to recite it on the way back, but I’d most likely be exhausted from playing with the kids for the long weekend. And when you added in the pregnancy and how that would affect me, I knew I’d be tired.
When I got to the garage, I found Tracey standing by the passenger side of my Mercedes. Owen had surprised me with it for Christmas. It was my favorite color of blue. I loved the thing.
“Momma, I want to ride with you. I don’t want you to be lonely,” she said.
I patted her head. “Daddy has your car seat all ready for you, baby girl. You ride with your brothers and your daddy. Momma will be fine alone. I have to work on my speech anyway. You’d just make fun of me, talking to myself.” I picked her up and gave her a kiss, then rubbed my nose against hers, making her giggle. I loved to hear her giggle.
“Okay, Momma.” I put her down and she went to climb up in the truck.
I opened the passenger door of my car and set the laptop and my purse on the seat. When I went around to get into the car, Owen swept me up unexpectedly and kissed me hard. “I can’t wait for tonight. Laying out on the deck and looking at the stars with you.”
“Is that right?” I asked him, then kissed him.
He put me down and slapped my ass. “Race ya to the cabin.”
“No you won’t. No speeding with my kids in your big ole truck!”
He laughed, kissed his palm, and blew the kiss to me. “Okay, bossy.”
“Bossy, maybe,” I said. “Safe, for sure! Be careful. I’ll be in front of you to make sure you go the speed limit, Dr. Cantrell.”
I slipped into my car, started it up, and led the way to our home in the mountains. As I looked into the rearview mirror, I had to smile as I gazed at my handsome husband. He was my rock, my love, and everything to me. And we were having another baby.
How would he take the news?
He was older than I was, and I was freaking out. Would he want to start all over again with a new baby?
Sleepless nights. Crappy diapers. Round-the-clock feedings. Ugh!
It was obvious that neither of us would love having a new baby. It would upset our world so much. Even the kids would be put out. We’d have to ask them all for help from time to time. And there’d be a crying baby in the house. They’d be so aggravated. I knew they would.
But I’d have to tell them all my news. I’d have to put on a smiling face and tell them all how happy I was about it. Lie through my teeth is what I’d have to do.
Owen
The drive took forever. We lost sight of the helicopter soon after it took off. It left us silent. The ride was excruciating. My body was tense and I had the kids to think about too. It was nearly lunch time, and they hadn’t eaten since the small breakfast I’d made them.
The plan was to eat in Big Bear, at our favorite café. That plan had changed. “You guys hungry?”
“Not me,” Taylor said.
“Me neither,” Terry said. “I can’t stop thinking about Mom.”
“Me too,” Tracey said. “I can’t eat until I see her.”
“She might be in surgery. If she is, then I don’t care what you guys want. We’ll all have to eat something healthy. I’m not going to let Mom down about that. If she hears that we didn’t eat, she’ll kick our butts.”
They all nodded, knowing how she was about mealtimes. At least they were going to work with me. I had to keep things normal. I had to hold it all together for Petra. I had to be her rock.
She was always mine. It was time to be that for her.
The exit sign for the hospital came up, and I sighed with relief. “Nearly there, kids.”
They all seemed to get excited. Terry said, “Maybe she’s in a room. Maybe we can see her. Maybe she didn’t need surgery.”
I didn’t say a word. I couldn’t bring him down. I was positive that she wasn’t in a room. She’d have called me it that was the case. But I drove on and pulled into the staff parking garage.
We got out and I picked Tracey up and carried her as our sons followed me. They’d been to the hospital with me to check on my patients before. I was that dad who took his kids with him anytime he could.
This time wasn’t like the others. They’d been laughing and joking, having fun going with me to work. No jokes now bantered about. No jumping and running. Just solid footsteps, echoing throughout the large cement structure, leaving permanent memories in our brains.
The day the center of our world lay near death in a place we all knew well.
The glass doors parted for us, and we went into the emergency room. The nurse at the station recognized me immediately. “Dr. Cantrell, glad to see you.” She looked at the kids and then at me. “There’s cookies and punch in the lounge. It’s Celest’s birthday. Can I take them to get some while you talk to Dr. Perry?”
I put Tracey down, figuring there was some news the kids shouldn’t hear. “Sure. You guys go with Rhoda and I’ll come get you as soon as I talk to mommy’s doctor.”
Tracey didn’t want to let go of my hand. Taylor was my hero, taking her hand and leading her away. He was the best big brother any kid could ever have. I fought back tears as my oldest son took over, taking care of things while I had to see about his mother.
I’d never been so damn proud of anyone in my life.
“He’s in room six,” the nurse told me as she looked over her shoulder.
I went back to the room and found our family physician scribbling on a chart. He looked up and gave me a sincere nod. “Owen, nice to see you. I do wish things were better.”
“Me too,” I said as I shook his hand. “How’s my girl?”
“First, let me congratulate you two. I was shocked that Petra hadn’t been in to see me about it.”
He wasn’t making any sense. “Huh?”
“The baby.” He smiled at me. “She’s about three months along from what the sonogram showed. You really should’ve informed the paramedics, Owen. I guess you were out of your mind with worry, though. I can’t blame you. When we
did her blood work, we found out she was pregnant, and I did a sonogram. Cute kid. I won’t tell you what it is. I know you two love to be surprised.”
“She’s pregnant?” I asked as my head spun.
“Three months, Owen. Are you telling me you didn’t know that?”
“I didn’t. And the baby’s okay?” I took a deep breath to calm myself.
“Oh, yes.” He pulled out her chart and showed it to me. “She has two broken ribs and her face has some pretty deep lacerations, but I put one of your partners on that. One bump on her head has a knot just above her left eye. But there’s nothing else. Bumps aplenty, bruises too, but she’ll be okay. If your buddy is any good, her face will be back to gorgeous in no time at all.”
I fell onto the chair behind me and nearly cried with relief. “Thank God.”
“Yes, he did have something to do with it. She’ll be in room 643 when she gets done with the stitches. You guys can go wait for her. Grab her some flowers and balloons. Maybe a nice cup of tea.”
With a nod, I left him and went to get our kids. Pushing open the door to the lounge, I found them not eating or drinking a thing, just sitting in a corner alone as others enjoyed the treats.
“Dad,” Taylor said as he got up and came to me with the other two trailing behind him.
“Hey. Come with me.” I turned around then and thought I should add something. “Oh, Mom’s okay. A couple of broken ribs is the worst of it.”
I heard them all make sighs of relief and found myself smiling. As we walked to the gift shop, I wondered if I should tell them or not. It occurred to me that Petra might not be happy about being pregnant. My age probably had a lot to do with it. So I made a decision and hoped it didn’t backfire on me.
Instead of the gift shop, I went into a waiting area and closed the door. “Okay, I have news. I’m not sure if your mom knows this or not. She hasn’t told me and that tells me one of two things. She either doesn’t know it, or she’s not happy about it. Whichever it is, we need to let her know that we’re happy as we can be about it and we’ll all help.”
“With what, Dad?” Tracey asked.
“With our new baby,” I said as I smiled at her, then looked at the boys. “Mom’s about three months pregnant.”
The kids were speechless, but they looked kind of happy.
Petra
Tru was born on a Tuesday in March. He was met by his big brothers and sisters in our home in New York, where his daddy delivered him. Tracey was the first to hold him, right after Owen handed him to her and gave Taylor the scissors to cut his umbilical cord.
Terry held my hand and kissed my cheek when I started crying like a baby over how wonderfully everything had turned out. My family was complete.
All the worry over being pregnant was over. All was as it should be. I knew that, and hated that I’d ever been upset about my precious little man.
Owen told me I was normal. But I knew none of us were normal.
Me, Owen, Taylor, Terry, Tracey, and Tru would never be normal. We weren’t meant to be. And I was glad it was that way.
The End
The Billionaire Bad Boy Plan
A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance
By Michelle Love & Catherine Vall
Sienna Ruston is a college student at NYU. Majoring in psychology and not much of a social butterfly, she entertains her friends by being there for all of it.
By chance one night she meets a handsome stranger known as Jonathan Ellis who becomes totally infatuated with his choice in her. She is a masterpiece of solemn beauty he wants to keep for himself. He yearns to control his chosen Sienna and she has no idea about the rich and profound impact of imaginative ideas with her. This will be a ride of a lifetime for both of them. Ready, set and go...
By chance he sees her and locks her into his sights. She isn't like the other young college students. In fact, she's way more than he can understand. Jonathan knows he must have her for every fantasy he desires. But will she permit it?
Sienna cannot remember another man like Jonathan. He is the sexiest man she's ever laid eyes upon. Is she ready to discover his real agenda? It is much more than she could have bargained for. Actually, Jonathan Ellis has many secrets to share, and Sienna will be part of the whole discovery, so it would seem.
Planned by Him (Book One)
JONATHON
Jesus Christ, she was hot. I had wanted her since the moment I had laid eyes on her. She looked like she didn't belong here, all dressed up in that sexy, sparkling dress. It was green like her eyes that were looking around aimlessly like a puppy that was lost on a street. Fuck, those tits were so beautifully rounded and pushed high enough to create the perfect cleavage.
I sat at the furthest end of the bar and watched her from afar, just waiting a bit longer. I noticed that her hair fell in curls in a mousy brown color that just reached her tits at the front. She sipped on what looked like a fruit cup or something similar, and as her lips curled around the straw in such a way that I could imagine them around my cock. Pink lips, oh God.
She seemed to be with a group of girls who were out to celebrate something together. Drunk women were always crazy in a group, but when they were celebrating, there was a definite cheekiness about them. I continued watching.
There were a few blonde women that came up to the bar next to me. I tried to avoid eye contact with them so I could continue my watch over the beauty that I had already set my target on. I was definitely in a trance watching the shapely brown-haired vixen. She was all I could see in a room that was full of mostly women. I continued to look as she bent over slightly to adjust her silk gray stockings. Her ass was pointed squarely at me and my cock immediately hardened.
I hadn't noticed that one of the blondes was trying to talk to me until she tapped on my shoulder.
"Hi. Do you come here often?" she put on a smitten face.
I didn't want to seem rude but I was. "Nope, just occasionally."
The woman next to me was the barbie-doll type. Not really my thing. She was tall, very skinny and looked nearly fake. Her tits were definitely made of something non-human.
She continued however. "I am sure I've seen you here before. Aren't you Jonathon Ellis?"
I tried to not roll my eyes. Yes, I was Jonathon Ellis and I was known as a great psychologist in the area, because frankly, I was. I had been an asset to the college too. I took a sip of my drink and tried definitively not to roll my eyes too obviously. I shrugged at the blond who was trying way too hard to chat me up.
My eyes continued to watch the mousy-brown vixen who had now stumbled across the dance floor as her friends were waving her towards a free table at the other side of the room.
[X] was still there, "Yes, you were at the debate last year. Arguing about the continuance theory. You were great!"
"Oh, I am so glad," I said in a lie. I didn't give two fucks if she was there or not. College was a load of bullshit. I had studied for way too long to get my degree. There were so many things I could have learned on my own and I was not there now. I was just invited to speak or attend functions sometimes. My own practice was thriving. But I felt some sense of loyalty at least, even if no fondness for how much of my life they had sapped out of me.
[X] was off to the dance floor now, thank God. I placed my attention back to my mousy brunette who faced me as she sat uncomfortably at the table she was now at. Her friends had left her there so that they could dance. Her green dress shimmered on her and I was captured by her beauty. She looked up and our eyes met for a moment. She glanced away at the awkwardness of it.
Then in a split second, I saw a way to her. A drunk college boy was moving in to her, obviously noticing her on her own. My jealousy kicked in immediately. I was the one who possessed her. I would go and take her now.
SIENNA
I saw the sexy stranger sitting at the bar. He was surrounded by beautiful blonds when I noticed him earlier. One of the blonds obviously knew him from somewhere as she had been trying to talk wi
th him for a while, I noticed.
I had looked up and he had seen me eyeing him. I was definitely batting above my league. A man like him was so drop dead sexy. He would never fall for someone plain, like me. I couldn't help but notice his complexion. It was semi-tanned with obvious brown stubble. He had full lips and wavy, dark brown hair. I was here for Jenna's twenty-first birthday, and not looking for a man anyway.
She had decided to make it an all-girl thing and everyone was to have the "time of their life," tonight. So she'd put it. Most of the other girls were doing a different major at college so I wasn't really in the "in crowd." I was drinking a non-alcoholic soda so I didn't have to contend with a crappy hangover the next day. I wasn't really a social butterfly either. Jenna just knew how to wrangle me in. It was pretty funny watching the drunk girls strutting around wilfully on the dance floor. They all grinded aimlessly on guys that loved it. They were having a blast.
I tried to look busy as I drank my obviously non-alcoholic beverage. I was hoping Jenna and the others would not notice my individual stance of sitting on my own at "the best party I would ever go to!" The last thing I needed was for them to try and pressure me in to something.
Shit, my worst nightmare just appeared next to me. A nerdy college student with freckles and a definite bad taste in Hawaiian shirts.
"Well hey there sexy, lemme buy you a cocktail," he said slurring his words and leaning on me.
Shit. Just because I wasn't the tall, thin, barbie type. Ugh, he and other guys like him would always try and hit on me. Maybe they thought that because I was slightly larger they would have a chance with me. I wasn't desperate and I liked my bustier figure.
"No thanks," I said.
His faced curled up into a ridiculous expression, like his favorite football team had just lost the game. Without warning, he pulled my arm and was trying to get me to stand up.
"Dance with me then, lemme show you my moves."
Doctor's Demands: A Submissives’ Secrets Novel Page 19
