Lost and Found Pieces 2

by J. M. Madden

  There were still bad guys to be rounded up, though. The politician that had worked with Damon Wilkes to set up negotiations between all of the other countries was still free. There were still a few medical personnel on the run as well, but Aiden knew they would find them. He thought the direct physical danger was beyond them, but he could be wrong.

  He was going to be a father. For a moment his stomach hollowed out and he thought he would be sick.

  “Sit down, buddy,” John said, strong hand on his arm.

  Aiden hadn’t even realized he’d been on his feet. What the fuck? Angela was staring at him, worried, and he tried to shake off the panic. “We’ll be okay,” he told her. “It’s just a lot to take in.”

  She nodded, looking like she was fighting tears. Shannon, kind soul that she was, crossed the room to take Angela into her arms. Even the boys slowed down long enough to go to ‘Angel’ and give her sloppy kisses, making Aiden feel even worse. The panic in his gut was growing rather than easing back and he knew he needed to calm himself before something happened. “I have to step outside for a minute.”

  Without looking at anyone he let himself out into the cold Denver air on the front porch. Someone, he assumed Shannon, had cleared the ramp down to the driveway. Oh, yeah, he’d asked her to do that. Duh…

  The door opened behind him and he felt John slip out.

  “I felt the same way, you know.”

  Aiden turned and leaned back against the porch bannister. “What if my blood hurts this kid?” he hissed, conscious not to speak loud enough for them to hear inside. “What if all the drugs they pumped into me over the years has some affect on its growth or mental abilities or something? What if the government, and the assholes we haven’t caught yet, comes after my kid just because he’s mine and they want to see the affects on reproduction?”

  John thought about that for a moment, pulling the tan Carhart coat around himself. “These are all sound worries. They’re the same things that I myself would think about. We don’t have any idea what the drugs of the Spartan program will do, long-term. I assume you were taking measures to prevent…”

  Aiden glared at him. “We were,” he growled.

  John chuckled and shrugged. “Sometimes it doesn’t matter. If it’s meant to be it’s going to happen. I never expected to be a father and believe me, I had a fuckload of worries. I mean, I’m in a fucking wheelchair. Just keeping up with one kid is bad enough, let alone two. But Shannon and I make it work. You and Angela will too. And you deal with problems as they occur. It’s not worth worrying yourself sick over before it happens. It may never happen.”

  Aiden sighed, looking out over the snowy yard. It was a beautiful scene. Dusk had fallen but the sky was a heavy gray, promising more snow. The houses across the street glittered with Christmas lights, and balloon characters swayed in the breeze. Though his life was unorthodox it wasn’t necessarily bad anymore. He needed to remember that things were looking up in his life. There was a very good possibility that the ayahuasca would have zero effect on his child.

  His phone rang in his pocket and he pulled it out. “Hey, Zeke.”

  “D-dude, I’ve been t-texting you. We’re p-parked down the street waiting for the go-ahead.”

  He slid a glance to John and walked down the ramp to the driveway. “I’m sorry, buddy. Give me five minutes.”

  “Okay.”

  Aiden hung up from Zeke and called Angela. He thought for a moment she wouldn’t answer him because she thought he was pissed, but eventually she did. “I love you, babe,” he told her first thing. “And we’ll work through everything. Can you bring Shannon and the kids out? Zeke will be here in four minutes.”

  “I love you, too,” she said softly, gravely. “We’ll be out in a minute.”

  John was looking at him a little oddly. Aiden had tried to talk softly, but maybe it hadn’t been softly enough. “The girls are bringing the kids out. I’ve got something coming for them.”

  John rolled down the ramp and stopped beside him on the concrete driveway. “What the hell did you get them? You spoil these kids worse than we ever will.”

  Aiden chuckled. “I just…” his throat closed up a little and he was caught unprepared by the emotion. “You and I didn’t have the greatest start in life. I look at my nephews as a chance to start over again and build a family, you know? This is the first Christmas I get to be with them, without breaking into your house.”

  John was looking up at him, frowning, then he grinned fiercely. Reaching out he took Aiden’s forearm in his own and pulled him down into a long hug. “I feel the same way. And Angela having a baby will only make us stronger. Don’t worry about being a father. You know what it’s like to be without one. You will learn as you go, like I have, and your kids will love you like you are their hero. You create your own rule book.” When he pulled back, tears glittered in John’s eyes as well, and Aiden was shocked at the emotion he could read from his brother’s heart. It swelled like an ocean, warm and welcoming. Determined. Staunch in a way he could never have imagined. Though John was his older brother by a few years, Aiden looked up to him almost like a father figure.

  There was a commotion at the door and the women came out, bundled against the cold and holding the hands of the twins. The boys looked a little ridiculous in their little snowsuits, like those blow-up sumo dolls. Aiden had a feeling that if they fell on their backs they would be stuck. He chuckled at the image and John must have understood what he was thinking about, because he laughed as well. The emotion they’d shared was tucked away protectively.

  Just as the women met them, Zeke pulled up in his big, lifted black truck. He did a partial K turn and backed into the driveway.

  “What the hell is that?” John muttered, looking at the tarp-covered lump in the bed.

  Zeke slid down out of the truck, a grin pulling his patchwork face together. Years ago when he was deployed to Iraq, a concrete wall had come down on Zeke and ruined his face, giving him a TBI in the process. It had taken many surgeries and the love of a very determined woman to get him to a point where he was comfortable with himself. The woman, Ember, leaned out behind him and he gripped her waist to lift her down. She gave Zeke a big smooch on the lips, then turned to greet everyone.

  From the other side of the truck Chad stepped out, followed by Lora and their beautiful little girl Mercy. The twins squealed when they saw her and tugged to go play, but Angela and Shannon held them tight, just smiling. Mercy came over and knelt down in the snow in front of them to take their attention.

  Another truck pulled up and parked perpendicular in front of Zeke’s. Duncan stepped out carefully, mindful of the snow. He didn’t need to use a cane anymore, but he was very careful of how he moved and his footing. He circled the truck and opened the door for his wife Alexandra. Her brilliant auburn hair blew in the wind before she lifted the hood of her gray wool coat. With a final glance into the back seat, she carefully closed the door, then crossed to stand with the crowd. She grinned as she greeted the other women.

  “I want to let Chloe sleep as long as possible,” she said.

  The women nodded understandingly, then turned to face the final group joining them. Flynn was carrying little Raven through the deeper snow drifts, her cheeks rosy with the cold. She was grinning at the boys, looking like she’d just woken up. Willow followed along behind, her long, dark hair bundled under a knit cap but her eyes dancing with shared knowledge of a secret.

  “I think we’re all here, now,” she breathed, leaning in to hug the women. Flynn set Raven down with the other kids.

  John looked back and forth between Aiden and the other men, a slight frown on his face. “It’s good to see you guys. Didn’t know you were coming over.”

  Duncan grinned. “Sorry to drop in unannounced. Well, not really.”

  John looked at him oddly. “What the fuck’s going on?”

  Aiden moved to start unstrapping the item, anxious to see how John would react. “We got the boys something.”<
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  Zeke moved to the other side and started unhooking, but left the item covered. Flynn reached into the bed near the tail gate and remove two sleds with long rope handles, one red, one blue, and set them beside John. They were toddler sized and had little seats to sit the kids into, and nylon belts to strap them in. He glanced at them, then back at what the men were doing. Finally, Aiden flung the tarp up and away.

  Chapter Three

  John’s mouth dropped open, and his eyes began to glitter. “What…the…fuck…”

  “Fuc,” Caden said into the silence, grinning.

  The adults chuckled, and Caden took it as approval. Funny man that he was, he said it again.

  “You all hush up,” Shannon hissed. “Quit laughing or he’ll never stop.”

  Obediently the adults turned back to watch John, ignoring the little boy’s antics, even as he continued to repeat the word.

  John rolled forward in the driveway, eyes wide. Aiden could see the fascination and outright need in his expression. Zeke climbed up into the bed and Flynn positioning two ramps from the tailgate to the ground. Zeke sat in the chair, touched a couple of things, and the motorized, tracked wheelchair moved forward. It rolled smoothly down the ramps. Zeke turned the small stick at his right hand and the vehicle turned to the left, stopping directly in front of John.

  “If i-it will haul my big ass, it will h-h-haul yours.”

  Zeke stepped out of the chair, grinning, and moved to wrap an arm around Ember, leaving John looking at the tracked wheelchair. Eventually he looked up at the group around him. “You all got me this?” The fierce man’s voice sounded strained.

  “Well, we’ll blame Aiden for getting the ball rolling,” Duncan told him. “Then we all pitched in and got it ordered.”

  John looked at Aiden. “Why did you do this?” he whispered.

  Aiden gave him a crooked smile, his own eyes filling with tears. “You have to be able to sled with your kids. It’s in the dad rule book.”

  John blinked, hard, and looked away. He rubbed at his eyes furiously for a long minute, obviously trying to control tears. They gave him time to control himself and he eventually nodded, glancing around at his assembled friends. “Thank you. Everyone. Did you know about this?” he asked, looking at Shannon.

  She grinned, wiping tears from her cheeks. “A little birdy might have told me something about it.”

  Shaking his head, John rolled to the new chair, inspecting it. Then he maneuvered his wheelchair around beside it and locked the wheels. It was a bit of a stretch but he shifted over to the seat of the new chair. Zeke stepped forward and started showing him things, like the seat belt and the LED display.

  “This th-th-thing will fly through everything here,” he said, making a broad motion at the snow around them. “It has a twenty-five mile range, so you can d-d-d-rive it to work if you want. And if it has enough traction that it can probably pull your truck. It has a lot of strength,” he grinned. “We m-might have tried it out a little, just to see what it would do.”

  “Wear the damn seat belt,” Flynn laughed. “We might have learned that the hard way.”

  John explored the settings on the LED display and pointedly snapped the seat belt on. Then he took off. Aiden was impressed with how smoothly the tracked vehicle moved. Within just a couple of minutes John was doing donuts around the group and plunging through the snow drifts. The twins giggled as they watched him and clambered to play with him. John paused long enough to let Zeke hook the ropes of the sleds to the back of the chair, then each twin sat in one. Very slowly John dragged them through the snow, to their delight. The land around the house was flat, but some of the snow had drifted, giving them little hills to go over. The boys didn’t care. They giggled until they couldn’t catch their breath.

  Aiden loved the expression on John’s face. It was more open and free than he’d ever seen before. He watched his brother play more joyously with his sons than he’d ever seen him do before, and something lifted in his chest. It wasn’t ideal, becoming a father right now, but they would make do. He shifted, wrapping his arm around Angela, and leaned over to rest his head against hers. “I love you,” he told her softly.

  “I love you, too,” she whispered, cupping his face. “You know you’ll be a great dad. No matter your upbringing, if he can do it,” she made a motion to John, “you can do it. You both know what you lacked growing up. You’ll take the steps necessary to ensure our child doesn’t.”

  Aiden nodded, breathing in the scent of her hair. “We’ll wing it, like we’ve done everything else, and come out smarter on the other side.”

  Angela grinned at him, leaning up for another kiss. “Yes.”

  Wyatt and Caden screamed as John pulled them through a snow drift and they got buried, then they giggled. Wyatt laughed so hard his breath hitched. Without missing a beat, Caden called out ‘fuc’. They all dissolved into laughter.

  Aiden looked at the people around him and knew that the family he was born into was not as important as the one he’d created with the people around him. And the one he was about to create, he thought, looking down at Angela.

  Oh, Louie

  So, this is just one of those comedic parts of life.

  My Grandad’s name was Louie, and it was pretty funny because my uncle named his dog Louie. This was many years after my Grandad had passed, but every time I heard the dog’s name I could imagine poor Grandad being yelled at.

  “Damn it, Louie!”

  “Oh, Louie…”

  “Get off the couch, Louie!”

  This short story is a bit of a follow up to Healing Home, which was released last year. I loved writing the book and I really loved Lincoln, so of course I wanted him to have a family!

  Copyright © 2020 by J.M. Madden. Oh, Louie

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Chapter One

  “You’re an idiot,” her sister Carolina told her.

  BB frowned down at the phone on her desk, her pen pausing mid-stroke. “Why do you say that?”

  She’d heard it many times before but she was curious why Carolina thought she was non-normal this time.

  “Because that dog has you wrapped around her paw.”

  BB looked at Frankie, sprawled beneath her artist’s table. The dog flirted with her eyes, sensing that she was the center of conversation, and totally okay with it.

  In spite of herself she laughed. “You may be right. But why are you saying that right this second?”

  “I know for a fact that dog is underneath your legs right now, probably wearing some stupid collar.”

  BB squeaked. “I’ll have you know she pouts if she’s not wearing one of her favorites. And if you’ve ever seen a Frenchie pout you know how bad it can be.”

  Carolina laughed because she did know. She’d had to babysit for Frankie before.

  “So, what’s this I hear about doggy play dates with Hannah Mastrena?”

  Ah, so that was why she was calling. Carolina had this thing about relationships. Crazily enough she expected men to be loyal when they dated her and if they weren’t, well, it never went well. Hannah Mastrena had been one of the ‘other women’, but she’d been even worse. She’d married Carolina’s ex. As far as BB knew they’d been very happily married the entire time, which grated on Carolina. She wanted all cheaters to roast in hell with a case of the crabs.

  BB had tried to not say anything to Carolina because she actually liked Hannah, but she should have known. There must have been a picture or something. Hell, Hannah probably tagged her in a post. She hadn’t been on Facebook for a while to check.

  “Well,” BB admitted, “we were at the dog park and she has that adorable little black male. Too bad his name is Chuck. Seriously, wh
o uses that name anymore? He’d be perfect otherwise. Anyway, Frankie likes him. They play like they’re puppies. It’s really cute.”

  She didn’t dare tell Carolina that Hannah had a line on a Frenchie litter coming available soon.

  Carolina sighed on the other end of the line and BB felt bad for her. Carolina was well into her thirties and had zero romance in her life. Maybe BB felt it more sharply because she had fallen in love with Lincoln recently. She had more sympathy, perhaps. Carolina needed someone to love her like Lincoln had shown BB. The only guy in Carolina’s life had been that cop. “So, subject jump, here. Is the detective still bothering you?”

  “Yes,” Carolina growled. “He’s positive that I’m running some kind of high-end prostitution ring for military people.”

  BB had heard it before but it still made her snort. “Do you think it would help if I talked to him? I mean, I cancelled my contract with Lincoln when I realized we were getting involved. And I don’t think Lincoln would mind talking to him either when he gets back.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. When he gets back. When.

  “I don’t know if it would do any good or not, honestly. I might give him your number anyway. Thanks for that, BB. You didn’t completely throw me off the scent, though. Are you planning on breeding to her dog?”

  “No, Frankie’s fixed, remember?” BB sighed. “I’m just… lonely, I guess. The thought of having a fat little puppy running around gives me the warm and fuzzies, you know? Lincoln has been gone for a month and it’s killing me. I used to be fine staying inside for a couple weeks at a time until I ran out of groceries and I had to go out or starve. Now I, like, need to see people. A couple of his teammates wives have contacted me to go out and do things, and I talk to Mary every other day, but I miss him.”

  “I’m sure you do,” Carolina said softly. “No word on when he’ll be back? Have you talked to him?”