“Riley!” Abby shouted running toward her.
“Abby! Oh I’m so glad you guys got here in time.”
“Oh my goodness, let’s get you to the hospital!” She clapped.
“Yeah, get this baby out of me!” Riley laughed.
“Trains leaving folks. Get Riley in it or move out the way!” Gram yelled.
I helped Riley into Grams’ car and followed in next to her as Abby took the front seat. I could hear her calling Galena and filling her in on everything. She sped off like a bat out of hell before in no time, we ended up at the hospital. Abby grabbed Riley’s duffle bag, and I helped Riley in the hospital door as Gram followed.
Time began to drag. Riley was in labor for 17 hours. I felt so bad for her and I wanted to help her in any way I possibly could. I went for numerous ice chips and gave plenty of back rubs. I was trying to keep her as relaxed and comfortable as possible. Galena showed up and soon we had a few people waiting in the waiting room. Finally, it really was GO time.
** CHAPTER 22 **
Riley
I sat on the hospital bed holding my beautiful, healthy baby boy, Jordan. His precious face and small tiny fingers just made my heart melt with love for him. It was really true—nobody knows what a true bond felt like until you hold your first child. I was instantly connected to Jordan and I didn’t want to put him down. Dustin had to occasionally steal him away from me, and so did Abby and Galena every chance they could. Gram just sat back and enjoyed the moment. She knew she’d get time with him. Periodically, you’d see Gram get teary eyed and emotional. I knew what her thoughts were. I knew my mom came into her mind because she was in my thoughts ever since I had been living here. Who would have thought I would want my mom here so bad to enjoy this moment.
Galena and Abby started to become close. Never as close as I was with Abby, but we all got along pretty well. They told me since I had the baby sooner than I had anticipated that I had to find time, and a babysitter, to go out for a couple hours with the girls and enjoy a girls night out. They wanted to celebrate the birth of Jordan, and my engagement to Dustin, and to start talking wedding plans. I agreed.
It was the day I was able to go home when Dustin knocked on the door of the hospital with the widest grin on his face.
“Hey, baby! Come see your son.” I smiled.
He walked in with a wee one attached to his hip. “Actually, I have someone who’d love to meet you, and Jordan, too.” His smile just lit up my world.
I sat down in the chair and lowered Jordan to Molly’s level. “Hey, Molly, it’s so nice to see you again. This is your baby brother, Jordan.” I said in a gentle voice that vibrated excitement for her.
“This is my brother?” She smiled as her fingers brushed his cheek.
“Yeah, honey, this is your little brother. He’s cute isn’t he?” Dustin asked her, then placed his arm around me and kissed my cheek. He whispered in my ear, “Our perfect family, I love you.”
“He’s adorable! I can’t wait to play with him!” Molly’s smile could have alternately sent me in a daze. She was so precious, and I couldn’t be more excited to be her step-mommy.
“Hey, hun, I need to take this phone call right quick. It’s my lawyer.” He pointed to his phone and stepped outside the door.
“Do you want to hold him, Molly?” I asked her in a calm voice.
“I can! I can!” she jumped up and down.
I told her to sit on the bed and place her arms out. I grabbed some pillows to keep her propped up and placed one under her arm so she could hold her little brother. I smiled at them both and took a ton of pictures with my phone. This was one proud mommy moment.
Dustin came back in the room with a confused look on his face.
“What’s the matter?” I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around him as I turned my body to watch Molly with Jordan.
“Just more stuff on Sabrina, that’s all. Nothing to concern yourself with. This sure is a perfect picture of Molly and Jordan, isn’t it?” He leaned down and kissed my temple before sliding over to Molly to take a picture with the three of them. I couldn’t snap them fast enough as it was a great picture moment. The nurse came in and offered to take a picture of all of us, and I was tickled that this would be our first family picture of millions to come. I knew I would treasure this moment forever, and I would never forget this picture. It would be framed on our wall at home, and never be replaced.
A knock at the door startled us, as I wasn’t aware anyone else was supposed to come visit today since it was our day to be heading home. Molly immediately handed off Jordan, and ran to the door screaming, “Grandpa!”
My eyes shot over to Dustin, and he looked up at the doorway to see Molly hugging this man.
“Dad, what are you doing here?” Dustin looked shocked. My heart almost skipped a beat as it sank deep in my stomach somewhere.
Was this really happening? Dustin’s dad, whom I’ve never even met, was at the hospital to speak to us? About what? Was he on a mission to take away Jordan and make our lives miserable like Dustin's mom was? Is this part of Mrs. Lori Boyd’s plan? I knew something bad was going to happen. Nothing good could come of this.
He scooped Molly up in his arms and twirled her around. This man all six foot two of him with grey hair and gorgeous blue eyes stood in front of us like a teddy bear seeking a hug.
“I was hoping I could talk privately with you and Riley.”
“Come on in.” Dustin gestured as Molly ran back into Dustin’s arms and settled on the bed together. I sat next to Dustin holding Jordan.
Mitch, Dustin’s dad, stood right before the bed and leaned on the chair closest to him. “I love you, Dustin.” He stopped what he was saying and sighed. Then continued, “I’d like to be a part of your family’s lives. I’ve wasted too much time in the past. So many things have gone by that I’ve missed because I’ve been busy with work and other things. I kept quiet when your mother started her charades and frankly, I should have stood up for you. It wasn’t right. I’d like to accept Riley as my daughter-in- law and give her that chance that she never had with me. I just hope you all can give me that chance. I have several relationships to restore, and I am hoping my son will be the first one. I don’t want to miss out on my grandbabies the way I missed out on some of your life.” A tear fell from his eyes.
I wanted so badly to hug this man in front of me. It took a lot of courage to fly to another state to confront your son, and to tell him he loved him. Then try to mend what had been broken for some time. I knew that deep in Dustin’s heart that was what he wanted, too. I just hoped he could look at the broad picture. This was his children’s grandparent. They needed him in their life as much as Mitch does. I was curious to see if Lori knew about this. I’m sure she was still outraged, and trying to split us apart. Did she know where I was? Was she going to rain on this happy party?
Dustin walked up to Mitch and hugged him for a long time before Dustin pulled back, and wiped a tear from his own eye.
“Dad, this is Riley, my fiancé, and our new son, Jordan.” He smiled as he swallowed hard.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Boyd.” I stood up and held Jordan out to him.
“Please, call me, Mitch. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Riley.” He reached for Jordan. “It’s even more exciting to meet you, Jordan” he poked at his belly.
“So, why isn’t Mom here with you?” Dustin asked confused.
“We can discuss Mom later.” He reminded him. “I do need to speak with you in private about something, though.” He played with Jordan some more giving him kisses and rocking him around.
“Dad, whatever you have to say, you can say in front of Riley.”
Mitch handed Jordan over to Riley as he faced Dustin before he opened up. “Dustin, after you and Sabrina split up, she came to me and asked for a job. She wanted to move out of town, I had a few companies out of town, and so, I hired her at one. Something deep down told me to watch out for myself. I had my men keep an eye o
n her low key. For years, I’ve been tracking Sabrina embezzling the money out of our company. I had to wait for just the right amount of evidence to come through before I could have her arrested. I’m responsible for her arrest, and I should have come to you and told you long ago. Sabrina was a good mother to Molly, but who’s to say, she could have put Molly in a real bad place. I want your forgiveness, son. I want you to understand that I was wrong. Yes, Sabrina finally gets justice, and you get your daughter.” He covered his mouth and closed his eyes almost in disgust with himself. He opened his eyes after having them shut very tight, “But I should have been there for you. I wasn’t and I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me, and put it past us. I’m here for you now, and I’m here for your family.”
“You knew that Sabrina was stealing money? Why didn’t you ever talk about Top-o-Line Imagery? I thought you just owned Eddie’s Seaside Pub, and a few restaurants. Man, Dad, I feel like I don’t even know you. Yeah, I can forgive you because what you did, after all, it brought me Molly. But we need to have some serious heart to hearts about our past. There are things I need to get off my chest, as well. I would love it for you to accept my family, and be a part of it.”
I felt awkward. I felt like I shouldn’t have been there listening in on their conversation. Things need to be solved, yes. They should be solved, but I really needed to get home with my babies soon, and just relax.
“Helloooo!” Abby yelled in the doorway, “We’re here to pick up the happy family!” Her eyes went from super excited to who the hell is this man in the room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you guys had company.” She half frowned nervous of her big entry.
“No, no, Abby, it’s ok. This is Dustin’s dad, Mitch Boyd, Mitch, meet Abby and Evan, our best friends.” I smiled giving her a look of behave or I’ll hurt you.
Abby smiled cheerfully and looked at Mitch, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Boyd! Heard tons about you!” She added a snarly remark but kept her big smiles.
Evan stepped in and shook his hand, as well, and then they both stepped back and went over to Jordan.
“I’m so ready to go home! Hey, baby, you think you can take Molly back with you, and you can go discuss things with your dad? I want to head home. I’m beat. Abby and Evan will take me.”
“Actually, Dad.” Dustin turned to Mitch, “I’d like to go home too, with Riley and relax. It’s been a hectic time here in the hospital, and I want to be there for Jordan’s big homecoming and to get Molly settled in also.”
“That’s fine. We’ll discuss this at a later time. I’ll deal with your mother for now, and hopefully knock some sense into her. It was nice meeting you, Riley, congratulations on the birth of your son.” He hugged me awkwardly and then looked at Abby and Evan and nodded as he half-hugged Dustin on his way out.
“Well, that wasn’t awkward.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m sorry, babe. I just want to get home.” I shook my head.
“Let’s get you home, then.”
I got in the car with Dustin, and we put Jordan in the backseat. Molly wanted to ride with Abby and Evan since they had driven my car to the hospital. Gram and Galena were getting things set up at home for our return.
***
Time clicked by very quickly over the next two weeks. Abby and Evan took their vacation time, and they had been out here since Jordan was born. They had a few more days left before they had to head home. I was anxious tonight because Evan, Dustin, and Gram were watching Jordan and Molly, while Abby, Galena, and I would be going out for a girl’s night. Since I gave birth early, we pushed the baby shower to the end of the month until we could be settled more, and maybe make it a meet and greet for Jordan, too. I was really excited about tonight, actually. It seemed like an eternity since I had been out to a bar, and especially for a girl’s night. I was nervous how the men would do with the baby for a few hours, but I trusted Dustin. He was really good with Jordan, and I envied the relationship they will have when Jordan grows up.
Molly was just a mess. She was the most adorable little girl I had ever had the privilege of knowing. She immediately fell in love with me, and I couldn’t even put into words how that made me feel. She desperately missed her mommy and it was very hard on her to try to understand why she was no longer a part of her life.
The girls had just shown up at our place, and Molly ran to the door to greet them. She loved them to pieces.
“Hey, Molly!” Abby picked her up and hugged her tight. She was wearing the cutest outfit, a black cocktail dress. Now I felt underdressed wearing jeans and a fancy ruffled blouse. Oh well, it wasn’t a big deal.
“Hey girls! I can’t wait to get this party started!” Galena chimed in.
“Hey, ladies.” Dustin smiled and grabbed Molly. Jordan was down for a nap, and soon Molly would be in bed for the night. She wanted so badly to stay up and see Abby and Galena! I had told her it was ok.
Seth was on his way, and Gram was coming up in a few. Dustin didn’t look like he had a nervous bone in his body, even though we were leaving him for the first time with the baby alone. I was certain he would do great.
There was a knock at the door, and Abby answered it for me as I finished getting everything together. I transferred everything from my purse that I needed to my clutch, and then looked up at the door to find a woman standing before me that I’d never in a million years thought I’d see here. Dustin stood right beside me, and wrapped one arm around me. I think he was just as speechless as I was looking at his mother standing in our doorway. Abby just knew, and she didn’t know what to say herself. Finally, Lori spoke.
“So, this is your life now, Dustin? You’re picking a girl who could be better looking in my eyes, with an abominable past and family, and now a baby before marriage? I guess she wasn’t protecting herself from tying you down.” She spat.
Abby stepped in front of me and decided to open her big mouth, “She isn’t a build a bitch workshop! She’s a gorgeous new mom, so you had better watch what you say. Dustin’s happy. Why don’t you leave him the hell alone?”
I glared at Abby my not now look and Galena stepped in. This could be bad. After all, she was my sister and she not only was about to be fired up for her talking about my past, but she used the word family.
Galena stepped up to her in her black stiletto heels and put her hands on her hips. “You think you’re so great? The person you have been backing for years, was just arrested for embezzlement. You want to sit here and complain about Riley? Are you out of your damn mind? On top of the fact that your husband is the one who put her in jail. You must live in lala land? I suggest you walk out that door right now and leave before there’s trouble here.”
“What are you doing here, Mom?” Dustin asked furious.
“Babe, wait, let me.” I stepped in front of Dustin interrupting him. “Listen, you may not like me, and that’s fine. I’m over it. Just keep trying to threaten me and get me away from your son. Yeah, it worked a few times. The first time, shame on me, the second time, shame on me, but the third time, shame on you, Lori. I’m with your son whether you like it or not. Accept it, or move the hell on. I am so done with this bullshit.. You're a bully and you should be ashamed of yourself. For someone with your reputation and your first class taste, you of all people should be better than that. In fact, you should be a damn role model for your kids and grandkids, but in fact, you're just a bully." I cringed at the sight of her but felt relieved to get it off my chest.
“You think I’m going to give up so easily on my son? Guess again, Riley, you’ll mess up again, and I’ll be sure to be all over it,” Lori hissed.
“Seriously, you’re going to keep trying? What’s the point? What’s in it for you Mom? You come here to bitch about Riley when you should be coming here wanting to see your grandson. Get out of my house! Get out of my life until you realize, Riley isn’t going a.n.y.w.h.e.r.e” Dustin let go of my hand and walked up to Lori, “Now please, leave.”
“You’re making a big mistake, son.” She narrowed her eyes at Dus
tin.
Was she really that cold hearted that she couldn’t see the person I really was? Not what my past represents of me.
“I’m making a big mistake? I’m pretty sure my son isn’t a mistake. Maybe you’ll open your eyes someday, but until then, its best you go. Oh, and tell Dad he can come by any time since he’s willing to accept Riley.”
Dustin walked back over to me, and wrapped his arms around me as tears stained my cheeks. Why was she doing this? Why couldn’t she just like me? She doesn’t want to leave us alone and now I had several witnesses. Evan stayed out of it as usual, but I was so glad these girls stuck up for me. It was true, she had been fighting against me so Sabrina could be back in his life, and now Sabrina was arrested for almost the same thing she hates my family for. Come on? Really?
I stood in Dustin’s arms as she walked out the door. Abby kicked the door, slamming it hard behind her. Abby came up and joined the hug with Dustin.
“I’m sorry, girl. Don’t worry about her; she’s just jealous of you. You took her son away and she didn’t like it. We love you, Riley.” Abby grinned.
“Go on now, get out of here, and have an awesome night!” Dustin spanked my ass.
***
The three of us headed over to the club. These ladies were my best friends, and the only women other than Granny that I need in my life. Abby and Galena got along as if we were all meant to be sisters. We walked into Club Stripes and took a seat in the corner. Galena had somehow been able to get us VIP seating. Hell, I wasn’t going to complain. I sat in the middle of the two, and we were somewhat silent. I knew that this whole situation with Dustin’s mother put a small damper on our moods.
“Ladies, fuck his Mom, we’re not letting this ruin the night. Abby, if you don’t start humping my ass on the dance floor right now, there’s going to be some big problems. We need to reminisce.” I laughed and my arms wrapped around both of them, “Shall we?”
Abby took my hand and Galena followed. We made our way out onto the dance floor and started dancing like fools. This time, we were sober because this wasn’t going to be a drinking night. We laughed, and then we laughed harder, and made complete idiots of ourselves dancing as we had never danced before. At this moment, I was so happy. Everyone was happy. I knew that Abby wouldn’t ever be far from me, and I knew that Galena finally came around. My life had finally came around.
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