by Ewing, A. B.
The three had become inseparable. Kevin adopted the role of big brother and Kaylee continuously fussed over her like a mother hen.
When the twins decided to make their entrance into the world, Kevin and Kaylee had been right there with her - right where her husband was supposed to have been.
When the twins had been old enough, Kevin had gotten her a job at ‘Mount Glory Home for the Aged.’ Menial as it was, it paid the bills. Now she rented a little apartment not far from her friends who played a constant role in the life of her children. Neela often wondered if Caleb ever looked for her.
“How are you feeling?” Kaylee’s concerned voice made her smile.
“No different. Still can’t feel anything. How are my babies?”
“Adam and Melody are fine. Kevin had to work so KC offered to babysit. I hope that isn’t a problem.”
Neela shook her head lightly. “No, it isn’t. She is their aunt. How are you doing? You look as if you’re ready to pop any minute.”
Kaylee put her hand to her stomach and giggled like a silly little girl. “I feel as if I’m going to pop.”
Pulling up a chair, she carefully lowered herself into it.
Neela found herself asking the question before she could stop herself. “How is he?” Kaylee knew who she meant.
“Caleb’s wonderful with Adam and Melody and they enjoy being with him. He wants to see you Neela, and before you say anything, let me say this. You are my best friend and I love you. I know he hurt you but he deserves to be with his children. They deserve their father. Fate has worked to bring you two together again. I don’t know what it is, but there is a reason Neela.” Neela didn’t interrupt her and Kaylee continued to speak. “He loves you, Neela. I see it when I look at him. I am not saying that you should forgive him, but give him a chance. Maybe someday you might be able to forgive him and who knows someday you may even be able to love him again. But you’ll never know unless you give him that chance.”
“I’m scared, Kay. I’m scared because I do still love him. But I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive him. He cut me down and then cheated on me. That is a wound that I don’t think will heal.” She paused, sniffing. “I’ll never fit into his world, Kaylee. He made that clear five years ago. Nothing’s different now” Damn, she thought she was all cried out over Caleb Wilder.
Kaylee dried her tears and in an effort to comfort her friend she offered, “I know you’re scared honey, but do you really want to give up before you try.” Why did Kaylee always have to be right? “You know I’ll always be here for you, but now you need more. You need medical care and I can’t give you that. He can,” Kaylee reasoned.
Neela lay there hours after Kaylee left and thought about their discussion. She wouldn’t fool herself; they could never go back to the way they were. Too many bridges had been burnt.
She knew she needed special care and Caleb had offered to pay her medical expenses but that meant that she and the twins would eventually have to move in with him. Was she ready to do that?
As much she wanted to say no, she knew that sometimes life made choices for you and this was one of those times. She had no choice.
****
Two weeks after the accident, Neela was ready to see her children, and her husband. Kaylee had visited earlier and helped her tidy up. Her black curls were pulled back in a ponytail and her face was powdered a little to bring some life to her cheek. The tube had been removed from her throat, so she sounded more like herself now.
She heard the excited chatter of the twins in the hall and she was sure if she could feel her hands they would be sweaty. She was going to tell the twins that Caleb was their father. She spent days rehearsing what she would say and even now nothing seemed right.
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts and then the door burst open. Adam came charging in, Melody in tow. Caleb entered quietly behind them, a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
“Mummy, Mummy, I missed you,” Melody announced.
“Me too. I missed you more, Mummy,” Adam chimed in.
“I missed you too, babies.” She knew her eyes were filling up and wished she could wipe them away.
She noticed Caleb moved closer to the bed, reaching down, he raised the twins, one at a time to place a kiss on her cheek. He then put them each to sit on the bed where she could see them.
“Have you guys been enjoying your time with Aunt KC?” She still had not decided how she was going to tell them about Caleb.
“We love Aunty KC and Uncle Caleb. They have the same name as us.” Melody was always the chatterbox. She said what was on her mind and didn’t care what people thought. She was so much like Caleb.
“I know honey and there is a reason for that. Do you remember when I told you that your daddy lived far away because he had to work and that’s why you didn’t see him?” They nodded in unison. “Well, I have something to tell you.” Melody was touching one of Neela’s hands and she wished she could feel it.
“Mummy..?
“Yes baby…?
“Are you going to tell us that Uncle Caleb is our daddy?” the curious little girl asked without even looking at her mother.
“Melody…How do you know that?” How could her almost five year old possibly have guessed that?
She got her answer when Melody reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of folded paper. She unfolded it and showed it to her mother. It was a picture of a younger Caleb and Neela. It had been taken on their wedding day.
“Where did you get that?”
“I found it at Aunt Kaylee’s.”
“Melody…”
“I’m sorry Mummy; I didn’t mean to take it. I just wanted to know what my daddy looked like,” the teary-eyed little girl explained.
“Oh, it’s alright, baby. I’m sure Aunt Kaylee wouldn’t mind”
For the first time since he entered the room, Neela stole a glance at Caleb. She felt her breath whoosh out of her chest. He was looking straight at her, not flinching once. Her husband was still the best looking man in the world. Unable to hold his steady gaze she turned her attention back to her children.
“Does that mean we are going to be a family?” Adam asked looking at his mother. How could she possibly answer that? What if Caleb didn’t want them?
Caleb moved swiftly to stand next to his son. Passing his hand through the little boy’s curls he answered, “Yes, Adam. We are going to be a family now.”
He reached out for the lifeless hand that Melody held earlier and Neela’s closed her eyes as the warmth of his touch penetrated her flesh.
Her eyes flew open. She felt his touch. She could feel his hand on hers.
Caleb, noticing the change in her expression, asked, “Neela, are you okay?”
“I can feel your touch. Caleb, I can feel your hand on mine.”
Releasing her hand he ran out into the corridor. She could hear him calling for the nurses. Concentrating on her hands, she tried to wiggle her fingers and smiled when she saw the thumb bend slightly.
He was back in the room removing the twins from the bed when Daphne came bursting through the door.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked, her voiced laced with worry.
“Daphne, I moved my finger and Caleb touched my hand and I felt it,” she willingly explained.
Daphne pushed opened the door and yelled something to the nurses. “Caleb, will you take Adam and Melody outside?”
Neela watched on as Daphne did all the things that she had done over the past two weeks but unlike all the other times, when Daphne touched her hand she felt it.
The first thing she had been able to feel was Caleb’s touch. Life was really making choices for her.
****
Chapter 11
Was he expecting too much? Was he crazy to believe that Neela would even consider giving him another chance? It had been five long, lonely, heart-wrenching years. Maybe, just maybe, she could forgive him.
Sure he was a douche bag, a jerk, a basta
rd, a creep and every other name KC had called him the day she found out Neela had left but that didn’t mean he hadn’t suffered too. Even now, with her a few feet away he was still suffering.
Five years was a long time for a man to really think. First he did the usual thing a jackass would do. He blamed Neela. How many times had he used all the familiar excuses? If she had been a better wife, if she had tried to fit in, if she had been more understanding of his needs, but in the end none of it would fly. He was the one that screwed up.
Then came stage two, thinking of all the things he would do differently when she came back, because she would. He was sure of that. Neela loved him.
But when six months passed and he had not heard from her nor had she returned, he lost it.
Stage three kicked in. He grieved. He mourned the loss of his wife, he mourned the child he wasn’t sure about and he mourned the love they shared and lost.
Gradually he crawled back to the world of the living, going about his days routinely. The days came and went but he hardly noticed. The only thing Caleb Wilder was aware of was the huge void where his heart used to be. Five years of that was enough to drive the strongest of man insane, but somehow he had held on and now she was here.
As cruel as it was, fate had thrown Neela back into his life and now for the first time in forever Caleb felt a spark of hope. To think he had searched so long and hard for her and all the time she had been right here in Washington. They did say, the best place to hide was out in the open. Caleb had never once thought about searching right here .
With every passing day he regained a measure of the person he was before he messed up. He was a father now.
Two beautiful little angels Neela had given him. How could he not love her? Most women would have found the nearest abortion clinic but not his Neela. No, instead she chose to bring his children into this world. Not only had she managed to care for them without his help, she didn’t feed them any crap about him being dead or that he didn’t love them.
Kaylee still didn’t even want to breathe the same air as he did but someday he would let her know just how grateful he was to her. What would Neela, Adam and Melody have done without her and Kevin?
He looked up and down the hospital corridor. This place had become his home for the last couple of days. Other than the time he spent with Adam and Melody during the day, he spent the rest of it haunting the hospital’s corridor just waiting for that moment Neela decided she wanted to talk to him. Three whole weeks went by and nothing.
There had been that one day when the kids were finally allowed to see her. Kaylee had none too gently informed him that Neela would see him too. He had entered that room with his heart in his stomach, palms sweating, unsure of what he would say or do. Then he had touched her and all hell had broken loose because she had felt his touch.
Something had happened that day because she refused to see him again after that. Yet here he was like a lovesick puppy, just waiting for her to give even a tiny hint that she wanted to see him.
Neela still had no feelings from her waist down but at least now she could hug the kids. How Caleb wished he could be on the receiving end of just one of those hugs.
Neela’s room door swung open and Daphne walked through it her hands on her back. It seemed as though she had gotten even bigger in the past three weeks. Did Neela look like this when she was pregnant?
“Why did I know I would find you out here?” Daphne asked stopping in front of him to look up at his tired face.
“Where else would I be Daphne?” Caleb responded in that annoyed voice she knew so well.
“Yeah, that was a dumb question. How about we sit? God, I feel as big as a truck,” she complained, rubbing her pregnant stomach.
Seated and a little more comfortable, she addressed her brother who had taken a seat on the opposite side of her in the large waiting room.
“Okay, so I am going to tell you the same thing I told you a week ago and the same thing I told that stubborn wife of yours just now. There is nothing more I can do for her. She needs therapy. It’s time for her to go home.”
A frustrated Caleb ran a hand down his tired face.
“What do you want me to do, Daphne? She knows that I will pay for her medical care but she doesn’t want my help.”
“Oh, shut up, Caleb. I am so sick of you acting so damn stupid.” Caleb froze as he looked disbelievingly at his sister.
“You are a Wilder. Since when have you ever cared if someone said no to you? If you want to help Neela so much, then help her.”
“Daphne…”
“Oh no, you are going to hear me out. She doesn’t want to see you. What did you expect? You screwed up big time, sure, but she’s here now. If she doesn’t want your help, so what? The point is she needs it. End of story!” Exhausted from her mini tirade, Daphne leaned back against her seat.
“Caleb, no one knows more than me how much you love Neela. She’s still hurting but you may need to hurt her some more if you really want to help her. Trust me she will thank you for it later,” she explained in a gentler voice.
“You just have to figure out how you are going to do it.”
Caleb didn’t know how long he sat in that waiting room after Daphne left, the wheels in his head turning. She was right. It was time he took charge. Neela may not want his help but she needed it and whether or not she wanted it, she was going to get it.
Mind made up, he rose from his seat, straightened up his spine, took a deep breath and marched of in the direction of Neela’s room. Brace yourself, my beautiful wife, here I come.
*****
So, okay, Daphne was right. She was being a stubborn ass. What was she gaining from refusing to see Caleb? Nothing, zero, zilch, nada!
What use was she to Adam and Melody if she couldn’t walk? The fact was, she needed Caleb’s help.
True, she was still hurting from his betrayal. True, she still loved the man and true, she may never be able to forgive him. At the end of it all he had what she needed to get better - money!
It was amazing how much clearer something seemed when you weren’t being a stubborn fool.
Sitting in front of the window, Neela continued to look out the closed window wrapped up in her thoughts.
Caleb had consumed so much of her thoughts these past weeks, it wasn’t even funny.
The man had completely demeaned her, cheated on her, smashed her heart to smithereens but still she couldn’t get him out of her mind.
Memories of those pictures with him and Lori remained imprinted in the back of her mind and even now thinking about them brought tears to her eyes.
She had loved Caleb so much, given him everything and all she had wanted in return was his love. Ha, so much for that. All she had gotten was a broken heart.
Well, not really. She had gotten Adam and Melody. They were her heart and her soul. Sometimes during those first months away from Caleb, she felt as if she would go mad from the hurting, but her babies were always there. A part of her from the beginning, they nestled so safely inside her womb - Caleb’s babies!
They had been her reasons for holding it together all those years ago and now they would be the reasons she would swallow her pride, tuck away her love and accept Caleb’s help.
Wheeling away from the window, she was about to reach for her cell phone when Caleb came crashing through her bedroom door mad as hell.
He came to a halt in front of her chair, his massive frame towering above her. Dear God, this man was magnificent.
“I have something to say and you are going to hear me out, whether you like it or not.” How dare he speak to her like that? He had no right.
She opened her mouth to let him know just what she thought about his He-Man tactics but he cut her off.
“I said you are going to listen and you are going to. I know I messed things up between the two of us and I know you hate me, but you need help only I can give you. Hate me all you like Neela, but I will not let my children suffer because of your need t
o get back at me.” This time when he paused, she sat there looking up at him in shock.
Taking advantage of her silence he continued.
“Daphne said you need therapy and that’s what you are going to get. You have been cleared to leave, so tomorrow you are going home with me where you can get the help you need. When you are better and can stand on your own two feet you can do whatever you want but as long as you need that wheel chair I’m in charge. Got it?”
He was right. As much as she hated depending on him she needed him right now. So when the simple “yes” escaped her lips, Neela had the pleasure of seeing Caleb look as confused as a deer in front of a headlight.
****
She said yes. Without even arguing, she had said yes.
He wasn’t prepared for that. Nor was he prepared for seeing her sitting in that damn chair in nothing but a robe. Even like this, no makeup, hair unkempt she was still the most beautiful woman in the world.
She was coming home with him and the kids. Good! When she was there, then he could move to the second part of his plan - winning back his wife!
Now all he had to do was figure out how the hell he was going to explain about Lori. He had no idea what Neela would do when she found out about the baby.
****
Chapter 12
She was paralyzed, not dead. There was no rule anywhere that said a woman could not lust after her husband.
Caleb was as fine as any man could get. Even the years had not diminished his masculinity. Now as Neela watched her husband playing with his children, she was awed by what a perfect specimen he was.
Caleb was a large man and he only seemed to have gotten larger in the past five years. He was more chiseled out now, his body better defined.
When he had peeled off the shirt and jeans he was wearing, to join Adam and Melody in the pool, Neela’s mouth had gone dry.
How was it possible to still love a man this much after he had hurt her as he did? Was something wrong with her?
