Forever Surprised

by Kathleen Brooks

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. We have fun trying, and that’s the important part,” Zain said, trying to put her at ease.

  “No, it’s not.” Mila struggled to hold back the tears. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to have people constantly staring at my stomach? What it’s like to have your mom leaving me baby blankets and your dad suggesting baby names? What it’s like to have a freaking king ask if you’re ovulating? Making a baby should be fun and filled with love. Instead, I’m feeling crushed from the pressure to produce the Prince of Rahmi’s heir.”

  Mila finally felt the levee of tears break. Sobs wracked her body as the pregnancy test fell to the floor. Of course there was a knock at the door at that exact moment. Trembling with emotional exhaustion, Mila pulled away. Zain didn’t free her from his grasp.

  “Ignore it. You’re more important than anything or anyone at the door.” Zain brushed back her curly hair and kissed her softly. “Sweetheart, it’s only been five months. The doctor warned it could take a while. Don’t lose hope.”

  “But what if I can’t—” The doorbell rang.

  “I don’t care if we can’t have a baby. Mila, you’re what matters to me.”

  Mila wanted to believe it. “But the king, the royal line . . .” People thought it was a fairy tale come true to marry a prince. And it was, mostly. But there was also an inordinate amount of pressure and lack of privacy.

  “Gabe can handle it. Gosh knows he’s getting enough practice,” Zain said of his younger-by-a-couple-minutes twin brother.

  “Then all hope is lost because the Playboy Prince will never settle down.” Mila hiccupped as she laughed.

  The doorbell rang again. “Zain! Mila!”

  Mila let her head fall back. “Would you see what your mom wants?”

  Zain kissed her again. “I’ll be right back.”

  * * *

  Zain hurried to answer the door. “What, Mom?” He loved his mother. Really, he did. But right now wasn’t the best time for her to barge in.

  “What took you so long?” she asked hopefully.

  “If I don’t answer the door, there’s a reason.”

  In that second, his teasing mother saw the look on his face. “What is it?” She grabbed his hand, looking over his body for an injury. “Mila? Is Mila okay?”

  Zain paused a heartbeat too long. His mother sucked in a breath. “Mila!”

  “Mom,” Zain snapped. “Not now.”

  His mom froze in her steps and took a deep breath. “Is she okay?”

  “She’s resting now. What did you need so badly that it couldn’t wait?”

  “Did you know it is the Rose sisters’ hundredth birthday?”

  “No, I didn’t.” The Rose sisters were the heart of the town, but right now Zain was having trouble focusing on anything outside of their home.

  “We’re having a surprise party at the Ashtons’ farm the day after tomorrow. I wanted to ask if you and Mila could supply drinks. Juice for the kids and good stuff for the adults. Oh, and I have something out in the car for you, but it’s heavy. Can you get it for me?”

  “Sure. I’ll be right back.”

  * * *

  Dani didn’t even wait for the door to close before she ran up the stairs. Her heart sank as she found Mila muffling her cries into a towel on the bathroom floor. Flashbacks of herself on the cold tile floor as she lost her baby hit Dani hard and fast. Without saying a word, she knelt down next to Mila and pulled her close. The negative pregnancy test sat at her feet.

  Dani stroked Mila’s hair as she heard her son’s footsteps pounding up the stairs. He stopped with murder in his eyes as she shooed him out. She knew the look, but she also knew there were some things only another woman could understand. Zain looked pissed, but he took a step back.

  “Cry all you want, my dear. It hurts so badly. I know, trust me.”

  “You don’t know!” Mila yelled. Dani remembered the anger well.

  “But I do,” Dani said softly. “I lost two children from miscarriages. But out of that darkness came the lights of my life. After each miscarriage, I became pregnant. And I know about the pressure, Mila. I know I get carried away thinking of grandchildren, but never think that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. I’d rather have you and Zain happy and healthy with no children than have you unhappy and hurt if you can’t have them.”

  “The king—” Mila started, sniffling.

  “Can chill. The line will be fine. It just means I’ll turn my focus to Gabe for a while,” Dani said truthfully. She’d been worried that something was bothering Mila. Dani, of everyone, should have understood it. She felt shame and guilt for the pressure she’d put on her daughter-in-law, even though it was done so good-naturedly. “I won’t ask again unless you want me to. And my door is always open if you need to talk.”

  Mila nodded but still couldn’t bring herself to smile. Dani kissed her cheek and motioned for Zain to come back. Zain reached down and picked up his wife and carried her to bed as Dani walked slowly down the stairs.

  “I’ll be right back,” Zain whispered to her.

  Zain tucked Mila into bed and followed his mom downstairs. “Right after the party I’m going to take Mila away.”

  “You’re a good husband, Zain. I’m very proud of you. And may I recommend the family house in the Bahamas? I’ll make sure no one bothers you while you’re there. And I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have put that pressure on you. I, of all people, should have known better.”

  “I know it was out of love, Mom.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Just remember, your father and I are here if you need anything. See you at the party, son, and only if you two feel like it.”

  Zain kissed his mother’s cheek and pulled out his phone. A couple weeks on the family’s private island sounded like the perfect escape.

  7

  Matt Walz looked down at the sparkling women rolling on the ground. So this is what being a small-town sheriff was like. He took a deep breath and jumped into the fray of the Miss Keeneston beauty pageant. Apparently the runner-up thought the winner had cheated and didn’t deserve to ride on the Fourth of July float next month.

  “Son of a—” Matt yelled as one of them bit his ankle. “Ella! Don’t make me tell your mother!”

  The girl in blue sequins looked up at him as she tried to rip the crown from the winner’s head. “She’s right there, Sheriff.”

  Matt let his head fall back for just a moment as he tried to regain control on his patience. His walkie-talkie went off as his deputy, Cody Gray, called him. “What is it, Gray? I have my hands full.”

  “I just got a text about the surprise party for the Rose sisters’ hundredth birthday, but when I pulled their licenses it says they’re eighty-three. Do I need to do something about that?”

  Ella stopped ripping the crown from the winner’s head. “It’s the Rose sisters’ birthday?”

  The winner’s head popped up. “Ah, congratulations on your win, Mary Ellen,” Matt said, hoping that didn’t restart the fight.

  “Thanks. But did he say surprise party?”

  Matt told Cody not to worry about enforcing the correct age on their license since they didn’t drive anymore and pulled out his phone as the pageant girls untangled themselves.

  “We have to do something special for the Rose sisters,” Mary Ellen told the group as they clustered around their new leader. “Ella, do you think you could make a huge batch of your delicious beer cheese?”

  “You bet,” Ella said, adjusting her evening gown to cover an exposed breast.

  “I can make Benedictine finger sandwiches,” someone called out.

  As Matt quietly slipped from the pageant, the girls all had their cell phones out and were bombarding Kenna, Dani, and Paige with texts. After all, that’s who sent him and his wife, Riley, the request to bring the disposable silverware.

  * * *

  Riley Davies Walz was working on her laptop when her husband came home. He took off his gun belt and laid it
on the bar top before coming over to give her a kiss. Riley set aside her computer as he took a seat next to her on the couch. He tugged at several strands of red hair from the knot she’d tied it in at the beginning of the day.

  “Busy day at the farm?” Matt asked, taking in her dust-smudged face.

  “Yes. Dad was with his brothers mending fences over at Grandma and Grandpa’s farm today so I helped move all the cattle to the new pasture. And now this,” she waved to the computer.

  Matt groaned. “Please tell me your father hasn’t sent another castration video. Does he really think we don’t have sex?” Her father, Cy, was a little . . . well, he was just her dad and slightly overprotective. Her mother, Gemma, on the other hand was trying everything she could think of to hurry along children for them.

  “No. It’s about my term in the state legislature. I finished my second term so I have to run for reelection in November,” Riley explained.

  “I thought you wanted to run for reelection.” Matt said, pulling her legs over his lap so he could hold her closer.

  “I do. But Reagan has been disappearing a lot when she’s not flying horses to different farms and racetracks. Then Dad has been stretched thin, trying to care for our farm plus his parents’. I worry about not having the time to help out when they need it. I work the farm nine months of the year, but if Reagan disappears and Dad gets busy at the other farm, who will take care of our farm?” Riley let out a sigh and Matt pulled her closer.

  “Riley, the better question is who will look out for the people of Keeneston if you aren’t in office? You’ve helped with farming legislation this year. You stopped the corruption that threatened the town last year. You know there’s more work to be done and you know you have ideas on how to do it,” Matt said gently. “And you know I’ll help out on the farm as much as I can. Even if your father threatens me every time your mother mentions grandchildren.”

  That was the same argument Riley made to herself and why she’d already filled out the form she needed to file to declare her candidacy. All she had to do was send it, something she would do first thing in the morning. She had her big family to lean on. She knew if her dad needed help and she couldn’t be there, the Davies family would step up and help. Hearing Matt’s encouraging words was all she needed to solidify the decision.

  “My dad won’t actually shoot the father of my children,” Riley said as she tried to sound convincing.

  Matt scooped her up into his arms and carried her down the hall. “Let’s find out.”

  Riley laughed as she threw her arms around her husband’s neck. “The bed is that way.”

  “The warm-up is in the shower. I have so much sparkling shit on me from breaking up a fight at the pageant I’m afraid to see what happens if I sneeze.”

  “Aw, did the big bad beauty queens scare you?” Riley asked sympathetically.

  “Yes.” Matt set her down and turned on the water. “It was horrible. Clouds of hairspray,” Matt complained as he stripped her shirt from her body. “And the tape! Don’t get me started on the tape they put on their bodies. It was stronger than duct tape. That’s just not normal.” Matt reached down and pulled off Riley’s jeans. “And then Ella bit me!”

  Riley laughed as her husband quickly shed his clothes. “She did not.”

  “She did! Right on my ankle.” Matt showed her as they stepped into the large tiled shower with two showerheads and a bench.

  “My poor husband,” Riley said, directing him to sit on the bench. “Let’s see what I can do about making you feel better.”

  * * *

  Nash and Sophie Dagher basked nude on their private beach in the Maldives. Just twelve days before, she had been Sophie Davies and now she was a married woman. Tomorrow morning, she and Nash would return to the real world. Their honeymoon had been everything they could have dreamed—peaceful and solitary. No phones, no one shooting at them, no one gossiping or placing bets on them. Just she and her husband.

  “Shall we go for a quick snorkel before we get ready for dinner?” Nash asked. She felt the rumble of his words as she ran her hand absently over his chest.

  “Hmm. Get ready for dinner? Nash, it’s only two o’clock.”

  Nash ran a hand down her back, over her hip, and up to cup her breast. “I have plans that may delay your getting dressed.”

  “Are you sure we have to go back?” Sophie asked as Nash laid her in the sand and covered her body with his.

  “Shall we extend the honeymoon, wife?” Nash bent his head to her sun-kissed breasts and swirled his tongue around her peaked nipples.

  “Definitely.”

  * * *

  They had been late to dinner and Nash couldn’t wipe the grin from his face because of it. They were staying in a private beachside villa at the end of the small resort. They had snorkeled, scuba dived, and boated around the beautiful islands while enjoying plenty of time basking in the sun and in each other.

  The open-air luxury restaurant seated them at their romantic waterside table. Nash scanned the menu, but even the complete relaxation of their honeymoon didn’t stop him from noticing the hushed, yet heated, discussion between the maître d' and a person from hotel services.

  “Is there a problem?” Sophie asked, not even taking her eyes from the menu.

  Nash saw the man from hotel services gesture toward them. “I think we’re being discussed.”

  “I think I’ll have the sea bass. Why don’t you see what they want? It could have to do with our leaving tomorrow.”

  Nash slowly raised his hand and with the curl of his fingers gestured for the two men to come to them. The maître d' stopped first. “I am sorry for the interruption, Mr. and Mrs. Dagher. I know you said not to be bothered while on your honeymoon, but it appears you’ve a message from Kingston . . . Kenston?”

  “Keeneston. It’s okay. I’ll take it.” Nash held out his hand and took the note from the hotel employee as Sophie tipped them. The men hurried from the table arguing as Nash read the note. “It appears we will be arriving right in time for the Rose sisters’ surprise hundredth birthday party. Dani says not to worry about a thing, just show up at the Ashton Farm at six o’clock.”

  “We get into Lexington at five-thirty,” Sophie told him. “It’ll be tight to get there on time, but I think we can. Especially if I drive.”

  “I think your love for speed is well documented, Soph. You almost sent me careening from the boat.”

  Sophie giggled and Nash laughed. He raised his glass to his wife. “To the Rose sisters and to my wife.”

  “To my husband.”

  “And to our future children.”

  They clinked glasses as the sun began to set over the crystal-blue ocean.

  8

  Kenna stood like a general commanding an army as the people of Keeneston flooded into the Ashton Farm. The football team raised the tent and then carried in tables. Her friends were unloading the decorations from the trailer Taylor Everett had brought. The Belles, the town’s supposed charitable organization for unmarried women, but really more like a husband hunters club, sat with Grace and her daughter, Faith, separating wildflowers into cowboy boots for centerpieces.

  “What do you need us to do now?” Paige and Dani asked as they wiped dirty hands on their jeans.

  Kenna looked at her watch. “Crap. It’s noon!”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll have plenty of time to get this finished,” Paige reassured her.

  “No, not that. Everything is perfect here, but everyone is here!” Kenna waved her arm frantically at the entire backyard filled with people.

  “Oh, crap!” Dani gasped. “No one is at the café!”

  “Shit,” Paige said under her breath. “Grace, Faith, Knox, Nikki!” Paige yelled.

  Nikki’s gigantic boobs poked up first. Then Knox set down the mallet he was using to hammer in the tent stakes as Grace and Faith extricated themselves from all the wildflowers and cowboy boots. “You all need to grab a couple of people and head to the café
. There’s no one there!” Paige called out.

  Nikki, as president of the Belles, was feared and loathed but wielded too much power to be denied. She reached for the nearest Belle who screeched in surprise as Nikki’s talons sunk into her arm before dragging her off. Grace and Faith hurried off, picking up Addison Rooney and Ava Miller, both of whom had babysat Faith before. Addison was the daughter of the town’s two defense attorneys, Henry and Neely Grace, and a lawyer in her own right. Ava was in medical school in Lexington where her mother, Emma, was also a doctor. Her father was the retired deputy everyone called Noodle for his love of noodling catfish.

  “Couldn’t you have sent someone else beside Knox?” Aniyah huffed as she stood nearby with a small battery-operated fan.

  “Why?” Kenna asked.

  “I was enjoying the view of that fine specimen.” Aniyah pouted as Knox slipped a shirt on over his head, covering his rippled abs, and grabbed a couple of his buddies to go to the café.

  “And what would DeAndre say?” Dani teased.

  “My Sugarbear knows where my heart lies. I was simply appreciating God’s fine work,” Aniyah said, turning her fan back on.

  Kenna looked to where Aniyah’s state trooper boyfriend stood, talking to Knox before he jumped into the waiting truck. DeAndre nodded and walked toward the tent. He stripped off his shirt and picked the mallet back up as Dani, Kenna, and Paige sucked in a breath.

  Dani snatched Aniyah’s fan from her and blasted her and her friends. “What do you think you’re doing?” Aniyah squawked.

  “Observing God’s artwork,” Kenna replied without taking her eyes from DeAndre’s dark, rippled body.

  “He’s younger than our son.”

  “Son of a—” Kenna jumped as Dani and Paige let out a squeak.

  Will crossed his arms over his chest and tried not to grin. “Busted.”

  Kenna rolled her eyes. “I’ll have Nikki take off her top when she gets back so we’ll be even.”