Kayden’s expression turned stern and the look he gave Flynn was challenging.
“We ran into a girl from my past a couple of days ago, and she had this kid with her,”
“Your kid?”
“Yeah, no…I mean could be mine yeah…but…”
“Fuck. What do you mean? It either is, or it fucking isn’t?” Kayden spat and looked sharply at me. Kayden turned to look at me and shrugged his shoulders, “And you’re okay with that? You’re carrying his kid and he doesn’t even know if he’s a dad already? What the fuck are you two thinking?” he’d said as he stood quickly and walked back and forth with his fists clenched. The tension in his neck and in the room looked and felt about the same.
“Sit down, Kayden. You want to hear this or not? If so, you have to sit down and listen. Another outburst like the one you’ve just had, and I’ll ask you to leave. Life’s been stressful enough lately, and it’s not good for the baby. We didn’t have to tell you anything about this, and what we have to say may be hurtful for you, but I figured you should have the truth. Don’t make me sorry I made that decision,” Valerie said.
Kayden stepped over to the sofa and slumped back down, “Sorry I just want to protect you…”
“Right, but you can’t be responsible for everything that happens to everyone else, honey. We all have to accept responsibility for ourselves. I can’t bear to tell you this if it’s going to send you back to the edge, Kayden. I need my big brother. My baby needs its uncle. You have a special place in this baby’s life, you understand?” What I didn’t spell out was he was the baby’s only uncle.
Flynn tried again, “There’s no easy way to say this, and to be perfectly frank with you, I’m still trying to get my head around it as well. I had no clue about what we learned yesterday, but Valerie was determined that you hear about it from us, and not from someone else.”
“I don’t understand what you mean,” Kayden said and frowned.
Flynn wandered around the room raking his hands through his hair before stopping directly opposite my brother. “There was a girl in college…she was a friend of Martin’s mainly. One night we all got a bit too drunk and we slept with her. Both of us.”
“Both of you? You mean you and Martin both?”
“Yeah. And she doesn’t know who the dad is.” I confirmed.
“Fucking Hell. So you don’t know for sure who the kid belongs to?”
“I just said so didn’t I? She doesn’t want a paternity test.”
Kayden sat in silence pondering what it all meant and looked at me with new pain in his eyes. “So the kid could be Martin’s?” he said in a quiet voice and fell backward against the sofa. We waited while he stared up at the corner of the room. He swallowed roughly and blinked back tears until he found the strength to talk. “Martin never knew…” Kayden began.
“Martin knew there was the possibility he could be the father, Kayden, she went to him when she found out she was pregnant, but I’d left college. Martin and I weren’t in touch that much after I left, but he never told me. He knew where I was, and he had my number, but he never told me about any of this,” Flynn said.
I never knew that part. It hadn’t occurred to me that Martin had kept it from Flynn either, and now we’ll never know why.
“Do Mom and Dad know about this? If it’s Martin’s kid we’ll want it to be taken care of.”
“Regardless of whoever’s child it is, she’ll be taken care of. I’ll make sure of that,” Flynn said with conviction.
“No, Mom and Dad don’t know yet, Kayden. I wanted to talk with you first. The last thing I wanted was for the press to somehow get wind of this, and you not know. I wanted to get your advice about whether we should tell them or wait until we had a clearer picture. Flynn said she doesn’t want to take a DNA test. Maybe she’s wary being a single parent. Who knows, but it needs to be handled with delicacy.”
We continued to talk for about an hour and by the time Kayden left we’d all agreed that Flynn should try to persuade Melanie to take the test, and try to keep things under wraps with our parents until there was something concrete to say.
Kayden went back to the house, and we flopped into bed. I felt emotionally drained from all the uncertainty, not just about the child, but Bernie’s hearing, the band launch, and the fact that I was almost half way into my pregnancy. There was so much to organize for that, and once the baby was born, I knew the cabin we were living in wasn’t going to be able to house the three of us very well.
As well as the logistics of things that needed to be ironed out, in the back of my mind was the money my dad had given to me for the band launch. I thought that at least Martin’s half should be earmarked for the little girl if she turned out to be his.
My head was so full of everything that sleep just wouldn’t come, but lying in bed wrapped in Flynn’s arms with his baby inside me I wouldn’t allow myself to think other than it would all work out eventually.
Flynn’s cell started vibrating on the floor inside his jeans pocket and he stirred. Picking it up he slipped out of bed, and I saw the glow of his phone light up his face. He glanced in my direction and swiped the phone to answer. “Just a sec,” he whispered, and padded quietly downstairs.
I glanced at the time it was 3:20 am.
When he had been down there for five minutes, I rolled to the edge of the bed and went to look over the mezzanine. Flynn was sitting naked, and looked relaxed with one leg spread along the sofa, the other on the floor. He was talking quietly, and I couldn’t hear what he was saying. My intuition told me he was talking to a woman.
From my vantage point above him in the dark, I saw him sprawled on the sofa with just one end table lamp on. Occasionally, his eyes flicked up toward our bedroom like he was checking to make sure I couldn’t hear him. I knew it wasn’t anything to do with the band, and Clayton would never have called him at that hour of the morning.
The call made me feel uneasy, but I slipped back into bed. I had a sinking feeling in my heart. As I lay down, I wondered how much I’d have to deal with by loving someone like Flynn. Until then I’d thought we were invincible. Scolding myself, I decided not to jump to the wrong conclusion, but to wait and see what he told me about the call.
Once I heard one of the wooden stairs creak, I knew he’d finished taking the call. Seconds later, Flynn came back into view. His shadow crept toward me, and the mattress dipped as he crawled back in beside me. My mood blackened further when he settled facing away from me while I lay silently in the dark. After a few minutes, I heard his breathing change to a deeper, calmer pace than when he’d gotten back into bed. Whoever that was, Flynn wasn’t losing sleep after talking to them. Unlike me.
*****
Bright sunlight lit the cabin as I stirred from sleep, and my hand reached across to Flynn, his side of the bed was cold. I hadn’t heard him get up. It was 9:40 am, and there wasn’t a sound downstairs. I flung back the covers and ran to the railing, looked over, and checked to see if he was in the kitchen area. He’d left me home alone.
Turning to go to the bathroom, I suddenly felt dizzy, so I slid down the side of the bed and sat on the floor. Small flutters stunned me, and I quickly brought my hand to my belly. My baby had moved for the first time. Well, the first time I’d felt it. I should have been elated to feel the small precious life inside me making its presence felt, but the culmination of the previous few days with Melanie and the phone call the night before made me scared for the future.
Normally, my pragmatic side that made me resolve issues which arose would have forced me to say something. However, the things going on at the periphery of my life were beyond anything I could handle practically. I picked up my cell and rang Kayden, “Hey, what are you doing today, Kayd? How would you feel about playing hooky, and taking your kid sister for a day out? Just the two of us.”
“Sounds like a plan, pick you up in say…half an hour?”
“It’s a date,” I figured I’d leave Flynn to wonder where I was. The
re was no way I was going to be waiting for him to return. I was annoyed about the phone call he’d received, and how he’d just gone off without a word. It had made me feel uneasy.
Chapter 25 ~ Valerie
One hit
Spending the day with Kayden was amazing. I pushed everything that was happening in my world aside for those seven hours and enjoyed a rare day alone with my big brother.
We talked about his relationship with Amber, and how she’d made him feel whole again through her loving, empathetic and understanding nature. I loved her, and how they were with each other, and told him how I felt about them as a couple. Kayden gave me a shy grin in response, and where previously he was pretty cool about girls I saw a change in how he treated Amber. Anyone would have thought she was made of glass.
He surprised me when he’d told me Dad had wanted him to take over the workshop, but after Martin and Adam’s death, he said he’d lost interest in staying in one place for the rest of his life. We talked openly about the accident, and how we both felt about our loss, and cried a little together. Eventually, we pulled ourselves together and found a fantastic fifties-style diner where we had lunch. It was like old times and we even played a few games of pool in the back room.
I was more than a little freaked out when the waitress asked me if I was Flynn Docherty’s girlfriend. I nodded slowly a little apprehensive, but she just squealed and told me how much she loved him. I was glad she wasn’t a malicious fan that wanted to hurt me because he was with me.
By the time we headed home I’d felt I had my old brother back. He was cracking jokes and we’d both sung at the top our lungs in the car. Kayden drummed out a beat on the steering wheel to “Love Runs Out” by One Republic, and he was awesome.
A couple of times during the day I’d resisted the urge to check my muted phone in my bag to see if Flynn had called. That was partly because I knew if I’d seen his name I would have called him back, and because I knew I’d be devastated if he hadn’t been looking for me. Talk about self-torture.
When we entered the gates at home, my wayward mood brought me down to earth, and I’d wondered if Flynn had even noticed I was gone. I dug into my purse and pulled out my cell, and saw three text messages from Flynn.
Flynn: Where are you my beautiful girl? X
Flynn: Okay, your Dad told me you were with Kayden. I guess you both needed some time out.
Flynn: I’m in the studio when you get back.
So much for making him sweat. The closer we got to the house, the more anxious I became. Either Flynn was exceptionally good at hiding things from me or I’d been wrong to have doubted him.
“Flynn’s in the studio,” I’d said to Kayden as I glanced up from reading the text.
“Let’s go see what he’s up to. It’s been awesome having him and the band here to stay. Jonah is a really nice guy, I like him, and what about Lexi…what’s with her? She hit on me the first time she had me alone.”
“She did?” I screeched, my eyes wide with shock.
Kayden smirked, “Who wouldn’t? Women find me hot, Valerie,” he said with a smug look on his face.
“I’ll have a word with her.”
“No, you won’t. It was…nice to know I still have it.”
“Kayden, I thought you were happy with Amber?” I question disappointed.
“Yep, I am, and I’m going to marry that girl. It doesn’t mean I don’t like my ego stroked now and then. Besides, I put her in her place…gently of course. Lexi, won’t try anything again.”
“Wait, back up. You’re going to marry Amber? You’ve asked her?”
“No, not yet. I was waiting until the summer. There are too many bad memories for the family at this time of the year.” I knew it was coming up to the anniversary of the boys’ deaths, and could see why he wouldn’t want to taint the good with the bad.
“Three years in a couple of months, Valerie. It seems like yesterday in my head. I still see them vividly, laughing and joking on that boat.”
“That’s a great memory to have Kayden, it means they died happy. Most people don’t get to do that,” I said trying to soften his pain.
“True. I’d never thought about it like that,” he’d agreed. “How the hell did I get such a smart baby sister?” he asked as he applied the footbrake and turned off the engine when we arrived at the studio.
“Gene pool? Being female?” I giggled. Kayden opened his door and ran around the hood to open mine. Extending his hand to me, I slipped mine into it, and he helped me out of the car. Without another word, Kayden pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.
“You are precious to me baby girl. I’m so proud of you.”
“And I’m equally proud that you’re my big brother. I love you so much, Kayden, and I’m glad about Amber, she’s perfect for you. It’ll be great to have a sister in the family,” as soon as I’d said it I cringed inside because I was sure I’d highlighted that he was now the only boy.
Kayden opened the door for me to enter the studio, and I walked through to the sound deck. Flynn was inside the sound proof booth. Ryan wore headphones, and it looked like he was mixing by the way he was pushing the buttons up and down. He hadn’t seen me enter, but Flynn had. He burst out of the soundproof booth and came rushing toward me with a relieved expression on his face.
“Baby, where have you been? I was getting worried. I knew you were with Kayden, so I knew you who you were with, but I was worried you’d both been in an accident. You’ve been gone for almost eight hours.”
He looked genuinely concerned. “I’m fine. I spent the day with my big brother, and he took fantastic care of me. We had fun didn’t we, Kayden.”
Smiling widely, Kayden looked relaxed, “We did. It’s been a long time since I had a beautiful girl who let me beat her at pool.”
“Awesome. How about you come and beat something else for a bit? I could use some percussion on this new song I’ve written, I’ll even credit you as the drummer on the track if we use it.” My brother’s eyes widened to the size of the headlamps of a car, and he turned to me and smirked, “And we thought you were the musical talent in the house,” he teased.
Flynn patted Kayden on the back and took him inside the soundproof booth while I sat on the sofa behind Ryan. I pulled out my tablet and pretended to study it. Flynn was smiling at Kayden and looked completely relaxed. My heart thumped with excitement, melting instantly when I watched Flynn’s lips as they curved into his sexy signature grin. I’d been fooled before with smiles from a guy who I thought was my world. Twice.
I couldn’t reconcile the uneasy feeling I’d had during the night with the relaxed guy behind the glass partition in front of me. If Flynn was up to something, his acting skills were amazing. Then again, he performed for thousands of people at a time, performing for one wouldn’t be that difficult.
Depression set in at that thought, and I lay down on the sofa behind Ryan. Closing my eyes, I tried again to erase the person who’d called Flynn during the night. Concentrating on positive thoughts, I felt the small flutters in my belly again. Instinctively, I slid my hand over to below my belly button and caressed it. My eyes automatically pinged open to check if Flynn was watching me when I realized what I was doing.
Those tiny signs of life reminded me my baby was growing bigger, and getting stronger by the day. No matter what, that had to be my focus. I had been worried all day since I’d witnessed that little scene, but I was determined to face it head on, and decided that unless he volunteered to tell me about the phone call he’d had, I had no choice but to ask him about it.
My stomach churned, both from lack of food, and being worried. I was tired and not in the mood to cook so I’d called a small restaurant in town where my dad often went during his lunch break. Harry knew the family well, so I’d asked for delivery, and used Flynn’s fame as an excuse for not eating out. He was quick to oblige, and as soon as I’d made the call, I waved to Flynn and Kayden, and made my way back to our cabin.
Forty minutes l
ater Flynn came home, alone. “Going to get cleaned up, are we intending on eating this evening?” he said in passing. As he reached the stairs to the mezzanine floor, he turned and locked eyes with me when I didn’t answer
“It’s coming.”
“So is Easter, babe. What’s coming?”
“Food. I called Harry at the Turtle Shack.”
Flynn had one foot on the step and dropped it back to the floor, “Is there something wrong, babe?”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, you were gone this morning without telling me. You arrived home with Kayden, and never answered my texts. You can’t even look me in the eye right now. What’s going on?”
My jaw dropped when he challenged me, and I stood speechless. Confrontation about my behavior was the last thing I expected from him.
“And you? You can stand there and look me in the eye? Who was on the phone last night, Flynn? Why the secret conversation downstairs? Why were you gone this morning?”
The disappointed look on his face made me furious. He hadn’t liked that I’d challenged him.
“I woke up in the middle of the night, and you were sitting downstairs all sprawled out on the sofa having this deep and meaningful conversation with a woman while I was in bed asleep in the same fucking house, Flynn?”
“Well you weren’t asleep if you were watching me, and it’s not what you think, babe.”
“No? It never is. Been here too many times already, Flynn. Unfortunately, I can smell a rat when there’s one in the barn.”
“Is that a dig about what you saw way back when?”
It wasn’t an intentional dig about him and Daisy McGinty in our barn the night I’d seen him with her. I’d just used that as an old saying my grandpa used to say.
“Okay, Valerie. Since you are so smart, maybe you can tell me what I’ve been doing. I’m interested to know what it is you think that is, oh and while you are at it, why is it that you are the only one to mistrust? Why were you sneaking around upstairs when I thought you were asleep?” he said, as his eyes turned a stormy color of green.
Ready For Flynn, Part 2 : A Rockstar Romance (The Ready For Flynn) Page 22
