Forever Lucy

by Terri Anne Browning

  “I love you,” I mouthed, and she gave me a smile that broke my heart with how much it trembled.

  What was only a few short minutes felt like an entirety before Jesse was stopping before me and taking my hand. He shook it firmly, his fingers shaking just as a badly as my own, and it was only then that I was able to take my eyes off Lucy, and I saw he wasn’t even trying to hide the fact he was close to sobbing like a baby. His throat worked furiously as he tried to swallow, his tears falling unashamedly. Then he was sliding Lucy’s hand into mine, and everything felt right in the world once again. I could breathe again, my legs feeling stronger than they ever had, and my heart was finally at peace

  Jesse kissed his daughter’s cheek and whispered something in her ear that had her chin trembling even more.

  The minister cleared his throat. “Who gives this woman to this man?”

  “Not giving her to anyone,” Jesse growled at the man.

  Lucy bit her lip to keep from laughing, but no one else seemed to have the ability to keep from doing so, including me. The old man’s face turned red with embarrassment and probably a little fear too. “Um…” He glanced past Jesse to Layla, as if he were hoping she would save him from her scary-as-fuck husband.

  “I’m letting my daughter marry her soul mate, dude. Plain and simple. Not giving her away.”

  The old man cleared his throat. “Er…yes, right.”

  Lucy looked at her dad, taking pity on the minster, effortlessly pulling his attention back to her. “Thanks, Daddy. I think we’ve got it from here.”

  He winked down at her. “Sure, Lu.”

  Jesse took his seat, and the minister breathed a loud sigh of relief that had those close enough to hear it snickering. “Dearly beloved,” he began. “We are gathered here today…”

  --

  If I never had to pose for a camera again in my life, it would be too soon. Santana was a demon as she took picture after picture of the wedding party, the parents of the bride and groom, and countless pictures of just Lucy and me. Meanwhile, all the guests went on to First Bass where the reception was already starting without us.

  All I wanted was to get Lucy alone. To have an hour just to ourselves so I could show her exactly how amazing I thought she looked today.

  And to ask her what the fuck was wrong.

  From the moment the minister had pronounced us husband and wife and I’d finally gotten to kiss her, I could tell there was something going on. She was tense and a little scatterbrained. On top of that, I could see she wasn’t feeling well. At times, she looked a little green even under all that makeup. Sweat had started to bead on her upper lip and forehead, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with the heat that was steadily climbing.

  As some of the others started to move away, talking about which cars they were taking to the reception, I pulled her closer and lowered my head. To Santana who was still snapping away on her camera, it looked like I was kissing Lucy’s neck. “Are you okay?”

  Her hands skimmed under my tux jacket and tangled in the fabric of my dress shirt. “I haven’t eaten much today. My stomach has been sour.”

  “Again?” Concerned, I stroked my right hand down her back, making her lean into me more. “That’s like the third day in a row, sweetness.”

  “It’s okay. I’m not sick or anything.” She leaned her forehead against my chest. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  I caught her chin and tipped her head back so I could see her eyes. “What is it?” I whispered, almost scared of what she was going to say. She was only supposed to be happy today. All her tears, they were supposed to be happy ones. I wasn’t going to let her feel stressed today. I wasn’t going to let our marriage start off with her thinking of anything but how amazing the rest of our lives were going to be. “Tell me.”

  Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as she seemed to go over in her mind what to say. Then she smiled, and the power of her happiness behind that simple little smile nearly knocked me on my ass. “I’m pregnant.”

  The jolt of those words hit me like a ton of bricks. My gaze was trapped with hers so I could see this wasn’t a joke. “Really?”

  Pregnant?

  I was going to be a father.

  That…was… Fuck! That was the best thing she’d told me since she’d said yes to marrying me.

  She laughed. “Yes, really. I found out this morning. Are…are you happy?”

  Tears clogged my throat, burning my eyes and making it nearly impossible to see her. “This is…fuck… This is perfect, Lu. Yes, I’m happy. I… I can’t… There are no words.” At least, none that would make sense to her or even me. There wasn’t a single word in any language that could express to her how happy I was right then. “This is the best day of my life,” I whispered against her lips. “You have no idea.”

  “Oh, I think I do.” She cupped my jaw, her eyes like smoky quartz in her happiness. “But I’m a little scared too.”

  “Don’t be. I’m right here. I’ll take care of you both.” I touched a shaking hand to her stomach, completely oblivious to anyone or anything. “I’ll love and protect you for the rest of our lives, Lu.”

  “Holy hell, these are some of the best pictures I’ve ever taken of a bride and groom,” Santana squealed, causing us both to jerk in reaction. Everyone had disappeared for a little while, and we were surprised to realize we weren’t the only two people in the world, after all. “I can’t wait for you two to see these.”

  Lucy’s nose scrunched up as she grinned at me. “You ready to celebrate now, Mr. Cutter?”

  “If we must, Mrs. Cutter.” Her eyes glowed at the sound of her new name. “The sooner we get the reception over, the sooner I can take you away and have you all to myself for two full weeks.”

  “Wherever that is, it sounds like paradise to me, babe.”

  --

  A huge team of florists had come in the night before and decorated the entire club in sweet-smelling flowers. Lucy had overseen the whole thing with Kin, so when we walked into First Bass two hours after the wedding, I was seeing it for the first time.

  It didn’t even look like the same place it had Saturday night. Instead of five hundred people walking around drinking and dancing, there were barely a hundred and thirty, all of them drinking sparkling cider or champagne. White and purple streamers hung from the ceiling, with roses in the same shades decorating every surface. Waitresses who worked for me carried around the trays of drinks, while those that worked for the caterer passed by with tasty hors d’oeuvres.

  A table with the wedding cake was getting attention from everyone admiring the cake the baker had set up personally that morning under Barb’s watchful eye. The cake was even more amazing than what I had imagined, and I could tell Lucy was just as happy with it as I was.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” the DJ said into the microphone as we waited in the shadows. Every eye turned to look at the man. “Please welcome for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Harris and Lucy Cutter.”

  “I guess that’s us,” she laughed.

  “Fuck, I love your giggle.” I lifted her into my arms and carried her out into the middle of the crowd, swinging her around and around until all anyone could hear was my favorite sound on the planet.

  The lights around us dimmed, leaving only a single spotlight on us. We heard a shifting on stage where the Blonde Bombshells’ instruments had been set up to welcome any of the rockers in attendance to perform if they chose. A guitar began to play, and suddenly the club was filled with a voice I hadn’t been expecting.

  A slightly husky, perfectly smooth female voice sang the opening lyrics of “When You Say Nothing at All.”

  “Kin?” I asked Lucy, who shrugged with a mischievous smile on her lips as we began to sway together to the music.

  “She said it was our wedding present, so we’re not to expect her to do it often after this. Writing songs is her gig, not performing them.”

  I pressed my lips to Lucy’s forehead. “She

’s a good friend.”

  “I definitely agree,” she murmured.

  I closed my eyes and pulled her closer, letting the music fill my senses just as much as Lucy did. She clung to me as we got lost in the words, letting them wash over us like then anthem to our love it was. With her, I never needed words. When she wanted me to, all it took was a look, a touch, and I knew exactly what she was thinking.

  We were still swaying together long after the first song ended and the next began. Around us, people were joining in on the dancing, but we couldn’t be bothered to care what they did. We were lost in each other, in the realness of being married, of finding out our family was already growing. This day, this moment we were stealing in the great vastness of time, was perfection.

  After another song, we were pulled apart so Jesse could dance with Lucy. I grabbed a glass of champagne as I stood with Dad to watch them. Everyone else who had been dancing stepped away, giving the floor solely to them. As I watched Jesse with his daughter, I could see the love they had for each other almost like a physical presence flowing around them. Their closeness was unrivaled by any father-daughter relationship I’d ever witnessed, and I wanted that with my daughter one day.

  I wanted to be my little girl’s hero, her favorite person on the planet. The man she thought of first and would always run to when she needed anything, no matter how big or small.

  Tears sparkled in Jesse’s eyes, making their changing colors almost hypnotic as he laughed softly with Lucy. She said something that made the big, bald man throw his head back and laugh, causing everyone who was watching to smile. Jesse Thornton was a scary-ass motherfucker, but right then, we could all see that, when it came to his daughter, he was nothing more than a teddy bear.

  After the song was over, Jesse led her over to where I was standing with Dad. “You two pulled off one hell of a wedding today. I liked seeing the results of you two working as a team.”

  “Thanks, Daddy. It was a lot of fun to plan with Harris helping me.”

  “Here you two,” Layla appeared with two glasses of cider that she handed over to her husband and daughter.

  “Thanks, baby.” He kissed her lips before taking a sip of his drink.

  “Anyone thirsty?” Nat asked as she pushed a fresh glass into Dad’s hands.

  “I’m good,” I assured her and reached for Lucy.

  Jesse’s hand on her shoulder kept her in place, however. “Actually, we’d like to talk to you two,” he told me, his face turning serious. “You got a minute to spare for your parents?”

  I glanced at Lucy, who seemed just as surprised as I was, and shrugged. “Sure. Do we need to take this somewhere more private?”

  “Nah, son. I think we can talk about it here. Everyone in this room is family.” Dad pulled an envelope out of his suit jacket pocket and handed it over to me.

  Curious, I took it from him and pulled out a thick document. “What’s this?” Then my eyes and brain connected what I was looking at. “Fuck, Dad!”

  “What’s going on?” Lucy demanded, taking the paper from my hands. “What… Daddy?”

  “The four of us wanted to give you something to help start your marriage off in the right direction,” Dad said with a casual shrug, as if he hadn’t just handed over the deed to me for a three-million-dollar house.

  “This… Is this really the house?” Lucy gaped up at her dad.

  Jesse lifted his brows. “If you mean the one Annabelle conned you two into checking out, yes.”

  “But the Realtor said it was already sold when we looked at it,” Lucy cried. “She said…”

  “It was already sold,” Nat assured her. “We bought it before you even looked at it. Layla and I checked the place out as soon as Gabriella said it was up for sale. We knew it was perfect for the both of you.”

  “Plus, we wanted you two closer to us,” Layla said with a grin.

  “Yeah, especially that,” Jesse agreed.

  I was having trouble swallowing as I looked from my Dad to Nat. “You…you didn’t have to do this.”

  “I know that. It was something we wanted to do for you. To show you and Lucy how much we love you both.” Dad wrapped his arms around me in a hard hug. “Congratulations, Harris. I’m so proud of you, son.”

  “Daddy… Thank you!” Lucy was sobbing now. “You don’t know how much this means to me. To us.”

  Jesse wrapped her up in his huge arms, making her look more like a little girl than a grown woman. “Baby, don’t cry. I didn’t want you to cry. Damn it, Layla. Why is she crying so much today?”

  “I’m j-just happy, Daddy. This day has been so p-p-perfect, and I didn’t think it could get better. B-but…this…you…” She sobbed harder. “Thank you.”

  Dad shifted uncomfortably, his concerned eyes on Lucy’s head. “Does she usually cry like this?”

  “It’s probably just the hormones.”

  I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, didn’t even realize the words had left my mouth until Dad turned wide eyes on me. “What do you mean, hormones?” But I could see he was already drawing his own conclusions. Before I could say anything, he was grinning. “You telling me I’m gonna be a grandpa, kid?”

  “What?” Jesse roared, having caught on to the whole hormone slip I’d just made.

  Lucy lifted her head slowly and wiped at her eyes. “So, um…we have a surprise of our own.”

  “You’re pregnant?” Jesse wheezed out.

  “Looks that way, Gramps,” Layla teased.

  “Oh my gosh,” Nat breathed then squealed. “Oh my gosh!” She grabbed Layla’s hands and started jumping up and down. “We’re going to be grandmothers.”

  “Shh,” Lucy tried to hush her. “I just found out this morning. I don’t want to tell the world yet.”

  “Lucy’s pregnant!” someone called out, causing the entire club to go crazy.

  “What?”

  “She’s pregnant?”

  “I thought she was looking green earlier,” someone else commented.

  “Congrats, Grandpas!” Nik called out, lifting his glass in a toast.

  Lucy groaned and turned to bury her face in my jacket. “There goes the pregnancy announcement party I’ve been thinking about all day,” she said with a pout.

  I laughed and kissed the top of her head as I wrapped my arms around her. “There’s always a gender reveal party we could do, sweetness.”

  Her head jerked up, and she grinned. “True.”

  “What if something happens?” Jesse groaned, and when I looked at him, I saw his face had turned gray. “What if something happens to her?”

  Layla sighed. “Jesse, you can’t think like that. What happened with me and the twins was a freaky one-in-a-million thing that doesn’t normally happen. She’s going to be fine, I promise you.”

  “But what if she isn’t?” He turned accusing eyes on me. “What if she isn’t?”

  “She will be,” I vowed. “I’ll take care of her, sir. I swear it.”

  He glared at me for a long, tense moment, but he finally seemed to relax as he nodded. “You fucking better.”

  “Daddy.” Lucy’s soft voice seemed to hit him directly in the heart from the way he jerked in reaction. She smiled sweetly up at him. “Let’s not think about what could go wrong. Let’s focus instead on the fact that, by this time next year, you’re going to have a grandchild to love and spoil.”

  He let out a pain-filled exhale. “I’m not going to get any sleep until she’s here, you know that, right?”

  “She?” Dad groaned. “Can we not bring more girls into the world for me to want to kill for? Let’s say it’s a boy. Boys are tougher, and we only have to worry about that one penis dicking around. If we get a granddaughter, we’re going to have to find more places to hide dead bodies.”

  “True,” Jesse agreed with a dark frown. “It was fucking hell worrying about Lu before she got with Harris.” He scratched at the scruff that was starting to grow on his jaw. “I like the idea of a grandson. We should get him a drum set.”

  “Let’s pray for a grandson, Layla,” Nat told her, but I wasn’t sure if she was joking or not. “If it’s a girl, neither one of us will know any peace where these two are concerned.”

  Layla shook her head. “I can live without that peace. I like the idea of dressing up a granddaughter. Think of all those little dresses we could get her.”

  Nat seemed to think that over, and as the two women moved off together, already discussing all the ballet classes they could put their possible granddaughter in, I pulled Lucy back out onto the dance floor, leaving the grandfathers-to-be to discuss which drums would be best for a beginning little rocker.

  “Sorry I slipped up, sweetness. I didn’t even realize what I was giving away.”

  She shook her head, smiling coyly. “It’s fine. Next time, we’ll do something cute to announce to the grandparents we’re expecting.”

  “Next time?” I liked the idea of a next time. And maybe one more after that.

  “Yeah. We’ve got to have plenty of babies to fill up all of those bedrooms their grandparents gave us. Right?”

  “I don’t know.” Grasping her by the waist, I lifted her up until we were staring directly into each other’s eyes. “You think you’re up for the adventure?”

  “With you? I’m ready for anything the world throws at us, babe.”

  Epilogue

  Lucy

  I bounced through the house, making sure everything was in place as our home slowly emptied of guests. I didn’t know where this burst of energy had come from, but I welcomed it after feeling like I had run a marathon after just getting out of bed the last few weeks.

  “There she is!” Big hands appeared from either side of me, and I paused, letting both Devlin and Dad touch my huge stomach, knowing they wouldn’t be happy until they felt their grandchild kicking them and not for the first time that day.

  “How you feeling, Lu?” Dad asked, his eyes watching me like a hawk as they constantly had over the last several months.

  I smiled reassuringly up at him. “I’m great, Daddy. Stop worrying, okay?”

  He opened his mouth, but before he could bombard me with more questions about how I was feeling, two little feet gave a powerful kick. It effortlessly shut him up about my health and had him and Devlin both gushing about how strong of a kicker their grandchild was.

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