Mine : You Can't Help Who You Fall In Love With... (The Winterburg Series Book 1)

by Linzvonc

  My eyes met his then and my heart swelled with love for him. Suddenly, I frowned.

  “Why are you here though? You’re always busy,” I pushed the muffin into my mouth eagerly as the citrus flavours exploded on my tongue. Why had I not had one of these daily prior to pregnancy? It was delicious.

  “Because I’ve considered your request.” He spoke quietly, his eyes on me whilst I swallowed, sipping the coffee and shivering with delight.

  “Oh, my God, that’s so good.”

  He folded his arms as he watched me with interest.

  “Oh? Better than sex?” he questioned innocently as I laughed in response.

  “Almost?” I offered as he scoffed, clearly offended.

  “Bullshit.”

  I laughed as he ran his hand through his hair.

  “Baby, listen. I’ve been thinking.”

  My breath caught in my throat as he studied me.

  “How do you feel about moving back to Winterburg? I could find work locally; you’ll be close to your family. It’s up to you entirely, I know we moved here so you could study—”

  “Yes,” I said instantly, tears welling up in my eyes. “I would love to move back there with you. It would be a whole different existence for you though, Cal. I can go back to school there after the baby is born,” I shrugged, having already done my research. I could study therapy anywhere, but New York had the best program. I could graduate with a good enough grade to allow me to finish studying when our child was born. It would mean squeezing my lectures into fewer days, but my tutor had been fantastic.

  “We have the scan soon,” Cal smiled, and I smiled back.

  “Three days until we get to see Bean.”

  “Do you want to move? If so, when? I don’t want you traveling when you are really pregnant. I don’t want you in New York City pregnant period, to be honest.”

  I stared at him as I ran a hand over my stomach. He was right, as always. I had been kidnapped barely three months ago. But could he really give up the life he was accustomed to for me? He was never without money, and I didn’t work. Not yet. I voiced these concerns to him, and he grabbed both my hands in his.

  “You and this child are everything I have in this world. Money isn’t an issue; I have a lot of it. I just won’t be making it illegally anymore. I’ve got the sale from the house so I can buy us a home easily. Don’t worry. I’ll get work locally; I’ve got all kinds of skills.”

  Our eyes met and I realized he meant every word. He was going to change his ways, and I couldn’t wait for us to begin our new life together.

  But first, I needed to break the news to my parents.

  Part Two: Chapter Twenty-Nine

  GRETCHEN

  “The gel is a little cold, so I do apologize.”

  The lady smiled kindly as she squirted the gel onto my bare stomach as I inhaled sharply.

  Jesus!

  It was like ice, was there really any need for it to be so cold?!

  Don’t they know they are putting it on pregnant mothers not using it in a recipe?

  The sonographer gently pushed down on my lower stomach with a probe, the tv screen beside us flickering into life. It was difficult to make sense of it at first, and I realized I wasn’t even breathing as she used a finger to point at the screen.

  “This is your uterus, and this area is the amniotic sac where your baby is forming,” she was pointing to a white rim around a clear center, whilst the rest of the screen was a grainy black and white image. “This is your baby.”

  My eyes focused on the center, my heart pounding as I recognised the circular head and a tiny body attached to it. Cal squeezed my hand as I gazed at the screen in wonder.

  “Everything looks as it should be, and I am just going to measure the little one to see how far along you are for sure.”

  She zoomed in, clicking on various buttons until she nodded with satisfaction.

  “You are approximately thirteen weeks. Which would make your due date around March. Your obstetrician may be able to give you a more exact date. You can clean the gel from your stomach now. You will have another scan in about seven weeks which may be able to tell you the sex of the baby, should you want to know.”

  She printed us a couple of scan photos and I dabbed at my stomach, turning to see Cal sitting, completely stunned. He was staring at the photo and I saw him gulp, a lump in his throat.

  “Finally, we meet. Hello, Bean. Wow, Gretchen.”

  He flickered his eyes over to me and I blinked back tears. Panic flashed over his face as I grabbed his hand in reassurance.

  “Happy tears, Cal.”

  He nodded as I pulled my top back down and swung my legs down, standing slowly.

  I was starting to show a tiny bit, but I must confess I was more excited than ever at the idea of having a large baby bump.

  We left the hospital and Cal drove us to a little Italian restaurant we both loved, and he even ordered me a coffee without me asking. I ordered the spaghetti carbonara with extra cheese and a side of garlic bread and Cal watched me in awe.

  “What?” I smiled as he gazed at me.

  “I just really love you right now. I can’t believe our baby is in your tummy, listening to us. I want us to go and view some houses soon and stay with your parents until we find one. We need to leave New York, honey.”

  I nodded sadly.

  I’d become so fond of the city, despite having recently only spent time with Cal, I had made some friends.

  My parents were shocked but elated when we told them about the baby, but more so they were ecstatic we would be moving back to Winterburg. They had offered for us to stay with them until we bought our house for when the baby was born.

  My stomach lurched when I thought about becoming a mother, but I had no real fear. I would be bringing our child into the world at the same hospital I was born in myself, going to the same schools I had, growing up in the same town I did. I wanted that for them; my childhood was idyllic.

  “Have you considered names?” Cal asked, his eyes flickering with amusement. I had already gone through about a hundred baby name websites and still was no closer to choosing one for either sex.

  “I can’t decide on any. What about you?”

  “If it’s a girl she will need a plain name like Margaret. Or Beryl. She won’t need an attractive one.”

  He scowled as I suppressed a giggle. I would really feel for Bean if it was a girl.

  “I like names like Grey, Thor, and Theo for a boy,” he continued.

  I scrunched my nose up and shook my head.

  This is going to be hard work.

  Luckily, we had six months to argue about it.

  The food came and we both dove in, unable to speak with how delicious the food was.

  When we had finished, Cal turned to me. “I think we should spend your birthday in Winterburg. Shall we move out next week? I can have things shipped over to us, so I’m not concerned about that. Then we can get looking for our forever home.”

  I nodded enthusiastically, dragging my hair into a loose bun on my head as I yawned.

  “You still take my breath away, Gretchen. The most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on. Shall we get you home?” he signalled for the bill and I sank back happily into my chair.

  “Cal, are we sticking with Cal or Leo? You said you wanted me to call you Leo but you’re always gonna be Cal to me,” I shrugged, and he smiled.

  “Cal Fallon or Leo Cape. It’s still me, whichever way you look at it. But I think I’m going to stick with Cal. My old name has too much trauma attached to it,” his eyes turned dark as he gazed behind me, as though peering into a memory. He paid the bill and we left, walking to his car. The tiredness was overtaking me now, my shoulders slumped as I tried to keep my eyes open. I slid into the seat and watched as a huge truck drove by with a holiday promoted on the side.

  “Summer,” I mused aloud as Cal studied me.

  “What?”

  “Summer. It’s a nice name.”<
br />
  He nodded as he smiled.

  “Whatever you say darling. Your choice. Always.”

  Part Two: Chapter Thirty

  CAL

  “So, you’re leaving us, boss?”

  Eugene studied me, his black eyes darting around as he shifted uneasily. I sighed as I slid the whiskey glass towards him, watching as he threw it down his throat with incredible speed. Sometimes I wondered how this man was still alive; if he wasn’t drinking, he was smoking. He was always angry, which is what made him a brilliant executioner, I guess.

  “You’ve got Carl. He will take over from me. You’ll be fine,” I tried to reassure him, and he nodded thoughtfully.

  “So, you’re gonna leave, just like that? What’s the Don say?”

  I lifted my eyes to his then as Mark and Teddy glanced at each other nervously. I knew that Eugene would be the nosey bastard he always had been, but he was right to ask.

  Just not respectful.

  I decided not to dignify it with an answer, my glare telling him to shut the fuck up. I rubbed my chin as I stood up, nodding at Carl who sat on the chair in the corner of the room smoking, watching me intently. He had wanted my job for as long as I could remember, so I knew he was more than happy with the cards he was being dealt. Unfortunately for the others, he had even less tolerance than me. He nodded back at me as I left the room, knowing my next conversation wouldn’t be a pleasant one.

  The Don was informally known as Paul Gasio, a man with such charm that he could smooth-talk a man into swallowing his own tongue.

  I’m not kidding, he fucking had once.

  I guess the alternative was too much.

  I waited outside his room for about twenty minutes, until a man walked out with soulless eyes. People came to ask the Don for favors of all kinds, and many were in debt to him. He called me in with a deep Italian accent which had thickened from a recent visit to Sicily.

  “Leonardo. Sit down.”

  I sat on the hard leather chair, my eyes meeting his as he studied me carefully. He looked like you would expect him to—slicked black hair, a thin moustache on his tanned face. His eyes were dark, and his tone intrigued.

  “I hear you are going to be a father soon. There is no greater gift than children, Leonardo. I have four boys. They keep me young.”

  He smiled as he lit a cigar, leaning back on his chair as he waited.

  “Indeed, I will be. That’s why I am here.”

  I cleared my throat as I braced myself for the questions, but he waved his hand dismissively.

  “You came to me in a strange way. You had avenged a family member, and I respected that. You work hard, follow commands, and execute them seamlessly. Yet you want to be a picket fence guy, no? You want to be at the football games, the charity cookie sales,” he raised his eyebrow at me, and I remained very still.

  “Carl is in your shoes already. That doesn’t concern me. Everyone is replaceable,” he said simply as I waited for him to finish. He took a drag on his cigar as he gazed at me, exhaling the thick smoke slowly. “But you did go into witness protection did you not? Given a different name to that your mother gave you?”

  I nodded, dread causing the knot in my stomach to tighten as he dragged on his cigar again, while eyeing me. His long fingers tapped on the desk as he considered his next words, and I refused to break eye contact with him.

  “I did. Because I was innocent, I didn’t hurt that girl at all,” I stated, the facts tumbling out of my mouth.

  “No, that is true. You avenged her. I respect that as I said earlier,” he repeated slowly. “However, the fact remains, people don’t just leave the family, you understand? If they do, it’s because they are fucking useless or they leave in a body bag. We have too many secrets to be fucking letting people work out notice periods,” he chuckled softly as I felt my jaw clench.

  “So, you're gonna kill me?” I demanded, the anger clear in my voice. I should have felt ice-cold fear at this exact moment, but I didn’t. However, when he narrowed his eyes at me, I lost all sense of bravado.

  “Don’t be fucking stupid, kid. Don’t ever raise your voice to me again. Capisce?”

  “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  He nodded, watching me carefully.

  “I’ve considered this prior to you coming in here today. You’re a good kid, and we all like you. You can be with your family. But let me tell you if you ever leak anything about our business, Leonardo, you will not have a family, or a heart to love them with.”

  I nodded slowly, keeping my anger in check. He was threatening my family, but this was business. “So, go. As you know you are no longer under my protection, certain people may wish to...seek you out. Always watch your back. Oh, and leave your gun on the way out. You can go now.”

  I stood, offering my hand out to him and he shook it, not taking his eyes off of me.

  “I’d leave this city as soon as you can. People are like fucking vultures. God bless.”

  He turned away from me, the conversation clearly over. I didn’t know if he meant it, but there was only one way to find out.

  Make it out of New York alive.

  EPILOGUE

  CAL

  “Daddy, you promised!”

  It was that voice again. The one that wrapped me around her little finger by putting on the damsel-in-distress tone. I sighed as I wiped my brow, fully aware from her giggle that I had just wiped oil over my face.

  “You laughing at your old man, kiddo?”

  “Yup. Please can we get ice cream now?” she whined as I closed the lid of the truck, admitting defeat. I turned as I heard the car pulling onto the drive, a smile on my face as I waited to greet the love of my life. She didn’t disappoint.

  “Mr. Fallon, get those greasy hands over here and help me get these bags inside. Hey baby girl, have you been good for Daddy?”

  Gretchen leaned down to drop a kiss on her head as she passed, arms full of groceries. I went to help her, but she scolded me, telling me to get the other bags.

  “Caleb wasn’t good, was he Daddy?”

  “Summer, what have I told you about snitches?” I teased as I followed Gretchen to the house, Summer at my heels. She pouted at me and sighed.

  “Snitches get stitches.”

  “Yeah, so shut up, Summer,” drawled Caleb, pushing open the screen door as he glared at his sister. They were twins but couldn’t have looked more different. Caleb had blonde hair and deep green eyes that he clearly inherited from me, whilst Summer had chocolate brown curls and blue eyes. We joked that Summer was added last minute, being the smaller twin and a complete surprise at the second scan.

  “Enough. Inside,” I commanded as we walked into the open-plan kitchen where Gretchen was unpacking the bags.

  “Daddy...”

  “Raven, I’ve got to take this little lady for some ice cream. She’s clearly experiencing severe withdrawal. It’s been what, a day since you last had ice cream, squirt?”

  I ruffled her silky hair as she held her arms up to me, her tiny frame as light as a feather in my arms as I hoisted her up.

  “Why’d you call Mommy Raven?” she asked, her eyes wide as she studied me.

  I gazed at my wife as she glanced at me over her shoulder, a smile playing on her lips. The swell of her belly was now becoming obvious, and my heart skipped a beat.

  “I don’t know, kid. I just do. Go get your shoes. Caleb, you want ice cream?”

  She slid down my leg as she ran to get her shoes, pushing past her brother who glared at her.

  “Nope.”

  “Where’s your manners young man? “I leaned down, my hands on my knees as I gazed into a pint-sized version of myself. He thrust his chin up to me and smirked.

  “Someone needs to stay and look after Mom.”

  I kissed his forehead to his disgust as I smiled at him,

  “Yeah? You got everything you need there?”

  I nodded behind him to where he had the Avengers lined up ready for battle. He nodded
seriously as he patted my back.

  “I’ve got this, dad. You go get ice cream.”

  Laughter burst from Gretchen’s mouth as she gazed at us lovingly.

  “He’s a mini you.”

  “Daddddddddyyyyyyyy!” yelled an impatient Summer from the doorway.

  “She’s—” I began as Gretchen held her hand up.

  “Nothing like me. She’s a diva. Go get our diva some ice cream.”

  I strode over to her, taking her into my arms as my hands slid around her stomach.

  “How’s my littlest bean?”

  I kissed her throat as Caleb made sick sounds from the living room. I smirked at him, proud that he got to see his parents in love. I hoped one day he would appreciate it.

  “Fine. Busy kicking a soccer ball around today.”

  She placed my hand on her stomach and I waited patiently, before I felt a tiny foot against the palm of my hand.

  “He has quite the kick.”

  “She does.”

  I rolled my eyes as I kissed her again, allowing her to win the eternal argument about who was right about the sex of the baby.

  “Daddy!”

  I chuckled softly as I reluctantly pulled away from my kryptonite, pointing a finger at Caleb.

  “Look after your Mama.”

  He grabbed Captain America and forced the toy arm into a salute.

  “Coming baby girl,” I called as I grabbed my truck keys and of course, my wallet. A man didn’t get to have kids and a wife and not need his damn wallet twenty-four hours a day. Summer stood at the doorway, hands on her hips as she glared at me.

  “You’re late.”

  “My bad, baby. Extra scoop of ice cream coming up.”

  She ran impatiently out the door, her curls bouncing as she reached the truck, her eyes narrowing as she saw a bike on the drive, blocking our exit. I followed her gaze to see a boy of about seven years old, if that. He was inspecting his knee which was oozing with blood, having clearly fallen off his bike.

  “Can you please move?” Summer asked, a cold tone to her voice. Nothing stood between her and ice cream. She was five and she was fucking relentless. I can’t imagine her in ten years.