by Natalie Ann
“Hey,” she said. “How long have I been out? What time is it?”
She went to sit up, but he said, “Lie down. Not long. The surgery was only about an hour long, but you’ve decided to keep sleeping on us. Who knew you were this lazy?”
“I knew,” Wyatt said. “Come on now. If I pulled a mirror out and showed you what you look like you’d jump up and go running out of the room looking for your makeup bag, not to mention getting rid of the sexy gown you’re sporting.”
She looked down at the hospital printed gown and wrinkled her nose. “It’s hardly a fashion statement. Remind me, they kept my ovary right?” She half remembered the doctor coming in to talk to her after the surgery but she’d fallen back to sleep.
“Yes,” Wyatt said. “Dr. Ackley went in and removed the remains of the cyst and looked around a little bit. There didn’t seem to be anymore. Hopefully it was a one-time thing, but you should be as good as new once all the air is out of your belly.”
She glanced down, then lifted the blanket to see her stomach was protruding. “What the hell?”
“They fill your belly with air, in layman’s terms. This way they can move your organs and such around and get to what they want. You’ve got plenty of antacids at the house. I know. Brock might need earplugs as you are going to be breaking wind to get it out. It’s the only way.”
“Ass,” she said.
“Yep, that’s where it’s going to come from,” Wyatt said, laughing.
“Make him go away,” she said to Brock. He was trying to grin, she could see, but she also saw some worry behind his eyes.
“I’m leaving. I’ll go let everyone else know you’re fine. They only let one person back at a time. I don’t count, I’m special. Brock can help you get dressed when the nurses come back in.”
“I get to go home?” she asked.
“Of course. I’m assuming Brock is staying with you tonight?” Wyatt asked. “Otherwise you can come home with us and Adriana and I will look after you though I’m sure Mom wouldn’t allow that. She won’t step on Brock’s toes though. She’s afraid of him.”
“I doubt that,” Jade said. The curtain moved and Wyatt left. “Can you help me sit up a little? I want to get out of here and if I don’t start to wake up it’s going to take longer.”
Brock reached his arms toward her and helped her shift. “How are you feeling? You really scared me there.”
“I scared myself. I don’t feel too much right now other than a haze.”
“How’s the patient feeling?” a nurse asked, walking closer.
“Not bad. Just tired.”
“It’s normal. We’d like you to drink and eat something before you go. We’ve got tea, ginger ale, cranberry and apple juice. Then some crackers or a granola bar. Nothing really heavy.”
“Ginger ale and some crackers are fine,” she said.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t rush it,” Brock said. “I know you want to get out of here, but I don’t want to have to bring you right back.”
“I’ll be fine. Of course you might not want to share my bed if what Wyatt said is true.”
“We all fart, Jade. You just might be making a lot of music tonight.”
“Stop,” she said, starting to laugh. “That hurts.”
“Sorry. Do you want to go home or my place?”
“Home. I love your place, but I want my own bed if you don’t mind.”
“That’s fine.”
The nurse came back and handed over the soda and crackers and she drank a little and nibbled some more. “How long do I have to stay here?” she asked.
“Once we know you’ll keep that down we’ll get your discharge papers ready and you can change.”
“I feel fine,” she said. “Not nauseous at all.”
“You can thank your brother for that. He said he wasn’t sure how you would be and made sure you were covered either way. He was pretty sure you’d be scratching the walls to get home.”
“He knows me well,” she said.
And ninety minutes later she was in bed with a cup of tea and Brock down in the kitchen making soup for her. Since he was gone she felt free to try to get some of this air out of her stomach, mortified it was going to happen with him around.
“Ready for soup?” Brock asked, coming into the room. “Why am I not surprised you’ve got a tray to put on your bed?”
“I’ve got pretty much everything here somewhere. I had the flu one year really bad and my mother bought it. I was on the couch downstairs for a few days and it made it easier to eat.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good,” she said. She picked up the spoon. “Thanks for the soup.”
“Your mother brought over a few things and said this was your favorite when you were a kid.”
“Chicken and stars. A mother always remembers,” she said, eating some. “Come sit by me and keep me company.”
“I don’t want to jar any air out of you.”
“Don’t make me laugh,” she said, angling her head.
“Sorry. So, are you still mad at me or am I forgiven?”
“I wasn’t really mad. I guess I was more hurt,” she said.
“I don’t think less of you,” he said. “That had nothing to do with it. It’s more about me and having to admit I’m not whole.”
“You’re more than whole. You know that. I know that. And just like what happened to me today, it made me realize that maybe I won’t be able to have kids. I won’t know until the time comes and would you leave me because of that?”
“Of course not,” he said. “Why would you even think that?”
“Because it goes both ways. You think you have a problem but you don’t know for sure. I just had one today. Who is to say I won’t have it again? Who is to say I might not be able to conceive now either?”
“I know. It was wrong of me to feel that way, but I did. I’d like to say it’s part of the PTSD but that might be putting an excuse on my behavior.”
She reached her hand toward his. “No. I’m sure that is part of it. Your life changed. Like you said, not just physically from what people can see, but emotionally too. I have to understand that myself. I have to learn to not jump the gun and get pissed. That sharp tongue everyone always said I have also means I have a fast trigger. I try to control it, but I lost it with you and I’m sorry.”
“We can all lose it from time to time. The most important thing is acknowledging it and saying we’re sorry. Stop hiding everything from me. Cry, laugh, yell. I can admit when I’m wrong and still love you. We’ll cry, laugh, and yell at each other another time. No more of these shields on either of our parts. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” she said. “I love you, Brock. I want what we have to work. I want a future with you and I’m not afraid to say it. If I’m moving too fast, then tell me. If you think you can’t handle me, then tell me too. But, Goddamn it, I want my future with you.”
“Are you asking me to marry you?” he asked, his grin huge.
“No. That’s a man’s job. At least I know that,” she said, poking her finger in his side.
“Good to know I still have a job.” He leaned down to kiss her. “Eat your soup and get some sleep. I’ll watch TV downstairs so you aren’t disturbed.”
“You can watch it up here,” she said.
“I figured you might want the privacy after the food settles in your stomach.”
“Ass,” she said, knowing exactly what he was talking about. “But thank you.”
“What can I say,” he said. “When you know someone, you know them.”
She couldn’t ask for more than that.
The man she loved.
He was taking care of her.
He was making her smile.
And he was making her feel damn good about herself when she’d spent so much time doubting things in the past.
Epilogue
“Two weddings down,” Brock said to Jade after they left the reception ha
ll. “I’m getting used to this now.”
Drake had gotten married last month, Noah today. They’d planned it around winter break and Paige and he were heading on their honeymoon while Sebastian went to stay with his grandfather.
Jade had been a vision of beauty in her bridesmaid gown. The third one he’d seen her in though she’d said in the past year and a half she’d been in plenty more.
“Always the bridesmaid and never the bride,” she’d joked to others, but he’d overheard.
Not once had she said it directly to him and he wondered if she was afraid it would put pressure on him.
There was no pressure to be had though.
He’d been ready to ask her to be his wife since the day she thought she was pregnant.
It wasn’t the right time then but now with her brothers’ weddings out of the way and Wyatt’s not until this summer, he knew it was his chance.
Or Jade’s chance to get what she wanted.
“There aren’t too many of us left. Wyatt and me. Ryder will never get married. We’ve all figured that out by now. Not with the women he dates.”
“I’m not sure where he finds them, but at least no one wonders why he can’t hold onto one.”
“Sometimes I swear he does it on purpose,” she said, “but no one would ever ask him about it.” Brock unlocked the door to his house and held it open for her. “I need to get this dress off and take a shower. I’m all hot and sweaty from dancing and my hair has enough gel in it to stay like this for months.”
“I can help you in the shower if you want,” he said.
“You know I never turn down help.”
The two of them got undressed and climbed in, playing more than washing. Jade was frisky and he loved every minute of it.
She’d towel dried her hair, not even caring that she didn’t look perfect anymore, and pulled him to the bedroom with a towel around her chest. He’d barely pulled his boxers on and she was reaching for them to take them off.
“Slow down,” he said.
“Nope. Something about weddings that just turns me on. Or maybe it’s seeing you in a suit. I thought when you came rushing in in your uniform a year ago my heart couldn’t take much more. But you in that tux...oh man. That’s why I was going for the wine at Ella’s wedding and you know it.”
“I did know,” he said. “Just like I’ve got another secret to tell you.”
“I’m not sure I want to know. Can’t it wait until we’re done rolling around on the bed?”
“Nope. I need to tell you. I’ve got to get it off my chest.”
Besides, this way he could gauge her reaction before he pulled the ring out. Not that he thought it’d be that big of a deal, but no reason to not be honest.
“Okay. Lay it on me.”
“Remember how you said you thought your family set us up?”
“Yeah,” she said slowly.
“I think it too.”
“Why?”
He expected some reaction out of her, not the calm she was showing. “Jolene and Gavin are the ones that really pushed me to move ahead with the project. They were all over it and then even called your father and Grant a day later. I thought it was odd, but figured they just were helping out Travis because he was going to do it with me.”
“I knew it,” she said. “My Aunt Jolene is really sneaky. I told Ella I suspected it and she did too, but no one would admit it. Anything else?”
“Didn’t you find it funny how your father didn’t tell you about our appointment and let you walk in and be surprised?”
“Yep. I gave him hell for it too. He said it slipped his mind, but I knew better. I just couldn’t prove it. Why are you saying that though?”
“Because I knew right away it was an excuse. It’s an old tactic trying to catch people off guard and see how they handle themselves.”
“I never expected my father to be so sneaky. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”
“I have a better idea,” he said. “Want to hear it?”
“I do. You might have a sneaky side to you too.”
He opened up his bedside drawer and pulled the ring box out. “We need to start with this,” he said, dropping it in her lap.
She looked down, her wet hair falling over her shoulders, her jaw open.
When her hand went to reach for it, it was shaking. The ever-in-control Jade Fierce was anything but. Wasn’t that funny, considering months ago she’d said she wanted a future with him. Guess he finally got through to her to not hold anything back.
“Oh my,” she said. “This is a beauty.”
“A beauty for a beauty,” he said, picking up the Tiffany teardrop diamond surrounded by many more diamonds. He figured the more the merrier for Jade. “What do you say? Marry me?”
“You know the answer to that. Yes!” she said, holding her hand out for him to slide the ring on.
“Do you know why it’s a teardrop?”
“Because it’s stunning and looks good on my long thin fingers?”
He laughed. “That’s just a side benefit. It’s a teardrop because we all have tears in life. You and I…we try to hide them and shouldn’t. It’s a reminder to you that you can shed a tear in front of me anytime you want.”
It was like saying the words caused them to fall. “Like now.”
“Now is a good time for it too,” he said, giving her a kiss and knowing he’d never been happier than he was in this moment.
“Are you worried what your mother is going to say?” she asked.
“No. I told her last week when I picked the ring up. We had some words, but she apologized. She just didn’t want you to take me away and I told her it’d never happen and if she just gave you a chance you’d prove it. That she’d come to love you as much as I did.”
More tears fell over that statement. “I hope you’re right. I’m a pretty great catch.”
“The best,” he said. “And I’m never letting go.”
“What do you mean you’re never getting married?” Carolyn asked Jade and Brock the next morning. “I mean I’m not saying you should jump on it, but where is this coming from?”
“Brock and I talked last night. All these weddings and I’m just worn out. I realized that it’s not really what I want. Not everyone has to get married nowadays. There is no reason we can’t just live together like a married couple when the time comes without it being legally binding. It’s just a piece of paper anyway.”
Carolyn looked over at Garrett who seemed equally as shocked. Here she thought her Sunday dinner with Jade and Brock would give her a better idea of where things were going with them and now she was thinking it was going backwards.
“But what about children?” Garrett asked. “We know you want kids someday, Jade. You’d have them out of wedlock?”
“Why not? Celebrities do it all the time. Get with the times, Dad.”
“If we want kids,” Brock said, “We can just hyphenate their name. I know Jade would want to make sure the kids had both our names if we aren’t married. But that’s way down the road. We’re just having fun now.”
“I had no idea you thought this way,” Carolyn said. How had they been so wrong about Brock? This wasn’t what was supposed to happen.
“I didn’t really think one way or another, but after Noah’s wedding we talked and it was nice to know we were on the same page,” Brock said.
Carolyn felt like she was going to cry right now and wanted to run out of the room and call her sister-in-law Jolene and give her hell for talking them into this setup.
Sure, Jade had never been happier, but her baby girl had dreamed of her wedding and babies for years. Everyone knew that. And now she changed her mind?
“It’s early yet,” Garrett said. “I’m sure you’ll change your mind.”
At least Garrett found his tongue and spoke up.
Jade started to laugh. “Yeah, maybe you’re right,” she said, reaching into her pocket.
“What’s in your hand?”
> “Oh, this?” Jade asked, slipping a ring on her finger. “You mean this engagement ring I got last night.”
Carolyn walked over and slapped her daughter on the arm. “I should wring your neck for doing this to us. I’ve never seen your father so pale before. Come give me a hug. Look at that ring.”
“Me, pale?” Garrett said. “You looked ready to cry. My baby is getting married. You are, right? This isn’t just some fashion statement and we have to wait years while you make up your mind?”
“No,” Brock said. “I’m not letting her wait that long.”
“Good,” he said. “Welcome to the family.”
Hours later, the two of them were left alone. “I can’t believe Jade did that to us. We thought Wyatt was bad with his jokes, but that one almost made my heart stop.”
“She got you good. She knows she was set up.”
“No, she doesn’t,” Carolyn argued.
“Brock thanked me when we were in the kitchen. Said he was glad we all thought he was such a great fit for Jade.”
“You didn’t admit it, did you? Jolene said never to admit it.”
“No,” he said. “But they aren’t stupid either.”
“No, they aren’t,” she admitted. “Between the engagement and the news that Brock has a company interested in buying the patent for his box, I’m not sure this day could get any better.”
“I don’t think either one of them care about that,” he said. “They only had eyes for each other and that’s all a parent can ask for. We’ve been pretty darn lucky.”
“We have. And now poor Diane and Grant have to deal with Ryder. I almost feel sorry for them.”
“I want to laugh but can’t. It’s going to be a family affair to get Ryder someone. If it’s even possible,” he said.
“Not our problem tonight,” she said. “Instead let’s go call your brothers and give everyone the good news about Jade.”
“Let’s,” he said. “Then we can watch Grant squirm knowing he’s up to bat next.”
To be continued for...Ryder Fierce!
Also by Natalie Ann
The Road Series-See where it all started!!
