by K. J. Dahlen
“How does that make sense to you?”
“Cordy knew if anything happened to Cricket, she could cash in on the boy. She could get all kinds of benefits if Cricket was listed as his mother,” Mountain informed the entire room.
Deadly silence laid over everyone as they thought about the big man’s statement.
“That dirty rotten fuckin little bitch,” Molly’s soft voice echoed in the room.
Black Jack and all four of her sons snapped their heads around to stare at her in shock. Their sweet mother had broken one of her firm rules. She very seldom swore and now she was calling someone a fuckin bitch.
Molly looked at them and said, “What? She was and I hope she’s roasting in hell for what she planned to do to her sister and son. She would have killed that sweet boy and you know it.”
Raine grabbed his chair, righted it and sat back down. “It makes sense now doesn’t it? She knew exactly what she was doing when she told Stark her name was Cricket. No matter what happened to him, she knew he would come after her at some point. She knew he would want her dead. She set her sister up thinking she would be the one who Stark killed and then Cordy would be free to get the money and she’d never have to worry about how she was going to live again. All she had to do was wait it out and she would have been a rich woman.”
“Damn that woman.” Deke snarled. “She died way too soon to pay for all her crimes.”
When Raine went to bed a little while later, he saw both Dusty and Cricket in his bed. He could see dried tears on Cricket’s face but she seemed peaceful now at least. Max was curled up at the bottom of the bed.
Stripping off his clothes, he left his boxers on and slid into bed behind his wife. When she snuggled into his body, he knew she was still awake. He leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Are you okay?”
Cricket nodded. “I’m better. I guess I needed Dusty tonight. Thank you for sending him in.”
Raine laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “I wish you could have told me what was bothering you. I love you so much and it was killing me not to know how to help you.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered in the dark. “I guess I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be to go to his place today. I dreaded going because there wasn’t anything he had that I really wanted. But when we got there and I saw the way he lived, I couldn’t help but wonder what our lives would have been like if we had just a little of what he took for granted. I saw all that cash in his safe and I felt bitter about it. We went without food sometimes and he had stacks of cash just sitting there. For a while, I really hated that man.” She shook her head. “I hated him bad.”
“Has that feeling changed?”
“Yeah, I forgave Bane the moment I felt Dusty’s arms hugging me tonight. He didn’t say a word, he just hugged me.”
Raine had to smile at the simplicity of what the boy did. “Go to sleep. We can talk tomorrow.”
14
Raine awoke when the sun was shining through the windows. He was surprised to feel a warm solid weight at his side and when he looked down he saw Cricket still in bed with him.
Glancing over at the window, he noted the light shining through his window. Usually by this time of the day, she was long up. He glanced over at Dusty only to find his young eyes wide open.
The boy raised his finger to his lips and smiled and as made a hushing signal.
Raine nodded then motioned toward the door. Dusty nodded and they both got out of bed. Raine grabbed his clothes on the way out. Creeping toward the door, they closed it softly behind them.
Dusty giggled as he watched Raine get dressed in the hall way. Raine ruffled his hair and together, they walked down the hall to the main room.
Everyone was there having breakfast when they came in.
When Raine got close to the table his family was sitting at, his mother asked, “Where’s Cricket?’
Raine shrugged. “She was still sleeping.”
“What?” Cassie asked in shock. She looked at Deke with worry in her eyes.
Raine lifted his shoulders again. “I know. I couldn’t believe it either but she was.”
His mother just looked confused. “Is this a big deal or what?”
Raine nodded. “Usually, Cricket is up before the day begins. She loves to stand by the window and watch a new dawn break. I don’t know why but she’s done that every morning since she got here.”
“I know why,” Dusty told them.
Raine and his entire family turned to Dusty. “Why? Why does she do that?”
“She says when we dream at night and the nightmares come for us, it’s all too easy to get lost in them. The stars can guide us back to where we need to be but we have to be awake when the stars say goodnight and new day dawns or we risk being lost forever in our dreams.”
The childish words cut Raine to the quick. “Does Cricket have nightmares a lot?”
Dusty nodded. “She has them all the time but she doesn’t like to talk about them. She thinks that if she doesn’t talk about them then they won’t be real. I’d wake up at night sometimes and she’d be sitting over in a corner of the room. I asked her once what she was doing over there and she told me she just needed a minute. When she came back to bed, she was shaking. I asked her if she was okay and she told me that as long as I was with her she’d be fine.”
Raine shook his head. He’d woken up more than a couple of times and she wasn’t in bed with him. He’d just gone back to sleep thinking she was in the bathroom but now he knew she wasn’t. All this time, she’d been hiding in the shadows until her nightmares passed.
That would end today, he vowed. Today, they would begin to map out their future. He would help her forget her fears of the night by replacing them with better things to dream about.
He looked over at his brothers. “Well, how would you guys feel about working on the plans for her new house today?”
“There’s plenty of room for a couple new houses if you guys want to build here,” Deke offered. “Hell, we got a hundred acres of land, you guys should be able to find somewhere on the compound to build your houses.” He shrugged. “Some of the land might need to be cleared first but you’re more than welcomed to it.”
“Thanks Deke. I’m sure she’d like to stay here,” Raine told him.
“Are you talking about our new home?’ Cricket’s voice asked from behind him.
Raine turned and smiled. “As a matter of fact we were just discussing it. Do you want to stay on the compound? Or buy some land somewhere else?’
“Could we stay here?” she asked tentatively. “I like this place, it seems like home to me.”
“Then we’ll stay.” Raine nodded. “All we have to do is get the plans started. Then the real work can begin. I want this house built before those babies come home.”
Cricket threw herself into his arms and Raine laughed out loud, as he hugged her close.
“And your whole family is staying here too?” she asked.
“Yup, the whole damn family is together again,” Raine told her.
“That’s just wonderful. I’ve never really had a family before, not like yours I mean.”
“Nobody’s family is like mine sweetheart,” Raine warned her with a lopsided grin.
Later after everyone settled down and plans were being printed up for her new house, Cricket and Raine faced the task of finding out what Bane had left for them in his safe.
Between the cash and the bearer bonds, he left close to ten million dollars. Everyone but Cricket was astounded by the sums. She tried to give half of the money to Gambler for Dusty but he refused to take it. He did take one million for Dusty’s future but he told her that was all he would accept on his son’s behalf.
She gave Deke and the club two million. Deke accepted it and said he would put it in the bank for a rainy day. She gave Raine another two million for the new business he and his brothers wanted to start.
Then she gave Cassie a million for Redemption House. Cassie
was excited when Cricket explained about her ideas for expanding the class rooms for the kids. She did set aside some of the money for her own use but most of it she said could go for wherever they needed it.
Then she asked Deke if he knew where she could cash in the gemstones Bane had left. That money could be set aside along with the over three million in cash left over.
Everyone was astounded at all the wealth. Only Cricket never batted an eyelash at it.
A few months later, Cricket could see the progress the guys were making on her new house. Her belly was huge and she could hardly fit through the doors but the house was almost ready to move into.
They had done an excellent job building her dream home. It had everything she ever wanted right down to the hardwood floors.
Raine wouldn’t let her come into the house just yet. He wanted everything to be done before she saw the finished product, but that didn’t stop her from dreaming about it.
They had decided it should be a four bedroom home with a huge patio for parties and barbeques with the club and with family. The master bedroom would have a balcony and its own bathroom. The master bedroom would face the east so she could watch the sun come up in the mornings.
It was an open house plan, so even if she was busy in the kitchen she could still see everyone in the house. The living room would have a huge fireplace and mantle. Raine insisted he wanted an office but he promised her she could have anything she wanted in the kitchen. She opted for a huge working area and a six burner stove along with a dishwasher and matching refrigerator.
It had been Dusty who told them Cricket’s house needed a place she could raise plants. He told his dad and his uncles she loved to raise vegetables wherever they were. So the guys added on a small greenhouse in the back. That was one of the things he hadn’t told her about. The master bedroom had another surprise he couldn’t wait for her to see.
Raine had to keep her out of the house until the reveal.
Today, they were going to Troy to buy furniture for the house. When she waddled out of the clubhouse that morning, she noticed Raine and Dusty waiting for her in Raine’s truck. She smiled at them as she made her way over there.
When she opened the door, she grinned at Dusty. “I’m so glad you’re coming with us kiddo.”
“Uncle Raine said I could come. He said he might need my opinion of what furniture to get.”
Cricket looked at her husband and saw his grin. “Well good, you seem to know exactly what we need.”
Dusty looked down at her big belly. “When are my cousins going to get here?”
“Soon I hope, but they have a few more weeks to go.” She pulled herself up into the cab of the truck and sat down.”
Dusty reached out and rubbed her belly. He smiled when he felt one of the babies kick at his hand. “He’s a feisty little thing isn’t he?”
Raine and Cricket burst out laughing at his comment. “Now I wonder where he heard that saying.” Cricket looked at her husband.
“Well he is,” Dusty complained. “Have you guys decided on any names yet?”
“Your aunt has but she won’t tell me what they are yet,” Raine told the boy.
Dusty looked over at him in shock. “You don’t even know your own kid’s names?”
Raine shook his head. “Cricket wants to surprise everybody with their names.”
“Yeah but what if they’re terrible names?”
Cricket laughed out loud. “Do you think I would give my babies terrible names?”
“Well no,” Dusty agreed. “But boys need names they can grow into. I mean what kind of a name is Dusty? That’s a bad boy’s name. Why would my mom do that to me?”
Cricket wrapped her arms around his tiny shoulders for a moment then told him something she’d never told another living soul. “But it’s not a terrible name at all, kiddo. And your mom didn’t name you that, I did.”
“You did?” He exclaimed in shock. “You named me Dusty? Why?”
“Because when I was a little girl and we were living by the lake up north, before Grandpa and your mom and I moved to Maine, I had a special place where I would go to be alone for a few minutes. My mother, your grandmother, had just died and I was sad all the time back then. I was only your age at the time and I just needed a few minutes away from everyone else to collect my thoughts. It was early one morning when I went to my favorite place and the early morning dew was still on the grass. The flowers were all in bloom and the whole place looked like it had been dusty with fairy magic. That was the morning that my special place took on a whole new meaning for me because I could almost feel the magic in the air. I sat there and just stared at around. Everything was so pretty and I had such a sense of peace. I thought it really was dusted with fairy magic. That’s why the first time I saw you, you reminded me of that day in my favorite place. I hadn’t thought about my special place in a very long time but the morning you were born, you brought those memories back to me. To me, you were dusted with that same fairy magic and I named you Dusty to always remind me of that place in my heart.”
“Really?” he asked. “That’s how I got my name?” Dusty had tears in his eyes when he looked at her.
Cricket brushed them away with her fingers. “That’s how you got your name. When I first saw you, I knew you’d mean so much to me and you really do. I fell in love the moment I saw you. I’ve never told anyone about that.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“Because that story is special to me. I feel it deep down in my heart and it holds special meaning for me, just like that place had. That was my special place and mine alone. I never shared it with anyone.”
“Someday will you share it with me?” he asked.
“Only with you, and nobody else.” She promised him.
Dusty sighed. “Ok maybe you do pick special names after all.” He looked over at his uncle. “I think you and the babies are safe. She won’t let them down.”
Raine nodded and had a hard time holding back his own tears. He turned and put the truck in gear. It took him most of the ride into the city to get control of his emotions back. When they parked in front of the store, he quickly got out of the truck and around the front and when he opened her door, he leaned in and kissed her.
Cricket smiled and mouthed the words “I love you” to him.
Raine helped her out of the truck and kissed her lightly on the top of the head. “Are you guys ready to furnish a house today?” he asked.
“Yup, I am.” Dusty grinned. “We gotta get your babies somewhere to sleep.”
“Yup,” Raine agreed. “We do because they can’t sleep with me. Between Cricket and the dog, I’m running out of bed space. Come on then let’s go.”
Raine led the way into the furniture store.
Several hours later, he had to drag Cricket out. She was wore out. Dusty was dragging a little too. But Raine was happy with their purchases. They had found everything they were looking for and by tomorrow they would deliver it and then he and Cricket could move into their new house.
Everything was going according to his plan. They could get settled in before the babies came.
Then fate stepped in. As soon as he opened the truck door and was going to lift her up into the cab, Cricket gasped and fell back into him.
She grabbed her belly and groaned as a pain tore her belly apart.
Then suddenly they both were wet and her water broke. She turned panicked eyes to him and whispered, “It’s too soon. The babies have three more weeks to go.”
“Peters said they could come early,” Raine assured her.
“Well this is early.” Cricket groaned as another pain hit her. “Get us to the hospital fast. These babies aren’t going to wait very long to be born.”
Raine all but shoved her up into the cab and made his way to his own seat. Making sure Dusty was buckled up he grabbed his phone and called his mother. “Ma, listen we’re on our way to the hospital. Cricket’s water just broke. Can you meet us there? We got Dusty wit
h us.”
“Oh dear lord, we’ll be there as soon as we can. I’ll let everyone else know too,” Molly told her son.
“Ok Ma, I gotta go.” Raine threw the phone on the dash and maneuvered his way through traffic toward the hospital. When they arrived at the parking lot, Raine threw the truck into park. Looking over at Dusty he said, “I’m gonna need your help for this.”
Dusty gave him a nod. “I’m ready, Uncle Raine.”
“Good, let’s go then. You hold the doors and I’ll carry her inside.”
Dusty looked over at Cricket. “Come on Cricket let’s go get them babies out of your belly, so everyone can enjoy them.”
Cricket laughed then moaned as another pain ripped through her. After a moment, she nodded at Dusty. “Ok sweet boy, let’s go.”
Raine carried her in and they found Dr. Peters waiting for them. When Raine gave him a look, he told them, “Cassie called me and told me you guys were on your way.” Then he looked at Cricket. “Are you ready for this?”
“I kind of have to be don’t I?” she groaned. “I mean they can’t get here without me.”
“Well, that’s true enough.” He chuckled. “Shall we see what’s going on?” He motioned them toward an exam room. When Raine put her down on the table Dr. Peters noticed Dusty was there. “Young man, maybe you should wait in the waiting room. You might not want to see this.”
Dusty shook his head. “I’m not leaving my Cricket. She needs me.”
Raine shook his head. “My family is on their way. I’m sure he’ll be okay until they get here.”
Dr. Peters hesitated the nodded. “Ok but only until your family gets here. This isn’t a place for a child.”
Cricket held out her hand.” Come here Dusty.”
Dusty went to her. She looked at him and noted the tears in his eyes. Brushing her fingers down the satiny skin of his cheek she told him, “Sweet baby, I don’t want you to get scared and this is gonna be scary. For me and for Raine and for the babies. They aren’t gonna know what’s happening to them. I don’t want you to see me in pain while I’m waiting on these babies to get here and I am in pain. It’s all part of what having babies is all about. Pain, sweat and tears. But the reward of holding those sweet little babies after they’re born is going to be worth every ounce of pain I’m going through now. I just don’t want you to see it, I want you to remember the babies the first time you see them just like I saw you. I want you to love them for the sweet babies they are.”
