Secrets Collide bb-5

by Kathleen Brooks

  The contraction hit hard and Dani tried to remember to breathe, but all she could do was push through the pain. “You’re doing great, my love. You are the most amazing woman I have ever seen,” Mo whispered to her as he wiped the sweat from her brow.

  “Jane, show her that picture,” Emma said as she organized the equipment down by Dani’s feet. The nurse took the phone to Dani, and as she panted, she couldn’t help but be encouraged by the picture of the waiting room completely full of her friends. The Rose sisters, Edna, and John were giving Nabi a hard time. The king and her father actually looked like excited grandparents. The picture also showed her friends, her mother, and the queen smiling as they talked in a tight circle. And there were flowers everywhere. “Yeah, Neely Grace has whipped those Belles into shape. The flowers are from them along with baskets of food. Okay, push.” Emma said easily as she sat back down.

  Dani pushed hard for what seemed like forever. But then she finally felt her baby’s head crowning. She gripped Mo’s hand hard as he calmly gave her encouragement, but his excitement was clear. She took a deep breath and pushed again.

  “Congratulations! You have a son.” Emma called out as she held up the screaming infant.

  “Oh, he’s perfect. I love you so much, Danielle,” Mo kissed her forehead and leaned down for a closer look at his small son. “Is he going to be okay?”

  “Here, you can cut the cord and then the NICU doctors will look him over. He’ll probably have to stay here for a couple days. He looks about five pounds or a little less, so they’ll want to make sure he’s gaining weight and can breathe on his own before he goes home,” Emma told them as she showed Mo where to cut the cord.

  Dani nodded; she knew he’d be fine. She felt it in her heart. Tears came to her eyes as Mo cut the cord and the nurse snapped some pictures for them. “Emma,” Dani gasped. “Something’s not right.”

  The pain started again and Dani just knew this wasn’t normal. Fear flooded her as the pain came again. Emma pulled on a new pair of gloves and examined her. “Did you say you had an ultrasound and that everything was clear?” Emma asked.

  “That’s what the doctor said. He’s not allowed to tell us anything,” Dani panted as Mo ran to her side after turning their son over to the doctors.

  “Well, then I guess you wouldn’t have known you were having twins. Now push,” Emma ordered.

  “Twins?” Mo said in awe as he stared at her. Dani didn’t know what to think; her body had just taken over as she pushed. Relief came and she fell back to the sound of more cries.

  “It’s another boy,” Emma laughed as Mo cut one more cord before she handed the squirming bundle to Dani.

  “Two sons. My father may forgive you for not crossing your legs until we flew to Rahmi,” Mo laughed. Dani felt the laughter start in her belly and then was laughing so hard she could hardly catch her breath.

  “You better go tell him,” Dani said as she watched in amazement as the doctors examined not one, but two babies. Her babies. Hers and Mo’s. She looked up at her husband and felt like crying again. She was so happy she didn’t think she could stand it.

  Mo looked upon his wife holding their two sons and thought he’d never seen a more beautiful sight. He called in his best friend and celebrated with hugs before handing his camera over for him to take pictures. Ahmed snapped the first family photo and some of each of his sons before he left to get the king.

  He was holding his sons, the heirs, in the bed with Dani when he heard the king practically running down the hall. It was hard to miss with him shouting to Ahmed about which room they were in.

  His father burst through the door and looked from one bundle to the other and tears welled in his eyes. “Father, may I present my two sons and your heirs.” He’d never seen his father so overwhelmed with emotion. Dani sat beside him puffed up with pride and filled with the calm of a mother he never could've guessed she possessed. She was so sure of herself and he was just scared he’d drop the small bundle.

  “Two babies,” the king whispered reverently as he approached the bed. “I am deeply indebted to you, my dearest daughter. You have given me a gift I will never be able to thank you for. To be surrounded by grandchildren in my old age is all I have ever wanted. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, grandfather.” Mo looked to Dani and saw the tears in her eyes as she proudly handed one of their sons to him.

  Mo rapped on the door to the waiting room and Nabi moved aside. The rush of feet was deafening as the townspeople all pushed forward to hear the news. His parents and Dani’s parents were back in the NICU watching their grandsons being examined and cleaned up. They were both five pounds and only slightly premature. They’d be in the NICU for the next week, but both were perfectly healthy, happy, and hungry boys.

  “Thank you all for coming out and showing your love for Dani and me. Emma showed us a picture of your support during the delivery. Dani and I really appreciate it. We are very blessed. Everyone is doing and feeling great. Mom and her two sons.” Mo smiled into the sea of stunned faces.

  “YES!” Dinky leaped up into the air next to his girlfriend, Chrystal. “I can’t believe it. I bet that she’d have twin boys. I won. I can’t believe it. I won.”

  “You were the only one with that bet, too,” Miss Daisy said with a huge smile. “The entire pot is yours. It was our biggest yet.”

  Dinky suddenly dropped to the ground and everyone gasped as he took Chrystal’s hand into his. “I can now give you the ring and the wedding you deserve because you deserve only the best. How I got you, I don’t know. But I don’t care if I’m not the best. I’m holding on tight and loving you every day for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes. Yes, Darrel Dinkler, I’ll marry you.” Dinky leapt up and kissed Chrystal as all the town and nurses and staff started clapping.

  Neely Grace turned to Henry. “Are you crying?”

  “Just thinking,” Henry said wistfully.

  “About what?”

  “I want this,” Henry told her as he looked around the happy room.

  Mo knew what bet he’d be placing next time he was in the café.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Cy drove his truck from the airport into Keeneston. It was evening by the time they touched down and he felt invigorated after their night and morning together in Los Angles. They had relaxed, laughed, played, and made love. It had brought them closer together than he ever thought two people could be.

  “This is strange. Where is everyone?” Gemma asked as they pulled to a stop in front of the café.

  “Something’s happened. There’s a note on the window.” Cy and Gemma got out of the truck and walked with dread to read the hastily scribbled note.

  Dani’s gone into labor. No more bets can be placed at this time.

  Cy let out a breath. It was a good something. “You know what this means?”

  “We don’t have dinner?”

  “It means we’ll have to fend for ourselves. Luckily I’m good at fending, among other things.” He got a laugh out of Gemma and felt invincible.

  Cy drove her back to Miss Lily’s and took her to the kitchen at the back of the house. He’d make her dinner. He’d never made a woman dinner before, but he had an urge to do so now. He scrounged around the cabinets and found a box of pasta, some tomato sauce, and some sausage and hamburger in the refrigerator.

  “How does penne with meat sauce sound?”

  “Great. I love a man who can cook,” she teased. Only Cy wished it were the truth. He’d woken up this morning knowing without a shadow of a doubt that he loved the woman he had been holding in his arms. He only hoped she loved him, too.

  Gemma set the napkin down and leaned back on the kitchen chair. Dinner had been fabulous. Cy hadn't struck her as the cooking kind but had proved her wrong. He moved confidently through the kitchen and she had to admit it was a major turn-on. The only problem was, she got tired of trying to guess which Cy would show up. In public it was Cy Davidson, CI
A superspy and Hollywood playboy. But alone it was just Cy Davies. Her Cy.

  “Now, about that other idea I had,” Cy grinned as he finished putting the plates in the dishwasher.

  “Hmm? What could that be?” Gemma pretended to ponder as Cy leaned over her.

  “Here, I’ll show you.” Gemma felt the butterflies in her stomach as his lips met hers. Soon she was lost to his mouth and hands. But then suddenly he froze with his mouth still against hers. One of his hands was on the back of the chair and the other was cupping her breast. “Someone is coming up the back walkway,” he whispered into her mouth before quietly standing up and sliding a large knife from the block sitting on the counter.

  She looked around and the closest weapon was Miss Lily's broom. She tiptoed to the wall and grabbed the broom. Cy directed her to move behind the door as he quietly unlocked it. He slowly turned the handle and opened it just a crack, making the voices clearer.

  “Oh, John,” Miss Lily giggled. Cy put down the knife and his body relaxed as Gemma slumped against the wall and let out a breath. They’d just busted another senior make-out session.

  “Psst. Gemma. Hand me that broom, will ya? It’s payback time.”

  Gemma handed him the broom. And in one quick action, he flipped the switch for the yard light and opened the door. He feigned total shock at finding Miss Lily in John’s arms as he casually swept around the door.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. There’s this leaf right there,” he said as he gave Miss Lily a light swat. “I just wanted to help clean up to show you how thankful I am that you’ve let us stay here.” Cy continued to sweep around Miss Lily and Gemma tried hard not to laugh as Miss Lily stewed at being caught.

  Gemma decided she wanted in, too. She looked at her watch. “Gee, Mr. Wolfe, it sure is getting late. How nice of you to escort Miss Lily back home. You better scoot, as Miss Lily likes to say. Because what would the neighbors say?”

  “Traitor,” Miss Lily said under her breath as she stomped past Cy and Gemma like an angry teenager.

  “You know, Kenna and Dani told me the funniest stories about you swatting their husbands when they stayed here.”

  “Well, you can’t believe a word they say. They’re Yankees.” And in a huff Miss Lily slammed her door.

  Gemma handed the tablet to Cade who looked at the picture they had taken at the club the other night. She and Cy had met with Cade and Cole this morning to tell them what happened in L.A. and give them their theory on Sarah Flannery.

  “Mr. X’s daughter, huh?” Cade said as he pulled up the photo with one hand and scratched Fred with the other. Fred and Justin had become big buddies and were currently resting their furry heads on Cade’s lap. “Oh, yeah, this will piss him off big time.”

  “So you can do it?” Gemma asked.

  “Of course I can. Cole, what do you think?”

  “I think it’s going to be a lot of numbers coming in. She has a ton of followers. But I have an idea,” Cole said as he put down his Smartphone. “You set up the links. Have the data sent to the Lexington FBI office. I’ll have a classified team running the numbers as they come in. We’ll be able to see names and addresses of the IP addresses and weed out her friends or fans pretty easily. Then we’ll be left with a manageable list of candidates.”

  “I can have this ready for upload by this afternoon. What kind of time frame are you looking at?” Cade asked as he sent the image to his computer.

  “We’ll be ready by then. I’ll let you get to it and will start picking my team. We’ll call you as soon as we have something.” Cole grabbed his black cowboy hat and left with a nod.

  When he opened the door, he found Paige and Pierce walking up the steps. “Hey!” Paige greeted. “It’s just a big party over here, isn’t it?”

  “Hi, honey. They did a great job out in California. I’ll probably be home late tonight,” Cole told her as he bent down and gave her a quick kiss.

  “No problem. I was actually coming here to steal Gemma for lunch. I’ll see you whenever you get home.” Paige waved her husband off and turned her attention to Gemma. “So, what do you say? Girls’ lunch?”

  “Sure. I think I’ve done all I can here,” Gemma said as she grabbed her purse. Fred jumped into the bag. His little black nose twitched in anticipation of the treats Miss Daisy would sneak to him.

  “I’ll pick you up from the café. Pierce wants to show me his Cropbot at work on my fields. I think he’s trying to get me to buy one,” Cy teased his brother who was covered in straw and not looking anything like the multimillionaire Cy told her he was.

  “You boys have fun,” Paige yelled as she linked her arm with Gemma’s and led her to her truck. Gemma gave a quick glance over her shoulder and smiled as Cy watched her leave. He gave her a wink in return and Gemma felt the click, felt the connection of an actual relationship. Now, if only she could convince him to get a new phone number.

  Cy leaned forward in the saddle and watched the Cropbot move up and down the rows of corn. It tested water levels and directed irrigation, tilled the soil to keep it weed-free, and even had a way to spray organic-friendly pesticides to keep the bugs from snacking on the stalks.

  “This is amazing, Pierce. I’ll take one. With this helping me, the transition to farmer will be much easier.”

  “I still won’t believe you as a farmer until I see it.”

  “What? You already forgot how I took care of the farm with Dad until you were in college? I’m hurt.”

  “I don’t know too many farmers with a Jaguar F-Type.”

  “How do you know about my car?”

  “Marshall told me it was delivered to his house today. He also told me to tell you he appreciates your kind donation and will be using it as the sheriff’s car for the rest of the week. Between you and me, you may not get it back. Katelyn was thinking of reasons to get Marshall to go into the house so she could steal it.”

  “Well, I do have my eye on a new truck. Maybe Gemma would want to use it.”

  “Gemma, huh? Is she thinking of sticking around after this is all over?” Pierce asked as he programmed the Cropbot to finish its task and return to the barn.

  “I guess. I haven’t really asked her, but I just assumed.”

  “You’re assuming? Not a good move, bro. Women liked to be asked. I made the mistake of assuming Tammy would want to go on a romantic camping weekend. Yep, should've asked. She hates hiking, hates sleeping on the ground, and basically everything else camping. Let’s just say the weekend wasn’t what I had thought in my head.”

  “Fair point. I’ll talk to her now. It’s about time to pick her up from lunch anyway.” Cy turned his horse around and started trotting back to the barn. “Pierce, you’ve done a damn good job here and I’m very proud of you.”

  Pierce smiled and puffed up with the compliment. And maybe Cy's little brother was right about women, too. He’d talk to Gemma right now and let her know he’d love for her to stay in Keeneston as long as she wanted. However, the question going through his mind was would he ever be able to let her leave? Keeneston wouldn’t be the same without her now.

  Tears slid down Kenna’s face as she gasped for air. Paige had her hand over her heart trying to calm herself down and Annie was still snorting with laughter. Morgan was leaning on Katelyn for support as they giggled and Tammy stared at her wide-eyed. “Shut the front door.”

  Gemma paused in her relaying the story of catching Miss Lily and John to stare at Tammy in utter confusion. “It is shut,” Gemma said slowly, only bringing more laughter from the table.

  “It’s just a saying of surprise. I don’t know if I can breathe yet,” Paige said between deep breaths.

  “Broom!” Kenna barked and the peals of laughter started all over again. “I can’t wait to tell Will.” Kenna used a napkin to try to dry her tears but gave up in the end.

  “And I’m sure you and Cy were completely innocent in this situation,” Morgan said mischievously.

  “Oh, do tell.” Katelyn sat forward in h
er chair. “We all want to know about Cy. He’s so mysterious, even to us.”

  “That’s not all he is,” Tammy said as she started fanning herself.

  “Listen to you talking like that. You’re almost a married woman,” Annie chided, “but not yet.” The women laughed again and Gemma felt the warmth of sisterhood for the first time since she’d lost Gia. These women weren’t even related by blood, but they had found a similar connection and Gemma wanted it again. It felt so natural being here with these amazing women. They were all so different, but equally strong.

  “It’s actually going well. When it’s just the two of us, we’re so relaxed and comfortable with each other. It’s really quite strange, given the circumstances, isn’t it?” Gemma asked the women who all shook their heads.

  “Not at all. I think being in this kind of situation brings out the real person. There’s no time for pretending. If you all are hitting it off now with all this going on around you, you’ll be nauseatingly cute when you have time to slow down and enjoy each other,” Annie said with fake disgust.

  “I guess we’ll see. Sometimes it’s hard to get the real Cy to come out. He had become this Hollywood guy and sometimes he just falls back into it. And then there’s his phone. I am not a violent person but I daydream of shooting it or beating it with a bat until it doesn’t dink anymore.”

  “What’s that all about?” Morgan asked as Gemma tried to relax her grip on her glass of special iced tea the girls told her she had to try.

  “All these super-hot actresses,” Gemma paused and took another sip of the drink, “models, and socialites. They just keep calling and texting and it always makes me stop and wonder why he is with me when these women want him. I guess it’s giving me a little trust issue. Especially after seeing him in action at the club.”

  “You have nothing to worry about. I used to be self-conscious, too. But when the Davies men set their sights on you, they have a way of making you forget all about that,” Tammy giggled before she started to fan herself again. “Is it getting hot in here?”