Promise Me (Pointe Royal 3rd Generation Book 1)

by Lee Wardlow

  I swallowed hard. “I’m like him, aren’t I?” I could feel Noah looking at me. Gramps sighed.

  “In a lot of ways, you boys are all like him. Especially you and Liam. Always wanting that adrenaline rush. The hot temper. People used to say that Declan was like him too.”

  Noah laughed. I scrunched up my face. “That’s kind of weird.”

  “They were really close,” Gramps explained. “I knew who Declan belonged to.”

  “Was there any question?” I asked.

  “They were a lot alike,” Gramps said staring out the window. “He was more like Joey’s son than mine. Noah was more like me.”

  “There was no question,” Noah replied for him.

  “I guess you’re like him in the hard-partying way too Ronan but you gave it up much easier than he did but you also have something that he had.”

  “What’s that Gramps?” I asked.

  “A big heart,” he responded. “Joey was wild and crazy.” He shook his head. “He was always looking for the next daring thing to do. He was different but then so was your Grams. The things that I could tell you.”

  I frowned at Noah. He looked at me quickly then back to the road. “I’m not sure we want to hear that Pa.”

  “I wasn’t going to share,” he said. He cleared his throat. “But Joey loved hard and he loved well. He loved me like a brother. He loved Betsy. He loved Declan and Noah as much as he did his own daughter Stevie. I see you with Delilah’s kids Ronan and I think of him. You’re a good man. Your uncle is right; your Dad’s been asking for an ass whooping for a while.”

  “I’m not sure I’m the one to give it to him. He put me in a head lock,” I replied. “In case you didn’t notice.”

  “I noticed but I also noticed that it took everything he had to get you in one. Probably better that it turned out that way Ronan. It gave him some of his pride back.”

  I glanced over my shoulder. “I didn’t do it on purpose Gramps. That was blind rage. He actually got the best of me.”

  Noah turned down the lane to the farm. “I know Ronan. If it had gotten bad I would have had the boys break it up.”

  He parked next to the farm truck and looked over at me. “I am proud of you Ronan,” my uncle said to me. “You are a brave man. A strong man and being true to yourself is good thing.” He patted my thigh.

  “Thanks Uncle Noah.”

  Gramps gripped my shoulder. A little hard. I cringed. “Don’t hit your Dad again Ronan,” he told me. “Next time he might kill you. Now get out. I’m starving.”

  I opened the door of the truck and was greeted by my wife. She hugged me hard; concerned for me after seeing me hit my father. She was also surprised that I had survived that moment.

  There was still no sign of Delilah.

  Chapter 19

  Dad always told us that the measure of a man is not always how often he gets knocked down but how he handles getting back on his own two damn feet.

  I had one knock down after another for a few weeks. The doctor put Skylar on bedrest because her blood pressure was spiking which worried me more than her. Our moms and the aunts came to the house to help care for her while I went to work. She was only four weeks from her due date. They were talking C-section or induction in two to three weeks if she continued to have problems.

  The kids were staying with us because Delilah was nowhere to be found. We filed a missing person report on her. Nickolas was not handling it well blaming himself for calling her names.

  We moved the surprise baby shower to our cabin. Everyone came including the men. We went to the room we deigned a nursery and put together furniture as Skylar unwrapped it. She was so excited. We had everything we needed for Luke’s arrival.

  A week later it was Thanksgiving at the farm. Skylar was only allowed to walk in the house and to the dining room table. Delilah had been missing for nearly four weeks. I was sure something happened to her and we were going to have to go to court to fight for custody of the kids. Delilah’s mother was on the phone with Gramps when we arrived at the farm.

  Delilah apparently was in Florida. I listened to the one-way conversation for a moment. She drove there to give her mother hell for the years of verbal abuse. Her mother was the one who convinced her to go into rehab. She and her husband were paying for it. The grandmother finally called school to find out where the kids were when Delilah wouldn’t tell her.

  I walked away feeling nervous while Gramps talked to her. So far, the kids were happy. They were leading normal lives. I pulled Dominick aside and told him his grandmother was on the phone with Gramps. His mom was in rehab in Florida. She drove all the way there to confront their grandmother.

  He was puzzled about that news at first. Then he burst out laughing. “She’s the only person I know who would drive clear to Florida to confront somebody. She can’t just pick up a damn phone and make a call.” He shook his head. “At least Grandma got her into rehab,” Dominick said.

  “Mom is in rehab?” Nickolas overheard us.

  I pulled him into me. “Yes,” I told him. I didn’t say where or why she went there. I just agreed that she was in rehab.

  “That’s good news. Right?” Dominick said.

  He scoffed. “She didn’t bother to let us know where she was. That she was all right. She didn’t make sure that we were taken care of first. She just checked herself into rehab. Crazy bitch.”

  He pulled away from me and went to sit by Skylar. Dominick looked at me then he looked at his brother in the living room. “Ronan, you have to understand what she’s done to us.”

  “I think I do.” I was worried about Nickolas though. I really thought he needed therapy.

  We looked into the living room again and Maddie had taken up residence tucked into Skylar’s arms. Nickolas was at her feet. “We might have some difficulty if Mom ever comes home,” Dominick told me.

  I laughed. “With which one?” I asked.

  I grabbed him around the shoulders and pulled him to me giving him a quick squeeze. Gramps hung up the phone and called me to the kitchen. Dominick followed me.

  “So your grandmother is more than willing to let us take care of you,” he started off by saying to Dominick.

  “I’m not surprised by that.” Dominick rolled his eyes at Gramps.

  “Your mom is in rehab for ninety days then she’s doing an out-patient program for at least another ninety days. Neither of them are too worried about you staying with Ronan and Skylar.” He was looking at me for confirmation.

  “If you look in the living room right now Maddie is cuddling with Skylar we were trying to decide how we were going to break them up when Delilah did come home. Nick is at her feet, also seeking her comfort so I’m fine for however long they want to stay and I think Sky will be too.”

  Dominick was looking down. Gramps put his hand on Dom’s shoulder. “Son, are you all right?”

  “I want my mom to get better. I really do…”

  “But?” I wasn’t sure where he was going with this.

  He glanced up at me. His eyes never left mine. “This is the most normal existence we’ve had in our lives.” Dominick teared up. “I don’t want her to come home.”

  Gramps looked at me. I hauled Dominick into my arms for a moment. Dad taught us to hug when we needed hugging. Say how we felt when there was something on our mind except to call him an unforgiving bastard. He did draw the line at disrespect. “We want you to stay Dom.” Gramps patted his back and left the room giving us a moment. “I hope you still feel the same when we have a crying baby around all the time.”

  He started laughing then wiped his face on his sleeve. I hooked my arm around his neck and pushed him into the living room. “Let’s check on the girls and Nickolas.”

  **

  Aine called us all to dinner. There were so many of us we couldn’t all sit at the dining room table so Gramps setup more tables in the kitchen. Some of the men were going to take their plates to the kitchen table to sit down and some were eating in fro
nt of the television to watch football. The one thing that we did do was gather around the table for my grandfather’s prayer. I stood behind my wife’s chair. Maddie sat on one side of her and Nickolas the other. They both seemed to gravitate to her.

  Dominick and I were two of the men going to the living room to watch football. Maybe I should have wanted to have my first Thanksgiving dinner by my wife’s side but she gave me reprieve to catch the Cowboys and Lions game on the tube.

  I put my hands on her shoulders as Gramps began to speak. She laid her hand on mine. It was something that was reassuring and comforting to me and she knew it. Her touch sent a shock of warmth up my spine. Gave me a sense of security. Yeah, she was young. Skylar knew what she wanted though. She was excited about Luke coming in just a few weeks. She was happy that we were married. Damn, I was over the moon about loving her.

  “Lord, thank you for this meal, my granddaughters-in-law made with the help of my daughters-in-law on this special day. When Betsy gave me these two boys I didn’t think so many special women would come into my life but look at us now. Grandchildren, I’m so proud of. Great-grandchildren. Luke Ronan Moore, the first boy coming in just a few weeks. A bright spot in his Daddy’s complicated life.” He winked at me. “Alive to see this day for more reasons than one.” Everyone laughed knowing he was referring to the fight with Dad in their front yard. “I thank you Lord for giving us Ronan back. I’ve never prayed so hard in my life that we would not lose him that night and the next day.”

  Gramps glanced across where we were standing. “We’ve been blessed to add new family.”

  “That’s us,” Maddie whispered. Skylar nodded at her.

  “May we all have happy and healthy holidays. Amen. Let’s eat people.” Gramps rubbed his hands together. I didn’t want to imagine a time when he would not be here to lead us in prayer. He couldn’t live forever, I knew. Gramps was in his eighties but he was relatively active and healthy. I added my own silent nod to the big man upstairs asking that he let us keep him for a while and finished with a resounding amen, in my head.

  Those of us standing went to grab plates of food from the kitchen. Everyone in the dining room with Gramps dug in from the bowls and platters scattered across the massive dining room table. When Skylar was done eating she and Maddie joined us in the living room. She sat in the corner of the sofa and put her feet across my lap. I had already finished eating myself.

  “How are you feeling?” Liam asked Skylar. He came today without Harley. No one asked about her yet.

  “My blood pressure is good as long as I don’t overdo it,” Skylar explained.

  “Only three more weeks?” He asked again. His head turning back and forth between Skylar and the television set. Mom came to the living room with Dad.

  “Dad isn’t feeling well. We’re going home.” We all looked up at him to see what he would say about how he was feeling.

  “Just a little light headed. Probably coming down with something,” he explained.

  “Liam, is there a reason that Harley didn’t come today?” Mom asked.

  He squirmed uncomfortably. Skylar’s feet were close to my brother’s leg. She poked him in the thigh with her foot. He scowled at her. “What did you do Liam?” Our mother asked.

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “He did something,” Jamie told us scrutinizing his twin, our brother.

  “You need to be quiet.”

  “How is it that the younger of my three sons have all found nice girls that I adore but my older two are dragging their feet, kicking and screaming.” Mom walked over to Skylar and kissed her forehead. “Let me know if you need anything honey.”

  “We’re just waiting for the right girl to come along Ma,” Jamie said distractedly. “Whoa,” he shouted when the Dallas Cowboys scored a touchdown on a punt return. “Did you see that?” They were beating the Detroit Lions now twenty-one to ten.

  “Nice deflection,” Skylar told Jamie.

  Mom headed to the front door expecting Dad to follow. He was looking at me and Skylar. “Don’t have that baby until I feel better,” he told Skylar. She smiled at him.

  “I won’t Declan,” I promise.

  So much for Skylar’s promises.

  **

  In the middle of the night when you are sleeping soundly the last thing you want to hear is your wife screaming your name. I bolted upright in the bed. I patted her side of the bed. Then I jumped out of bed and met the kids in the hallway. “It’s all right,” I told them. I opened the bathroom door and met her terrified blue eyes.

  “I’m bleeding Ronan.”

  “Bad?”

  “Bad enough,” she said.

  “What do we do?” I asked her. I was lost. I needed to rely on Skylar to guide me through this one.

  “Call the doctor,” she told me.

  I ran to the hallway where the three kids were waiting on me to come out of the bathroom. Dominick was standing there with his hands on Maddie’s shoulders. The little girl was terrified. “Maddie, I promise Skylar is all right.” I looked up at Dominick. “Call Fionn and let him know you’ll be coming to the farm. I have to take Skylar to the hospital.”

  “I’m on it.”

  I ran to the kitchen where our phones were plugged in. Nickolas followed me. Maddie stayed behind. “Don’t lie to me Ronan,” Nickolas said. “Is Skylar all right?” He asked.

  “I’m not lying. She’s bleeding Nick. I just need to get her to the hospital. Want to help?”

  “Yes,” he said with an urgency that let me know he was also scared.

  “Go grab some jeans and a shirt for me. My shoes too,” I shouted as he was running back to my bedroom.

  On Skylar’s phone, I found the doctor’s number on speed dial. I waited for someone to answer. I explained what was happening. I put them on speaker when Nick returned with my clothes. I was jumping into my jeans when the doctor said, “Ronan, what are you doing?”

  “Getting dressed,” I said breathlessly.

  “Relax Ronan. Your stress won’t help Skylar. Bring her to the hospital and I’ll see you there shortly.”

  “We’ll be there as soon as possible,” I told her and hung up the phone. I slipped the shirt Nickolas brought to me over my head. “Thanks Nick. I appreciate it.” I slid my shoes on my feet.

  “Will she lose the baby?” He asked. I glanced at him and could see the fear in his eyes.

  I gripped his shoulders hard. “No,” I told him. I prayed that I was right. I guided him to the hallway. “Get some clothes to take to the farm. Grab some things for Maddie.” I found Maddie in our bedroom with Skylar. My girl was dressed and ready to go.

  “You all right?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Ready?” She asked me.

  “Sit with Maddie. I’ll check on the boys.”

  “Where are they going?”

  “To the farm. Dom called Fionn to let them know they were coming.”

  “Could I have my phone so I can call our parents?” Sky asked.

  I stopped on my way out of the bedroom. “Anything else before I check on the boys?” I asked her. “I really want to get you on the road.”

  “Ronan, I’ll get Skylar’s phone,” Maddie offered.

  “Thanks sweet pea. You do that and I’ll check on the boys.” I glanced at Skylar sitting on the bed. She looked so beautiful it broke my heart. “Skylar,” I said her name. She glanced up at me. “Promise me everything will be all right.” She nodded at me, smiled and I believed her.

  Dom had thrown some stuff in a duffel and was in Maddie’s room packing some things into a bag for her while Nick grabbed clothes for himself. The two boys shared a room while Maddie had her own room and the baby would have his own room. I went to Maddie’s room to check on Dom. He glanced over his shoulder when I entered her room. “I’m done here. You ready to go?”

  “We are,” I replied.

  He followed me out of Maddie’s room and shouted for Nick to move it. I helped Skylar to the car. She kissed
Nick and Maddie’s cheek before I shut the door. “Call us,” Dominick told me.

  “I will. Be careful going to the farm.”

  Dominick’s car was behind mine so I waited on him to back out. “You’re calmer than I thought you would be,” Skylar informed me.

  “I’m terrified.” I had to be honest. “I mean, do you hurt or cramp or anything? Having contractions?”

  “No, just bleeding like I’m having a light period.”

  I nodded although I didn’t know what that meant either. We were on the winding roads that ran between town and the farm in one direction. In the other direction, the road led to the next town where County General Hospital was located. “Did you call our Moms?”

  “I did. They are both getting our fathers out of bed and heading to the hospital.”

  “Good,” I said.

  I was five minutes from the hospital. Feeling safer for sure when Skylar cried out. “Ronan, hurry. I’m bleeding bad.” She held up her hands for me to see. I pressed my foot to the pedal and raced through the streets to the hospital. We were there in two. Luckily, there were few people on the road at this time of the night. At the entrance to the ER I left the doors open and the engine running and carried her inside.

  A nurse met me at the desk. They got a gurney to put Skylar on. “I love you Skylar,” I shouted as they took her from me. I don’t know if she even heard me. “Promise me,” I whispered. Lowering my head, I stared at the floor. The girl behind the desk looked at me with compassion.

  “Is that your vehicle at the entrance?” She asked.

  I nodded.

  “Why don’t you go park it? Then wash your hands. You’ll need to go to the maternity wing. Remember where you need to be?” She asked. I remembered. We had classes here, four Saturdays in a row. I nodded at her.

  Glancing down at my hands I decided I to go to the bathroom first. I looked at my face in the mirror while the water ran over my hands. Then I watched the pink tinged water run down the drain. Drying my hands, I told myself to just breathe. When I got outside, my truck was gone. I went back to the desk and the girl told me that my parents parked it for me. I should meet them in maternity. They had my keys.