He's So Fine (A BBW Stepbrother Romance)

by Mason, Marie

  EPILOGUE

  CAGE

  The end of that summer three years ago had been the start of something good in my life. I’d fought the league’s golden boy and won. And then I’d won again, and again. I’d earned a boatload of money during the next two years as I’d finished school on-line. I’d gotten my diploma in the mail the day after Abby had walked across the stage to get hers. My dad had pulled some strings and I’d gotten accepted into medical school, despite some big gaps in my application. That had been my deep dark secret I’d kept from everyone for quite a long time—wanted to go to medical school. Abby had started her career in marketing.

  Then Abby had scared the hell out of me when she’d shown me the pregnancy test with its two pink lines—two weeks after she’d known it was positive. She hadn’t wanted to burden me until she’d known for sure. I’d been mad as hell because she’d kept it from me. That night I’d smacked her ass until it was bright red before I’d taken her from behind and fucked us both into exhaustion. We were both happy.

  So, so very happy.

  I should have known that somehow I’d be punished. No one received an angel in their life without having to pay the devil his due. I knew I was bad to the bone. I deserved whatever life had to throw at me.

  But Abby, didn’t deserve it. She didn’t deserve any of this.

  “I don’t care about the goddamn baby, save my fucking wife!” My shout echoed off the labor room walls and I saw more than one nurse wince in sympathy. I didn’t want any damn sympathy, I wanted my wife, healthy and whole.

  “Look, Mr. Montgomery, if you don’t calm down I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” I didn’t like this man. He wasn’t our regular obstetrician, just some blow Joe off the street covering the weekend shift.

  I stalked toward him, reluctant to leave Abby’s side, but knowing I had to do something. My wife was not going to die. Not tonight. Not ever if I had anything to fucking do with it. I grabbed the posturing man by the neck of his scrubs and pulled him towards me, lifting him two inches off the floor. “And I’m going to fucking beat you to a bloody pulp if you don’t help my wife.”

  I tightened my hold until he started to struggle for breath. I’d already heard one of the nurses call security when I’d started cursing. I wasn’t surprised when the door opened. I was shocked when my dad entered, wearing a pair of scrubs instead of his usual white coat.

  “Cage. What’s going on here?”

  My shock made me loosen my grip on the doctor and immediately he started to tattletale. I knew his type. Probably beaten up in the schoolyard by the class bully. That didn’t excuse the fact that he needed to help my wife.

  My knees still weakened when I thought of our commitment to each other. The love that at times seemed like a living, breathing thing that flowed between us.

  “Dr. Montgomery.” The man cleared his throat and straightened the neck of his scrubs, more concerned with his appearance than by the fact that Abby was struggling to bring our baby into the world. I realized that the nurses had converged on her bed and were working silently, ignoring the drama going on around them. At least someone was doing their damn job.

  “This man is threatening—”

  “That was no threat, jackass. That was a fucking promise,” I growled.

  “That man is my son, Dr. Brown.”

  The man took a step back, towards the door.

  “Where’s Dr. Peterson?”

  Before the asswipe could answer, one of the nurses spoke up. “She’s out of town.”

  “Have you called Dr. Abbott?”

  I recognized the name. She was in the same practice with Peterson, our regular doctor.

  The nurse’s eyes widened and I realized this Abbot must be high up on the food chain. Another nurse scurried out of the room. “No, sir. Dr. Brown—”

  “Is an incompetent doctor who will be going before an internal review board.” He threw the man a look I recognized. It was one I’d used a couple of times myself when an asshole had gotten on my last nerve.

  “Dad.” I stepped forward, suddenly needing my father.

  His hand cupped my shoulder and I felt his strength. We had a long way to go before our relationship was completely fixed. Our fledging bond that summer in the Hamptons had blossomed over the years, thanks to both Abby and her mother. I had no doubt Abby would be calling this the bonding moment of all moments.

  Abby. My knees started to buckle. Abby was in trouble.

  Before I could say anything else, the room seemed to explode into action as one of her monitor’s sounded an alarm. My dad strode forward, throwing questions left and right. Before I knew it, they were snapping the railings of her bed in place and rolling her out the door.

  “What’s happening?” I turned to my dad, praying for once that I was putting my faith—and Abby’s life—in the right hands. His face was grim as he answered me.

  “Abby needs an emergency C-section. It’s not uncommon with a first birth.”

  His words didn’t reassure me. Not when the other doctor had basically told me I had to choose between the life of my unborn child and my wife. That he might not be able to save them both. And the blood. There had been so much blood.

  My voice was low, almost non-existent when I answered. “He said I had to choose.”

  “Not today, son. Not today. Abby and your child are both going to be fine.” We hadn’t wanted to know the sex of our baby, Abby wanted to be surprised. I’d argued with her, telling her we should be better prepared. She’d just looked at me and smiled, saying we would never be prepared for a baby.

  “Promise?” I know I sounded like a four-year-old, asking his father to make an impossible promise like he’d never leave or that Santa was real.

  “Promise. Now let’s go. Dr. Abbot is on her way.”

  They took Abby one way and me in the other. A nurse handed me a pair of scrubs. I dropped them because my hands were shaking so badly. Some fucking bad ass I was now, I thought as I changed. I wasn’t sure if this was the best idea. If something happened to Abby and I was there, I’d do thousands of dollars’ worth of damage and maybe even manage to kill myself in the process. Because that’s what would fucking happen if Abby died. My hands shook and tears flooded my eyes. I ground my clenched fists into the sockets. She couldn’t die. She just couldn’t.

  I heard someone behind me and turned, expecting to see a nurse or my dad. It was Abby’s mother. She looked so much like my wife at that moment I simply opened my arms and she stepped into them. We held each other tight as I pushed back the tears. I’m a fucking MMA fighter. Tough. Bad. Bad to the bone. And yet, I tried to fight back the waterworks.

  “It’s going to be alright, Cage. I know it.” Julie pulled away and wiped the tears from her face. She was compassionate enough to look away so I could do the same.

  “I know. I know. I have to believe that.”

  Going into the operating room as surreal. Abby’s body was draped with green cloths, everywhere except the mound of her belly. An oxygen mask was over her face helping her breath. She looked so frail and vulnerable that I wanted to order everyone out so I could protect her.

  It seemed like hours before the doctor arrived, but I know it was only minutes and Dad was there, giving orders in a calm soothing voice.

  If nothing else, after tonight he earned that title from me. Earned it by coming to my aid when I really needed him the most. I thought that had been when I was younger, a child, hungry and cold. Now I knew nothing I had ever suffered in my life mattered. This moment mattered. Abby mattered. Abby and my child.

  Shit, I was about to become a father, I realized and felt my knees turn to rubber.

  “You okay there, Cage?” My father’s eyes twinkled above the mask he wore as if he knew exactly what had put that pasty white look on my face.

  “Yeah. Yeah.”

  I stood at the head of Abby’s bed, my hand clenched around the one without the IV drip. The other held on tight to the edge of the bed to keep me from
falling on my ass. The door opened and in walked the doctor we’d all been waiting for.

  “Hi, Horace. I take it we have a problem.” I could see her eyes smiled a little when she greeted my dad, as if they were well acquainted. But her demeanor was totally professional as she took a scalpel and saved my wife and delivered our baby.

  Abby was put under so she didn’t get to see our baby being born. But I did. It was the most awesome thing in the universe, I decided when I heard my child’s first squall. The baby skin was red and covered in a white substance that reminded me of cottage cheese. The doctor cut the cord and handed the baby off to a nurse.

  When no one said anything, my heart stilled. “Dad?”

  I took two steps forward, blinded by rage and anger and fear before his words stop me.

  “It’s fine, son. She’s going to be okay, Cage.”

  I knew I must have looked like a wild man. “She’s not going to die?”

  “No, she’ll have a longer recovery than normal, but she’s fine.”

  He motioned to the nurse who was holding the small, squirming bundle. The blanket was white with a solid pink line—and a solid blue line. It wasn’t as if I’d forgotten about the baby. I loved it—him, her—as much as Abby did, but Abby… I couldn’t exist without Abby.

  I knew she would kick my butt when she found out how I’d acted. Now, I was just trying to keep my knees from buckling beneath me. I was a father. This, this was my son—or daughter.

  I took two steps forward, then another until I felt like I was running across the room, trying to get to my child. “You have a beautiful baby girl,” the nurse said as she handed me the blanket wrapped bundle. I looked down and saw a red, scrunched up face as if she was ready to start crying.

  “Hello, Emily,” I greeted my daughter with tears in my eyes. I wonder if that would her first memory of me. For some reason, it if was, it didn’t bother me. I wanted my child to know how much she was wanted and adored from her very first breath.

  We’d already picked out names. I’d promised Abby I wouldn’t change them if she was still knocked out when they came around and asked. My heart stuttered thinking about what might have been. I touched the baby’s cheek and ran my finger over her clenched fist. She stilled in my arms. I smiled, hoping I’d always have this magical touch. I doubted it, but a guy could dream, couldn’t he?

  Knowing my wife was safe, holding our baby in my arms, I knew for a fact that some dreams did come true.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

  Thank you so much for choosing to read my story. I know your time is limited and I hope I have provided you with a way to escape your everyday problems for an hour or two. All women, and all men for that matter, deserve to be loved. I write about women who are on the curvy side, maybe a little plain, but always the most beautiful woman in the room…to her mate.

  Marie Mason has always known, somewhere deep in her soul, that being a writer was what she was born to be. Thanks to the new and exciting world of self-publishing, Marie was finally able to make her dream come true. Part two of the dream is to be a full-time writer, spending the wee hours of the morning creating new and exciting characters for her readers. That part might take a little longer. If you’d like to contact her with a comment or suggestion, her email is mariemasonwriter@yahoo.com or you can find her on Facebook.

  Please sign up for all the news about my new releases and fun stuff in general! Marie Mason's Newsletter

  OTHER BOOKS BY MARIE MASON

  STRANDED WITH THE WOLF

  THE MCCALL BROTHERS’ TRILOGY

  Who wouldn’t want to be…stranded with a wolf?

  When the snow started to fall in Chicago, everyone in Sara Allen’s office building quickly hurried home. Everyone except Sara and her boss, Jarod McCall. Why? Because her boss was CEO of McCall Holdings and a dominant alpha who made his own rules.

  Even if it meant being stranded until the city shoveled its way out from under a record snowfall. As the hours past, Sara became more than upset with Jarod. He’d stranded her in a building with little food, a heating system that powered down on the weekends…and with him! How could she keep her feelings to herself when he kept touching her…kissing her…loving her?

  Jarod was a big man with big appetites and he wanted his curvy assistant to satisfy them.

  Sara might think he was an inconsiderate jackass, but he knew exactly what he was doing…stranding her with the wolf.

  RESCUED BY THE WOLF

  THE MCCALL BROTHERS’ TRILOGY

  Wolf shifter Hunter McCall didn’t have time to form relationships and he certainly didn’t want any attachments that might distract him when he was on a mission.

  His destiny changed thanks to the winter storm blowing through Chicago—and the curvy brunette that needed to be—Rescued by the Wolf.

  Julie Monroe was content with her life. She’d recently been promoted, had friends to spend time with, a family she could count on and…well, that was about all she had. No family of her own, no man to hold her and tell her he loved her. At least she didn’t have three hundred cats. Yet.

  Traveling to a friend’s wedding, she suddenly finds herself stranded on the side of the road in a snow-covered city.

  That’s when fate decided to step in…

  SAVED BY THE WOLF

  THE MCCALL BROTHERS’ TRILOGY

  Logan McCall had always wanted to be a family man—in spite of—his playboy reputation. Find his mate, have a few pups and settle down into a long, loving relationship sounded good, real good to him.

  During a storm that rocked Chicago for three days, Logan found fate had a wicked sense of humor when it sent nurse Katie Wilson tumbling into his life. She was here for a weekend of loving with a man alright, just not with Logan.

  How can he convince a woman that his reputation as Chicago’s hottest bachelor is all smoke and mirrors and that what he truly longs for is a mate and a family he can love and cherish.

  Driving along a snow covered highway in the middle of a blizzard, Katie swore off men.

  It was a man who had put her in this dangerous situation. Well, a man and her stubborn pride. She’d been unwilling to waste the romantic getaway that had already been paid for at a scheduled mountain cabin just outside the city. So she decided to enjoy the weekend all by herself—if you didn’t count the adult toys she had packed in her suitcase and the multiple pints of ice cream she planned to buy on her way out of the city.

  The last thing she’d been expecting on her binge-eating, binge-crying weekend was being Saved by the Wolf.

  A WOLF'S CLAIM

  THE HOLIDAY BALL

  One night…three wolves…

  Hayden’s first official duty as alpha of the Barringer Pack was hosting the Holiday Ball.

  A Christmas dance that allowed single supernaturals to find a true-mate—or just hook-up. Hayden had avoided the events for years, not ready to take a mate. This year, he’d had no choice. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to enjoy himself. And the curvy witch hiding in the shadows looked like just the delectable morsel for his hungry wolf.

  Amber hated coming to the Holiday Balls. She left feeling sadder and lonelier than ever before. She’d accepted the fact that Santa wasn’t going to hand her a mate wrapped in a pretty red bow. If not for the edict from her grandmother, the coven’s matriarch, she wouldn’t be here tonight.

  Of course, she’d have to thank her grandmother later…

  A WOLF'S FATE

  THE HOLIDAY BALL

  Gunner Barringer was attending The Holiday Ball under duress and out of respect for his brother, the new alpha of the pack. He stood in the shadows, hiding. There was nothing for him here tonight. He’d enjoyed the annual event a time or two as a younger wolf.

  After all, it didn’t get the nickname f*** ball for nothing. But now he was a wolf broken

  in both body and soul. He had no desire to find a mate and no business being here.

  What Gunner had forgotten was more than one match had be
en made on the night of a full moon when the world was filled with the magic of the holidays.

  Autumn Covington was rare in the supernatural world—she was a peace pixie. Which just sucked in the middle of a f*** fest. Instead of giving off vibes of lust and wantonness, like her pencil thin, blonde haired cousins, she calmed the savage beast.

  Plus, she was the plumpest of pixie at the ball so her chances of finding a mate were…well slim to none. So, she’d just work the crowd as she’d been hired to do—sprinkle sparkles of calming pink so the horny wolves didn’t get out control.

  That’s what she’d planned to do until the wolf in the shadows decided he wanted her all for himself.

  A WOLF'S FATE

  THE HOLIDAY BALL

  The past year had been one of betrayal and heartache for alpha Kade Townsend. He’d seen his pack torn apart by a trusted friend turned rogue. He was attending the annual Holiday Ball only as a courtesy to the new alpha of the Barringer pack. He owed the man and his family, especially his brother, a debt of gratitude he might never be able to repay.

  He thought himself destined to be alone, unworthy of a mate. Watching the Barringer brothers find their mates gave him a glimmer of hope that he might one day find his. He never expected his mate to knock him off his feet. Or be so damn deliciously curvy. His perfect woman.

  Of course, he never expected to receive the help of a previously absentee fairy godmother and two wolves who decided to play cupid instead of Santa.