Unforgettable (Family Justice Book 5)

by Suzanne Halliday

  “I read in Bride’s magazine that the first thing you really need to do is pick a dress. The wedding is only four months away and you’ll need time for fittings and alterations.”

  Angie gaped at him for a second and then howled with laughter. “Parker,” she drawled. “Bride’s magazine? Really?”

  “Smart man does his research,” he quipped. “Besides, our parents have been dreaming about us getting married for ages. You know me, baby girl. The devil is in the detail. I want our special day to hit all the high notes.”

  “I love you,” she said with a happy smile. “And since you brought up the details, remember the jewelry you mentioned?”

  He sure as shit did and his dick throbbed at the mention. “You mean the pussy jewelry?”

  Angelina Marquez blushing was a rare sight but that’s what she did. He was fascinated.

  “I was thinking maybe you could come up with something. You know the drill. Something old. Something new, something borrowed…”

  “Something blue,” he finished. “Got it, baby girl, and don’t worry about a thing. I know just what this calls for.”

  “Pussy jewelry,” she snickered softly. “Look how much you’ve corrupted me, counselor.”

  Parker grinned broadly. “What can I say? Guilty as charged. And baby, we’re only getting started.”

  “I love it,” Heather said as Bella stood in front of the dressing room mirror.

  Wearing a deliciously soft cream colored tunic sweater with brown leggings and some surprisingly stylish little girl sized suede boots, Bella checked out the outfit from every angle and flashed a toothy smile.

  In a way, she was jealous of the thrown together outfit. How come it was never this easy for me when I go shopping, she thought with a frown? Hmph.

  “What do you think, sweetie? Do you like it?”

  Heather was seated on a bench in the dressing room with Bella’s clothes in a pile next to her. She smiled into the mirror and caught the little girl’s eye. “You look very pretty Bella.”

  “I’ve never been to Thanksgiving before. At school we all made pictures of things we’re grateful for. I drew you and Daddy and George.”

  Hugging her tight, Heather dropped a kiss on Bella’s head. “Daddy and I love you so much sweetie and we’re grateful every single day that you are finally here with us.”

  “Carmen says the big table at Major Alex’s house will barely fit everyone. Can we sit next to Uncle Calder and Aunt Stephanie? They said we might visit the barn with Danny and say hi to Snowflake.”

  She began helping her change back into her clothes and filled in some of the blanks about the turkey dinner holiday that Bella would understand. Preaching the importance of family was practically Heather’s second job.

  They were laughing happily and on their way across a parking lot when they came across Carmen loading bags of groceries into an SUV. Only Carmen wasn’t doing the heavy lifting. The Justice head of security was.

  When Bella caught sight of Carmen, she almost bolted off but Heather stopped her with a meaningful hand squeeze. “No running in parking lots, remember? Safety first honey.”

  “Miss Carmen, Miss Carmen,” Bella shouted with childish delight when they approached. “My Heather helped me pick out a Thanksgiving outfit. New boots and everything!”

  Carmen’s friendly smile and twinkling eyes looked lovingly on the exuberant little girl.

  “Aren’t you special!” Carmen teased as they said their hellos.

  Casually observing the interesting interplay between Carmen and the security chief, Heather did more than wonder what was going on with the two. Numerous explanations for their behavior fired up in her mind while he loaded and arranged an abundance of grocery bags as the sly housekeeper chatted amiably with Bella.

  More than slightly intrigued, she took a half step to her side for a better view of Chief Winston. Right away she saw that he was doing a lot of fussing for no good reason. Classic stall maneuver. She bet right about now he’d rather eat lizard fries than come around the rear of the vehicle and join the conversation.

  Nice try, she mentally sniggered. All but hiking up her pants like a cartoon character getting ready to face the music, she turned away from Carmen and Bella’s lively chat and homed in on Duke.

  What a great name, she thought. Perfect for a man his age. Duke. It was perfect.

  “I hope you get hazard pay for doing this,” she jokingly drawled.

  “Excuse me, ma’am?”

  Ooohh, he was good. But she was a Justice female and good wasn’t quite going to cut it.

  “Shopping with Our Lady of the Coupons,” she told him with a dry smirk. Motioning to the pile of bags and shaking her head, Heather threw him a lifeline to see if he’d grab on. “They say when the checkout folks see her coming, suddenly everyone wants to take a break.”

  If he didn’t at least smile there was something wrong with him. Luckily, he must have agreed with her teasing mockery because he made a sound with his mouth that might have been a laugh. Sometimes it was hard to tell with these hard-ass Justice guys.

  “She maps it out like a mission. Aisle by aisle. I’ve never seen anything like it.” He sounded awestruck. It was pretty funny.

  Using a serious tone she made a sober face and drawled, “Grocery stores are not for the weak. Gotta keep your head on a swivel at all times. Senora Delgado is a decorated veteran of countless shopping skirmishes and word has it that she always comes out victorious.”

  He performed a rusty-sounding chuckle that needed work.

  Bella and Carmen joined them with the smiling child waving at Duke.

  Duke Winston became her new favorite person when he politely touched the rim of his hat and dipped his head a fraction as he addressed the little girl. “Miss Jensen. How are you today?”

  Knowing her cues, Bella smiled sweetly. “I’m great. Are you helping Miss Carmen, Chief?”

  They all chuckled at the same time. “Those bags are heavy,” Duke explained with manly importance.

  Carmen coughed to clear her throat, a telltale thrum of laughter in the sound.

  Heather remembered something and quickly leaned down to whisper in Bella’s ear.

  “Thank you for the birthday card, Chief Winston,” the child dutifully said.

  The older man shuffled his feet and looked embarrassed but he treated Bella with kindness and to Heather, that’s what counted.

  “Six is a big deal, little lady. Now you need two hands to count!”

  Bella held up six fingers. “Two hands,” she giggled along with a chuckling Duke.

  How the hell was it that a kindergartener got ninety-nine percent of the references and lame jokes of the adults in her world?

  Carmen quickly and efficiently shut down their parking lot gathering by stating she had frozen stuff in the car and had to keep moving. They said goodbye and waved at the two unlikely companions.

  As she was belting Bella into her seat, the wise-beyond-her-years girl said what was on her mind.

  “I think Miss Carmen likes the chief. She puts on lipstick and smiles a lot when he’s around.”

  Ah, she thought. The mind of a child where everything is remarkably simple.

  “It’s good to have friends,” she replied.

  Shopping bag stowed in the back seat, they were buckled in and on the road when Bella innocently asked, “Are you and Daddy friends?”

  What an odd thing to ask. “I’d say Daddy is my best friend, honey.”

  Not knowing what was going on in that six-year-old brain, Heather drove along and waited to see if she said anything else because the kid was clearly thinking overtime.

  “How ’bout Major Alex. Is he best friends with Aunt Meghan?”

  Hmph. Now she was more than a little intrigued.

  “Absolutely.”

  Thoughtful silence followed and then little Bella tossed a live one into Heather’s caught-off-guard lap.

  “So best friends get married?”

  It w
as a freakin’ miracle that she didn’t drive them off the road when the question exploded.

  “Uh, sometimes. Well, most of the time really.”

  She wanted to say more but zipped her lips with haste. This was one area where Heather didn’t have all the answers.

  Leave it to a kid to crash right through the protective silence and demand answers. “Why aren’t you and Daddy married?”

  “He hasn’t asked,” she answered truthfully.

  In all honesty she didn’t expect that to be the end of the discussion but it was. Heather quietly sighed. Understanding the mind of a child was equally as challenging as dealing with men. Neither came with an instruction manual and both were way more complicated than they were given credit for.

  35

  A cool gentle breeze brushed Meghan’s cheek. It was morning, one of her favorite times of day. Her gaze took in the spectacular scenery. All around her the early sunshine absorbed by the land gave a subtle glow to the red rock landscape.

  Arizona in late November was a delight for her senses. Clusters of wildflowers dotted the ground with lovely colors. Yellow daisies, pink wild lilies, golden poppies. As the trees changed color so did the weather. Instead of blistering hot days and warm nights they enjoyed much cooler daytime temperatures and wonderfully cool, crisp evenings.

  The large, wide wood swing under the pergola at Amore Vortice swayed back and forth as she pushed off with her feet and set the swing in motion. Lacey lay on her side with her head in Meghan’s lap as she gently stroked her hair.

  Next to them, Victoria relaxed in a Desert-Dack chair with a cushion shoved behind the small of her back for comfort and her bare feet propped on an ottoman.

  It was Thanksgiving morning and since none of them had anything more strenuous to do today than show up at the dinner table, they’d decided on an early morning meet-up because…well, just because. And the vortice was the obvious choice of location for some quiet, sisterly reflection.

  The guys tagged along of course. Unless they wanted a surveillance drone over their heads the whole time, it was easier to give in and let their trio of over-protective alphas come along.

  But that’s where the togetherness ended. The ladies demanded alone time and got it after some toe tapping and a bit of snarling. It’s funny what playing the pregnancy card got them these days. So after driving them crazy with their exhausting attention, their husbands reluctantly went for a hike, grumbling loudly about pushy women as they started out.

  Her eyes lit on the newest accessory for their times here, an ingenious piece of camping equipment—a flushing porta-potty. She smiled. Having men around who knew a bit too much about taking a leak in the desert turned out to be a good thing. Nothing ruined a romantic dinner for two under the stars in their private oasis faster than an annoyed female having to pee.

  Each of them, separately and together, let their men know exactly how they felt about dangling off a truck bumper in an unladylike squat. The answer was an exhausting search for the best camping potty they could find. What they decided on was a sturdy but sleek toilet that some smart ass decorated with vinyl decals that read ‘toilet of requirement’.

  Hermione would be so proud, she thought with a snicker.

  As the swing gently rocked and she stroked Lacey’s pretty blond hair, Meghan was acutely aware of her friend’s struggles. Five months pregnant, her baby bump was quite pronounced now. When pregnant with Dylan she was a glowing Madonna from start to finish. This time she looked frail and thin.

  Tori on the other hand was sailing through the early days of a second pregnancy that so far was the complete opposite of her first time. Sure, it was too soon to declare total victory, but all indications were that she’d have an easier time this go around.

  A little tremor tickled the back of her neck. What enchantment was in play for them to all be pregnant at the same time?

  Her hand drifted onto her stomach. Roughly six months from now she’d be rocking her babies on this swing.

  A familiar zing shot straight into her chest. Worry. Fear. Uncertainty.

  She felt Tori’s eyes and met her friend’s curious gaze.

  The swing slowed to a halt.

  Lacey sat up and stared at her expectantly.

  She shouldn’t be surprised. The three of them were hard-wired to each other. Without saying a word somehow, they knew.

  “What?” Tori asked.

  She didn’t bother with a bluff or some lame whitewash. That’s not what sisters were for.

  “I’m scared.”

  Lacey hugged her from the side and put her blonde head on Meghan’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine,” she whispered. “All of you.”

  The heaviness of Tori’s extreme ocular pat down felt oddly comforting. There were no real secrets with them. “Twins is a big deal,” she murmured. “You’d be a fool not to feel apprehensive.”

  Truth time.

  “It’s not just that.” The admission came easily, but the explanation… not so much.

  “Is it Alex?” Lacey asked softly.

  “It’s everything. Alex. The babies. You guys,” she confessed with an apologetic grimace. “Justice, the outreach center, our families.” Meghan shuddered involuntarily. “Everything’s changing so fast.”

  There was more to the thought. She was no stranger to change. Big changes. Little changes. Crisis changes. Spontaneous changes. But this. This was different. Scarier.

  “Change is a good thing, sweetie,” Lacey reminded her.

  “I know,” she quickly agreed. “And I guess just saying everything’s changing doesn’t help my point. Maybe it’s being pregnant, I don’t know, but it just feels like a lot. And I’m not at my best, you know?”

  “Have you said any of this to Alex?” Tori’s direct question was the heart of the matter for Meghan.

  “Maybe. I don’t know. It’s all…” she stuck her tongue out and burbled, “blech.”

  Was she even making sense? It was hard to know and that right there was part of the problem.

  Lacey reached for Meghan’s hand and scooted a bit closer. “When we found out I was pregnant with Dylan, it was like a dream coming true. At first, Cameron and I were swept away and giddy. Then, little by little, I started to see a tiny sliver of light visible between us where before we were too tightly joined for air to pass.”

  Meghan’s curiosity was piqued. So was Tori’s because her feet came off the ottoman and she sat up straighter.

  “So I thought and thought about it, trying to figure out what was happening. Then it hit me like a ray of light. The excitement and romance of making a baby and starting a family, well if you think about it, the moment the doctor confirms that you’re pregnant a sort of detachment happens. His part is pretty much over and now a long, sometimes difficult process is all on you. In a lot of ways, expectant fathers are pushed aside. It’s not about them.”

  “Did Cam feel that way? I didn’t know him well enough during that time to judge,” she reminded her.

  “He never said so but I knew him. Knew what was in his heart. So I made every effort to include him in everything and I do mean everything. He shared my underwear confusion! Was I supposed to push the top under my belly cause it certainly didn’t fit around a huge bump? Sounds funny, I’m sure, but believe me, these things are real. And he shared the worry as well as the laughs. I was terrified too, Irish.”

  “You were the first,” Tori commented.

  “Indeed, and without a mom to lean on.”

  “Um, what about the other stuff? You know, the Tarzan and Jane stuff.”

  “No changes for me,” Lacey said. “Matter of fact, we made love the morning I went into labor.”

  “You already know that Draegyn and I had our challenges. At first we were like vampires at a porn convention—able to go non-stop, all night and most of the day. And I’m talking some real St. John debauchery,” she drawled. “And then the curse of the gigantic baby bump hit us. My demented husband got it into his idiot skull th
at having sex was hurting the baby and since I was having a shitty time by then, it all went into the crapper pretty fast after that.”

  “Your doctor was a moron,” Lacey muttered.

  “Yeah, well that’s the way it went down. Luckily, being oversexed is in the Justice executive job description and we got past it, but it was a difficult time.”

  “What about after?” Meghan asked. “I don’t want anything to change,” she muttered hastily. “The way we are, I mean.”

  Tori snickered quietly. Both these women knew exactly what she was worried about.

  Lacey, sweet, young Lacey, had a ready answer.

  “You know how much I dislike blabbing about our sex life but this is an exception and I don’t mind sharing my experience.”

  “Rather you than me, hon. Took me forever to recover.”

  Lacey nodded. “I remember. For us it was textbook simple. Everyone urged restraint, lots of it to let the body heal. Now that doesn’t mean we weren’t doing plenty of other stuff along the way. But we bided our time. I kept thinking about that disconnect I said earlier. Making love with my husband isn’t like brushing my teeth. It’s emotional and deep. Was there an element of sexual desperation by then? Totally. Was it weird? Yeah. But I think most of the weirdness is in our heads.”

  Tori leaned forward and patted Lacey on the leg. “Word.”

  “I believe, and no feminist outrage please, that it’s up to the women to re-establish that bond and connection. Cameron was great but he didn’t really know what I went through. Did he have the brutally realistic visuals? Yes. And believe me, not helpful. He tried too hard and I like a little consideration as much as the next woman but a careful, polite approach wasn’t going to re-establish our bond. We worked on it. Actually, I worked on him and it didn’t happen right away but before long we were back to the way it always was and more in love than ever.”

  “Don’t sweat the details, Irish. Draegyn and I made a mess of things by focusing too much on the particulars.”

  She nodded at Tori. “Thanks guys. I’m really going to need you to get through this.”

  “Be happy,” Lacey scolded with a cute and not very fierce frown. “Love that big old bear of a man with all you’ve got. Eat bad things and have raunchy pregnant sexy times. Laugh every day and never forget that we have your back. Always, Meghan.”