by LS Anders
“That will be all Ms. Nichol’s. You may step down.”
Exhaling a breath of relief, she hoped she had said everything correctly. All she could recall was the feel of Andrea’s eyes narrowing on her and the nasty taste of her own lies mixed with Andrea’s betrayal coating her tongue. Mr. Satterfield covertly grinned at her as she resumed her seat next to him, so she supposed she had done well during her cross-examination.
She watched as Andrea took the stand next and proceeded to make a complete ass out of herself. During the cross-examination, the judge had to warn her several times to calm down or she would be held in contempt for disrupting his court room. Rayna couldn’t blame her for being furious, having to sit idly by while listening to a pack of lies about what had actually occurred.
Andrea’s outbursts only added to Rayna’s defense and before she even realized what was happening, she was proclaimed innocent by the small jury and a hard whack of the gavel. Her fabricated self-defense story was bought lock, stock, and barrel by the court.
She was whisked out of the courtroom and immediately surrounded by a multitude of arms as everyone took their turn hugging her good fortune, but she didn’t feel much like celebrating her victory since it was won by deception. She didn’t care that Andrea had done wrong by her first, it just wasn’t right.
Her relief so great that her nightmare of giving birth behind bars wasn’t going to become her reality had her clinging to Tegan’s hand, tethering herself to something solid so she wouldn’t float away.
Rayna merely nodded at the conversation that had sprung up around her. Everyone had decided they would be celebrating at a new restaurant that had opened near Exotic Ink.
The subway ride back to SoHo was noisy from everyone recounting the courtroom events. Many jabs were made at Andrea’s expense. Especially the moments when the judge had to pause Mr. Satterfield’s cross-examination to quieten her down.
She remained glued to Tegan’s side the entire time, afraid she would lose herself inside her own skin without him. It was so strange how quickly she had grown dependent on him. She had shed all her doubts about him when she agreed to marry him.
Looking around at the table of her friends, she was so grateful that they had all come together for her, helping her out of the mess she had created for herself. She had never been this overrun with emotions.
Looking down at her left hand, it was woefully bare where she had been advised not to wear her new engagement ring to court. What would she do without Tegan? If something unexpectedly bad happened to him like it had Brent. She would never be alone because of the baby, but Tegan had become her entire world.
The table grew silent. She felt the soft cotton of a cloth napkin being swiped under her eyes.
So lost in her own terrible thoughts, she hadn’t realized she was crying. All eyes were on her, and she could feel Tegan moving around where he sat beside her at the table.
The pink diamond flashed as he slipped it back on her finger. “Sorry, I forgot to put your ring back on. Please don’t cry, Kitten. Let’s take a break from all the noise and get some air.”
Nodding, she walked close beside him, sheltered beneath his muscular arm as he led her out the first door he could find to the sidewalk.
“Wanna tell me what’s going on in there?” Tegan asked, brushing a hand gently down her cheek.
It all seemed so surreal. How everything was so different from what it had been last year. It was as if her life had taken a detour off the road she had been traveling. Brent was dead and here she was pregnant, engaged to a beautiful man that doted on her, owner of an incredible townhouse, and… pregnant. She had seen the ultrasound, heard the heartbeat, but still…, “We’re gonna have a baby.”
Tegan’s brow furrowed in concern. “Yep, that’s right. I can’t wait to meet her, our tiny princess.”
“Me too. Tiny princess, huh? I like that.”
“What’s with all the tears?”
Beaming up at him, she announced, “Tegan, you’re my happily ever after. Did you know that?”
His eyes misted over at her words. “I’ve never been anyone’s happily ever after before, but I’m really glad I’m yours.”
“Me too.”
Lexi’s hair always smelled like sunshine, Rayna thought as she hugged her big sister tightly to her. “I’m so glad you could make it to my baby shower.”
“Me too.” Lexi pulled away from the hug, placing a hand on Rayna’s belly and began baby talking to her rounded abdomen, “Aunty Wezi wouldn’t mish my wittle nieci weici’s party.”
“You’re crazy,” Rayna laughed, swatting at her sister.
Lexi’s smile fell away as something caught her eye over Rayna’s shoulder. “Oh my god, Rayna, you really need to start locking your door.”
“What? Why?”
“A serial killer just walked in,” Lexi gasped. “And, it looks like he brought his lunch with him.”
Rayna scowled at her sister, disbelieving her negative reaction to seeing Tegan for the first time. “That’s just Tegan… with a puppy?”
She rushed towards him as he held the tiny shaking bundle. “Where in the world did you find this little cutie?”
The puppy whined, wagging an uncertain tail at her.
“In the gutter off 10th. I need a towel, she’s soaked—” Tegan halted his words at his first look at Lexi.
“This is my sister, Lexi. Lex, this is Tegan,” Rayna rushed through the introduction and headed over to the pantry, returning with a stack of dry towels for the shaking bundle.
Tegan and Lexi were still eyeing each other, and she wondered what was going through Tegan’s mind. She could well imagine what was playing through her sisters. Tegan was still very much the rough around the edges, bad-ass and seeing Lexi’s knee jerk reaction to him, she was a little glad her mother hadn’t come, but the sting of rejection was no less painful.
Tegan sat the puppy on the towel Rayna had spread out on the floor and began a brisk rub down of the wiggling canine.
“That’s the same Tegan that got you pregnant?” Lexi whispered next to her ear, but she knew the words carried down to Tegan as he momentarily paused in his rubbing.
Rayna shot her a dirty look and pulled her into the kitchen. “Since when have you become so judgmental, Lex? You don’t even know him.”
Lexi’s mouth fell open at Rayna’s chastising, “Sorry, he’s just so, so… huge and menacing.”
“He’s the sweetest man ever and soon to be your brother-in-law, so you damn well better clap that jaw shut and treat him nicely or I’ll clap it shut for you.”
Lexi’s eyebrows had blended in with her hairline by the time Rayna was done venting. “Ray, I didn’t mean anything bad by what I said. You never sent pictures of the guy. I already had him pictured in my mind to be like Brent.”
“He’s nothing like Brent,” Rayna hissed.
“I know, I know,” Lexi soothed. “Honey calm down, you’re like a bear protecting your cub. You don’t need to be. I know he’s different than Brent. Look at what all he’s done for you already,” she commented, waving her hand around at the townhouse. “Honestly, I’m jealous up to my eyeballs. He’s just so biker-ish looking, like he could snap your neck with his pinky finger. Instead, he’s drying off a puppy he found on the street. I mean, how could you not fall in love with him? I’m just wondering how you were brave enough to get close enough to him to get pregnant.”
“Oh, I didn’t. I used a turkey baster.”
Lexi barked out a laugh. “Since when has my sweet little sister become so fierce with such a smart-assed mouth?”
“I’ve taken a few hard knocks since we saw each other last,” Rayna answered.
Lexi gave her a sad smile and pulled her into another hug. Blinking fast, she was glad for the distraction Avie was currently causing as she fussed over the wet puppy Tegan was still towel drying. Using that as an excuse to get away from her sister’s warm embrace before she lost it and blubbered all over herself. H
er emotions were swinging wildly now that she was over six months pregnant.
“Oh Tegan, she is the sweetest thing ever. I want her. Can I have her?” Avie begged.
“Sure can. She needs to take a trip to the vet first. Make sure she gets checked out and has all her shots—”
Avie cut him off as she launched herself into his arms, nearly knocking him over. “Thanks, T. I’m a mommy! Do you have any puppy food? She must be hungry. Poor little thing.”
“Pfft.” Tegan returned the hug, suggesting, “Why don’t I run to the store and get puppy provisions while you get the party started.”
“Your fiancé is just the sweetest thing ever, Rayna.”
“I know,” she glowed at him as he wrapped the puppy in a fresh towel and handed her over to Avie’s waiting arms.
“I’ll be right back with the food,” Tegan said, kissing Rayna’s cheek before he left.
“I take back what I said earlier. I want a bad boy, too. Does he have a brother?” Lexi asked.
The baby shower was winding down. Rayna looked around the room at all her friends milling about. They had all taken the grand tour and were admiring Tegan’s handiwork. She was so proud of him, she could hardly contain it.
All he had left to do was finish the cellar that had once been used as an apartment. She honestly didn’t know why it was called that. She always pictured a cellar as a dark, cold dingy place but the space below her feet was anything but. It had plenty of light that flowed in through the windows that sat inside a small courtyard at street level. Half of it was underground, but it would be as warm and inviting as the space she was currently sitting.
It was still very much surreal that she actually lived here and seeing all her friends in one place made her smile.
Lexi had blended right in and everyone kept commenting on how the two of them looked like twins. Lexi’s blonde head was turned away as she was currently deep in conversation with Avie’s friend, Arin.
Evana kept glancing down at the screen on her cell phone, looking overjoyed when the device would light up, and then would quickly text whoever it was she was enamored with back. She wished her longtime friend would confide in her, but she remained elusive about her new mystery friend.
Avie had made a makeshift sling to carry the puppy around while she scurried about making sure no one had an empty plate or cup. The girl had refused any help planning the shower, and she seemed to thrive on serving people.
Mama C and Ms. Reimer had just come in from the garden, chatting away about what types of flowers and what kind of plants would grow best in the ground versus a pot. Not that she would ever be planting anything.
Vehn had hired landscapers to come in and bring the space back to life. They were on contract to come once every two weeks to weed the flower beds, mow the miniature lawn, and fertilize. When she’d tried to argue, he proclaimed it to be a wedding present knowing she wouldn’t refuse.
Callie joined the two older women. Mama C laughed at something Callie said, patting her arm. The familiar gesture was loving and made her realize just how much she missed her own mother.
The silence in the room gained her attention as if a bomb had gone off. The cushion next to her right dipped under Mama C’s weight.
“Are you alright? You’re looking a bit lost,” Mama C asked, wiping away Rayna’s tears with a tatted trimmed handkerchief.
A wave of comfort enveloped her as she stared into the sea green gaze that reminded her so much of Vehn’s. “No… I mean, yes. I’m fine. Just the overabundance of pregnancy hormones is all.”
“I know what you mean,” Mama C said. “One minute you’re overwhelmed with joy and the next you’re crying in your punch cup.”
“Thank you for coming, Caroline.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it, sweet girl. Please call me Mama C. You’re my daughter too. You and Callie.”
Rayna continually found things she had in common with Tegan. Her own mother had recently abandoned her, shunned because she hadn’t approved of her unwed pregnancy. It didn’t matter that she and Tegan were soon to tie the knot. She had never approved of Rayna and her choice of occupation and this baby was her final straw. It didn’t make one bit of difference that her and Tegan’s child would be her first grandbaby.
That was fine, she would just adopt Mama C the way Tegan had, along with Ms. Reimer.
She was still smiling over that one. She adored Ms. Reimer, but when she found out that Tegan had been visiting the lady on a daily basis, fixing this and that in her apartment, she wasn’t all that surprised. The permanent grin on the lady’s face whenever she saw Tegan was one of adoration, like that to a grandson.
She was learning that family didn’t always come from a blood relation, sometimes it was made up of a group of people that you collected over time. Of people that stood beside you and had your back no matter what and loved you despite your flaws.
Her tears continued to fall as Lexi came to sit on her other side, pulling her into a hug. “No crying. It’s your baby shower. This is supposed to be a happy time. I have some good news that might cheer you up. I’m going to move to New York as soon as I can give a two-week notice and put my apartment up for sale.”
“When did you decide this?”
“About ten minutes ago. That way I’ll be here when the baby is born and you can use me as a babysitter.”
“You can’t just quit and move, Lex.”
“Yes, I can. I’m going to go to work for Arin and help her with the grand opening for Dylan’s brewery. Besides, I hate my job. And you need me. By the looks of these tears, not a moment too soon.”
“Work for Arin?”
“Yes. She owns her own event planning business. She does the same thing the company I work for does, only on a smaller scale.”
“That’s great. So unexpected, but great,” Rayna said, surprised.
Lexi rarely did anything this important on the fly, so this spur of the moment career change and relocation were unprecedented.
“What will mom think? She won’t like it if you move out here with me.”
“I don’t really care what she thinks, Ray. I love you and I want to be a part of this family you’ve made for yourself in Manhattan.”
Rayna was at work and Tegan was just finishing up the final coat of paint on the cellar walls. They had debated about renting the space once it was habitable, but new developments in Lexi’s change of residence had tagged it as hers.
Rayna had shown him pictures of her before they’d met, so he knew they looked a good deal alike, but fuck, in person they were practically identical. It was creepy, to say the least, to look into the eyes of the woman you loved and it not be her.
The realtor in Boston had called just after lunch, letting him know his house in Boston had sold. Tracy would soon have all the proceeds from the sale. Pfft, a lot of good it was going to do her locked up in jail. But, what the fuck ever. He had already moved on with his life.
The responsibility of selling the property had somehow fallen to him, so he had sold the house for not much more than what he owed the bank. Tracy was going to be pissed when she discovered she wasn’t in for another huge payday, unlike his 401k.
Pfft, too fucking bad.
In his own defense, he had wanted to help out the woman that had made the low offer. She was the young widow of a soldier with a toddler and one on the way. After touring the house, she had fallen in love with the baby’s room and had requested to purchase the furniture. Tegan had agreed to give her the furniture and accepted her offer.
It had felt like a weight had been lifted off of him. Like he could finally let go of the past and move on. That house had somehow tethered him to his past with Tracy and now that it was gone, he felt as if he were able to float away from it forever.
He had once been furious over the financial pummeling, but now that anger was a distant memory. It wasn’t even something that could tweak his blood pressure on his worst day. Things always seem to work out for a reason,
even if the reason isn’t realized until much later. There was always a plan for everything.
Now he had a daughter to look forward to meeting. He always breathed a sigh of relief whenever he would hear the baby’s heartbeat on the monitor during the ultrasound and tried not to bother Rayna too much with wanting to touch her belly.
He looked forward to bedtime so he could snuggle with his future wife. That always seemed to be the most active time for baby, getting to feel a kick or two before he fell asleep and grateful beyond measure that he had these two in his life.
Putting away his painting supplies, he had about an hour before he would head out to go get his girl from the studio. She was heavy with the baby and despite his insistence for her to ride in a cab, she insisted on walking back to their townhouse. She said she liked to stretch her legs after sitting all day.
Locking the door to the cellar, he took the stone steps two at a time and let himself in through the double stained glass doors to his and Rayna’s new place. As promised, Rayna had added his name to the deed the moment the last second on his countdown-to-divorce clock ticked off its last second.
Even though the money to buy the place had been given to him rather than him earing it himself, doing all the renovations made it feel like it was his.
Stopping to admire the first floor, it was still hard to believe where he was now. The three-story townhouse was a far cry from the beat-up tin can he had been abandoned in. He’d gone from no family to a whole slew of family, not a single one of them was blood relation, but that didn’t seem to matter. He loved every damn one of them, even Cale’s punk ass, which he would adamantly deny if ever found out.
Rayna was the crown jewel in his makeshift little family, and he was looking forward to making their relationship official. They had waited to book a venue for the ceremony until after Tegan was officially divorced. They were cutting it close to her due date, but Rayna had taken a liking to The Foundry in Long Island and the first available opening was two weeks from now.
