Blackhawk grinned, knowing at that moment they’d get through it. He was glad to be getting out of the house, giving them some time alone to work it out. “I’m on my way,” he said, saluting.
Elizabeth sent two texts- one to her team and one to Tori. She’d be working out of the house today. Someone had to stay with the baby until Wyler arrived.
“Callen, go get some sleep. You look like hell,” she ordered. “I’ll stay here with the baby until you’re up again.”
“Elizabeth, you don’t have to do this.”
The hurt was present in her eyes at his words and their implication. “Okay, Callen, I understand. I’m sorry for overstepping my boundaries.” She stood and handed him his child. “I’ll be upstairs if you need me. I’m suddenly not feeling well.”
When she was gone, Ethan walked over to him and hit him. “Are you insane? She’s been up all night puking her guts up that you were bringing Desdemona back, and she offers to help you and you hand it back to her like that?”
“I don’t know how to do this. I want her to love my daughter. How do I ask her to accept a child that’s not hers?”
He slapped him again. “That’s your first damn mistake. Let her take care of her while you sleep. You’re obviously not in your right mind if you don’t understand what you just said out loud. Callen, you scared the hell out of us last night and now you’re being an asshole.”
“What if…?” he started and his brother turned angrily.
“You hurt her enough okay? I’m done watching her fall apart over this. You did this the wrong way, and you owe her an apology. By the time I get back you better have this fixed. She’s met you more than halfway, Cal. If I were her, I’d be throwing your ass out over this.”
Callen stared up the stairs and took a deep breath. It was now or never. When he got to the bedroom door, it was locked. “Lyzee, can we talk?” he asked, softly. When there was no answer, his heart began to sink.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, laying his head against the door. Callen didn’t know how to even begin fixing this mess and healing her heart. Walking to one of the spare bedrooms, he placed his daughter on the bed between two pillows to keep her safe. Climbing onto the mattress beside her, he knew he needed to rest.
“I love you, Catherine. Daddy’s got your back.”
Elizabeth heard him outside her door, but she needed a moment to regain her composure. Once she was calm, she’d face him. Everything inside her was tied up in big knots. Yesterday morning, she was giving him his first child and now she was having his ‘other’ one. The hurt was there, but so was the pain for him.
She couldn’t imagine how he felt finding out he was a father and someone wanted to prevent him from ever knowing he created a life. Elizabeth put herself in his place, and the ache from that outweighed the pain in her own heart.
Then there was her big issue. The child wasn’t hers, and she wanted to fall hopelessly in love, but it wasn’t her place to assume. Maybe this was his last piece of his past, and she wasn’t supposed to interfere.
Elizabeth wiped a tear and ran her hand over her belly. “I love you EJ. You’re mine, despite it all.” Walking to the door, she decided to find Callen and the newest member to their family. Opening the door to the spare room she found them both. Callen was out cold, and the baby was beginning to fuss. She scooped her up, carrying her out of the room, gently closing the door.
“How about you and I both go downstairs and get ourselves acquainted little Miss Cat? We’re the only two ladies in the family, so I think we should get to be friends.”
The newborn stared blankly up at her, listening to her voice.
Elizabeth grabbed the diaper bag and dug through it for some formula. Carrying the baby and the bottle to the kitchen, she heated up some water while the infant worked on a pacifier.
“Breakfast is coming little lady. Give it a few minutes,” she whispered, giving her little kisses on her baby smooth forehead. “Do you have hair under this hat?” she asked, pulling it from her head and giggling. “Wow gorgeous, you have a lot of brown hair don’t you? You may have more hair than me!”
Elizabeth pulled the bottle from the water and tested it on her arm. “How about you and I have something to eat, I’ll get you changed and we can talk. You and I have someone in common, and we need to discuss what’s going to happen on this journey together.”
She curled up on the couch and cradled the newborn in her arms, feeding her the formula. “Enjoy breakfast and then we’ll talk about us.”
Callen jolted awake, looking around the bed. “Shit,” he muttered, unable to find his child. He was off to a really bad start. He lost her on day one. Racing from the room, he stopped at the top of the stairs to watch the woman he loved. She was taking care of his daughter.
“Okay Darlin’, this is new to both of us. Let’s face it. I didn’t have a clue, and you expected your own momma.” She gave the little girl a kiss on the nose. “I guess I should warn you. I’m not perfect. I curse a lot and sometimes my temper is a bit much. I’m working on that, but I’ll always be here for you. No matter what you need, I’ll make sure you always have it.” Elizabeth paused, wiping her eyes.
“I love your daddy so damn much. I’d walk over glass for him, and that means I’ll do the same for you.”
His heart pounded in his chest and tears filled his eyes at the miracle holding his little girl.
“I promise to take really good care of you, and I know I’ll never really be your momma, but I’d like to try and be the next best thing. I’d love to have a relationship with you one day.”
The baby made more peeping noises.
“I can promise that I won’t ever lie to you little Cat. So when the time comes and you need to know about the woman that gave you life, I’ll be honest,” Elizabeth paused, “Who are we kidding? I’m going to have to lie about that one, but I swear other than that, the Easter Bunny and Santa, the rest will be all truth.”
Elizabeth kissed her little toes, falling in love with the little child that rested against her own growing baby.
“I’ll start now I guess, since you need to hear about her. Your mother was really smart and pretty. You’re probably going to be tall and gorgeous when you get older. I hope you don’t end up short and handsome, but even if you do, I’ll love you anyway,” she grinned.
Catherine began hiccupping.
“Your momma was a doctor and really good at her job. Before you were born, she loved your daddy very much, but they couldn’t be together. Sometimes when you meet someone, it’s not meant to be. Fate’s like that, but it’ll all work out.”
Elizabeth ran her fingers over Catherine’s hair, and kept going as she patted her on the back. “Your daddy is going to love you to pieces. He ran halfway across the country for you and that’s huge. You are definitely wanted and loved by him, and I’m glad he found out about you now. I want you to be an important part of his life. You’ll fill up his heart and make him a very happy man and that’s all I ever wanted for him. I only want him to be at peace and full of the love he deserves.”
Callen wiped the tears from his eyes, not worthy of the woman he’d found. She’d given him the ultimate gift.
“Your uncle Ethan and I will make you a really nice princess room in the house. I hope you like pink. When I was a little girl my daddy spent hours painting my room all different shades of pink. It’s still that way now. Maybe we’ll take a vacation and go see it. You can have the room. Your brothers won’t want anything to do with it.” She thought about it. “Speaking of brothers, you’re going to have at least two. I can promise that they’re going to drive you insane, torment you and try and make you nuts. If their like their daddies, then they’ll protect you and keep you safe. I’ll teach you the rest. I completely understand overbearing, stubborn men.”
The baby squirmed and made peeping noises.
“You’re pretty damn cute,” she whispered. “See, sorry. I told you I tend to curse a lot. I think maybe Bly is r
ight. I need to work on that.” Elizabeth wrapped her back up as the baby began getting sleepy. “Go ahead my little Cat. I’ll keep you safe for the rest of your life. You’re mine to protect now too. I have plenty of room in my life for you under my wings.”
Callen wanted to rush downstairs and hold both of his girls. But he didn’t think he could do it without weeping at the amazing present his woman was sharing.
When she began singing his daughter the same Native lullaby that she sang her own child, his heart and all his fears were gone. This woman would take care of his little girl forever.
At that moment, Ethan began carrying things into the rental for Catherine. He had bags and bags of things. “I have the pack and play outside. I’ll set it up first, and then we can start digging through the stuff I picked up. I hope you like pink Catherine, because Uncle Ethan bough every damn pink outfit I could find. I think the sales lady thought I was nuts.”
Elizabeth grinned and shook her head.
Callen stepped away from the stairs. He could still hear his family, but not see them.
“Are you going to be okay, Lyzee?” inquired Blackhawk.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I already love her, but my relationship with her isn’t up to me. It’s up to Callen. She’s not mine. I’m just Aunt Elizabeth,” he voice caught in her chest.
Ethan moved to kneel before her. “Whatever your role in her life, she’s going to be damn lucky.”
Elizabeth put her hand over his mouth. “Shhhh don’t curse in front of her. I already did twice. She’s a girl and shouldn’t be so tough. If my mother lived maybe I wouldn’t be so…”
“Perfect,” Ethan said, kissing her on the lips. “You're a great mother and amazing wife.”
She shrugged. “When you get the pack and play, can I go take a shower? I need to get my bearings.”
Blackhawk grinned. “I’ll hang out with Cat.”
“I've started calling her that too, but we should really let Callen decide what nicknames we use. It’s his child.” The pain was raw in her voice at the hurt that she wasn’t this little bundle’s mother.
“I’ll carry her out with me, and we’ll get the pack and play together. I’ve perfected my working and baby holding skills.”
Elizabeth laid a kiss on the little girl’s cheek. “Okay Ethan.” She reluctantly handed the baby to her husband. Already she was attached.
Callen raced to their bedroom and waited for Elizabeth. He needed to talk to her, wanting to get everything that was in his heart out for her to see.
When she opened the door, there were tears in her eyes. “Oh, Callen,” she said, trying to bury the pain and emotion.
“I love you,” he blurted suddenly. “The entire trip home all I could think of was ‘what if you didn’t want her’,” he admitted, seeing the hurt at his words. “I realize now that I’m am asshole, and that I didn’t trust the woman I love to know you’d absolutely love her.”
She didn’t say anything.
“When I found out I had a daughter, I assumed you’d be mad at me for having that special bond with another person.”
Elizabeth crossed her arms across her chest. “I am mad at you. I’m furious you left and didn’t just tell me. I deserved to know. You had no right Callen to make me worry for ten hours. I sat here and wept because I thought I lost you. I tried to picture giving birth to our child alone. I deserved to know the minute you knew. I would have gone with you, damn it!”
“I want her to be our child,” he admitted.
Elizabeth’s temper rose to the surface. “Then you should have taken me with you when you went to get OUR child!”
Callen willingly carried her anger. He wouldn’t argue, because she was right. Everything Elizabeth was saying was absolutely correct.
“I’m supposed to matter to you. I’m your partner, your lover, and not-so-legally wedded wife.” Elizabeth tried to joke, but the anger was still fresh. “Yet you ran and didn’t think I deserved to know. That’s a pretty shitty thing to do to a woman carrying your other child.”
He took a step towards her. “All I could think was my bastard child was alone.”
She exploded. “Stop it! Will you cease with the bastard child crap? You had a choice Callen. The simple fact is you could have told me or not told me. It would have taken five more minutes in the process. When you love someone you lean on them, and you trust them to hold you up. I was good enough to fix the Desdemona mess in Cypress Grove, but I wasn’t good enough to go with you to save your child?”
“I’m sorry,” he said, never quite seeing her this upset before. Generally, Elizabeth was softer with him.
“You hurt me horribly. This was something I wouldn’t have done to someone I hated, let alone loved.”
He took another step towards her. “And yet you didn’t hurt Catherine. You don’t have to love her or accept her. I know what Desdemona did to your heart, because she did it to mine too.”
She stared at him. “Yes, I do have to love that baby. She’s half the man I cherish. I loved her the minute you carried her into this house, because someone needs to take her and be her family.”
Callen reached for her hand. “I want you to be her mother. I want her to grow up believing that the most amazing woman loves her and wants her. This is everything I feared in my life. It’s like fate is screwing with me. I found happiness and finally got over the name thing and now I get slapped with it again.”
Elizabeth stared at him.
“She wasn’t going to tell me Catherine even existed, Lyzee. Desdemona planned on hiding my own flesh and blood from me to hurt me. She hated me so much that the child I helped create, accident or not, was going to be locked away from me.”
“What if she did tell you, Callen? What would you have done then?” Elizabeth needed to know if the man she loved would have bailed on her.
“I would have emailed Desdemona or called her daily. I would have checked in on her. I would have wanted to be there for the birth.”
“And then?”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t have left my home and you. You’re carrying my child too. I would have been in a tough situation, but I would have figured it out. I would have gone to see her monthly, fought for custody and supported my child.”
She softened at his words. “What she did was wrong, Callen. It was shitty, vengeful and just plain wrong. I don’t get why you find it so hard to believe that I’d want to be her mother. Why wouldn’t I? You love CJ don’t you? Right now, Ethan’s downstairs falling in love with that little girl. Why is it so hard to believe that I could love her too? Isn’t that what we base our family on? That a name shouldn’t hold back our love?”
Callen dropped to his knees and rested his face against his growing son.
“We’re a family, and it doesn’t matter if she’s a Whitefox or Blackhawk. I’m going to love her and protect her with my life. I’ll call her my daughter and kiss her cuts and scrapes. When she goes off to school, and they call us because Catherine was cursing in kindergarten, I’ll be there to take the blame. Then I’ll give her the lecture on at least waiting until first grade. The first bully that picks on her will get their little butts kicked by me. I don’t care that she’s not biologically mine. In my heart she’s mine and I want her.”
He stood and pulled her into his arms. “I love you so much. I heard everything you said to her, and she’s a damn lucky little girl. I hope our little Cat grows up just like you.” His mouth crashed down across hers and everything in him that was tight and balled into knots broke free. Every worry and stress was completely gone the minute he held her in his arms.
The need raced through her as he drove the kiss. It was wild, passionate and so full of everything she needed in that moment. “Callen,” she mumbled into the kiss. “We don’t have a lot of time. The baby is downstairs.”
“I can be quick,” Callen replied. He was already on fire and ready to combust. He couldn’t remember the last time he put his hands all over her body. “Get n
aked fast!” Callen demanded, unbuttoning his shirt and moving to his jeans as fast as he possibly could.
After shedding her pants, she broke the kiss to pull her shirt from her body and then crashed back into him.
Callen caught her as they tumbled back against the bed. “Christ, I can’t get enough of you,” he whispered in her ear, as he did wicked things with his mouth to her throat.
“You feel so good, Cal,” she whispered, as his hand slid down her body, finding her wet and ready.
Stroking her a couple times, he didn’t think he could hold out much longer. Already he wanted to repeatedly bury himself in his woman.
“Forget the foreplay,” she hissed, as he bit her on the neck. “Just take me,” she practically begged, whispering far worse things in his ear.
At the words he almost lost it. “God Angel,” he roughly pushed into her body, and they both moaned simultaneously. “You kiss your husbands with that mouth?” He couldn’t slow down; he was trapped in her breathy gasps and words.
“Oh Callen!” Elizabeth was so lost in the feelings of the moment. “I do kiss them with this mouth.”
When she whispered what else she wanted to do with her lips he moaned. “I don’t know if I can hold out much longer, Lyzee,” he said, shaking.
Elizabeth rolled with him and kept him buried deep in her body. As she sat on top of him she kissed him, not moving. Her hand slid into his hair, and he shook more.
“You taste amazing,” he said, when she finally broke the kiss.
Pulling him up until he was sitting, she slowly began moving and kissing him more. With her hands, she freed his hair, using it to make him insane. Callen enjoyed a little rougher sex than Ethan and pulling his hair would make him lose it every time.
“You're torturing me,” he whispered, “Please Angel, I need you.” When she began moving faster everything in him screamed and begged for her to never stop.
Darkness Of Truth (An FBI/Romance Thriller~ Book 6) Page 33
