Talon & Claree: Rebel Guardians Next Generation

by Liberty Parker

  I hear sniffles from the women, and choked up coughs, and clearing of throats, from the men. “No one could have honored us more than you just did, Claree,” Braxton says. If I didn’t know him better, I’d swear there were unshed tears in his eyes. “Talon and Claree have chosen to not say the traditional vows, but instead they’ve written their own to each other. Talon, you may go first.”

  “Right,” he looks up at the sky, then back down at me, “baby girl, your words got to me there for a minute, so now I have to figure out the best way to express to you what you mean to me. This is hard, because no words have been written in the English dictionary to describe the way you make me feel. My heart skips a beat whenever you enter a room, I’ve never smiled as much as I have since the day you entered my life. I didn’t know love so pure and one that held no strings was real. You love me for me, the man I’ve become, and even loved me when I was young and dumb. The day you were hurt I learned a few things about us. One is that there’s no way there is a me, without you. Two, our love is true, no matter how far apart we drifted, I always knew you’d be there. I took advantage of that once, but it will never happen again. We both learned through that, that you can’t take life, and love for granted. I love you more than anything in this world, and I’m honored that you chose me for your husband.”

  Gah, his words have tears rolling down my face. He leans in and wipes them away, but they keep coming. Clearing my own throat, I say, “I loved the boy you were and the man you are now. Standing before me is everything I never dreamed I could have and I’m so lucky that we found one another. You’re my old man, my lover, my best friend. Talon, you’re so deep in my heart and soul that I don’t know where I end, and you begin. This ride we’re on has had its twists and turns but, baby, as long as we’re by each other’s side, there’s nothing and no one that can change how I feel about you. I’m the honored one, that you chose me to be your old lady, wife, and the mother of your children. I promise with every cell of my being that I’ll always kiss you goodnight, never go to bed angry, and be the best helpmate I can be.”

  By now, the sniffles have become sobs and I know that my mom and Trinity are the ringleaders. Braxton’s eyes are even brighter than they were before, and he clears his throat before continuing with the ceremony.

  “This couple that stands before you, has been one we’ve all watched for years now, as they went from young teenagers, to responsible adults. I think I speak for all of us when I say, you’ll both have all the support you need. Now, I gather we’ve got rings to exchange?” At our nods, he says, “The ring is a covenant, having no beginning, and no end. By placing the rings on one another’s fingers, you are forsaking all others, and committing that for better or worse, you’ll have each other’s backs. By the power vested in me, by the state of Texas, I now pronounce you man and wife. Talon, you may kiss your bride.”

  Talon leans down, and gently cups my face. As we start to kiss for the first time as husband and wife, I feel it happening. Pulling back slightly, I look at him and say, “Talon, my water just broke.”

  “Holy shit!” he exclaims, before he picks me up and begins running down the makeshift aisle. “Move it! Get out of the motherfucking way, her water just fucking broke!”

  “Mama!” Steel calls out, “I don’t wantcha water to break!” He cries a river of tears, “Grammy! My mama’s broken! Help her!” I watch as my mom coddles Steel, and explains in a way only he’d understand what’s happening. I see a smile light up his face before the door shuts, and I realize I’m now in the truck. I watch as Talon drops the keys from his hands, not once, not twice, but three times, before my dad pushes him in the truck, forces him to scoot over, and starts the truck. “I can’t believe I’m riding bitch,” Talon mutters.

  “There’s no way in hell you’re driving my daughter in the condition you’re in,” he tells my man, as the truck tires squeal out of the parking lot.

  “Dad! Chill out, the baby isn’t fixing to pop out right this second,” I say, holding on for dear life to the ‘oh shit’ handle above the door.

  “It better not!” My poor man looks at me, then down towards the juncture of my legs, “clamp those things tight, baby until we make it to the hospital.”

  “Shoulda thought about that nine months ago,” my dad mutters.

  “Um, actually, not quite nine months,” I reply. That’s right give him something to stew about over there. “And about driving, do you think you could slow down just a little?”

  “No,” he growls out. “Your mom would have my head if I didn’t get you there as quickly as possible.”

  “You’re gonna get a ticket, Dad. Slow down!”

  “Think I’ll get a pass when they see who’s driving,” he mutters, changing lanes and making me want to puke. Jeez, I should have driven myself. One can’t function, the other can’t drive.

  Talon

  Baby Time

  I’m told to wait in the hallway while they give her her epidural. Apparently, spouses aren’t allowed in the room while that process is happening. According to the anesthesiologist, it freaks the men out and then the women stress, and not only is that not good for the moms, but the babies either. What the fuck ever, I’m a man not a pussy, I can handle a small needle going in her back to give her some relief.

  “It’s really not that small,” Mom says, coming to sit next to me. Guess I was talking out loud or something.

  “What?”

  “The needle they use. It has to go in just right and it’s pretty big. You don’t need to be in there, Talon.”

  “It can’t be that big,” I reply.

  “Hang on,” she says before she goes up to the nurse’s station and comes back shortly after speaking with her and shows me this long and thick steel stick.

  “The fuck is that? They put one of those in her?” I respond, standing up. Nope, no one is putting one of those in my woman. Not today, not any day that I draw breath. The line has been drawn, I go to open the door only to have it opened before I get my hand on the handle.

  “It’s all done now, Mr. Hatchet, you may go in with your wife.” I give him a squinted eye stare, before shoulder checking him, and going to check on my woman.

  “Claree, are you okay? Mom showed me what they were going to use, it made me want to come in here and rip them a new asshole!”

  “No, don’t, Talon, I feel no pain now and am ready to do this thing.”

  “Do this thing, baby, what the fuck kind of medicine did they give you?”

  “It’s not what you’re thinking, it just numbs me and makes it to where I don’t hurt anymore.”

  “Well, at least something good came from it. No more kids, Claree! I mean it, my heart can’t take anymore.”

  “You’ve said that before,” she reminds me.

  “I mean it this time,” I growl at her.

  “Don’t growl at me, Mr. Hatchet, or I’ll remove the parts you need in order to place a kid in me in the first place.”

  “Don’t threaten me, Mrs. Hatchet, you need those parts to satisfy your hungry pussy,” I whisper in her ear.

  “Talon!” she hisses, looking down at the doctor who is trying to ignore what we’re saying. I can see a grin on her face and chuckle.

  “Thinking the only one bugged by my words is you, baby,” I whisper. “Now, let’s have a baby, okay?”

  “You’re all set, Claree,” the doctor says. “You ready to push?”

  “I’m at a ten already? That doesn’t seem right, I didn’t feel a thing.”

  “Honey, you nearly missed the cut-off for your epidural,” the doctor replies. “But this baby wants out, and it wants out now. Talon, get behind her and when I tell you, help her bear down, okay?”

  “Got it, doc,” I tell her, climbing in the bed behind my wife.

  “Now, Claree, push,” the doctor instructs her. I push up behind her and help her as she bears down. I watch as my woman pushes, doing that weird breathing shit from the classes we took, and I hold onto her, whisper
ing in her ear when it seems like she’s lagging.

  “The head’s out,” the doctor states. “Again, Claree, let’s bring this little one into the world.”

  Once again, Claree pushes and I hold onto her. I can’t really see what the doctor is doing but suddenly, I hear a small cry and know that our child has arrived. “What is it?” Claree asks.

  “Congratulations, Mommy and Daddy, you’ve got a perfect little baby girl.”

  “A girl, that can’t be right, check again,” I say, as I get up from behind Claree to follow the nurse who’s now got her hands on my baby.

  “Trust me, I’ve been doing this long enough to tell the difference,” the doctor replies.

  A girl.

  A baby girl.

  The room starts spinning and I vaguely hear the nurse holler for help as I hit the floor. I wake up with the most god-awful smell under my nose, I swat the offending odor away when I hear Claree cackling in laughter.

  “Come and meet your daughter, Talon,” she sweetly says when I look at her and growl. It wasn’t a dream! Motherfucker, someone look up on the internet where I can get a chastity belt...stat!

  I finally make it over to the bed and look down at my wife and daughter. I’m immediately enraptured by the long lashes surrounding the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen. “What do you think about Delta Harleigh Hatchet?” Claree asks.

  “Prettiest name in the world for a beautiful little girl,” I whisper.

  “And... another dad is felled by his little girl,” the doctor quips. Fucking comedians, all of them. “We’ll get you cleaned up, Claree, then your family can come on back. Good thing you got the large birthing room, because the nurses have said there’s quite a few people waiting to get back here.”

  “That would be our family, as crazy as they are, they’re always here for the things that matter most,” she tells the nurse.

  We’re snuggled together when both sets of parents and Steel come walking in. “So, what’s the verdict?” Dad asks.

  “A little girl,” I reply. Steel runs over to the bed and I pick him up so he can see his baby sister.

  “What’s her name?” he asks looking down at her.

  “Delta Harleigh Hatchet,” I answer him.

  “Hiya, Delta, I’m your big brudder, Steel. I’m always gonna takes care of you, and protects you,” he tells his sleeping sister. “I has been talking to you, do you member?” Delta yawns and snuggles into her fist as it finds her mouth.

  His words have all of us laughing. He’s so sincere and knowing the brothers and their kids like I do, he’s got some of the best fucking examples of how to be a good ‘big brudder’ around. “You’re going to be an awesome big brother,” I tell him.

  “So, guess this puts the wedding night off a few weeks,” Chief quips. “Maybe this time, you’ll talk to your son about birth control,” he says, giving my dad a glare.

  “What the fuck ever, brother. He does what he wants and so does your daughter.”

  I tune them out, and watch as both Mom and Trinity, ooh and ahh over their granddaughter, and mentally groan when I hear the words ‘shopping’ and ‘pink’ come out of their mouths. Fuck. They’ll use this as an excuse to go shopping with the other old ladies and I’ll be seeing variations of pink forfuckingever.

  Epilogue

  Claree

  Delta's first birthday party

  “Happy birthday, dear Delta, happy birthday to you!”

  Amid all the laughter, Steel helps Delta blow out her two candles, one for her birthday, and one for good luck. “You get your own cake, Delta,” he says, smiling at his little sister. She returns his smile, and I’m one happy mom, because my kids are close and love each other to pieces. I grin because since we brought her home, he’s been by her side, telling her things, helping me, and in short, making sure he earns his big brother status. We watch as Delta slams her face down into her cake, trying to fit as much into her mouth as humanly possible. I see a bunch of flashes going off and notice all of the grandparents, aunts and uncles have either their phones out or their cameras.

  “Mama, can we all have cake now?” Steel asks, watching his sister enjoy her individual little cake.

  “Absolutely. You gonna help me give them out?”

  “Yes! We is getting ice cream too, right?”

  I nod because my boy loves his ice cream. He has a sweet tooth and especially loves his desserts. As I cut the cake into pieces, I hand the plates over to Talon, who scoops out one singular scoop of ice cream on each plate. Watching Steel carefully, methodically, carry each plate to someone, his little tongue sticking out in concentration, I’m caught off guard by the emotions that well up. How the hell I got so fucking lucky is beyond me, but once again, I thank God for the day that my folks took two broken kids on because it led me to all of this.

  Talon

  As the party is winding down, I happen to look over by one of the sheds on the property, and notice Ralynn and Jaxson, in a heated conversation. It doesn’t look pleasant, and I worry about how that will play out with Dad. He’s always had an eye on the two of them, since my sister is hell bent on getting that man as her own. She’s never cared about their nearly twelve-year age difference, and while Jaxson has never done anything improper, I’m sure it has to wear on him that a teenager has him in her sights.

  Moving closer, I hear Jaxson growl out, “Little girl, you don’t know what the fuck you want. You’re too young for me, anyhow. Go off to college, live a little, grow up, and get some life experience under your belt. I’m sure you’ll forget all about this crush you’ve had on me forfuckingever.”

  Oh fuck, shit just got real. I shake my head, because knowing my sister the way I do, she’s going to retaliate, and say, or do something, that will really piss him off.

  “It’s not a crush, dammit! Why can’t you see that?” Ralynn asks.

  “Maybe because I’ve never given you one indication that I return your interest, which makes it a crush,” he responds. Okay, now he’s being a bit cruel. Maybe it’s to push her away, but I don’t wanna see my sister hurt.

  “You know what, Jaxson? One day, you’re going to look back on this moment and regret everything you’ve just said to me,” she huffs, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Keep dreaming, little girl, isn’t it past your bedtime? You should head on home and play little girl games with someone your own age.”

  “Fuck off, Jaxson. You’ll regret this, I swear,” she replies. Before I can join them and try to diffuse the situation, she spins on her heels and stomps off.

  “Brother, I recognize that you’re too old for my sister, but don’t ever talk to her in that manner again, feel me?” I question as I make my presence known.

  “Feel ya, but, brother, she needed that to move on. She’s way too young and needs to live a little. She has an entire future to look forward to, one which doesn't involve me.”

  “Yeah, you don’t know her very well, do you?” I ask. “She’s had this in her head for a helluva long time. Not saying you’re too old for her by any means, but you’re right. She needs to get a little bit of life under her belt.” Now, I’m egging him on further, because I’ve watched them over the years, and while he’s never disrespected her, he’s always given her the time she needed to talk and what-not. Hell, he even let her ‘help’ when they were building our house for fuck’s sake, just because she asked!

  “Not too much life,” he growls out, before stomping off in the opposite direction.

  The end...for now

  Next Up for Darlene and Liberty

  Seeking Our Revenge

  Atticus

  A Nelson Brother Novel

  Blurb

  Atticus Nelson is one flat-out, do not mess with him badass. He’s a take-no-prisoner’s kind of man, one who is known for his brusque, almost abrasive personality. What no one knows, not even his brothers, is he’s lonely. He wants what their parents had before their mom left, but with his lifestyle, it doesn’t seem possible.r />
  Until her.

  The night he went in to hunt down the senator for Law, a member of the RGMC, he met Piper Carsden. The broken and bloodied woman he finds shackled to the wall calls to him in some undefinable way. Unable to leave her behind, he takes her with him, not looking for anything more than a night once she heals from the torture she’s endured.