*
“Are you sure this is where you want it?”
Mandy counted to ten, telling herself Drew was doing her a favor. Dalton had to work today, and all the furniture they had gotten at the shower needed to be put in its proper place. Being the amazing brother he was, he’d offered to help her move it where she wanted it. The problem? He made her doubt everything she said.
“Yes, Andrew.”
He laughed. “Don’t start using my full name. It’s not my fault you’re in a bad mood ’cause you can’t see your feet.”
“You are an evil brother. I have no idea how the two of us got along enough to live in the same household.” She flipped him the bird.
“You love me, sis, and you know it.”
She did love him and knew he teased her because that’s what he did. She threw a package of diapers she’d gotten at her shower towards his head.
He caught it easily. “Thanks for this.” He held them up. “We’ll be needin’ them in about eight months or so.”
Mandy opened her mouth for a smart-ass comeback, but it hit her what he’d just said to her. “Oh my God! Are you serious? You and Charity?”
He blushed. “Yeah.” The grin he wore was huge. “We’ve known for a while, but you’re the first person I’ve told. Seems fitting, huh? We’ve literally known each other our whole lives—me and you. So I wanted to tell you first.”
Tears escaped from behind her eyes, and she toddled over to him, giving him a huge hug. “Drew, you are such a sap sometimes, you kill me. As much as you’re an ass to me in moments, there are other moments you kill me with your thoughtfulness.”
He hugged her back, hard. “You really made me want this, the way you’ve embraced being a mom, even when you thought you were going to have to do it on our own. Don’t want you to have an experience without me, ya know?”
She stiffened, wincing and letting out a loud groan.
“Are you okay?” his voice panicked.
She shook her head. “I’ve been hurting for the past couple of days, just small twinges here and there, but that one hurt like hell.” Another one hit her, and her eyes widened. “Drew, I think you’re about experience something else with me.”
“Fuck.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “You’re in labor, aren’t you?”
“I think so.” She glanced down at the water trickling down her leg. “Ninety-nine percent sure.”
“Can you walk?” He grabbed her arm.
She set one foot in front of the other. “Yup, I’ll get to the car, can you grab a towel?”
Looking up at the sky, he mumbled. “God, when I said I couldn’t let her experience stuff without me, this isn’t exactly what I meant. Please, let us get to the hospital in time. There’s no way I’m looking between my sister’s legs.”
*
“I don’t think I can do this anymore.” Mandy moaned, gripping Dalton’s hand in hers.
“You can,” he encouraged, rubbing her sweaty face with a cool rag, pushing her hair back from her forehead. “You’ve got this, and you’ve come this far. A few more pushes and we get to meet our son. You want to meet our son, don’t you?”
She nodded. “I do, but I’m so tired.”
Dalton looked over at Denise, hoping like hell he was saying all the right things. “C’mon, I’ll help you,” he offered, getting behind her and holding her up. Denise did the same.
“Now when I tell you to push,” Dr. Sparks spoke from behind her mask, “I want you to give me the biggest push you’ve given me. Take their support and use it, Mandy. We’re so close.”
Dalton had one hand on her knee and when Dr. Sparks gave them the go ahead, he bared down with her, giving her all his energy, all his strength and support. If he could do this for her, he would have, but if this was the only way he could help, then he would do that too.
Mandy screamed like he’d never heard her scream before; she was a warrior as she pushed through the pain. Dr. Sparks was encouraging, and so was everyone else.
“Baby, you got this,” he whispered in her ear, hoping it gave her some motivation. “You got this, and I got you. Give us our son.”
All of a sudden, Mandy slumped back, and he glanced down, seeing a child in Dr. Sparks’ arms, but he wasn’t crying.
“Why isn’t he crying?” Mandy asked tearfully, looking up at him with scared eyes.
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Dr. Sparks was saying as she cleared his airways and gave him a smack on the bottom.
At that, loud wails filled the room, and Dalton felt like he’d been punched in the gut. Those minutes where their child hadn’t cried had been the scariest of his life. He cut the umbilical cord and thought he was going to pass out before they took their son away to clean him up and weigh him.
When they handed him back, he wore a blue beanie on his head and a diaper.
“Mom.” Mandy reached for Denise’s hand. “Go get Dad real quick, please.”
Mandy glanced up at Dalton, and he knew it was time.
Liam hurried into the room on Denise’s heels. “You alright, honey?” he asked as he glanced at the baby she held, checking Mandy over too with his eyes.
“I’m perfect.” She reached out her hand to her dad. “But I want to introduce you to somebody.”
Dalton was nervous. They hadn’t told anyone what they were going to name their son because they wanted this man to known first.
“Dad, meet Walker Barnett, your grandson.”
Liam’s eyes went from Mandy to Dalton and back again. “You named him Walker?”
“I think it’s a fitting namesake,” Dalton told him. “The last name of one of the strongest, toughest, and best men I know? Seems damn perfect to me.”
And it was.
‡
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Dalton knew he’d never held anything more precious in his arms than he did right now. They’d handed his son over to him so he could walk out and greet the family that had gathered. His arms shook because he held them so rigidly, but he was scared to death he was going to drop him.
“Go straight out those doors and an entire waiting room is there to see you,” one of the nurses told him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many people so excited for the birth of a child.”
It filled his heart to know that his son was already loved by so many people. It gave him hope and made him believe maybe this was the end of the cycle. Perhaps he had broken it by having his child and bringing it into this group of people who would love unconditionally no matter what.
“There he is.” He could hear Drew as soon as he opened the doors and stepped out. He was bombarded.
Liam, who’d already met his grandson, stood to the side, letting everyone else get a turn. The questions were frantic as Dalton tried to answer them. His name was Walker Barnett and he weighed in at eight pounds three ounces, he was twenty-five inches long, which yes, was long for a baby, he was probably going to be tall. They all oohed and aahed over the headful of dark hair he sported. No wonder Mandy had such heartburn. In the middle of everything, he spotted Samuel and Deacon, standing off to the side.
He grinned over at his family, motioning them to come forward once the excitement had died down some. Samuel had a look of awe on his face as he reached out for the newborn.
“I remember when both you and Deacon were born; you both looked just like this little guy here.” He took him in his arms and cuddled him. “There weren’t nearly this many people here to see you, but I can remember being just as excited when your dad walked out from the hallway to introduce you to me.”
Dalton tried to think of what it would have been like back then. Who would have been there to see him? Probably no one, and to see the amount of people here to see his son, it choked him up. “I’m glad you were there when we were born.” It was all he could push through the tightness in his throat.
“I wouldn’t have been anywhere else.”
Dalton felt a hand at his shoulder and turned, seeing
Deacon standing behind him. “He’s a good-looking kid, bro. You did good.”
“Mandy did good. I was just there as moral support.”
Samuel handed him off to Deacon, who took him with his own awed look on his face. “I can’t wait to teach this guy so much stuff. He’ll be in trouble before he can even speak,” Deacon promised.
Dalton wanted to refute what his brother said, but knew with this group, it was more than likely the truth. “The least we can say is he gets it honest.”
And everyone agreed to that.
*
Dalton sat in the same room he’d been in months ago, waiting for them to call Lance Barnett. He was picking up Mandy and Walker today, taking them home to the piece of land that was now theirs. His son was two days old, and he already had him wrapped around his little finger. Being around Walker, there were a few things he wanted to say to his dad.
His head lifted when he heard the name called, and he watched as his dad walked over to the table he sat at.
“What are you doing here?”
No why haven’t you been to see me in months? No hey, how are you? Just what are you doing here? More than anything, that showed him just what he meant to his dad and the kind of relationship they’d always have.
“Came to show you something.” He reached into his pocket, grabbed his wallet, and pushed a picture across the table. It was one of the entire family: Mandy, Dalton, Tatum, Drew, Charity, Liam, Denise, Samuel, Deacon, and little Walker in the middle. Surrounded by all the people who loved him.
“I supposed this is my grandson?”
Dalton took the picture back. “No, it’s not your grandson. It’s Walker, the child you’re never gonna get to know. There are two men in this picture that my son will know as his grandfathers for the rest of his life. They aren’t you, they will never be you, and I want you to know something else. I’ll never call you Dad again. For the rest of my life you’ll be Lance.”
“What the hell crawled up your ass?”
Dalton did his best to stifle his emotions, but it was hard. He was going without much sleep, and the past few days had been an emotional rollercoaster. “After looking at my son the minute he was born, I was willing to die for him. One look into those eyes of his, one scrunch of his face and nose, and I knew without a doubt I’d kill anyone that hurt him and protect him with my life against anything that threatened him. I’m his dad, and I know that. I’m the person he’ll come running to when he needs to cry, when that first girl breaks his heart, and when he needs to talk about the birds and the bees. I know I’m going to be there. I’ll earn the title of Dad because I’ll put the time in.” He stopped and pointed his finger at Lance. “What I’ve learned in the past few days is you haven’t put the time in. You never have, never did, and never will. So you don’t deserve to be called Dad from me now, or ever again.”
“Is that what you came here to tell me? Does it make you feel like hot shit that you can look down on me because I’m in here?”
“No.” Dalton put the picture back in his wallet. “It makes me sad for all the shit you’ve lost and all the shit you’ll never experience. You’ll never know the love of a good woman, the unconditional love of a child, and the value of what a true family can do for you. You’ll never know this grandchild or any others you might have, and you sure as fuck will never know my wife or the address where I live. I guess I came to say goodbye.”
“You think that hurts me?” Lance asked, his face red with anger. “I’ve been by myself a long time.”
“No.” Dalton stood up, putting his palms flat on the table. “You’ve been by yourself a long time because you chose to be. I still felt like I had to come see you, had to the play the part of a good son, even if it was only sometimes. Now, you’re going to be alone because I simply can’t bring myself to care. This is no longer your choice, Lance. It’s mine. And my choice is my family and myself.”
Before he could say anything else, Dalton turned on his heel and walked out, a calm he’d never felt before overtaking him. When it was his choice, it felt damn good.
‡
Epilogue
Two weeks into their role as new parents, Dalton realized they were getting a new routine. They’d both been peed on, spit up on, cried at, and they’d had lots of sleepless nights. For a while, he was almost sure Walker hated both of them. But tonight, he seemed pretty happy.
“You think he’s getting used to us?” Mandy asked as she had a seat on the couch next to Dalton.
Walker lay in his car seat—where he seemed to be the most content—on the coffee table. They were looking at the creation they’d made together, both amazed they’d managed to make it two weeks.
“I hope so.” Dalton yawned, scratching his beard growth. Shaving was one thing gone by the wayside as they figured out their new parent routine. “I’d love to get some sleep.” He put an arm around her shoulders.
A knock at the door interrupted them. She got up and went to open it, exclaiming with excitement when she saw her mom and dad. “What are you two doing here?” she asked, escorting them in.
“We came bearing food.” Her mom held up a red and white bucket of chicken.
Liam made a beeline for his grandson, who unabashedly loved his grandpa. “Your mom brought food. I came to see this little guy.”
Whenever Liam was in the room, Walker followed him with his eyes, no matter what the older man did. It was as if Walker was memorizing everything so he’d known how to do the same things when he was old enough.
They had a seat at the table. “Where’s Tatum? I’m surprised she didn’t come.” Mandy noticed for the first time her little sister wasn’t around. She loved being an aunt and spoiled Walker almost as much as Liam did.
“Christine’s doing hair for CRISIS tonight, and she’s helping out,” Denise explained. “I’m kind of proud of the way she’s been taking on stuff like that lately.”
Tatum was growing up right before all their eyes. It wouldn’t be long until she was eighteen and ready to leave the nest too. Mandy wasn’t sure if she could handle that. She really hoped someone kept Tatum close to Bowling Green. She wanted her little sister to be a part of her life for as long as possible.
They ate in a relaxed silence, making observations about things that were going on in their day-to-day lives or helping Liam out with the baby. When they were done, Mandy and Dalton were yawning like crazy, trying to keep their eyes open.
Liam carried Walker back over to the couch, situating him in his car seat. Glancing up at the two very tired, new parents, he pointed towards their bedroom. “Why don’t the two of you take a nap. We’ve got Walker.”
“Are you sure?” Mandy asked, even though uninterrupted sleep sounded like the best idea she’d heard in ages.
Denise grinned, sitting on the couch next to her husband. “It’s been a while, but I think we got it. Besides with your brother’s news, we’re gonna have a lot of this in the future.”
Mandy shrieked. “He told you?”
“Yeah.” Liam reached out and gave Walker his finger, grinning as the baby grabbed hold. “The family is growing, changing, and evolving. It’s the best gift anyone could have ever given us.”
Dalton grabbed Mandy’s hand and pulled her back to the bedroom, shutting the door. Both of them sank against the cool sheets. He pulled her into his arms, kissing her on the forehead.
“Thank you for the life you’ve given me,” he said, his voice drowsy with sleep.
She grinned, scooting closer. He was right; life didn’t get much better than this. Not where they were concerned. “Thank you for deciding to get past that shield I had over my heart.”
The End
Heaven Hill Christmas Sneak Peek
(There will be a total of 9 novella’s in a box set. This particular story is Jagger & B’s.)
Chapter One
Bianca Stone cut her eyes to the clock located at the back of her classroom, willing it to fast-forward an hour. It read two-thirty and sh
e was dying for it to be three-thirty, which would signal the end of her workday. The end of her workday would mean she had a total of three weeks off for Christmas and New Year’s. No getting up to an alarm, no rushing to get to school in the morning, and leaving Jagger behind for eight to ten hours while she worked.
This year the break was much needed because she was burnt the fuck out. She couldn’t wait to sleep in and stay up late with her husband. Whether it be watching stupid Christmas movies on Netflix or between the sheets. She just wanted to spend time with him and not have to worry. She didn’t want to make her lunch the night before, grade papers while sucking coffee to stay awake, or be the voice of reason when answering emails from worried or angry parents. The next three weeks were hers and hers alone.
If she could get past the next hour.
She thought back to the last long weekend she had from school. She and Jagger had spent it on the back of his bike and in bed. She’d never been so relaxed in her life. There were certain things Bianca needed in her life: a good night’s sleep at least three times a week, to ride bitch on Jagger’s bike more often than not, and to be the sole object of his attention in bed at least twice a week. By the time this break was over, she hoped like hell she’d experienced all of those more times than required. After all – she was an overachiever. Bianca licked her lips and couldn’t help the grin that came to her face. Yes, she and her husband had a very active and enjoyable sex life.
Her hand itched to delve into her purse and pull out her cell phone. It’s what she did when she wanted to waste time and today she wanted to waste as much time as possible. It was bad form though, for her to pull out a cell phone in the middle of class. If any of her students did it, she took it away from them. Of course she’d give it back when class was done, but she tried to follow all the rules she made them follow.
Pushing her hair behind her shoulder, she sighed, looking out over her class. They were as anxious as she was. Most of them were in small groups talking and laughing. She didn’t miss all of them who had their eyes glued to the clock just like she did. No one was paying attention to her. Throwing caution to the wind, she reached into her bag, grabbed her phone, and sent a quick text to her husband.
Shield My Heart (Heaven Hill Book 9) Page 17
