by Gina Azzi
I nearly lost it when Sierra tried to wind a scarf around my neck. It's not that I can't wear a scarf to keep myself warm. It's that this scarf serves no purpose. It's not warm. At all. It's an "accessory." Another term I learned from Sierra.
She walks over to me and stands on her tippy toes to press a kiss to my cheek.
I turn to glare at her but when my eyes connect with hers, any annoyance I'm experiencing dies. Literally goes out like a flame. She's happy. Her eyes are wide and excited, the smile on her face genuine. She looks like a younger version of herself for a moment. Of the plotting and mischievous Sierra who was always organizing pranks with Daisy, walking around without a care in the world, and laughing wildly over anything that brought her joy.
And, Jesus, am I really going to deny her a moment of carefree contentment because she was thoughtful enough to pick out stylish clothes that are meant to help me fit into my new life in New York?
She spends the whole day working from a chair or resting for the benefit of our peanut. And lately, the packages arriving at the front desk have tripled in quantity, but Sierra is so happy to be decorating a nursery and buying me little presents that I don't have the heart to tell her that we shouldn’t be spending money on these things when we could be saving more for our future rent.
"It's growing on me," I tell her instead, kissing the tip of her nose.
"Let me just take a quick picture for Daisy."
"What? No!"
"Hold still. Say cheese." She holds her phone up, and I give her a look. She snaps the photo.
"It's so...you." She snorts, turning the phone so I can see a photo of myself, dressed in cranberry, sulking.
"It's genuine," I tell her instead.
She laughs, pressing another kiss to my cheek. "Have fun with the boys."
"Are you sure you'll be all right on your own?" I ask, worried about leaving her.
"Den, I'm alone all day."
"I know, but it just feels different when I'm going out for a beer and not to work.”
"I'll be fine."
"I'll bring you a burger."
"Ah, finally a man who gets me."
I swat at her ass, steering her to the living room. "What are you going to do all night?"
"Paint." She smiles up at me as if working is the greatest thing in the world.
"Don't overdo it," I remind her. She's been working so much lately. Painting, photographing her work, posting on social media. Working on the business side of things. Plus managing all the digital content for the gallery. It's been a lot, and I can't help but worry she's pushing herself too hard.
"I won't. I'm just putting in extra hours now, so I can take more time when the peanut comes."
"I know. Which reminds me, we really need to start discussing baby names."
Sierra wrinkles her nose. "I feel like that's going to be an interesting conversation. One we shouldn't start now."
I chuckle, leaning over to kiss her. A kiss that could go on for a lot longer if I don’t force myself to pull away. "All right. Call me if you need anything."
"Drink a lot of beers."
"I'll see you later, baby."
"Have fun!"
I nod, waving without turning around as I exit the apartment and wait for the elevator to deliver me to the street.
The pub is noisy and boisterous when I enter, and the environment immediately puts me at ease. I don't know Sierra's family that well, but I do know that they can wine and dine with the best of them. I prefer the simplicity of a rickety bar stool and a cold beer, and I have a feeling that Sam's Pub will be more my speed than the fancy, uppity restaurants on Park Avenue that Sierra frequents.
"Denver!"
I turn and see Callum holding up his arm in a booth.
I start heading in his direction, my eyes scanning the guy next to him. Finlay. Even their names sound wealthy.
"Hey. I'm Denver," I introduce myself to Finlay as I approach the booth.
He stands, his height impressive, as he's almost—almost—taller than I am. And that's saying something because I'm six foot three.
"Good to meet you, mate. Finlay Anderson."
I nod, shaking hands with Callum and sliding into the booth next to him.
"We ordered a few pitchers and wings," Callum explains, picking up an empty pint glass and pitcher of beer, eyeing me to make sure that's good.
Not one to let my guard down, especially with guys I don't know that well, I'll admit that the beer and wings definitely put me at ease. "Sounds good."
Callum hands me a pint and raises his glass to mine. "Cheers, mate."
"Cheers." I raise my glass to the two of them and take a gulp of beer, the taste hitting the back of my throat relaxes me further. Jesus, I needed this: a cold beer, a plate of wings, and the comfort of a pub.
In some ways, Sam's Pub reminds me of Raf's, the hole-in-the-wall bar and grill from back home. It always smells of stale beer and peanuts, and the memory takes root in my chest, causing a wave of homesickness to wash over me. Of course, I'm happy to be in New York with Sierra and the peanut, but it's been a lot of changes in a short amount of time.
Luckily, we're heading back to Georgia for Christmas.
Right now, it's nice to just sit and sip on a beer.
"How long are y'all in town for?" I ask the guys, leaning back in the booth.
"Just a few days. We're working with a New York based athletic company on their marketing campaign. It's contract based, but we're hoping to expand our reach a bit and the States is a new frontier for us," Callum explains.
I nod. "You both do advertising?"
Finlay laughs, shaking his head. "No, no. Just Callum, Lach, and my brother Aaron are interested in fonts and images and whatever the hell else they do."
"Finlay's a lawyer. In-house," Callum explains, tipping his chin to his cousin. "And he's an arrogant arse about it."
Finlay laughs again, a chuckle that says he's used to being called out.
I find myself cracking a smile, their easy banter reminding me of my brothers. And damn, I miss them, too.
"Help yourself to some wings." Callum pulls a plate of wings closer to my seat and I grab a few, starting to get antsy. Why the hell did they ask me to meet with them?
"Listen, Denver, I'm sure you're wondering why we asked you to meet up," Finlay says, as if reading my mind.
I nod, biting into a wing and chewing slowly to give him time to explain.
"Daisy explained a bit of your past."
My eyebrows shoot up at this. My sister told Sierra's family about me? About the jail time and Darren and—
"Very little," Finlay continues, reading the anger brewing in my expression.
"Look, I'll be straight with you. Daisy told us you have something that could use legal assistance, and given how busy you've been with the move, the baby, and taking care of Sierra, you haven't had the time to follow-up with the lawyers you were feeling out in Georgia. We don't know any of the details other than it involves a past incident that requires legal counsel." He tips his head to Finlay. "Finlay's a lawyer in-house, but he's also registered to practice in the state of New York and California."
"I went to law school in the States," Finlay throws out in explanation.
I nod slowly, mulling this over. Eyeing them with wariness, I can't get a read if they know all about my past, or if Daisy really did just reach out so they could help me. Do I even want help from Sierra's family? And why did Daisy reach out and not Sierra? Probably because Sierra is a better secret-keeper than my sister, and Daisy wonders why we never told her things when she was growing up.
Jesus, there's probably nobody better than a member of Sierra's family to help with this. But still...
"You don't have to go this route. I just wanted to throw it out there in case you're interested," Finlay finally says, biting into a wing, giving me time to figure out what the hell I want to do.
Sighing, I scrub my hand over my face. "I did two years in Jackson Penitentiary for a robbery at a
gas station. The clerk was assaulted.”
Finlay shifts in his seat, peering at me with curiosity burning in his eyes. Callum's reaction isn't as measured, as his mouth literally drops open and hangs as he regards me...warily. Well, I guess that clarifies that they really didn't know the details.
"All right," Finlay says, his Scottish brogue intensifying.
"I didn't do it. I’ve maintained my innocence from the start. My father set me up.”
At this, Callum's head swings to stare at me as Finlay coughs into his hand, trying not to laugh at his cousin. “Your father?” Callum repeats, incredulous.
I nod.
"Best work on that poker face, Cal," Finlay says to Callum who tries to tame his expression.
"It's all right." I wave them away. "I would be concerned if you didn't react like that. Especially given my involvement with Sierra."
"There is that," Callum recovers, and I crack a grin.
"There is. That's what started all this. I need to clear my name. I can't have our baby carrying around that weight. The negative that drags on the Kane name."
Finlay nods in understanding. "All right, how do you know it was your father who set you up?"
"Him and Griller told me. They were behind the string of robberies taking place at that time."
"Griller?"
"My dad is an officer in the Devil's Shadows Motorcycle Club. Griller is the president."
Finlay lets out a low whistle as Callum's mouth drops wide open again.
"We'll never take him to Vegas with us," Finlay says to me, shooting his cousin another look. "Damn, I didn't know we'd be going up against an MC."
"We?"
"I'm going to reach out to some connections I have here, if that's alright with you? With DNA testing, several names were cleared in recent years after the people did time."
"They also paid off witnesses. And the video surveillance went missing."
Finlay is quiet for several moments, thinking. Finally, he looks up at me, “Well we definitely have something to work with at least. Can you tell us a bit more?”
I nod, taking a long pull on my beer before repeating the past to Callum and Finlay.
Finlay smacks the table with his open palm. "We can work with that. Are you cool with me digging around?"
"Yeah," I agree, after a moment. At this point, what do I really have to lose? I'm in New York with Sierra. I have eyes on her and the baby if Darren tries any of his stupid bullshit.
"Great. We'll see what we can do." He lifts his pint for another pull, and I do the same.
Only Callum continues to sit and stare like he can't believe the turn of events.
31
Denver
"Are y'all ready?" I call out, carrying in a box of colorful cupcakes and placing them on the massive island in the penthouse.
Looking around at all of our family, I can't even believe they're all here. Carter, Taylor, Daisy, Callum, Lachlan, Sierra's mom Jenni and stepdad James, her younger brother Liam, and cousins Finlay and Aaron. Jax and Evie are FaceTimed in on a laptop with a view of the entire kitchen.
"Hurry up already!" Jax yells out, a massive grin splitting his face. "Evie's about to have a heart attack with all this anticipation. I swear, Den, she's been on Pottery Barn Kids nonstop looking at nursery items. Get ready for a massive shipment of things to your place. And to foot the bill once Evie fails this semester."
"Oh, stop it. I'm not failing. I'm just a little distracted. And can you even blame me?" Evie's voice rings out before her face pops into the frame. "I really am so excited, y'all!" she gushes, her accent thicker with her escalating excitement.
Sierra laughs and blows her a kiss. "Give us two minutes to set everything up, and then we'll have the big reveal."
A gender reveal. I'm participating in a freaking gender reveal. I always poked fun at the people who did these parties to reveal the gender of their baby and then plastered photos all over social media like the rest of the world is supposed to care. It's ridiculous, really. Except now I'm swept up in the excitement, and while I made Sierra promise not to post a ton of photos on her Instagram account, I also can't deny that I'm stupidly excited and happy that our family is here to share this moment with us.
"Bubbly?" James hands a champagne flute to Daisy who accepts it gratefully. James keeps passing out champagne, handing a flute with sparkling water, blueberries, and raspberries bobbing at the top to Sierra. "For a boy or a girl." He shrugs, a sheepish smile on his face, and I can tell that he's excited, too.
We all are, which given how this baby was brought into our lives, is really incredible. Our little peanut is already loved so much by so many people that he or she really is a miracle. And has smoothed so many tense and awkward moments between our families over without even trying. Or knowing. How wild is that?
"Denver." Jenni beams at me, handing me a plate with a blue and pink cupcake on top.
"I'm more nervous than I was writing my final exams." Liam laughs, running his finger through the icing on his cupcake and sucking it off with a loud pop.
"Wait for Sierra and Denver," Jenni scolds him, and he rolls his eyes.
"Wait. We need to restate our gender before we dig in. For the bets." Finlay holds up a hand, quieting the general buzz in the kitchen. "Who's team blue and who's team pink?"
"Blue!" Taylor raises her hand, holding up a sign that says, "It's a boy!"
"I'm going girl," Carter disagrees with Taylor who sticks her tongue out at him.
"Girl," Daisy calls out.
Finlay looks up at her, his eyes lingering a moment longer than necessary, and she seems to freeze under his gaze, her cheeks coloring.
Finlay mumbles something under his breath that I don't catch, as he jots down the guesses on a piece of paper.
"Team boy," Callum throws out.
"It's a girl," Jenni says confidently, beaming at her daughter.
"Do you think so? I really think it's a boy," Sierra says.
"I'm with you, Sisi," James agrees.
"Nope, it's definitely a girl. Look how she's carrying," Jenni says to James, pointing at Sierra's baby bump.
"Girl! Please, a girl. I'm with Jenni all the way," Evie calls out from the laptop screen, desperate to be included.
Jax's laugh follows as he manages to elbow his way onto the screen. "Blue."
"Aaron?" Finlay asks his brother.
"Boy."
"Den?" Finlay looks up at me.
Shit. I have no freaking clue. I mean, either way I have a fifty percent chance of getting it right, right? "Boy," I say, because how the hell would I raise a girl? The thought makes me shudder with anxiety.
"See, the parents know best." Sierra slips her hand in mine, beaming at me.
"Liam?"
"Pink." He points to his pink polo. "Real men wear it."
"You're such a doofus." Callum launches a punch, hitting Liam's shoulder.
Liam shrugs off Callum's hand. "Doofus? Showing your age, Cal."
"Quit it." James fixes the guys with a look, and even though they are both grown men, they quiet down.
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from chuckling but Carter laughs easily.
"I'm going with boy," Finlay says. "That's all of us. All right, losers are each throwing down a hundred bucks for the peanut's college fund. Or twenty-first birthday bash in Vegas? Which is it?"
"Vegas!" Everyone except Jenni and Sierra, who both opt for college, call out.
"Eat your cupcakes, already," Evie's bossy voice chides us again.
"Okay, let's do this." Sierra says, dropping my hand and lifting her cupcake to her mouth. "On three. One, two, three!"
We all take gigantic bites into our cupcakes. Dropping half of my cupcake onto the plate, my eyes nearly fall out of my head. Pink. The center of my cupcake is filled with pink icing.
I look up at Sierra who's laughing, tears pricking the corners of her eyes, as she drops her half-eaten cupcake. I pull her toward me and kiss her hard, icing sm
earing on both of our faces.
"We're having a girl," she yells out.
A girl. We're having a baby girl!
"I told you," Jenni laughs, coming around to envelop both of us in a hug.
"See Den," Liam says, clasping a hand on my shoulder, "real men wear pink. And real men have daughters." He laughs, shooting a look at his father who clearly had all boys.
James rolls his eyes, laughing at his youngest son's antics.
"Woo! I knew it. I knew it. Okay, I need to shop," Evie calls out from the computer screen.
Daisy and Taylor fold Sierra in a hug, the three of them holding hands and jumping up and down. Tears track my sister's and Sierra's faces as Taylor says something, her hands gesturing wildly, pink icing sticking to the ends of her long, blonde hair.
"Congratulations, bro." Carter tells me, pulling me into a hug and slapping my back harder than necessary. Pulling away, his eyes look a little watery, and I know mine are the same way.
I'm having a daughter.
"Congrats, man." Lachlan extends his hand to me and I shake it, a look of understanding passing between us.
In the next minute, James pulls Sierra and me aside. Jenni comes up, placing a hand on James’s back and smiling at us.
"Okay, kids, here's the thing," James begins, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiles at us. In such a short amount of time, James has really warmed up to me. Sierra says it's because he knows I'm working hard and taking such great care of her. I don't know what the reason is; I'm just relieved he's accepting me into his family. "We know you didn't expect this." He gestures toward Sierra's growing belly and we all laugh. "But this baby is loved so much. Your mom and I wanted to do something special for you. I know you're not going to move back to the UK and accept a job with Anderson PR," James says to Sierra.
Sierra rushes to explain, “It’s not that I'm not grateful or—"
James holds up a hand, stopping her. "I know that, honey. But you have different priorities now." His eyes shift to her bump, then to me. "As you should. We're going to miss you."
"And I'm going to be making a ton of more trips," Jenni adds.
Sierra grins at her mom.
