Love's Wall
Page 27
This pregnancy has been hard on them both. He has every right to be fussing and stressing over Emily. To be honest, I’ll be relieved when this baby is born so we all know that Emily and my niece or nephew are safe and well. Emily is a natural when it comes to motherhood and is a beautiful mom to twins, Sophia and Samuel. The three of them have brought so much happiness and life to our family. Zach is content. I love all three of them and will always be there for them. Zach is very protective of them, but so is the whole family. Looking back, Emily, Sophia and Samuel are the only treasures that the Branch Street property has given us. Living as a single mom in that dump must have been hell. Now Emily and Zach are married, she’ll never have to struggle on her own again.
“What have you got your knickers in a knot about this time, big brother?” Luke asks as he enters my office with a stupid grin on his face.
Just once, I wish I could say he took his job seriously. Luke is always joking around, whether at work or home with the family. I love my brother but he drives me crazy most days.
Most of the time, Zach acts as the middleman between us, but when he isn’t in the office, Luke is barely tolerable. Being CEO of the family’s building company, we’re bound to clash. Working with my brothers, Zach and Luke, is a challenge, and add on top the constant eye-rolling from my sisters Alesha and Lilly. They are my family and I love them, but each and every one of them pisses me off on a daily basis.
If they would just do things my way, we wouldn’t have a problem.
“Just once, could there be no smartass comment when you walk into my office, Luke? We have a shitstorm brewing and you drew the lucky number to sort it out. The bloody demo guys have cut off the electricity to half the neighborhood in Branch Street, and I don’t have time to handle it. Stuart, the site supervisor, is sorting out the demo team, but I need you to get that electricity back on ASAP before we have people wanting to rip us apart. We don’t want anyone sitting in the dark tonight. It’s just after two so we have four hours before nightfall and the temperature drops. Do your best.”
“How stupid are those demolition guys?” Luke runs his hands through his hair in frustration. “We give them every single piece of information they need to make sure this doesn’t happen. Far out. Now my day just went to shit, didn’t it? I’m going to be pushing it to get the power back on in four hours, Grant, you know that. I will try but can’t promise it. The power company doesn’t care when they are fixing other people’s stuff-ups. Wish me luck.” Luke turns to walk out, hesitates at the door and turns back to me. “Hey, have you spoken to Zach today? I’m worried about him. Now that we are down to the last few weeks, he’s hanging in there, but only by a few threads, I think. God, I hope the baby is born without any issues. Zach is going to be a mess if anything goes wrong.”
“Yeah, I am concerned too. I spoke to him earlier and he was doing okay. I also heard Emily in the background telling him to stop fussing. They are trying to be brave, I think, but I know they’re both nervous. We have to just keep our fingers crossed and be ready to be there for them both no matter what happens.” A look passes between us. A look that speaks of the love we both share for our family. It’s one thing we can agree on.
Family is the most important thing in our lives.
“Thanks man,” Luke says. “I’ll go kick some ass on site and get this sorted. Keep you posted.” With that, he turns and is gone. My little brother is the joker of the family but still works bloody hard. I’m not one to babble mushy words. I’m proud of him and what he achieves. Just like I’m proud of all my brothers and sisters. Working together, we’re a well-oiled machine. Problem is, I’m the driver of this machine. My siblings give me shit about being bossy and controlling, but someone has to do it. Dad retired and left the business to us to expand. Alesha and Lilly are great at running the office, and coordinating projects on-site, while Zach and Luke both have their roles and keep the work coming in with their talents. This leaves me as head of the company and family. I didn’t ask for the role, but being the oldest, it’s just the way it is.
With Luke sorting out the Branch Street dramas, I get on with the rest of the day which is comprised of meetings for other projects that are both in progress and new ones we are trying to get off the line.
Grabbing my briefcase off the desk, I check my phone and head towards Louisa. “I’m out of the office for the rest of the day but will be on my cell if you need me.” I continue walking to the elevator, aware I’m running late after all the drama of the morning. I have to be across town in ten minutes, but no matter how good a driver I am, ten minutes is unrealistic. I know Louisa would’ve already called my next meeting to make them aware I’m running late. She runs my schedule perfectly and understands I don’t waste time giving instructions. I expect my staff to think ahead. I know the staff in the office fears me, which is the way I like it. It keeps them on their toes and working hard.
The afternoon is disappearing fast. I’m heading back to my car to drive downtown for my last meeting of the day. It’s with the council members who are preparing to vote on our next proposed development down on the river bank. They need to be walked through the proposal. It frustrates the hell out of me that the people in power, the ones responsible for making the decisions, are so stupid. They have no idea what is going on. My job in this meeting is to explain what our family company is proposing and convince them of the benefits to the community. We’ll take a rundown factory area and transform it into housing and parklands that will be affordable for the low-income families. It has always been important to our family to ensure we help other families who are struggling with housing, more so now after we met Emily and the kids who’d been living in one of our acquired buildings. They were barely surviving, living in less than adequate conditions for a single mom and two of the cutest seven-year-olds I know.
Crossing the road to the town hall, my pocket starts vibrating. Grabbing my cell, I read the screen. Zach. Anyone else, I would let it go to voicemail but not for Zach, not at the moment.
“Zach,” I greet.
“Grant, I need your help. We’re on our way to the hospital. Emily’s waters have broken, and she’s gone into labor.” Zach is yelling and talking at speed.
“Whoa, Zach slow down. Is Em okay? Isn’t this a little early?”
“Of course, it’s early, Grant! Too fucking early. The baby was supposed to stay in there for another two weeks. I just need to get her to the hospital and let the doctor make sure they’re both okay.” Zach is wound up but who could blame him? After losing his first daughter in terrible circumstances, he is extremely protective of Emily and their unborn child.
“Just stay calm, Zach. It’s all going to be fine, I promise. Just don’t drive like a lunatic. I don’t want to have to visit you in the hospital in the bed next to Emily. Just get to the hospital safely and everything will be okay.” I can hear the directness in my voice. My big brother speech, bordering on a father voice is both calm and assertive at Zach.
“Grant, just listen and let me tell you what I need so I can get off the phone. Sophia is at her dance class down on Lester Avenue at the Dream to Dance school. Miss Zara is her teacher. We need you to pick her up at 5:30PM after class and bring her to the hospital. Samuel is with Mom and Dad and they will meet you at the hospital.” Zach stops talking as I hear a scream from Emily. I feel my heart jump at the thought of the pain she’s in and the panic Zach is feeling. I’m the one who’s supposed to fix all the problems in the family, but I feel useless right now. There is nothing I can do and it pisses me off that I can’t control the situation.
I can hear Zach talking Emily through the contraction and then he’s back.
“I have to go, Grant, Emily needs me. Just please take care of our little girl.”
“Arrrggghhh, Zach! I forgot how much this shit hurts.” The phone call ends abruptly, and I am left standing on the sidewalk. Zach must be going crazy trying to drive and look after Emily while she’s in so much pain. I don’t know eno
ugh about babies to know how worried I should be about the labor starting early. What I do know is that there is nothing I can do to help the arrival of the baby. What I can do, however, is take care of little Sophia.
There is something special about Emily’s children. From the first day I met them, they had me hooked. Samuel is such a live-wire and has verbal diarrhea. His thirst for knowledge is fantastic. He will go a long way, that boy. And I could only hope nothing ever squashes the enthusiasm for life Sammy has.
Sophia stole my heart from the very first moment I saw her hiding behind Zach and Emily. A shy little girl who had lost all her confidence around people she didn’t know.
Especially men.
Life has been hard for them all and it’s shown in her insecurities. I understand her need to only talk when necessary. Sophia is a deep thinker. She’ll only share her thoughts if she feels it’s important. We’re similar like that. I think that’s why we have a special connection. I don’t relate to children at all, but Sophia is different. I knew we were developing a special bond which started the moment she leapt into my arms when I found her and Samuel on the farm, after their runaway attempt. I wrapped her up in my arms and knew then I would love and protect this little girl forever. We have a special connection of the soul. One I will never let anyone break.
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COMING 2018
Love’s Hiding
(Book 3)
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