Vince's Place

by Sandra R Neeley

  Avaleigh was sitting on the arm of the chair Vince was sitting in. She was dying to get her hands on Barron. Vince was speaking softly to Barron who was trying to hold his finger. Vince had fallen completely in love with the little boy. He was so involved with speaking to him that he didn’t realize Avaleigh had perched on the arm of his chair until she spoke.

  “He’s so beautiful, isn’t he?” Avaleigh said.

  “He is,” Vince agreed.

  He looked up as the door opened and Natalie went out of it.

  “Where’s she going?” he asked a little loudly.

  “To get more chairs,” Delilah answered, watching him curiously, her fork poised halfway to her mouth.

  Vince looked around the room, then the door Natalie had closed behind herself. “I think I’ll go help her,” he said. “Avaleigh, you want to hold Barron?” he offered.

  “I’d love to,” Avaleigh gushed. “May I?” Avaleigh asked, turning to Delilah. Everyone knew how possessive a new mother could be, and Delilah was most likely more possessive than most, so Avaleigh was trying to be respectful — they all were.

  “Of course, you may. You should. It would not be proper for his own God-Mother to not form a bond with him early on,” Delilah said.

  Avaleigh had just accepted the baby from Vince and as he stood, she took his chair, her mouth falling open. “I’m going to be his God-Mother?” she said, her voice quivering.

  “No, not going to be. You are,” Delilah said with a firm nod of her head.

  “We both wanted you to be his God-Mother. Is that okay?” Kaid asked. “You don’t have to be…”

  “Are you crazy?!” Avaleigh asked. “I'm so excited! I’m Barron’s God-Mother,” she said. Then she held him up so she could better see him. “Hi, Barron. I’m Aunt Avaleigh. I’m your God-Mother, sweetie,” she said smiling ear-to-ear.

  Vince wasted no time moving through all the family gathered in Delilah’s hospital room. His Lion wasn’t the only one pushing him toward Natalie this time. He couldn’t allow her to carry all those chairs she went for alone. “Hey, Vince! How you doing today?” Daniel said, greeting him as he went past.

  “Good, good,” Vince said distractedly, not stopping to shake hands, his eyes glued to the door.

  “You sure?” Daniel pressed.

  “Yeah, I’m good,” Vince said. “See you in a minute,” he added. “Gotta help the nurse with the extra chairs.”

  Daniel raised his eyebrow. “Okay, then. You want me to help?” he asked.

  “No! I got it,” Vince snapped, just before he disappeared through the door.

  Daniel watched the door close behind Vince. He turned back to the room and found Bam watching the door as well. “He okay?” Daniel asked Bam.

  Bam looked over to Daniel. He pursed his lips. “Yeah. I think so.”

  “You think?” Daniel asked.

  “Yeah. I’m pretty sure he’s okay. He’s just a little confused,” Bam answered.

  “About what?” Daniel asked.

  “I’m not sure yet. I’m a little confused, too,” Bam answered.

  Remi climbed up into the chair with Avaleigh and Barron. “He’s a cute baby,” Remi said, looking Barron over critically.

  “He is adorable,” Avaleigh answered, cooing to Barron and making the same silly baby noises that everyone makes to babies.

  Remi watched, his thoughts obviously churning. “What is a God-Mother?” he asked, still looking at Barron.

  “It means that if anything ever happens to his Mommy and his Daddy, I promise to take care of him and make sure he has everything he needs to grow up happy and strong. It makes me his special Aunt.”

  Remi thought about that. “But you’re my real Mama, not my God-Mother — right?”

  Avaleigh smiled, realizing that Remi was feeling a little put out with her name being used as any kind of mother to someone else. “That’s right. And you are my son. My most precious, most loved son. So you know what that makes you?”

  “Jealous?” he asked.

  Avaleigh and Delilah both laughed. “Well, yes, a little apparently. But it also makes you his God-Brother. It means you are his special cousin, and you will get to teach him all the things he needs to know to be a little boy.”

  “Really?” he asked, perking up a bit.

  “Really!” Avaleigh confirmed.

  “Cool,” he said. Then patted Barron on his head gently and jumped down. “Dad! Dad! I’m his God-Brother! I get to teach him all kinds of stuff!”

  Daniel had heard the conversation between Remi and Avaleigh, and they smiled at each other over Remi’s head as he rushed toward Daniel. Daniel scooped him up and hugged him. “That is awesome! I’m so proud of you, Remi. You’re going to do a great job!”

  “Yep! Can we teach him to fly?” Remi asked.

  Daniel laughed. “Well, let’s let him grow up a little first.”

  <<<<<<<>>>>>>>

  Natalie hurried down the hall, visions of the man she’d quickly become obsessed with filling her mind. “Fool!” she chastised herself quietly. She hurried down the hall on the way to the storage rooms they kept extra chairs, cots and such in for whenever they may need them. She opened the door and slipped inside. She busied herself with picking out the lighter weight chairs and stacking them on a pull cart so that she could transport them to Delilah’s room more easily. But all she saw as she worked were flashes of Vince, walking into Delilah’s room with two stuffed lions and a gift box under his arm. Vince reaching out his hands to hold the new baby, his face filled with awe, obviously adoring the tiny little boy placed in his arms. Vince as he laughed, his beautiful features becoming even more beautiful.

  “You’re an idiot,” she mumbled. “Stop wanting things you’re never going to get.” Then she grabbed the last lightweight chair she could find and spun around to place it on the pull cart a few feet behind her. She shrieked a bit when she found Vince standing there, watching her, his head cocked to the side slightly as he regarded her.

  “What do you want?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry?” she asked, still clutching the back of the chair in her hands, not understanding his question.

  “You said to stop wanting things you’re never going to get,” he explained.

  Her breath caught, realizing he’d heard her. “Doesn’t matter,” she answered. “How long have you been here? Why’re you in here?”

  “Just a few moments. I came to help you get some chairs. I saw you duck in here and you didn’t close the door, so I followed.”

  Natalie looked behind Vince, and sure enough, she’d only slightly pushed the door, not completely pulled it closed.

  “Oh. Well, thank you for coming to help, but I’ve got it,” she said, indicating the pull cart. “Your family had just arrived. You didn’t need to come after me.”

  “Yeah. I did,” he said simply, watching her intently.

  Natalie was a little uncomfortable. Not because he was watching her so intently, but because she liked it. And the last thing she needed was to get all hung up over a man who would never see her in the same light. She’d had enough of being passed over. And she was sure he was a shifter. Shifters wanted other shifters to build a life with. Not humans. At least most of them did. She’d heard that some married humans, but she figured since most people had no knowledge of them, they must have kept to their own kind.

  Natalie fiddled with the chair a bit, before suddenly walking forward to place it on the cart. She leaned over and counted. “Five. Five chairs. Is that enough?” she asked, ignoring the fact that he’d moved a few steps closer to her.

  Vince took a few steps closer to Natalie, not even realizing he’d done it until he already had. His Lion purred in his mind. His heart was in his throat. Her scent surrounded him and all was right in his world. There was no more anxiety. No more wondering. No need to try to sway her to his way of thinking. She was here. And she’d be his. Period. He didn’t need to talk her into it — he just knew. Natalie was his.

&
nbsp; He heard her voice, but he was so lost in his own head that her words didn’t register. “I’m sorry, what?” he asked, his voice having dropped an octave with his arousal.

  “I said, five chairs. Is that enough?” she repeated.

  Vince looked at the cart and the chairs on it. “No, most likely not.” He looked around the small, crowded room. “How about a couple of those?” he asked, pointing to a few of the larger chairs.

  “If you lift them — I wasn’t strong enough,” Natalie answered.

  “Got it,” he said, going over to the heavier chairs. He lifted them like they weighed nothing, and stacked them on the cart.

  “Is this enough?” Natalie asked.

  “I think so. If not, they can take turns sitting down,” Vince said.

  “Good enough,” Natalie answered, taking a step toward Vince to try to move around him. There were chairs and benches everywhere, and he stood in the middle of the only path, so she couldn’t get around.

  And he stood there, watching her, not moving.

  Whether she stepped left or right, he was still in her way.

  “Could you let me by, please?” Natalie asked.

  Vince seemed to snap out of some kind of trance and looked around himself. He realized he was blocking her from the door. “Sorry,” he said, before quickly stepping aside.

  “You okay?” Natalie asked.

  “Yeah, fine. I was just thinking about bringing this…” he looked around himself. “This bench,” he said lunging toward a padded bench against the wall to his right. “I can carry this if you can push the cart.”

  “Sure, I can do that,” Natalie answered, opening the door and reaching up on her tip toes to push the small washer against the hydraulic arm to keep it opened while she pulled the cart out behind her.

  Vince followed with the bench.

  Soon as he was out she brushed past him to slide the washer back into place, so the door would close. As she moved back by him, she’d have sworn she heard a soft rumble from his chest as her body just barely skimmed his, crowded as they were by the cart she’d left right outside the door and the bench he’d noticed at the last minute and used as an excuse for lingering.

  Natalie ignored the soft rumble, surely it was her imagination.

  Vince followed along behind Natalie as she slowly pushed her cart of chairs along the hallway, careful to not go too fast so that she could stop if someone came out of one of the rooms unexpectedly. He watched her as she moved. He memorized the rhythm of her gait as she walked. He memorized the sway of her hips as she moved. The swing of her pony-tail as she moved the cart in the direction she wanted it to go. He even memorized the sound of her heartbeat and scent of her skin. And his Lion rumbled in appreciation.

  They finally arrived outside Delilah’s room and from the sounds inside, the rest of the family had arrived. Natalie knocked on the door and opened it slightly, sticking her head in. “Ms. Delilah?” she called.

  Delilah’s voice answered her right away. “Natalie! Come in, have you found chairs?”

  A male’s very deep voice added to that. “Did you find Vince?”

  There were a couple of male snickers at that one. But Natalie pretended not to notice. She swung the door wide and satisfied that it would stay open, turned to the cart to start bringing in the chairs. “I think I brought enough,” she said, coming into the room holding one of them. The men in the room got up and came to take the chairs from her. Before they got to the door, Vince entered with his cushioned bench.

  “She found Vince,” that deep voice chuckled.

  Natalie lifted her gaze to see who said it and found she was looking at a Native American man. He was very handsome, and was standing with Mr. Sanders near the head of Delilah’s bed beside the Christmas decorated window.

  Vince snarled softly and Natalie turned to look at him. He was shooting a glare at the man.

  “Oh, come on, Vince. I’m just teasing. I didn’t mean anything by it,” the man said sincerely.

  “It’s not funny,” Vince answered, very put out.

  “I’m sorry,” the man answered. Then he turned to Natalie. “I’m very sorry. I didn’t mean to tease you, I meant to tease Vince. I meant no harm to either of you. Please forgive me if I was out of line.”

  Natalie smiled. “It’s okay. What’s the point of having a friend if you can’t tease them, right?” she asked.

  “Exactly!” Maverik piped up from the other side of the room. “Which is why those mangy lions you brought are in the bathroom now,” he said, looking pointedly at Vince.

  Vince just shook his head as he carried his bench over to a place near Delilah against the far wall. “Here, hon, come sit here and rest. I swear I think you get bigger every single day.”

  Valerie slid off the foot of Delilah’s bed and gratefully accepted the seat her brother offered her. “Thank you. Have I told you today that I love you?”

  “You have not!” Vince said, taking Valerie’s hand to help her get settled.

  Chapter 6

  Natalie felt like crap. This man was married. And his wife was huge pregnant, and here she was lusting after him and convincing herself that he might have been interested in her, too. Another’s man, she did not do — she would not do. That was the height of low, and she’d have no part of it.

  Natalie’s chest hurt. And what the hell was that about? She’d just met the man, why should she care if he was married or not? A little disappointment, okay, but this was ridiculous. She gave herself a good shake, then looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be settled here or there. The baby was being held by an older lady, and cooed to by a big, red-headed biker looking guy with old faded-blue tattoos and an equally red beard.

  “Can I get anything for you, Delilah?” Natalie asked.

  “No, thank you we are well. I fed Barron while you were out after chairs and now he is meeting his family. Surely we keep you from your other patients.”

  “Oh, no. I was off the clock an hour ago, right about the time you finished your shower. I don’t have anyone else depending on me.”

  “Well, then stay. I like you. We shall be friends, Natalie,” Delilah said.

  Before Natalie could answer, Delilah raised her voice. “This is Natalie. She was my nurse, now she is my friend.”

  Almost as one, the sarcastic males in the room all spoke together. “Hi, Natalie.”

  Natalie chuckled. “Hello, everyone.”

  The females greeted her more individually. Even Vince’s wife made an effort to speak to her and smile, thanking her for taking such good care of Delilah and Barron. And now she really felt like shit for lusting after this woman’s husband.

  “I’m going to go ahead and leave you all to your visit,” Natalie said. She took a card out of her pocket and wrote her phone number on it, before walking over to Delilah where she rested in her bed. “Here — this is my personal cell phone number. If you need anything before I come back on duty, don’t hesitate to call me. I’ll be off for a few days. I won’t mind at all.” Natalie laid the card on the table beside Delilah’s bed where a mostly eaten pecan pie sat.

  “Won’t you stay and visit a while? I am thrilled to have made my own friend,” Delilah confided.

  Natalie didn’t quite understand, but she figured new mothers were always a little emotional. She looked around and saw Vince sitting on the bench beside Valerie, his hand resting on her belly to feel the child inside kicking. He laughed, exclaiming when the baby kicked him again and again. Natalie looked back at Delilah. “No, I really should go,” she said, unable to hide the sadness in her voice, though she tried to smile valiantly.

  Bam had been watching. He’d been watching Vince, and he’d been watching Natalie. And now, he was convinced of what he’d been watching. He pushed off the wall where he leaned beside the chair that Everly sat in. He grabbed Maverik’s arm and walked him over to Vince and Valerie. “They kicking?” he asked.

  “They are!” Valerie said excitedly.

  Mave
rik, who’d been trying to shake free from Bam as he walked him across the room, looked down at Valerie. “They making you uncomfortable, baby?”

  “Not, really, just need to pee again. I’m so tired of peeing,” she answered, looking up at Maverik.

  Maverik knelt down beside her, pressing his lips to her belly. “Hellion! Havoc! That’s enough now! Give Mama a break!”

  Her stomach went crazy with the babies kicking so hard her shirt could be seen moving under their little blows from the inside.

  He laughed, placing his hands on her belly and leaning in to kiss her stomach again. “Yeah, I know. Daddy loves you, too,” he said.

  Natalie’s brow furrowed. Daddy? If this man was Daddy, then, why was Vince treating her like she was special to him.

  Bam was standing beside Maverik kneeling on the floor. “You’re gonna make a great uncle, Vince,” he said, looking pointedly at Natalie.

  Natalie swung her eyes to Bam.

  Bam smiled warmly at her. “First time uncle there,” he said, gesturing to Vince.

  “Uncle?” Natalie asked, her heart fluttering a bit.

  “Yep. Valerie's his sister. Oh, wait, you ain’t been introduced. Valerie, this is Natalie, Natalie, this is Valerie, Vince’s sister.”

  Natalie smiled. “Hello, Valerie.”

  “Hi, Natalie.” Valerie looked at Bam. “And we did meet, more or less. Delilah introduced her to us.”

  “Yeah. But she didn’t know who you are,” Bam answered.

  “Well, she didn’t know who any of us are,” Valerie explained, still grinning at Bam.

  “Yep. But she really only needed to know who you are.” Bam smiled, proud of himself and made his way back over to where Everly sat talking with Janie.

  “Whatever in the world was that all about?” Valerie asked.

  “Our Bam knows things that others do not. He had his reasons, I have no doubt,” Delilah said, watching Vince, Valerie and Natalie with a keen eye.

  “You know what? Why don’t we order some pizza? Doesn’t pizza sound good?” Valerie asked.