When I ran out of pictures to admire, I found myself standing close to the Christmas tree. Multicolored lights twinkled through the branches and ornaments. Adorned with an angel on top, the tree held a lot of history. Handcrafted ornaments spoke of childhood projects Ayden completed. Some were family-made with everyone’s handprint as reindeer. Others were heirlooms, like the porcelain Santa and the snowman made of pinecones.
Everything about the tree spoke of Christmas and the spirit of the holiday. It made me miss my youth, back when my mother was still alive. We didn’t get a white Christmas at Music Haven, but we usually saw it between Christmas and New Year’s at our family cabin in Flagstaff.
Backing up toward the fireplace, I warmed myself as I stared at the tree, thinking about the ones we’d had at the cabin. Both my grandmother and mother loved decorating, and they allowed me to help when I was old enough. After we had finished, we’d sit by the tree and enjoy a cup of hot cocoa.
My favorite part of the trip wasn’t the fact that I had presents waiting under the tree. It was the time I had with my family. Both my parents and grandparents were busy working. Christmas was the one time of year when they didn’t. It was family time, and that was precious to me even as a kid.
I wanted Ayden and me to have more time with our child. I knew it would be tough when he went on tours, but we’d have him around when he wasn’t. Those times would be sacred. I would make sure I wasn’t a slave to my job.
Andi would be there to help, and if we needed someone else to fill in, I had a few prospects in mind. There was always my dad too. He would help. If it made me happy, he would do it in a heartbeat.
The screen door creaked as it opened. A cold draft blew around me, but I didn’t mind when I saw Ayden. He set the bags on the ground as he wiped his feet off on the floor mat. When his eyes found mine, his lips crooked.
“Miss me?”
I nodded. My heart beat faster when he walked my way. As soon as he reached me, I took his hands in mine. “Wow, Ayden, you’re cold.”
“I’m used to this weather. Arizona is spoiling me though.”
“I don’t mind the cold. It’s refreshing.”
His laugh was hearty. “Stay here until spring and then tell me if you feel the same. I said I was used to the weather. I never said I liked it.”
“So you wouldn’t want to move back here someday?”
Placing his hand against my cheek, he caressed my skin with his thumb. “I want to be wherever you are. Your life is at Music Haven, so that is where we’ll be.”
Ayden tugged my arm and pulled me close. I loved the feel of his arms around me, the way they made me feel safe. His words delighted me too. I once worried if he’d move away from Music Haven after he found success. It was one of the reasons I worried about him finding out I was pregnant.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs had Ayden easing back and facing them. A man as tall as him came down the stairs wearing a smile that reminded me of Ayden’s.
“Good to see you, son.”
“You too, Dad.”
Both greeted each other with a handshake, then his father pulled him into a hug. They patted each other’s backs then broke their embrace. I could see the pride in Ayden’s father’s eyes. He loved his son. I knew I’d see that same look in Ayden’s eyes when he looked at our child. It made me more anxious for that day to arrive. I still had several months to go.
Mr. McAllister glanced my way as he stuck out his hand again. “Hello.”
“Dad, this is my fiancée, Mia Brooks. Mia, this is my father, Holden McAllister.”
I gave him a firm handshake and my best smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”
“Call me, Holden, Mia. Welcome to our home. It’s good to meet you.” He studied my face a moment before he released my hand. “You’re the sister, right?”
His question confused me at first, but when I realized what he was asking, it felt as though lightning had struck me. “Yes, sir. Ayden’s former girlfriend is my half-sister.”
I felt Ayden watching me, but I couldn’t look at him. My nerves were on edge, and I wasn’t sure how to react. I hoped Holden McAllister wasn’t holding Izzy’s actions against me. It was my biggest fear, and one Ayden swore was nonsense.
“I didn’t mean to put you on the spot, my dear,” Holden spoke after an awkward moment of silence. “To be honest, I understand why your sister’s such a vile person. She got shorted on the brains and the looks.”
My face burned with embarrassment. Before I could respond, I saw Kay elbow him in the ribs. “She just met you, Holden. She knows nothing about your personality. You promised to behave.”
He held up his hands defensively while nodding his head. “My bad. I couldn’t resist. I thought it was the best way to break the ice.”
“Don’t pay attention to him.” Kay patted my arm then punched her husband on his. “He likes to make people feel awkward when he first meets them. He’s weird like that. Doesn’t get out much.”
When she rolled her eyes, I chuckled. Ayden’s hand met the small of my back as he pulled me closer. “Sorry. Mom said it best. My dad has a weird sense of humor. But he wasn’t lying. You did get all the brains and the beauty.
I was back to blushing, but at least this time, I enjoyed it. Ayden had a way of making me feel amazing. He knew how to break my heart too, but I’m glad that was behind us. It didn’t mean we wouldn’t ever fight, but there would be no more distrust. We were partners in this relationship, and we’d be partners in life once we were married. Whatever was ahead of us, we’d face it together.
That included the birth of our baby.
“Are you guys hungry? I have lasagna left from dinner. It’s probably still warm.”
“Sounds good. I’m starved.” Ayden tapped his belly and rubbed it.
I nodded at his mom. “Food sounds great right now.”
“Perfect. You guys can follow me to the kitchen if you want. Your dad turned on the heat in the apartment out back this morning. We figured you guys would like a little privacy. Besides, your grandmother is living here now. Although, she’s over at your Great Aunt Sarah’s house tonight. Plus, Aunt Jenny and your cousin, Toni, are staying with us for a little while.”
I didn’t miss the way Ayden’s nostril’s flared.
“What happened with her and Uncle Steve?” His mother didn’t answer. Instead, she gave him a grim look. “He better not have.” Ayden’s voice sounded gritty when he spoke this time.
His mother grabbed his shoulder and shook it gently. “I know what you’re thinking, but don’t. Uncle Johnny took care of it.”
The more they talked, the more confused I grew. Part of me felt as though I was prying into their conversation. Ayden would explain it to me eventually, but it didn’t make the awkwardness go away.
When I caught Ayden looking my way, I wasn’t sure what to say or do. He didn’t give me a chance anyway.
“Sorry to expose you to family drama so soon. Aunt Jenny is my mom’s baby sister. Uncle Johnny is Jenny’s twin. They’re five years older than me, so we kinda grew up together. Toni is Aunt Jenny’s daughter with my Uncle Steve. I shouldn’t even call him that.” His jaw clenched as he glanced at his mom. “Steve has a nasty habit of hitting my aunt. Last time he broke her arm. What did he break this time, Mom?”
Kay glanced at him as she hugged herself. “I’m not going to tell you if you don’t calm down.” Her gaze shifted to me. “My son’s been wanting to return the favor to my brother-in-law for years now. Ayden’s the reason Steve went into therapy. He was doing better when my son left.”
“What caused the relapse?” Ayden gritted his teeth as he waited for his mom to answer.
“The same thing as always. Heroin.”
I wasn’t a stranger to drugs or the people who used them. I’d seen my share backstage with different groups when I was a teenager. Once I took ownership of Music Haven, I let it be known that I wouldn’t tolerate hardcore drugs on my grounds. If people wa
nted to smoke pot or drink, so be it, but the rest of that crap they could keep off my property.
Wesley came close to losing his job when I found out he was using drugs. Had he not went to rehab and cleaned himself up, he would have been out of my life years ago. As much as I could have used it to my advantage, I couldn’t do that to another human being. It wasn’t right. Regardless of the cruel things Wesley did to me, I never sunk to his level.
“So what happened to Aunt Jenny? Which bone did he break this time?”
“It wasn’t Jenny this time.”
As soon as I felt Ayden tense, his mom grabbed his chin. “Hey. Look at me. Beating Steve’s ass won’t change anything. You’ll end up in jail, something you don’t need. You have a fiancée and a child on the way. Let this go.”
“Fine. I won’t go looking for Uncle Steve, but he better not show his face around here.”
“He won’t. He’s in jail.”
Ayden’s back straightened. I swore I saw him smirk before he asked, “For how long?”
“Until his court hearing.”
This time, Ayden’s dad chimed in. He motioned us to follow them to the kitchen. Once we did, Ayden pulled out my chair then sat in the one beside me. He laced his fingers with mine as his father sat across from us.
“Johnny was on the phone with Jenny when Steve came into the house raising hell. He heard Steve hit Jenny. A second later, there was a loud thump, then Jenny began to cry. Johnny just happened to be at work when all of this went down.”
Ayden motioned for his dad to pause then glanced at me. “Uncle Johnny is a deputy with the local sheriff.”
His father nodded. “Needless to say, the police got involved. Once they showed up at Steve and Jenny’s house, Johnny and Deputy Barker witnessed Steve push Jenny out the door. Toni was trying to get between them, so Steve grabbed her arm and slammed it against the column on their porch.”
I gazed at Ayden when his hand flinched. “Unbelievable.”
His mother walked over to the table with two plates of food in her hands and two bottles of water tucked under arms. She set them in front of us then joined her husband. “Toni’s little arm snapped like a twig, but the doctor said it was a clean break. She thinks she’s cool now because she has a bright pink cast.”
“Oh yes,” Holden smirked, “and I guarantee as soon as she sees you guys, she’ll beg you to sign it.”
Ayden’s hand relaxed as he smiled. “She won’t have to ask twice.”
Just as he took a bite of his food, his phone buzzed. He removed it from his back pocket and viewed the screen. As soon as I noticed his brows knit together, I grew concerned. Hopefully, it wasn’t Izzy.
“I gotta take this call. I’ll be right back.”
When he walked into the other room, confusion spun through me. He’d never taken a phone call away from me. I wasn’t sure why he would now, unless it was something he didn’t want his parents to hear. Still, nothing came to mind.
“Is the food warm enough for you, Mia?”
I glanced at Kay and nodded. “It’s delicious. Thank you so much.”
“Did you have much morning sickness?”
“Oh boy,” I snickered. “Why do people call it morning sickness anyway? It’s all day.”
Kay laughed. “That it is. I was so ill when I carried Ayden that I lost weight. I had to be hospitalized at one point from dehydration. Once I got into my second trimester, it finally eased.”
“I’m glad mine wasn’t that bad.”
Taking another bite of the lasagna, I caught Holden staring at me. He wasn’t secretive about it either. Instead of looking away, he studied me harder.
“Is something wrong, Holden?” It felt weird calling him by his first name when I just met him, but I didn’t want to offend him or his wife. They’d been sweet to me so far.
“Sorry, dear. I didn’t mean to stare. I was trying to find any similarities between you and your sister. You look nothing alike.”
“We share the same father, but my sister looks like her mother, and I look like mine.” I shoveled another bite of food into my mouth hoping he wouldn’t keep asking me questions about my sister. She was the last person I wanted to think about right now.
“I don’t mean to pry,” his father continued, “but she’s the reason you guys are here sooner than you planned, isn’t she?”
Swallowing the food in my mouth, I nodded again and took a drink from my water bottle. I knew Ayden had spoken with his family, but I wasn’t prepared to answer their questions.
“Is she that much of a danger? I mean, she was just issuing threats, right?” When Kay asked the question this time, I drew in a deep breath and prepared to tell them the truth. They had no clue how deranged my sister was.
By the time I finished tonight, they would know everything.
Chapter 13
~Ayden~
I rushed out the front door so fast I forgot to grab my coat. When I saw Chris’s number flash across my screen, I wasn’t sure what to expect. There was only one reason he would call me, and that knowledge had my heart racing. He had information on the paternity test, the one I hadn’t told Mia or my parents about.
Once I closed the front door behind me, I tapped my phone to answer the call. “Hey, Chris. How are you?”
“Doing good, man. Just wanted to touch base with you. I got your message that you were going out of town.”
“Yes, Mia and I left this afternoon. My signal isn’t the greatest where we are, so I wanted you to know you could leave me a message to call you in case you couldn’t reach me.”
“It’s good to hear you got Mia away for a little while. She needs a vacation.”
She needed more than time away. Her life and my child’s life were in danger. After receiving the package with the snake, I was convinced my life was at risk as well. None of us were safe when it came to Izzy.
“This is more than a vacation, Chris. A week ago, Izzy made some threats against Mia, the baby, and me. Then, a few days ago, Mia almost fell coming down the stairs backstage, and a few minutes later, I received a package that had a venomous snake.”
Chris blew out a deep breath. “Wow, man. I don’t even know what to say. Izzy has some deep-seated issues. I’m not at liberty to discuss what she’s told me, but I’m telling you, Ayden, it’s good you guys got away.”
I shivered at the thought. Chris knew things about Izzy that Mia and I didn’t. He wasn’t breaking confidentiality by telling me what he had, but for him to feel the need to say it disturbed me. I had to keep Mia away from her sister for as long as possible. Hopefully, their father would get through to her, but I doubted it. Izzy needed psychiatric help. Despite how hard Shane Brooks was trying to help her, it wouldn’t be enough.
“Mia’s father is at Music Haven. He came to help Andi run the place while we are gone, but he thinks he can get through to Izzy while he’s there.”
Chris snorted. “He’s wasting his time. Izzy needs professional help from a qualified psychiatrist. Is she still taking the medication I prescribed her?”
“As far as I know, but it’s not doing her any good if she’s still making threats or acting upon them.”
“What a mess.”
When Chris grew silent, I gazed into the window to the dining room. I could see my parents and Mia inside chatting. Mia appeared to be doing most of the talking. I assumed my parents were asking her questions to get to know her. Knowing my mom, she was probably asking questions about the baby or even the wedding.
“You still there, Ayden?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Just have a million things on my mind. Sorry.”
“No worries. I called to let you know I got your message, but I wanted to let you know about the paternity test too.”
Gripping the phone, I stared into the darkness. “What about the test? Did the results come in?”
I leaned the phone to my shoulder as I brought my hands to my mouth and blew inside of them. It was so cold outside. Regardless of how hard
my heart was pumping, it did little to warm my blood. Chris’s announcement turned it to ice.
“My friend at the lab called to let me know he has one more test to do on the samples. Once it’s finished, he will gather all the data and compare it. Then he’ll have the results.”
It was the best news I’d heard in a while. Soon, I would know if the child Izzy miscarried was mine or if she was lying through her teeth. The chance of the baby actually belonging to me was slim. Izzy would have had to get my dick hard enough to fuck me while I was passed out. It wasn’t impossible, but the probability was so small it was hard for me to consider it.
“Will the results be mailed to me, and will you find out before I do?”
“Yes, and most likely, yes. Would you like me to call if I find out first?”
Half a laugh passed over my lips. “Uh, yeah. Definitely. The sooner I know, the better.”
“What about the letter you’re expecting from the lab? Is Andi or Bentley getting the mail for Mia and you while you’re away?”
The wind whipped around me as I moved closer to the front door. Our conversation would be over shortly, then I could get back inside. “Andi is getting our mail. She’s putting it in Mia’s suite.”
“I could always ask my friend to mail it to wherever it is you two are staying.”
As much as I’d like to have the letter in my hand when I told Mia the results, I didn’t want to jeopardize our location. We didn’t plan to stay here the entire time, and I didn’t think Chris would tell anyone where we were but accidents happened. Izzy found out about Mia’s pregnancy because she was eavesdropping on my phone conversation with my mother. What was stopping her from overhearing Chris? Yeah, maybe the chances were low, but I couldn’t risk it. Mia and the baby’s lives were at stake.
“No, there’s no need to send it where we’re staying. If I need it that bad, I’ll get Andi or Bentley to mail it to me, but there isn’t much I can do about it until I get home. Izzy is a bomb just waiting to explode. Besides, I can’t just come right out and confront her without revealing you broke confidentiality.”
Love Deserved (Rock N Roll Heiress Book 3) Page 12
