Soon enough, though, her brother’s speechifying turned to sibling matters. She rolled her eyes when he unloaded a highlight reel of their time growing up in Sacramento.
“Excuse me,” she snippily drawled, “but I most certainly did not cry and hide my face because of the Fourth of July fireworks.”
“Did so.” Reed smirked. “You might have even peed your pants.”
She scowled. “Are you familiar with the expression fuck off?”
“Let the record show that my niece heard the ‘F’ word for the first time when it came from her mother’s mouth. Make sure you note it in her baby book.”
Busted.
An uncomfortable cramp forced her to moan. Reed’s face turned ashen.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. Thank god for that birthing class, or I’d probably be freaking out. Apparently, hours of labor and a grueling birth aren’t enough. Small contractions can continue for a day or so. Nature’s snarky way of reminding new moms the fun isn’t over just because the baby is here.”
“I don’t know what you mean and won’t be asking for clarification. Chick things,” he grumbled with a shudder.
“You know, Reed, it’s not exactly comforting when a testosterone badass responsible for my country’s security gets squeamish about lady things. How’re you ever going to handle a girlfriend if you’re gagging into a trash can once a month?”
“Gurl,” Reed answered in an exaggerated drawl, “you don’t even know how right you are. One time, I saw this dumb shmuck in the commissary staring at the display of feminine products with an expression of absolute terror on his face. He was holding a piece of paper, which I can only assume was a shopping list. He looked so baffled I felt sorry for him. Men should never be expected to buy tampons. What the hell do we know about sizes and shit like that?”
“A little like women buying condoms,” she murmured.
“What?”
Banishing the memory, she shook her head to let him know she wasn’t going to repeat herself.
“Grow a set, Captain Warren. Then grab ’em with both hands and go find a woman. One who will laugh at your bullshit and make you want to buy tampons.”
She expected him to keep going. After all, wasn’t earning a trophy in sibling verbal badminton part of their charm? Ordinarily, she’d lob one in his direction, and they’d he’d come back with more. On and on it would go.
When Reed went silent, she swatted a half-assed word bomb into his lap and smiled.
“Do it for me, bro. For us,” she said with a nod at Ari. “You’re the oldest, which makes your wife the family matriarch. I don’t have a mom to help me navigate all this parenting stuff, so it would be nice to have a sister-in-law.”
“Wife? Excuse me?” He frowned and looked at the nugget of love wrapped in pink. Summer could swear she watched the moment he realized life wasn’t just about him anymore. He had a family already and all the requisite responsibilities of a brother and uncle.
“Ah, Jesus. It never occurred to me how with Dad gone, I’d be the patriarch.”
“Come to the light,” she joked. “Leave the dark side behind. Do not sign on for more, Reed. It’s time to get reacquainted with civilian life. You can do it,” she cheered him on with a chuckle.
“And what about you?”
Well, damn. She started it, and it looked like Reed intended to finish.
Pushing hair behind one ear, she slapped on a determined expression. “My priority is Arianne. Motherhood is not just my day job. This is who I am now.”
“Uh-huh. So what you’re saying is you’ve decided to martyr yourself in the name of all single moms. Seems legit.”
Scowling, she snapped, “Cover the baby’s ears.”
“What?” He blinked.
“Cover. The. Baby’s. Ears.”
He looked at Summer as if she lost a screw but did what she demanded by placing his fingers over Ari’s tiny ears.
“Fuck off. Fuck all the way off. And then circle round to fuck your butt. Nobody is a martyr. I’m not in denial, and believe me, I know what I’m doing,” she grumbled. “It’s complicated, and you know it. Plus, asking me to have all the answers before my daughter is even twenty-four hours old is a bit much.”
Reed’s lips thinned. She felt his annoyance. Not with her. He was annoyed with himself. Life in the real world didn’t always make sense. Objectives and outcomes were not always clear.
“You’re right. I apologize.” He paused and then got serious. “How are your finances?”
“Oh, um, I’m okay for now. Haven’t cracked into the bonus dollars you gave Bud. I have enough saved from working and whatnot to cover about six or seven weeks of maternity time.” She did the mental gymnastics, and added, “So figure I’m good until Thanksgiving. After that, it’s either dip into my inheritance or go back to work.”
“And what about school?”
She bit her lip. Then a sigh escaped. “Tell you what. Let me get back to you about that. I have no idea how all this mommy and baby stuff will pan out.”
Nodding, Reed lifted Arianne, kissed her precious baby face, and gazed at his newborn niece with so much love that Summer’s heart skipped a beat.
He carefully lowered her until she was safe and sound in her mommy’s arms.
Summer’s entire being filled with love until the overflow threatened to trigger a flood of tears.
“I didn’t know it was possible to love anyone this much.” She kept saying it in her head and out loud.
He stayed until a nurse shooed him from the room.
“I’ll look in on you tomorrow, okay, twerp? Gotta be back in Barstow without delay.”
“Sir, yes, sir!” She saluted him with a blown kiss.
After he left and the baby was back in her bassinet, she had another learning session with her postpartum nurse. Everything came at her fast and left her little time to process anything. In short order, she had a crash course on how and why squirt bottles for cleansing were her new best friend. Because one dose of bathroom reality wasn’t enough, there were gigantic pads to consider, a weird pair of mesh boy shorts, and stool softeners.
The urge to cry almost took her down, but she fought back and kept her shit together.
Then it was time for the lactation nurse to offer encouragement while Summer went through the steps she’d been shown on how to nurse the baby.
“Have you had contractions since birth?”
Summer nodded. “A few. Yes.”
The nurse winked. “Well, get ready for more of that and stronger too. Breastfeeding triggers oxytocin hormones, which make the uterus contract. It’s a blessing and a curse. Getting things back to normal takes effort.” She patted Summer’s shoulder. “But you’ll get through it.”
Did I have any choice in the matter? Summer thought with uncharacteristic grumpiness. It was all worth it, but she wasn’t going to pretend it was fun.
The parade of nurses, specialists, and doctors finally slowed. According to everyone, she and the baby were in excellent shape.
Exhausted but happy, she cuddled her sweet baby girl and gave her the first thousand of a lifetime of kisses.
In a hushed voice, she spoke lovingly to the angel sleeping in her arms.
“I wish I could see what the future held.”
Adjusting the baby’s soft pink hat, Summer swept her fingers across the softest skin she’d ever felt and began a mother-daughter conversation.
“I know you don’t understand why it’s just you and me right now. I don’t really understand either, but I want you to know one thing. Your daddy is a good man.”
She kissed Ari’s cute nose and sighed.
“You leave this to me, okay, sweetie? Mommy’s on it. When everything settles down, I’m going to track him down and find out why he left.”
The bigger picture came into view. Anxiety flared to angry life inside her. There was more to do than finding Arnie, so Summer had to be careful. The reason she ran to ground an
d hid away in the teeming San Fernando Valley had not been resolved. The threat remained.
Without saying it out loud and frightening her baby, she promised Arianne that nothing came before her safety and well-being.
As the mama instincts in her DNA exploded to full, fierce life, Summer knew without a second of doubt that if that horrible woman came back and tried to start any shit, the bitch’s makeup better be flameproof.
“Don’t mess with me,” she murmured. “I’m a mother.”
Gauntlet? Thrown.
21
New York City in the fall was a blend of scents typical of city life—crisp, cool air and the aroma of pumpkin spice lattes. One afternoon at the amateurishly staged pumpkin patch a few blocks from his apartment, Arnie watched city kids gather around a pen of random farm animals and pick an exorbitantly priced pumpkin from a fake patch. It was all a bit hokey and felt forced.
Ohio in autumn was a completely different world. The moment the NIGHTWIND gang ambled down the steps of their chartered plane for a weeklong celebration around Jon and Lorelai’s wedding, they were met with a seasonal smorgasbord. It was chilly. The scenery was ablaze with fall colors, and corn stalks and hay bales were not just decorations.
Sipping a surprisingly kick-ass maple , he looked around. It was a gorgeous fall evening, and he was with the people he felt most comfortable with—his NIGHTWIND family. They were gathered around a jaw-droppingly cool firepit nestled in a well-tended grove at the rear of Lorelai Midnight’s childhood home.
Izzy made a smacking noise with her lips and let out an exaggerated, “Ah.” She held the handle of a footed glass. An empty glass.
“I’m not leaving here without the recipe,” she squawked. “Mulled wine is my new favorite thing.”
Bride-to-be Lorelai let out a laugh. “There might be specialist equipment involved. Have you got a slow cooker?”
Jon snorted. “Slow cookers are for heathens.”
Dawn Maddison rubbed her baby bump. “Says the man with an Instant Pot.”
Arnie laughed at the exchange. Wives and babies were changing NIGHTWIND—in a good way.
From the Adirondack chair next to him, King rhapsodized about the lethal qualities of homemade, warm buttered rum.
“My mom’s showing off,” Lorelai told them. “She lurves to entertain and says it isn’t a proper Midnight affair unless she pulls out every trick in the book. Making people feel special and welcome is her superpower. If she was president, there’d be cookies and cocoa every afternoon.”
The conversation turned to an enthusiastic appreciation for the incredible welcome mat the Midnight family rolled out. The mother of the bride was in her element and having the time of her life. Same for Lorelai’s dad. Marty and Cathy Midnight were good people. Jon chose and chose well.
Taking another sip of a robust coffee blended with maple-infused cream, Arnie turned his head to observe Milo and the cool and collected Ms. Jade Morris as they crossed the enormous backyard. From a distance, nothing seemed odd, but he sensed things hidden in the cracks. The two played ‘nothing to see here’ as well as anybody, but their general vibe made it clear everything with the two was not as it appeared. Below the surface, a storm raged.
Cracking a sly smirk, he zeroed in on Milo. The younger dude’s style was a cross between urban hip and tech geek. He looked and dressed like every other 30-year-old guy in New York although two recent changes stood out.
The NIGHTWIND tech wizard was sporting redesigned dental work. Not out of vanity. Poor Milo got his ass kicked but good when he tagged along with King on a stakeout.
When it came to shit like benefits and employee well-being, NIGHTWIND had it all. The dentist they sent Milo to was a true artist. He came out of the experience a little bummed by the beatdown but no harm, no foul where his teeth were concerned.
And then, the squirrely dude grew a beard. It helped him look less like a twelve-year-old.
The new chompers were the result of his job, but the beard felt to Arnie like a statement of manhood directed at one Ms. Jade Morris.
His gaze shifted to the girl strolling at Milo’s side. How best to describe Jade? Hmm.
Stating the obvious—she was gorgeous times ten with flawless caramel-colored skin, big brown eyes, and long dark hair. She reminded Arnie of a younger Gabrielle Union. Her big smile was only one of many assets.
Jade was one of a new and sometimes scary breed of urban females whose intellectual talents blew her peers out of the water. Her generation was raised on technology, and in her case, Jade’s skills made tech giants like Jobs, Wozniak, and Gates seem old-fashioned. Her very presence at NIGHTWIND threatened Milo’s confidence and upset his little nerd kingdom.
The part where Jade had a kid and an attitude about guys made the potential pair up fascinating to observe.
Ali sat on his other side. She must have noticed him checking out Milo and Jade on their approach. He felt her interest before she spoke and didn’t react at all when she punched his arm.
“You want to know what I didn’t have on my NIGHTWIND bingo card?”
He snickered and turned her way. “I can’t wait to hear.”
“Working with another black girl who just might be prettier than me and who doesn’t say it out loud, but she starts every sentence with, I have zero fucks to give.”
A rocket-propelled roar of laughter shot from him, and he fell back in his seat as Ali’s words sank in.
“Threatened?” he taunted.
She shrugged one shoulder and then the other. “Yes and no.” Her gaze turned thoughtful. “It’s not always the years—sometimes it’s the mileage. Been there, done that,” Ali sneered. “Know what I mean?”
Without waiting for his agreement, she added a sniff meant to convey her annoyance and said, “Page one in my medical history is a body outline with dots, X’s, and arrows showing every gunshot, stab wound, and row of stitches. Pretty sure Jade can’t say the same.”
“No, but she has a kid. The single mom thing isn’t easy. Add being a woman of color, and her reality is just as sobering as yours.”
Ali’s quiet reverie held his attention. What was the former beauty queen thinking?
When she quietly murmured, “I’m thinking about having a kid,” he nearly shit himself.
“Er, uh, excuse me?”
“Don’t act so surprised, Arnie. Things have changed. All of us are finding our way and filling our bubbles with family. Dawn and the kids plus a new baby on the way. Jon and Lorelai are making loud baby noises. Hell, even Dottie has two grandkids.”
She tilted her head slightly in Izzy’s direction. “And don’t count out Felicity and Neal spawning.”
Arnie casually glanced at the two. As usual, they were pretending not to be together. The ridiculous ruse fooled no one, but until the duo came out as a couple, all of them played along.
“What about you? Feeling the wife and family pull yet?”
The casual inquiry startled him. He attempted not to show it, but a slight flinch gave him away.
“Touched a nerve, have I?” Aliyah Hawkin’s beauty queen turned super spy took no prisoners.
“Um, a wife. Hmm.” He shifted uncomfortably. Blowing sunshine up Ali’s skirt wasn’t going to fly. They knew each other too well.
Clearing his throat, Arnie made an effort to keep a casual tone. “I’m not sure there’s a lady out there willing to put up with my shit.”
“Now, by shit,” Ali teased, “are we talking the tasteless jokes, endless prankster antics, and all-around grinning bastard persona or your other shit?”
He gave her one raised brow. She snorted and continued.
“The Lurch costume was nice, and all but Izzy and I went in a different direction in the office betting pool. We had you pegged for Nostradamus or a fortune teller.”
He shook his head to reorganize his response, skipped over the costume issue, and dryly asked, “What betting pool?”
Looking at him with the sort of pity only a female
can show, she schooled his clueless ass. “Dottie’s betting pool. She’s got a bunch of ’em going.”
To his credit, Arnie knew the expression on his face was a clear indicator of astonishment.
Ali laughed. “Don’t you read the newsletter?”
Dottie and her goddamn newsletter. Of course. Somehow every clueless conversation ended up here.
Shrieks of laughter from the happy couple who were just hours from tying the marital knot ended his and Ali’s chat. Tonight was about them—Jon and Lorelai.
Ari’s first Halloween costume consisted of an emerald-green footed onesie and an adorable headpiece that made her look like a baby sunflower. The little knit cap Lynda made, with its circlet of bright yellow fabric leaves, had a chinstrap and a ladybug embellishment.
“Don’t you look adorable,” she cooed.
They were getting ready to go out. A friend of Bud and Lynda’s was a photographer. Every holiday, he created a theme background with props in his garage and offered photo sessions to friends and friends of friends. Since she and Ari were confined to home, their only exposure to the world was through daily walks up and down the sidewalk, so the opportunity to get out and interact with people was exciting.
“Sunflowers were in Daddy’s seduction arsenal. I’m sure he’d love your outfit, sweetie.”
Was it a little weird how she talked to a three-week-old baby all the time? Maybe. Summer did it because talking kept her spirits up, and she figured as long as she smiled, spoke softly, and didn’t swear like a soldier, nothing she said was going to scar Ari’s psyche.
Reed gave her a small Canon camera for baby pics and family videos. She was banned from using her anonymous phone number for sending digital content of any kind, so the camera was a necessity. Until life returned to normal, her digital life was stored on a bunch of SD cards and flash drives.
Aiming the camera at Ari, she snapped a couple of cute photos. If any of the shots were good, she’d have them printed at Walgreen’s. Her baby’s first picture album was filling up fast. At this rate, it might be smart to reserve a bookcase shelf just for Ari’s scrapbooks.
Finding Summer (Nightwind Book 3) Page 40