It was meant to be a joke but Patience’s smile dimmed, becoming replaced by a forlorn expression.
“Hey, what’s that about?” I questioned, moving closer.
She shook her head, her long sisterlocks falling over her shoulders, semi-covering her face. Pushing her hair back, she lifted her head.
“Aaron’s going to be pissed.” She sighed, placing the hand that held the unopened animal crackers to her belly.
I frowned. “Why would he—” I stopped myself, remembering. “Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.” Shaking her head, she moved to the counter that held a row of white sinks. She placed the soda and crackers on the counter. “After what happened when Andreas and Thiers were born, he was adamant about not having anymore children. At least, not me birthing anymore.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, feeling sorry for Patience.
“I almost died after having my babies.”
I nodded, remembering that awful day, hours after she’d given birth. We’d received the call from Deborah after a distraught Aaron had called them, explaining what was happening. The entire family rushed back to the hospital. Thankfully, by then the excessive bleeding Patience had experienced was under control.
“But you didn’t,” I reminded her.
“Thank God.”
“Thank God,” I agreed. “And thankfully, you know now what to be on the lookout for. No two birthing experiences are alike. I’m sure this one will be so much better.”
Patience gave me a humorless laugh. “I appreciate the words, Michelle. But trust me, I’ve already given myself every pep talk imaginable. Truth is, I’m not as frightened as I thought I’d be. I know this baby is meant to be.” She cupped her abdomen again. “I’m just …”
“Terrified of Aaron’s reaction.”
She frowned. “Terrified is a strong word. Let’s just say if I had the option of telling him versus just being able to have this baby and bring it home happy and healthy without having to tell him, I’d go with door number two.” She smirked.
I grinned, understanding completely. Aaron didn’t play when it came to his wife’s safety and well-being. Hell, none of the Townsends did.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I stated, rubbing her shoulder.
Her hand lifted to mine. “Thanks. And thanks for these.” She held up the can of soda and animal crackers.
“Just returning the favor. You finish up in here and discard the evidence so the others won’t see.”
She nodded.
I’m sure eating in the bathroom was the last thing she wanted, but if she hadn’t told Aaron about the baby yet, I doubted she wanted the other women to know about it. Not until she was ready.
As I exited the bathroom, a smile tugged at the corners of my lips at the thought that we’d have a new little niece or nephew in the family soon. In fact, it had me extremely excited to get home to my own husband that night.
****
“Hi, Mama!” my oldest son, Diego, greeted as I entered the front door. He came from the direction of the kitchen, likely alerted by the dinging of the alarm we have whenever the door is opened. Not far behind him was his best friend, Monique.
“Hi, Mrs. Townsend,” she added in her sweet voice.
My heartstrings pulled in my chest. Being a mom to two little boys was fantastic. Add a loving and adoring husband and I spent my days on cloud nine, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I also wanted a little girl.
“Hi, baby. Hi, Monique,” I replied to the pair, pressing a kiss to Diego’s cheek and giving Monique a hug. “What are you two up to?”
“We’re working on our volcano project,” Monique responded excitedly.
I smiled. Diego and Monique were now in the same class, given that once her mother, Sandra, and Joshua’s best friend, Damon, got married, they’d transferred Monique to Excelor Academy where my son also went. The school had an outstanding academic reputation, and all four of the Townsend brothers had attended. Diego had been in the school since he was in kindergarten. He loved it, but enjoyed it even more now that his best friend shared his third grade class with him.
“And how’s that going?” I questioned, as I fully entered the living room area, my heels clicking against the hardwood floor.
“It was going well until someone added the vinegar a little too soon.”
I glanced up and into the sparkling blue eyes of the love of my life. I grinned when I noticed the frowning expression on his face.
“Dad’s just upset that he didn’t get to pour in the vinegar,” Diego added.
I giggled, covering my mouth. I didn’t know who was more excited about this volcano project—the kids or Carter.
“Yeah, when you two get an A-plus on this thing, I want my props,” Carter retorted, pointing at the kids. “Now go wash up for dinner.”
Diego and Monique went scampering off, down the hall to do as instructed.
“Hey,” he stated, pulling me in, his voice deepening. His lips captured mine before I even had time to respond.
I parted my lips because my body’s reaction was no longer under my control when I was wrapped up in his arms. Carter deepened the kiss, pulling me in closer to his waist. I moaned into his mouth but forced myself to pull back before getting too carried away. I didn’t need two ten-year old’s running in and seeing us, although truth be told, Diego was probably used to such open displays of affection between us by now. My husband wasn’t one to shy away from affection toward me or our children. One of the many things I loved about him.
I lifted my hand to cup his chiseled cheek. “I love you.”
“Love you, too, sugar,” he responded just before pressing another quick kiss to my lips.
I swallowed, staring him in the eyes. “I’d be devastated if something happened to you,” I blurted out. Talking with Patience earlier had me thinking of losing my own spouse.
Raising a blond eyebrow, Carter moved my hand from his cheek to his lips before lowering it. “What brought that about?”
I shrugged. “Just thinking,” I responded, not wanting to give away the conversation Patience and I had. “Your job is already so scary, and given everything that happened—”
“It’s over now.”
I pushed out a heavy breath. “I know, but that was a frightening time for all of us.” I parted my mouth again but didn’t want to say my next thoughts. My husband’s job as a firefighter was terrifying enough even without some homicidal pyromaniac stalking his entire station. Regardless, with that last part out of the way, the reality was, he still ran into fires to save lives. I loved him for it. Hell, we met and eventually fell in love because he’d saved me from a terrible car accident and near explosion. And as much as I wanted to, I wouldn’t ask him to give it up. His job, his need to be in the mix helping others was what made him who he was.
“You know I’m invincible, right?”
I giggled. He’d begun telling me that to reassure me.
“I’m sure you are, Lieutenant,” I agreed, wrapping my arms around his neck, reminding him of his newly minted status at the station.
His smile was wide. “Speaking of …”
I lifted an eyebrow.
“I spoke with the captain the other day. Wanted to wait until it was final. I got the word today, the brass has asked me to split my time between Rescue Four and new recruits.”
I wrinkled my forehead. “What does that mean?”
“It means I’ll be half time at the station and the other half at the Academy, helping to shape the next generation of Williamsport firefighters. It also means less time I’ll have to spend running into fires.”
My eyes widened. “Really?”
He nodded. “Really, sugar.” He kissed my forehead.
I frowned. “Wait. You didn’t just do this because it’s what you thought I’d want, did you?”
“You know I’d give you anything you wanted.”
“I know, which is why I’m asking.”
“Firstly, I didn’t re
quest this at all, but with my promotion and experience, my name was thrown in the pot for new instructors and I agreed. I’ll still be with Rescue Four doing what I love, but I’ll also be able to shape how recruits are instructed to graduate better prepared firefighters for the entire city.”
I felt relieved at the excitement I heard in his voice at this new opportunity. And I was satisfied knowing that he would be spending less time in actual fires. Call me selfish, but I liked the idea of knowing my man was in less danger every time he went to work.
“With you as their instructor, Williamsport is going to have the best firefighters in the world,” I gushed, pressing kisses all over his face.
He chuckled. “Any other wishes I can grant for you today?”
“Yes, I want another baby.”
He went completely still, his breathing increasing.
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning.
“You’re still on the pill—”
“I threw them out this morning.” I’d started taking birth control after our youngest, Sam was born, and when things started getting crazy at Carter’s job. The thought of bringing another child into this world while also fearing for my husband’s life was too much to bear.
“We’re getting started on that assignment tonight!” Carter yelled, causing me to laugh out loud.
“What assignment? Another volcano?” Diego asked as he and Monique re-entered the living room.
I parted my mouth to respond when the baby monitor that Carter had carried into the living room alerted all of us that our youngest, Sam, had awaken from his nap.
“No. Your mama and I have a special project of our own we’re working on,” I heard Carter say as I started for the stairs to retrieve Sam.
Covering my mouth to keep the laugh from escaping, I looked back down to see Carter’s glinting eyes firmly planted on my backside. He grinned, licking his lips when he saw me watching him.
I wouldn’t bother to tell him that it would likely take at least a few days for the birth control to work its way out of my system. Heck, I was ready to started practicing as soon as possible.
****
Robert
“Fore!” Joshua yelled as Aaron took a swing at the ball with his golf club.
I squinted at the sun shining brightly, high in the sky, as I tried to follow the ball’s trajectory. I lost it somewhere in the distance, not finding it again until it landed only a few inches away from the hole Aaron had been aiming for.
“Excellent,” I grunted.
“You know, this is an eerily normal way for the five of us to be spending time together.”
Frowning, I turned to my youngest, the shit starter that he was. “I almost told your mother to abort you,” I responded.
Tyler, not taking me seriously, merely bent over, laughing. “Could you imagine this family without me?”
No. No, I couldn’t. The problem was he knew it, too.
“Little shit he might be, but he does have a point, Father.” That was Joshua, my more level headed, even-keeled child, except for rare occasions.
“We spend quality time together,” I finally responded while pulling one of my sleek, new stainless steel clubs from the bag that held it.
“Yup, usually spent in basements of abandoned homes …” Joshua stated.
“Or out in the woods,” Carter added.
“And the hidden office in Townsend Industries,” Aaron tacked on.
I made a sound, something between a grunt and a laugh. These little fuckers were right. We did have a particularly odd way of spending family time together. But that was because … “A threat to one of us, is a threat to all of us. Someone messes with one of you, and the rest of you don’t step up, you’ll have to deal with me.” I’d never hit my boys while they were growing up. Never even thought of it. I didn’t want to raise them the way I’d been raised.
But I sure as hell taught them how to strike at someone who posed a threat to them or their family.
“Same lesson I expect you to pass on to all of your sons. I only learned the importance of protecting my family when I first fell for your mother.”
“Are you going to tell us more of the story?” Tyler questioned.
I watched as all four of my sons moved in closer. They obviously wanted to hear more.
Acquiescing, I shoved the golf club back into my bag and leaned against one of the carts we’d rented for the day.
“Sure.”
Chapter Six
Then
Robert
How in the hell does a woman make studying World Mythologies fucking sexy? That was the question that’d been dominating my thoughts over the last thirty minutes. We were in the library again, using one of the silent study rooms to work on our class assignment.
“Did you get the bo— What? Do I have something in my hair?” Deborah questioned when she looked up and saw me staring. She began running her hand through her long, dark brown tresses as if trying to remove whatever she thought was in it.
I grinned, a move I rarely ever did but came naturally when around her.
“Do you remember the first time we met?”
She frowned, forehead wrinkling. “Uh, yeah,” she answered, confused. “You were …” Her words drifted off as she bit the tip of the eraser to the pencil she held in her hand.
Is she blushing?
“Fucking your roommate,” I supplied.
Yup, she was definitely blushing.
Her eyes also ballooned at my words.
I shrugged.
“I walked in on you two.” Her nose pinched angrily.
“Not my fault you don’t know how to knock.”
“It was my room!”
Another shrug. “It was Tracey’s room, too.”
Deborah groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
“You’ve avoided me since then.”
I was glad when she didn’t try to deny that fact. Four years we’d spent on the same campus, we even had some friends in common, but since that day freshman year she hadn’t said more than two words to me.
“It’s been a busy four years,” she responded. “I didn’t have time to mess around.”
“I’ve noticed.”
She peered at me, those blue eyes narrowing. “And I didn’t like that since that first day you’ve called me princess.”
“I call you princess because you acted like one.”
Her mouth dropped.
“It’s true. You walked in on your roommate and I fucking and freaked out as if you’d never heard of or seen two people having sex before.”
“It’s not a common occurrence to walk in on people having sex!”
“We’re in college. You live in the dorms. I know that wasn’t your last time walking in on your roommate fucking or vice versa.”
“Do you have to keep using that word?”
“What? Fucking? See? Princess.”
She rolled her eyes and I sat back in my chair, just staring. She was gorgeous with her hypnotizing eyes, long, dark hair, aquiline nose, and her slightly bronzed skin from the California sun.
“That’s none of your business.”
I sat forward, her words propelling me. Her thinking her sex life wasn’t my business sparked something in me. What, I didn’t know, being completely unfamiliar with the feeling.
“Besides, freshman year was my first and only time having a roommate. I learned my lesson early on. You weren’t the only guy Tracey had in and out of our room that year.”
I snorted. I was well aware of that. Tracey had been a one-time thing. I moved on almost as soon as I’d pulled out of her, but I didn’t need to tell Deborah all of that.
“Where are you from?”
Deborah looked at me, again taken aback by my line of question. But I wouldn’t take it back. I wanted to know more about her and I needed her to tell me.
“Why?”
“Because I want to know.”
“Where are you from?”
“William
sport.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Oh.”
“You’ve heard of it, I’m assuming.”
“Of course.”
“Great. Now your turn.”
She hesitated, then rested her chin in the palm of her hand as her elbow leaned on the wooden desk. She stared at me for a few silent moments, contemplating. She tried to appear confident, nonchalant, but her eyes gave her away. I was certain she didn’t even realize it but her eyes revealed embarrassment.
“Beattyville, Kentucky.”
I squinted. “Never heard of it.”
She snorted. “You wouldn’t have. It’s a tiny town in eastern Kentucky, in the heart of Appalachia. Nothing like the big city of Williamsport, though we do have a little claim to fame.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“Ten years ago, President Johnson visited our town on one of his many stops to gain support for his War on Poverty.”
I lifted my eyebrows remembering that particular tour. “That’s where you’re from?”
She swallowed. “That’s where I’m from. One of, if not the poorest region in the country. But heck, I got to shake the president’s hand when I was eleven so there’s that.”
I’d also shaken President Johnson’s hand, once, but under very different circumstances. It was actually at a gala event that my father hosted at our home, Townsend Manor, but that information didn’t need to be a part of this conversation.
“We come from two very different worlds,” Deborah stated.
I’d known as much since the first time I met her. It may have been what drew me to her in the first place. Again, I kept that thought to myself. Instead, I glanced around the interior of the room we sat in and then let my gaze fall back to her, saying, “But we’re in the same world right now.”
The room fell silent as we gazed at one another. No words were needed as the air crackled around us.
I leaned in, as did Deborah, our lips closing in on one another’s … but just before they touch the goddamned door of the room burst open.
“Robert, man, I’ve been looking for you.”
“What the hell do you want?” I exploded on Jack Lassiter. He was something of a friend to me; however, he’d just interrupted the most important first kiss I was about to have. I felt that even before our lips touched.
Until My Last Breath Page 4