Flight Forward

by Reagan, Piper

  Raven smiles up at me, reminding me that for today, all is right in the world.

  Once the nurse came in to make her rounds, she kicked me out for a while. I kissed my wife, made my way up to Eve’s room to check on her next, and then headed down to the waiting area. The guys left earlier after we got the all clear that everyone was fine and I assured them I would keep them updated. I see Raven’s mom Milena first, and after updating her, go in search for my own mother. I find Marcus back in the corner of the big waiting room; Mom curled up in his arms. I’m relieved to know he stayed here with her. That he’s watching over her. He whispers in her ear and her head darts up so fast she almost nails him in the jaw.

  Mom jumps to her feet and heads over, meeting me halfway. “How’s our girls doing?” Her arms wrap around my waist.

  I immediately do the same and the connection with her seems to lighten the load. This has been the longest day of my life. I haven’t felt this close to hell since the day we lost Dad. Except today. We get our happy in the end.

  “They’re doing good.” I pull her to the nearest two chairs and we sit down. “I have some pictures of Sadie.”

  “Sadie?” Her hands clasp at her heart.

  “My princess,” I explain the meaning behind her name, as I pull out my phone.

  Mom’s reaction is very similar to Raven’s. The emotion overwhelming. She studies every picture, even though a lot of them look almost exactly the same. “She’s perfect.”

  “She is, and she’s getting stronger by the minute. The doctor thinks Raven and I can hold her later.”

  “Oh, Jonah.”

  “Listen, they said you could go up and see her through the window, but only for a few minutes, and I don’t want Raven overloaded tonight. So why don’t you have Marcus take you home after you see Sadie.” I glance to the corner where he sits. He can’t hear us, but I can tell he’s watching Mom closely.

  “I can stay. I’ll just sleep here, in case you need me.”

  “There’s nothing you can do here that isn’t being done by a team of professionals. I’m going to be spending all my time between the girls’ rooms. How about you bring me a change of clothes in the morning?”

  “Anything you need.”

  “I want to have a quick word with Marcus, if that’s okay?”

  “Sure.”

  When I start heading is his direction, she follows me. “Alone, Mom.”

  A flash of shock covers her face, but she clears it quickly and backs up a step. By the time I reach Marcus he’s already standing. Hand outstretched to shake mine. He doesn’t say anything. Just offers his hand in support and I appreciate it.

  “Thanks for staying here with Mom all day. I know you probably had other things you needed to be doing.”

  “Nothing more important.” Is all he says, followed with a chin lift.

  “Can I ask you for a favor? Could you take Mom home after she sees Sadie? But… I don’t really want her to be alone.” I look away. Christ. This is fucking awkward.

  “She’ll be taken care of. I promise. Just focus on your girls, and I’ll work on keeping Katherine whole.” His light eyes are full of sincerity.

  Whole. I look over to my mom across the waiting room as that word settles in my chest. Ever since losing Dad, I hadn’t felt whole till Raven came into my life. Now, even though my wife has been trying to pound it into my head, I see what she means about Mom being alone. Missing the other half of her whole.

  “Thanks, man. For everything.” I head back over to where Mom is seated. “You guys ready to get a glimpse of the most beautiful girl in the world?”

  Chapter Ten

  Katherine

  I roll over, unable to open my eyes. I lay there a minute, trying to get a grip on where I’m at, when yesterday starts flooding back. The accident. I force my eyelids open, taking in my surroundings and remembering that I came back to Marcus’ place last night. I just don’t remember much past leaving the hospital with him.

  I check the alarm clock and see that it’s only a little after six, and I’m instantly relieved that I didn’t oversleep. I need to get back to the hospital by nine. After making my way to the bathroom, and by some miracle finding my toothbrush laid out on the sink, I find Marcus out in the kitchen.

  “Morning, Kat.”

  “Morning.” Roxy dances around my feet as I take the cup of coffee he offers. “How do I not remember getting in bed last night? And how did I end up in my yoga pants and t-shirt?” I look down at my lounge clothes.

  Marcus’ laughter booms off the kitchen walls. “I don’t mean to laugh, but you’re hilarious when you’re half asleep.”

  I cover my face. I’ve been known to say just about anything when I’m overly tired. “Oh, God, what did I say?” I peek at him from between my fingers.

  He pulls my hands down and kisses my cheek. “You just gave me explicit instructions on where to find your favorite yoga pants and t-shirt. You told me to grab your toothbrush too, then kept repeating, ‘Sorry I’m such a pain in the ass.’ Over and over. It was adorable. Then you just kept saying 123456. Don’t forget. Joey wants us to code in. 123456. It took me a minute to realize you were giving me the alarm code. Which, what the fuck? I’m going to have a talk with him.”

  “He just did that for me, because I kept screwing the stupid thing up.” I shake my head, relieved that what I said wasn’t nearly as bad as what I’m capable of.

  “Did I do okay?”

  When I look at him in question, he replies, “With the pants and shirt? Did I pass the test?”

  I look down at my soft clothes and sigh, “You did really good.”

  “Let’s sit down for a minute. I want to talk to you before I take you back to the hospital.” He picks up Roxy and takes her to the back door, sending her outside.

  “Is everything okay?” I follow him to the leather loveseat.

  “Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you about what comes next.”

  “Next?”

  “You’ve had too much going on in the last twenty-four hours, so let me just tell you what I’m thinking.” He rubs his cheek, something I now know he does when he’s a little nervous. “With everything going on with the kids, I figured you might want to stay longer, and well, you already know I want you to stay longer.” His blue-grey eyes look to me for confirmation and I nod in understanding. “So, how about once everyone gets home and settled, we take one of my car haulers to Phoenix and get your stuff?”

  “How many clothes do you think I own?” I can’t help but laugh. I’ve seen those car haulers. That’s a lot of clothes.

  “Maybe you might want to bring some other stuff too. Things that are important to you.” He grabs my hand and rubs his thumb over the back of it.

  “Joey doesn’t want any of my crap in his ‘ultra hip’ house.” I air quote.

  “But I,” he pulls the hand he’s holding to his chest, “would like to see all of it in my house.”

  I gasp. I’m not fully shocked, but still a little. “You would?”

  “I would.” He kisses my palm, then my wrist before placing my hand back on his heart. “The idea of you ever leaving Vegas makes me sick. We haven’t known each other long, but long enough that I know I want more. If you’re not ready, you can stay at Jonah’s. But when you are, I’d really like you to stay with me.”

  My heart pounds in my chest. The love for this man, that has started to grow from the first moment I met him, inflates like a balloon.

  “Life’s too short to let it pass us by, Katherine. What do you say? Can we go get some of your things?” Hope fills his eyes, and in that moment, it’s crystal clear. Written in neon lights.

  I don’t ever want to leave him either.

  “I love you.” The words roll off my tongue with no effort at all. I thought this feeling, if it ever came, would take a lot of thought, possibly guilt. But being with Marcus is the easiest thing I’ve done in a really long time.

  The brightest smile spreads across his handsome face
. “You love me?”

  “I do.” The butterflies in my stomach are almost more than I can bear, until he finally speaks.

  “Well thank fuck for that. I was hoping I wasn’t in this alone.”

  Laughter escapes me at his words. I wrap my arms around him, pressing my lips to his. Needing the contact. He immediately stands and carries me back to the bedroom where we make the best of our time until I need to go.

  * * *

  Two weeks later, Marcus and I set out in his big white truck, with a car hauler behind. I was a bit nervous when we first took off, but with every passing mile, I became more and more certain, that moving my life to Las Vegas was exactly what I wanted. I’ve never lived anywhere but Phoenix, but the new city with a new relationship seems like the perfect way to a fresh start. I haven’t laughed this hard—minus when Blake is around—for years. It makes me feel like a kid again.

  “What did Jonah have to say?” Marcus puts Roxy on the armrest between us, and then closes his truck door. I never realized how much fun it is to bring a dog on a road trip. Watching her excitement at every new thing we see is like taking kids on a trip. Minus the complaining. The hardest part is getting her to stop sniffing around at the rest stop.

  “Everyone is great. Actually, he just told me not to call again. That he would see me when I get back. Can you believe that?” I’m a little offended.

  “Well, we’ve only been gone a few hours.” He raises his eyebrows at me. Like he agrees.

  I smack his arm. “What if he needs me? Or what if Raven needs something? Questions about Sadie.”

  “First of all, if Sadie needs anything, Jonah will bring in the National Guard, if necessary.” His face is utterly serious.

  Yeah, my son is a bit overboard with his little family.

  “Secondly, if there’s an emergency, I’m sure you’ll be the first person he calls.” He shoots me a wink. “Relax and enjoy the view, Katherine.” He gives me a quick kiss then fires up the truck.

  Pulling up to my condo a couple hours later, I unlock the door and open it to find everything exactly as I left it. Beige and boring. I look around the space for what feels like the first time and see that other than the family pictures I have everywhere, everything else is as plain as my life in this condo was.

  Marcus picks up a picture of Ryan and my stomach bottoms out a little.

  “Christ, he looks like Jonah.” His light laugh eases my heart. “Now I see where he got his build from.” He sets the picture back down and makes his way over to the others. He’s met Beth and the boys on Skype, so there’s nothing new there.

  “Does it bother you to see his picture?” I softly ask. I don’t feel any jealousy toward his ex-wife because they fell out of love. But that wasn’t the case with me.

  He comes over and wraps his arms around me. “No.” He leans down and kisses me softly. “He’s a part of you. And I would never try and change that.” He kisses my nose. “I don’t want to replace Ryan. I just want to love you. In any way you’ll let me.” His crystal eyes are full of warmth. The stubble beard he’s let grow a little making him look even more delectable. His admission about Ryan sealing the deal.

  “I want to take everything.” I blurt out.

  “What?”

  “Everything. Let’s pack it all up, and what I don’t want we’ll leave for some charity.” I rake my fingers through his hair, rising up on my tiptoes to find his lips with mine. “Then, I’ll call the realtor and tell her to put a For Sale sign in the yard.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.” I reach down and pick up Roxy and rub her ears. “Do you think we can take an extra day before we get home?”

  He shrugs his shoulders. “Sure, I think they can live without me at the shop for another day. Why?”

  “Because I want to take the long way home.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Jonah

  I wake up with a huge smile on my face. I look to my right and see Sadie asleep in her bassinet beside the bed, then roll the other way to find Raven knocked out too. Our daughter still needing frequent feedings, equals not a lot of sleep for my wife. Raven starts to stir.

  “Why are you staring at me?” She groans and puts a pillow over her face.

  “How do you know I’m staring at you?” I whisper, glad she’s awake.

  “I can feel it.” She rolls her back to me, trying to reposition herself.

  “Today’s eight weeks, baby. Your doctor’s appointment is this afternoon. We should get the all clear.” I kiss her tattoo where it meets her neck.

  “Did you just wake me up to tell me we might get to have sex later?”

  Well, when she says it like that. “Yes?”

  The pillow flies off her head and she rolls back over to look at me. Her hair a mess, eyes wide. She goes to speak, then stops. Laughter shaking her body. “Oh, my God, you look like a puppy without a bone.” She rolls her face into her pillow. “I really want to be mad at you right now, but you look so pathetic.”

  “Pathetic?”

  She keeps her face buried as muffled laughter flows out. “I swear, Jonah, if you wake that baby right now, there will be no sex later.”

  I lean down and whisper in her ear. “If it keeps me from having sex with you later, I will figure out a way to nurse our daughter myself.”

  Her laughter gets stronger now and then I hear it.

  Sadie.

  Ah, shit.

  An hour later, my phone rings. “What’s up, Blake.”

  “Can you meet me at the training center?”

  “What for? Raven has a doctor’s appointment at two.”

  “We know, dude. Countdown to sex.”

  “Shit’s not funny. Your time will come, man.” This asshole will get his as soon as Layla has their baby. It’s all fun and games until you’re put out in the desert. Nothing to drink. Mirages and shit.

  “Right,” he laughs. He really has no idea what is about to happen to him. “So, meet me there in an hour? I’ll have you gone by eleven.”

  “Whatever, man. See ya then.”

  I hang up the phone. It probably won’t hurt to burn off a little energy before the doctor’s appointment. Maybe I’ll ask Mom if she’ll take Sadie on a really long walk later.

  The kind where she calls before she comes back.

  * * *

  I find Blake, already in the octagon, when I get to the training center. He’s boxing with someone. I can’t tell from here who it is, because they’ve got headgear on. “Jesus, man, why did you drag me up here to spar if you already had someone.”

  “Don’t be a baby, Vajonah. You’re almost out of your dry spell.”

  “Shut the fuck up, man.”

  I see Rex, working on some moves with Killian over in the other octagon, the kid continuing to improve. His hard work really paying off.

  I climb into the ring and see it’s Marcus in the headgear. “What the hell is going on?” I look back to Blake, who already has a net bag with boxing gloves in it. Holding them out to me.

  Marcus pulls his mouth gear out. “I asked him to get you here. We need to talk.”

  “Then why didn’t you just say something?”

  He stares back at me, but doesn’t say a word. I’ll admit, I may have found some excuses over the last couple of weeks to avoid him. I could tell he’d been trying to get me off to the side, but I really wasn’t interested in what he had to say. Mom’s basically living over there, which I understand to a degree, but it’s only been a couple of months, and this guy is all serious and shit. Like he doesn’t want her out of his sight.

  I grab the gloves out of Blake’s hand and put them on. I’m sort of liking this idea. If he pisses me off, I’ll just flip the switch on his ass.

  “Get that crazy look off your face, Virjonah.” Blake slowly shakes his head at me.

  “Virjonah?” Marcus and I say at the same time.

  “Well, yeah, I figured after all this time, it was like your virginity grew back.”

>   I take a poke at Blake, the padded glove nailing him on the cheekbone, and I immediately feel better.

  “The fuck, man? Give me some warning.” He jabs back at me, but I block it.

  Boxing is a fun way to mix up our training. We haven’t had the gloves out in a while; I’ve missed it.

  “Are you ready?” Blake fades off as he makes his commentator voice. Marcus moves up and we hit gloves.

  “Okay, boys, keep it clean. No dick hits, ball slaps, tittie twisters—“

  I knock him with a right hook.

  “Jesus, dude, alright. Let’s fight!” He raises his arms up signaling it’s go time.

  Marcus puts his mouth gear in and takes a perfect stance. We start circling each other a bit. Each jab I attempt, he smoothly blocks. We’re just dancing right now, feeling each other out.

  “You’re a boxer?” I go to jab his face, but he gives me the slip. Proving his competency in the sport.

  “Ever since I was ten.” I take another jab, but he side steps.

  “How’d you get started?” A fighter’s beginning always starts somewhere.

  “Mom died. Cancer. Dad didn’t know what the hell to do with me.”

  His admission shocks me and I stop moving, giving Marcus the opportunity to hit me with a cross.

  “Shit, man.” I get a jab in on his head. We’re doing more circling than fighting. But being able to hit him a bit is definitely satisfying. “Sorry, I had no idea.”

  “I was a lot like you, Jonah. Difference is, my dad remarried a year later.” He gets me in the chin and I don’t even jab back.

  The idea that Marcus lost his mom at such a young age burns my gut. Losing my dad leveled me. But, if anyone even looked at my mom cross eyed, let alone threaten to take her from me, I don’t know how I would ever recover.

  She can die when she’s a hundred.

  “When he remarried so fast, I went to a really dark place. Way too dark for such a young kid.” We continue in our circle. Taking jabs whenever the opening comes. He’s a damn good boxer. “That’s how I ended up in a pair of gloves. I needed an outlet. Dad figured boxing was the perfect place to release some anger.”