Needing Nevaeh

by Terri Anne Browning

  “Anyone ever tell you that you are a pain in the ass?” he grumbled.

  I grinned. “You’re the first, actually.”

  Chapter 8

  Braxton

  I followed Barrick off the plane and into the airport. Some guy on his cell got in my way as we were on our way out, and I bared my teeth at him, not in the mood to be the least bit understanding when he should have been watching what he was doing in the first place.

  My face must have shown just what kind of mood I was in, because the guy hastily got out of my way, muttering a quick apology. I saw Barrick glance at me out of the corner of my eye, but he stayed quiet even as I felt his concern.

  I didn’t sleep last night. Instead, I’d been trying to get the story of my engagement to Darcy taken down from all the sites that were gushing over the wedding and alleged baby we were having. Fucking hell, like I would subject a poor defenseless child to a mother like that bitch. Some people shouldn’t ever have kids, and Darcy was definitely one of them.

  It wasn’t that I cared if the world thought I was going to marry her and we were starting a family. No, fuck them. I didn’t give two shits what they thought because there was no way in hell it was happening. Ever.

  It was Nevaeh I didn’t want to have to see that trash all over social media and tabloids and fuck knows what else. Not until I could explain everything to her. In the past two years, we had become close. She was my best friend, and I’d confided a lot of my secrets in her.

  But I’d never told her about Darcy and that I’d gotten engaged to her right out of high school. I didn’t know how Neveah would take my one and only past relationship, or what she would think if she saw all the articles and social media posts about the bogus wedding and my allegedly impending fatherhood.

  Earlier that morning, I’d decided I couldn’t chance her finding out over the weekend and knew I needed to see her and explain. Barrick had jumped at the idea of going to California, and we were in the last two seats on a plane bound for LAX two hours later.

  “Barrick!”

  The sound of Mia’s voice had both our heads snapping up. There, standing beside a blacked-out SUV, was Mia. She sprinted toward us. More than three feet away, she jumped, knowing Barrick would catch her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he kissed her like they hadn’t seen each other in weeks instead of less than twenty-four hours.

  “Is your leg okay?” he asked when he pulled back, one of his hands rubbing at her braced knee.

  “It’s fine. And now that you two are here, everything is perfect.” She glanced over at me after kissing him again. “Hey, stranger.”

  Seeing her, some of the dark clouds hanging over my head dissipated. Nevaeh was my best friend, but Mia was a close second. I loved her like a sister, but I needed her just as much as I needed my little kitten.

  Barrick placed her carefully on her feet, and she put her arm through mine, walking us toward her mother’s vehicle where two large bodyguards were waiting. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away,” she said quietly, her big green eyes sparkling with amusement.

  “That’s not why I’m here, Mia,” I told her as we reached the SUV. Her mother was already sitting inside, her phone—which seemed to be permanently attached to her hand—out while she typed away one-handed and drank her coffee with the other. “My parents fucked me over last night.”

  Mia’s eyes widened, and she turned to face me fully, concern on her face. “What happened?”

  “Apparently Brax is getting a wife and a kid all in one,” Barrick commented as he tossed his stuff in the back then walked around to where we were standing.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” she demanded, putting her hands on her hips as she glared from him to me. “You aren’t even dating anyone, and if you tell me you’ve been meeting some chick in secret while Nev has been—” She broke off, sucking in a deep breath. Sweat beaded on her upper lip, and I swear she turned green right before my eyes. “Fuck. Why does this shit happen when I get pissed?” she moaned.

  Barrick wrapped his arms around her, pulling her head to his shoulder. “It’s okay, firecracker. It will pass.” He kissed the top of her head. “Have you been sick all day?”

  She nodded, leaning against him weakly.

  “You should have stayed home,” he muttered. “I told you I don’t like you traveling without me when you’re—”

  “Pregnant,” I blurted out, realization hitting me dead center. “You’re pregnant?”

  “Apparently,” she groaned and bent in half to vomit at our feet.

  “Damn, again?” Emmie Armstrong stuck her head out of the SUV. “Ah, baby girl. Let’s get you home. You need to rest. Momma will make you something to help with the nausea.”

  Once Mia was done puking, Barrick picked her up and put her in the back seat beside her mom. She cuddled up to the woman who looked like an older version of her and closed her eyes. “This sucks so bad,” she mumbled.

  “I know, honey. Believe me, I know.” Emmie stroked her hair as we got in. Once we were settled and the guard behind the wheel pulled into traffic, she glanced at me. “Did I hear you’re going to be a father, too?”

  “No, ma’am,” I told her. “Not happening. I wouldn’t trust that bitch with a dog, let alone make her a mother.”

  “I don’t understand,” she said, her eyes narrowing.

  “It’s a long story,” Barrick said with a sigh. “But basically, his parents set him up last night. They announced to everyone they knew would spread the news like wildfire that he was marrying his high school girlfriend, and when he tried to tell everyone the truth, she put the nail in the coffin by announcing that she is pregnant.”

  “So, you’re not getting married, and there is no baby?” she asked for clarification.

  “Fuck no to both,” I bit out. “Ma’am.”

  She grinned at me. “Okay, then. Well, I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”

  “I don’t care what the hell they say or do. It’s not happening. I just don’t want Nevaeh to get upset,” I told her honestly.

  She pressed her lips together for a moment, then shrugged. “That, I can’t promise. I mean, Nevaeh is kind of fragile right now with her dad’s illness, and I can never determine what that girl will do when she’s not herself. Okay, scratch that. I can’t figure her out on the best of days, let alone when she’s upset. But I can deal with the media and get the story squashed if you want. And I can also deal with the parentals and the ex.”

  “Thanks, Momma,” Mia told her weakly. “I knew you would help.”

  “Anything to make it easier on you, my baby.” Emmie kissed her forehead and gave me a wink. “Braxton is family. Something you should know by now, kid. I take care of my family.”

  For some reason, knowing she was going to help me out of this mess made something burn in my chest. In the two years Mia had been in my life, her family had made me feel more a part of their inner world than my own parents ever had. They included me in everything, from Christmas to getting cards and text messages on my birthday. Emmie and her husband even invited me to their house during summer breaks when Mia flew home for a few weeks.

  It wasn’t just the Armstrongs. Nevaeh’s parents were just as welcoming and accepting as Mia’s. Maybe more so. When Nevaeh was away at school, they texted me at least once a week. It was initially to check in on her and get an honest answer. But they would always include me in their texts, asking how I was and even inquiring on how Sasha was doing. Then, I got the weekly texts even when Nevaeh wasn’t in Virginia. More often than not, it was Lana Stevenson, and I could feel the maternal concern she had for me even three thousand miles away. But Drake would text me from time to time too, separately from his wife.

  Now, however, I wondered if things were going to be different with them. I wanted to be with Nev—would fucking be with her—and even if they didn’t like it, she was going to be mine.

  Chapter 9

  Braxton

  Because I w
anted to surprise Nevaeh, we went back to Mia’s parents’ house instead of going to Nevaeh’s, even though I was itching to see her again. When I realized I had a few texts from her, I replied back, pretending like I was busy and that I would call her later that night so I could tell her happy birthday.

  Mia spent the rest of the afternoon in her room resting after her mom made her some kind of lemony concoction she said worked wonders for morning sickness. Whatever it was seemed to help because Barrick told us she passed out after she finally got comfortable and was sleeping peacefully.

  That Mia was pregnant freaked me out a little. I didn’t like seeing her sick or hurting in any shape or form. She had life growing inside of her, a new member of my family, and I was already praying it was a boy because I didn’t know how either Barrick or I were going to keep up with all the dead bodies we would have to hide once a girl started getting noticed by boys. Because if it was a girl, and she looked like her mother, they would be noticing early, and I didn’t think Virginia was big enough for all the bastards I would need to bury for touching Uncle Braxton’s precious baby.

  I told Barrick that, and his face turned just as green as Mia’s had earlier. “Same, bro. Same.”

  Emmie laughed as she listened to us while she made us each a sandwich in the kitchen. “You two are adorable, but fuck, you make my heart so damn happy that you’re Mia’s.”

  “I would love a daughter. A little version of Mia running around, making my life difficult and complete, with red pigtails bouncing all over the place. I’d be okay with that,” Barrick said, his eyes widening at the truth of his own admission. “But I think I would be a basket case from the second she’s born.”

  “Oh, I know you would be,” she assured him with a grin. “That is what is going to make you a great father, Barrick. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to that feeling of panic when you think of your children. Trust me, it never goes away. It just gets easier to accept as reality.” She twisted her lips and placed his plate in front of him. “Or you hire some retired Marine security heir to watch over her, they fall in love, and you start to breathe a small fraction easier.”

  “You know many of those fuckers?” he asked with a wry grin.

  Sighing heavily, she shoved at the back of his head playfully. “I know many people, from every walk of life. Lucky for you, I didn’t have to ask for a favor and make you disappear.”

  Even though she was still grinning, I knew in my gut she wasn’t joking. I likened Emmie to a mob boss with how easily she could get things “taken care of.” I’d thought my cousin Lyla was the most badass woman I’d ever met until I met Mia’s mom. I possessed equal parts respect for and fear of the little redhead with big green eyes that looked so much like her daughter, I couldn’t help but love the woman.

  After we ate, I showered in the guest room that had become my regular room when I visited.

  The house Mia grew up in wasn’t the mansion I’d called home the first eighteen years of my life, but it wasn’t a shack. It was the largest house on her block, with six bedrooms, right on the beach. There was a guesthouse out back where the two bodyguards stayed when they weren’t escorting Mia’s mother or another member of her family. But the biggest difference was that this house was full of warmth and love that hit a person direct center as soon as they stepped across the threshold.

  By the time Mia woke from her nap, her father and brother were home from golfing, and we left soon after for the party. The Armstrongs lived in Malibu, but Nevaeh’s house was in Santa Monica. We all piled into Emmie’s SUV, minus the bodyguards, and made the drive over.

  There were already vehicles everywhere when we pulled up. The driveway was overflowing, and people had parked on the street, all of them there for Nevaeh’s birthday party. Climbing out of the back, I double-checked that the present I’d brought for her was still in my pocket and then followed everyone to the house.

  Emmie rang the doorbell, and only a moment later, the door swung open. One of Jesse Thornton’s twin sons answered the door. Luca and Lyric were identical, and in the past, the only way I’d been able to determine who was who was that Luca seemed to have Shane Stevenson’s daughter by his side at all times. Then they had started inking their bodies right after their eighteenth birthday, so I’d been able to tell which one was which easier.

  “Welcome,” Luca greeted, smirking at his aunt, the sleeve of ink on his left arm telling me which twin he was. “Come in, if you dare.”

  “Fuck,” Nik muttered. “What have you done this time?”

  Luca’s expression turned wounded, but there was amusement shining out of his eyes that constantly changed from one shade of brown to another. “That hurts, Uncle Nik. Really, you hit me right in the feels, man.”

  “Yeah, whatever. Now what did you do?”

  Luca’s answer was to wink and step back, waving us in. “The birthday girl isn’t here yet. Guess it’s cool to be late to your own party. I mean, I didn’t even show up to mine, so whatevs.”

  “No, he was too busy getting in Megan Hawthorn’s pants to care he had people waiting to wish him happy birthday,” a voice that was so sweet I almost missed the bite to it said.

  I glanced over Luca’s shoulder to see the girl he was normally with shoot daggers at his back as she walked by. He clenched his jaw, muttered something under his breath I didn’t hear, and shut the front door with unneeded force, causing his father to shoot him a hard glare.

  “Excuse me while I go set the record straight. Again,” he said before turning and following Violet Stevenson. “It only makes the two hundredth time.”

  “That girl can make that boy sweat without even trying,” Nik said with a deep chuckle as we walked farther into the house.

  Halfway across the living room, I caught sight of Nevaeh’s mom, and she quickly left the group she was talking to. She hugged me tightly. “This is the best surprise,” she said as she pulled back, a beaming smile on her beautiful face. “Nev is going to be so happy you made it.”

  “Where is she?” I asked before I could stop myself, needing to see her, touch her.

  “That is a good question. She was supposed to be home by now, but knowing Jordan, it’s hard to tell what kind of trouble those two got into.” She grimaced. “If she doesn’t get home soon, I’m sending out the big guns.”

  “Aunt Gabs is here?” Mia asked as she glanced around.

  Lana shook her head. “Not yet. She and Liam are on their way, though. Or so he told Drake about fifteen minutes ago. If she gets here and Jordan hasn’t shown up, I’m going to sic her on him.”

  I barely paid their conversation any attention. Jealousy was eating through me, and I was two seconds away from pulling out a few big guns of my own. Mia’s best friend visited us every few weeks. I liked him… Until he flirted with Nevaeh. Then I wanted to rip his arms off his body and beat the living hell out of him with them.

  Now she was out with him, doing fuck knew what. She was legal now, could do anything she wanted, with whomever she wanted.

  “There you are,” a deep voice said from behind me. “Do you realize how hard it is to find you, woman?”

  Turning, I saw Jordan coming toward us, with no Nevaeh in sight. He walked up to Mia, threw an arm around her shoulders, and kissed the top of her head. Barrick clenched his jaw but didn’t say anything about it. He was used to their relationship and trusted Mia, but I knew just how jealous he was right then. That same jealousy burned through me whenever the guy so casually did the same with Nevaeh.

  “There’s this thing called a phone,” Mia sassed him. “You use it to call, text, even send social media messages. It’s all the rage these days. Maybe you should try it.”

  “Yeah, but then I wouldn’t get to see your beautiful face, and that really should be considered a crime.”

  “Um, excuse you,” Lana said with a mock glare at him. “You should have had my child home half an hour ago at the latest. Where is she?”

  “Sorry, we lost track of time. She’s
changing now.”

  “Perfect.” She touched my arm, then pushed me. “You should go help her with her zipper,” she suggested with a grin. “She had the worst time with it when she was trying it on at the mall earlier.”

  —

  The first time I’d ever set eyes on Nevaeh, my heart had stopped.

  I was sitting on the couch with Sasha beside me, and Mia answered the Skype call from her cousin. Her beautiful face appeared on the laptop screen, and even as she was yelling at her sister, I’d felt something wake up inside me for the first time in my life.

  It was like she’d hit pause on my heart because it didn’t beat, while other parts of my body came alive for the first time since I’d lost my leg. She’d blinked, her blue-gray eyes looking huge behind her glasses, like some animated kitten about to pounce on her unsuspecting prey.

  Then she’d started vomiting words she hadn’t wanted to utter but was helpless not to, and it was so adorable, I found myself laughing. In that moment, with her beautiful face flushing with the most adorable shade of pink and her dropping her head into her hands, I knew.

  She was mine.

  Then Mia had dropped the biggest, most painful bomb in my lap. The helpless feeling I got when she said Nevaeh wasn’t even sixteen yet was worse than when I lost my leg. I felt sick to my soul, because I’d instantly wanted her and knew I couldn’t have her.

  Then I’d met her in person, and I fought my feelings tooth and nail. I ached for days after, wanting her. Just to hold her, touch my fingers to her baby-soft cheek, brush my lips over her plump lips, and inhale the scent of her skin. I knew if I saw her again—fuck, if I just heard her voice again—I would be lost completely. It was why I’d practically begged Mia to talk her cousin out of attending school with us. I needed distance, as much as humanly possible, to keep my sanity, to protect her from all the thoughts I had rioting through my head on a marathon loop of all the things I wanted to do to and with her.