Honeymoon Blues (Faith Series Book 6)

by Nikki Bolvair

  Perry's eyes met mine as she set the plate of bacon on the table. "I know."

  When the kids started showing up, Perry and I left the kitchen to head to the conference room for our meeting. Not too long ago, my uncle had denied me my right to do my job as a para-parent. He told me the uncertainty in my life would negatively affect a child if I was to take on a new charge. So, with the pressure of Brady and Sarah, along with my now in-laws and my uncle, the guys and I finally tied the knot. And not a moment too soon. My hand drifted to my stomach briefly as we entered the conference room. It seemed like their encouragement for a wedding was warranted with this little bundle coming.

  My hand dropped as Perry and I made our way to the chairs at the far end of the table and slid into our normal seats. A few other paras had come in and now we were all waiting to get updates on today's events and activities. The kids couldn't go out into the snow every day, even though they wanted to. A few of them had caught a cold due to exposure during the snow day last week.

  Everyone quieted as my uncle came in and the meeting started. It was all the normal stuff, no new kiddos as of today. So, that meant I wasn't gaining a new charge. At the last minute of the meeting, my uncle did something unexpected.

  "I'd like to welcome back Ms. Daniels, who is now Mrs. McGuire. Congratulations on your marriage." He said it so formally that it had to have been rehearsed. There were a few murmurs of congrats before my uncle went on. "Don't go far when the meeting is over. We'll need to update your paperwork."

  I nodded that I would and then wondered if he knew about my pregnancy and how he was holding up with Marissa being in the same situation. Well, not really the same, since she wasn't married. I thought back to that morning after my bridal shower when she had me take her home. She’d mentioned that she liked someone, possibly more than one someone, and asked for advice. Now after my phone call with her yesterday, I knew.

  I'd say my advice got her pregnant judging by how she’d changed her look when I saw her last at Thanksgiving. She didn't even stay for my wedding, but I was too wrapped up in my own world to worry about her at that moment. But now that I was home and things were settling down, I wondered how she was doing. I eyed her father as he ended the meeting and wondered how her parents were taking it.

  "I'll see you later," Perry whispered before she rose out of her seat. "Maybe we can get together this weekend? I could help you unpack."

  Giving her a grateful smile, I agreed. "That would be nice, but I'm hoping to do it tonight or tomorrow." Hope for the two of us hanging out died in her eyes. I didn't want to disappoint her, so I offered another solution. "How about you come over this weekend and we'll do a little Christmas shopping? Lunch can be my treat."

  She immediately brightened. "Deal."

  As soon as the room was cleared, my uncle brought over the paperwork I needed to fill out and sat in the seat next to me. "These are the forms that need your new information. If you can fill them out and turn them in before leaving today, that would be great."

  "I can do that."

  He pulled out a pen from his shirt pocket and gave it to me before clasping his hands in front of him. "You four settling in okay at the new place?"

  I started to fill out the forms and answered him, "It's going to take a little bit of getting used to, but I think once we unload all the boxes and actually get some furniture besides the stuff in our bedroom that I’ll finally be able to rest."

  "What happened to the three days after you guys came back from Vegas? I thought that–"

  I paused filling out the form and shot him an exasperated look as I tried not to blush. "What do you think happens on a honeymoon?"

  He had the decency to look away and push out of his seat. "I don't know why my wife insists on me asking you these questions."

  His comment didn't hurt but left me confused. "Why wouldn’t she just ask me herself? She's called me before."

  He turned back with a grateful smile. "She thinks she calls too much and knew I was going to be seeing you today." His smile dropped. "Even though you have Sarah, Lilly still cares."

  “I know. And I’m grateful to have you in my life.” I bit my lip and decided to give a little. “Thank you for watching over me in your own way when I was younger. Making it possible for us to come here. Without your interference, I wouldn’t have met my husbands.”

  Henry chuckled and shook his head. “I’m not sure how I feel about being the reason you met your...” – he cleared his throat – “husbands. But I am happy that you’re happy.” He patted my hand. “It would have been what your mother wanted for you. Your happiness. No matter how unconventional your relationship is, she would have welcomed it. I’m just an old man set in his ways.”

  “Thank you, Uncle,” I answered softly as a lump stuck in my throat. “It’s good that you feel that way. It gives me hope.”

  Henry’s brows furrowed, confused. “Why would you say that?”

  “Because...” It was my turn to be confused. “Didn’t Marissa tell you?”

  His brows scrunched. “Tell me what?” Then they lifted, his eyes wide. “About the baby?”

  “Well, yes. But–”

  He withdrew his hand from mine and shuffled the forms I’d returned to him. “She told us. She’s always been the wild child. Now she has a baby to get ready for, and the father, Frances, is probably long gone.” He put the files back into the folder. “I’m just glad she has you and the Manto boys to lean on. She hasn’t heard from that guy since.”

  My lips formed an O. He didn’t know. Marissa had called me yesterday and confessed all, unsure what to do. I gave her my best advice, which was to clear the air with the two guys and let them know the baby could be either of theirs. Apparently, she hadn’t told her parents yet of the baby father situation. And I wasn’t going to be the one to drop that bomb.

  Chapter Three

  Kayden picked me up.

  Making sure I didn't slip in the slush and snow, I hurried to the car, ready to be out of the weather.

  Once inside, my lips met Kayden's in a brief kiss hello, and I started in on how my uncle wouldn’t let me have a new charge, yet again. If he wasn't my uncle, I would have notified the higher ups about him preventing me from working.

  "All I did today was shadow Perry and clean up messes. I guess that's okay because it needs to be done, but I miss doing my own para-parenting," I growled, letting him know how much it upset me.

  Kayden put the car in drive and headed back onto the road. “Maybe he's worried about putting too much pressure on you with us being newly married and you being pregnant and all.”

  My mouth snapped shut and Kayden noticed.

  He gave me a quick glance, his deep blue eyes full of concern. “You did tell him, right? He knows about the baby?”

  I grimaced, shaking my head no. “I didn't want to tell him yet. I haven't even seen the doctor. That's next week. And I don't even get to see the doctor; I have to see a nurse. Supposedly there's a lot of pregnancies this December and they could only fit me in that way.”

  “Wait, when were you going to tell us about the doctor's appointment? I didn't know.”

  My eyes went wide at his sharp tone, and I felt like panicking. I forgot to tell him?

  My hand went to his thigh as my lips tilted up in what I hoped was a ‘forgive me’ smile. “Kayden, I made the appointment yesterday.”

  His lips pressed downward, and I could see his hands tighten on the steering wheel. “Who's taking you?”

  My hand rubbed his thigh in a reassuring motion, and I softly answered, “I don't know. Tyler knows, so does Lincoln. But only because they were there when I phoned the doctor's office yesterday afternoon during lunch. You were out on that realtor call and didn't come back until late. By then, I had already gone to bed.”

  He relaxed a little and so did my anxiety.

  Was he really that upset? I'd have to keep a mental note to tell all of them any news about the baby as soon as I heard it. I felt bad. I did
n't want him to feel left out either. “I promise,” I told him, giving his thigh a quick, loving squeeze as his gaze caught mine for a brief moment. “If I can't reach you or you're not there, I'll leave a message and let you know what's going on with me and the baby, okay?”

  “I'm sorry,” he sighed, taking a hand off the steering wheel to grab mine. “I'm excited about the baby and I don't want to miss out on anything.”

  “Well...” I suggested with a shrug. “Do you want to take me then? Will you have time to do it next Wednesday?”

  A grin spread across his face, and I knew I made the right decision. “Hell yes.”

  “Good.” I relaxed back into my seat. “I'll tell Tyler and Lincoln” – or whichever one was in charge of the schedule, which we hadn't gone over yet – “that you will be the first one to take me to my doctor's appointment. From there we'll just have a rotating schedule.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “Sounds like a plan,” he agreed lightheartedly then brought my hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it. “Nothing but the best for my queen.”

  I snickered. “You're still gonna call me that?”

  He looked quite offended as he tossed me another glance. “Of course I am.”

  He set our hands on his thigh and continued to drive one handed.

  “So how was your day?” I asked, settling in watching the snow drift downward. I tried to relax as he drove through it, not wanting my fears of what could happen on icy roads get to me.

  “It is what it is. Not a whole lot for sale right now due to the snow, but we have a few houses that were put up on a listing in more prominent areas. That's where I was Sunday. But sometimes the prices they’re asking for their homes are outrageous, even for the property they have. Most home owners always believe their homes are worth more than they actually are. It’s those websites out there that give them false estimates which sometimes are nowhere near the actual value. Lots of times it’s due to wrong information being input by past owners, or the square footage is off, or something or other,” he said, dismissing it. “But the point is that owners look at those numbers and not the comps in the area. If there’s a decline or if the area is still growing, there's gonna be some adjustments. We all want to believe that our houses are worth more than they really are, but sometimes it's hard to hear when they aren't. Especially when they’re these fixer-upper families that go in for a quick fix to sell.”

  I'd been listening to him so far, but when he had said fixer-upper families I thought about us. I gave his thigh a little nudge. “Hey, our house is a fixer upper.”

  He shot me a crooked grin. “You bet it is, but we’re not selling anytime soon.”

  I laughed and agreed. “We're going to get that new fridge and the stove this weekend, right? Because, I hate to tell you this, but that grill isn’t big enough to cook on for all of us. We need something better. And the fridge. We need a working fridge.”

  He laughed. “All we need to do is dig some pockets into the snow and we’ll be good on the fridge.”

  I huffed at his joking. “Kayden. This is my home. I want to be able to reach into a fridge and grab fresh food. I want to have a stove I can cook on and an oven that doesn't look like a million turkeys have caught fire in it. A dishwasher to make things run smoother. And I want a laundry shoot.”

  His hand tightened on mine. “This weekend we'll go do all of that. Except for the laundry shoot. You’ll have to talk with Lincoln on that one. Were you able to get those funds from your parents’ house?

  “Yes. I was thinking we could use some of that to get appliances.”

  He shook his head. “Nuh-uh. We have the appliances in the budget. If you find something more expensive than what the budget calls for, we’ll talk to Tyler about you putting down the difference.”

  “Okay,” I agreed, liking that plan. I wanted to make our house a home. My home. My hand went to my stomach where the life was growing inside and silently vowed to make it a good home for all of us.

  “Like you said.” Kayden gave me a quick smile before returning his attention to the road. “We'll have to wait on cabinets and countertops, but we'll have shiny new appliances.”

  I chuckled as some of the tension I’d been harboring left.

  “Does it feel weird?” he asked out of the blue.

  Not understanding what he was talking about, I asked him, “Does what feel weird?”

  “Being called Mrs. McGuire,” he said, giving me a wink. “Has anyone done that to you today? Because I have to tell you, I love saying it.”

  I smirked and glanced down to admire my ring. “No, but Perry teased me about it, and Jenna said something about me having a marital glow.”

  “Well, we know it's not marital glow,” he drawled, letting go of my hand and reaching over to put it on my flat belly. “That's all McGuire Junior right there, nestled on the inside. I’d say my swimmers were pretty dang good since they got past your birth control.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Kay-den,” I reprimanded, trying to draw his hand away and have him concentrate on driving.

  “No-no, just listen,” he tried to reason. “The way I see it, I'm due to have this child be mine.” He grimaced. “Well, ours. But the reason I think it's my baby and not my brothers’ is because I pack a load, and there’s that one time I didn’t pull–”

  I plugged my ears and told him, “I don't want to hear it anymore, Kayden Oliver!”

  He tugged the hand closest to him down from my ear. “All right, I'll leave it alone.”

  I smacked his shoulder. “You're such a guy.”

  He laughed, his deep blue eyes twinkling. “Yeah, but I'm your guy,” he shot back.

  I grinned and pointed to the road. “Yeah, you are, but don’t kill us.”

  He returned his gaze to the icy road and his hands to the wheel. “I’m driving, with both hands on the wheel.”

  Leaning over, I kissed his cheek. “Keep them that way.”

  As we turned down our short street, I took in the two houses before ours.

  The first house on the right was an older, two-story farm house set further back and had three trees that lined the driveway. At the moment those trees were bare and their branches shelved with fallen snow. The driveway led up to a two-car garage like ours did, and the front porch and shutters were painted an updated red, quite a contrast to the soft gray siding.

  I sighed and turned away, thinking gray on our house would be nice, but I wanted my shutters green as well as my front door.

  Kayden shot me a questioning glance. “That was a big sigh,” he noted. “You okay?”

  Giving him a smile, I laid my hand on his forearm. “Nothing to worry about. Just thinking.”

  We passed the second house on the left, which had no trees but still had the curved driveway that led up to a three-car garage. That house was much larger than the others on the street, and it had been updated this past summer—at least, that’s what Kayden had told me.

  “Faith?” Kayden prompted.

  My gaze moved from the bigger house to him. He slowed down and nodded out his window to it. “Having fixer-upper envy, Faith?” he teased me.

  I let out a noise of denial and sat back. “Of course not. I know we’ll get there... someday.”

  Kayden picked up his speed back to the normal pace and replied, “Good. Because it’s not the house that makes a home. It’s the people inside it.”

  At home, I dropped my purse by the door and tore off my boots then threw my coat over the single couch we had, just past the foyer in the living room.

  I groaned, pressing my hands against my back as Kayden came up behind me. His hands went for my shoulders and started to massage them.

  “The others aren't home yet,” he hinted. “How about we throw two of those frozen pizzas in the old oven that still seems to work and both of us head upstairs to take a warm shower together?”

  “But we have boxes to unpack...” I weakly protested.

  He drew my hair away from my shoulder and dipped down
to caress my neck in a sensual kiss.

  “Maybe...” I started to cave, letting his arms wrap around my hips.

  He rested his hands on my middle, drawing me back into his embrace as his lips made their way up to my ear. “I promise to make it worth your while,” he teased me. “I won't just take you to the festival, but I’ll take you all the way up to the Queen’s Court.”

  I laughed at his corny innuendos and drew out of his embrace to poke him in the stomach.

  Slipping my fingers into the band of his work pants, I told him, “You're on,” before bringing him to me for a kiss.

  His hands met my hips at the same time he growled against my lips. “I guess my corny come-ons worked.”

  I pushed him away, light-hearted with all our banter. “You wish.” I pointed to the kitchen. “Go put the pizza in the oven. I'm going to head upstairs and start the shower. And yes” – I smirked, wiggling my eyebrows – “you can come and join me.”

  He moved to the couch and pulled off his coat and boots before he went to the kitchen.

  He paused, turned back my way, and raised an eyebrow in question. “Did you change your mind?”

  I grinned, my stomach flipping in anticipation, before I raced up the stairs as my answer.

  Once in our bedroom, I moved to the master bathroom and was pleased to find it in semi good shape despite the clothes on the floor. I really needed to take them to Brady’s to wash them. The washer and dryer we had wasn't in any shape or form to use. That was on our list to buy as well as a refrigerator and stove.

  As my feet moved from the carpet to the cold tiled floor, I turned on the shower and made quick work of stripping but paused midway when I caught myself in the mirror. My pants were off, my arms were tucked in my shirt midway to taking it off, and my eyes drew down to my flat stomach.

  I shucked the shirt and turned sideways to get a better view, putting my hands on the low-rise of my hips before sliding them to the center. It was just a bit firmer than it was before, but then again, it was too early to tell.

  I was guessing I was at least eight weeks if not more, but I didn’t really have any idea when I got pregnant since we had been using birth control.