Helios Exposed (The Helios Chronicles #2)

by Tawa M. Witko

  Jayden rose, nodding. “Me too.” He let out a nervous chuckle. “First we had no bikes and now we have too many.”

  Andrew agreed. “I suppose that’s a good problem to have. At least we are working now.”

  It was still hard to believe that three weeks ago he and Jayden had absolutely nothing to do and were silently questioning whether opening a bike shop was a good idea. Now, they had so much work that it was becoming increasingly more difficult to keep up with everything.

  “Yes, it is great that we are so busy, but I’m serious, Andrew, you can’t stay.” Jayden said tapping his shoulder. “I know you, man. You’ll work on it until it’s done and then get home at midnight, and have Madison all stressing about you not being home.”

  Andrew grinned and nodded. Jayden was definitely right about that. Madison loved that he was working but had hinted that she missed him. He and Jayden had found themselves working later and later every night, just to get ahead, but their reputation preceded them, so every time one bike was done there was another one to replace it.

  “Alright, we should finish these two we’re working on and then we’ll go from there,” Jayden said determinedly. “I know that you and I talked about possibly refurbishing bikes as well, but we can’t do that if we can’t get ahead with our main service orders.”

  Andrew nodded with a sigh. “Paul just asked me about the refurbishing thing the other day. He had some ideas for what he wanted to do with one of his older bikes that’s just sitting in his garage collecting dust.”

  “What’d you tell him?”

  “To give me a few weeks and then we could look at it.”

  “Was he cool with that?”

  “Yeah, he said he doesn’t trust anyone else with his bike so he was willing to wait.” Andrew scratched at his scalp and shrugged. “We might need to hire someone to help us, at least part time, ‘cause this is a lot of work.”

  “That’s definitely something we will have to consider, but I think maybe things will slow down a little in another month or so. Let’s wait to make that decision until then. Is that cool?” he asked, hoping it was.

  Andrew smiled and slapped his shoulder. “That’s fine with me.” He looked at the clock. It was already six o’clock. “We better get a move on it or we’ll both miss dinner.”

  “Callie will have my head if that happens,” he snorted.

  28 Gift of Life

  Madison had been visiting with Callie for more than hour, waiting on Jayden and Andrew to arrive. The two of them had been exceedingly busy since mid-March, and while that was very good for business, it left their women wanting. Today they were all going to have dinner out and go catch a movie. Date night, as the girls had called it.

  “If that man is late,” Callie started to say but was interrupted when the door opened.

  “Late for what?” Jayden asked, stepping inside and giving her a quick kiss.

  She smiled brightly at him. “You know you can’t make a pregnant woman wait for food. That’s dangerous!”

  “Yes, I do know this,” he smiled and rubbed his hand over her stomach, feeling his child move about.

  In that time, Andrew had pulled Madison to him, kissing her sweetly on the forehead. He still sometimes couldn’t believe his luck. That he had found and lost and found again such an amazing woman was beyond the scope of reason.

  “You look nice,” she cooed, as her fingers played with the buttons on his shirt.

  He was thankful that they had the coveralls because his clothes were still clean from the day. He had, however, brought a change of shirts, which he had already put on. Madison smiled up at him, the same look of love and adoration as she always had when she gazed upon him.

  “I love you,” she whispered reverently.

  “I love you, too, baby,” he declared as he peppered her lips with soft kisses.

  He almost didn’t want to go out. He was seriously considering telling their friends that he and Madison decided to just chill at home, but he knew that Callie was really looking forward to going out. He knew this because Madison had been sure to remind him that morning to make sure that they weren’t late.

  “You guys ready?” Callie asked with fervor.

  Madison rested her head on Andrew’s chest again. “Yeppers.”

  “I heard this movie is really good,” she continued and suddenly gasped.

  “Callie, baby, are you okay?”

  “I…” she hesitated as her hand went over her stomach. “I think we need to go to the hospital.”

  “Are you serious?”

  She nodded. Jayden stood staring at her until Andrew snapped his fingers in front of him. Jayden blinked slowly and then shifted into action. He quickly grabbed the overnight bag Callie had packed a month ago and then his keys. While he was doing that, Andrew and Madison helped Callie into their car.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, near panicked.

  “The truck’s too high, Jay. Stella will be easier for her to get in and out of.”

  “Umm, uhhhh, well.”

  “Jay, it’s okay,” Callie said, peeking around her friend.

  Madison turned around. “Jay, give us your keys. You drive Callie and we’ll meet you there in your truck.”

  That seemed to ease his panic, as much as was possible considering the circumstances. Callie smiled at her friend as she watched Jayden run around to the driver’s seat. Madison handed Andrew the keys to the truck and quickly climbed into the passenger seat. Once Andrew was inside, he reached for her hand, which she gave him willingly. They followed as Jayden drove recklessly fast to the local hospital.

  “Geez, he better not break Stella,” Madison mumbled under her breath. “I love him but if he doesn’t slow down he’s gonna wreck.”

  “Says the woman who drives like a maniac,” Andrew laughed and squeezed her hand.

  She glanced at him with a raised brow, which caused him to laugh even harder. She rolled her eyes and grinned as they pulled into the parking lot near the emergency room. Jayden pulled up right to the front door and jumped out of the car just as several nurses and a doctor approached the vehicle.

  “She’s having contractions, five minutes apart,” Jayden shouted as he helped Callie out of the car.

  Madison walked over, slipped behind the wheel, and pulled her car alongside Jayden’s truck. Andrew waited for Madison before they both rushed inside to check on their friends. They saw Jayden following Callie, who was now on a stretcher. They were heading towards an elevator. Madison started to direct them to the nurses’ station when they saw Olivia approaching.

  “They’re taking her to the third floor. That’s the maternity ward. There’s a waiting room up there.”

  “Thanks, Auntie,” Andrew replied with a smile.

  Andrew and Madison found the maternity ward easy enough and waited, for hours, along with both Jayden’s and Callie’s parents, who he must have notified once Callie was settled. Madison was leaning against Andrew, nearly asleep by the time Jayden had come out. They all sat up as he approached them.

  “It’s a girl and she’s absolutely beautiful,” he beamed.

  Everyone jumped up and immediately hugged him, and offered their congratulations. Madison grinned as she waited her turn and thought to herself that Callie had been right all along. She had a little girl just as she had predicted.

  “When can we see her?” Liam asked.

  “How’s Callie doing?” Madison added.

  “They are both doing wonderfully. Callie is resting, but we can go see the baby. She’s in the nursery right now.”

  Everyone followed behind Jayden, who looked like he was a doctor giving a tour. The minute he pointed her out there was a collective sigh. Jayden was not lying when he said she was beautiful. She was actually beyond that, she was breathtaking. She was big too; 8 lbs and 9 ounces with a head full of dark, curly hair. She had obviously inherited her mother’s temperament because she just seemed to have a way of making everyone feel warm and happy inside. As
Madison got a little closer, she chuckled when she saw the name on the little card above her. Everyone turned to her in confusion.

  “Sorry,” she said, trying to settle her fit of laughter. “I just teased Callie the other day that the baby would be Baby Girl Bennett forever because she and Jayden couldn’t decide on a name.”

  “Very funny, Madison. We have decided on a name, but I don’t want to say what it is until Callie is awake and everyone is together.”

  His dads looked at one another and sighed. They were desperate to know her name but Jayden would not budge. The family visited outside the nursery for several more minutes as everyone tried to guess the name of the baby, only to be shut down by Jayden after each try. When one of the nurses started rolling the crib out of the room, Jayden motioned for everyone to follow him. Unfortunately, they were all stopped by a nurse that was coming around the desk to greet them.

  “Mr. Bennett,” she said sternly. “All of these people cannot come in. We have a strict policy of only two visitors at a time.”

  Jayden looked at Callie’s mom and smiled. “Ma’am, go on in. She was asking for you earlier.”

  She touched his hand and nodded. Everyone else disbursed to the waiting room until it was their time to visit with Callie. Andrew and Madison were last, knowing that the Bennetts needed to see their grandchild before they did. When they finally exited the room, they were huddled together looking at what Madison presumed were pictures of the baby they had taken while visiting. They looked like they were walking on a cloud of happiness.

  “Andrew, Madison, sorry it’s taken so long,” Jayden apologized.

  “It’s all good. Can we see them now?” Madison asked eagerly.

  “Come with me.”

  When they walked in, Madison immediately covered her mouth so as not to scream. Callie motioned for her with tears in her eyes. Madison rushed forward, hugging her friend gingerly and then pulled away to see the beautiful baby that she was holding. At that moment, the baby blinked and Madison was literally mesmerized by her crystal blue eyes that glinted like the ocean she loved so much.

  “Oh, Callie, she’s so beautiful.”

  Andrew smiled and nudged his friend who couldn’t stop smiling. Jayden directed Andrew closer to the bed so he could see the baby as well. She looked up to observe the new person in the room and tilted her head a little, as if to take him in completely. Andrew stared at her dumbfounded. This little girl looked like an angel. He glanced up to see that Jayden was gazing down at her as well. The happiness and joy on his face could not be denied. Callie then turned to Jayden and nodded at him. He nodded back, knowing exactly what she wanted to do.

  “Andrew, Madison. Callie and I would like to ask you something. It’s something that we’ve considered for a long time.”

  “Anything,” Andrew replied firmly, before he even heard what the question was.

  “We would like you two to be our daughter’s godparents.”

  Tears immediately started falling from Madison’s eyes as she looked up to Andrew. She grabbed his hand as she swallowed hard. He wasn’t exactly sure what being a godparent entailed, but if Jayden wanted him to do something, he would without question.

  “We know it’s something you guys probably want to talk about. We don’t expect a decision right away but we wanted to ask you so you could consider it,” Jayden stated thoughtfully.

  “Jay, whatever you want, I got your back. What exactly is a godparent though?” Andrew asked uneasily.

  Jayden looked at Callie and gently touched his daughter’s head. “It means that if something should happen to me and Callie that you and Madison would take care of her.” He looked up at him. “If that’s too much, we understand. There’s no pressure to say yes.”

  “You don’t want your parents to do it?” Andrew inquired.

  “Well, it’s not that. Of course my parents would step up and so would Callie’s mom but…” he paused, unsure how to articulate what he wanted to say to them, luckily Callie did.

  “We wanted you two because you are our best friends, and not only do we trust you completely with our daughter, but by becoming her godparents, you become our family,” she looked up to Jayden. “And that means everything to us.”

  Andrew nodded and glanced at Madison. “I don’t think we need to think about it, do we?”

  She shook her head and turned to her friends. “Yes, we would be honored to be Baby Girl Bennett’s godparents.”

  Callie laughed and tossed one of the receiving blankets at her friend. Madison dodged out of the way and picked it off the floor before hugging her friend.

  “I love you, Callie.”

  “I love you, too,” Callie replied, kissing her on the cheek.

  ~*~

  Callie and the baby had been discharged from the hospital two days ago. She and Jayden had then asked for everyone to come over so they could announce the name in front of everyone. She had not wanted a big deal. So, much to Liam’s dismay, she had simply had Jayden order pizza and hot wings. Although, not to be outdone, he had found time to prepare several meals for the young parents so that Callie didn’t need to worry about cooking for at least a week.

  “Wow, seriously, Liam is nuts. That’s a lot of food?” Madison stated, amazed as she shut the freezer door.

  “I know, he insisted, so I didn’t argue,” she said with a shrug.

  “Are you sure you won’t tell me the baby’s name ahead of time,” Madison asked Callie who simply shook her head. “I mean, I am her godmother, if that doesn’t award me any perks then I don’t know what will.”

  “You need to give up, Madison, she isn’t going to tell you,” Jayden said casually as he positioned the food on the table. “And neither will I,” he added before she could ask him.

  “Oh fine. I can wait,” she replied defiantly.

  “You sure about that,” Andrew whispered as he kissed her cheek.

  “Yes, I’m sure,” she nudged him.

  The first to arrive were the Bennetts of course, then Callie’s mom and siblings, then more friends and family. Before long, the house was full of people. The only ones missing were Jayden’s family from Ireland who weren’t able to come out for another few weeks, which was when the baptism would take place. The laughter in the house was joyous but there was an undercurrent of eagerness as well. Everyone wanted to know their child’s name.

  “Come on, you two. Tell us her name,” Callie’s mom begged.

  Jayden laughed and went to stand by Callie. “I know we have kept everyone in suspense for a long time.”

  “You got that right,” Madison stated.

  “Oh shhh, Madison,” Callie interjected with a smile.

  “Just saying what others won’t,” she grinned at her friend.

  She chuckled before she started to talk. “Jay and I have spent many months thinking about this.”

  “We have, because names are important,” Jayden continued as everyone gathered around them. “They not only define who we are but tell us where we come from as well.”

  “Liam, Elias, can you come a little closer?” Callie asked with her always-present smile.

  The Bennetts glanced at each other briefly and immediately went to them as Jayden took the baby from Callie and placed her in his father’s arms. As Liam held the baby, Elias laid his hands over her chest, feeling her tiny heartbeat under his touch. She immediately reached for his finger and squeezed, causing him to chuckle. He remembered clearly when Jayden used to do that as well. It brought him such a good feeling inside.

  “Callie and I would like to introduce everyone to our daughter, Ellie Li Bennett,” Jayden stated proudly as his parents looked up.

  “What?” Elias stuttered in shock while Liam was left speechless.

  “We wanted to name her after you guys,” Callie stated.

  “I know how important having me meant to you, the struggle you went through and what you still go through.” Jayden walked over to them and kneeled down, looking into their tear filled
eyes. “I want her to bear the names of the two bravest and most loving individuals I have ever known. I couldn’t have asked for better parents than the two of you. My little girl is a living testament of your love and there is no better way to show that then to give her your names.”

  “Jayden,” Elias started but couldn’t finish.

  “I love you both so much.”

  Elias nodded and pulled him closer, resting his head against his son’s and moving his arm around Liam. Jayden soon motioned for Callie, who kneeled next to him and placed her hand on little Ellie Li as her other arm wrapped around Jayden’s waist. They stayed that way for quite some time, until Ellie cooed and wiggled about. Everyone moved, and as they looked around, they realized that there was not a dry eye in the room. Everyone was crying, even Andrew had tears in his eyes at what he had just witnessed between Jayden and his parents.

  “Thank you, son,” Liam stated through tears as he leaned over and kissed Jayden and then Callie.

  “Welcome to our world, Ellie Li,” Madison said tearfully, touched by the scene before her.

  “Ellie Li,” Liam announced as he stood, holding a now wide awake little girl.

  Madison went to Callie and held her close. “Ellie Li is a perfect name. Look at them,” she nodded her head towards the Bennetts. “I’ve never seen them as happy as they are right now.”

  “I’ve never seen Elias smile so much.”

  “Me neither.”

  “Do you think I’m going to get my daughter back,” she questioned as she watched everyone passing her around.

  Madison laughed. “Probably when she cries, otherwise, nah.”

  “Well, hot wings here I come!”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

  The two friends held hands as they walked to the food table while little Ellie Li was handed from one person to the next. Each person welcomed her into the family, wishing her long life and happiness, while kissing her chubby cheeks.

  29 Freedom

  “Helios, baby, come on,” Madison yelled from the kitchen.