He opens his eyes and smiles at me. I smile back. “Yeah,” I whisper. “I think that sounds good, too.”
His second round of snacks taken care of, I hunt around the kitchen for fixings for dinner. There isn’t much to speak of when it comes to food, and though I’d be satisfied with a sandwich and chips, Livvie needs a good meal to keep up her strength.
A few minutes later and I’ve still got nothing. My cooking skills range from MREs to microwavable noodles, but I don’t see any of those in her fancy cabinets.
“Next time I tell you not to sell your car for a motorcycle, maybe you’ll listen,” my approaching mother snaps.
I unbuckle Cole from where he’s happily tossing his snack and watching it tumble to the ground with maniacal laughter.
“It’s not just a motorcycle, woman,” I hear my dad growl. “It’s a ticket to freedom from your constant nagging.”
“I can’t wait until you drive that monstrosity on my driveway. I’ll show you exactly where you can stuff your nagging.”
My mother flounces into the kitchen in a wave of AquaNet and attitude, where she immediately pounces on me. “I’ve given you plenty of time, Benjamin. Plenty of time. Now, your father is under some misguided impression that we should give you two more time to settle after everything that’s happened, but I’ll not be kept from my only grandson one day longer. Or my future daughter-in-law,” she adds with a pointed look.
Cole smashes his hands on the table in agreement, and my mom descends upon him with a sound of delight. Dad follows with the twins and I look to the ceiling for strength.
Dad turns to me and says, “I kept her away as long as I could, but there comes a time in a man’s life when our stamina just isn’t what it used to be.”
Livvie chooses that moment to return and blushes prettily at the entrance to the kitchen. Her hair falls around her shoulders in dark red waves. She smiles shyly at my dad and says, “Hey, Mr. Hart, Mrs. Hart. I’m sorry if you felt that you had to stay away. I-I would have come sooner, but—”
“No buts,” Mom interrupts. “Lord knows I raised Benjamin for eighteen years and then some. I know just what a pain in the ass he can be, and quite frankly, I’m glad I can finally wash my hands of him and have him be some other woman’s problem.”
Mom smiles at me, and I wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her to my side so I can press a kiss into her hair. “His stamina is just fine,” Mom also informs me, as though it were something I need to be made aware of.
Livvie hastily changes the subject. “Why don’t y'all join us for something to eat?” Though I doubt she knows what she’s getting herself into. Hanging around occasionally when we were kids is entirely different from becoming a part of my crazy family.
“What are we having?” Mom asks.
I nod to the stove. “I was making omelets.”
“Gross,” Mitchell says. “Ben can’t cook for shit.”
“You watch your mouth, Mitchell Hart,” Mom says sharply. “It just so happens I brought stuff to make lasagna. I figured the two of you could use a good home cooked meal.”
“You don’t have to cook for us, Mrs. Hart—” Livvie starts.
“I won’t hear a word about it, girl. Why don’t you boys help your father cart in the groceries? I’m going to sit for a spell and get to know my grandson.”
“Careful,” I tell her. “Make sure to watch out for his chest. Don’t pick him up by the armpits. Always lift from the neck and butt.”
“Oh, my,” she says as she picks him up. “What a handsome little boy!”
Livvie sits next to my mom at the kitchen table. “He knows it, too, I think. He’s a little flirt.”
“They mentioned it on the T.V. About his heart condition. Is he going to be okay?”
“He’s just fine. He had his second surgery a few weeks ago and will have to have another within the next few years.”
“Will he need some sort of transplant?”
“Hopefully not,” Livvie says. “If all goes well, his third surgery should take care of everything. He’ll have to be careful, and he’ll always be on medication.” She runs a finger over Cole’s hand. “But he’s just as happy as any other baby. Maybe tires a little bit more easily, and we have to be extra careful about germs and all that, but he’s a strong boy. He’s a fighter.”
“Oh, absolutely,” Mom says. Mitchell ambles in, his arms loaded down with grocery bags. She speaks to him without even looking first, “Mitchell James, don’t you even think about setting those bags down on the floor and wandering off on that damn phone. You unload those groceries on the counter there and put the bags in the trash.”
Mitchell groans and changes direction.
Livvie looks at my mom in awe. “I want to be you when I grow up.”
My mom winks at her proudly. “You stick with me, honey. You’ve got one of ours now. They’re a handful.”
“So I’ve learned,” Livvie says, looking at me.
I hold my hands up. “I haven’t done a damn thing.”
“You know he moved himself in with me.” Not this shit again.
Mom nods her head. “Good. That just shows that I’ve taught him well.”
Livvie groans. “I give up. I swear arguing with your family is like arguing with a bunch of rocks.”
“Stay around us long enough, you’re bound to pick up the same trait. It comes in handy with dealing with these guys.”
“I don’t know how you did it with the four of them.”
“Wine,” Mom answers and they share a laugh.
Dad nudges me on the shoulder. “You gonna take the next week off? If so, just let me know so we can get you covered at the shop.”
“I will if that’s all right with you. I’d like to keep close, at least until we’re sure this is over.”
“They got some leads?”
“A few. We’ll see if they pan out.”
“Good to hear, Son. And feel free to take as much time as you need.”
“Thanks, Pops. I appreciate it.”
He nods to me, then turns to Mom and says, “Alright woman, the men folk are hungry. Are we gonna eat or what?”
After spending the day surrounded by Ben’s family, I come to the decision that letting him have his way is the easiest way to handle the situation. After all, I’m the one in the wrong here. I’m the one who kept his son a secret from him. He just wants to protect his child, and that’s understandable, I reason. Once the threat passes and things settle down, we’ll be able to set up a more acceptable situation. One that doesn’t involve a living, breathing temptation sharing my bed.
With Ben’s family still happily chattering away in the kitchen, I take Cole upstairs to put him down for a nap. I’m drifting in and out myself when I hear a knock on the door. I ease myself out from under Cole’s body and tug a spare afghan around me, careful not to jostle my shoulder.
When I reach the foot of the stairs, I see Ben at the front door and beyond him Sofie and Jack. Oh, crap.
Sofie and Jack in the same room is bad by itself, but adding Ben to the mix is a surefire way for things to blow up now that they aren’t bound by social niceties.
I wince as soon as Jack’s eyes come to me. “Explain.”
“Well, come in. Don’t make Sofie stand outside.”
Jack glances behind him, looks Sofie up and down, and turns back as though he didn’t see her. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I don’t know what it is between those two, but they need to get over it or get back together before I wring both their necks.
When Jack doesn’t make room, Sofie pushes her way inside. She immediately comes to my side. “Hi, Cole’s dad! So nice to finally see you in the picture.” She waves to Ben, who’s closing the door behind a still-steamed Jack. “But I didn’t realize he came with a party. What’s going on?”
“Why don’t you come in the kitchen? I’ll make everyone something to drink. Ben’s mom made lasagna and there’s enough for a football team. You can make yourselves
a plate.”
Ben stops me by the entrance to the kitchen with a hand at my waist. I look up at his face, steadily ignoring the way my body reacts to his closeness.
“I’m going to go check on my parents. You okay here?”
“Yes, I’m not a child.”
He presses a short kiss to my lips and I raise a hand to his chest—to pull him closer or keep him at a distance, I’m not sure. His guerrilla-style tactics are hell on my resistance.
I ignore that and the looks on Jack and Sofie’s faces as I pull out tea and some extra plates. They might not want to eat, but I’m suddenly overcome with the urge to stuff my face, if only to keep from their inquisition.
“Uh,” Sofie starts. “What the hell was that?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I say around a bite of garlic bread.
“Too bad,” Jack says. “A few days ago, the two of you were barely speaking and now he’s walking around your house like he owns the place. He’s my friend, and I love him, but what the fuck?”
“Keep your voice down, Jack.”
Sofie nods. “I have to say, I agree with Jack.”
I narrow my eyes at my supposed best friend. Jack is supposed to be the enemy, and she should be on my side. What the hell?
“About time you agreed with me on something.”
“Don’t start.” Sofie turns back to me. “Spill.”
I rub the dull ache in my temple. “I was the one who was shot here. Shouldn’t you guys be giving him a hard time?”
Jack stops his furtive study of Sofie and looks back at me. “Don’t pull the injured card. I didn’t put up with a year of your wishy-washy bullshit for things to change and you not even tell me.”
“It’s not wishy-washy bullshit, Jack. Ben is just here so he and Cole can get to know each other. I feel safer with him here since the shooting. That’s all.”
“Oh, so he knows he’s Cole’s dad now?” Jack asks quickly.
I study him suspiciously for a beat. “Yeah. The news blabbed all about it while I was in the hospital and, you know…he was there, so…” I trail off, once again feeling like crap and not liking the way all of that went down.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Sofie says, placing a hand on my shoulder.
“We’re fine, really.” I glance back up toward my bedroom, where Cole sleeps peacefully. “I just hope we continue to be so lucky.”
“I’m going to go have a talk with Ben,” Jack says before grabbing his tea and bee-lining for the huddle of people outside.
“By ‘talk with Ben’ he means he’s going to go grill him about his intentions.” Sofie’s eyes linger on Jack a touch longer than necessary.
I groan. “Okay, I am over this conversation, Sof.”
“That’s too damn bad. You gotta catch me up here. So he found out he’s the baby-daddy at the hospital and what now? He’s shacked up here?”
“I don’t know, really. He says he’s here because he’s freaked out about me getting shot. My plan was to have him be a part of Cole’s life. But he seems to think we should just pick up where we left off.”
“And you don’t want to?” she asks, picking apart a piece of garlic bread.
“I have enough on my plate right now, learning the whole Mom thing and then going back to work. I don’t know if it would be a relationship out of necessity or based on real feelings. Does he just want to be with me because I’m the mother of his kid? It’s completely out of order. Not to mention that there is some lunatic going around shooting at me. I’m still trying to find out the cause of all this mess.” I gesture with my bandaged arm and wince at the tenderness. “A relationship with Ben isn’t part of the plan.”
Sofie’s eyes trail back to Jack, who is talking to Ben outside. “Yeah, well, love doesn’t always follow the rules, Liv.”
“Even so, I don’t have time for a relationship right now. I go back to work in a few weeks, and I just need to focus on Cole.”
Cole, thankfully, interrupts the inquisition just as Ben and Jack walk back inside.
“I’ll get him,” Ben says, already starting up the stairs.
Sofie gives me a pointed stare, which I steadfastly ignore.
“Hey, little man,” the monitor cackles.
Oh, sweet baby Jesus. All the female things inside of me turn to mush.
“Rise and shine, sleepyhead.” A chuckle sounds, followed by a few plaintive cries from Cole. “I know, I know. You don’t know who I am, but we’re going to get to know each other. I bet you’re hungry. Let’s get you changed, and we’ll hunt down your mom and go play with your new family.”
Sofie makes more eyes at me, but I’m too distracted by the sweet-as-hell conversation between them to notice.
“There you go, all clean. See? That wasn’t so bad. We may get the hang of this after all.”
When I hear footsteps coming down the stairs, I book it to the living room, not wanting to be caught listening to Ben’s conversation. Sofie and Jack follow closely behind. Ben rounds the corner to the living room with Cole lying on his bare chest, bundled up in a camouflage sleeper outfit.
“He’s all changed, Momma.”
I hold out my hands and Ben passes him to me. As my arms are full of squirming baby, I am unable to resist when Ben places another swift kiss on my lips. Then he turns to grab something from the kitchen and leaves me staring after him like I don’t have any sense. I catch Sofie’s knowing look before retreating to the rocker to feed Cole, only to find Ben’s mom, Sheila, at the backdoor with his father and brothers, giving me a knowing look of her own.
Somehow, my life has spiraled straight past normal and into crazy town.
IT IS AN impossible task, and that is saying something considering some of the shit I’ve had to do over the years. I stare at the mountain of products before me and vow to just grab one if I can’t make a decision in the next five minutes. You’d think a man who held the lives of twenty other Marines in his hands could handle picking out a pack of fucking diapers, but you’d be wrong.
“Ben?”
I turn my head and find my cousin Chloe and a big, hulking bastard walking up to me. I frown, because I don’t recognize him. “Chloe? What the hell are you doing here?”
Her face breaks into a wide smile and she throws her arms around my shoulders. “Visiting the family,” she answers after a lengthy hug. “I didn’t know you were back in town, too. Aunt Sheila must be slacking on the inter-family gossip.”
“Must be.” I shift my attention to the guy now standing behind her. I jerk my chin and extend the hand not holding a pack of diapers. “Hey, man. I’m Ben.”
“Gabe.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Chloe glances pointedly at the package in my hands. “Got something to tell me there, Ben? Your parents didn’t have any more surprise anniversary babies, did they?”
I choke out a laugh. “No, thank God. I think the twins were more than enough. No—uh, this is actually for me.” I clear my throat. “For my son.”
Her eyes widen. “When the hell did you have a baby?”
Gabe puts a hand over Chloe’s mouth and gives me a sympathetic look. “What she means is congratulations. That’s great news, man.”
“Thanks.” Apparently, this guy knew how to deal with Chloe’s outbursts—something that was a constant source of amusement amongst the rest of our family.
Chloe glares at Gabe and jerks his hand away from her mouth. “You know I can speak for myself, right?” She rolls her eyes then looks back at me. “The reason I ask is because I saw you not too long ago and you most definitely didn’t have any plans of having kids—nor were you currently even dating anyone. Last I heard, you and Olivia were still dancing arou—ohhhh!”
I look down at the perfectly innocent pack of diapers then back up at her. “Yes, his mom is Livvie. It’s—it’s a pretty long story.”
“I heard my mom talking about something that had to do with her when I was at her house the other day. Is it true she
was shot a few weeks ago?”
“That’s part of the long story, yes.”
Chloe gasps. “Oh, my God, is she okay?”
Gabe interjects before it can become a full-blown discussion in the middle of the grocery store. “Actually, we’re about to have dinner at Chloe’s place if you want to bring them by. We’d love to have all of you over.”
I give Chloe a pointed look. “Maybe then you’ll explain the rumor I heard about you on some island last summer.”
Chloe blushes and Gabe looks rather smug.
Livvie brushes a hand down her dress and winces when the movement jolts her shoulder. I shift Cole to my other hip and wrap my arm around her waist to support her weight, even though I know she’ll manage just fine on her own. She looks up, her lips forming a little ‘O’ of shock. When I kiss those lips, it surprises us both.
The moment shatters when Chloe opens the door to her apartment. Her lips pull into a knowing smile when she sees the three of us. I glance back down at Livvie and find her cheeks stained red. A part of me that has long since withered away comes to life, warming me from the inside out.
I urge Livvie forward when Chloe gestures us in. We find Gabe in the kitchen, whipping up something that looks like Heaven and smells even better. Chloe walks past us and leans in to give him a kiss.
“Move over,” I tell him. “That smells so good, I might have to kiss the cook, too.”
The girls laugh and Chloe says, “Sorry, Ben. He’s all mine.”
Livvie settles down onto a dining room chair with Cole in her lap. Chloe appears with an ancient set of blocks that must have weathered both of our families combined and dumps them in front of Cole on the table.
Warrior (First to Fight #1) Page 15