Baby Mine
A Hudson Family Series
Book 2 –Lucas and Sara
By Chontelle Brison
Copyright © 2016 by Chontelle Brison
All rights reserved. This publication or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is dedicated to my incredible family, specifically my husband, who puts up with all of my middle of the night, scene ideas and who is always willing to read all my drafts!
Whoa! Wait! Hold on! One Sec…Please!!
Thanks for downloading my new Book!
If you enjoy the book, please leave me a review for it.
I know your time is valuable, but I promise it only takes a few seconds!
**********
“Don’t even think about it Hudson.” Came Synclair’s exasperated tone. Sara sighed as she knocked on the screen door that led to the Hudson family home.
She was greeted by a smirking, half dressed, Dalton Hudson. He managed one palm on the doorframe and the other on the pancake he was attempting to shove into his mouth. She shook her head as she nudged him aside. She was certain that dimpled smile he had charmed the pants off many girls, but since she had helped clean that dirty face when he was a child, she looked at him more like a younger brother than a full-grown man.
“Synclair, I’m the doctor, and I’m telling you that you are not doing it, woman.” Sara heard Reece Hudson hiss.
Smiling, she followed the sounds into the kitchen, Dalton chuckling as he trailed behind her. She grinned when she saw the sight unfolding in the Hudson’s kitchen. At the massive wooden table sat an amused Rachel Hudson, the baby of the family and to her left, grinning like a loon, was her older brother Matt. However, it was Reece that got Sara’s consideration.
He stood by the kitchen counter in his gray dress shirt and tie with black slacks, for a veterinarian he dressed like a man out of an Armani Magazine. She observed him do the classic Reece sigh and in true Hudson form, he ran one hand through his black locks. His green eyes never left Synclair’s storming, hazel ones. Sara realized she had stepped into yet another, Reece and Synclair battle.
If there hadn’t been so much hostility in the room, she would have giggled. Reece had lost Synclair over a bet when they were still in college. After a sequence of events that shouted, divine intervention and maybe a little Hudson family convincing, they ended up back together. Now that Synclair was about five months pregnant, Reece was always shadowing her to get her to slow down.
“Listen, Doctor Do-little, you are a VETERINARIAN.” Sara watched Synclair poke Reece with her finger. “I am not one of your patients, I am strong, our baby is active, and there is no reason why I can’t teach self-defense classes at the community center, trust me, the guys in this city could do with a little ass kicking from the women.”
It was rather amusing to see the redheaded, much shorter, pregnant woman poking the beast that was Reece Hudson. Sara felt for the guy, Synclair was incredibly independent and was not used to people caring about her decisions.
Grabbing the finger that was still poking his chest, Reece brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of her hand. “I get it, hon, okay.” He soothed. “You want to make sure women aren’t hurt.” Reece pulled a reluctant Synclair into his arms.
Synclair visibly struggled with her jumbled emotions before giving in and wrapping her arms around Reece’s waist. You could see the relief on his face when she snuggled deep into his chest. It was unbelievable how good he was with her.
“Damn Bro, you're like the Synclair whisperer.” Dalton mused earning him a slap on the back of the head from his sister Rachel who was watching everything like it was a Disney movie.
“Okay Reece, let’s compromise. I will instruct the women how to kick box and how to defend themselves, but I won’t hit the bag or spar with anyone. Fair?” Synclair was looking up at Reece, eyes full of love.
Sara wanted to sigh. It reminded her of that empty hole in her heart. Seeing Reece and Synclair so in love just brought back things that she once thought she and Lucas would have. That horse has left the barn, Sara, besides you have Logan.
Thinking about her young son made her smile. Logan was smart, funny and her entire world. However, she also remembered how it felt to be all alone, no one had hovered over her when she had been pregnant, all by herself, her parents had been too caught up in their own lives, Lucas had walked away from her and the town thought she was just a whore.
Shaking her head to clear memories that were better left alone, she cleared her throat.
Synclair turned her head and smiled. Not waiting for Reece to answer her about the compromise she presented, she pushed away to greet Sara. She had gotten about one foot away when Reece wrapped his arms around his pregnant fiancé and drew her back against him smiling.
“Two days a week and not past dark, unless one of my brothers or I drive you home. You're not used to how dark the roads are out here, it’s not like Vegas.”
For a moment, Synclair looked like she was going to argue with him. Then Sara saw her face soften. “Okay, Hudson, but it’s three times a week and on Fridays you drive me home after you take me to dinner,” She told a grinning Reece.
Crisis averted the Hudson kitchen seemed to slip back into its usual routine. At least, the one that had been happening since Reece and his siblings had brought Synclair back from Florida. Synclair always cooked breakfast, which both Matt and Dalton were inhaling at record speed. Then Matt or another person would clean up, Reece would head out to his Veterinarian office in town, and she and Synclair would work on the plans for the Diner.
A well-known Las Vegas Chef in Culinary had trained Synclair in culinary. The woman could whip up something out of nothing and make it taste amazing. So of course, Sara had offered to partner up with her in the Diner that Sara owned. Sara loved her Diner. It provided security for Logan and herself and allowed her a lot of flexibility with her schedule. When Logan was not in preschool, he had a room in the back with toys, a desk, and a small bed for naps. However, Sara knew that the Diner needed some serious upgrading, but she just didn’t have the money. As it was, the Diner was only just keeping her head above water.
She had considered taking out a loan to remodel. However, she was too afraid of the debt. Therefore, she was ecstatic when Synclair came back from Florida and announced she was engaged to Reece and offered to be a full partner with her. It meant taking Sara’s small, rundown Diner and remodeling it to be a major restaurant. Sara had never had a partner before, but she knew that Synclair had run a top bar in Las Vegas before coming to Carson City. Put that with Synclair’s cooking knowledge and Sara’s experience at running a Diner and both women felt they couldn’t lose.
So, for that last few weeks, Sara had dropped Logan off at preschool, checked in every morning with her Diner staff and came to the Hudson house to work on plans with Synclair. They needed to have everything dialed in so that Sara knew how long the rebuild would take. She had about six months in her savings that she could use for her and Logan to live on while the remodel was happening. After that, if the restaurant didn’t open on time or
If it were a flop, Sara would be ruined. However, she chose not to think about that notion. She was creating security for both herself and her son; she was going to prove that she more than just the town scandal.
“Earth to Sara, come back Sara.” Came an annoying voice, accompanied by an e
qually annoying hand waving in front of her face.
Sara blinked and her warm chocolate brown eyes caught with Synclair’s amused hazel ones. Laughing, she batted away Synclair’s hand. “Sorry, I had to tune out the love fest; some of us haven’t even had our coffee yet.”
She watched as Synclair waved to Reece as he left and clapped her hands loudly. “Okay, minions, who gonna do dishes?” She asked loudly.
Sara chuckled as Rachel, Matt and Dalton tried to rush out the kitchen entryway simultaneously. She couldn’t help but be amused as each sibling attempted to push the other out of the way. When they all finally stumbled out of the kitchen, she turned to look at Synclair. They both knew what was coming; it was the same thing that happened every morning.
“Hudsons!” Synclair bellowed in mock anger. For a moment, all they heard was loud mumbling just outside the kitchen. They were apparently arguing over who would be the human sacrifice this morning, their task, to clean up all the pancake mess and dishes from breakfast. Seconds later, Dalton was pushed through the doorway.
“Sure Sis,” He said sweetly giving Synclair a kiss on her cheek. “I would love to do dishes.” Sara didn’t miss the glare he threw over his shoulder at his laughing siblings.
“Thanks, Dalt.” Synclair clamped him hard on the shoulder and pushed him toward the sink.
“Don’t worry, it’s good for him,” She whispered. “Dalton could use a little humble pie,” Synclair explained as she dragged Sara to the family room.
Dalton bowed and turned to complete his task. Sara laughed. Dalton Hudson was a character. With his dark, chestnut hair and signature Hudson green eyes and dimples, he was a total player. However, since Sara had known the brat since he was born, had even changed his diapers, his Hudson charm never worked with her.
Sara couldn’t help but feel proud of how all the Hudson’s had grown up. After their parents had died, Lucas and Reece being the two eldest had taken on the task of raising their siblings, with their sister Rachel only being about fourteen at the time.
Sara remembered the look of devastation on Lucas’s face when he showed up at her apartment. His dark green eyes were red and swollen, his face was drawn, and his handsome features were pain stricken with grief. Unlike Sara’s parents, Jeanie and Colt Hudson were wonderful, caring parents. Given the fact that Sara’s parents were too busy fighting, drinking and cheating on one another, Jeanie Hudson had become like a mother to her. Sara knew when Lucas had shown up at her door soaked from the rainstorm outside that at the young age of twenty-eight his whole world was going to change.
Lucas had taken on the task of taking care of his family and the family ranch as he did with anything else in life. With passion, precision and focus. Of course, had Sara helped anywhere she could. She would pick up Rachel from school, cooked meals; she helped both Dalton and Matt apply to the local colleges and even helped Reece to file for divorce from his awful first wife.
However, it had not gotten past Sara how much all the responsibility changed him. Lucas had gone from a laughing, light-hearted young man to a brooding, stressed out stranger. They no longer laughed together, he worked long hours on the ranch and then when we wasn’t working on the ranch he was going to Rachel’s basketball games or making sure his three younger brothers were staying out of trouble. Sara had never complained, though, she was just happy to be a part of his life, a part of all their lives. At times, it felt like the Hudsons were more family than her own were.
“Hey, woo hoo.” Synclair cried waving her hands in front of Sara’s face for the second time that morning. “I’m going to get a complex here in a second,” She added laughing.
“Geez, you are annoying.” Sara chided. She watched as Synclair clutched her heart in mock anguish.
Rolling her eyes, Sara sat on the floor in front of the coffee table and pulled a folder out of her bag. She waited for Synclair to join her. “Ta Da, our plans got here this morning, the designer made the plans just the way we wanted,” Sara explained unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.
“Wow, these are awesome, so not only can we make more dining room space but by knocking out the back wall we can update the kitchen, freaking awesome!” Synclair practically shouted while holding up a palm for a high-five.
Sara happily obliged, and the two women began talking a million miles a minute about all the changes they were making.
Hating to squash Synclair’s enthusiasm but knowing she had to tell her partner the dreadful news, Sara took another document out of her handbag and slid it across the table to her.
“These are the bids from the contractors?” Synclair asked letting out a deafening hiss.
“Yeah,” Sara confirmed grimly. The estimates were far higher than they had originally projected for and would take them right into the heart of winter. Sara knew she’d be cutting it close with her savings and the timetable but nevertheless felt like they could make it work.
“Shit,” Synclair answered eventually. No sooner had the word escaped her mouth when she suddenly thrust her hand into her pocket and drew out a wrinkled dollar bill. Sara watched Synclair, apparently annoyed, hold the dollar in the air without even glancing up from the bid sheet.
Dalton appeared from the kitchen and snatched the dollar, spun around and placed it in a large jar on the fireplace. It read.'Swear Jar- Donations welcome.’ Sara struggled to not to snicker as Dalton turned, stooped down and kissed Synclair on the cheek. Irritated Synclair waved the laughing man away.
Sara raised one eyebrow at Dalton, who beamed. “We all elected to help Slugger here reign in her um, more colorful terminology,” He illustrated.
“So when my delightful, nephew… or niece,” He corrected when Synclair gave him her signature glare, “is born their first words won’t be curse words.”
“So every time I curse, I give up a dollar.” Synclair finished, clearly annoyed with the exchange.
Sara couldn’t hold back her laughter now. “So just how many dollar bills do you carry about all day?”
That made Synclair look up from the paper that Dalton was struggling to read over her shoulder. “About 50,” She told Sara giggling.
“What the hell?” Dalton asked abruptly, all traces of amusement left his handsome face. He snatched the contractor bid sheet out of Synclair’s hands and stared at her then Sara.
The women groaned in unison. Here it came. When she and Synclair had first agreed to completely overhaul the Diner into a family restaurant, Dalton had offered to help out with construction. Sara knew that Dalton was a successful contractor, he had built most of the new homes in the area, and his company was regularly booked for months out.
The women had agreed they didn't want Dalton to lose money by allowing them special treatment and had deliberately not included him when they requested bids from contractors in the city. Sara could see that Dalton was not happy he was left out.
“What the hell Slugger? You got bids from other contractors?” He shouted clearly hurt.
Synclair rose from the floor and placed her hands on her hips. “I told you Dalt, we are not taking special favors from you, I don’t take handouts,” She spoke, her chin lifted defiantly.
That seemed to take the anger right out of Dalton’s face. His expression relaxed, and he pulled Synclair into a quick hug. Once he drew away, he grasped her small face in his large palms.
“You are my sister, you are carrying my niece or nephew,” He declared placing one hand on her rounded belly. “Your family, you’re a Hudson, and we take care of our own. You are just going to have to get used to being adored and taken care of sweetheart, cause we’d hunt you to the ends of the earth.”
Sara felt tears well up in her eyes. Dalton had grown up into such a kind man. Somehow he knew that Synclair was still battling to accept that, so many people cared about her.
Feeling like she was encroaching on a private moment, Sara began to back out of the room. She was almost to the kitchen door when Dalton looked up, and his olive eyes spotted
her. Kissing Synclair on the forehead, he thrust the paper into his pocket and closed the distance between Sara and himself.
Putting his hands on Sara’s shoulders, Dalton dragged her reluctant body into his. Dalton had known Sara his whole life, she had taught him to read, taught him how to tie his shoes and when his parents had passed she had taken over like a pseudo-mother.
That was until his older brother Lucas had screwed up everything and lost the best thing that would ever happen to his sulking ass. He waited until Sara finally gave in and returned his embrace. It almost made him smile how small these two women were that were so vital to him.
“You have known me my whole life, you are part of this family, Sara, without you, I don’t know what we would have done. So despite that fact that my brother is a twit, don’t you ever forget it.” His features were determined as he spoke.
Sara sighed, she had missed this. Dalton had always been a hugger. Even when he was younger, he would hug her when she stepped through the front door and made certain to hug her before she left.
Still Sara felt that she and Synclair had to stay firm. “Dalt, honey I appreciate it, but Synclair and I are not taking you away from your projects.”
He considered her sharply for a minute before a sly grin stretched across his face. “It’s kind of cute that you ladies think you have a voice in this.” With that, he patted Sara on the head, swooped up the blueprints and strode toward the kitchen. “I’ll call you next week to let you know the material costs Sara, since that’s all you guys will be paying for, and this will be done in four months, not eight,” He shouted never glancing back at the confounded women.
“Damn stubborn Alpha male Hudsons.” Synclair cried out in frustration. Sara would have laughed, but Matt chose that moment to stroll into the family room with his palm outstretched. Grumbling, Synclair fished another dollar out of her pocket and slapped it in his hand. With a peck on her cheek and her belly, he sauntered out of the room whistling all the while.
Baby Mine: A Hudson Family Series- Book Two- Lucas and Sara Page 1