Synclair, who had taken two strides toward the cell, stopped and got an angry look on her face. “They weren't in an accident, Sara, they were fighting.” She explained as she eyed the unknown man who was sitting on the cement bench, head hanging.
“My guess is that this guy right here is…” Synclair didn’t get to finish.
“Jake? Why the hell are you guys fighting with Jake?” Rachel demanded.
Sara wasn’t sure who Rachel was more pissed off at, her guilt-ridden brothers or the man who’s turquoise colored eyes jerked up to Rachel as soon as she had opened her mouth.
Sara’s mouth dropped in surprise as the man, she now recognized as Jake Summers, proprietor of the bar called ‘Jake’s Bar,’ and the man that Rachel had revealed giving up her V-card too, pushed past the huge, sullen looking Hudsons and gripped the bars of the cell. He placed his handsome, battered face as close to the bars as he could.
“Rachel I…” Rachel cut him off with one raised, polished hand. She stepped toward the cell and eyed her brothers. None of them would meet her gaze.
“You did this to them?” She asked astonished. Her brothers were enormous, and Dalton and Matt were ex-SEALS; yet, Jake had taken them all on.
“I did, but I don’t feel good about it, Princess, they were just defending your honor, I had it coming.” He drawled in a tone that was almost whimsical and mollifying.
Rachel walked right up to the cell and before anyone could stop her she nailed Jake Summers in the nose through the opening between the bars. “Don’t call me Princess!” She shouted as she backed up holding her bruised hand.
Jake reared back clutching his bleeding nose, apparently it hadn’t been the first blow it had taken in the last twelve hours. While Jake roared in pain, Sheriff Jones unlocked the cell and stepped back as the Hudson men filed out. All of them snickering at Jake, who wisely had decided to remain in the cell a bit longer.
The snickering didn’t last long, “Wait, how did you know that Rachel’s honor needed defending?” Sara asked trying to make sense of what was happening.
“I mean we didn’t even know until last night?” She added.
The moment the women figured out how the Hudson men could know that Jake had slept with Rachel, three things happened. Rachel flung herself at Matt, seeing as was closest, Sara swung a right hook that connected hard with Lucas’s already bruised, right cheek and Synclair screamed as she collapsed to the ground.
**********
“Reece sit down and stop pacing you're making my head pound,” Lucas growled at his brother.
It had been a whole hour since the ambulance had brought Synclair in. She had been unconscious and frighteningly pale when they had wheeled her past the Hudsons and Sara in the emergency room. Since then, Reece had been pestering the nurses every five minutes for information. At one point Dalton and Lucas had to physically restrain him when he tried to push his way back through the doors where doctors were working on patients.
Sara didn’t know if she wanted to hug the man or smack him, or all of them for the matter. They had all been so busy trying to rein in Synclair or watch every move she made they missed all the big stuff. It was Rachel that told the doctors, that while Synclair was the primary cook, she didn’t seem to eat much. That Synclair was always rubbing her temples and had suffered migraines and panic attacks throughout her life, was another bit of information that Rachel had offered up.
Sara couldn’t help but worry, without a complete health history of Synclair’s mother, who had died of a drug overdose, or her father who had run off when she was born, there was no real way to know if she was prone to certain ailments. They even called her Uncle Jack in Ireland, he had taken Synclair in when her mother had died of a drug overdose. In fact, he had been her partner in the bar in Las Vegas. He had been living in Ireland with his daughter Cami since the bar had been burned down in a fire. He was so worried that his daughter Cami had taken over the phone call.
Sara had never met Cami but had spoken to her once or twice. Since Sara had been deemed a bridesmaid in Synclair’s wedding, they had spoken about dresses and the like. She was a lovely woman, a little younger than Dalton with a thick Irish accent that Sara loved.
“Now don’t mess me about Sara, me Da is fit to be tied, is she alright?” Came the worried voice.
“We’re waiting right now for the doctors, if Jack thinks of anything in his mother or sister’s medical history, please let me know, it may be helpful. I’m not going to lie, she’s been under a lot of stress, her life has changed so much and so fast.” Sara told her honestly.
“I can well imagine it, I was in that house for little over an hour, and I wanted to yank my hair out and don’t even get me started on that arrogant arsehole Dalton.” She told Sara the irritation in her voice coming through clear as day.
Sara laughed. Synclair’s uncle had shown up at the Hudson’s house, and Cami did not like how he was trying to push Synclair towards Reece. Before Cami could tell Synclair that Jack was working with Reece to get her to stay with him, Dalton had hoisted the cursing Irish woman over his shoulder and traipsed outside with her. A short time later, Dalton had stomped back in the house wet from head to toe while a smirking Cami was waiting in the rental car for Jack to finish his visit.
No one could get either Cami or Dalton to talk about what happened that day, but Sara wished she could have been there seeing Dalton, the ladies man, who charmed every woman within a hundred-mile radius with his sexy smile, get turned down flat by a short, angry woman from Ireland would have been priceless.
“I promise I’ll call you if anything changes, I know they all love her, and Reece is going out of his mind, please let your father know she’s in good hands,” Sara replied.
“Aye, I’ll do that, and let her know I’m planning her a grand wedding, just what she wants with spring flowers and everything outdoors, you tell her to call me when she’s feeling better, and I’ll send her pictures of all my plans. Do you think she’s still serious about having it on Halloween?” Cami asked, her disbelief evident.
Sara had to admit when Synclair said she wanted to be married on Halloween everyone kind of froze. However, once she had explained that it was the one time of year that she could go to any neighborhood, and no one cared what she dressed like, that on Halloween she was just like any other kid trick or treating, so everyone rallied behind her.
“Yeah Cami, I’m pretty sure she still wants Halloween.”
“Then Halloween, my cousin, shall have, bye Sara.”
Sara said goodbye and hung up the phone. While it was a nice distraction now that she was sitting in the waiting room chair with nothing to do but worry, she found her hands trembling.
Out of nowhere a large hand covered hers. She jumped at the contact, she hadn’t even seen Lucas sit down. She looked at the bruised knuckles on his hands and saw the haunted look in his green eyes. His face had bruises, and one cheek had a small cut that appeared to have stopped bleeding. She was angry, so furious but right now she just wanted him to hold her. It had been a very long, emotional draining twenty-four hours, and it looked like it was going to be another one. She knew she should push him away and demand he go to the other side of the room with his family, but Sara couldn’t make her mouth form the words, couldn’t get her hand to pull from his. Sighing she put her head on his shoulder and wept.
**********
Lucas didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around Sara. He kissed her on the top of her head and murmured words of comfort while she quietly sobbed in his arms. He wasn’t sure if she was worried about Synclair or if the fight from yesterday had brought up old feelings. Lucas didn’t care, for whatever reason she was turning to him to comfort her and he refused to let her down, not now, not again.
“Reece?” Dr. Williams called as he walked into the waiting room. He scowled at Reece, he had been the Hudson family doctor since Lucas was born and he never pulled any punches.
“Doc, is she okay? Can I see her?” Reece asked
, his voice raw with emotion.
“She’s dehydrated, morning sickness doesn’t usually persist into the second trimester this far but apparently it’s still been a problem for her.” Doc Williams explained while giving Reece his, -‘why didn’t you know she was having issues?’- look.
Reece ran a hand through his dark hair, hung his head and sighed. “I didn’t know she was still getting sick if I had known I never would have left for the day until I was sure she had eaten something.” Reece practically growled.
“You see, that right there is exactly why she didn’t tell you,” Sara said shrugging out of Lucas’s embrace. Getting to her feet, she wiped the tears from her cheeks and glared.
“Jesus, for a smart man you are a real idiot.” She huffed, drawing muffled chuckles from the room.
“You have to relax Reece, you won, you got her, she loves you, and she’s here and trying to build a life with you. You have to let her grow and ease into this new life with you. If you keep smothering her, you're just sending her the message that you don’t trust her to take care of herself or your child.” Sara finished, her eyes softened when Reece’s green eyes looked up at her almost pleadingly.
Sara sighed, the man looked like he was about to break at any moment. “Listen, you have to figure out a way to support Syn in being who she is, you love that feisty, witty, sarcastic, ass-kicking woman.”
Reece nodded, “You also love that she is loyal, and fights for the people she loves, so trust her to love you guys the way she knows how and the rest will come later, but if you cage her in and clip her wings she’ll just grow to resent you Reece, she can’t be something she’s not.”
“And what would that be?” Lucas asked coming up behind Sara. She felt the warmth from him surround her, and she had to fight the urge to lean back into him.
“Boring,” Matt answered.
“Submissive.” Dylan snorted.
“A floor mat,” Rachel added.
“Alone again.” Reece vowed, “ever.”
Reece turned to Doc Williams and asked, “Can I see her, I need to grovel, beg and plead, I would prefer to do it alone but if I have to wait until she gets out of here, I will.”
Doc Williams pushed his glasses back up on the bridge of his long nose and smiled. “Yeah, go on in.”
Reece’s brothers and Rachel gave him encouraging slaps on the back as he pushed through the doors to where Synclair lay. She was hooked up to machines that showed her heartbeat.
Reece was instantly alarmed at how fast her heart was beating. He rushed to her side and grabbed the hand that wasn’t laid up with an IV needle. She turned her head, and sad hazel eyes stared up at him. Reece felt like someone had gut checked him. She was laying in a hospital bed with one hand on her growing belly, and the other was swallowed up by his larger one.
“Your heartbeat is so fast, I’m gonna get Doc,” Reece told her as he started to pull away.
Synclair had other ideas and gripped his hand harder to keep him from rising. “It’s not my heartbeat, that’s the baby, that’s your son Reece.” She smiled up at him, some of the sadness left her eyes, and Reece exhaled a breath of relief.
Reece felt his eyes widened as her words sank in. “That’s the baby? Our baby- m-my son?” His eyes filled with tears as he listened to the rapid beat of his child’s heart. His chest filled with pride as he realized his baby was strong, just like Synclair.
“It’s a boy, isn’t that what you wanted?” Her face was pale and still filled with hurt.
Reece wanted to kick his own ass. He had spent so much time and energy trying to carve out a life here for Synclair, he hadn’t stopped to give her a moment to do it for herself. He shook his head and refused to let go of her hand, even as she struggled to pull it back.
“I want a healthy child love, that’s it. Boy or girl doesn’t matter.” He smiled and kissed the back of her hand.
Her eyes narrowed as Synclair again tried unsuccessfully to extract her hand from Reece’s grip. “I’ll do my best not to disappoint you, Hudson,” Synclair replied the bitterness evident in her voice.
Reece moved closer, using his free hand to grab her chin and force her to meet his gaze. “You could never disappoint me if anyone should be worried about being a disappointment it’s me.”
Reece smiled at the look of disbelief crossed her lovely features. “I’m an idiot, I’m not going to lie, you scare the hell out of me Syn.”
Disbelief turned to annoyance, and she jerked her chin from his grasp. Letting go of her hand he cupped her face, not letting her look away from him. He needed her to hear him, to understand what he was saying.
“I guess thugs are scary, right?” She bit out glaring at him with tear-filled eyes.
Reece sighed, “I shouldn’t have said that. I am the one that keeps screwing up, you’ve never asked me to change, and yet, I keep trying to change you. You scare me because I can’t breathe without you.” Reece told her.
Synclair’s snort said she wasn’t buying it.
“I have been trying to keep you and the baby safe by shadowing your every move. I wanted so badly for you to be happy here that I tried to force it. I should have just trusted that you would find your own groove. Also, your passion is a force of nature, honey. The fact that you’re willing to defend the people you love so fiercely makes me love you more, I just couldn’t handle it if something happened to you.” His admission drew a long sigh from Synclair.
She eyed him for a moment, her face unreadable. “If you're going to love me, then you have to love all of me, even the parts that scare you. I’m scared too. I don’t know how to be a mom, a wife or a sister, hell I’m pretty sure my cousin Cami probably hates me.” She looked down and pulled at the loose string on her hospital blanket.
“I only know one way to love, Reece, one way to be, and that’s me, and yeah I need to think a little more before I act, but I’m working on it.”
This time, she let him lift her chin. When she searched his eyes, she saw her Reece, the man that loved her and trusted her.
“Doll, I want you any way I can get you, I’m just so happy to have you.”
Reece brushed his lips softly against hers. He nibbled her bottom lip until she gasped. Taking full advantage, he slipped his tongue between her lips and teased her mouth with his. For a moment she stiffened, then he felt her melt into his touch.
“Oh my god, seriously? Geez, my brothers are the horniest men. Just gross.” Rachel complained from the doorway.
“Me? You're the one bumping uglies with Jake,” Reece told her.
Synclair watched as Rachel’s eyes blazed with understanding. “You were eavesdropping.” She accused while pointing her finger at her meddling brother.
Reece didn’t bother to deny it, “Yeah, we were, and you need to stay away from Jake, he’s too old and carries too much baggage for you.” Reece warned.
Rachel snapped up the remote that was on the hospital tray and chucked it at her brother’s head. Reece dodged at the last moment, and the remote crashed against the wall.
“Damn sis, nice arm,” Matt told her coming in the room. Moments later the room was filled with Hudsons and one Sara Wilmington, who had nudged Reece out of her way so she could stand next to Synclair.
“You all are to stay the hell out of my sex life,” Rachel shouted.
The men groaned. Dalton covered his ears, and Matt shook his head.
“You're our sister, you deserve better than a donut, Rachel,” Lucas explained.
Rachel glared at her brothers. They were always treating her like some mindless infant.
“Fuck you, Lucas, I’m twenty-one, and Jake is only twenty-eight, and if I want to bump uglies or eat donuts off his penis, I will.” She practically screamed while enjoying the cringing of her brothers.
She turned to stomp off, barely acknowledging the thumbs up Synclair gave her as she stomped out the door.
Sara and Synclair outright giggled. The men turned to them, their expressions somewhere betwe
en amused and outright confused.
“Well, I hope Jake buys you a beer next time you see him,” Synclair told Reece laughing.
Reece narrowed his eyes and Lucas put his hands on his hips and glared at the women.
“Why?” Lucas demanded.
Sara and Synclair looked at one another and then burst out laughing.
“Because you just got Jake laid.” Synclair giggled.
Lucas felt his stomach roll, he didn’t need to look around to know his brothers were feeling the same thing.
“Yep, I guarantee you Rachel is making a beeline straight for Jakes, she’ll be on her back-.”
“Or knees.” Sara interrupted enjoying the pale looks on their battered faces.
“Or knees, good one Sara,” Synclair replied.
“You see men, you just don’t learn, you can’t tell a strong woman what-.”
“Or who.” Synclair broke in gaining a big grin from Sara.
“Or who, to do. The sooner you get it, the sooner you’ll understand women.” Sara finished.
“Who wants to go home?” A smiling Doc Williams announced from the open doorway, waving discharge papers.
When all the Hudsons raised their hands, Synclair and Sara laughed harder.
**********
“Dad,” Sara called as she unlocked her apartment door. As soon as she saw the note on the fridge, she smiled. Her father had taken Logan to Minden for the night. Sara had two cousins who lived there, they had kids about Logan’s age, and he loved to visit. As for Sara, she never quite felt comfortable around her older cousins, while they had always been kind to her, she always felt like such a disappointment compared to all they had accomplished. Gabe, her oldest cousin, was a successful land developer, and Ryan was a corporate businessman.
Realizing she had the house to herself, Sara smiled. She grabbed the bottle of Chardonnay out of the fridge and set it on the counter, then went to work putting together her Netflix snacks. It was time to catch up on her missed Walking Dead episodes.
Baby Mine: A Hudson Family Series- Book Two- Lucas and Sara Page 12