by Xavier Neal
Knowing Sara had a name picked out that she refused to share with me, I realize I never thought of one. Curious I ask, “What would you name him?”
Luke shrugs. “I don’t know. I never thought I’d have a kid someday. I mean I wanted one, but...ya know.” He smiles down at our son and says, “Why not something meaningful? Like Alexander?”
“What does it mean?”
“Defender. Protector.”
“So just like his father.” I plant a kiss on Luke’s cheek.
“Fathers,” he corrects me. “You did what you thought you needed to protect him. To stay in his life. I won’t hold that against you, but don’t ever keep shit from me again. Ever. Nothing big. Nothing small. No more secrets. Got it?”
“Got it.”
Luke smiles and looks down at the baby. “How does Alexander sound to you? You wanna be baby Alex?”
He squeaks out a sound and I sigh, “I think he loves it.” Sweetly Luke coos at him again before I say, “And I think I love you.”
Sarcastically he gives me a look, “You think?”
Seeing the flustered look on his face that I adore I chuckle, “It’s worth it every time Nurse Man.”
“Ugh,” Luke grunts returning to looking at Alex. “Your other daddy is a pain. Can you say pain? Just prepare yourself for it. Kind of like your Uncle Kellar. He’s a pain too...”
I listen to Luke continue talking to Alex about our family that’s in the waiting room, occasionally chiming in when I see fit. It doesn’t take long before the nurse instructs it’s time for him to get more rest, but he will be ready to be fed in a couple hours and we can come back then. The two of us thank her and walk out of the area together.
I’ve got to be the luckiest guy in the world. I don’t deserve either of them and I have them both. I won’t screw this up. I mean, I’m sure I’ll fuck up, but I won’t ever let them down again. That’s a promise.
Chapter 26
Luke
“Those curtains don’t match,” I fuss at the disaster covering our bedroom windows.
We’re moving into the master bedroom and giving Alex my old room. Believe it or not Stuart is having a harder time with leaving baby Alex in a different room than me. Sometimes I think it’s the guilt of knowing our son doesn’t have his birth mother and never will, that keeps him needing him to be so close at night.
“They’re just curtains,” he replies as Alex squeaks. “See. Even your son agrees.”
“Don’t drag him into this.” I wag a finger at him.
“Curtain talk again?” Maxx appears in the door way.
“It’s the 10th time since we’ve been home.” Stuart insists walking towards her.
Maxx looks down at baby Alex. “Your daddy is a perfectionist. Can you say perfectionist?”
Why do people talk to babies like that? Hell even I do it.
“Don’t try to corrupt my young one.”
“Ignore him,” Stuart mumbles following Maxx out of the room, me behind him. “He’s just crabby because the painters for Alex’s room are late.”
“Why aren’t you just painting it yourself?” Kellar asks from the couch.
“He doesn’t like to get dirty outside of the ER you know that,” Maxx reminds him.
“Why are you two here?” I plant my hands on my hips.
“We were heading to pick up the Kid from school and thought we’d swing by and check on y’all. He looks great to be a month already,” Maxx comments from the kitchen grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.
Proudly I say, “All his visits have been going great. He’s even putting on a little weight.”
“He eats like I did when I was a baby.” Stuart bounces him around in his grip. “At least according to my mom.”
“It’s kinda cool she didn’t completely disown you like your father,” Maxx says as Kellar joins her in the kitchen.
“Yeah, what a dick,” Kellar adds.
“Being disowned and expelled from his life was expected.” Stuart kisses Alex on the cheek. “But at least my mom sneaks in calls and messages when she can. Apparently even if she hates that her son is gay, she hates the idea of not knowing her grandson more. Who knew?”
I stroll over and wrap my arms around Stuart from behind sensing his need for reassurance in his choice to stay here with us.
Having him stand up to his family for me, for us, was amazing. And slightly unexpected from someone who had been in the closet with them for so long. But Stuart told me that we were his priorities and hasn’t wasted a day proving it yet.
Maxx lets out an unexpected groan and a crash is followed with it.
Immediately I break away from Stuart and rush towards her. “You okay?”
“I think so,” she sighs before pointing at the ground. “But your mug isn’t.”
“My doctors mug?” I whimper.
“It’s fine,” Stuart assures her. “He doesn’t need it any more. He hearts photographers. Isn’t that right Alex?”
Rolling my eyes I go to snap at him when Maxx groans again, this time for longer with a shocking result to go with it.
“Did you just pee on Luke’s floor?” Kellar questions. “That’s not gonna make the mug situation any better.”
“Her water just broke,” I explain calmly as Maxx utters sounds in pain again.
“What does that mean? Does that mean the baby’s coming? Like right now? Does that mean we need to call 911? Call 911!” Logan shouts to Stuart who shakes his head chuckling.
“Have you paid attention at all?” I wave a hand in the air while using the other to help Maxx out of the mess. “I thought you read books. Watched shows.”
“It’s so much information,” he tries to defend himself. “And now it’s happening. Really happening...and what am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do!”
“Calm down,” I say softly to him. “It’s important to keep Maxx calm too.”
Maxx groans, “It’s important to get this thing the hell out of me!”
“Come on,” I continue her journey towards the front door. “Let’s get you to the hospital.” Looking over my shoulder, knowing he had a shoot to be at, I ask, “Can you handle watching Alex alone for a bit?”
“Go.” He tosses me a nod. “I’ll call C.J. or Tony to pick up the Kid from school and meet you there.”
“Thank you,” I answer as Kellar finally jumps on the ball and starts helping Maxx towards his car relieving me of that duty. Turning to look at him before I go I question, “You sure? I know you had a shoot and—”
“Go.” Stuart bounces Alex in his arm who’s getting a little fussy. “It’s fine. Family first. Always.”
“Always...” I sweetly say back to him before rushing out the door as Maxx groans loudly about murdering Kellar if he repeats himself again.
I couldn’t agree more. I’ll always put them first even as our family grows bigger and bigger. We all make choices and have things to bear, but what makes us family is the fact we don’t have to do it alone. We’re in this together. Always.
Now....who’s ready to see Dean Kellar all grown up?
mollify
a senses series novel
Coming may 2015
Thank You!
Crazy Lady: You are my rock that I stand...so stand still so I can stand steady, lol.
Her Husband: One day you’ll see just how happy I am to make you proud.
The Law Student: Thanks for everything sis.
The Lumberjack: I love that we play word games. It helps.
Katniss: For every moment we’ve shared. Thank you for believing in me with everything you’ve got.
Mrs. H: For the great covers. For the Formats. For being in this with me.
The Army: We continue to learn so much together, and we will keep it up.
Model
Man: Cole, you rocked the hell out of this cover! I hope your future as bright as you are!
The Editor: We have a LONNNGGGG beautiful career ahead of us together. I’m excited.
Marketing Guru: The lessons you’ve taught me are incredible.
The Pas: Both of you...my left and right brain, please always keep me running smoothly.
Dream Team: You ladies are the best part of the day! Thank you for the support, for sharing, for caring, for helping! Everything.
Bloggers- You share and you never ask for anything in return. What you do for indies is beautiful and selfless. You. Are. Incredible.
Betas- Thank you for telling me if I suck in advance, lol. This one was hard on me.
When I Grow Up Authors- Tess Oliver, Selena Laurence, Jaime Reese, Harper Sloan, Kristine Cayne, you ladies have changed my world and continue to do so. Never stop. I’ve learned so much.
Readers- Thank you for every purchased you’ve made. You breathed the life into the dream that only keeps growing!
Curious about the assumptions that went on between Maxx and Logan? Wonder how the family got to this point? Why not one click today and find out? Check out the Senses Series! AVAILABLE NOW!
Vital: A Senses Series Prequel (Featured in Interwoven)
Blind (Book 1)
Deaf (Book 2)
Numb (Book 3)
Hush (Book 4)
Savor (Book 5)
Interested in Xavier’s other works?
Try the Havoc Series!
Havoc: When Clint “Grim” Walker, started Operation: Save Haven Davenport, the beaten, bruised girl who fell into his life, he had no idea it would turn him into an unbalanced, enraged, insecure idiot.
The mission objectives seemed simple. Make her feel safe in his home. Fail. Protect her from the neighborhood playboy. Fail. Shelter her from the ex girlfriend. Fail. Not fall in love with her. Epic fail. And while Clint could learn to live with those failures, there’s one he can’t. And that’s the objective that matters most. More than his side duties of making amends with his father, more than accepting motherly love from his meddling neighbor, and more than attempting to relate to his brother’s in arms off the field. That objective is life or death.
Try the Never Say Neverland Series!
Book 1 and 2 Sold Together!
Book 1: Get Lost
Con Artists. Thieves. Hustlers. Not exactly the lifestyle high school senior and loner, Peyton Darling, saw falling into her lap when the infamous, fedora wearing Just Ryan asked her for a small favor. She quickly finds herself tangled up in a mysterious world with The Lost Boys, family secrets that come with the name Darling, and the unfamiliar territory of falling in love.
If you thought you knew the fairytale, think again.
Book 2: Lost In Lies
When Peyton left her entire world behind to treasure hunt with the infamous gang known as The Lost Boys, she expected to just be used in cases of emergency. After all, what does she really know about conning and stealing? Aside from pulling a fast one over on her parents and the sexy fedora wearing Justin Ryan, who introduced her to the art of theft, she really is clueless about most things in that category. Seducing a teenage billionaire because he just so happens to have the next clue on this mission she willingly let herself get sucked into? Don’t think that’s enough pressure for a seventeen year old? Try adding on the fact she’s being hunted by her parents, some mythical society she knows nothing about, as well as a rival gang from Neverland, the place they were supposed to be headed. And just when the complications are wound tighter than Belle’s mini skirts, she’s stuck making that choice every teenager hates making. Family? Or friends?
Find me here
My Website: http://www.xavierneal.com
My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/XavierNealAuthorPage
Ordinary to X-traordinary: https://www.facebook.com/pages/From-Ordinary-to-X-traordinary/548282165316690
My Facebook book page: https://www.facebook.com/xbookteam
Twitter: https://twitter.com/XavierNeal87
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4990135.Xavier_Neal
See what I’m reading: http://xaviersbookreviews.wordpress.com
Join the Fun!
This is an interactive book that allows you to register a character to featured in the next book in the series! Curious as to how that works? Follow the link below for more information!
https://www.facebook.com/BarTKOFightNight?ref=bookmarks
Wanna be the first to see cover reveals, excerpts, teasers, and giveaways? Join my team and help spread the love!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1471618443081356/