Make Me a Mommy: A Mother's Day Secret Baby Romance

by Liz K. Lorde

  “Wake up, you lazy sack of shit! Shawn! Wake the fuck up! Do you hear me, Private? Wake up, you lazy, good-for-nothing cunt!”

  I shake him harder and harder, yelling so hard my throat is torn to shreds, even if I can’t hear the words. I hit him, screaming. I pound his shoulders with my fists before sliding hopelessly back into my seat, tears pouring down my face.

  Isn’t the car supposed to blow up now? That’s what always happens in the movies. I don’t care. Being in the center of a big explosion seems pretty good right now.

  BOOM! All gone. No more pain. I’m dust on the wind.

  Except Tanner is still out there.

  I’m trying to wipe blood and snot off my face in a very poor effort of pulling myself together when Shawn moans. I stare, eyes wide. I’m not sure if my hope is tricking me.

  “Oh, babe. Put the light out, would you? I must’ve drank too much at the wedding,” he groans, lifting his arms, trying to touch his face. Glass sparkles all around him, tinkling like fairy bells.

  Why must violence be beautiful?

  “Shawn!” I scream his name, over and over as he sits up and turns to me.

  He opens his arms, and I fall into them. I feel him kiss my forehead as I press hard against his chest.

  I let my sobs go, my grief and shock pouring out of me. My arms go around his waist, and for a few moments, we hold each other.

  “We should move.” I feel Shawn’s voice against my face.

  “Yeah.” I sit up. “Isn’t the car going to blow up?”

  He chuckles softly. “Maybe. I don’t smell fuel, though. I think it’s cool. Damn, I could use some water.”

  I wriggle around in my seat. The front of the car is fucked, wrecked, and smashed. The back area looks fine, if a little squashed.

  I lean over, pulling open a bag on the back seat.

  Shawn laughs as I pull my prizes back up the front. “Water and wet wipes?”

  “Hey,” I smile into his face as I wipe some of the blood off his forehead. “No matter how old your kids get, you always have wet wipes around.”

  “Where would I be without you?” He looks up at me lovingly as he takes a sip of water. I take a sip, too, as we both look down the street.

  “I haven’t seen any cars,” Shawn says quietly.

  “Nor have I.”

  “We’ll have to get one.”

  “Yeah. But he got away. We don’t know where we’re going.”

  Shawn seems very far away from me as he stares out the front of the car. He wipes his face over with a wet wipe.

  “I needed that knock on the head, baby. I finally finished my nightmare.”

  “Huh?” I’m not sure I heard him right.

  “Wait, what’s that?” Shawn suddenly gets up, pushes his door open, and walks quickly around the car. I follow him, wiping off my own face.

  The car rolled just a short distance from the road. There’s nothing but open woods around.

  “You hear that?” Shawn stops in the middle of the road.

  I follow him quickly, dress swishing around my legs, heels clicking. Shawn’s tux is ripped and bloody in a dozen places—he looks like a Rambo movie gone wrong. Rambo’s wedding?

  I can’t believe my dress is still in one piece.

  “I do!” I turn around, looking down the road. “I hear it!”

  It’s a very loud rumble. We both turn towards the sound, standing in the middle of the road.

  A big, muscly-looking motorbike appears around the far bend. It flies towards us, slowing and rolling to a halt just in front of Shawn. The rider pulls off the helmet, long blond hair falling out in a cloud.

  “Dude,” the young man looks us over. “You got wrecked, huh? Talk about bad luck! On your wedding day and all. You need me to call someone?”

  I’m thinking, Yes, please. Ambulance, police, National Guard, FBI. Call every fucking body and do it now.

  I couldn’t be more blown away by what Shawn says next.

  “How much for your bike?”

  “What?!” the young man exclaims, in perfect unison with me.

  Shawn ignores me. “I mean it. Now. I gotta get going. Give it to me. I need it.”

  I cross the few steps between us, putting a hand on Shawn’s arm. The young guy keeps his bike pressed between his knees—almost like he wants to take off and leave us to fend for ourselves.

  “Shawn, honey, what are you doing? We don’t even know where we’re going! Let him call an ambulance.”

  Shawn looks over his shoulder at me. His eyes are fierce.

  “Maybe you should stay here. Go to the hospital. But I need the bike, and I need to go now.”

  I glare up at him indignantly. “Wherever you go, I go.” I stick my chin out defiantly.

  He looks back at the kid. “So, how about it, son? How much for the bike? Wait, I’ll tell you what.” He hunts through his pockets, pulling out his wallet. “I’ll give you all of my credit cards in here. There’s a good few hundred thousand on them all. Have all the cash, too.

  “You take these, buy anything you want. My treat. Once I’m done with the bike, I’ll give her back to you, okay?”

  Shawn has pulled the cards out and fanned them out like a winning hand. Black, platinum, and gold they shine. Shawn holds them out to the kid with a fat wad of cash.

  He looks uncertainly between us.

  “It’s okay, son, truly. We just had some bad luck on our wedding day, and now we have to go and make it right.” I smile at him warmly, trying to be encouraging.

  The kid looks puzzled but slowly dismounts, making sure Shawn has hold of the handle bars before he lets go. Shawn straddles the bike instantly. I jump forward, getting on behind him and wrapping my arms around his waist.

  This dress was not made for impromptu motor bike rides. The split has torn up to the waist, and my right leg is completely bare except for the white lace stocking.

  The kid reaches out and takes the cards.

  “This is the weirdest fucking day ever.” The kid looks at the cards and cash in disbelief.

  “You and me both, kid.” Shawn kicks the bike up, making it rev as the engine throbs to life.

  “But where are we going?” I yell over the noise.

  “You’ll see, baby. I got the knock on the head I needed, I told you. I know exactly what to do.” He crouches down, eyeing the road as he spins the accelerator. The bike purrs as we tear off the road.

  A few turns later, I realize where we’re headed.

  James’ place.

  Chapter 33

  Shawn

  My entire body is energized by the force of the bike. I lean hungrily into the wind as I force her up to her full speed. The revving of the engine is like music, the throbbing vibrations through my body settle my nerves, yet fuel my rage.

  I feel Evelyn gripping me from behind, and I know this day is going to work out. A great day that turns into the worst day can still turn itself around.

  Everything is going to be fine. I can’t linger on the feelings of betrayal, and I can’t think about my own feeble mind that didn’t put this together sooner. None of this is my fault.

  I don’t think to blame myself. Not now that I have a face for my worst fear. I have someone that needs to get fucked up by my fist, and nothing is going to stop me.

  We’re almost there, cruising through more thickly-housed streets, when the bike starts to choke. I realise she’s out of fuel and get her to roll through the streets for as long as I can. Thankfully, we’re not far away.

  “Are you okay?” I hold my hand out to Evelyn as I prop the bike up, swinging myself off carefully so I don’t kick her.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” She takes my hand gratefully, keeping her balance as she swings her leg over the end of the bike. I know now is not the time, but damn, her bare leg looks amazing in that lace stocking.

  She looks as good as the day we met. Her hair is a mess of curls, so dark against her pale skin and the shaded ivory of the gown. Her eyes are sharp, and she l
ooks at me with promise and passion in her face.

  I grip her hand, smiling as we start to walk. We swing our hands as we stride quickly towards the end of the street, like teenagers walking home after prom.

  “So, you know I’ve been having nightmares,” I start speaking softly. I need to explain this to her. “I see explosions and horrible scenes from the war. I see all sorts of horrible things. I know I’m getting buried, trapped. I’m afraid.”

  “When it can’t get any worse, I see someone standing above me. Menacing,” I continue. “For so long now, the end of the dream slips away. I can’t see to the end. I almost see the guy that knocked me out, but I never see his face.

  “I was starting to think it might be a hallucination—like maybe I was knocked out by falling debris, and the shadow figure I could see was just my mind trying to blame someone for the accident.”

  I shake my head, looking over at Evelyn as we walk. “Looks like I was wrong—there really was someone to blame. I saw James. I saw him knock me out. Maybe he thought he killed me, and that’s why he told you he saw me die.”

  I can see Evelyn trying to process this. She’s so confused and freaked out right now, but she’s striding down the street in a wedding gown looking like she’s about to step into a high society event.

  I bet she could pull it off, too, even in the bloody, stained clothes. Just look at her. It’s all in her stance. In her eyes. She’s ready for anything.

  Her inner strength shines through it all. She meets my eyes, squeezing my hand. Her gaze is so steady, so composed.

  “Why. Why would he do all of this?”

  I shrug, looking away. “Maybe for the inheritance. Maybe for you. I don’t know.”

  “For me!” she says in disbelief.

  “Maybe he really does love you. Maybe he wants you for himself.”

  “Way to go about it. Stealing my son on my wedding day.”

  “Maybe he just wants to ruin the wedding.” It’s a poor time for a joke, but it’s one I can’t resist.

  Evelyn leans in, stopping me. She wraps her arms around me and presses herself to my chest.

  “He took you away from me once. He won’t do it again.”

  She pulls back, looking into my eyes.

  “He stole seven years from me,” I whisper, “Seven years of my life—and you. He did it.”

  She shakes her head, removing any trace of her careful updo.

  “I still can’t believe it.”

  “Well, we’re almost there. We can ask him.”

  We walk slowly around the wide corner and on to James’ street. The houses are far apart, and there seems to be nobody about, so no one notices us.

  I’ll call the cops when I’m good and ready. When I’ve done what I have to do.

  I’ve played it cool with Evelyn. I don’t want her to feel bad. I can’t imagine the suffering.

  She went into James’ arms for comfort, thinking her husband was tragically dead under disastrous circumstances. How could she have known the one she went to for comfort and healing was the one who had done the hurting?

  This could mess with her mind, twist her up. She chose him, invited him into her arms and her life. She was going to marry him, for fuck’s sake.

  I want to reassure her that she made no mistakes. I don’t want her weighing everything she does for the rest of her life. I know what it’s like to have past choices lurking in the depths of your mind, trying to convince you that nothing is real.

  It’s frightening, thinking even for a second that every choice you make is wrong. That no matter how hard you try, you are always going to take a wrong turn. That’s the kind of thinking that makes you crazy—real proper, fucked up, bug-nuts crazy.

  I need to show Evelyn that she did nothing wrong. It was this cunt with his fucking schemes and deception that fucked all of us over.

  You can’t cover all the angles, not every time. Sometimes you have to trust, even if you’re going to strike out. That ability to trust doesn’t make you gullible, or stupid.

  That’s just what the bad guys want you to think. Even if you’ve done it a few times, and you’re terrified you’re going to get burnt, so long as you can trust, take that leap, and they haven’t beaten you.

  You need to realize the strength it takes to trust, even when you can see the fall. It’s the thrill of why we do it, after all. Trust wouldn’t be trust without a little fear.

  And yeah, sometimes you’re going to get that beautiful, fragile thing fucked up by some prick who chooses to abuse that gift. But that’s where people like me come in.

  We live to set the balance right. That’s what so many soldiers think when they sign up—I just want to help people. Save them, if I possibly can.

  I might have gotten sidetracked. I might have lost my path. But I found it again now, and I’m not slowing down for anything.

  I watch Evelyn striding out in her pretty heels, dress flowing around her like a princess’ gown. My fists clench, and my heart starts to pound.

  I will fuck him up. He has so much to fucking pay for.

  “There’s his house.” She pauses behind some bushes on the corner. I come up behind her, spying over them.

  “The SUV!” I gasp. It’s definitely the same one.

  We crouch behind the bushes. I pull Evelyn close for a kiss. I watch her face in the growing shadows.

  “It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.” I hug her tight, just for a second.

  Then I stand up straight, willing all the pain and stiffness out of my body. It’s time to face the enemy that’s been haunting my dreams for so long.

  Chapter 34

  Evelyn

  My heart is racing as we stand there looking at the SUV parked in front of James’ estate. My son is here somewhere, and I’m anxious to get him back.

  “What are we going to do now?” I ask Shawn.

  Shawn doesn’t say a word. Instead, he takes off running.

  What the fuck?

  “Shawn!” I call after him. He doesn’t stop or turn around, though. He’s on a mission, and he means business.

  I start running after Shawn.

  I’m scared and pissed that James has taken Tanner, but it’s more anger than fear coursing through Shawn. He’s likely to cause permanent damage to James, if he doesn’t outright kill him.

  The thought of Shawn killing James scares me. I’m not scared for James, but for Shawn. He’s not a murderer, but he is a furious, protective, and loving father who will do anything to make sure his child is safe again.

  Whatever Shawn’s plans are, I have to stop things from going too far. If James gets beaten up with a broken bone here or there, I’m not going to complain. The man has compromised the safety and well-being of my child.

  So, fuck it! I don’t care about the pain Shawn inflicts on him—just not death.

  I’m running as fast as I can. There’s no way I’m going to catch up to him before he reaches the house, but I can try my damnedest.

  I stumble in my chase. These damned heels are slowing me down and poses the danger of having my neck broken in case I fall.

  I stop briefly to lift my right foot up and yank the heel. I kick the other one off my left foot in haste, so that I could keep running.

  The stockings come off, too. The thin material is just going to be another hazard once they start ripping and snagging on any stray rock in the yard.

  “Shawn!” I call out again. “Wait!”

  The damned man keeps going. He’s fucking ignoring me.

  A growl rumbles in my chest.

  A burst of speed courses through me, and I run a little faster towards him.

  I see Shawn reach the front of the house. Next, I hear a loud bang as he bursts through the front door.

  Very subtle there, Shawn. It would probably have been smarter to try to sneak into the house quietly, but, honestly, Shawn is a better marine than James.

  Shawn has always been smarter, bigger, and stronger. James had managed to fool both Shaw
n and me up to this point, but his luck has run out.

  I finally get close to the front door. It’s wide open, with splinters of wood on the threshold. Shawn definitely kicked in the door and went in balls to the wall; fuck anyone who gets in his way.

  I rush into the house and hear yelling coming from somewhere nearby.

  “Shawn! Tanner!”

  The sound of feet pounding on the hardwood floor breaks through the commotion of raised voices. The sound gets louder, and I realize whoever it is headed directly towards me.

  Tanner suddenly bursts around a corner. Oh, thank god.

  “Tanner,” I say with a tinge of relief in my voice.

  “Mom!” he yells as he jumps into my waiting arms.

  He’s crying and shaking as I squeeze him tightly to my chest.

  “Mom,” Tanner says as he pulls his face back so he can look directly at me, “Dad and James are fighting. They’re yelling, and Dad punched James in the face. What’s going on? I’m scared.”

  “It’s okay, Tanner. Everything’s going to be okay,” I reassure him.

  I have faith that Shawn will make everything okay soon. I just have to make sure when everything is over and done with, he’s still going to be by my side—not in jail.

  “But Mom, what’s going on?” Tanner asks again. “Why is Dad fighting with James?”

  “They’re having a little disagreement,” I start explaining, hardy registering he’s referring to Shawn as Dad. “James took you away from the wedding without our permission. We were worried, sweetheart. Dad is going to take care of it, then we’re going to get out of here. Okay?”

  He nods. There’s still confusion in his eyes, and I know my explanation wasn’t that convincing, but I don’t want to scare him any more than he already is at the moment.

  The yelling in the other room gets louder, then there’s a loud commotion followed by a huge crash.

  I flinch. Please don’t let Shawn be hurt.

  I grab Tanner by the hand and drag him behind me as I hurry towards the room he just came out of. I make sure he stays behind me so I’m between him and whatever is happening between the men.