Jake wanted more privacy, not that his sister, brothers, and cousins would give him any. He talked and texted a few friends from his class and planned out his wardrobe more carefully. Connor, who had an aversion to homework, decided to put some effort into his assignments. Well, at least until Colby was ready to play. Jack was more patient with Gabe and had begun to fully embrace his role as a big brother. Matt and Owen now looked forward to their music lessons, much to the joy of Tate and Isabelle.
Seeing how’d they’d grown so much in such a short time made him want children of his own with Cassidy even more. He wished there was something he could do to make her see it would be worth the angst to have some of this happiness for themselves.
“Uncle C.J., can I have some juice?” Owen said.
“Sure thing, buddy.” Channing dug into the bag and retrieved his nephew’s choice of drink and punched the straw through the hole. He then handed him the drink. “Cranberry-apple, your favorite.”
“Yum,” Owen replied.
“Are you having a good time?”
Owen nodded yes without relinquishing his lips from the straw.
“What did you like doing best today?”
“Connor running to the pool.” He grinned. Cassidy was right. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was a big temptation for his adventurous and curious nephew. Channing had caught him just before Connor launched himself into the water.
“Yeah. I can see why that would be a highlight.” He rubbed the boy’s head.
Cassidy approached with the rest of the kids.
“What do you want to do next?” he asked.
“I think we should go home. We’ve done plenty of things, and I think we all need a break. Especially Kendrick and his team.” She smiled as she hoisted Gabe into her arms.
For a moment he only stared, his heart filled with warmth at the sight of her with a child in her arms and a beautiful smile on her face. Then he smiled back and nodded, loving her so much it was like an ache deep inside him. No matter what, good news or bad, he would always love her.
* * *
Cassidy sang to the music as she lathered herself up in the shower. She’d had an awesome time with Channing and the kids the past few days. They’d taken in the sights around D.C., but she’d especially loved taking them around the Georgetown Law campus. Sure, they didn’t get why she was so psyched about the exhibit of famous courtroom sketches on display, and they all said yuck when she pointed out where she and their Uncle Channing met.
But tonight the kiddies were in bed, and she had a bottle of champagne chilling. She and Channing were going to have some time alone. One couldn’t be spontaneously romantic and whimsical when you had kids roaming around the house. That was one of the things she’d liked about their lives right now.
But she couldn’t ignore how much fun they’d had with the kids. Whether answering their constant questions or keeping them out of trouble, it had been a great few days. She couldn’t deny Channing was great with them, as usual. He listened and engaged them. He knew their food preferences and pet peeves. He knew Gabe liked to be tickled, but Owen not so much. Matt fought sleep, but Colby would fall asleep as soon his head hit the pillow. Connor would wake up his twin if he couldn’t sleep to keep him company. Mackenzie loved being read stories, but Goodnight Moon was her favorite. And that Jake was just like Seth. He’d remain awake with a watchful eye until he knew everyone was down for the count.
She turned off the glass-encased shower and grabbed a big, fluffy towel and dried herself. Making love to her husband was the perfect way to end the day. She slathered on moisturizer and slipped on the ivory negligee and robe she’d bought last week. She finished off her regimen with a spritz of the perfume she knew he loved and opened the door. Channing was milling around the room straightening up, but more importantly, Mackenzie was sprawled out in the middle of their bed.
“Wow.” Channing whistled.
Cassidy put her finger to her lips as not to disturb Mackenzie. She took him by the hand, led him into the hallway, and closed the door. “What’s going on in there?”
“Kenzie wanted to talk to Seth, so I called him. Then she wanted me to read Goodnight Moon again.”
“Stop right there.” She held up a hand. “I know how you cave to your niece’s commands.”
“Yeah. I do.” He chuckled and pulled her close. “You look amazing.”
“I don’t want to move her. So much for our romantic night.”
“What happened to your rule about no fooling around while we’re babysitting the kids?”
“You looked quite sexy in those jeans today.” She waggled her eyebrows at him. “But alas, it looks like we’re going to have to wait.”
“The hell we are. I know the just the place.”
Cassidy followed as Channing led her through the house and finally stopped in the laundry room. He pulled her in and closed the white shutter doors. There was a load in the machine that had yet to start. He closed the lid and hit the button to start the machine.
Cassidy giggled. “I didn’t know doing the laundry was such a turn on for you.”
“Wait until you see what I have planned for the spin cycle.” He covered her mouth with his as he pulled the robe off her shoulders.
Cassidy braced herself on his shoulders as Channing gripped her waist and sat her flush on the edge of the machine. She put her arms around his neck as he slipped his hands beneath her nightgown, pushing up the silky material, and caressed her thighs.
“You smell amazing,” he murmured as he dipped his head down and kissed her behind her ear then continued down to her collarbone.
Cassidy gripped his head and brought him up for another kiss. She gasped when he unzipped his jeans and plunged into her over and over for what seemed like an eternity. It all felt so good when that familiar wave came down on her. He knew just what to do, as soon as their bodies connected. She loved him being inside her. He knew her body well, and she always responded to his tender caresses.
The mechanical rhythm of the machine coupled with Channing’s deep, intense thrusts was too much for her.
“Channing,” she groaned and dug her nails into his shoulders.
He ramped up his thrusts and made that low guttural sound that meant he was close too. She took a deep breath as the pleasurable wave rocked her body. Channing kissed her to mask their mutual sounds of ecstasy from the passionate release. They remained with their arms wrapped around each other until the washing machine finally came to a stop.
“Why don’t we have sex like this at home?” she panted and laid her head on his shoulders.
“Because we don’t have kids. We don’t have to hide for a quickie.” He chuckled and caressed her back.
She picked her head up and cradled his face with her hands. “You want to have less sex?”
“What? No. That sounds like an awful idea.”
“I meant.” She looked into his eyes. “If we were to have a kid running around the house that would definitely cut into sexy time.”
“Are you serious?” Channing trailed a finger gently along her cheek.
“Let’s talk in the living room. I’m going to change first.”
“I’ll get something to drink.”
Cassidy and Channing straightened their clothes and opened the doors of the laundry room. To her delight, there were no kiddies in sight. She went to the bedroom while Channing went in the opposite direction to the kitchen. She carefully opened the bedroom door to find Mackenzie slumbering soundly with her favorite stuffed bear in her arms. She opened the dresser drawer in the walk-in closet and retrieved a more practical pair of pajamas and went into the bathroom. She ran a comb through her hair and splashed some water onto her face.
When she went into the living room, Channing was waiting for her on the couch with a glass of wine in each hand. He’d taken the time to dig up the few adult food items they had in the house: some cheese and fresh fruit.
“I had champagne chilling in the fridge,”
she said as she sat down and accepted the wineglass he’d held out to her.
“I saw it. Champagne makes you giddy. I thought we both needed a reasonably clear head for our talk.”
“Ah.” She nodded.
Then there was nothing but silence. One of the things she loved about him is that he knew when to pick up the conversation. She thought he would have been excited to talk, but he looked more cautious and weary. The mood had changed dramatically from the passion in the laundry room a few minutes ago. Had she done that to him? Made him feel like he couldn’t talk to her anymore about this subject? Granted she’d been flippant when he’d broached the subject and she’d steered clear of baby talk for months until that dinner party at her parents’ house forced her to make a statement.
She couldn’t take the silence anymore, so she launched into her speech. “I know it seems like I’ve been avoiding any talk of kids lately.”
“I noticed.” He swirled his wine around in the glass.
“And I want to explain what’s been going on with me.” She stood and started pacing. “Things have been going great. No, correction. Things have been wonderful. We have a good life. We have our careers and our family and friends. We get to be Aunt Cassie and Uncle C.J. and spoil the kids. But I’m terrified of losing what we have.”
He stepped in her path and caressed her arms. “Cassie, we’ve been through this. We’ve read the books and we’re prepared.”
“No. You’re prepared. I’m scared senseless. While I was healing from the cancer treatment, this was all hypothetical. Conception. Surrogacy. Adoption. It was all OK when I didn’t know if having a baby was an option.” She sniffed.
“No matter what we choose, we’ll still be loving parents.”
“What if I’m no good at it?”
“At what, motherhood? You have to be kidding me. Jake and the gang love you. If a natural conception isn’t possible, we’ll move to the next option. No matter what happens, we’re going to be fine.”
She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. Her heart was beating fast. When she finally spoke, her voice was shaky. “OK. We’ll go see the fertility specialist again and start stage one of the process when we get back to Texas.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Cassidy knew once they’d gotten the word out that they were trying to conceive after putting together a plan with the fertility specialist, the family would descend on their home to offer support, well wishes, and advice. The results from the ovarian reserve testing were lower than they’d hoped for, but Dr. Knox was still cautiously optimistic about trying in vitro fertilization. The entire process required lots more testing and frequent visits to the doctor, but it was worth it to see if they’d be able to get pregnant.
People poured out of the woodwork with old wives tales and advice about conceiving, offering up their favorite positions that they were adamant would aid in getting pregnant. The most amusing advice came from her mother Hyacinth, who suggested she do the baby dance with required standing on her head after sex. Nina offered a shoulder to lean on and a slew of books. She’d even passed on the Late Bloomer, the book Morgan had given her that gave her the hope that she’d conceive one day. Teri-Lyn came over and Feng Shui-ed the place and created a makeshift prayer altar in the living room that consisted of angel statues, baby things, and a prayer that they needed to recite daily.
“Sugar, this is a surefire way to get a bun in the oven,” Teri-Lyn said as she positioned the angel.
“I don’t know what to say.” Cassidy smiled and looked at Channing. “Thank you.”
“Here’s a list of the things you should eat, Cassie.” Teri-Lyn handed her a list. “And I’ll be adding sweet potatoes to the Sunday dinner menu. They’re good for having twins.”
“Did Morgan eat a lot of sweet potatoes when she was pregnant with the twins?” Channing asked.
“Seth said her Grandma would a make sweet potato pie for dessert when they visited.”
“Grandma Reed’s pies are delicious.” Channing rubbed his belly. “What’s in the box?”
“Oh, your daddy asked me to give this to you.” She handed him the box.
Channing opened the gift-wrapped box and broke into a grin when he saw the gravy boat.
Cassidy shot him a skeptical look. “What is that for?”
“I’ll explain later.” He put his arm around her.
“Well, my darlings, I am off to go shopping with Bonnie.” Teri-Lyn kissed them both on the cheek. “We’re going to check out that new baby store that opened at Mackenzie Square. She’s hopeful that Bo and Summer will throw their hat into the baby-making ring soon. It’s never too early to shop for a few things.”
Channing smiled. “Have fun and don’t overdo it.”
“I’m going to have two new grandbabies soon. I might buyout the entire store.” She winked and scooted out of the door.
Channing and Cassidy moved closer to the altar.
“This is so sweet and a little crazy.”
“Hey. Whatever works.” He put his arm around her waist. “But I’m still looking forward to trying the old-fashioned way. As a matter of fact, I think we should get in some practice right now.”
“I like the way you think.” She grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck and moved in to kiss him when her phone rang.
“New rule,” he huffed. “Cell phones off when we’re in baby-making mode.”
“It’s Joy. I have to take this.” She grimaced and hit the green button. “Hi, Joy. What’s going on? Why is Isaiah crying? What? They can’t do that. Oh, I see. No, no. Stay right there. I’m on my way.”
Cassidy broke from her embrace with Channing and hunted around the room for her purse and car keys.
“What’s wrong?”
“Joy and Isaiah came home to find a padlock being put on their apartment door. They’ve been evicted.”
“Does she have a friend she can stay with?”
“I don’t know. I shouldn’t be too long. Maybe I can talk to the management company or put them up at a hotel.” She’d located her keys on the hall table.
“I’m coming with you.”
“Babe, I’ll be fine. Besides, don’t you have to review those contracts for that new project?”
“I’m not letting you go off who-knows-where to some potentially dangerous situation on your own.” He took the keys from her. “I’m driving.”
* * *
Channing followed the commands from the GPS, and according to the display, they’d be at Joy’s place in ten minutes. It was a bad idea, no a terrible idea, to get involved with a client, but one look in Cassidy’s eyes and he knew he couldn’t fight her on this. Instead, he was driving his wife to see if she could get her client out of this new trouble, which was ironic was because she was still trying to help her with the last problem with child protective services.
From what she’d told him about the case, Joy was a troubled young woman who’d made a lot of mistakes in her life. First with the drugs, getting fired from jobs, and now she couldn’t keep a roof over her child’s head. All of this screamed heartbreak for Cassidy, but he couldn’t help feeling a twinge of sympathy for Isaiah, the little boy, who was caught up in the storm of his mother’s bad decisions.
As soon as he turned off the main road, he got a knot in his stomach. The neighborhood looked sketchy. There were broken streetlights and abandoned houses. There were a couple of shirtless guys in the middle of the road who looked like they might be getting ready to fight if they hadn’t both been stinking drunk. When he finally pulled up to the complex, he spotted Joy and her son sitting on the curb next to a pile of clothes and boxes. The little boy was in tears.
Cassidy leaped out of the car first. “What happened? Were you given a notice to vacate?”
Joy stood up and handed her a letter. “Yeah. I’ve been trying to catch up, but it’s been so hard. This was all the stuff I was able to grab before they put the padlock on the door.”
Cassidy scanned the letter,
frowning, then handed it to him. He perused the document. Unfortunately, it appeared to be in order. He noticed, out of the corner of his eye, the little boy wiping tears from his eyes. He folded the letter back up and went over to him and crouched down so he was eye-level. “Hey Isaiah. My name is Channing. You’ve met my wife Cassidy. She told me a lot of nice things about you.”
“She did?” he sniffed.
“Yes. She said you were smart and that you got a really high score on that game you were playing in her office.”
“I got the frog to go to a new level last night.”
“That’s cool.” He smiled. “Why don’t you have a seat in the car and play the game while the adults figure some things out? After we get this settled, we’ll go grab some dinner.”
Isaiah nodded. “OK.”
Channing opened the car door for Isaiah and helped him inside. He got the video game out and when the little boy’s attention was focused on the screen, he closed the door. He turned to see Cassidy frantically flipping through her contacts while Joy was trying to get some things that had fallen onto the ground back into an old, beat-up box. A few of the neighbors seemed to be hanging out just to be nosey. They were whispering and pointing as Joy climbed a small mountain of grass to get some more of her things that had ended up in the middle of the courtyard. Joy was tough but even she seemed a little embarrassed by the unwanted attention.
“Damn it!” Cassidy said as she ended the call. “I can’t anyone on the phone who can give us answers tonight.”
Leap of Faith (The Blake Boys Book 17) Page 7