IT WAS AN HOUR PAST dinnertime when Drae finally dragged himself home. He was ready to fucking kill Cam for tying up the entire day. It hadn’t taken the mental powers of a rocket scientist to figure out some sort of fuckery was going down. The so-called equipment that needed to be personally delivered to the trucking office was a ruse and a pretty shitty one, if you asked him.
Knowing he wouldn’t get a straight answer from Cam even if he asked what was going on, he took a backseat and just let the comedy routine unfold the way it was meant to. For some unknown reason, he and his Justice Brother were off on a wild goose chase that seemed to be all about keeping them occupied and away from the Villa.
Whatever. It’d all become clear at some point, but right this second, all Drae had on his mind was finding his wife and relaxing.
He discovered Stephanie, along with Calder, puttering around the kitchen. He’d kept his approach silent and took in as much detail as he could before they put their game faces on once they realized they weren’t alone.
His mother-in-law was smiling at the big man who was so like Alex. She seemed loosened up and almost carefree—not traits he’d ever associated with her before. Apparently, being around Calder wasn’t that much of a bother.
Alex’s uncle, on the other hand, looked like he was carefully navigating a perilous minefield. Or a job interview with a thousand loopholes. He also seemed sort of lighthearted but with a distinct overlay of caution. Unless he was mistaken, the dot com genius had found a way past the Southern belle’s defenses. And he was smart enough to be proceeding with an abundance of caution. Good for him. These Bennett women were a fucking handful, but once you managed to pin one down, well…for Drae at least, he’d never been happier or more content.
Stephanie saw his approach and smiled broadly. “Ah, son. I’m glad you’re back, but you missed dinner. Want me to make you a plate and heat it up? Ria’s lasagna.”
He felt a sense of belonging that was new to him each time she called him that. Son. The word held a shit ton of meaning in his world.
“Nah, I’m good,” he said while patting his stomach. “Nothing like a bag of fast food burgers and a trough of soda to fill a man up,” he joked.
Calder snickered and reached out to shake the hand Drae offered saying, “Oh God, fuck this local franchise shit. Unless it’s from In-N-Out, I’ll pass.”
Drae chuckled and nodded in agreement. In-N-Out was, in fact, the only decent burger not made at home. “Can’t agree more but in this case we drove thru the golden arches and pretended.”
Glancing around, he saw no signs of his wife so he asked. “Where’s Victoria? Everything okay?”
A slight change in the atmosphere happened and Stephanie came forward, putting her hand through his arm, leading him to the sofa in the great room.
“Oh shit,” he muttered with apprehension snaking along his spine. “What’s wrong?”
He was surprised and let it show when Calder dropped onto the sofa beside Stephanie and placed his arm protectively near her, along the back of the furniture.
“Everything’s fine,” Stephanie assured him. When she reached for his hand and squeezed, Drae didn’t let go. Something clearly wasn’t right, and for the first time in his life, he knew what it felt like to need the calming influence of a mother.
He looked at his mother-in-law with a dubious expression. Calder added, “Really, dude. She’s fine.”
Okay then. Maybe he could still breathe.
“She’s taking a shower so you can stand down,” the other man added.
Frowning at Stephanie, he asked, “What’s going on?”
“Okay. So here it is,” she told him quietly. “Earlier, Tori had an episode…”
“A what?” he yelled, cutting off the rest of what she meant to say and lurching to his feet. An episode? What the fuck did that mean and why did it sound like it was in no way a good thing?
Stephanie tugged on his arm until he gave in and sat back down. “Please stay calm, Draegyn. I need you to keep it together. Tori does too, okay?”
His jaw clenched and his teeth started to grind. Keep it together? Was that even an option? Victoria was his Achilles’ heel. He simply could not function rationally if anything was wrong with her. He turned eyes filled with a thousand questions on the two people studying his every reaction.
“She lost all her color and got lightheaded,” she told him with those brief, concise words. Drae felt his own color draining out of his face when Stephanie quickly added, “It was over in seconds, and she recovered pretty quickly, but it spooked her.”
“Do I need to call our doctor? You do realize the fucking hospital is a forty minute ride from here, right?”
Holy fuck. Lightheaded? Lost color? What did that even mean? Was shit like that normal? And what about the baby?
“The baby?” he asked.
“Everything is fine now. The baby’s moving. River Dancing I believe is how Tori described it.”
Drae was panicking even though he wasn’t sure why. “Son,” Stephanie bit out. “I need you to focus, Draegyn.” When she snapped her fingers two inches from his face, he flinched.
“Like I said, she’s taking a shower. And waiting for you to come home, of course.”
Drae was shaken. “What should I do, Mom?” It wasn’t until he saw the look of approval on Calder’s face and the surprising rosy blush on his mother-in-law’s cheeks that he realized what he’d just said.
This woman, the one who had scared him shitless when he’d fucked up and Victoria had bailed on his sorry ass when she first learned she was pregnant, the very same woman who had over the last few months been slowly coming around where he was concerned, reached for both his hands and held on tight.
“You just keep doing what you have been, Draegyn. Love her with all your heart. In Tori’s mind, everything else is just stuff and nonsense. She loves that baby, but where you’re concerned, there is no contest.”
“That little woman adores your sorry fucking ass, St. John, “Calder mumbled. “Just had to sit through a dinner where all she talked about was you. Listen to Stephanie, dude. She’s making good sense.”
He nodded and clung to his mother-in-law’s eyes as she spoke.
“I’m not concerned, not really—but you need to keep a close eye on her now that she’s near her due date.”
“But,” Drae barked, “she’s not that fucking near.” His panic increased. They were still weeks shy of what the doctors said they should expect. He wasn’t prepared. There was still stuff to do. Like map out a labor plan. Pack a bag. Decide who would drive them. Stuff like that.
“Draegyn St. John,” Stephanie shouted. “Snap the fuck out of it! Shit happens. Stop analyzing this.” She threw her hands up and turned to Calder.
“Drae. Turn down the analytical bullshit in your head. None of that’ll work at the present. Your wife is about to have a baby, dude. Nature has a plan. You’re going to miss out on the wonder if you try to control how you’re feeling. That’s Tori up there, man. She’s one incredible lady, although why she fell for your uptight ass I do not know.” Calder snorted and smiled at Stephanie who nodded along.
“Just relax. Go on to your wife now and just be there.”
Calder got up and pulled Drae from the sofa, pushing him down the hallway to the elevator. “You guys are gonna be parents soon! I envy you, St. John. Stop being a bitch and go to your lady. Take it all in. You’re having a baby. Go enjoy the adventure.”
TORI FELT HUMAN AGAIN AFTER taking a ridiculously long shower. Maybe it was just because she needed to feel normal, but she did all those girly things women sometimes did in the shower when time permitted.
She’d shaved, exfoliated, moisturized, and massaged every inch of her body—except where she couldn’t reach. After the scary moment earlier in the day when it had seemed like a ton of bricks shifted uncomfortably inside her and she’d felt all the blood draining from her head, she’d been trying to maintain an even calm. Nothing would be acco
mplished by her freaking out.
At first, Cha Cha had been her regular active self, going from one gymnastics routine to another followed by a string of dance numbers. But now she was quiet. Tori ran her hand down a side and under her big belly where she gently pulsed her hand. It was how she communicated with the baby sometimes. To let her know Mommy was on the job and that she was safe.
Reaching for one of her pretty nighties, cranberry-colored satin and a stretchy lace bodice that made her feel feminine even with a huge belly, she tugged it on then leaned back in her chair, letting her hair tumble freely.
With her chin tilted up, she began slowly running the brush through her hair. The shower had really relaxed her. Everything was fine, she thought. Everything was fine.
“Here,” a deep voice murmured. “Let me do that.”
She gasped and opened her eyes to find her handsome husband looking down into her shocked face.
“Draegyn.”
“Who else?” he laughed before leaning in and kissing her mouth.
Pulling up a stool, he plopped down on it at her back and took the brush from her hands. “Scoot down and lay your neck against the top of the chair.”
She readily complied and then he started brushing her hair. After a few brief strokes, she sighed and willed any remaining tension in her body to melt away. What he was doing felt heavenly. Before long, she was making little humming noises in her throat which eventually became husky purrs. Pleasure and appreciation. A great team.
“Did you miss me today?” he asked.
The brush moved from the crown of her head, across the top and down to her nape, then all the way to the curling ends of her hair. Tori sighed.
“I miss you when you’re across the room,” she told him. “Everything go all right in town? You were gone a long time.”
He hesitated before answering. She let it go. He’d tell her if she needed to know.
“Yeah. We’re good. Work-related bullshit but it’s all handled.”
“I made deviled eggs today.” Why in the hell had she said that? Lord. The strange things that sometimes came out of her mouth.
Draegyn chuckled. “I’m sure the ladies were impressed.”
She giggled at the sarcasm and stuck her tongue out at him. “Lacey made these cute munchies with chocolate cookies and peanut butter cups. They look like pilgrim hats.”
“How many did you eat, little mama?” he teased.
Wow. That brush felt so damn good. She didn’t want him to stop. Like, ever.
“I’m pregnant,” she pouted. “That means I get to eat whatever I want and for your information, I only had one. It was a tester. Had to make sure they tasted as good as they looked.”
“Mom says you weren’t feeling well earlier.”
Wait just a fucking minute. Did her normally aloof, family-deprived hubby just refer to her mother as Mom?
“Um, oh. Yeah. I don’t know what that was. Really.”
He kept running the brush through her hair with long, slow, even strokes. The rhythm and sensation was hypnotizing.
“How do you feel now?”
Reasonable question to ask. She did a full body scan—what she called an internal diagnostic—and came up empty.
“I feel fine. Tired maybe. But that’s it. Did Mom also tell you that I ate a huge dinner? Damn Ria and that lasagna of hers.”
“Mmmmm.” That was all he said.
After a dozen more leisurely strokes, he murmured, “Ready for bed, sweetheart?”
Had she been zoning out? Maybe. It just felt so good.
She wriggled around until she sat up straight, rolling her shoulders and rubbing her tummy. “It’s early yet, isn’t it?”
“Well, not really. I tell you what,” he told her. “Let’s get comfy in bed and turn on the TV. See if any of your shows are on.”
Tori stood slowly, feeling his ever watchful and assessing eyes boring into her. Now that he was home, she could relax. Draegyn would take care of her. Take care of everything.
He held out his hand for hers. She slid her smaller one into his big warm clasp and let out a deep breath. He pulled her forward and rested his other hand on her satin covered tummy. He looked at her. She looked at him and time slowed to a standstill.
“THANKS FOR BACKING ME UP with Draegyn,” Stephanie told Calder as they made their way quietly into her suite. They could have stayed downstairs and danced a naked jig all night if they’d wanted to. When her son-in-law had headed for the master suite where his wife waited, there was little doubt in her mind that they’d seen the last of the St. Johns for the evening.
But for some reason, Stephanie insisted they relax in her private space. It was as if she was trying it on for size. Drae and Tori had told her repeatedly that they wanted her to think of the suite as her very own place. It was why Drae had built it in the first place.
It felt slightly daring, inviting Calder to her room. Not quite scandalous, but certainly eyebrow-raising behavior on her part. He’d be a total gentleman about it, she knew that without a second’s thought. It was she who was operating on raw nerve and a growing curiosity.
“I’ve known Drae for a long time, so I’m happy to help when I can.” He looked around and whistled long and low. “Jesus. This place is incredible. Drae really outdid himself this time.”
She smiled. “It’s fabulous. I couldn’t agree more. And it’s totally private. I even have my own deck.”
Oh, good Lord. Why had she giggled when she told him that? He was going to think she was a brain-dead blonde if she kept it up.
“Really? A private deck?” he quizzed with a laugh. “This I gotta see.”
Oooh, yeah. She loved that idea. “Should we take some drinks out with us? I have a fully stocked bar and there’s a bottle of outrageous Spanish wine from the Valleja winery that Meghan gave me.”
Calder snickered. “I’m quite familiar with the complex world of Spanish wine and sherry. My sister, remember?”
Ah hahaha. He was right. She’d forgotten. What was his sister’s name? Ashleigh. California girl living in Spain running an inherited winery. Splendid.
“If it came from their vineyard, count me in! Crack that baby open and let’s go sit under the stars.”
And they did—and it was glorious. Stephanie knew a comfort with this man that was hard to ignore. He was funny. Smart. Serious and goofy all at once. And he treated her like an equal. Asking as many questions as he answered. She liked that it wasn’t all about him. He seemed genuinely interested in her and her life, asking for her opinion on a hundred different things and picking her brain on a hundred more.
“Do you like it here? In Arizona, I mean. Must be a different world than what you’re used to in Atlanta.”
She looked around her. The private deck offered a magnificent view of the hills and rock formations in the distance. It was a clear night and without the light pollution of a big town to block them, the stars twinkled brightly in the sky. The quiet, something which at times made her stop and pause, either amplified or quieted the noise in her head. Right now, the noise was but a low, distant hum.
Tucking her feet beneath her butt, she turned toward him in the seat next to hers and answered as honestly as she could.
“There’s something about this place,” she replied wistfully. “At times it’s almost spiritual.”
“I know what you mean. The first time I came here, Alex’s grandparents were still alive. Ashleigh adored them—they’d been brilliant when she married their son, accepting her with open and loving arms. The occasion was some sort of anniversary for the aging couple. Whole place was decked out like the house of Zorro or something. Made quite the impression on me. I’ve loved coming here ever since, and when Alex inherited the entire property—all of it—his parents were thrilled. This place was just what he needed after Afghanistan and everything he’d been through. The Valleja-Marquez Villa has comforted and healed many people over its long history.”
“I hear that,” she sniggere
d. “This place and Alex, of course, rescued Victoria. I guess I feel a little of that when I’m here. It’s confusing.” She rolled her shoulders and stuttered, searching for the words. “At times, I feel like I belong here and then my life in Atlanta beckons, but…”
“That but sounded pretty significant.”
She half-grimaced, half-rolled her eyes. “That was an Alex move,” she teased.
He smiled. “It generally works. Asking a question without asking a question.”
Sighing, she rested her head on the back of the wood lounge chair and stared at the stars. “My other life,” she explained, “my real life, I suppose…Being here has shown me that it’s become all about work. And that kinda bothers me. When did that happen?”
“You like what you do,” he offered.
“Yeah, but somewhere along the line, what I do has become who I am.”
He nodded. “Well, maybe this time here is supposed to help you see outside that narrow view. I mean, aren’t you about to become a grandmother? That’s seriously cool shit, Stephanie, and has nothing to do with what you do.”
Hmm. He was right. She’d known when she packed up to leave Atlanta that this was going to be more than an extended family leave disguised as a vacation. There was a shift happening in her life and she suspected whatever came of her time in the Southwest, things would never return again to the way she’d known them.
“I should get going,” Calder murmured. Draining the end of his wine, he sat the empty glass on the side table between their seats and reached out a hand to her.
“What?” she asked.
“Come here,” he growled.
Um, what? She was confused but she put her hand in his and let him pull her from her chair.
“Sit on my lap.”
Sit on his lap? Sit on his damn lap? What? She wasn’t a lap sitter and couldn’t recall ever having done so before. Maybe once or twice with her husband in the early days, but she’d adopted a respectable ladylike and dignified manner over the years and would struggle to feel at ease perched on some man’s lap.
But Calder was proving to be significantly more than simply some man.
Always (Family Justice Book 1) Page 33