Always (Family Justice Book 1)

by Halliday, Suzanne

  He watched as every drop of color drained from her face. Then she shuddered, sucked in a breath, and he saw a shimmer of tears gathering in her eyes. He remembered what she went through, losing her husband at such a young age, and figured that hearing the word hospital in connection with her only child might fuck with her head.

  “Stephanie,” he muttered sharply to bring her back to the moment. “She’s fine, but we should go.”

  She barely moved a muscle during the five minutes it took to call the waiter over, take care of the bill, and leave the table. He realized that the calm, unruffled composure she showed was a mask for whatever she was feeling. Putting an arm protectively around her waist, he guided her swiftly from the restaurant out to the car and got her settled. Ten minutes later, after the short, silent ride, they arrived, parked, and made their way to the emergency room.

  DRAE WAS LOSING IT. EVEN though he understood that he couldn’t be in the room while Victoria was being examined, it was killing him not to be with her. He was scared out of his fucking mind, which meant that she was most likely terrified. What in the hell was going on?

  He’d ignored Stephanie and Calder when they arrived. Although glad to see Victoria’s mother on the scene, he just couldn’t do chitchat at the moment. It was taking all his energy not to spin out of control and shatter into a million pieces.

  Finally, their doctor waved him from the waiting room, and out into the hallway.

  “Mr. St. John. Your wife is resting comfortably at the moment.”

  Before he could bust out with the obvious question, he was told, “The baby is fine.”

  Okay. He could maybe breathe again. But they weren’t entirely in the clear, something that the doctor’s serious face told him.

  “What’s going on, Doctor?”

  “Well, in the simplest of terms what we have here is a pregnancy-induced blood pressure episode. Her pressure dropped quite suddenly, which is what caused your wife to briefly lose consciousness.”

  “Is that normal?”

  “Truthfully, Mr. St. John, when it comes to pregnancy, what’s normal?”

  Drae shook his head in understanding. “What happens now?”

  “We’re keeping her overnight and will be running a few more tests. Right now the baby is fine, but if your wife shows further signs of pressure or additional complications, this could put stress on the fetus.”

  “Additional complications?” Oh Jesus. He was going to hyperventilate. This was his worst fucking nightmare.

  “Don’t borrow trouble,” the doctor told him gently. “I know that sounds scary but most of the time, all that’s needed is a bit of caution. The thing is, with you living so far from the hospital, I just think it’s in Victoria’s best interest, and that of the baby, too, to stay put and let us monitor the situation.”

  “I want to see her.”

  “Of course. She’s being moved into a private room. You’ll be able to sit with her, but we don’t suggest allowing other visitors just yet. She needs to stabilize and relax, okay?”

  Drae was conflicted with this news. “She’ll want to see her mother,” he muttered.

  “Actually, she rather specifically and in quite colorful terms made it clear to everyone in the exam room that your presence was required and no one else’s.”

  Colorful terms? Yeah, he bet.

  “Look, you go give your people an update and the nurse will come for you when your wife is settled. I suggest preparing for a long night. We do this all the time, Mr. St. John, so you just focus on Victoria, and we’ll handle everything else. She’s frightened and needs you to reassure her.”

  “Understood, Doctor,” he said with an outstretched hand. They shook briefly then the white coated physician returned to the nursing desk, leaving Drae to stand there, hands on hips, head hanging while he took it all in.

  WHY ARE HOSPITAL WAITING ROOMS such an uncomfortable shit show? Calder mused while doing everything he could think of for Stephanie. He could tell it was killing her that she wasn’t able to talk to Victoria, but it was Drae’s place, as her husband, to be the one by her side.

  Alex and Meghan were pacing slowly up and down a long hallway with Meghan peeking in on him and Stephanie every few minutes. Despite learning that Tori was stable and being closely monitored, that information did little to vent anyone’s anxiety. Especially when they’d all been subjected to a side of Draegyn St. John that nobody knew. He was agitated, nervous, and so close to crying that it was shocking.

  Hours had ticked by, and except for the encouraging smile and occasional thumbs-up from the nursing staff, they had no new information. He’d removed his suit jacket and draped it about Stephanie’s shoulders when he saw that she was trembling, and while she’d said, “Thanks,” she’d been mostly silent since.

  She looked so desolate and alone, hunched inside his big jacket, her eyes filled with worry and concern. She was a single parent and had been for a long time. The strain that put on a person’s heart and mind had to be staggering.

  Deciding it was fucking ridiculous to act like he wasn’t more than just a little involved with the woman was just plain stupid, so he took a seat next to her on the uncomfortable couch and eased his arm about her shoulders. Though none of this was about him, he was deeply affected when she immediately softened and accepted his supportive embrace.

  “So, Duchess…” he drawled.

  Her head snapped in his direction, the first time she’d fully looked at him in hours, and said, “Duchess?”

  “Calling you Queenie almost got me neutered, so I’ve been searching for a suitable alternative.”

  Luckily, she smirked.

  “You don’t strike me as the baby-cakes type, and I’m betting kitten might lead to an ass kicking so Duchess just felt…mmmm, right.”

  She relaxed against him and smiled. “Oddly, I might like that. It’s different and not too sappy. But what’s your nickname, then? Moondoggie?”

  Moondoggie. I may be falling for this woman, he thought. “Did you just tag me with a surfer name from the sixties?”

  Stephanie shrugged while she laughed. “That I did. And no smart ass comments about pulling that particularly obscure pop culture reference out of my butt.”

  “Oh Duchess—you really are one-of-a-kind. Were you visualizing me on a long board, surfing by moonlight?”

  “Actually, my thought process was a lot simpler. The only other surfer reference I could come up with was that Patrick Swayze movie, Point Break. His character was named Bodhi and that didn’t seem to fit—so….Moondoggie it is.”

  Calder sniggered and pulled her closer. “Sounds like a cheesy chick book—Moondoggie and the Duchess.”

  She sighed and suddenly her heavy mood returned. “Chick books,” he heard her mutter. “Tori loves that stuff—the cheesier the better.”

  “Everything is going to be fine,” he assured her. “But it’s going to be a long night. Don’t you think we should head home, get a good night’s sleep, then come back in the morning?”

  “I don’t know what to do,” she admitted. “I know they won’t let me see her. Not yet anyway. Just wish Drae would come out and give us an update. Leaving just doesn’t seem like a good idea till I know what’s really happening. She may need me.”

  The universe must have been listening because Alex stuck his head in the door and told them, “Drae’s coming.” Stephanie bolted from the chair so fast she almost knocked him over.

  Grabbing his jacket off the floor where it fell when she got up, he followed her into the hallway and found Drae anxiously talking to Alex and Stephanie. Meghan was nowhere around.

  “They’re having a tough time stabilizing her blood pressure,” he was telling them. Calder didn’t like the way that sounded, but kept his comments private, moving to stand close behind Stephanie so she’d know he was right there.

  “She’s upset. Exhausted. And every time she settles down, they’ll come in to check her vitals and boom—the anxiety returns.”

&
nbsp; “What can we do?” Alex asked.

  He saw Drae look at Stephanie sympathetically and mutter, “Nothing. It’s all about wait and see now.”

  “I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but you all should really head home. I’ll call if anything changes. No use in everyone camping out here.”

  Drae turned to his mother-in-law and took her hand. “Don’t want you to be alone, Mom,” he said. “Maybe you can go to the big house for the night?”

  Calder didn’t stop to consider what he was about to say, just stepped up and told them both, “I’ll take care of Stephanie. You take care of that wife, okay?”

  “That okay with you, Mom?”

  Didn’t come as a surprise when Stephanie folded her son-in-law into a big hug. That they referred to each other in familial terms was a big indicator to how dramatically their relationship had changed. For the better.

  “Don’t you worry about me, son. You just take good care of my baby girl. Will you let her know I was here?”

  “Victoria knows you’re all here,” Drae said as he looked at each of them. “But where’s Irish?”

  “She’s downstairs in the coffee shop. It’s easier to talk on the phone down there. Her phone kept buzzing. Endless texts. Everyone’s concerned.”

  Drae nodded, but he was clearly distracted. “You guys have been great,” he muttered. The emotion evident in his voice was moving.

  Alex, who knew Draegyn better than anyone except perhaps Victoria herself, clapped his wartime brother on the shoulder. “Would do anything for you and Tori, bro.” They quickly embraced then just as quickly separated as guys usually do.

  It was Stephanie who started giving orders next. She told Alex to alert Meghan that they were leaving for the night and instruct Drae to get back to Tori and give her plenty of hugs and kisses from each of them.

  Calder watched as the two stepped down the hallway, deep in conversation. It was good to see them hanging tough together in the face of Tori’s crisis.

  Alex, on the other hand, was showing signs of a struggle. He cared for Tori. Was close to Stephanie. But where Draegyn was concerned—those two had an unbreakable bond. Brothers from different mothers, they sometimes joked. And Cameron, too. The three of them breathed the same air sometimes.

  “Think he’ll be okay?” Calder asked.

  “Don’t fucking know,” Alex answered. “That little woman is his everything. Honestly, Unc—Drae’s vulnerable for the first time in his life. What’s happening is a lot to take in. And just as hard to watch from the sidelines.”

  They left not long after that. He and Stephanie walked hand-in-hand, behind Alex and Meghan—all of them silent and pensive as they made their way in the elevator to the parking garage.

  Meghan hugged Stephanie by the side of the car, then hugged him, too, whispering, “Take care of her, Calder.”

  Everyone’s nerves were shot, and seeing the fall of tears on Red’s face and the anxiety in her expression was what he thought about during the drive back to the Villa.

  Instead of taking Stephanie to the big, empty St. John house, he took control of their unusual situation and headed straight for the casita. She’d be spending the night with him, where he could keep an eye on her, and that was all there was to it.

  “Mmmm. Where are we?” she asked, half in the bag, after the car stopped and he turned off the engine.

  “My place,” he told her. “You were dozing off, and I figured it was best if we stayed together tonight, Duchess.”

  “Oh,” she mumbled while rummaging about for her purse. “Okay, I guess.”

  It was a little like dealing with a sleepy toddler once he got her into the small, cozy house. She’d stayed there previously, so she knew her way around—and just slipped off her shoes once the door closed, tossed her bag on the sofa, and completely slumped in place. She had nothing left.

  “Bedtime m’lady,” he said as he steered her toward the bathroom. “You’ll find a stack of clean t-shirts in the cupboard next to the linen closet. Help yourself. You need a drink or anything?”

  She shook her head and fussed with her hair, clearly questioning what they hell they were doing. Best address the elephant in the room and get things settled.

  “Yes. We’re both sleeping in that bed, and that’s all we’ll be doing. Just relax and let me take care of you. This is the lean on me portion of the program. Remember?”

  Shooing her into the bathroom before she could respond, he shut the door between them and said, “Let me know if you need anything.”

  Twenty minutes later, when he walked back to the bedroom to check on her progress, he found her sound asleep in his bed. Wearing his favorite Ron Jon Surf Shop t-shirt. It was going to be a helluva night.

  MORNING. UGH. JUST FIVE MORE minutes. Mmmmmm…..

  Wait a minute.

  What? The hell? Is THAT?

  Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

  Is that a man’s leg under mine?

  Oh shit—it is!

  Okay, okay. Just open one eye and look to the right. Real slow.

  Fuck. My. Georgia. Mama. Life.

  Calder. And he’s freakin’ huge.

  Right. I’m in bed with Calder and my leg is draped over his thigh just below his ass. His ass. Which is naked.

  Nope. Too much for me to take in.

  In a series of moves worthy of ninja status, Stephanie quietly extricated herself from the uncomfortable predicament and fled to the small bathroom, shutting the door with the slightest of snicks.

  Good Lord, she thought. My heart is practically beating out of my chest.

  Turning to face the mirror, she subjected her reflection to a careful inspection and was relieved to discover it wasn’t as bad as she feared. She had bed head of course, but that was it—really.

  She remembered washing up last night before grabbing one of Calder’s t-shirts to put on and saw in the mirror that her dress was hanging on the door hook behind her. The shirt—obviously well worn—was his size, so it hung on her, but in a very sexy way that she couldn’t ignore. It had a surf shop logo that almost brought a smile. Almost.

  Reverie over. Thinking about last night was only going to slow her down so she did what she was good at. Shut off the noise that was crowding her thoughts and get back to the business at hand.

  Going through a curtailed version of her morning routine, Stephanie quickly refreshed herself. She even used Calder’s toothbrush after a second’s hesitation because there was no way in hell she was facing him without having brushed her teeth.

  Luckily, he had a hairbrush on the counter. Okay now, stop thinking about his long hair—that’s not helping. Quickly making her sleep tousled mane presentable, she then hurried to retrieve her dress, pulling the t-shirt over her head as she moved.

  It only took a minute to slip on the simple but elegant lace dress. She found the extra-long strand of black pearls underneath when she took the dress from the hook. After one last hasty look in the mirror, Stephanie grabbed the t-shirt and pearls, switched off the light and silently opened the door.

  Thinking she was going to tiptoe past a sleeping Calder, she was shocked to find him gone from the bedroom. The only evidence he’d been there was the rumpled covers and pillows they’d left behind.

  She found him in the tiny kitchen wearing nothing but sweats that hung indecently low on his muscular frame. Of course. Why the hell not?

  Swallowing a surge of nervousness, she called out as she approached, “Hi,” then instantly wished she’d thought that through first because her voice came out sounding husky and seductive.

  He turned and smiled at her while checking her out from head to toe. “G’morning m’lady,” he responded.

  My goodness, he is Mr. Bright-Eyed and Chipper in the morning.

  “Making some coffee and there’s some of Ria’s breakfast biscuits with honey butter in a bowl on the table.”

  She saw him looking at what was clutched in her hand. Showing him the t-shirt and pearls. Step
hanie shrugged self-consciously and said, “I’ll wash the t-shirt and get it back to you.”

  “No need for that,” he chuckled.

  “No, really. I want to.” Oh for heaven’s sake. Will you stop babbling like a schoolgirl?

  “Talked to Alex. No overnight news. He’s been in contact with Drae throughout the night. They’re going to leave for the hospital in about an hour.”

  “Oh. Okay.” No news is good news, right? “Maybe I can catch a ride with them,” she muttered mostly to herself.

  Calder put down the coffee mug he’d been preparing and came straight to her, taking the shirt and pearls out of her hand and laying them on the counter. Then he just gathered her into an all-encompassing embrace and kissed her to within an inch of her sanity. Oh my.

  “No,” he grumbled when he set her free. “I’ll drive you. Thought we settled this, Duchess.”

  Oh. Had she hurt his feelings? She couldn’t tell—but his grumpy manner suggested maybe she had.

  “Sorry.” She tried extra hard to convey a lot with that one word. “I’m not used to having back-up. It’s not something I’m used to.”

  That seemed to erase the gloominess. He grinned at her and said, “You’re forgiven but only because you looked so fucking cute in my t-shirt.”

  Cute? She looked cute? Stephanie was momentarily paralyzed with shock when a girlish giggle of feminine delight burst from her mouth.

  The knowing look and wolfish swagger that Mr. Sexy-in-Sweats laid down after that embarrassing display wrecked Stephanie’s hard fought for composure.

  ALEX WAS COLLAPSED AND STILL quivering on top of Meghan after a slow, passionate early morning loving. She was trembling, too. There had been a lot of emotion passing back and forth between them after a long, restless night filled with worry and concern.

  He’d taken her slowly. Waking her with a blissful worship of her entire body. There wasn’t a centimeter of her flesh that he hadn’t caressed or anointed with his lips and tongue. His big, masculine hands all over her skin had melted her core.

  When he’d gorged on her wetness, she’d writhed and moaned, losing all control of her functional abilities. She’d seen actual starlight behind closed eyelids when she came.