Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Table of Contents
Untitled Document
Prologue
Chapter 1 - Baby Blues
Chapter 2 - Girl's Night Out
Chapter 3 - Just A Little Pinch
Chapter 4 - A Night At The Zoo
Chapter 5 - The Doctor's Call
Chapter 6 - An Unexpected Gift
Chapter 7 - A Desperate Search
Chapter 8 - Life Resumes
Chapter 9 - Late Night Appointment
Chapter 10 - Secrets Revealed
Chapter 11 - Alexa's Past
Chapter 12 - The War
Chapter 13 - The Prophecy
Chapter 14 - Tilly's Rescue
Chapter 15 - The Name's Cami
Chapter 16 - Girl Time
Chapter 17 - AB Negative
Chapter 18 - A Proposal
Chapter 19 - Big Announcement
Chapter 20 - Wedding Plans
Chapter 21 - The Night Before
Chapter 22 - Family Reunion
Chapter 23 - I Do
Chapter 24 - Family Time
Chapter 25 - Paradise
Chapter 26 - A Change In Plans
Chapter 27 - Alexa's Choice
The Next Installment
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Choices of Fate
✧
S. Simone Chavous
Copyright © 2013 S. Simone Chavous
Cover design by S. Simone Chavous
Editing by Kathy Krick of K² Editing
ISBN: 978-0-9895701-1-4
eISBN: 978-0-9895701-0-7
Visit my website: http://www.ssimonechavous.com
Like me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ssimonechavous
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WIthout limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media and events are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
To my two girls, Cami and Isabella, for the endless inspiration, to Brian, for all of the love and support, and to my mom, Wanda, for always believing in me.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1 - Baby Blues
Chapter 2 - Girl's Night Out
Chapter 3 - Just A Little Pinch
Chapter 4 - A Night At The Zoo
Chapter 5 - The Doctor's Call
Chapter 6 - An Unexpected Gift
Chapter 7 - A Desperate Search
Chapter 8 - Life Resumes
Chapter 9 - Late Night Appointment
Chapter 10 - Secrets Revealed
Chapter 11 - Alexa's Past
Chapter 12 - The War
Chapter 13 - The Prophecy
Chapter 14 - Tilly's Rescue
Chapter 15 - The Name's Cami
Chapter 16 - Girl Time
Chapter 17 - AB Negative
Chapter 18 - A Proposal
Chapter 19 - Big Announcement
Chapter 20 - Wedding Plans
Chapter 21 - The Night Before
Chapter 22 - Family Reunion
Chapter 23 - I Do
Chapter 24 - Family Time
Chapter 25 - Paradise
Chapter 26 - A Change In Plans
Chapter 27 - Alexa's Choice
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Prologue
Lucias gingerly opened the file his first in command, Kaleb, procured during his three-day trip to the Midwest, anticipating yet another dead-end in what felt like an endless search. He glanced over the notes, barely registering the words as his mind wandered to the delectable little meal that was waiting for him in the next room. It had been far too long since he last ate, especially for someone with his proclivities.
Then one little four letter word came into his field of vision and commanded his full attention. Carefully reading the surrounding sentence, he pulled one of the black x-ray films from the back of the stolen dental chart and held it up to the rather dim light of his quarters.
His perfect lips curled up into a wickedly satisfied smile. “This is most promising, my son. I assume you obtained all copies and related correspondence.”
Kaleb responded, his eyes downcast. “Yes, Sire. My team scoured the doctor’s physical files and computer server. A mining virus was uploaded to the system that corrupted all of the files and images related to that patient and removed all emails and internet posts. We have verified that the request for advice he posted on the medical website was removed and the only respondent has been neutralized along with the doctor and his staff.”
“Excellent. I want you to choose your best man and send him back with your team to observe the family. I want to know everything there is to know about them before we move. There can be no mistakes. Everything we have been working towards depends upon this.”
“My team is already in place and awaiting your instructions, Sire. I will fly back out immediately to join them. ”
“No, you are to stay here. If this is truly the child from the prophecy, the enemy knows your face and is no doubt watching.”
“I do not understand, Sire. If the enemy knows why have they not taken the child?”
Lucias’ eyes filled with anger as he spat, “You dare question me, Kaleb! I am your master, I tell you what I want you to know and nothing more!”
He stood and began to pace in front of the desk as his rage dissipated. “However, perhaps it is time for you to know more.”
He returned to his chair and removed the thin silver chain that hung around his neck. Using the small key that was attached he opened the top drawer of the desk as he continued. “There is only one who would know of the child and it is a secret he would keep from everyone, even his own people. You know him well considering he killed your only brother.”
It was now Kaleb who filled with rage as his thoughts turned back to that black day when he watched his brother fall at the feet of his enemy. Fighting the urge to question his master again he held his emotions in check and responded with deference, “What would you have me do, Sire.”
Lucias placed the small velvet pouch on the desk and pressed his fingertips together in front of his face. “Wait. When the time comes, you will have your revenge and I will have the world.”
CHAPTER 1 - Baby Blues
As she sat in the waiting room of Dr. Kline’s office, Alexa finally lost the battle to hold back the tears that had been threatening to slide down her face for the last two weeks. She blamed it on the sleepless nights and the frustration of helplessly watching and listening to her sweet baby girl suffer crying herself sick every night. It had nothing to do with Chloe’s father, she was over that. Mostly.
A cute little tow-haired boy looked over at her from a child-sized chair in the play area across the room. He picked a little stuffed bear from the box of toys against the wall and ran passed his mother and across the room to stand directly in front of Alexa and Chloe.
“Why are you crying?” he asked loo
king to Alexa with concern in his hazel eyes.
She smiled slightly and swiped at the tears on her cheeks. “Oh, I’m just really tired and worried about my baby. I think she’s sick and I don’t know what’s wrong. That’s why we’re here at the doctor.”
“Maybe this will make her feel better,” he said before stretching his little arm out to present the toy in his hand to Chloe.
Her eyes were squeezed shut as she continued to wail, so Alexa reached out and accepted the bear. “That’s so sweet, thank you, I’m sure she’ll really like it. What’s your name handsome?”
He grinned wide at Alexa, his two front teeth missing as he replied, “Jude William,” before running off back to his mother, obviously a little embarrassed.
Just then the waiting room door squeaked open as a plump African American nurse dressed in Mickey Mouse scrubs stepped through. Her name was Barb based on the name tag attached above her left breast. “Ms. Ryan, the doctor can see you now.” The nurse patted Alexa’s shoulder and offered a sympathetic smile as Alexa passed through the doorway with her screaming nine month old in tow. Before the door closed, Alexa looked back at the sweet little boy, giving him a quick wink and sending him into a fit of giggles in response.
After an amazingly comfortable pregnancy and eight and a half months of near bliss as a new mother, Alexa was completely blindsided by the rapid change in her daughter. Chloe had gone from crawling, babbling and learning to walk, to nonstop crying and lying around without so much as attempting to sit up. She was refusing all solid food, opting to nurse so often that Alexa’s nipples were raw and bleeding. Two trips to the emergency room in the middle of a couple of extremely bad nights and several visits to her regular pediatrician had led them to Dr. Kline. The man was considered to be something of a miracle worker when it came to dealing with inconsolable babies like Chloe who were typically diagnosed as “colicky” and whose mothers were sent away with little more than a prescription for ear plugs.
“We’re heading to exam room four on the left, just strip her down to her underthings and bring her back out here to get her weight.”
Thanks to the screaming, Alexa could barely hear any of the nurse’s instructions, but she’d done the drill so many times in recent weeks she was able to figure it out. She placed Chloe on the table covered with crinkly white paper and unsnapped the pink and purple polkadot jumper before pulling it over her head. Pulling two tissues from the box on a nearby counter, Alexa cleaned off Chloe’s tear-soaked face and walked out into the hallway to join the nurse and put her on the scale. Once her movement settled down enough for a reading to pop up on the digital display, Alexa glanced down and felt her heart drop into her stomach. Chloe had lost another eight ounces since her last weight check, bringing the total loss to nearly a pound in the last two weeks. The tears that Alexa had managed to choke back with the help of a kind little boy, started flowing once again.
Unflinching, the nurse gently passed Chloe back to Alexa and pointed them toward the exam room as she typed a few notes into her laptop. Once inside, she asked Alexa a few basic questions, measured Chloe, and then announced that the doctor would be in shortly. “Listen, honey. The best advice I can give you is to ask for help from wherever you can get it. Your mama, your friends. Anyone that says they’ll keep the baby for you to get some sleep or get your hair done, you take advantage of it child, ya hear?” Alexa nodded slightly. The words meant to offer encouragement only served to increase the deep ache in Alexa’s heart.
There was no mother, no friends to speak of offering much needed help and advice. The only assistance since Chloe was born had come from an unlikely source, an unfathomably kind couple that lived next door to the house Alexa purchased in Fishers, IN. Alexa couldn’t help but smile to herself as she thought of Jesse and Jill. She had lived there for several months and hadn’t so much as waved at her neighbors, but shortly after she arrived home that first day with Chloe the doorbell rang. When she opened the door, she was greeted by the cutest little spitfire of a woman and her teddybear of a husband, both with arms full of gift bags and trays of food. Overwhelmed by their kindness and embarrassed with her own conduct, Alexa apologized repeatedly for her unsocial behavior. Each time the warm couple brushed it off and assured they were not offended and understood she had a lot on her plate.
For the next week or so, Jill showed up every afternoon with a home-cooked supper, only staying a few minutes to gush over the baby. Both she and Jesse were really good about being helpful and friendly, without being intrusive or overbearing.
But for them and Chloe, Alexa was alone in the world, a painful reality she had grown quite accustomed to over the years, but these last few weeks had begun to erode the protective wall she had built around her heart. She longed for someone to connect with, to lean on in these difficult times. Not so long ago she thought she had finally found the one who would accept her, who would be there no matter what, still like everyone else, he walked away.
As Barb started to exit the exam room, she turned back and looked kindly into Alexa’s tear stained face. “After three easy babies, my youngest came along and knocked me right on my ass. This being your first, I can only imagine how scary this is for you, but don’t you worry. Dr. Kline is the best. I’ve seen him soothe babies in crying fits far worse than this. He’ll figure this out and get your sweet baby back to rights in no time, you’ll see.”
Alexa could only offer a half-hearted smile, unable to speak for the fear of completely losing it and falling into yet another crying fit of her own. As she paced the room trying desperately to console Chloe, she found herself sending up a little prayer that Dr. Kline could help her. Not usually one for prayer, she had always considered herself as more spiritual than religious, but at this point she found herself praying more often than not. Hell, she might even entertain calling in a priest to perform an exorcism if there was even a small hope that it would give her little munchkin some relief.
✧
After a brief reprieve that had Alexa hoping her baby might finally be giving in to the exhaustion, Chloe’s wailing kicked into high gear again. Bouncing her frantically as she turned to pace towards the door, Alexa let out startled yelp as she nearly walked straight into the man who had just entered.
“Ms. Ryan, I am terribly sorry if I frightened you. I did knock, but I suppose it would be a little difficult to hear a bulldozer coming through the wall over this little sweetheart here. I think we can safely say that her lungs are in working order.”
Alexa’s lifted her gaze from Dr. Kline’s chest to the charming smile that reached up to deep green eyes that were devastating yet oddly comforting. To say he was handsome was a bit of an understatement.
He took a step back and extended his hand in greeting, “I am Dr. Elijah Kline.”
After taking a moment to regain her composure, Alexa shifted Chloe to her left hip and shook the offered hand. The brief touch caught Alexa by surprise, but it was over before she could give it much thought.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Dr. Kline. I can’t thank you enough for squeezing us in on such short notice.”
“It is no trouble. Most of my patients are referrals that require immediate attention, so my staff and I do all that we can to accommodate.”
As he turned to wash his hands in the corner sink, Alexa took the opportunity to really look him over. At easily six and a half feet, of what Alexa guessed to be well-toned muscle, despite the lab coat that left a great deal to the imagination, Dr. Kline was an impressive man. If it wasn’t for the flecks of gray in his chestnut hair, she would have placed him around thirty years old. Of course he had to be much older based on his profession and reputation.
He turned back to face them, reaching for Chloe, with an expression that implied his request for permission to hold her. As she handed the distraught baby over, Alexa couldn’t help but feel like she had met Dr. Kline before, even though that was impossible. There was no way she could forget a man like him, yet there was something
about him that she couldn’t quite place. A warm familiarity that immediately put her at ease and made her feel like everything was going to be all right.
Hell, there was a time when she might have actually been attracted to him, yet after everything that had happened in the last couple of years, she couldn’t muster an interest for any man, no matter how good looking or charming he might be on the surface.
✧
“Now, Ms. Ryan, can you tell me when you first noticed a change in Chloe’s normal routine and behavior?”
Opening her mouth to answer, Alexa halted in amazement as she looked over to Chloe in Dr. Kline’s arms.
“Oh my God. How did you do that? I think this is the first time in two weeks that she has stopped crying when she wasn’t either asleep or nursing.” Choking back a sob, Alexa continued shakily, “I don’t understand, what am I doing wrong?”
Giving in to the exhaustion and frustration that had been weighing on her night and day, Alexa crumpled into a chair and sobbed into her hands.
Dr. Kline moved to stand beside the chair and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder as he let her cry it out for a few moments and Alexa’s sobs turned into silent tears.
After several minutes quietly crying, Alexa snapped out of it and started to lift her head as a blaze of embarrassment began to light her cheeks.
Hastily swiping at the tears, she turned to face Dr. Kline and a seemingly happy Chloe chewing on his stethoscope as if everything was totally normal.
“I’m so sorry, Doctor. I don’t know what came over me, I hardly ever cry, but lately it seems like that’s all I do. I just feel so lost and helpless.”
“Please, call me Elijah. There is absolutely no need to apologize. I promise you are not the first, nor will you be the last young mother to cry in my office. I tend to be something of a last resort when a pediatrician cannot find a traditional diagnosis. As was explained to you when you made the appointment, my methods are somewhat unorthodox and my fees are rather...hefty. We have our own lab onsite and some of the most state of the art diagnostic equipment in the state. That type of convenience does not come cheap, but more than that I have found that the pricing of my services eliminates patients who merely did a Google search before exhausting more traditional options. Of course, once we get through the initial consultation and determine that a patient requires further services, arrangements can be made to defer some of the costs.”
Choices of Fate (Fate Series) Page 1