Another One Bites the Dust

by Lani Lynn Vale

  My temper spiked as I realized that Max was in here for four goddamned days just because the Chief had a trader in his midst. It started as a small irritation, but then slowly wormed itself into a full-blown hissy.

  My hand raised on its own volition and slammed itself against the one-way mirror. It landed with a sharp smack, making the Chief jump and Max to turn and eye the mirror. The young man was now on his knees crying, and that just added fuel to the fire. What did he have to cry about?

  “So let me get this shit straight. You purposefully took the man I’m marrying away from me for four days. You made him miss Thanksgiving with his family. You made him sit inside a goddamned jail cell when he should have been with me? Do I understand you right?” I hissed.

  The chief took a visible step back and regarded me with worried eyes. “I’m sorry, but it was necessary.”

  “Can you let him go now? We’re supposed to be getting married right now.” I ground out.

  “Of course, honey. I just hope that baby you’re carrying doesn’t end up a troublemaker like this one. He deserves it after all the shit he put me through.” The Chief said as he gestured in Max’s direction with his head.

  I didn’t feel like wasting my time, but if I did, I would have told him that I wasn’t a princess either. I was awful as a child, and he was lucky that he didn’t have Max and me in the same town growing up. We would have been trouble to the ninth degree. Plus I wanted to rip his balls off and feed them to him.

  “Go get my groom.” I demanded.

  ɸ

  Max

  “You could have at least told me you were trying to flush someone out. I would have understood.” I said to the Chief.

  “You’re right, I could have. Just thank that woman of yours, and get to the wedding before she castrates my entire force. She’s nuts.” He said.

  “Payton’s here?” I asked startled.

  I scanned the holding room, but didn’t see her anywhere.

  “Yes, sir, she is. I’m lucky she didn’t lop my head off with the attitude she threw. She wasn’t happy in the least to know that I didn’t really have a reason for you to be here.” The Chief explained.

  We rounded the corner to the lobby and my breath caught. Payton staring out the front door was the perfect sight for sore eyes. She was in a white strapless dress that hugged her curves flawlessly, and stopped about three inches above the knees. The skirt was full and fluffy, reminding me of a child’s dress that was meant to twirl around in, but she in no way, shape, or form resembled a child. Her boots had pointed toes that looked like they would hurt like a bitch to be kicked with them; they even had fuckin’ spurs on them. Her hair was up in a proper up do with stray tendrils that slipped free. She looked so goddamned beautiful it took my breath away.

  Feeling my hot stare she turned quickly, and my eyes about popped out of my head. The top half was made of a corset-type thing. Her perky breasts were perfectly proportioned, but what flabbergasted me was the mud that splattered the front of her dress. Hell, now that I looked closer it was all over her boots, too.

  “What the fuck is all over you?” I asked her.

  “Well, I got stuck in your truck. Good thing your four wheel drive works!” She said teasingly before taking off at full speed and hitting me like a freight train.

  Her legs curled around me, and even having her spurs poking me in the ass didn’t make me let her go. My arms went around her bottom to help support her, and I buried my face into the crook of her neck. She was wearing perfume, just subtle enough for me to smell it, but not enough to make me want to gag. “God, I missed you.”

  “I kind of missed you, too.” I said as I walked us both out the door.

  Right as I got outside, thunder boomed, making my body feel alive. “You know, Gabe has a saying when it rains.”

  “I’ve heard about his saying, Max. You’re ahead of the game on that one.” She said teasingly.

  Gabe liked to say it was ‘baby making weather’ whenever it rained so hard that you didn’t want to leave the comfort of your home. The weather we were experiencing was definitely the perfect example. “You got that right, honey.”

  “So you’re happy?” She asked worriedly.

  “The only thing that could make this moment better was if I wasn’t in jail the past four days.” I said teasingly right before my eyes caught sight of my truck. “What the heck happened to my truck?”

  Payton looked over her shoulder and laughed. It was absolutely covered in mud from the wheel wells in the front to the very back. She even managed to get some on the back window, and that was extremely impressive when she wasn’t even trying.

  “I got stuck in the front yard. I already told you!” She said.

  Opening the passenger side door, I held it open while Alpha jumped in, and then placed Payton on the seat. I grabbed the seat belt and strapped her in, but stopped and rested my head on the softness of her belly. I gave it a soft kiss, and then jogged around the car once the skies opened up and a torrential downpour drenched me.

  A quick glance up at the sky showed me that the black clouds wouldn’t let up for a long time. “Are we still getting married outside?”

  “Um, not exactly.” She squirmed.

  “What does that mean?” I asked carefully.

  “What does what mean?” She evaded.

  “You know what I asked, terd.” I said as I rolled my eyes.

  “You’ll see.” She said mysteriously.

  ɸ

  “I, Payton, take you, Max, to be my husband. I promise to care for you, even when you are being a titty baby about a minor cold. I promise to always make sure you are fed, but if you continue to leave your Little Debbie wrappers out, I will kick your ass. I promise if you fall in public, that I will turn around and laugh at the wall instead of at you. I know I may have some annoying habits, and I am glad that you can overlook them and still love me anyway. I mean, I do the same for you. I promise to make sure to always spray the air freshener after you stay in the bathroom for forty-five minutes in the morning. I also promise to understand when our marriage is interrupted for hunting season.”

  Laughter followed her proclamation, but I would not be one-upped.

  “I, Max, take you Payton, to be my perfect little house wife. I promise to leave my socks and wrappers laying around, to give you something to do during the day instead of sitting on your ass. I promise to fix your car if it isn’t working right, but I’ll be damned if I let you borrow mine. That one is mine, not yours. I promise to watch most of what you want to watch on the TV. That does not include the show that has soldier’s returning home, nor does it include the baby show where all you do is cry. I have a dick, not a vagina. I promise not to freak out again like I did a few weeks ago when you asked me to go buy you tampons. Finally, I promise to try very hard to put the toilet seat down so you don’t fall in in the middle of the night like you did last night. I’m sorry your butt got wet.”

  Payton was in tears by the time I finished. Her laughter was contained, but everyone else in the audience had no such concession. Bennett was guffawing, nearly falling out of his chair. The same went for Ember, Blaine, and Cheyenne. I gave my sister a wink, and returned my gaze to Payton.

  “Well, then. By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you Man and Wife. You may kiss the bride.” Preacher Collins proclaimed.

  Payton threw herself into my arms, and my mouth devoured hers. Catcalls went up through the room, and by the time my tongue found its way back into my own mouth, both of us were out of breath and panting in desire. A crowd of sixty wasn’t enough to dampen it either.

  “So, Mrs. Tremaine, how does it feel?” I asked her as we walked down the aisle.

  “How does what feel?” She asked.

  “To be married to the sexiest person on the planet.”

  ɸ

  “I can’t believe you rented a circus tent.” I said to Tony.

  He gestured to Payton, who was dancing with her brother to some sappy song.
“Anything for my baby.”

  He really did mean that, too. He would do anything when it came to his girl, and I only hoped that I lived up to the large shoes I had to fill when it came to parenting. My dad was one hell of a man, and so was Tony. I just wished my father would be here to witness the birth of his grandchild.

  “Can you believe she got married in that?” Jessie asked Tony.

  “Jess, honey, you know that girl is crazy. Who are we to tell her she can’t wear what she wants to wear? Moreover, she’s twenty-fucking-four years old. She’s old enough to make her own decisions.” Tony told his wife.

  Jessie’s eye turned to me and she glared. “And you!” She hissed and pointed to me. I put my hands up in a placating gesture, but it didn’t work so well when I had a beer in one hand and a piece of pizza in the other.

  “What?” I mumbled around a bite of pizza.

  “You couldn’t find something more suitable to wear? You had to come in jeans and a t-shirt that says ‘Tell your boobs to stop staring at me eyes?’” She sneered.

  “I was in jail! I walked out of the police station and came straight here. Payton got mud all over her dress. Didn’t you spend a shit load of money on that thing?” I asked trying to divert her attention away from me.

  “That’s true. We spent over eighteen hundred dollars on that dress. Payton tried to pay for it, but I told her that her daddy wanted to pay for it.” She smiled.

  Tony’s beer sprayed out of his mouth, and he sputtered, “What?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Didn’t I tell you?” She asked innocently.

  I left them bickering, because soon it would turn into threats of death and dismemberment and I didn’t want to be around for that part of this argument. I scanned the room for Payton and found her at the far end of the tent jumping up trying to grab what looked like a pig in a blanket from Bennett’s out stretched arm. Bennett was laughing his ass off, and having too good of a time to see what she was in the process of doing.

  She was just rearing back to kick him in the shin with those hell boots when I caught her up in my arms and hauled her back against my chest. “Let me go, he’s trying to eat my wiener!”

  “It’s not your wiener, it’s my wiener!” Bennett laughed.

  “I’m gonna shove that wiener up your nose when he lets me go!” Payton threatened.

  “You wouldn’t know what to do with a wiener the size of this.” Bennett said as he took a large bite of said wiener.

  I tried not to be offended by the wiener comment. “Don’t you know better than to steal food from a pregnant woman?”

  Everyone froze what they were doing and faced us. Even the music cut off. Silence reigned through the tent, and only the pounding of the rain on the tent’s roof broke the silence.

  “Uh, Max? I hadn’t told anyone yet.” Payton said.

  I watched as happiness filled those whose faces were right in the forefront of my vision and couldn’t help the smile that broke over my face. “I can see that.”

  The rest of the night went off without a hitch. There was no more wiener stealing, and she even got Bennett back for the food stealing by tripping him when he was carrying his drink back to the table, which he then spilled on his pants. Which in turn made him look like he’d peed on them. I just hoped this family didn’t corrupt my poor innocent child, although I knew I shouldn’t get my hopes up.

  I was one lucky man, and in days and weeks to come, I would have to remember these good days, because dark times were on the horizon. I just hoped I would be able to keep Payton and my family alive.

  Chapter 11

  A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his.

  -Marley and Me

  Payton

  “Payton.” The annoying voice said.

  I ignored the voice, and covered my head with my pillow. Maybe if I ignored it, it would go away. However, my luck sucked, and the irritation continued.

  “Payton, you need to get up or you’ll be late for work. You’ve got forty-five minutes.” The bastard I married said as he drew the pillow from my face.

  I cracked one eye open and gave him the stink eye. “Leave me alone. I only need ten minutes to get ready, and ten minutes to get there.”

  “Yeah, but you’ve been spending at least half of that time every night puking, and then you’re late like you were last night.”

  He did have a point, yet I didn’t really care at that moment in time. I closed my eyes and resumed my sleep, but shortly found myself standing beside the bed with Max’s arms holding me up. As soon as I was vertical, my stomach revolted and I dashed for the bathroom. I only managed to run into one wall as I went, and made it to the toilet just in time to puke up absolutely nothing. Just as I did every night before work.

  After wiping the back of my hand across my mouth, I stood and saw Max standing in the doorway. “What?” I snapped.

  His look said ‘I told you so’ yet he didn’t say anything. The man knew better. I knew where he slept. Pushing him out of the way, I got dressed in my navy blue scrubs and slipped my feet into my tennis shoes without the socks. Lately, even the slightest thing tight on my body drives me bonkers, so I stopped wearing anything constricting. Therefore, that means no socks, no underwear, and no bra. I substituted my bra for a loose camisole that concealed my boobs for the sake of propriety, though.

  “You’ve been puking like this for the last three months. When is this shit supposed to go away?” Max asked from the other side of the bed.

  I looked up from tying my shoes and replied, “Well, all the books I read said twelve weeks. Yet here I am, nearly thirteen and I’m still puking, so I got nothing.”

  He left the room, and disappeared into the main part of the house and called out, “What time is the ultrasound appointment today?”

  I followed the sound of his voice to the kitchen and found him digging in the fridge. “Today on my lunch break, they’re working me in since I’m not sure when I can get free for lunch. I’ll text you when I head down there.”

  Seeing as I slept days and went to work during the night, it wasn’t so easy to get to the doctors unless I wanted to lose a couple hours of sleep. To a pregnant girl, that’s worse than anything you could imagine. My doctor is one of my favorites in the maternity ward, and since he’s in the next hall over from where I work ninety nine percent of the time, he said he would work me in since he had two inducements that night.

  “You won’t have a man on you today. A tree limb fell through the roof of the garage early this morning and we need to get it patched since it has yet to stop snowing in a day and a half.” Max explained.

  In Texas, snow of any kind was rare. For it to snow for that long was unheard of. The trees couldn’t keep up with the weight of the snow and ice, and they were just collapsing, breaking, and uprooting all over the place. We’re lucky that worse hasn’t happened. Hell, at least we had power.

  The lights flickered twice before going out completely. The last thing I witnessed was Max lifting the jug of orange juice to his lips. Straight out of the jug he drank. I glared at him, but since it was dark, he couldn’t get the full impact of the glare. Pig.

  “Yeah, but what about the rest of us? We’ll all probably die of exposure, and there you’ll be all nice and cozy. Think of the children!” Max teased.

  I walked slowly with my hands out until I found the counter. I filled up a glass of water, downed my prenatal vitamin, and placed the cup in the sink. Displaced air informed me of Max’s arrival at my side as he leaned down and threw the empty orange juice pitcher into the sink. The man couldn’t find the trash when the lights were on, what made me think he could when the lights were off?

  “I am thinking about them, or at least ours!” I laughed.

  Max came up to me and wrapped me up in his big strong arms. My face was buried in the soft flannel of his shirt. His chin rested on the top of my head and my tiny bump nestled up to his crotch.
“You were glaring at me weren’t you?”

  Tiny flutters in my belly made my heart happy, but they weren’t noticeable to Max yet. I couldn’t wait for him to feel the baby kick.

  I didn’t follow seeing as it was dark and I’d probably find every damn chair in the kitchen with my shins, and still never catch him. “Alpha!” I yelled.

  Alpha was at my side instantly, and I gave him a body rub before standing and saying, “Truck.”

  He led me through the house, and never once did I hit a chair or ottoman. I don’t know what I ever did without this dog; he was such a large part of our lives now that I don’t even know what I used to do before him. Max and he had a competition going on for my love and affection. Max teased that I loved the dog more than I loved him at time, which might have some truth to it because Alpha doesn’t leave a complete mess everywhere he goes.

  “Ready?” Max asked from directly behind me.

  I jumped three feet in the air (well okay, maybe like six inches) and turned with a flare. “Jesus Max. Can’t you freaking stomp or something and let me know you’re coming?”

  “Sorry, sweet cheeks. Let’s get going.” He said as he lifted me up in his arms and cradling me against his chest.

  I rolled my eyes, but was secretly happy that he was so thoughtful. The man was a pain the ass, but he was my pain in the ass.

  The drive to the hospital was a slow one. It was good that I wasn’t driving because people were being complete dumbasses. Some drove excessively slow, while others went too fast. There were wrecked cars abandoned on the side of the road. A few power lines down here and there, as well as downed trees. The snow was making a kaleidoscope effect as we drove, and soon I found myself dizzy and nauseous.

  I’ve never been so happy as when we pulled up to the front entrance to the hospital. “Hold on and I’ll walk you up. Hopefully they don’t care if I park here.” Max said as he rounded the corner of the blazer.

  He opened the door and grabbed me around the waist with both hands, letting my body rub against his until my feet met the asphalt. My nausea disappeared, and was instantly replaced by need. I inhaled deeply, taking the scent of him into my lungs. This would be a long twelve hours.