Baby It's You (Seven Brides Seven Brothers Book 6)

by Calhoune, Belle

  “What if this is just some big misunderstanding? What if my parents come back looking for me?” he cried out as fear trickled through him. They couldn’t have left him. Even if things were really bad at home they still loved him, didn’t they?

  “I don’t know, Wyatt. I think if your parents come back they’ll have a lot of questions to answer from the authorities.” He shrugged. “I can’t say I know for sure. I wish I had more answers.”

  Just then a knock sounded on the door and an older woman with silver hair and a sweet face entered the room. The principal got up and shook her hand. She swung her gaze in his direction, sending him a kind smile. She walked towards him and sat down in the chair beside him. “Hello, Wyatt. I’m Mrs. Worther. It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances.”

  “Hi. Are you here to take me away?” His lips trembled and his voice shook.

  She leaned toward him and patted him on the shoulder. “I’m here to help. And I know all of this must be very confusing. When things happen with families, I step in and try to find a safe and reasonable solution.”

  “Will I live with you?” he asked, thinking that Mrs. Worther looked like a grandma. He hadn’t seen his grandma for a long time. His other one had died before he was born.

  “No, Wyatt,” she said in a gentle voice. “You won’t be living with me at my house, although I have the feeling you’d make a lovely house guest. I’ve heard you’re pretty terrific. I’m going to find you a wonderful family to live with. I understand you like baseball.”

  “Yes,” he answered, feeling slightly better at the mention of baseball. “And I’m really good too,” he bragged. “I’m going to smash records one day in the major leagues just like Cal Ripken Jr. or Ken Griffey Jr.”

  Mrs. Worther chuckled. Tiny lines appeared by her eyes. “I like your confidence. I promise to take that into consideration. And I know a family who might just be the perfect fit for you to live with while we sort this all out.”

  Perfect fit. Nothing in his life had ever been perfect. And he feared it never would. He’d been left. Abandoned. His parents didn’t love him. No one who loved their kid would ditch them like this. He was just going to smile his way through this like he always did and pretend his heart wasn’t breaking.

  And someday he was going to be rich and famous. Then they’d realize what a mistake they’d made in leaving him behind. Then they’d be sorry. Tears ran down his face and he wiped them away with the back of his hand. Being left was terrible. For the rest of his life he would make sure that he was the one who did the leaving because he never wanted to feel this way again. Alone. Lost. Hopeless. Heart sick.

  “When things get hard it’s easy to give up. Stay in the fight. See things through till the end. That’s when you’ll really find out what you’re made of.”

  Alec Donahue

  Chapter One

  Breeze Point, Cape Cod

  “You may now kiss the bride,” Pastor Mike announced, a huge grin overtaking his face. Brandon Donahue leaned in and planted an emotional, tender kiss on his beautiful bride’s lips. When their kiss lasted a few seconds too long, the church erupted in loud clapping and laughter. Wyatt let out a low chuckle. He’d never seen his brother so joyful. He was a man wholly, ecstatically in love with his wife. And even though his own life was at rock bottom at the moment, he was happy for the two of them. They deserved their happy ending.

  Rose, Brandon’s new bride, broke away from Brandon and raised her hands to her mouth in embarrassment. Brandon grabbed Rose’s hand and led her away from the altar and down the aisle of the church. All of the guests trailed after them. His father, Alec, held out his arm for his mother, Maggie, who grabbed ahold of it with her right arm while dabbing tears away with her left. Wyatt got up from the front pew, wincing as he tried to make it to a standing position. His brother Mac leaned over and pulled him up. For a moment raw envy coursed through him. Mac was tall, broad and strapping. Some might even call him brawny. He was one of the most physically intimidating individuals Wyatt had ever seen. Muscles for days and the height and breadth to take on several men all at once if it ever came down to it. Not that Mac was a fighter, although he had scrapped a time or two as a kid when the Donahue family reputation had been thrown into question.

  Once he was on his feet he turned toward Mac and said, “I think I’m going to skip the reception and take a car service home.”

  Mac shook his head. He quirked his mouth. His dark brows were furrowed.

  “No. You’re not going to do that, Wyatt. You’re going to the reception whether you like it or not.”

  Wyatt frowned. What was going on with Mac’s bossy act? It wasn’t like his quiet, unassuming brother to try to control other people’s actions. After all, Mac was the strong, silent type. Wyatt let out a sigh. Why should he be surprised? So much had changed lately within the Donahue family. Sometimes it was hard to keep up. Marriages. A baby on the way. His father’s stroke. Mom’s vascular dementia. More engagements. The last nine months had been a whirlwind.

  “I can’t go, Mac. My leg hurts,” he explained.

  A look of compassion flickered over Mac’s face. “I’m sorry about that. I really am. And this is going to sound harsh, so I’m going to apologize before I say it. You need to suck it up.”

  Wyatt’s jaw dropped. “No you didn’t just tell me to suck up my pain. You did not,” Wyatt said through gritted teeth.

  Mac frowned. “Hey, I don’t mean it like that. It’s just that you’ve been holed up for weeks now not talking to anyone or meeting up with us at our boys night out at Sully’s. We all know you’ve been licking your wounds. You got a raw deal with the accident, Wyatt. You worked so hard to come back from your meniscus tear…and then everything just went haywire. For someone like you who’s always been healthy and in top physical condition, it must be agonizing.”

  Just hearing Mac put it into words caused anger to bubble up inside him. He gripped his cane tightly. Life as he’d known it had come to a crashing halt two weeks ago. The car he’d been driving had been sideswiped by a reckless driver, causing him severe damage to his leg. He’d been rushed to Breeze Point Hospital by ambulance, then flown by medevac to Mass General Hospital in Boston. After emergency surgery, he’d been given dire news. It was fairly unlikely that he’d get back to top notch condition. His leg might never be the same again. It wasn’t a stretch to conclude he’d never grace a baseball diamond again. And ever since then he’d kept asking himself if this was God’s will. If so, why would God take away from him the only thing that had ever made him special?

  The whole thing was ironic considering that at the time of the accident he’d been almost fully recuperated from knee surgery that had kept him off the baseball field for months. It was impossible not to feel bitter. And cheated.

  “Yeah,” he muttered. “My whole life has been in a tailspin. Forgive me for not wanting to celebrate.” Ugh. He hated the sarcastic tone in his voice. By the look on Mac’s face, he wasn’t a big fan of it either.

  Mac placed one of his big hands on his shoulder. “Here’s the deal. If you don’t come to the reception, Brandon will be hurt. Rose too. And Mom will worry. She might even head over to your house if you don’t show up.” Mac wagged his eyebrows at him. “You want that?”

  No, he did not. The thought of worrying his mother gutted him. She was already going through so much with her vascular dementia diagnosis. A feeling of shame rippled through him. He’d been MIA in the last few weeks, leaving his father and his brothers to handle the issues that had cropped up as a result of her illness. A small fire in the kitchen. Getting lost on her way to the family bakery, Sweet Treats. Misplaced items such as credit cards, purses and keys. His entire family was reeling from the reality that the disease had ramped up and taken hold of Maggie Donahue. Due to the unpredictable nature of dementia, there was no way of knowing how fast things might unravel. A period of remission was always possible, but unlikely.

  “I’ll go,”
he conceded. “But only for an hour or so. Then I’m headed back to my house for some peace and quiet and maybe a nice dip in the hot tub.”

  “I’ll drive,” Mac said, a slight smile appearing on his face. “Tell your driver to pick you up in two hours at the Cove.”

  The Cove was their younger brother Nick’s popular and successful restaurant in Breeze Point. Located by Breezy Bay Harbor, the restaurant provided stunning views of the ocean and Breezy Beach. Their brother Blue had also held his wedding reception at the Cove when he’d exchanged vows with his sweetheart, Sarah Dalton.

  “Two hours? I just said one,” Wyatt protested.

  “If you leave early there’s bound to be questions,” Mac said, sounding way more practical than usual. Since when had Mac ever cared about how things looked? Of all the seven Donahue brothers Mac had always been the one least concerned about appearances or satisfying the expectations of others. “Do you really want that?”

  Wyatt knit his brows together and studied Mac. “Why do I get the feeling you’re bamboozling me?”

  “Would I do that?” Mac’s face was the picture of innocence. With his muscular physique, closely cropped hair and steely gray eyes, he could easily have passed for a stunt man in an action movie. He was handsome in an intimidating sort of way, according to the ladies in Breeze Point. The truth was, Mac was a gentle giant. Except for those rare instances where people crossed the line. It wasn’t wise to rouse the sleeping tiger in Mac. The abuse he’d suffered before being adopted by Maggie and Alec Donahue had been severe. So severe Wyatt wasn’t even certain he understood the whole of it. With therapy and the love of the Donahue clan, Mac had made amazing progress over the years, transforming from the aggressive, ornery child he’d been when he’d arrived at the Donahue’s household into a calmer, gentler version of himself.

  “Hey!” Nick called out from the back of the church. “Are you guys coming or not? All the cars are leaving.”

  “We’re coming,” Mac reassured him, earning himself a ragged sigh from Wyatt. He hadn’t planned on attending the reception, but now he’d been roped into making an appearance. Mac moved towards the side of the pew and brought forward Wyatt’s electric wheelchair. The sight of it filled him with relief. Even though he could walk, his body was wracked with pain that emanated from his shattered leg. Moving around in the wheelchair lessened the stress on his leg. And walking with the cane was exhausting.

  “Let’s go,” Wyatt snapped once he was seated in the chair. “I’m actually starving. Let’s hope he’s going to be serving lobster mac n’ cheese and those little ravioli things that literally melt on the tongue.”

  Mac let out a groan and rubbed his stomach as they headed out of the church and towards the side lot where his truck was parked. Wyatt wheeled himself down the wheelchair accessible ramp. “Let’s hope so. I’ve been dreaming about the Cove’s calamari and the seafood fra diavolo. I forgot to eat breakfast this morning.”

  The thought of his bear of a brother forgetting to eat breakfast made him grin. All the Donahue men took their meals very seriously. Mac in particular.

  For the entire ride to the reception Mac and Wyatt went back and forth naming their favorite culinary dishes. Shrimp Alfredo. Filet mignon. Slow cooked ribs. Both decided that there should be plenty of seafood at the reception since it was Brandon’s favorite. Wyatt could hear the grumbling noises emanating from Mac’s stomach.

  By the time they entered the reception, the banquet room was packed to capacity. Wyatt tugged at his bow-tie. He couldn’t wait to get out of this monkey suit. Jeans and a T-shirt were his personal favorites. And lately he’d been wearing out his sweat pants.

  As soon as he wheeled himself in the banquet room people turned to stare at him. He couldn’t say he was surprised. Wyatt Donahue was a known entity. Superstar. Spokesperson. Award winner. He’d been on the cover of so many magazines he’d lost count. Sports Illustrated. People magazine. Cape Cod Life and Style. He’d been featured on commercials, billboards, sports paraphernalia and even beach towels. He’d dated Hollywood actresses and starred in episodes of the hottest shows on television. Yep. He was famous. And for most of his career, he’d loved the notoriety. With his innate sense of humor and charm it had always been easy to schmooze with the public. But now, with his star fading fast, he was beginning to resent the stares and whispers. It made him feel uncomfortable, as if he could never again live up to all their expectations. They wanted him to be Wyatt Donahue, baseball player extraordinaire. He wasn’t sure who he was anymore. With a bum leg and no real hope of a full recovery, he had no idea what his future resembled. And it terrified him.

  Who was he if he wasn’t the highly touted short shop for the Bay State Bombers? It was a conversation he’d been having with God lately. Answers still eluded him. He wasn’t sure God was even listening.

  He made his way toward one of the family tables at the front of the room. With five of his brothers now married, the Donahue family was expanding by leaps and bounds. Blue had married his soulmate, Sarah. The oldest Donahue brother, Ryder, had married his paramedic partner, Tess Dailey. Soulful Remy, a well-known artist, had wed the Creole beauty, Gabrielle Turner. Youngest brother, Nick, had reunited with his first love, Layla Delgado, and raced to the altar to make up for all the lost years between them. Now, Brandon and single mother, Rose Maddock, had tied the knot. He and Mac were the only remaining bachelors, a fact their mother seemed to delight in teasing them about.

  With Sarah near the end of her pregnancy, everyone was waiting to welcome a baby Donahue into the world. All of their lives were changing, although his hadn’t changed for the better. His life was a hot mess.

  “We were taking bets as to whether you would show up,” Remy drawled as Wyatt pulled his wheelchair up to sit next to him at an open space at the table. Gabrielle jabbed Remy in the side.

  “Ouch,” Remy hollered, rubbing his side. “What did I do to deserve that?”

  “You opened your big mouth,” Wyatt said, secretly delighted at the stunned expression on his brother’s face. He should give Gabi a high-five for jabbing Remy in the side. Yep. At the moment Gabi was his favorite sister-in-law.

  The rest of his brothers started laughing—Mac, Nick, Ryder and Blue.

  “That’s pretty funny, Wyatt,” Nick laughed. “Since you have the biggest mouth out of all of us.”

  Suddenly, he realized they were laughing at him. All of his brothers. Normally, he wouldn’t care, but lately everything was starting to tick him off. He was like a prickly cactus. He swallowed past the resentment he felt rising up inside him. Before the accident he’d always been the life of the party, the one who laughed and joked his way through every situation. There weren’t too many things that made him want to laugh. He clenched his fists at his sides, wishing he could figure out how everything had changed in a heartbeat.

  Who was Wyatt Donahue? Was it possible that stripped of his status as a major league baseball player he didn’t feel like much of anything? What if he never got back to feeling like himself? What kind of life would that be?

  The upbeat rhythms of a jazz band rang out in the room. Suddenly, Brandon and Rose took center stage on the dance floor, pulling him out of his thoughts and focusing his attention on the smooth moves of his brother and his new sister-in-law. What he wouldn’t give to be out there on the dance floor tearing it up like his brother.

  Dear Lord, please don’t let me be filled with so much envy. It’s hard to see other people doing things I can’t possibly do. It’s hard to see Mac’s strength and Brandon’s grace when I feel as if I have none of those things.

  One by one couples joined the bride and groom on the dance floor, leaving Wyatt feeling like a bump on a log. Before he knew it, random guests began approaching him at the table and peppering him with questions about his status. He was trying to be gracious out of respect for Brandon and Rose, but they were seriously grating on his nerves.

  So many questions were being hurled at him. When do you get to d
itch the wheelchair and the cane? Will you be all better by Spring Training? Do you think you’ll come back from this injury? Can you take a selfie with me? How about an autograph?

  Most of the people grilling him had as much sensitivity as a bull in a China shop. And he barely knew any of them. What made them think that he owed a virtual stranger his most private thoughts? They had no idea of the hell he’d been put through.

  Finally, he’d had enough. “Excuse me,” he mumbled, turning his wheelchair around and heading into the hallway where he would be far away from prying eyes. A chorus of voices trailed after him, but he didn’t stop. He didn’t want to head back into the banquet room until he felt as if he could breathe again.

  Rather than head outside into the frosty chill of a January afternoon, Wyatt headed to the panoramic windows in the main dining room that gave him a stunning view of miles and miles of the Atlantic Ocean. As he stared out the window he slowly began to feel his blood pressure returning to normal as he gazed out at Breezy Beach and the Harbor. There was something about the ocean that soothed his soul like nothing else ever could. The only time he ever felt as peaceful was when he was in his element on the baseball field or in the presence of the Donahue clan at Sunday supper or family barbecues in the backyard.

  “Are you okay, Uncle Wyatt?” The little voice came out of nowhere. When he looked up from his wheelchair he saw a brown skinned little boy with cocoa colored eyes and the face of a cherub. AJ, Rose’s adorable son, was looking at him with a mix of hero worship and concern. AJ’s expression made his heart grow by leaps and bounds. This kid was a wise old soul in a child’s body.

  Brandon had really hit the jackpot when he’d finally noticed his gorgeous secretary, Rose Maddock, and made her his woman. Her son AJ had made the picture complete. Together the three of them made a perfect family. AJ had just become his first nephew, one he intended to thoroughly spoil.