February Waltz (Rhythm of the Heart Book 3)

by Jade, Scarlett

  Corey pointed out the two new bedrooms and the second bathroom. The two bedrooms were small but bright and the bathroom was accessible for Grams and Pops, especially as they got older. They had moved their furniture into one bedroom and the other stood empty. It would make a great extra family room, so everyone could watch what they wanted and the TV wasn't monopolized by Matlock. It was perfect. Zoe smiled. It was well worth the money spent.

  “Do you like it?” Corey inquired, a hopeful look on his face.

  Zoe nodded. “I love it.”

  “Well good! I think it was some of my best work,” Corey bragged.

  Pops rolled his eyes. “Boy, you are gonna outgrow those britches.”

  They laughed and then Pops coughed. “Welp, best get you back to bed. Doc said we have to marinate your girl a bit longer.”

  Zoe giggled. “You make her sound like a pork roast.”

  Pops just shook his head and chuckled. “You go rest.”

  “I think all I do is rest.”

  “It's an important job you got there. The world can wait, Zoe. It will keep right on spinning with or without you raising hell. Just keep growing that girl. Then after she's born, you can tear the world up. It won't know what's comin'.” Pops promised.

  “All right. If you say so.” She crawled back into bed and leaned against the pillows. “See, I'm being good.”

  “Mmhm, sure you are. Well at least rest. Keep your feet up.” Pops ordered, waggling his finger as he left the room.

  Zoe picked up her phone and called Calvin. She counted the rings until he picked up.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey,” she said simply. “The house is done.”

  “That's great! How does it look?” Cavin asked.

  Zoe snuggled back against the pillows and a soft smile crossed her lips. “It's perfect. Pops and Corey surprised me with putting together the crib and stuff and they painted the room pink. Pops also built me a rocking chair! Can you believe it?”

  Calvin chuckled. “Well, he asked me if I thought you'd like it. I told him yes, I thought you would.”

  “Oh I do. It's perfect. I can't wait until she's here.”

  Calvin murmured, “Me either. She's going to be beautiful.”

  “Only a few more weeks. That's it.”

  “Only a few more weeks then I'll be home to you too. Three and a half weeks, Zoe, and I'll be home for good. I'm finishing up the out-processing. Lots of paperwork. Oh, I may have some good news for you.”

  “Oh?” Zoe queried, her curiosity piqued.

  “Yeah, I have a couple leads about jobs. I put in applications, we'll see.”

  “What jobs?” She asked.

  Calvin was quiet for a moment and she checked the phone to make sure she hadn't lost him. “Well,” he started slowly. “I applied to be a cop.”

  “Really? Why?” Zoe groaned.

  “Don't groan. It's an honest job!” Calvin sighed.

  “Maybe so, but I know you don't want to do that.” Zoe retorted.

  “No, I don't. But I would at least be close by and Tim could get me in the department.”

  “No, you deserve better, Calvin. I'll not have you taking a job you'll hate.” Zoe argued.

  “Well, the other job I applied for was in Mobile. I'd be working on computer systems for the government.” He revealed.

  “Oh, ho! Holding out on the good job until the last,” she sniffed.

  “Hey, I didn't want to get you excited about the government job until I knew more. Plus it's an hour drive each way.” Calvin assured her, seeking to soothe her ruffled feathers.

  “I know. But I don't want you to just take a cop job and be unhappy.”

  “I won't be unhappy, Zoe. I will have you and our daughter, no matter what. A job is just a job, it's making money until I can come home to you. Nothing more, nothing less,” he promised.

  “Aww,” she murmured her anger cooling. “All right, if you're sure.”

  “I am. But right now I have to get back to work. I love you.”

  “I love you too, Calvin.” She hung up the phone and smiled. Things seem to slowly be working out.

  Later that evening her phone buzzed. She picked it up. A text from Tim flashed on the screen.

  T: Can't say much about the accident. Investigation. Shit is gonna get deep. Amy is okay. Baby is okay. She went into labor and they are keeping the little boy for a while. All I know. Text Amy. (845) 995-5454. Talk later.

  Zoe furrowed her brow and chewed at her bottom lip. Investigation? So it wasn't “just an accident”. Oh hell. She saved Amy's number in her phone and toyed with texting her. I really should. She would do the same for me. But I don't want to bother her. Finally she began typing.

  Z: I just got your number. Are you okay?

  Her phone buzzed.

  A: I'm okay. A little bruised up. Belly and head took most of the hit. I creamed the passenger side. I got so lucky. Derek Jr. is 3 lbs, 10 oz. Want to see his pic?

  Z: Yes.

  A picture came through a few moments later of a little boy with soft blond curls, so like Derek's and mocha skin. He was beautiful.

  Z: He is beautiful, Amy. How long are they going to keep him?

  A: A couple of weeks, probably. He had some trouble breathing, they couldn't keep him in too long after I got to the hospital. They think he's okay.

  Z: I am so sorry.

  A: For what?

  Z: I feel like you having a wreck is my fault.

  A: Hush your crazy talk. I'm fine. D.J. is fine. He just decided to grace us with his presence a little early.

  Z: No doubt he's Derek's. Look at that hair!

  A: Tell me about it. Doc thought it was funny.

  Z: Do Rebel and Sadie know yet?

  A: I don't know. I don't want them up here. Not right now.

  Z: Why? I think if they saw him they would be happy.

  A: Ever feel like someone wants to off you?

  Z: No.

  A: Well, I do. The police think my brake lines were cut. You know how Rebel feels about black people...

  Zoe swallowed and looked down at her phone. Poppy's brake lines were cut... Oh God...

  Z: They threatened to take my baby. They didn't want Calvin raising her.

  A: WHAT! Why didn't you tell me this?'

  Z: I don't know… we weren't exactly talking, Amy!

  A: Do the cops know?

  Z: Yes, I have a restraining order.

  A: Omg. I wonder if the FBI know.

  Z: THE FBI! :O

  A: Yeah. I don't know whether to be flattered or freaked they are looking into it. Maybe Lila Edwards should write another book.

  Zoe smirked at the use of her author name.

  Z: Maybe she will.

  A: Gotta go feed D.J.

  Z: Glad you are okay.

  She dropped the phone and covered her mouth with her hand. “Holy hell,” she mumbled out around her fingers. Brake lines cut? Her fingers shook and she swallowed nervously. “Grams!” she finally croaked out.

  Grams peeked into the room. “What is it, honey?”

  “Did you know Amy had her baby?”

  “Naw, did she?” Grams shuffled in and plopped at the end of the bed. “He all right?”

  “Yeah, he's fine.” She pulled her phone out and showed Grams the photo.

  “Lord have mercy! Ain't no doubting that boy is Rebel's blood. He's got that pretty blond hair.” Grams shook her head sadly and passed the phone back. “He's awful tiny!”

  “Three pounds and some odd ounces, she said. Not quite four pounds.”

  Grams looked down at her hands. “That's not even a bag of flour! How do you hold that?”

  Zoe chuckled. “I don't know. Very carefully, I'd imagine.” She paused and fiddled with the screen of her phone. “Tim said they are investigating the crash.”

  “Oh?” Grams said warily, her eyes darting away.

  “You knew, didn't you,” Zoe grumbled.

  “I know all. But I didn't want to sa
y anything until I knew for sure. No need in getting you all worked up.”

  “I can't wait for this girl to be out of me so there are no more secrets!”

  “Well, that will come soon enough,” Grams smiled and patted her knee. “Until then, we'll protect your behind.”

  Zoe rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine. But Amy says the FBI is investigating.”

  “Aw hell, I didn't know that. If they are suspecting Rebel had anything to do with it, maybe they are planning to tighten the noose on him.” Grams clenched at her throat and stuck out her tongue like she was being choked.

  “I know I read some stuff that really pointed fingers at him when I was researching the book.”

  Grams nodded. “Rebel Peters has been doing dirty dealings around here for a long time. But when you have the almighty dollar, you can get away with just about anything. Hopefully someone is gonna show him he ain't above the law.”

  “I hope no one else gets hurt before they do.” Zoe whispered.

  “Me too, honey. But you can't live your life in fear of the bastard. It's what he wants. His kind gets off on it.” She spat. “You can't let the devil win.”

  Zoe nodded. “I know.”

  “Amy and the boy are all right. The five-o are looking into it. We just gotta have faith it all will work out.”

  “You're right.” Zoe admitted.

  “I got something for you. It ain't quite done yet, but almost. Want to see it?” Grams eased up off the bed and glanced back at her.

  “Sure.”

  “Be right back.” A few moments later Grams returned with her arms full of cotton candy pink and white yarn. She tossed it up on the bed. “Here.”

  Zoe touched the soft knitted blanket. “Grams, it's beautiful.”

  “Hell, I know. Some of my best work. I'm just adding a border now, and that fat girl will have her a pretty blanket.” Grams smugly replied.

  “You must have been working on it non-stop these last couple weeks.” Zoe touched the delicate chevron pattern again.

  “Pretty much, yeah. I had started on a blanket but it burned up. So I had to replace it.”

  “You and Pops are too much.” Zoe bawled, tears pouring down her cheeks. “Just too much love and stuff and emotions.” She waved her hand in front of her face and sniffled.

  “Oh Lord have mercy, girl. Stop that crying!” Grams patted her shoulder awkwardly. “It's going to be just fine.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Grams' promise that it would all be fine held her through the coming days as the little world of Major, Alabama came tumbling down. Rebel had been arrested by the FBI and brought up on charges of attempted murder, racketeering, and several other charges. Needless to say, the whole town was in an uproar.

  Zoe was stretched out on the couch in the living room and Tim had her feet in his lap.

  “What's on your mind, girl?” He queried.

  “Just... Rebel is really locked up?” Zoe breathed.

  “Yup, the mouse finally fell into the trap. The guy he hired to cut Amy's brakes rolled over on him with a little pressure.” Tim squeezed his index finger and thumb together.

  Layla came walking in from the kitchen with a newspaper in her hand. “Zoe! You're in the Mobile paper.”

  Zoe's eyes flew wide. “What?”

  “Yeah! You're featured at the end of this article about Rebel. They are saying your book details out some of the dirty dealings of Major and it is a must read.” Layla flapped the paper around and did an awkward chicken dance.

  Zoe felt the blood drain out of her face. “Does it say my real name?”

  “No, your author one, silly. Have you looked at your sales recently?” Layla squealed.

  “No...” Zoe mumbled. “It's just a Mobile paper, it's not a big deal.”

  “Shut the eff up, it is a big deal, Zoe! Mobile is huge. I bet you made some sales. This stuff going down is huge. I even saw it on CBS.” Layla plopped on the arm of the couch.

  “Like, CBS, CBS, or the local affiliate,” Zoe asked.

  “Like freaking CBS, dude. The big one. They said Major, Alabama.”

  “Oh, wow.” She paled further.

  Tim butted in. “Well, Rebel did get locked up by the Feds for some pretty deep stuff. It's an interesting story. Backwater hillbilly evades the law for years... Small town author writes a book and causes people to look at him differently... People start to roll over on him.”

  Zoe swallowed nervously. “You're bullshitting me, guys.”

  Tim shook his head. “Nope. That's how it went. You looked deeper into the story and when people round here read your book, they started to talk. And when people started to talk, secrets came out.”

  Zoe reached for her glass of water on the coffee table and drained it. “I didn't know this.”

  “Really? You didn't realize everyone was talking about your book?” Layla scoffed.

  “Well I mean I knew everyone was reading it, but I never... I didn't...” Her voice trailed off.

  Tim patted her foot. “No secrets stay hidden forever.”

  “Um...I think my water just broke...” Zoe whispered.

  Layla jumped off the arm of the chair. “You're shitting.”

  “No, I didn't shit myself. I either peed myself or my water broke.”

  “My pant leg is wet,” Tim groaned. “Eww.”

  Layla hit his arm. “Get over it! We need to get her to the hospital.”

  “Yeah, that would probably be good,” Zoe panted. “Ow.”

  Tim went pale. “Um. You're serious.”

  “Tim, if you don't get me to the hospital I might have this baby in your lap,” Zoe growled.

  “Grams!” Layla shrieked. “It's time!”

  “Ow!” Zoe yelped. “This shit hurts.”

  Tim pulled her feet off his lap and stood. “Uh, I'm gonna bring the cruiser closer to the door.” He took off at a dead run for the front door.

  Layla held her hand out. “Come on, let's get you up.”

  “I don't even have any clothes for the baby picked out to take!” Zoe wailed.

  “Look at me, woman! We will get the baby clothes. Focus and let's get to the hospital!”

  Grams came into the room shoving things into a duffel bag. “Clothes? Don't stress on it. Our girl will be dressed when she comes home. I got some of your stuff. I've had some basics waiting now for a week or so. You had this look on your face every pregnant woman gets right before she has a baby. I knew it was getting close. Let's go.”

  Grams firmly gripped her elbow and led her through the house. Zoe stepped out on the porch and cried out as a contraction coursed through her stomach. “Ow!” she hissed.

  “I know, honey,” Grams soothed her. “Let's get you in the car. We will be there soon.”

  Zoe clambered in the back of the car and she slumped against the leather seat. Grams slung the seatbelt around her and buckled it in. Layla jumped in the passenger seat and Grams slid in the back beside Zoe. Pops stood in the doorway.

  “Well, I'll just hang here and hold down the fort. Y'all be safe.” Pops waved and Grams blew him a kiss.

  “Dinner is in the fridge.”

  Tim threw the car in drive and peeled out of the driveway. Grams reached between the seats and slapped the back of his head. “Ow!” he yelled. “Driving here!”

  “Drive like you have common sense boy, this ain't NASCAR!”

  Zoe squeezed her eyes shut. “Grams, it hurts.”

  “It's gonna, baby. You tell me when your next contraction comes, okay?” She turned the gold watch on her wrist and studied the face. “Layla, you call your brother,” she ordered.

  “On it!” Layla dialed and began telling Calvin. Zoe was in labor. “He says he's going to call his sergeant and try to get here.”

  Zoe rubbed her stomach and blew out a slow breath. “Ow, Grams.”

  “Mmm, we're at about ten minutes on that one. Keep letting me know when you have one, all right?” Grams stared at her watch.

  “I'm
thankful my car has seats I can wipe,” Tim remarked.

  Both Layla and Grams yelled at him. “Really?” shrieked Layla.

  “Shut up!” yelled Grams.

  Zoe started to giggle which set off a domino effect and soon they all were laughing.

  “You gotta admit it's funny,” she snorted. “The couch is probably ruined.”

  “Oh lord, and we didn't warn Pops,” Layla giggled. “I hope he doesn't sit on it.”

  “Yeah!” Tim interjected. “Then he'll have wet pants too.”

  Grams sighed. “Boy you always got to ruin the punch line. I swear.”

  Layla crossed her arms. “He does this all the time.”

  Tim scoffed. “I'm funny!”

  Zoe groaned. “Tim, you have your moments, but I wish you'd just shut up and drive.”

  “On it.” he grumbled. Suddenly the sound of a siren filled the air.

  “Aw, hell!” Grams yelled, swiveling in her seat to look behind her. “Are the five-o after us?”

  Tim laughed hard. “No!” he finally choked out. “I turned my siren on, Grams.”

  “Oh,” she sniffed, turning back to sit. “I knew that.”

  “I figured we didn't need it until we got closer to Mobile. Now I can just slide through traffic. Zoe, you okay?” Tim asked.

  “Yep,” Zoe croaked weakly. “Don’t worry, I'm not leaking on your seats,” she finished lamely.

  “Any more contractions, baby?” Grams patted her arm and smiled gently.

  “Yes! Now!”

  Grams studied her watch again. “About nine minutes. Hurry it up, Tim Taylor. I don't want my great-grandbaby born in the back of a cop car on fake leather seats.”

  Tim peeked up in the rear view mirror. “They aren't fake leather.”

  “Keep your damn eyes on the road, boy.” Grams growled and Tim shifted his gaze back down to the asphalt.

  Layla was steadily texting on her phone, the annoying chirp of her incoming texts becoming more than Zoe could bear. “Who in God's name are you texting?” Zoe panted as another contraction hit.

  “Um... Calvin. Amy. People,” Layla mumbled, her fingers moving at lightning speed over the keyboard.

  “Tell Calvin if he doesn't get here I'm going to name the baby Abcde. Tell him that.” Zoe smirked as the contraction passed. “Another one, Grams.”