Barber Shop Ink - Book 2: Between a Hedge and a Hard Place

by Penny Blush

  Bear, Bishop, and Davis took off after Jax in an explosion of scraping chairs and shoving bodies.

  “Don’t run,” Memphis called out.

  “I’ll go make sure they don’t burn the place down,” Cassidy said following the boys out the door.

  “Well at least one of our kids is sensible,” I giggled cleaning up the mess left behind.

  “That’s because she takes after you,” Memphis chuckled.

  He turned leaning against the bench crossing his legs at the ankles. No matter what that man did, he did it with a casual sexiness that he made look effortless.

  “Do you want kids?” He asked quietly.

  Wow, that was out of the blue, we had only been mucking around. We had never discussed kids apart from the fact that I might not be able to. I dropped the rest of the rubbish into the trash bin and turned to face him.

  “Do you?”

  “I’ve never really thought about having kids before. I mean, I always thought that I would eventually, someday.”

  “And now?” I asked quietly.

  “You make me think things,” he shrugged, “want things that I didn’t before.”

  My heart leapt into my throat. Was Memphis saying what I think he was saying?

  “What…” I swallowed trying not to get ahead of myself “… what kind of things?” Memphis reached out, bringing me into his embrace. widening his stance so that I could stand between his legs with my back to his front.

  “You make me think about a family and kids.” He wrapped his arms around me, his large hands resting on my belly. “I like to imagine what you would look like with your tummy all swollen with my kids.”

  “Memphis, you know that I might not be able to,” I said sadly. The car accident that killed my parents left me with one kidney and one ovary. The chances of me becoming pregnant naturally, if at all, were slim.

  “Baby Girl, it’s okay,” he said kissing my cheek, “besides, we have to wait for the boys to grow up and leave home.” I could hear the smile in his voice as the sounds of the boys stomping around upstairs laughing and teasing each other.

  “I think we are stuck with the boys for life,” I replied and then added, “Memphis, I don’t want to deny you the chance of becoming a father.”

  “Sweetness, if we can’t, then there are plenty of other ways we can become a family. So, does that mean you want kids?” His voice held so much love and hope, how could I deny him?

  “With everything that happened with my past and all the horrible things I did, I always felt undeserving of that kind of happiness. With my injuries from the car accident I had resigned myself to the fact that it would never happen.”

  “And now?”

  “Memphis, you make me want things.” I turned in his arms taking his face in my hands looking deep into his loving eyes. “If I could have a baby with anyone, I want it to be with you.”

  Before the words had finished leaving my lips, he was on me, kissing me with such passion it took my breath away.

  “I will make it happen, Baby Girl. I will. Even if I have to keep you naked in our bed, well fucked and with a pile of pillows under your butt until a baby sticks I will.”

  I smiled against his lips as he kissed me again. “Let’s leave that plan for a little later. We don’t have to rush. Besides, I want to be selfish and keep you all to myself for a while longer.”

  “Not too long, I want you to be my baby Mumma,” we laughed at the ridiculousness of his words, kissing some more.

  “Ewww gross,” Davis said making gagging sounds.

  “What?” Bishop and Jax said together.

  “Mum and dad are kissing.”

  “Ewwwwww,” they all chorused.

  I stayed right where I was, enveloped in Memphis’s arms and looked over at three of the four idiots that were my family.

  “Did you clean up your mess?” I asked.

  “Nah, because Cass said that she would do it,” Bishop said in his best little kid voice.

  “Did not,” Cass called down the stairs.

  “Boys,” I said sternly, “cleaning up is not just a girl’s job. I thought we raised you better than that.”

  “But … but… but …” they all said looking at each other hoping that one of them would come up with a plan to get them out of cleaning up.

  The sound of Bear’s massive Ford F250 backing up and then his voice booming gave them the out they needed.

  “You lot get out here and help,” I hadn’t even realized that he left. They all looked at me hopefully.

  “Fine go,” I sighed in mock frustration, and they all scrambled out the back door.

  “Kids,” Memphis shrugged.

  “You go supervise the boys, and I’ll go help Cassidy,” I said giving him a quick kiss on his very luscious lips.

  “Yes Mumma,” he replied, swatting me on the butt.

  I stopped on the bottom stair, turning back to him, “Memphis.”

  “Yes, Baby Girl.”

  “I love you.”

  He wrapped his arms around me pulling me in for another bone-melting kiss, “I love you too, now, always and forever.”

  I floated up the stairs with a goofy smile on my face and found Cassidy in the kitchen stacking the last dishes in the dishwasher.

  “You look happy,” she remarked.

  “I am. I’m stupidly in love with that sexy, sexy man,” I sighed, leaning over the kitchen bench.

  “I am thrilled for you both,” she said leaning a hip against the sink. “I know you have Jax and all, but if you ever want to talk you know I’m here, right? I mean I don’t want to know sex stuff. Memphis is like my big brother, but I’m here if you need me.”

  “Thanks, Cass,” I said walking around the bench to give her a hug.

  “Do you want a coffee?” I asked dropping a pod into the machine.

  “No, thank you. I am so full right now that I don’t think my stomach has room for anything else. Thank you for breakfast.”

  “No worries, it was nothing.”

  “Nothing,” she scoffed. “Hedge, there were pancakes, bacon, eggs, sausages, tomato, and mushrooms, not to mention the pastries. That was nothing like breakfast. That was a feast!”

  “I know the boys can eat, especially Jax, so I cook to feed a horde.” I laughed, picking up a piece of leftover bacon, munching on it while I made my coffee.

  “Jaxon sure can eat,” she remarked looking down at her feet.

  “That he can,” I looked at her for a moment. “Just give me one sec, I just need to remind Memphis of something, I’ll be right back.”

  I took off down the stairs until I found my man outside with the other boys. They had all pitched in to get a new outdoor setting. When I had bought supplies for the ‘Thank you BBQ' that I had for the guys who renovated the apartment, I had gotten plenty of chairs, but didn't get a table setting. The boys wanted to get one so that they had somewhere to eat lunch outside if they wanted.

  They were all standing around a series of flat-pack boxes arguing over instructions, except for Davis, who was pounding on the heavy bag that Jax had gotten me for my birthday last year. He was sick of me asking him to ‘pad-up’ so I could practice.

  “Baby,” I said standing in the back doorway of the shop getting his attention.

  He came over to me with a huge smile on his face, “Yes Mumma,” he whispered giving me a kiss.

  “You need to stop calling me that before someone hears you and thinks that I’m pregnant.”

  “Okay, but once you are, just you try and stop me.”

  “Deal.” Good God, I love this man. “I just wanted to let you know that today is pretty light, and Cass doesn’t have an appointment until two. So, we’ll be down later.”

  “Sure,” he said wearily, “is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, everything’s fine. Cass just looks like she needs to talk.”

  “Okay, I’ll keep the clowns away.”

  “Thank you,” I gave him one last kiss and returned to t
he kitchen to find Cassidy had finished making my coffee for me.

  “Today is going to be pretty quiet. You don’t have any appointments until two, so I told the boys, that they could fend for themselves for a while.”

  “Why would you do that?” Cassidy asked sheepishly.

  “Because they need to learn to look after themselves. Cass, honey you seem like you need to talk,” I smiled at her seeing the indecision in her eyes. “You know the offer to talk you gave me, well it goes both ways,” picking up my coffee I asked, “inside or out?”

  “I’m sorry what?”

  “Do you want to sit inside or out in the sunshine?”

  She looked out the window to where the boys were building the outdoor setting. All five of them were shirtless. Apparently, you can’t be outdoors building stuff and being all manly with a shirt on.

  I stood next her looking at the spectacular view. All five were different builds and heights but nonetheless all equally beautiful specimens of the male form. They all had tattoos adorning their skin and muscles to spare, but there was only one who truly drew my eye, and I could say the same for Cassidy.

  I couldn’t help but let my eyes rake over Memphis’s gloriously hard body that was now glistening with a light sheen of sweat. That man owned my mind, body, and soul but most especially my heart. And he had just told me that he wanted me to have his baby!

  He must have sensed me looking at him because he turned and caught my gaze, giving me that smirk I loved so much, winked at me, and then dropped his sunglasses over his beautiful eyes. There was a loud bang as someone dropped one of the flat packs to the ground.

  “What was that?” Cassidy exclaimed.

  “My ovaries, exploding,” I muttered.

  “What was that?” Cassidy giggled.

  Blushing at being caught off guard and letting my inner thoughts out I replied, “I’m sorry, but that man turns my brain to mush and sends all my senses reeling. If all his friends weren’t surrounding him, I would go down there and jump his bones.”

  “Me too,” she sighed.

  “Hey, Missy get your own man. Memphis is all mine.”

  “Oh, God no!” her face reddened when she realised what she said. “I love Memphis like a brother and am so glad that you two have found each other, but that’s not who I was….” she hesitated.

  “Not who you were talking about. Come on,” I said, leading Cassidy to the sofa, “inside it is, those boys are a distraction.”

  We settled and indulged in some inane chit chat before I decided to bring the conversation back to what was making Cassidy squirm.

  “So,” I started, “what is going on with you and Jaxon James O’Hare?”

  “Wha… pssh… there is… it’s not,” she stammered before I came to her rescue.

  “Honey, it is exactly like that. There is, something going on. It’s just the only two people who don’t realise it is you and my stupid cousin.”

  “No,” she said solemnly. “Jax said that he was giving in, the night that Memphis told us what had been happening. But he hasn’t done anything.”

  “Have you?”

  “Well no. But he’s supposed to be the one to make a move. It’s always the hunky, sexy as sin, alpha male who is supposed, to take control.” Cassidy sounded so crestfallen. I made a mental note to knock my idiot cousin on his ass next time I saw him. “Hedge, why hasn’t he made a move?” She asked, her eyes glistening.

  “Oh, Honey it’s not always like that. The hunky guy doesn’t always have to be the one who makes a move. Sometimes it’s the girl.”

  “But it was with you and Memphis. He went all Alpha on you! He basically walked in threw you over his shoulder, stared-down the other boys and said Mine!”

  “Oh, no he didn’t. There was a mutual claiming.”

  “Dirty,” Cassidy said under her breath making me laugh.

  “I do love it when he does that though.”

  “Does what?”

  “Throws me over his shoulder all caveman style. Not gonna lie it’s fucking hot!”

  “Wow, how are you even able to still walk?” Cassidy asked looking me up and down like she was expecting for my legs to give out at any moment.

  “No, what I mean is that we both knew that the other had feelings and we didn’t deny it. We didn’t fight it. That’s not to say that Memphis doesn’t go all alpha on occasion, but I also let him know who’s boss.”

  “Ahhh! What am I going to do? It’s Jaxon; he’s different. It’s different with him than anything I have ever felt with anyone.”

  “Okay, let’s break this thing down, how do you feel?”

  She seemed to be collecting her thoughts, took a deep breath, squared her shoulders.

  “I’m scared,” she shrugged like that explained it all. I stayed silent until she got the hint and continued. “I have known Jax for the better part of nine years, and I consider him one of my closest friends. My best friend,” she whispered. “I’m just worried that if we did start something, and it didn’t work out…” she shrugged again.

  “Okay, I get that. But don’t you think you owe it to yourselves to try?”

  “I don’t know, maybe?”

  “When you think of Jax, when you are with him, how does it make you feel? How does he make you feel?”

  “Well, it seems, umm… I feel all, you know, like… You see, the thing is, well….” she stammered, unable to verbalize her thoughts.

  I laughed softly, stood up holding my hand out to her, “come with me.”

  Reluctantly she put her hand in mine, “where are we going?”

  “Just to the kitchen window.”

  Once we were standing in front of the kitchen sink, I turned her towards the window. I leant a hip against the bench watching her.

  “Now look at Jax and tell me how you feel.”

  “I umm…” she started.

  Cassidy looked at Jax, and a brilliant smile broke out, lighting up her whole face. She sighed deeply, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, blushing.

  “That right there is why you should try,” I said, squeezing her hand.

  “What right where? I didn’t say anything.”

  “I know Honey. You didn’t have to, it’s written all over your face. You love him.”

  “Is it… is it that obvious?”

  “Honey, it’s not a bad thing.”

  “What am I supposed to do?” she asked, sounding very forlorn.

  “Cass, I love my cousin, but he is an idiot of the highest order. He just needs a kick in the ass.”

  “How are we going to do that?”

  I picked up my phone to call in reinforcements, “Tabby, my love, how are you?”

  “Stunning as always chicka, what’s happening?”

  “How do you feel about a 90’s teen movie makeover?”

  “Oh, oh, you mean, where the girl is already hot, and then they take off her glasses, put her in some killer heels and let down her ponytail?” Tabby squealed.

  “That’s the one,” I loved her crazy ass.

  “Yay, who are we making over and why?”

  “Cassidy and because, Jaxon,” I replied.

  “Umm, what? Hedge what’s happening?” Cassidy asked apprehensively.

  “We are going to give Jax a kick in the butt. If he can’t take the hint after that, then he doesn’t deserve your exceptional ass.”

  “Yay, I love girly things,” Tabby cheered through the phone. “Oh, oh, oh, I know the perfect place to go.”

  “Where?” I asked her enthusiasm fueling my excitement.

  “La Biz, I’ll call Johnny now and let him know to add us to the guest list.”

  “Awesome, there will be us girls and the five boys.”

  “This is going to be so much freaking fun!” Tabby giggled and squealed ending the call.

  With Tabby on the case, Jaxon is not going to know what hit him.

  Chapter 13 Hedge

  “You’re truly not going to pull a movie makeover on me, are you?
” Cassidy asked, sounding a little scared at the prospect.

  “Hell yes,” Tabby cried, barging past with her gigantic makeup case in one hand and a hanging clothes bag in the other.

  “Tabby, don’t scare the poor girl,” I said, kissing Cassidy on the forehead. “No Honey we’re just going to put a little more pizzazz than normal into getting ready. I promise you’ll still be you even after we’ve finished.”

  “Just a better version of you,” Tabby said, poking her head out of the kitchen.

  “Tabby, not helping,” I said dropping the contents of my haul on the kitchen table. “What she means is,” I started before being cut off by Tabby.

  “What I mean is that we are not going to change you into something you’re not. What we are going to do is highlight what you have. Your stunning eyes, striking bone structure, and these stunning pair of boobs!” Tabby finished, cupping Cassidy’s breasts in her hands and jiggling them up and down.

  “Umm, Hedge, help.”

  “Tabby, get off her,” I smacked her hands away.

  “What? How is she supposed to handle Jackie playing with her boobies if she gets all squidgy with me having a turn?”

  “I do not what him to play with my…”

  "Yes, you do. I could tell just from watching the two of you that something was going on. I have known Jaxon for a very long time, and I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he does you."

  “So, this makeover thingy, are we going to do something extreme or whatever?" Cassidy asked blushing and changing the subject.

  “Cass, Babe, breathe. We’re just going to have a girly prep party. You know do each other’s hair and makeup, pick out each other's outfits and drink,” I explained.

  “Now, go have a shower while Hedge here sets up, and I make mojitos!” Tabby instructed.

  By the time Cassidy was done in the shower, the hair styling, and makeup products were all set out on the kitchen table. Tabby had made two large jugs of mojitos and was pouring us all a large glass. Tabby handed Cassidy a glass of ice-cold mojito, and I set to work while Tabby directed. We drank and laughed and told stories while I styled Cassidy's hair, which was now just about to her shoulder blades and fire engine red and black.