Forever & Again

by Allie York

  “Sorry, the hair dresser may have double booked, but hopefully it gets figured out before I don’t have time to find a new one.” Mom seemed to buy my lie, but the other three gave me the best “bullshit” faces as we made our way to the doors and to the cars. Hugs were exchanged and I made some vague agreements that my mind didn’t process. I was more concerned with getting home to break the news to Jacob. My man was going to be heartbroken and potentially homicidal. He missed so much with Ollie and the guilt over it would never go away, but I hoped the baby he was about to welcome into the world would heal the wound, at least a little.

  I buckled up in Mara’s car and she backed out. “Care to share the truth?” Her fist hit my bicep harder than necessary and I slapped at her.

  “That was Torin. He’s helped me take care of the Tera-bookie-issue and in exchange I dropped the assault charges.” Mara shot me a look but I ignored it. It was not a good time for her to chastise me on that one. Plus, it was done. “Tera didn’t come back home today and Torin finally went and looked in her apartment. It was empty.” Mara’s jaw fell open. “I think she ran off with Jacob’s baby. I really just want to be wrong, but Torin wouldn’t call like that over nothing.” I put my head in my hands, the hurt welling in me. Jacob’s world was going to be dust at his feet if Tera didn’t turn up. Looking back, I had done the same thing to him, but I spared him the knowledge of it. The pain Jacob was going to have to go through was too much for me to even consider.

  When we got back home, I tore out of the car to puke in the bushes, all of my lunch came back up and then some. Mara stood back. Sympathetic puking was a very real thing for her. My best friend collected her son and hugged me before leaving. Jacob told her that Jude was welcome anytime and lots of manly fist bumps were exchanged. Jacob retreated back to our room as I locked the door behind Mara and Jude. I sent Ollie to do his homework and went in search of my fiancée. Just as my hand touched the door handle, it was torn away from me and a very panicked Jacob was in front of me, phone pressed to his ear. I could hear a voice on the other end of the line, but the words were muffled. Jacob grabbed my hand, spun me and dragged me back down the steps.

  Chapter Nineteen

  JACOB

  I heard the words the woman was telling me, but their actual meaning was lost. What I did manage to process was too much. Tera. Emergency. Hospital. When I went to find Lydia, she was already at the top of the steps, and I couldn’t even speak to her. I dragged her behind me, pointed to Ollie’s room, and ran out the door. I knew I would be the worst person to drive so I got in her car and waited. My leg bounced and I laid on the horn several times, trying to hurry them. Whatever was happening, I needed them.

  “I don’t understand why you can’t tell me what’s happening,” I growled into the phone.

  “The doctor and the social worker are going to talk with you when you get here. I was just told to call the emergency contact and have them come immediately.” The woman on the line sounded scared, but she hadn’t heard anything yet.

  “Just tell me if my son is all right. If Tera is all right!” I screamed as Lydia and Oliver got in and we backed out of the driveway. I told Lydia to head to the hospital down the street and went back to the woman on the phone.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Teller, but I can’t tell you anything …” I hung up before she could finish and threw my phone. I knew Oliver was watching me and that depending on the news we were about to receive, him coming was a bad idea. The thought that something could have happened to my baby was physically painful. My whole body hurt. Lydia didn’t speak, she only took my hand and squeezed my fingers gently. Lydia slid her car up to the emergency room, and I jumped out before it even stopped. They could catch up later. My heart was thudding in my ears as I fought to remember what the woman on the phone had said.

  The elevator was taking too long so I threw the stairwell door open and took them two at a time to the fourth floor. The woman at the desk stood as I ran up. “Mr. Teller?” I could only nod. The woman’s eyes went soft and I had to grip the counter to stand. My son. My son was gone and her face had just told me everything. “Okay, I need you to sit right here. I’ll go get them.” I numbly followed orders, taking a seat in a pleather chair. Unable to sit still, I rested my elbows on my knees and tugged at my shaggy hair. Lydia and Oliver made it in before the receptionist brought anyone out to me.

  “Torin called me.” Lydia sat on one side of me and took my hand. I stared ahead listening. “He said Tera was missing all day and her apartment was empty. I assumed she had just taken off.” Lydia’s head landed on my shoulder and I threw my other arm around Oliver’s shoulder. An eternity later, the receptionist came out trailed by a woman in a business suit and a doctor. I stood up and Lydia stood next to me, not letting go of my hand.

  “Jacob Teller?” the woman addressed me and I nodded once. I truly didn’t trust myself to speak without completely losing my shit. “I’m Renee Kline. Could you come with us please?”

  “Not until you tell me what the fuck is going on.” My words came out as a hiss. Lydia tugged me to walk and Oliver moved around to take her other hand. I relented, following them through a set of double doors to a hall, then into an office.

  We all three sat down and the woman, Renee, started, “I am so sorry to tell you this, but Miss Sterchi is gone.” Lydia sucked in a breath, but I didn’t understand.

  “Wait, Tera? She …”

  “No, Miss Sterchi left. Checked herself out against medical advice and left.” Renee clarified and I dropped my shoulders in relief. Tera left which meant she wasn’t dead.

  “The baby was born at seven sixteen this morning. Normal delivery with no complications.” The doctor pulled papers from his pocket and handed them to me. I tried to keep my hands from shaking as I took them, opening them. My eyes scanned the words and I shook my head.

  “Tera left him? She left my son here?” I was on my feet in a second and the papers hit the table. Relief and anger warred in me. That bitch abandoned our baby, left him alone in a hospital and signed away all her rights. The doctor only nodded.

  “The paternity test, termination of rights, and birth certificate were left on the table in the room when she checked out and you were notified immediately. We like to keep infants here for forty-eight hours to keep an eye on them and the mother until they go home, but seeing as Miss Sterchi left, you are free to take your son home after the discharge papers are filled out.” Renee nodded at me, hands behind her back.

  “I want to see my son.” Those words were all it took for us to be led from the room and down a hall to another set of double doors to the nursery. Nurses moved about, holding babies, feeding them, changing diapers. The doctor indicated a sink just inside and we washed our hands. My anger was immediately replaced with raw bliss when a woman came toward me with a swaddled bundle. I took him from her and adjusted awkwardly until I wasn’t afraid I would drop him. The tiny guy was sleeping peacefully and black hair stuck out from the edges of the blue hat covering his tiny head. I instinctively brought his forehead to my face and kissed him, breathing him in.

  “We have your papers when you’re ready, Mr. Teller,” Renee broke me out of my trance and I nodded. Lydia was standing next to me with one hand in Oliver’s and the other covering her mouth. Tears ran down her face and she was staring at the baby I was holding. I silently offered him to her, and Lydia took the tiny bundle from me. Oliver moved to see his brother’s face and smiled from ear to ear.

  “He’s gorgeous,” Lydia mumbled, tearing her gaze from the baby long enough to catch mine. The look on her face was complete adoration and I was positive that everything would work out.

  I moved in closer, completely in love with the sight of Oliver, Lydia and the baby. “He needs a name, Lyd.” Then her blue eyes went wide. “I’ll fill this out, you think about it.”

  Lydia shook her head. “I can’t, Jacob.”

  “Cohen,” Oliver said with complete certainty. “Mom said if she had another so
n, his name would be Cohen.” Cohen. I kissed my fiancée and my two sons on the foreheads before following Renee to fill out whatever she needed. Fuck Tera and what she had done. Cohen didn’t need her. My son had us, the little guy had three people who would never leave him. I had three people to take care of. I had three people to live for, to bring meaning to my life, to love unconditionally. With Lydia, Oliver, and Cohen, I would never have to doubt my place in life again.

  Epilogue

  LYDIA

  My sisters looked at me like I somehow magically knew what to do. Mara was giggling uncontrollably from the bedroom at Chimney Rock Bed and Breakfast. I was sitting on the closed toilet seat in the en-suite holding a positive pregnancy test. What the hell? The doctor had called to explain why they couldn’t renew my birth control, but I needed to see for myself and boy was I seeing it. It was loud and clear in the form of a big pink plus. Jacob was a dead man for knocking me up again.

  “I told you last week!” My mom had appeared at some point holding Cohen. I expected to see a frown or scowl, but my mother was beaming. At t-minus ten minutes to marriage, I probably could have picked a better time to piss on a stick, but then it would have distracted me. The four women in matching plum dresses and a fussing baby pulled me from my shock and music started up downstairs.

  “I need to go get married.” I stood up, brushing off my dress, and scooped up Cohen on my way out of the room. Oliver met me at the top of the stairs and I adjusted his bowtie. Jacob had made him the best man and our son looked insanely handsome in a tux. Ollie took his little brother just as dad appeared at the bottom of the stairs, ushering my bridal party down to the sunroom where Jacob and I were getting married. Holy shit! We’re getting married and having a baby! The baby surprise could wait until we were at the hotel in Nashville for the night.

  Music started, Dad cleared his throat, and I handed off Cohen to Mom after an extra-long kiss. He was such a content baby no matter who had him, but I wanted to cuddle him constantly. At almost three months old, Cohen was all smiles and coos unless he was sleeping peacefully.

  “Ready?” Dad kissed my head and pulled me off to my future husband.

  The sight at the end of the aisle was enough to make me tear up. Jacob beaming with Oliver next to him and his groomsmen all in a line. Ewan, Julian, and the twins Jacob grew up next to, Beck and Briggs, were on one side with Mara, my sisters, and Amelia on the other. Dad kissed my head, put my hand in Jacob’s, and suddenly no one else was in the room with us.

  Jacob loosened his bowtie as he dragged our suitcase to the elevator and I trailed behind, trying to keep my dress from touching the floor and getting filthy. We finally made it to the top floor and Jacob wasted no time dropping the suitcase and stalking toward me. My husband pinned me against the door, covering my mouth with his, and grabbing the back of my neck. As much as I was dying to tell him, to see his reaction, that kiss made everything disappear. One hand found the trail of buttons down the back of my dress and I started on his dress shirt. Why were there so many damn buttons? My dress finally pooled to the floor and I started to kick off my heels but Jacob’s hand tightened on my thigh. His pants hit the floor, he toed off his shoes, removed his socks, and snapped off my strapless bra. That only left his boxer briefs, my black lace panties and my pearl-colored heels. His hands gripped my ass and my legs went around his waist. I crashed my mouth into his, threading my hands into his hair and whimpering when his erection hit me just right. I was lost in a fog of Jacob-induced-lust when my bare back hit the icy window and I hissed from the cold.

  Jacob tore his boxers off and shoved my panties to the side to slam into me. My head fell back into the glass and my nails dug into his shoulders. His grunts turned primal when my first orgasm tore through me, leaving me seeing stars and completely useless. The nibbles on my neck and rough bite to my shoulder sent me over the edge again and I yelled out his name mostly likely accompanied by a slew of other noises.

  “I fucking love when you scream my name.” Jacob’s deep breathy voice tickled my neck as his momentum picked up and he groaned, holding himself deep inside me when his orgasm joined mine. I had no clue how the both of us didn’t become a puddle on the floor, but we somehow managed to make it to the bed. Despite the king-sized amount of space, we were curled in a tight ball in the center.

  “I love you, Mr. Teller.” I pressed a soft kiss into the pulse on his neck.

  “I love you too, Mrs. Teller.” Jacob was quiet for a moment. “Will you adopt Cohen now?” We had talked about it since Cohen was born, but it didn’t seem right to adopt him until we all had the same last name. I nodded against his shoulder and he kissed my hair.

  “There is something we need to talk about, though.” I tried to sound serious about it, but the smile came through in my voice. I knew without a doubt that my husband would be over the moon excited. Jacob told me repeatedly that he wished Cohen had been mine, insisting we should have had a house full of children together. Unfortunately, with my endometriosis, getting pregnant, especially at my age, would be a challenge. Or so I was told. What he didn’t seem to understand was that Cohen was mine the second he handed the little guy to me at the hospital and let me name him.

  “Already tired of me?” Jacob playfully smacked my ass.

  “No, but tired is a huge part of it.” I bit my lip to keep from laughing. It was no lie that we were both exhausted from trying to keep up with work, a wedding, and a new baby. Jacob shimmied down to look in my eyes. “How would you feel about maybe making our lives more hectic and adding another baby? Say, sometime next summer?”

  Jacob’s dark eyes went wide and he took my face in his hands. “Are you serious right now?” I bobbed my head and quit fighting my smile. “We’re having a baby?” He kissed my forehead and nose a dozen times while I nodded. “Oliver is going to lose it!” His lips found mine, softly at first, and then more passionate, skimming the seam of my lips with his tongue. When Jacob finally pulled back from our kiss, he rested his forehead against mine and I sighed dreamily. It was the definition of bliss. It was the happily ever after neither of us expected. Two beautiful sons, another baby on the way, and being with the only man I would ever love.

  I would never have to be alone again.

  Acknowledgments

  When I started writing Lydia and Jacob’s story, I didn’t think I could ever like them as much as Jovie and Ewan, but someone did. CGB, you love to remind me how awesome these two are, and now my goal is to create one you love even more. Thank you for all your love and support.