Falling For A Donovan (The Donovans Book 14)

by A. C. Arthur

  “She’s very important to me, Trent. She knows all about my past. She stopped me from killing a man,” Dev said and then cleared his throat. “This is a very serious thing. And I know she’d feel better if you were on board. I would too. But if not, that’s your thing to deal with, not ours.”

  Dev recalled the argument he and Trent had at Trent’s house just before they got the tip on where Bailey was being held. Trent had made it perfectly clear that he did not like the idea of his cousin being involved with a murderer. It didn’t matter that Trent had also taken lives. This was solely about Dev’s past. Dev had told Trent to mind his business and he’d dismissed that conversation. At least he had on the surface, but Trent’s words had stuck with him, clouding his mind when all his other emotions leaned towards Bailey.

  “You don’t have to get all pissy about it,” Trent said. “But I get why you are. I was an ass and you know I don’t admit that often.”

  Dev nodded. “You never admit that.”

  Trent laughed. “Whatever. Look, she’s my cousin and you know how I feel about my family. Over the years you’ve become like family to me too. If anybody deserves to find happiness in love it’s you and Bailey. You’ve both been through a lot,” Trent told him. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t give you the same warning I give every other guy that dates a Donovan woman—hurt her and I’ll kill you.”

  Dev smiled. “I expect nothing less.”

  They both laughed then and Dev hated to bring a somber announcement into the mix, but Trent needed to know.

  “Dane told us some things when we were in New York,” he said.

  “What kind of things?” Trent asked.

  “I don’t think the situation is what we thought. At least it doesn’t appear that he’s been in on his mother’s plots,” Dev admitted.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I think so,” Dev told him as he thought about that picture he still had tucked in the glove compartment of the rental car he needed to return some time soon. “But we should probably pay your cousin Parker a visit to get a little more clarification.”

  “Parker? Why?” Trent asked.

  “He knew Dane before Roslyn came back on the scene. I found a picture in Dane’s office of him, Jaydon and Parker.”

  “What the hell?”

  “I know,” Dev said. “I’ve been trying to figure that out myself.”

  “Yeah, I think you’re right. It’s time to pay Parker a little visit.”

  “Just let me know when you’re ready,” Dev said.

  “Oh please, you and Bailey sound like you’re setting up house there in Connecticut. I’m just waiting for you to call me and tell me you’re coming out of the field for good now.”

  Dev hadn’t made that decision yet. But he and Bailey had been talking more and more about their own security company.

  “Whatever, man. Just let me know when you’re ready to fly down and talk to him. I’m coming with you and we’re going to end this together.”

  Trent chuckled a moment and then said, “Yeah, together. As always.”

  Dev was just disconnecting the call when he turned around to see Bailey standing behind him. She was wearing jeans today and a purple top that showed more of her midriff than Dev thought was healthy…for him, that is. Her feet were bare, her hair a curly array around her face. The bird flew instantly to her, resting on her shoulder, while just behind her, sitting on the couch where Dev had noticed it had been every day, was The Beast stuffed animal he’d given her.

  “We have to go,” she announced and held up her cell phone as if to say she’d just received a call.

  “Go where?” he asked.

  Dev prayed she wasn’t about to tell him that the sheriff from Big Bear wanted her to come back for more questioning. He’d talked to Victoria earlier in the week. The sheriff indicated to Victoria that he needed to speak to Bailey again. Victoria didn’t think that was a good idea and neither did the family. Dev agreed. Bailey had been through enough. Dev still thought about the prick, Stewart—he’d finally gotten his name out of Bailey—and all he’d put her through. Dev had wanted to go out and find the guy and…no, he wouldn’t kill him, but he’d definitely make the guy wish he’d never put a hand on Bailey. And she’d told that cop in Big Bear everything she knew, or at least everything the Donovans were willing to release at the moment. So if the sheriff had somehow gotten Bailey’s new cell phone number, Dev wasn’t going to be pleased.

  “Keysa’s in labor!” she announced, her smile the brightest and prettiest Dev had ever seen before.

  “Your cousin? The one that lives in Michigan?”

  Bailey was nodding exuberantly. “Yes! Camille called me. She said Ian just took Keysa to the hospital. The contractions are only fifteen minutes apart and since this is her first baby her doctor thinks she has time, but we should go. We should call for the jet and we should get there as quickly as we can.”

  “You’re going to Michigan to see your cousin have a baby?” Dev asked, still not sure what he’d gotten himself into by falling so hard for this particular Donovan.

  “Oh yes. That’s what family does and like it or not, you’re a part of this family now. So you make the call to the jet. I have someone else to get on the phone and then I’ll be ready to leave.”

  “Only members of this family believe they can hop from state to state at the drop of a dime,” Dev sighed.

  “Yeah, that’s one of the perks to being a Donovan. And now since there are two jets, one will be grounded on the east coast and the other on the west. My dad and Uncle Henry are using the first jet. Uncle Bernard is already there. You and I can use the second jet. Transportation is just a phone call away.”

  Dev shrugged realizing the logic to her words. “So what are you waiting for?”

  “I want you with me.”

  “Me? Why? I don’t do babies well, Bailey.”

  “But don’t you want to, Devlin? One day, don’t you want to hold your own child? Our child, maybe? Okay, that might be a little fast. We can talk about that later. Right now, I need you to call for the jet.”

  She was just about to turn and leave the room, when Dev went to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her up close before kissing her. It was a slow, wet, totally arousing kiss, but before it could go any further, Dev pulled back.

  “I love you,” he said when she was looking up at him with lust-filled eyes.

  For a moment she appeared shocked. It was the first time he’d said it aloud. And while they’d been acting like a couple living together for the past week, neither of them had broached the subject of how they felt about each other. Dev had thought a few days ago that they were showing it, so what was the need for words? But at this very moment, after speaking to his best friend and getting his blessing on the relationship and seeing how happy the talk of her family member having a baby had made Bailey, he knew. He knew without a doubt and he’d had to say the words.

  “I love you too, Devlin,” she finally replied and touched her fingers lightly to his chin. “I think I’ve loved you for a very long time.”

  “Well,” he said snuggling her close to him once more. “Let’s not waste any more time.”

  “No,” she told him. “Let’s not. Call for the jet and let’s get out of here!”

  Logan & Morhaim Hospital

  Birmingham, Michigan

  “Why don’t they give her something for the pain?” Bernard asked. He was frowning as he paced back and forth in the waiting room.

  His first wife, Mary Lee, stood a couple feet away from the door to the room where Keysa and Ian were now with a nurse. Mary Lee looked healthy and for the first time in years, happy.

  “I didn’t use pain medication when I had Keysa,” Mary Lee was saying. “There hadn’t been enough time. All day long I thought I’d simply had indigestion, instead of being in labor.”

  Bernard nodded. He remembered that night after he’d come home from work to find Mary Lee lying on the couch moaning.
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  “She was born fifteen minutes after they got you into that bed,” he said, a nostalgic feeling overtaking him.

  “Crying and screaming as if she’d been waiting all day to get out of there,” Mary Lee continued. “Now she’s all grown up. My baby’s having a baby.”

  “Our baby,” Bernard corrected her. Since their divorce Mary Lee had acted as if Keysa were only her child, moving her to the Midwest and making it difficult for Bernard to see her.

  He’d remarried then and of course, that had really pissed Mary Lee off. Still, Bernard had been adamant about seeing his daughter. Even when Jocelyn, his second wife had Brynne, Bernard never forgot about Keysa. He never let his children forget about him and their family.

  “So many babies out there now,” Mary Lee said.

  Bernard knew what she was talking about. He knew and guilt punched him in the gut for about the billionth time since he’d found out. In all the years he’d spent being sure to take care of Keysa and Brynne, he’d never once entertained the idea that Roslyn Ausby’s son could be his.

  “They all deserve their parents,” she went on to say and then turned to face him. “I apologize for how I handled things with Keysa all those years ago. I was wrong.”

  Bernard couldn’t accept her apology. Mary Lee had been hurt and he hadn’t gone out of his way to convince her that she’d been wrong about his family and their acceptance of her. He should have, he thought. There were a lot of things he should have done.

  He gave only a nod in response to her words. “Ian and Keysa are going to be great parents,” he said.

  Mary Lee smiled.

  “I think so, too. They’re dedicated to their marriage and to this child. I’m so happy for them,” she told him.

  “I am too,” he said.

  “And I’m sorry about Jocelyn. Keysa told me she moved out of your house last month.”

  Embarrassed, annoyed, and tired from waking up in the middle of the night and flying out here the moment Ian had called him, Bernard simply shook his head.

  “This has been hard for her,” was all he could manage to say about the apparent demise of his second marriage.

  Mary Lee touched his arm then. “It’s been hard for you too. I don’t think you should feel any guilt,” she said. “That woman sounds like she knew what she was doing, trying to set you and your brothers up. How were you supposed to know he was your son?”

  “I could have gotten the DNA test,” Bernard answered. “All of us could have done it the first time she asked. Then we would have known sooner. I could have been active in my son’s life.”

  “You really think she would have allowed that?” Mary Lee asked. “From what I’ve heard that woman’s got one foot in the looney bin. Keysa says she was obsessed with Henry. So finding out that baby was anybody else’s but his, was only bound to make things worse.”

  Bernard had to agree with that. Since they’d found out that Dane was his son, Bailey had been kidnapped and Brynne was nowhere to be found. Jocelyn had left him and Beverly was on her way out the door of Henry’s house. It was a mess and Bernard had no idea how to fix it.

  “Today’s for new beginnings,” he told Mary Lee. “Our baby’s having a baby!”

  “Yes, she is,” Mary Lee replied with a smile.

  Bailey and Devlin arrived in time to see Bernard and Mary Lee heading into Keysa’s room. A nurse said that for now only two other people, in addition to Ian, were being allowed in Keysa’s room. The labor was progressing slowly and they were trying to keep Keysa as calm as possible during the process. Bailey was okay with that, for now. Devlin escorted her into the waiting room where they joined Uncle Henry and her father.

  Bailey ran to Al immediately as this was the first time she’d actually seen him since before she was kidnapped.

  “Oh daddy!” she said as Al hugged her tightly. “It’s so wonderful to see you. But should you have traveled this far? Did the doctor give you clearance? When Camille told me you were coming out here I was so worried.”

  When they finally released each other, Al rubbed a hand down Bailey’s head. “I’m just fine. Besides, my brother needed me to be here with him.”

  “How’s he doing?” Bailey asked as Al sat down and she took the seat beside him.

  Al shook his head. “Not so good since Jocelyn left him.”

  That brought Bailey’s attention to Uncle Henry. He was standing near one of the many windows in this room, staring out to the brisk winter afternoon.

  “Where’s Aunt Beverly?” she asked.

  Al was shaking his head again. The sadness and worry for his brothers was apparent on his face.

  “She’s been staying with Trent and Tia. She and Henry aren’t talking much these days.”

  “Oh no,” Bailey said. “This is not right. It’s just not fair.”

  “It’s life,” Al told his daughter. “We don’t always like what happens as a result of our actions, but most times we’re powerless to stop it. Henry and Beverly have loved each other a long time. I remember when he first started dating her. We spent that summer at the D Ranch in Gillepsie, but Henry’s heart and mind had stayed in Houston with Beverly.”

  Bailey had looked back then, happy to see that Devlin had gone over to stand by Henry. They were chatting about something, but at least Uncle Henry wasn’t alone.

  An hour and a half later Keysa had been given something to make her labor progress faster because the doctors were afraid of having her labor too long. Bernard had come out of the room periodically to give Bailey a chance to go in. That’s where Bailey was when her cell phone vibrated. She wasn’t supposed to have it on while she was back here in the room, but Bailey had only put it on vibrate instead of turning it completely off. When she pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the screen, Bailey smiled. This was the reason she hadn’t turned her phone off.

  “Keysa, I think there’s someone who wants to speak to you,” Bailey said as she quickly answered the phone and walked to stand at the side of Keysa’s bed.

  Her cousin had just finished having a contraction and was still breathing heavily.

  “I don’t know if I can talk right now, Bailey. Can you just take a message?”

  Bailey shook her head. “How about I just hold the phone to your ear and you listen.”

  She didn’t wait for Keysa to reply, but put the phone to her ear. Bailey could hear when Brynne said, “Hi Keysa! Oh I’m so happy for you and Ian. I wish I could be there to see my little niece or nephew be born.”

  Keysa’s eyes opened immediately and she tried to sit up. On the other side of the bed, Ian leaned in to help get his wife adjusted on the pillows.

  “Oh my god, Brynne! Is that you? I’ve been so worried about you. Where are you? Why haven’t you called me? Or dad?”

  Brynne had chuckled and said simply, “I think you have more pressing business right now than me. So I’m going to let you go and have this baby. I’ll call you back later today.”

  “Please do,” Keysa said and then squeezed the bedrails as another contraction wracked her body. “Please,” she continued. “I miss you, Brynne. I love you.”

  The last was said through clenched teeth and Bailey heard Brynne telling Keysa she loved her too. That’s when Bailey moved the phone away from Keysa’s ear.

  “I think it might be time, Brynne. I’ll text you as soon as the baby arrives.”

  “I want plenty of pictures,” Brynne said. “And thanks, Bailey. Thanks for keeping my secret and for telling me when I’ve been foolish.”

  “No thanks necessary,” Bailey told her. “That’s what family is for.”

  The new addition to the Donovan family came twenty minutes later. A seven pound, ten ounce baby girl that Keysa named Madison Lee Sanchez. Bailey had already sent Brynne a half a dozen pictures. She’d been in and out of the room giving Devlin, Uncle Henry and her father the news. Uncle Bernard had insisted he be allowed back in the birthing room the moment he heard the baby was coming and Keysa had instructed the n
urses to let him stay. While she was in the waiting room Bailey had sent a group text to all her cousins and their wives with the first picture of Madison and all her birth statistics. Her phone was buzzing non-stop with their responses.

  “I’ve never seen you this happy,” Devlin said as she answered each of the reply text messages.

  “I don’t think I’ve felt this happy in a very long time. A new baby is like new hope. No matter what else is going on, there’s hope and the Donovans go on. That makes me very happy.”

  Devlin had just kissed her. When he pulled back Bailey’s view of the door to the waiting room was unfettered. That’s when she saw him.

  He wore jeans and black boots, a dark gray leather jacket and matching turtleneck. He’d been wearing sunglasses, but he took them off the moment he stepped into the room.

  Bailey stood and immediately went to him.

  “What are you doing here? How did you know?”

  Dane shrugged. “She’s my sister,” he said. “I keep tabs on all of my family, whether or not they want me to.”

  Devlin had come to stand by her. He still didn’t trust Dane completely. Truth be told, she was happy to see Dane here. He hadn’t deserved any of what had happened to him. And if he were related to them, then it was past time someone in this family started to act like it.

  “Come on,” she told him. “I’ll take you back to her room.”

  There was an uncomfortable silence when Bailey opened the door and led Dane inside Keysa’s room. Little Madison had gone off to be examined by the pediatricians and had already come back, with her rosy cheeks and cap of ebony hair. Ian was holding his daughter as he sat on the side of Keysa’s bed. Mary Lee was sitting in the chair by the window, looking at her phone—no doubt sending someone that cute first photo of her granddaughter. Uncle Bernard was standing at the end of the bed smiling down at Keysa.