Wild Hearts (The DiCarlo Brides)

by Heather Tullis

  Gage and Vince had always been there for them, but it hadn’t been their loss they had stuck with him through, it had been his. He hadn’t needed to buoy them up in difficult times—nothing as difficult as losing a loved one, in any case, though times hadn’t always been easy.

  He liked to think that their friendship, their bond, would be enough, no matter what else they went through, but he’d never trusted anyone else to really be there for him when things got tough, and that’s part of why he never let a woman get close.

  And now Delphi meant more to him than he’d ever expected and it wasn’t just the wild heart under the cool, proper veneer, but the strength and focus, the way she’d held tough despite loss and come out stronger.

  Add the fact that she loved an action flick and motorcycle ride as much as he did. He was afraid it might be love.

  Could she be the one to tame his own wild heart?

  Since Jeremy didn’t want to go home yet, once Delphi was released from the clinic, they all headed to the girls’ house. Gage loaned him some clean clothes from the gym bag in his car and they let Jeremy use the shower in Lana’s old room while Delphi used her own to clean off the dirt and grime in her hair and every crevice of her skin. She could swear it had even created new crevices that had never existed before, just so it could take up residence there.

  When she stepped out of the shower twenty minutes later, she felt much cleaner and as if she could stay awake long enough to eat the food she could smell even from her room in the basement.

  “Someone here is a saint. I hope there’s dessert.”

  “Two kinds instead of three,” Jonquil said apologetically. “But I could run for gelato if you decide you still need more when we’re finished here.”

  Delphi sank onto a bar stool and smelled the food some more. “Whatever you ordered smells like heaven.”

  “Glad you approve,” Gage said with a smile. “We have lasagna, spaghetti, some fettuccine Alfredo, steamed veggies, bread sticks and dessert.”

  “Like I said. Heaven.” Delphi reached for a bread stick, unable to help herself when all she’d had to eat in the past eighteen hours was a granola bar. She turned in her seat when she heard footsteps on the stairs to the second floor. Jeremy came down in jeans that were a tad loose and a San Francisco Giants T-shirt. “Feeling better?” she asked.

  “So much. You?” He leaned in and kissed her softly.

  “Tired. Hungry, but clean.”

  “I see you’re already fixing the hungry part.” He turned to Gage and Jonquil, who stood on the other side of the island. “We ready then?”

  “Dig in,” Jonquil offered.

  They filled their plates and went to sit in the sunken living room. Delphi took the spot on the sofa beside Jeremy and settled so she leaned slightly against him. “Food has never tasted this good before, has it?” she asked.

  “I doubt it. This has to be better than manna.”

  “I don’t know,” Jonquil teased. “My neighbor said that was supposed to taste like honey. Is this better than honey?”

  Delphi swallowed a bit of cheesy, spicy lasagna. “Have to say yes.”

  The four of them held some small talk while they ate, but mostly they ate in silence.

  Delphi was just thinking about dessert when Jonquil’s cell phone rang.

  She reached into her pocket and pulled it out, smiling when she saw the caller ID. “It’s Blake,” she said to Delphi. “You want to talk to him?”

  “Yeah.” She greeted him. “I’m surprised you haven’t all surrounded us yet. Usually we can’t keep everyone away when something happens. Jonquil did call to tell you I was back, right?” It hadn’t occurred to her before, but suddenly she realized no one had come running to see if she was okay, which made her feel rather unloved.

  “Yeah, well, I’ve been a little busy since Jonquil left her message and I just picked it up. Lana’s in labor.”

  “What?” Delphi sat forward, already coming to her feet. “How far along is she? Why didn’t any one call us?”

  “We tried. We couldn’t get any calls through. You must have been somewhere without service.”

  “You could have left a message.”

  “We did, Delphi. On yours and Jonquil’s phones. Did you check yours?”

  “Mine’s downstairs charging. It died before we got back to town.” She glanced at the screen and realized she did have a message waiting. She sucked in a calming breath. “Sorry, it’s been beyond crazy.”

  “So I gathered from Jonquil’s message. We’re glad you’re okay. Really, we’ve been worried about you since she texted to say they found your motorbikes.”

  “How is Lana doing? How many centimeters is she?” Delphi mouthed to the others that Lana was in labor. Jonquil let out a squeal of excitement.

  “She’s dilated to seven. We seem to be in a holding pattern, but everyone else is here. Except Joel, who swears he’s not sitting around waiting for any baby except his own and claims one of the family ought to be on site at the hotel. Really I think he’s afraid it’ll make Sage’s labor seem too real. You know he can’t stand to see her in pain.”

  Delphi laughed. It was so typical Joel—Navy SEAL tough, but not good with the thought of his woman being in any kind of discomfort. He’d avoided all talk of childbirth so far. “We’ll be there soon. Tell Lana to wait for us to arrive before the baby is born,” she joked.

  “Yeah, you’re really funny, you know that?”

  She said goodbye and hung up. “Dessert to celebrate afterward?” she asked Jonquil and the guys.

  “I say yes. Let’s go to the hospital,” Jonquil declared. “I told her not to go into labor until after we got back.”

  “Because baby doesn’t have a say, huh?” Delphi asked.

  Gage stood and stuck his hands in his pocket. “This isn’t really one of those bring-the-whole-neighborhood kinds of things.”

  “Oh, don’t be an idiot,” Jonquil said. “You’re totally coming too.” She snagged his shirt and pulled him up to the kitchen.

  “Maybe we should put the extra food away,” Delphi suggested as she hobbled up after them.

  “I thought you were exhausted?” Jeremy reminded her.

  “Second wind. It should last just long enough to hit the couch in the hospital waiting room. Or maybe the back seat of the car.” She grabbed the plastic wrap and covered the various leftovers, stuffing them back in the fridge. “How often do you get to be there when a new life comes into the world?”

  “Depends on how many kids you have,” Gage suggested. “Or how many sisters you have popping out babies.”

  “Be nice.” Jonquil elbowed him lightly.

  “Man, you girls are bossy.” When Jonquil’s eyes narrowed at Gage he rolled his eyes. “Shutting up now.”

  “Good call.” Jonquil stuffed the desserts into another corner of the fridge. “You two have to come back for celebratory treats afterward or Delphi and I might finish them off by ourselves.”

  “I believe that. You two can really pack it in considering how skinny you are.” Jeremy just grinned when Delphi glared at him.

  “I’m driving,” Gage said, pulling out his keys.

  Jonquil opened her mouth as if to protest, then shut it again and they all moved out to his car in the driveway.

  The hospital was located on the west side of Denver, near the mouth of the canyon and small enough not to feel impersonal. It also had smallish waiting rooms. The DiCarlo group completely filled the space they were assigned, and Gage went to hunt down some extra chairs for him and Jeremy.

  “What happened to you?” Cami asked, staring at the bandages on Delphi’s knees.

  Delphi nudged Jeremy into a chair and then took his lap when he sat it in. “Nothing much, just crawled through some dirt and rocks and my knees didn’t like it.”

  “Tell us what happened,” Cami demanded.

  So she did. Jeremy added information every few minutes and eventually Jonquil and Gage added their bits to the conver
sation.

  By the time they started to wrap things up, Delphi was nearly ready to pass out from exhaustion, despite the nap she’d taken on Jeremy’s shoulder on the way down the mountain. She set her head on Jeremy’s shoulder again and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his heart thumping against her arm and the sound of his breathing near her ear. They fit so well together. She wondered if he realized.

  “Tired?” Vince asked.

  “It was a crazy night. Every time we stopped for a break I kept imagining rats crawling over me. That or spiders. I couldn’t settle down.” Delphi yawned hugely.

  “You probably have spiders crawling over you every night, considering you’re in the basement,” Vince teased.

  “At least it’s not snakes,” Rosemary said, shivering a little.

  Cleo was snuggled up against her mom and pressed harder into her side at the mention of snakes, which still gave her nightmares. “Yeah, snakes would be bad.”

  Delphi was drifting in and out two hours later when Blake came into the waiting room. “We have a healthy baby boy. Seven pounds, eight ounces and twenty-one inches.” He was practically glowing from happiness.

  Delphi dragged herself from Jeremy’s comfortable embrace and hugged Blake. “Congratulations, Papa. You’re going to be such an adorable pushover of a dad.”

  “I most certainly am not.” He looked indignant. “At least not on the blue moon. He’s so adorable. His eyes are so blue and his hair is this soft peach fuzz.”

  Delphi gave him a kiss on the cheek and made way for the others while she slid back into Jeremy’s arms. “What did you finally decide to name him?” There had been much debate and teasing about naming the baby Raspberry of Clementine or some other botanical name that would be ridiculous on a girl, but out of the question for their little boy.

  “Ash. Ashton Blake, actually, but really just Ash, like the tree.”

  “It’s nice. I like it,” she said.

  “You ready for bed now?” Jeremy asked in a low voice.

  “So beyond ready.”

  “Give it just a few minutes and I’ll grab Gage and we’ll head out of here.”

  “Thanks.” She released Jeremy and gave Cami a hug. “Bet you never thought your baby sister would have a baby this year, did you?”

  “No. But I couldn’t be happier.” Cami’s face was flush with excitement and something else in her eye.

  Delphi narrowed her gaze at Cami and lowered her voice. “Wait. You’re not planning on enlarging the family anytime soon, are you?” It had only been a few weeks since Cami denied being pregnant or any intention to be soon, but something now said differently.

  Cami’s brows lifted. “Like I would admit that tonight of all nights, even if it were true.” Her lips quirked a little and her eyes said what her mouth hadn’t—she was expecting, or she thought she might be.

  Delphi grinned. “Of course you would never be so gauche as to bring it up now. If such a thing were true.”

  “Never.”

  Soon the family was allowed in to see Lana and the baby, though only a few at a time. Delphi oohed and ahhed, and cooed and tried not to think about the baby she and Fallon would have had together if she hadn’t miscarried. She had tried to put that painful part of her past behind her, and had done fine until all of the baby talk came up recently. She wanted a family, wanted something that was hers the way she and Fallon had planned.

  When she and Jeremy exited Lana’s room, they said goodnight to everyone else and headed for Gage’s car. Jonquil opted to stay behind.

  “So no dessert tonight after all?” Gage asked when they were in the car.

  “Sounds like not right away. If I wake up in time for dinner, we’ll call you over for a late dessert to celebrate. Sound okay?” she asked as she snuggled into Jeremy’s side in the back seat, already yawning.

  “Yeah. Sure. You two better not start making out back there or I’m going to pull over to the side of the road and make you stop.” Gage glanced up at them in the rear view mirror.

  “Is he always this strict?” Delphi asked Jeremy, loud enough that Gage would be able to hear.

  “Yep. He’s the bossy one—keeping the resort in order, Vince and me in line, and taking care of everything at home. Without him we’d all be lost.”

  She burrowed her cheek into Jeremy’s shirt, smelling soap and a hint of male musk that was all him. Her eyes drooped for the last time and she fell asleep for the rest of the trip home.

  Jeremy saw Delphi nearly every day for the next week. They had long chats on the phone, hung out with her sisters, went on dates, and squeezed in moments between her appointments and events at the hotel. He was just as glad that they didn’t focus on defining their relationship so he had time to think about what he wanted.

  The three words he’d never spoken to a woman before—at least not since his mother died—had come to the tip of his tongue several times, but he hadn’t said them. He still wasn’t sure what they meant, or if this was real. And if he had to be honest with himself, he was scared.

  His cell phone rang but he didn’t recognize the number. “This is Jeremy.”

  “Hey, it’s Jonquil. We’re having a to-do for Delphi’s birthday on Saturday. I’m not sure how much fun it’ll be, but in case she didn’t invite you, I thought I ought to make sure you knew about it.”

  Jeremy’s brow furrowed. “You’re having a birthday party and you think it’s not going to be fun? Does she hate birthdays that much?” He hadn’t heard word one about Delphi’s birthday, so he was glad Jonquil called, if puzzled about why she’d shut him out.

  “She’s one for privacy, isn’t she? Dad died on her birthday last year. It’s not exactly the best day for any of us, but we’re going to try to celebrate anyway—it’s not fair that she shouldn’t get a celebration just because it sucked in every other way for us.”

  “Okay. I’ll be there. What time?” He wondered why Delphi had never mentioned that her dad died on her birthday. He pushed back from the computer desk where he’d been tweaking photos from a recent wedding. He got the rest of the details from Jonquil and ended the call.

  Why hadn’t Delphi told him about it herself? He debated for a moment, then picked up the phone and called her. “Hey, gorgeous. I wondered if you could peel off for lunch today,” he greeted her when she answered.

  “Hi. I think I have about forty-five minutes. It’s not long enough to go somewhere else, but we could find a quiet seat here in the cafe.”

  “I guess I’ll have to take what I can get. What time is best for you?” He checked his calendar on his computer and verified that her window worked for him too. “I’ll come to your office when I get there.”

  “Great, see you then.”

  He tried not to be anxious to see her, but it did little good. He was always anxious to see her, for one reason or another.

  When he arrived at the hotel nearly an hour later, he greeted the office manager, Gina, waved to Blake through his doorway and stopped at Delphi’s door, not entering the room since she was on the phone.

  She looked up and smiled, waving him in before returning her gaze to the computer screen. “Yes, I have your down for the violets. They’ll be perfect for you and I promise, you’re going to love what Rosemary and Jonquil put together for you. They’re amazing.” She laughed low and throaty and it made him want to lean over the desk and kiss her, but he stayed where he was.

  “Great. I’ll have them send the plans to you to review. Talk to you later.” Delphi hung up, but typed for a moment before looking back up at him. “Sorry, I didn’t plan on the call.”

  “No problem. Can you sneak away now?”

  “Sure.” She stood, grabbing her purse from the drawer beside her and putting her cell phone inside it.

  He studied her outfit, all cool elegance and perfect lines. He didn’t know anything about women’s fashion, but it was obvious she did because she always looked perfect.

  “What?”

  “Still in pants,
I see. Too bad. When will you wear skirts again?” He covered the comment with a cheeky smile.

  She pretended to be annoyed, but her eyes said otherwise. “When my knees are healed up. There’s nothing quite as off-putting as a woman in a skirt with knees that are more scraped up than a six-year-old’s.”

  “I don’t think they’d put me off,” he said, then leaned in for a brief kiss hello. He offered her his hand and she took it, telling Gina they’d just be down in the cafe if anything came up.

  “So what brings you out today?” she asked when they were seated at the cafe.

  “You, of course.”

  “But you didn’t plan ahead?” Her brows lifted.

  “I couldn’t stay away,” he teased, hoping to get a smile from her.

  Instead she looked at him pensively. “I never know what to think when you talk like that. You flirt so easily with women; do you actually mean it?”

  Was she really that uncertain? “Of course I mean it. You think I just flatter everyone I come across?”

  “I’ve heard you flirt with all of my sisters at one time or other—and one of them was engaged to your best friend at the time.” She folded her hands on the tabletop.

  “And I have no doubt every word I said to them was the truth, but I’m not the tiniest bit interested in any of them. Your family is full of fun, funny, beautiful women, and you’re a standout example of that. You’re the one I’m with and you’re too smart to fall for flattery.”

  She smiled a little. “Just because you would never cross your best friend, and you’re afraid of Joel—”

  “Any man in their right mind would be afraid to cross Joel, so that’s hardly a qualifier, but you don’t actually think that I’m dating you by default, do you?” He reached for her hand on the table, but was interrupted by the server, who brought them water glasses and menus.

  Before Jeremy could open the topic again, Delphi’s phone rang, her brow wrinkled and she apologized. “Sorry. I really ought to get this.”