“That’s the only thing that matters to me, honey. You and that baby you’re carryin’.” He brought her hand to his lips, kissing it, before he said, “You’ve got yourself a good man. I don’t know that I’ve ever told you that before, but I couldn’t have picked a better husband for you if I tried.”
Alisa smiled. “No doubt about it, he’s the best. The love of my life…”
Trey glanced at a picture on the bedside table. Alisa was fourteen, and she and Sierra went to one of Trey’s concerts. The three of them were backstage after the show and a friend captured a candid shot of them laughing at a shared joke. “You and your mama have been the very best part of my life. I want you to know that.”
“I do know. You’ve shown us every day, in every way.” Alisa closed her eyes, bit her lip, and tried to keep from crying out. Where the hell is Maria?
“You okay?” Trey asked, leaning forward.
“I’m fine,” she said, anxious to put his mind at ease. “You were saying?”
“I worried about you for a long time…” He paused as though he wanted to consider his next words carefully. “First with the modelin’ thing, then when that bastard cheated on you. You were so unhappy, so lost. I thought you married Liam to fill some kind of void, but it didn’t take me long to realize you’d found the real deal with him.”
Alisa smiled at her father’s assessment of her marriage. “How could you tell?”
“You guys looked at each other the same way your mama and me did. Hell, still do.” He grinned before his smile fell. “I’ve been a lot of places, met a lot of people, but I knew only one person could be everything I needed. That was Sierra.”
It used to embarrass Alisa to see her parents kissing and hugging like teenagers, especially in front of her friends, but now she realized how lucky she’d been to grow up in a home with two parents who loved each other as much as they did.
“Baby, the reason I’m tellin’ you this is because I don’t wanna see you make the same mistakes I made.”
“What do you mean?” Another contraction wracked her body, and it was even more intense than the last. “Sweet Jesus…” she whispered.
Trey glanced at his diamond wristwatch. “Where the hell is that midwife? She should be here by now.”
“Relax, she’ll be here soon.” At least Alisa prayed she would. She didn’t know how much longer her baby would wait to make his or her grand entrance. “You were saying something about mistakes?”
“When your mama and I first married, I got so caught up in bein’ the next big thing in country music that I lost sight of what really mattered—our marriage.”
Alisa knew her parents had divorced after they lost their first child, but Trey never discussed the details with her. “But that’s all behind you now. You learned your lesson.”
“Yeah, but I sure wish I hadn’t had to learn it the hard way. Those five years without Sierra were the toughest of my life. I was drinkin’ every day, goin’ from one party to the next ’cause I didn’t want anyone to know how bad I was hurtin’. Hell, I couldn’t even write music.”
Music had been a part of Trey’s life for so long. Alisa had trouble imagining how difficult it must have been for him when his gift was suddenly taken away. “How’d you get it back?”
He smiled. “The only way I knew how—by gettin’ your mama back. I knew that my life would never make sense without her. She brought out the best in me and never judged me for the worst. She made me believe I could be a better man.”
“Why are you telling me all of this now?” Alisa asked. “Not that I’m complaining. I could certainly use the distraction.”
“Honey, your life’s about to change in a big way. I just want you to remember what your mama and I went through.”
“You’re not saying you think that could happen to me and Liam, are you?” She couldn’t even conceive of a life that didn’t revolve around her husband and family.
“I know you’ve got big plans to expand the boutique, and I think that’s great. I’m all for followin’ your dreams. At the end of the day, you don’t wanna feel as though you left anything on the table…”
“But?”
“Take it from someone who came out on the other side of makin’ the biggest mistake of his life. Put your family first, ’cause nothing else matters if you don’t have them.”
Liam appeared at the doorway with Maria standing just behind him.
Alisa looked up at her father. “I expected you to come in here and try to talk me out of having the baby here. Why didn’t you?”
Trey brushed a fingertip over her cheek as he looked into her eyes. “My baby girl’s all grown up. It’s time for me to let her make her own decisions. Just remember one thing, sweetheart. I’ll always be here for you. Anything you need, anytime, you just call on me.”
Chapter Five
Alisa had been in labor for several hours. She was exhausted, and Liam was getting nervous. What if…
“Hey, Dad,” Abby said, slipping an arm around Liam’s waist. “How’s Alisa?”
Liam had just stepped outside for a breath of fresh air while Sierra and Lena sat by her bedside, helping her to breathe through the endless contractions.
“She’s getting tired.” He kissed his daughter on the top of her head. “It’s been a long night, for all of us. Why don’t you and your nana head on home? We’ll call you later.”
“No way! I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
Liam slipped his jacket off and wrapped it around his daughter. It was cold, with a rare snowfall gracing the ground, but he barely felt the chill. He felt numb. “You’re really excited about becoming a big sister, honey?”
It was just the two of them for so long, until Alisa came into their lives. Now his wife and daughter were as close as any mother and daughter he’d ever known and Abby finally had the female role model she’d craved her whole life. Liam was grateful they formed a strong bond, but he worried about all of the changes he forced on his daughter during a tumultuous time in her young life.
“Are you kidding? I can’t wait.”
Liam pulled her into his side and rested his chin on the top of her head.
“I’m so glad you have Alisa in your life now. I was so worried about you… you know, being alone when I went away to college.” She tipped her head up and smiled. “Now I don’t have to worry. You have Alisa to take care of you and a new baby to spoil.”
“You’ll always be my baby.” He brushed her hair off her forehead and his heart ached with the knowledge she was growing up. The day would come when some other man would become the center of her world and he would be relegated to the background as she began a new life with him. “You know that, don’t you?”
She smiled as she turned to look at the trees capped with snow and clear lights. “I know.”
“Have you spoken to Colin lately?”
Colin’s family owned the property next to their vacation home in Barbados and Liam suspected his daughter’s relationship with him was evolving faster than he wanted it to. She was too young to get serious with anyone, even a kid they’d known for years. He wasn’t ready to let her go. Alisa reminded him that he didn’t have a choice; his daughter was growing up. But for a man who dominated boardrooms and brokered multi-million dollar deals, complacency wasn’t an option, especially when it came to the people he loved.
“Yeah, he called earlier to wish me a merry Christmas. He was wondering whether we would make it to Barbados over the holidays. They’re going to be there in a few days.”
“Are you disappointed that we won’t make it this year?” That was their tradition when Liam was single, one of the rare times he was able to take a few consecutive days off and spend some quality time with his daughter.
She shrugged. “Not really. Things are different now. I get that.”
He sensed the hesitation in her voice, and he knew this conversation was long overdue, though he didn’t know how to broach the subject or prepare himself for the
potential fallout. The last thing he wanted was to create a rift between them, especially with Abby living so far away.
“Come here,” he said, taking her hand and leading her back into the house. He led her down the back hallway to Trey’s empty study. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.” He sat down on the leather couch in front of the fireplace and invited her to join him. Turning toward her, he asked, “Honey, I need you to be honest with me about something. Do you have any resentment about me giving up so much to build a life here with Alisa?”
“What are you talking about? Why would I be resentful? I want you to be happy.”
He reached for her hand. “I wish I could have been there for you growing up so many times, but I had the company to run and…” He sighed. “There were never enough hours in the day to get everything done.”
“I know that.” She released his hand and reached for a cushion, holding it against her body. “I’m not gonna lie. I got lonely sometimes. I wished you were around more, but I knew why you worked so hard, to give me the best. And you did. I’ve had the kind of life most kids only dream about.”
Liam felt a pang of regret for all of the years they could never get back. He’d trade every cent he’d ever earned if he could re-live his daughter’s childhood and make different choices. “But we both know material things don’t matter, not in the big scheme of things.”
Abby grinned. “Maybe not, but I wouldn’t turn down a car, you know, if you’re looking for ideas for my next birthday.”
Liam chuckled, relieved when he saw that playful glint in her eye. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Dad, I know you feel guilty you weren’t there more, but you don’t have to. No one’s childhood is perfect. Do I wish I had a different mother, one who cared? Sure, but that’s life.” She looked into the blazing fire a long time before she said, “I learned so much from you growing up. When you want something, you go after it until you get it. Why do you think I wouldn’t give up on the idea of going to art school? I am your daughter, after all.”
Liam set his arm on the back of the couch and tugged a lock of her hair. “That you are. I want to do things right this time, Abby. I’ve learned a lot from the mistakes I made with you—”
“That’s just it, Dad. You didn’t make any mistakes. You made choices, and they were the right ones. You made me the person I am and I love you for that.” She leaned her head against the back of the couch and looked at him. “I know this baby is gonna get a different father than I had, because you’re a different person than you were back then.” She grinned. “Thank God.”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Alisa did what I thought no woman would be able to… She reined in the great Liam Bryson.” She grinned when he frowned at her assessment. “And I’m glad. Alisa could never have loved the guy you were back then.”
He thought about it a minute before he asked, “What do you mean? She fell in love with the man I was when we met.”
“She also left that guy, remember?”
Liam hated thinking about that time. He’d married Alisa on impulse in Las Vegas, fallen in love with her virtually overnight, and he almost drove her away with his compulsive need to put his company at the top of his priority list. When he had a heart attack that almost claimed his life, he realized he didn’t want to live that way anymore, and nothing, not even the company he spent his life building, was worth losing the only woman he ever loved.
“How can I forget?”
“I’m so glad you came to your senses and realized what’s important… before it was too late.” She looked him in the eye. “You’ve never talked to me about your father much. What it was like for you growing up?”
Liam didn’t like to dwell on the past, and his father wasn’t a man who’d earned the title. “My old man was busy building his own business. I didn’t see him much.” He tried to conceal the bitterness when he said, “It was probably for the best.”
“Nana’s talked to me about him,” she said quietly. “She used to say that you were so much like him that it scared her.” She held a hand up when he would have protested. “Not as ruthless or nasty, but you were so focused, so determined to succeed.”
“I had to be, honey.” He didn’t want to sound defensive, but he knew he did. If there was one man he didn’t want to be compared to, it was his father. “I would never have achieved what I have if I hadn’t been driven.”
“I know that. I’m just glad that you’ve found some balance now.” She smiled. “It makes me happy to see you so happy.”
“Thanks, sweetheart.” He leaned over to kiss her forehead when someone knocked on the door. “Come in.”
Trey stuck his head in the door and smiled. “Looks like it’s showtime.”
Liam took a deep breath and said a silent prayer.
“Everything’s gonna be fine,” Abby whispered. “I promise.”
Ryan and Evan sat in the basement watching sports re-runs on the big screen. While everyone rallied around Alisa, offering their support, the Spencer brothers knew they had nothing to contribute, so they decided to stay out of the way until it was time to meet the new arrival.
“You okay?” Ryan asked, shooting a sidelong glance at his brother.
“Not really.” Evan tipped his head back against the suede sectional and closed his eyes. His life was spiraling out of control. The woman who’d been his anchor for so long was slipping away, and he had no idea how to get her back.
“You wanna talk about it?”
Ryan had a reputation as being a little wild and out-of-control at times, but those who knew him appreciated the fact he was fiercely loyal and loved deeply. “I don’t even know what to say.”
“Is it about Erika?” He shrugged when his brother looked at him. “It looked like things were pretty tense between you two upstairs.”
“She’s not happy, Ry. She’s talkin’ about leavin’ me.” Even getting the words out was difficult, much less contemplating how losing her would impact his life.
“Shit,” Ryan said, releasing a slow hiss of air between his teeth. “Anything you can do to change her mind?”
“Not unless I’m willin’ to change, and I don’t know how the hell to do that.” His head started pounding that familiar staccato that usually meant he’d been so busy working he forgot to eat, drink, or sleep.
“You can’t really blame her, man.” Ryan looked apologetic when he said, “I know it sucks, but you’ve been workin’ crazy hours ever since you took over as president of Titan. It doesn’t leave a lot of time for a relationship.”
Evan knew his brother was right. They hadn’t made love in weeks, and with every passing day, the rift between them grew wider and he had no idea how to close the gap. “Maybe I should ask her to move in with me.” He tossed a cushion at his brother when he smirked at the suggestion. “What? It could work.”
“How would that change anything? You’re at the office by seven and you don’t get home until nine most nights, right?”
Fourteen-hour days, seven days a week had become par for the course since he’d stepped into his father’s shoes. He knew he had to work twice as hard as the old man to prove he was half as good. Luc Spencer was a legend in this town, a star-maker, and the big-name artists on their label were antsy ever since they learned he was stepping down. Earning their trust and proving to them they still had a home at Titan Records was Evan’s job. That required time and patience, a commitment that seemed to overshadow everything else in his life at the moment.
“It might give us a couple of hours in the evenin’.” To regain the intimacy we’ve lost and make her fall in love with me again. That’s what scared Evan the most. The past several months, every time he looked Erika in the eye, he saw the words she seemed reluctant to say. She didn’t love him anymore, and that terrified him because he knew without that, they had nothing left to fight for.
“I guess it’s worth a shot.” Ryan glanced at the TV scree
n when Aiden Cooper, his good friend and Brianna’s brother, flashed across the screen.
“I don’t even know if she’d go for it. It feels like she’s already given up on us.”
“Did she say that?”
“She didn’t have to. I’ve known her a long time. I know what she’s thinkin’, how she’s feelin’.” He sighed. “To tell you the truth, I think she’s just waitin’ till the holidays are over to let me down easy.”
“There’s no way around it. If she dumps you, we both know you’re gonna fall hard.”
Evan covered his face with his hands, trying to control the emotion he knew was evident to the man who knew him almost as well as he knew himself. “What the hell am I gonna do? I can’t lose her.”
“I wish I knew, man.” Ryan reached for his beer bottle and brought it to his lips. “You can’t change who you are. Everyone says you’re just like the old man was in the early days. Maybe you should talk to him about it.”
Evan knew there was no solution. He had a career he loved that took over his life, leaving no room for the other love of his life. He could make noise about making more time for her and finding a healthy balance, but he didn’t know if that was even possible. The thought of letting her go to find what he couldn’t give her twisted him up in knots. He’d heard the saying about setting the person you love free and having faith they’d come back to you, but his every instinct told him that if Erika walked out on him, it would be the last time.
Chapter Six
Alisa had insisted Liam take a break from his bedside vigil to get a breath of fresh air and stretch his legs, but now that the moment was here, she just needed him by her side.
Liam walked into the room just as Maria instructed her to push with the next contraction and Alisa finally felt like she could breathe. Something about her husband’s presence, the solid grip of his hand holding hers, made her believe that everything would be okay.
Holiday Homecoming (Next Generation - Special Edition) Page 4