Chapter Eighteen
Exhaustion had the best of him, but sleep did not. Russell lay in his bed, next to Chelsea, who curled up to him. Lucas sweetly snored in his little bed.
He thought back to the Christmas he’d gotten his first dirt bike, or the one where his father had bought him his first rifle. Until that very moment, those might have been his favorite Christmas memories. All of that was about to change.
On Christmas Eve, he’d become a father. Sure, not legally yet, but it happened on Christmas Eve. The woman he’d always loved agreed to marry him, though he hadn't convinced her that a Christmas wedding was possible.
A smile came to his lips in the dark. She underestimated him and those he knew. Of course, it was midnight, but he wondered what he could accomplish.
His bedroom door opened, and a sliver of light fell over him. “Mom?”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to wake you,” she whispered. “Just doing some Santa duty as I’d promised Chelsea. I wanted to make sure he was asleep.”
“Yeah, they’re both bushed. Help me into my chair. I’m awake.”
She tiptoed into the room as Russell swung his legs over the side of the bed. He balanced on his good leg as she moved his chair into place. He felt strong at the moment. That was a nice change, he thought.
His mother held his chair until he sat down and then she pushed him out of the room without disturbing either of them.
The lights from the Christmas tree illuminated the room. It was no secret that his mother would spend hours there, during Christmas, and just watch the lights twinkle.
“She had all these gifts for him?” Russell asked as he saw the presents under the tree.
“Only a few, but I couldn’t help myself. I adore him, Russell. I had to add a few things. I hope she’ll be okay with that.” He smiled, and she noticed. “You think she’ll be mad?”
“No, Mom. She won’t be mad. Can you sit for a moment? I want to talk to you.”
A flash of concern masked her face. She moved quickly to sit on the sofa, and he moved toward her.
“Everything’s okay?”
“Everything’s perfect.” He took a moment to pull his thoughts together. “Last night, Lucas called me Daddy.”
She pressed her hands together and put them to her lips. “That’s precious.”
“I’ve never had anything move me so much. But the fact is, I love him. I love them both.”
“I know. We all love them. You know that, right?”
“I do. That’s why I did what I did.” He leaned in toward his mother. “I asked her to marry me, and let me adopt Lucas.”
She moved in toward him. “And?”
“She said yes.”
Those were the magic words that set his mother into a crying frenzy, and he couldn’t even move from his chair to go to her.
“Russell, I’m so happy. Oh, you have no idea how happy this makes me.”
“I have an idea.” He eased back. “I asked her to marry me on Christmas—well today.”
“Not very practical.”
He laughed now. “That’s what she said. But she still agreed. However, I have enough connections, and I’ll bet I could throw a wedding today.”
“You really want to do that? You can’t get a license until tomorrow.”
“It’s not about the license. It’s about the commitment. Sure, I’ll make it legal, and then I’ll start going forward with the adoption too.”
“It’s midnight on Christmas. How are you going to pull this off?”
“I’m about to text my cousins and my brothers and get this all put together. Are you with me? Will you help me?”
“Honey, this is the best thing. But you’re sure you want to do this now? Her parents aren’t here. You’re not out of the chair and walking.” She gestured to the obvious.
“This is a perfect time. This means it’s all about us and nothing else.”
“Anything you want. Tell me what I can do.”
“Don’t tell her. I want it to be a surprise. But let’s make a list.”
~*~
The sun was up when Chelsea opened her eyes, and Lucas was in the bed next to her, not Russell. She looked toward the door and noticed that it was closed.
She sat up and whispered, “Russell?” Wondering if he were in the bathroom, but the door was open, and the light was off.
As she stirred, Lucas sat up next to her and rubbed his eyes. He crawled into her arms and rested there. These were the moments she’d cherish forever. She never knew she could love someone as much as she loved him.
“Where’s Daddy?” he asked with his voice full of sleep.
She took a breath and decided from that moment on she’d never worry about correcting him. “Let’s go find him. Maybe Santa came to visit again too,” she offered, hoping that Glenda had worked her magic in the middle of the night.
Knowing that she wasn’t alone in the house with Lucas, she quickly dressed by finding a pair of sweatpants, a clean T-shirt, and a bra. She gave her hair a quick brushing and piled it in a knot atop her head.
Lucas stood at the door, his hand on the knob, and waited, more patiently than she would have at that age.
“Okay, let’s go look for…” she sucked in a breath, “Daddy.”
“Daddy!” He flung open the door and ran down the hall yelling, “Daddy! Daddy!”
They turned and walked through the kitchen, which was empty. The scent of fresh coffee filled Chelsea’s nose and she wished to stop, but she followed.
He circled through the dining room and out to the living room where Glenda, Everett, Ben, Gerald, and Russell sat in anticipation.
He hurried to Russell. “Daddy!” He climbed into his lap without help. “Santa came.”
Chelsea looked around the room and the expressions associated with Lucas referring to Russell as his daddy. Everett had a look of deep concern, and she couldn’t blame him for that. She was sure she’d too have that same look. Glenda already had tears in her eyes. There wasn’t any disappointment or concern there. His brothers, on the other hand, were bewildered.
Russell, however, smiled from ear to ear.
“Look at that. Santa did come back last night. Do you want to open presents?”
Lucas nodded enthusiastically and climbed down from his lap and moved straight for the tree.
“I need my camera,” Glenda jumped up. “Give me one second, kiddo.”
She moved to Chelsea, taking her by the hand, and tugging her along into the kitchen with her.
“I thought you could use some coffee. I could use some coffee. Oh, he’s precious,” she continued. “I hope you don’t mind. I couldn’t help myself. I added a few presents under the tree. I just love having him here and I…”
Chelsea moved to her and wrapped her in a hug. “Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”
When she pulled back, Glenda was blinking away tears that broke through and rolled down her cheek.
“He told me you said you’d marry him,” Glenda admitted. “I’m so happy, Chelsea. You’ve always brought out the best in Russ.”
“I worry that it’s not me that does that.”
They both turned their head when they heard Lucas squeal from the other room.
“They need each other,” Glenda assured her. “He’ll be the best daddy he can be to him.”
“I know he will. It only makes me love him more.”
Glenda pulled down two coffee mugs, filled them, and handed her one. “We should get back out there. If he’s like my boys, he’s going to explode.”
Chelsea laughed as she followed Glenda to the other room.
The first thing she noticed was that Russell had moved from his wheelchair to the sofa. She wondered if that was even comfortable for him, sinking so low into the cushions. His leg was propped up, and he looked anything but uncomfortable. He looked at peace, and he hadn’t had that look since he’d come back into her life.
“Come sit down. He’s at the end of his patience
,” Russell patted the seat next to him and Chelsea took it.
The plethora of gifts from Santa had been torn open and gleefully embraced within minutes. All of the precious moments were caught on Glenda’s camera, and Chelsea watched it all unfold, wrapped in the arms of the man she loved.
There had never been a better Christmas, ever.
“I need to get this cleaned up and help you with Christmas dinner,” Chelsea began to stand, and Glenda held a hand up to her to stop her.
“Susan is having Christmas dinner at Lydia’s event hall in town. A little more formal.”
Chelsea bit down on her lip. “How formal? I didn’t pack anything nice. And the dress Pearl brought isn’t formal, will it work?”
Glenda laughed. “That’s the best part about having family in the retail business. Gia has a dress for me that she picked up in Lucca when she was there last. I can’t wait to see it. I’ll bet she can find you something, or even better, we can see if Pearl has something.”
“I can’t ask them to go to work on Christmas, so I can have something to wear to dinner.”
“Yes, you can. That’s what family is for,” she said and hurried away.
Chelsea turned to Russell, who sat there grinning at her. “You might as well just go with it. She’s not going to back down.”
“I feel bad. I don’t have gifts for anyone.”
“Chels,” he lifted her chin with his finger. “Don’t you see? Your being here has been the best Christmas gift of all—for all of us.”
They both turned to see Lucas holding a toy toward Everett, and Everett slid from his chair to the floor to play with him.
“He belongs here, Chels. And so do you.”
Chapter Nineteen
Russell’s mood had plummeted when Esther, the nurse Karen had said would be coming by, arrived.
It was Christmas, so her demeanor and bedside manner weren’t what Karen’s were. She didn’t want to be there, and it showed in everything she did.
“Whose bed is this in here?” she snapped at him.
“My son’s,” he replied as if he’d been saying it since Lucas had been born.
“You can’t rest with him in here.”
“Oh, I do just fine with him in here. I’m better with him in here,” he stated firmly, and Esther gave a loud humph.
He didn’t like the way she directed Chelsea while they went through his physical therapy. And he was damn glad that his mother had taken Lucas out to the kitchen to play with his coloring books from Santa.
Esther was there an hour, and by the time she left, Russell was exhausted.
“Can I do something about who comes out here to train you? I didn’t like how she talked to you,” he groaned as he watched her pick up the room after physical therapy.
“There are only so many people who can train me, and you have to admit this is an unusual situation. I should be in a clinic, not in a private house. I get to do this because your mother had the right connections.”
“I suppose, but she made me feel worse.”
Chelsea smiled and moved to him. “It was one hour out of your day. It’s all going to be okay now, and tomorrow you go in, and they’ll look to see how you’re doing. My guess is, you’ll come home with a little less hardware,” she joked scanning a hand over him like a magician.
“I’d be happy to have a lot less of this crap. I never thought I’d be so excited to pee on my own.”
She laughed a hearty laugh at that. “That's what happens when your truck impales you. Considering that accident could have ended so differently…”
“I know. I’m lucky to be alive,” his voice dipped. Russell reached for her hand. “Why do you think someone did this? Sure, I talk crap, but the way Phillip tells it, someone tried to kill me.”
She cupped his face in her hands. “I don’t know. It’s all too coincidental with the truck having been stolen, my house having been broken into, and my ex on parole.”
“Are you scared?”
She shook her head. “I haven’t been since I walked in the front door of this house. I don’t understand it all. All I know is I want it to end, and I want you healthy so we can start this new life. If it’s all just been coincidence throwing us together again, I’ll take it.”
“My mom would call it fate.”
“Fate then,” she whispered and kissed him gently. “Tomorrow we’ll talk to Phillip. He was going to study the surveillance again. Maybe he found something. We’ll have him check on Dominic too, just to make sure he’s still in Texas.”
“And you think this will make it all go away. We’re going to find out that it just happened I was run off the road in a stolen truck that had been in your garage?”
“I want to think that.”
“One day at a time.”
“It’s what we’ve got, right? I should check on Lucas. He’s going to need a bath before we head to town.”
Appreciating the view as she walked away, he thought about the moment when he could get on the floor and give Lucas his bath and tuck him in. He could never have imagined that he would crave such things.
His cell phone buzzed on the nightstand, and he pushed himself toward it. Phillip Smythe’s name appeared with a text message.
Fiona Cleary, Chelsea’s ex-mother-in-law, was picked up in Athens last night on DUI. She said she’d come from Macon, which means she’s been nearby. I’ll need to talk to Chelsea tomorrow, and you too. I won’t mention it tonight. Just wanted you to know.
He held the phone in his hand rereading the message over and over. So perhaps Dominic Cleary wasn’t there, but his mother was. She’d had a hand in Lucas’s kidnapping too. This wasn’t sitting with him very well.
The more he thought about it, perhaps she’d have reason to have run him off the road. After all, Chelsea had broken ties with him only shortly before she left with Dominic. He texted back.
Did you run prints from the truck to match her?
He waited until Phillip responded.
Working on that. Not going to talk about it today. You have plans. I’ll see you tonight.
Russell bit down on the inside of his cheek. If he wasn’t going to go into it, why did Phillip bring it up? He seemed to have a habit of doing such things.
The highlight of Russell’s morning had been that Chelsea had given him his shower. His lewd comments and immature groping of her, while she worked, had only aggravated her, but he could read her eyes. She was merely trying to be professional, as there was no need to get sexually worked up when there was nothing they could do about it.
Once she’d helped him get dressed, she was busy elsewhere with Lucas and Russell’s mother. It was a good thing, too. His phone hadn’t stopped buzzing since he’d put the first text into Susan at one o'clock that morning.
Chelsea walked into the office where Russell was scoping out houses on the computer. He quickly changed over his screen to Facebook. There was no need to let her in on the house search yet. They had other things going on.
“Your mom wants me to go into town with her to pick up her dress and see if Gia or Pearl have something I could wear. I've never had a Christmas dinner so fancy I had to get a dress.”
“My mom does Christmas up right.”
“I know. I just…” She blew out a breath. “So anyway, Lucas and I are heading into town with your mom. Your dad, Ben, and Gerald are coming later, and you’re coming with them.”
“Sounds like a plan. We can take Lucas with us.”
He saw her shoulders tighten. She wasn’t ready for that yet, and he could understand.
“He’s fine with us.” She walked around behind the desk and kissed him gently, and then looked at the computer. “Facebook? You know, we’re not friends on Facebook.”
“You don’t say?”
“Find me. Let’s be friends.”
He searched her name, and when her picture came up, he looked at the profile. “How old was he in this picture?” he asked of the photo of her and Lucas on her cover
picture.
“He was six weeks old.”
“He looks just like you.”
She smiled still looking at the picture. “It was right before he was kidnapped.”
Russell squeezed her hand. “He was that little?”
Chelsea nodded. “He’ll never remember it, and for that, I’m grateful.”
There wasn’t anything he could say now. He needed to show her that she and Lucas could trust him forever.
Russell clicked on the button to add her as a friend on Facebook and a smile displaced the frown on her lips.
“I accept,” she said with a laugh.
“Good. We’ll change our relationship status too—as soon as you officially accept my friendship.”
She laughed and kissed him again. “I’ll meet you in town. Merry Christmas, Russell.”
“Merry Christmas.”
Chapter Twenty
Chelsea hadn’t been to Gia’s new store in the building of which Lydia Morgan and Pearl Walker-Morgan were the owners. She’d heard many things about it. Pearl had told her once it was a wedding mecca, and that it was.
There was an event center, a bridal store, flower shop, bakery, photographer, and of course Gia’s gift store. It was fantastic.
The lights were on in Pearl’s bridal store, but nowhere else. The sign in the window still said closed, but Glenda walked straight to the door and pulled it open.
Chelsea followed, picking Lucas up and placing him on her hip so he wouldn’t touch anything.
Pearl and Gia moved to them and hugged each of them, including Lucas, who hid his face in his mother’s neck.
Walker Revenge (The Walker Family Series Book 5) Page 13