Dominic and his parents had left a long time ago, since his lawyer dad had to be at work today and Dominic had baseball practice. Cayden wished he could be at practice instead of in this stupid hospital with his stupid baby sister.
He snuck a look at her, cuddled in his mom’s arms.
Coach Tristan stood at the head of his mom’s bed, and he kept giving his mom and the baby a goofy smile—like he’d had too much beer or something. Miss Donna and Miss Georgia had gone home for a little while, but now they were back, along with a whole bunch of other ladies Cayden didn’t know.
Nobody even looked at him.
He could just stand in the corner for the rest of his life, starving to death, and no one would even notice—especially not his mom who’d never once loved him as much as she now loved his stupid sister.
“Cayden,” Tristan said, “how about me and you head down to the cafeteria for some scrambled eggs and bacon.”
“I’m not hungry.” Cayden refused to even look that way. He hated all of them for loving that baby and not him.
“Honey,” his mom said, “please get something to eat. I know you had one of the cookies Miss Georgia brought, but I’d feel better if you at least had a little healthy protein.”
“I don’t even know what that is and anyway, even if I did, I don’t want it!” He stormed past all the stupid ladies to go stand in the hall.
A few minutes later, Coach Tristan came out of his mom’s room. “Got something on your mind?”
“No.”
The hall was crowded with a bunch of people wearing blue and green doctor-looking suits. Lots of them pushed machines and wheeled carts and stuff.
“Well, that’s good.” Tristan put his hand on Cayden’s shoulder, guiding him through all the crazy machine drivers. “Because I’ve got a ton of stuff I’d like to talk about. Plus, I’m starving. How about you just sit with me—I won’t make you eat anything—and then you can give me advice on a couple things?”
“I s’pose that’d be all right.”
“Cool. Bet you can’t beat me to the elevator!”
* * *
WITH GEORGIA AND DONNA OFF at a Shreveport nursery they’d both been wanting to visit, and Tristan and Cayden sharing a late breakfast, Brynn finally had a moment alone to gaze at her baby in wonder.
Naming her Mackenzie had been a no-brainer. Even if the commissioner hadn’t called, Brynn had wanted to honor the happy times she remembered with Mack. Now that she knew none of the horrible things she’d believed about him were true, that didn’t mean a magical rewind button could be pressed. Former friends couldn’t take back indescribably hurtful actions and words. Her mind’s eye couldn’t stop seeing the morning she’d woke to get the paper only to have the front yard literally covered in slime from thrown eggs. The entire town of St. Louis had hated her for Mack’s actions and hadn’t hesitated to show that hate in an assortment of creative forms.
The commissioner had seemed to think the fans would instantly forgive and forget, catapulting Mack’s memory to its rightful position in baseball glory.
Brynn wasn’t so sure...
Refusing to cry on this special day, she focused on the positives in her new life. Most especially the baby, her new friends and Tristan. He’d been a rock. Buying her dry clothing at the batting park, then finding her a hospital, always watching after Cayden. Considering the hard-line stance she’d taken on vowing to be independent, in the past few weeks she’d done a one-eighty. There was no way she could’ve pulled off Cayden’s birthday party without help from Tristan and Vivian and Sean and even Miss Georgia. She even owed thanks to Coach Jason for letting Cayden on the team. Most of all, though, Tristan had made the most profound change in her life. How would she ever repay him?
Mackenzie opened her eyes and though Brynn had hoped her baby would have her daddy’s dark hair and brown eyes, she had her mom’s blue-eyes and the red hair to go along with them.
A knock sounded on the door. Tristan poked his head through. “Everyone decent?”
“We sure are.” Her pulse raced just seeing his dear face.
“Cayden and I found a playground we’ll be able to see from here, so I left him down there to work off steam. Hope that’s okay?”
She nodded, guilty to feel oddly relieved. He’d been the only one not happy to meet Mackenzie. “How’s he doing? He’s never made it a secret he wants nothing to do with his baby sister, but the dark look on his face?” She shuddered. “He scared me. In the past year, I thought I’d been through just about everything a woman can, but this...”
“Give him time.” Tristan cautiously approached the bed, skimming his hand over Mackenzie’s red curls. “He’s afraid you don’t have enough love in you for two kids. And since everyone’s making a fuss over the baby, he assumes she wins your heart.”
“That’s crazy.”
“We both know that, but the kid’s only a couple days past seven. Who really knows what’s going through his head?” At the windows, Tristan said, “Seeing him out there playing, he looks like his usual self. With time, he’ll come around.”
“Hope so.” She stared at her baby for a few seconds more, then to Tristan’s strong back. Heat rose in her cheeks at the memory of him so effortlessly lifting her into his arms to set her in an E.R. wheelchair. The more she was around him, the more she really did believe he could do anything. Did that stem from his SEAL training or had he always been that way? Forcing a breath, she said, “I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but I really can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for me and Cayden. Especially last night, you were a godsend in the truest sense of the word.”
He waved off her compliment. “Anyone in my position would’ve done the same. Shoot, the sanest thing for me to do would’ve been calling an ambulance.”
Mackenzie had drifted off to sleep, her impossibly long eyelashes sweeping chubby cheeks. “No. The whole event was unsettling enough. Riding alone in an ambulance would’ve been too much. W-when I had Cayden, once he heard I was in labor, Mack never left my side. This time around, though Georgia and your mom and Vivian were sweet to stay with me, it was hardly the same. As crazy as it sounds, part of me wished for you to be in here, holding my hand for support.”
He again stood beside her. “Why is that crazy?”
“I hardly know you. Yet, a part of me feels I’ve known you my whole life and...” Emotions got the better of her and silent tears streamed down her cheeks. “I don’t even know what I’m saying. Everything feels out of control. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled Mackenzie’s safe and healthy and I’ll soon be back to my normal energy level, but that call from Ted Stevens threw me off balance. Just when I’d figured out how to live my life without Mack—hating him for all the horrible things he’d done—now I feel like Ted wants me to be the perfect grieving widow for the fans. No, his exact words were, ‘I need you to put on a brave face for all of baseball.’ Like if I could support what happened to my husband, then fans could put aside their disgust over the whole cheating scandal and get back to the business of filling seats. Buying beer and hot dogs.”
Tristan took too long to reply. Was he thinking her a total nutcase? “You’ve said a lot about what this Ted guy wants, but Brynn, what do you want?”
“Honestly?” she laughed. “I just want to raise my kids in peace and never have to think of this whole sordid mess again.”
“Then do it.”
“You make it sound so easy. I thought I hated Mack, but now I’m not sure what I feel.”
Then there’s you... In such a short time, Tristan had done so much for her and Cayden—and now, Mackenzie. If he hadn’t been there to help find her medical care, she hated to think what might’ve happened.
“Look...” His voice softened and he edged closer, as if he wanted to reach out to her, perhaps hold her hand. Instea
d, he held his respectable distance. Which made her irrationally sad. “Just my opinion, but I think you’re asking an unreasonable amount of strength and mental clarity from yourself. You just had a baby. That’s enough to keep any woman’s emotions in flux for a damned long time. Before that, you lost your husband to a violent death played out in front of you at your own home. Toss in your forced move to Louisiana, all the crap Mack’s sting operation put you through, and I’d say you’re entitled to a nice, long nervous breakdown.”
She laughed through silent tears. “You’re so good to me. I can’t imagine what your wife was thinking to have ever let you go.” The moment the thought left her mouth, Brynn regretted it. “I’m sorry. The reason for your divorce is none of my business.”
Though she’d have understood if he suddenly remembered an appointment for which he was late, Tristan didn’t so much as flinch at her question. “No need for an apology. My divorce was my fault. Andrea couldn’t take my lifestyle. I was never home and when I was, my body might’ve been with her, but my mind was already on my next mission. Back then, the action was like a drug. Only when I came home from a six-month stint in Afghanistan to find my house empty, save for a note on the counter, did I realize how much I’d taken for granted.” Shaking his head, he stared out the window toward Cayden and his newfound playground friends. “Jack had only been two. Where he was concerned, I took Andrea’s leaving as a wake-up call. I started spending a lot of time with him—tried making things right. With Andrea, too. But she wasn’t having it.” He shrugged. “By the time she decided to remarry, Jack and I were tight. Her decision to take him from Baywood—just twenty minutes north of my place in Virginia Beach—to California hurt me worse than her initial leaving. It finally made me understand the two of us never had what it took to go the distance.”
Not knowing what to say, Brynn cast a faint smile. “On the flip side, Mack and I rarely ever argued, but look how that turned out. Maybe the real answer is some things just aren’t meant to be?”
He sighed. “Guess so. Not that it makes any of it easier to bear.” Leaning in close to the baby, he said in a silly voice, “Perfect beauties like you are who make life worth living.”
“You’ve got all this time off,” Brynn said, “why don’t you go to Jack? Set up an official visitation schedule for his school holidays.”
“Think Andrea would go for it?” Brynn hadn’t known Tristan long, but the man she already respected didn’t back down from anything. She hated this look of defeat that’d settled over him in regard to his son.
“Why wouldn’t she? I can’t imagine any mother who loves her child not wanting him to share a meaningful relationship with his father.”
“I don’t know...” He was back to staring out the window at Cayden. “We’ve got a break in the game schedule coming in a few weeks. Maybe I’ll plan something then.”
* * *
“I HOPE THIS ONE’S ALL RIGHT.” Donna checked the buckles on the car seat she and Georgia had selected at a Shreveport baby superstore.
“It’s perfect,” Brynn said, finding herself yet again in the position of being indebted to virtual strangers for their kindness.
Tristan had fastened it into the backseat of his truck for the return trip to Ruin Bayou. Once there, she’d transfer the seat to her own car.
“What a gorgeous day this angel has for her first trek outside.” Georgia hovered beside Tristan’s truck, wielding a surprisingly hi-tech digital camera that she’d used since Mackenzie’s birth to capture every burp and coo. The weather was perfect. Clear skies without a breath of wind and temperatures in the mid-seventies.
Though a nurse had wheeled Brynn and Mackenzie outside, once the baby was settled in her carrier, Tristan insisted on helping Brynn into the tall truck to sit alongside her daughter.
“Cayden?” she asked her boy who’d hung back from the adults. “Want to sit back here with me?”
He shook his head. “I wanna sit with Tristan.”
Though for safety, Brynn usually preferred Cayden be in the back, just this once, she figured he’d be fine. Maybe the treat of being up front with Tristan would make him feel special?
Donna took the two floral arrangements the garden club had brought, and Georgia held a plastic bag filled with Brynn’s clothes and toiletries, along with a stuffed pink hippo Tristan bought in the gift shop.
With everyone finally in their vehicles and underway, Brynn realized she was exhausted, but in a good way. Having the baby early had again put her in the position of relying on others for purchasing the most basic of infant items. While she’d had the nursery set up for ages, Brynn hadn’t even thought about the car seat or diapers or the multitude of creams and lotions needed for bath time and changing.
“Coach Tristan?” Cayden asked.
“Yessir?” Tristan stopped for a red light.
“Are we gonna practice hitting today? I missed team practice last night and don’t wanna be bad at tomorrow night’s game.”
“I suppose we can play ball for a little while, but we need to help your mom and Mackenzie get settled first. You’re the man of the house, and that means you’ve got a lot of responsibilities.”
After glaring over the seat at the baby, he asked, “Like what?”
“Well...your mom’s probably going to rest a lot the next few days. You should always make sure she has lots of juice and water to drink. You could probably make her snacks, too.”
“I’ll get Mom stuff,” the boy said with a glower, “but I’m not helpin’ that ugly baby.”
“Cayden!” Brynn snapped. “Your sister is hardly ugly. What’s got into you? You’ve been sour enough to have eaten a whole lemon tree.”
“Leave me alone! I hate all of you!” Arms tightly folded, he turned his glare out the window.
“That’s fine, but I happen to love you very much.” Why, just when Brynn’s life in general seemed to be looking up, was her son having a meltdown? With Tristan as an audience, Brynn was unsure how to handle her son’s latest outburst. Planning to have a good, long talk with Cayden later, she now focused on more manageable issues. “Since I had Mac at a different hospital than planned and can’t wait to see those bills start rolling in, does that mean I’ll get a refund on the money I already paid?”
“I would think so.” Tristan flashed her one of his gorgeous smiles in the rearview. “Want me to check into it?”
“No. But thanks. Pretty sure that’s something I’ll have to handle myself.”
“Cayden,” Tristan said, “we’re not that far from town. Want me to drop you at school, or would you like another day with your mom and sister?”
“School. I hate that baby.”
Brynn shared another look with Tristan. While the commissioner’s call may have lessened her immediate financial worries, where her son was concerned, she’d never been more afraid.
Chapter Nine
While Donna and Georgia hovered about Brynn and Mackenzie, Tristan stood on the fringes, feeling too big and incompetent. He tried thinking back to when Andrea had brought Jack home, but best as he could recall, he’d been sent to Libya only a few days after his son’s birth. Sure, he’d missed the little guy and felt bad for dumping all the responsibilities of new parenthood on Andrea, but those fleeting moments of reality hadn’t squelched his drive to tackle what at the time had felt more urgent. Taking down bad guys had been far more important than helping his wife change diapers or figure out water-to-formula powder ratios.
Earlier in the day, Vivian had stocked the kitchen with homemade casseroles, baked goods and snacks, as well as adorning seemingly every empty surface with bundles of pink balloons and flowers. A handmade Welcome Home, Mackenzie! banner had been hung lopsided over the front door.
Upon seeing it, Brynn’s smile had been epic.
Tristan had fought a flash of jealousy
.
Why hadn’t he thought of making a sign? He wanted to be the one causing her happy glow. As much as his head rationalized the ridiculousness of that thought, he couldn’t erase the fact that he wanted to be in Brynn’s life. But why? What was it about her and her little family that made him constantly want to charge to her rescue? Or was it more about his own hang-ups about his badly fumbled past? Was he trying to prove he wasn’t the total parenting and husbanding incompetent Andrea claimed him to be?
“This is all so pretty.” Having left the sleeping baby upstairs, Brynn gave her friend a big hug. “How can I ever thank you?”
“No thanks necessary,” Vivian assured. “That’s what friends are for.”
A shadow passed over Brynn’s expression. “That’s not what I experienced in St. Louis. The second they learned about what Mack had done, you’d have thought I carried his same shameful disease.”
Vivian poured five glasses from the pitcher of fresh-made fruit punch. “Sean told me Mack was cleared of all wrongdoing. That’s wonderful. Maybe now, some of those old friends will apologize?”
“I’m not holding my breath waiting for that day to come. In fact, my plan is to carry on as if I never even heard from the commissioner.” After sipping her beverage, she added, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled my husband’s name was cleared, but that does nothing to erase the damage already done to my heart.”
“But you could have it all again,” Vivian offered. “Just think, you’d be back in your mansion and getting invites to glamorous parties.” A dreamy look settled over Vivian’s features. “If I were you, I’d run to your former life.”
But you’re not Brynn. Tristan grew furious on Brynn’s behalf. Vivian had no idea what those supposed friends had put Brynn through. Now here she was in Ruin Bayou making new friends, but judging by Vivian, were any of them more genuine? Her trust in every human kindness had been shattered, leaving Brynn in what Tristan could only assume was a shell of her former emotional self.
The SEAL's Valentine (Operation: Family) Page 9