Sunk

by Renea Porter

  I prop myself against the door frame and watch her. It’s how she just forgets about everything around her.

  “It’s rude to stare, Mr. Wilkes,” she says as her eyes crinkle.

  “I can’t help it when I’m in the presence of such beauty,” I tell her as she walks to me.

  She wraps her arms around my waist as she tilts her head up at me. I bend down and kiss her. “You know Beau is being fired, right? I can’t have people like him working for me,” I say.

  “I understand. I don’t know why he thought he would get away with that. Maybe he just lost his mind. He was quite vocal in telling me not to be with you.”

  “He’s probably jealous you are moving on, and it doesn’t help that I’m the boss.”

  “Probably.”

  “We should head to your house and get some things done before you get much farther along. Asher can meet us there. And just so we’re clear, you are not to lift anything heavy. I’m only letting you go so you can pack Ava’s things.”

  “I’ll be a good girl, I promise,” she teases. “Especially if you make a stop at your grams’ bakery.” She gives me pleading eyes.

  “Let me guess, you have a craving for a chocolate éclair,” I say.

  “It’s your fault for taking me there in the first place. But it is a little ways away,” she mentions.

  “Yeah. I guess I can make a special trip since you have a growing baby inside.”

  She smiles bright. “That happens to be your baby.”

  Thirty minutes later, I pull into the bakery and text Asher we are running behind since he is meeting us at the house. Inside, Grams immediately spots us.

  “Oh, would you look at that,” she says about Raine’s belly. “You are just glowing. It’s a beautiful thing.”

  “Thank you, Grams.” Raine bends down to hug her. “I feel like a house.”

  Grams waves her hand, brushing it off. “It’ll all be worth it in the end. Trust me, I know.”

  Raine smiles at her. I’m so happy to have a family who are so welcoming to her. They gush over her like crazy, and I think secretly she likes it, since she doesn’t have much family. I lean down and hug Grams as well.

  “We drove thirty minutes because she has a craving.” I chuckle.

  “Oh, then let me get that craving fixed for you.” She marches back to the other side of the counter and places a half dozen éclairs in a box for us. I grab a coffee and we head back out. “There’s a few extra in there.” She hands us the box.

  “Thanks, Grams,” I say, bidding her goodbye.

  Chapter Twenty

  RAINE

  Unable to wait, I dive my hand into the bakery box and fish out an éclair. It’s so simply delicious, and no one makes them better than Sly’s grandma. Thankfully, eating just the one satisfies my craving.

  “Thanks for going out of the way for this,” I say before taking the last bite.

  “It was worth it. And we got to see Grams for a few minutes. She adores you,” he says, grinning from ear to ear.

  “And she adores you too. I even think she might favor you over the others,” I tell him as we pull up to the house. I’m nervous about going back inside, even though I know it’s perfectly fine. But Beau tainted it, and I really just want to get things packed and move on. And I certainly don’t blame Sly for firing him. Beau deserved it.

  “Just don’t tell Asher,” he says, spotting his brother shoveling the snow off the front porch.

  Asher races over to open my car door, helps me out, and makes sure I don’t fall on the slick driveway. “How’s my nephew doing?”

  “Oh, so I’m having a boy? Are you psychic now? He’s fine.”

  “You can’t blame me for hoping for a little man. I can spoil him rotten,” he says.

  “You need to have a job to spoil him,” Sly says, and I give him a look. Then a smile creeps over his face. “Here, have one. Just don’t eat them all.” Sly shoves the bakery box in his hands.

  “Oh, yum, thanks.” Asher immediately opens the box and takes an éclair as we walk into the house.

  “Thanks for shoveling,” I say, shaking my coat off and placing it on the coat rack. I pull my boots off and leave them by the door, then grab a few boxes to take to Ava’s room. Everything else in the house is a long gone distant memory. Ava’s is the liveliest room in the house.

  In her room, the guys leave me to it by myself, giving me the space and time to do what I want. I take my time, walking from wall to wall, imprinting all the images into my brain. “I’ll never forget you, baby girl.” I rub the horse mural that’s painted on one wall. Even though I’m ready to do this, it still tugs at my heart. I don’t want to pack her things in a box, but this is part of the process of moving on.

  Setting a box on the bed, I place some of her toys inside and save some of the horses for the new baby. If it’s a boy I’m carrying, I can use some of the toys Ava had, but the rest will have to stay boxed up. But if or when I do have a girl, she will have plenty of things from Ava’s room, and that’s something I can look forward to. A future little girl will love this stuff. I keep a few of the braided bracelets out so I can wear them and still feel like I have her with me. I slip a few of the bracelets on my wrist. On my other wrist I wear the charm bracelet Sly gave me; he was so thoughtful getting it. I make a mental note to pick up a nice watch for him.

  A few hours later, I have managed to get all of Ava’s stuff packed. The bed and the dressers are staying with the house for the next owners, but everything else is packed and getting loaded into the car.

  “Everything is loaded. Ready to go?” Sly asks, peeking his head into Ava’s room.

  “I’ll be out in a moment,” I say softly.

  Sly leaves me in the room. I take one last long look around, as if to say goodbye one more time, before turning away and closing the door behind me. Meeting Sly back in the living room, he comes over and scoops me in his arms.

  “This is not goodbye, you know. She’ll always be with you in here.” He taps my heart.

  My eyes water. “I feel like I’m abandoning her by leaving this place.” A lump forms in my throat, making it hard to swallow. I look around the place I no longer know or feel at home in.

  “You’re not abandoning her. She’d want you to move on, and I think you are doing a remarkable job. No one expects you to just forget her. That would be impossible to do. And you got this little guy with you,” he points to the horse on my bracelet. It makes me smile.

  “I know. It’s just hard walking away, you know,” I swipe my tears away.

  “I know,” he says, pulling me close to his chest. He holds me as the silence falls around us, letting me have my moment. I couldn’t ask for a better man to have by my side, to have my back, and to know when to hold me without even speaking the words. He knows me through and through. He made me feel whole again, made me see that life is worth living, and I couldn’t ask for more than that. He breathes life back into me.

  I pull back to look up at him. “I think I’m ready now.”

  “Okay, love.” He takes my hand and rubs his thumb over my hand, calming me.

  Unhooking my hand from his, I look around once more, before meeting Sly at the car. It’s already dark out, and the snow is starting to fall again. I thank Asher before he drives away. I drive my own car that I left here yesterday, to the house I now share with Sly. I wish I could feel the comfort of Sly’s hand on mine, but I could also use the silence on the drive home.

  Twenty minutes later, we both pull up the driveway at the same time. He pulls in front of me, parks the car, and immediately treads to my car. Opening the door, he helps me out.

  “We need to get you inside and off your feet. You’ve been on them all day,” he states, taking my hand and rubbing it with his thumb. My soul calms from his touch. Peace surrounds and embraces me, and I welcome it.

  “Thank you. For everything,” I say.

  “You’re welcome. Let’s get you in bed, you need your rest. I’ll load the
boxes from Ava’s room into the garage.”

  “Can you just lie with me until I fall asleep?”

  “Of course,” he says, smiling. He brushes my hair back with his hand, and it has such a calming effect. I grab his other hand and press it to my belly. “Did you feel that?”

  He chuckles. “Oh my gosh. My baby is kicking.”

  He moves his head down to my belly. “Hey little one, it’s daddy.” The baby kicks again, and it amazes Sly. And I giggle at how it amazes him. “I can’t wait to meet you,” he says. He kisses my belly and then my eyes feel heavy. I feel him kiss my forehead before exhaustion takes over.

  ***

  “Babe, wake up.” Sly lightly shakes me out of my deep sleep.

  Rolling toward him, I blink my eyes a few times. “What time is it?”

  “It’s nearly eight. You have a doctor’s appointment in an hour.”

  “Oh crap.” I struggle just to swing my legs over the edge of the bed. Having this large belly makes doing simple things more difficult. “Let me shower quick and I’ll be ready,” I tell him.

  Slowly, I walk to the walk-in shower, and even a quick shower isn’t so quick anymore. My feet were so swollen last night, I was glad to lie down and get some relief. After showering, I towel dry my body, which is also difficult when bending down. Working some mousse in my long hair, I let it air dry into loose curls. Leaning forward into the mirror, I put some light makeup on and make my way to the dresser.

  I take out a pair of stretchy pants and grab one of Sly’s long sleeve shirts. After dressing, I sit on the edge of the bed and sigh heavily.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I need some maternity clothes. I’ve resorted to wearing your shirts because my belly is huge,” I huff.

  “Well, you just so happen to be in luck. I just got off the phone with my mom, and she wants to take you shopping for maternity clothes and things for the baby.”

  “Really? That’s so awesome.”

  “Yep, she’ll meet us here after your doctor’s appointment, unless you want to go another day?”

  “No, today is fine. I’m actually looking forward to it,” I tell him with excitement.

  At my appointment, the doctor confirms I’m twenty-eight weeks along, which puts me at seven months pregnant next week. They hook me up to a sonogram again, and the baby’s heart beats loudly.

  “Would you like to know the sex of the baby?”

  “No, I think we want to be surprised,” I say.

  “Okay, well, everything looks good. You have a normal healthy baby inside you,” he says.

  Looking over to Sly, we both beam with excitement. It’s still surreal I’m carrying his baby inside me. We will have a piece of us in three more months, and we can’t wait to meet him or her. Leaving the doctor on a happy note, we stop for a bite to eat before meeting his mom at the house.

  ***

  SLY

  After mom picks up Raine, I head to my office with my brother following behind me.

  “How excited are you about the baby?” he asks.

  “Very excited. And I asked Raine to marry me.” I grin.

  “Dude, that is awesome. She is an amazing woman. Congrats,” Asher says, genuinely smiling, then shakes my hand.

  “Thank you. I’m glad some things are actually going right in my life,” I state.

  “It’s been a rough few years, since, you know…” he says, tilting his head down, referring to the loss I suffered.

  “I think I was meant to meet Raine when I did, like we are meant to be together or something. I don’t know how to explain it,” I say.

  “You don’t need to explain it to me. I just hope I find who I’m meant to be with. Okay, enough of this mushy shit. Why am I here?”

  I chuckle, and it feels nice to be having a normal conversation with my baby brother. “What are you doing for a job these days?”

  He shifts in the chair across from me. “Why? Are you offering me a job or something?”

  “Yes, I am, actually. It’s about time you get your shit together, little brother,” I state.

  He runs a hand through his red hair, and I see his tattoo sleeve peeking out the cuff of his shirt. He huffs. “What’s the job?”

  “You’d have to start from the ground up. I’m not giving you any favors just because you’re my brother. I’m doing it because you saved Raine the other day, and I want to show my appreciation by offering you steady employment and a steady paycheck. And like I said, you’ll be out in the field to start out, working construction.”

  I clasp my hands together and wait for his answer.

  “Okay, sounds good. And I appreciate the offer. When do I start?”

  “Meet me here Monday morning, first thing in the morning, and we can go over all the logistics and such. You’ll be in charge of most of the residential stuff.”

  “Awesome, sounds good.” He stands and shakes my hand.

  My baby brother is finally becoming a man, and some poor girl is in big trouble when she meets him. I laugh at the thought.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing. I was thinking some poor girl is going to be in for it when she meets you.” I laugh again as we walk to the door.

  “She’ll be so swept off her feet, she won’t know what hit her,” Asher says.

  “You are a cocky fuck,” I retort.

  “I am my brother’s brother,” he says.

  “Touché, little brother, touché.”

  Asher waves at me as he enters his car, and I wave back feeling happy he is finally manning-up. Maybe there is hope for him after all.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  RAINE

  Sly’s mom, Anne and I are out shopping for maternity clothes. She seems ecstatic about the baby.

  “I can’t believe you are going to have a baby in three months. It seems like yesterday you were telling us the news,” Anne says as we scan the racks at the maternity store, Beach.

  “The time has flown and I can’t believe it either. I hope everything comes back to me from my first pregnancy. It’s been close to eight years since I was last pregnant.” I rub my stomach.

  “Oh, it’ll be just like riding a bike,” she says.

  After looking around this store, nothing really piques my interest.

  “Do you know of any other stores? Nothing is really catching my eye in here,” I say. “Also, I was wondering if maybe we can stop at that watch jeweler. I’d like to get Sly a watch.”

  “Of course. I’ll take you where I get James’s watches every couple of years.”

  Outside, I take in the almost spring like weather, inhale the crisp air, and exhale it out slowly. Anne comes to my side with a shopping bag in her hand.

  “I have to say I was so happy to hear you agreed to marry Sly. I’m happy to have you as my daughter-in-law, and I hope you’ll consider me family.”

  “Oh, thank you so much, Anne. That means so much to me. You and James are just about the closest family I have besides my sister and her husband. I’m very happy. Your son is an amazing man, but, of course, you already know that,” I say brightly.

  I genuinely love Anne, James, and the rest of the family. I know she’ll be there for me like her own daughter. She is the most selfless woman I know; she always makes sure everyone around her is happy.

  We get to the car and she drives to the next stop. “I was thinking,” she says, “I’d love to give you a baby shower. I know you and Sly have a lot of things already, but I’d still love to do it.”

  “That is really sweet. I’d like getting everyone together before the baby finally comes.”

  Anne pulls up to the watch jeweler, and we both get out to walk inside. I’ve never been in here, but I have driven past the place many times.

  “I’m really excited. Thank you for letting me be a part of your pregnancy. The woman Sly was with before never let me be a part of hers.” She smiles. “And I don’t want to be overbearing, so you just let me know when I’m overstepping my bound
s.”

  I agree, nodding my head while Anne leads me to the counter full of watches inside a glass case.

  “Did you have something in mind?” she asks as the sales clerk approaches us and greets us.

  “Anne, it’s so good to see you. Are you shopping for James?”

  Anne smiles. “Actually, this is my soon to be daughter-in-law, and she’s looking for a watch for my son.”

  The sales woman smiles and shakes my hand. “What are you looking for?”

  “I don’t know, really. Just something that can be worn daily. And maybe something that can be engraved on the back.”

  “Great. How about I just grab three out for you and we can go from there?” the woman says.

  “Sounds good,” I respond, nodding my head.

  I wander around looking at the selection of watches while she gets a few together. Once she does, she calls me over to the counter. Fifteen minutes later, I buy a watch that I think Sly will love. It has a black onyx face and gold time hands, as well as a few diamonds and a black stretch band. It’ll look great against his always tan skin.

  Anne and I walk down the sidewalk to another maternity store. I already feel my feet starting to swell, but I need a few items before calling it a day. After a few tries, Anne helps me find two pairs of pants and a few maternity tops to go with them.

  “It feels like I’m carrying a freaking bowling ball around,” I tell her.

  “Well, you only have a little ways to go. I’m having fun spending time with you, just spending one on one time together,” she says joyfully.

  “Me too. But it’s a shame Carina couldn’t come too,” I say, scanning the rack of clothes.

  “That girl is a workaholic. She takes after her father.” She giggles and shakes her head.

  “I think I’ll just get these. I just don’t have the energy to try anything else on,” I say, coming out of the dressing room. All of a sudden, a strange feeling comes over me. I mumble something to Anne, and then everything goes black.