by Rye Hart
She put the teddy bear back on my bed and stood up. I joined her, helping her push herself up from the floor, then taking her into my arms. This time, she didn't fight me. She relaxed into my arms and let me kiss the top of her head. The crying had stopped, but she was still trembling in my arms.
Cupping her chin in my hands, I lifted her head and forced her to look up at me. Even through tear-stained eyes, she was beautiful. Stunning. I wanted nothing more than to kiss the tears away. Brushing my lips against hers, I kissed her gently. It took her a second, but she eventually kissed me back.
“We probably should get back down there,” she said, wiping at her eyes. “Or else they'll start asking a lot of questions.”
“They're going to ask anyway,” I sighed. “I'll take care of it. I want to keep you out of the family drama as much as possible. Trust me, it's the last thing you want or need. It tends to get a little messy.”
“And here, I thought you were afraid they wouldn't like me.”
“They'd be crazy not to like you,” I laughed. “No, I just wanted to protect you. My family is ruthless, and the farther you're away from it, the safer you'll be.”
“Pfft, they seemed pretty nice to me.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Really? Did you hear Danielle and Adam going at it when you stepped out?”
She chuckled. “Still beats my family.”
“Maybe one day I'll get to meet them,” I said. “Or maybe, I'll have to find some way to sneak in and crash a dinner party.
Her smile wavered for a second, but then she nodded, and her smile grew wide.
“Yean,” she said. “Maybe so.”
Voices came from out in the hallway. Adam and Danielle were talking, their voices raised.
“Why did you bring her here? You're ruining everything!” Danielle shouted.
Casey and I shared a look, but I put my finger to my lips, telling her to remain quiet.
Adam's voice came next. “Sweetie, don't you understand? It's part of the plan.”
He lowered his voice, and I had to step closer to the door, practically pressing my ear to it, to hear him talking.
“I wanted her to see that you're still in his life,” he said. “And I'd hoped you'd play up the pregnancy angle, but –”
“So you're pretending to be dating her too?” Danielle shouted.
“To help you, yes,” he said. “Because she's a problem, Danielle. If she gets pregnant with his child, which I suspect might actually be her real purpose here, I've lost everything. And if I lose everything, so do you. I don't need to remind you of that small fact, do I?”
“Maybe I should just keep up the charade then,” she said.
“Go ahead,” he said. “When the DNA test is done, you'll be the one screwed here.”
“As will you, Adam,” she said.
There was a long pause in their conversation and I was sorely tempted to open the door. To see what they were doing out there. But, I resisted because I hoped they'd keep talking. Keep digging themselves an even deeper hole.
“We really shouldn't be talking about this here,” Adam finally said. “You never know who's listening.”
Huh. Now Adam thought about having that conversation in this house – go figure. A bit too late, though. I reached down for the doorknob, but Casey put her hand on mind, trying to stop me.
“Does this mean what I think it means?” she said softly.
“Yeah, sounds like it,” I said.
I should be hurt that Danielle had lied to me, that Adam had betrayed me, and that they were working together to fuck me over. To steal the company and my father's fortune from me. I should be hurt. But, as I stood there, staring at Casey, all I could do was smile.
She was carrying my baby. More than that, it was obvious we cared about each other, deeply. This wasn't the plan, I hadn't intended on settling down with anyone so soon, but the idea of being with Casey – actually being with her – pushed away any doubts from my head.
“I'm sorry, Malcolm,” she whispered. “That's just so heartless.”
“That's my family, Casey. That was why I wanted to shield you from them,” I said.
“I understand, Malcolm,” she said.
She reached out and stroked my face, and I closed my eyes, leaning into the warmth and gentleness of her touch.
“When I'm with you, none of that matters,” I said.
When I opened my eyes, and caught her looking at me and smiling. I smiled too. As I looked at her, I was overcome by a wave of emotion. Casey inspired thoughts and feelings inside of me I wasn't even aware I could have. She made me feel things more deeply than anybody in my life ever had before. Being with her made me feel like the last piece of the puzzle that was my life was finally falling into place.
And when I opened my mouth to speak, the words that came tumbling out surprised even me.
“I hope we can make this about more than just business,” I said. “A lot more.”
She looked at me with wide eyes, her lower lip trembling. “What are you saying, Malcolm?”
“That I'd like you to be more than just a surrogate, Casey,” I said. “I'm saying that I'd like to raise our child together. That is, if you'll have me.”
She gasped, and her cheeks turned a nice shade of rosy pink. She smiled so wide, I was afraid her head was going to split in half, and her laughter was like music to my ears. God, she was everything I'd ever wanted in a partner. Why had it taken me so long to realize that?
“I'd love that, Malcolm,” she said softly. “You have no idea how much I'd love that.”
“Good, because I love you, Casey,” I said. “And I love this child growing inside of you already. More than I ever thought possible. I'm going to take care of you, you know. You and your family.”
“I love you too,” she said.
Our eyes met, and that was quickly followed by our lips. I wanted her so badly in that moment that my body ached for her. Cried out for her. I leaned forward and pressed her up against the wall, my hands sliding along her body. She moaned, gently.
“We shouldn't – ” she said.
“Why not?” I asked, pulling back briefly. “I don't care if anyone finds out about us. We're going to be together.”
“No, I don't mean that,” she laughed, ruffling my hair a bit. “Just that we should probably confront Adam and Danielle We should probably expose them for the lying pieces of shit they are. Sooner, rather than later. I want to humiliate them.”
“A woman after my own heart,” I chuckled. “Let's go rip them a new one, shall we?”
“And let's take your company back too, Malcolm,” she said. “Once and for all.”
Yes, everything would be just fine with her at my side. I'd finally met my match, my true partner in crime. She was everything I always wanted and more. With Casey at my side, I knew there wasn't anything I couldn't accomplish.
As I looked into her eyes, I smiled, knowing the most amazing days of my life lay ahead of me still.
EPILOGUE
NINE MONTHS LATER...
MALCOLM
“I'm very glad to see that things are working out for you, Malcolm,” Terrance Houston said as we sat down at the conference room table together. “I'm most impressed to see that you've already come a long way as the company's CEO. Your father must be very proud of you.”
“Thank you, Terrance,” I said. “I appreciate that you trust me to run the company, and to represent my father's name to the best of my ability and not be a total embarrassment.”
Passive aggressive? Maybe a little.
“I'll admit, I made some mistakes,” he said.
He looked nervous, and he probably should be considering he'd insulted my future fiancée on such a deep level. When she'd told me what he'd said to her, I wanted to fire him on the spot. More than that, I wanted to kick his ass.
It was Casey though, who counseled peace and patience. It surprised the hell out of me. She was the type who usually wanted to go in fists flying. But, she'd
said to look at things from Terrance's perspective and understood that he was only acting in the best interest of the Crane family as a whole.
Yeah, pregnancy hormones do weird things to people.
“But, I couldn't be happier for you and Casey,” Terrance went on. “Twins even. Who'd have expected that the fertility meds would work that well? Congratulations, Malcolm. I'm genuinely thrilled for you.”
I nodded. I believed him. For the most part, at least.
“Well, I have to say, I couldn't be happier with how it all worked out.”
“It's nice of you to still let your brother have a role in the company, after all that he'd done,” Terrance said. “Most of us assumed you'd fire him on the spot for trying to steal everything from you. It takes a big man to do what you did. A mature man. The sort of calm presence and cool head Crane needs moving forward, now that you father has stepped down.”
I shrugged. “Adam might be a scheming asshole sometimes, but it's only fair he gets his share,” I said. “Besides, he fulfilled my father's last wish too.”
He and Danielle had a darling little boy of their own. They weren't together, but the child she was carrying turned out to be Adam's all along. Apparently, Tyler wasn't the only side piece Danielle had been stringing along. The more I learned about her, the more disgusted with her I became. She really was a reprehensible human being.
Truth be told, I wanted my children to grow up knowing their uncle and cousin. I wanted that even given the somewhat strained circumstances. Family was important, after all, and Adam's son – Lucas – was family. He was my nephew.
Like Adam, he also didn't ask to be born into this mess, so we played nice for his sake. He needed family every bit as much as the rest of us did.
As I thought back on it all, I just shook my head. Adam and Danielle had planned all along to keep me believing that I had a child on the way with her. Once that die was cast and we'd all bought into it, they were going to drop the bombshell and admit that Lucas was, indeed, Adam's child.
The baby had been conceived after we'd broken up, she wasn't nearly as far along as she'd pretended to be. There was no way he could have been mine, so there was need for paternity tests to determine it. Lucas was Adam's son. Adam finally admitted it, and I'd let him keep a job with the company.
And Casey would be giving me not one, but two, beautiful daughters.
My phone buzzed, and when I checked the caller ID, I saw that it was my mother. I picked it up on the first ring.
“Casey's gone into labor,” she squealed. “It's time, Malcolm.”
My heart raced, and I started to panic, trying to remember everything I needed to do.
“Terrance, I have to go,” I said, scrambling to get my things together.
I hung up the phone and rushed toward the door, but Terrance was right on my tail.
“But the meeting with Mr. Brownstein,” he said. “This is an important meeting, Malcolm.”
“Yeah, but my fiancée is in labor with our babies right now,” I said. “So, it looks like you'll be handling it for me.”
“You know your father would stay, right?” he said. “He'd see this through.”
Yeah, I knew that. I knew it all too well. He'd stayed to take a meeting and had missed some of the more important parts of my life. I’d determined long ago that when it came to my own children, I would never let business take precedence over them. “I'm not my father, Terrance,” I said. “I love this company and I'll work my ass off for it, but my family will always come first. Always. So, if you'll excuse me--”
I stepped out of the conference room and rushed out of the building. I had to get to Casey. She was the all that mattered to me. Her and the babies.
Our babies.
~ooo000ooo~
“You're going to have your hands full, Malcolm,” Dad said, beaming proudly.
He was now confined to a wheelchair. His legs no longer worked, but his mind was still mostly intact. Thankfully. Over the last few months, he'd gotten a bit gentler. Kinder even. It was as if he knew his time was drawing to an end and he wanted to make amends for his past behavior.
“I only wish I could watch them grow up,” he said.
Casey held Ava, my oldest daughter by a mere two minutes, while I had Violet. I handed Violet over to my father, and the light in his eyes in that moment was something I hadn't seen in years. Not since I was a little boy myself.
It was my mom, however, that seemed to be the most ecstatic. Casey let her hold Ava, and the baby melted in my mother's arms. She buried her face into the soft skin of the child, inhaling her scent, a look of absolute rapture upon her face.
I had to wonder if my dad didn't make the request for babies for her, and not just for him. I started to wonder because he looked as pleased watching my mother hold her granddaughter as he did holding Violet himself.
“Knock, knock,” a voice came from the doorway.
Casey's mother, sister and brother were standing there, wide smiles on all of their faces. Sierra ran over to Casey and screeched happily.
“I'm an auntie!”
“Yes, you are,” Casey said from the confines of her hospital bed.
She squeezed her sister's hand, and they shared a smile and a few words in Spanish that I couldn't make out. Eventually, I'd learn. Alba was teaching me, so my daughters could grow up bilingual. Casey had thought it important and I did as well.
“Maria, good to see you again,” I said, hugging my future mother-in-law.
“You too, Malcolm,” she said.
Casey and I had helped them a lot over the last few months. Her mother no longer had to stay with her father, which had been hard on them all at first, but it was ultimately for the best. Some people are beyond saving.
Her mother, however, was doing well in a house we'd bought for her in Long Beach, where she'd wanted to live. It was a little bit removed from Los Angeles, but still close enough that her kids could stay in touch with friends.
Nick hung back, seemingly intimidated by the madness inside the hospital room. Probably also because of all the fuss the girls making over the babies. He stood there, with his hands in his pockets as if he'd somehow gotten lost and ended up in the maternity ward by mistake.
“So, ready for your first day next week?” I asked him.
His first summer job. He'd turned fifteen, the same age I was when I started learning the business. Of course, I wasn't about to make him give up everything like my dad had required of me. A child needs to be a child and experience all those things that make a childhood happy.
No, he was just working a summer job. Just something that allowed him to build up some experience and learn about himself. It was the least I could do for the kid, who would soon be my brother.
“Can't wait,” he said. “My first summer job, and I don't have to flip burgers. My friends are jealous.”
Yeah, everything was going well. I couldn't complain. I stood back with Nick and watched my large, extended family mingle and socialize, with a wide smile on my face. A few months ago, I wouldn't have dreamed my life would have turned out anything like I was seeing and experiencing. As I looked at everybody milling around the room though, as I saw my beautiful wife-to-be and our amazing children, I realized that this was the perfect road for me to be on. My life had turned out to be absolutely perfect.
Casey caught me staring and looked over at me, cocking her head to the side with an inquisitive look on her face. Nick laughed and nudged me in the ribs with his elbow.
“Looks like duty calls,” I said, pushing myself back off the wall and walked over to Casey.
I took her hand in mine and leaned down, kissing her forehead. She turned her head and kissed me on the lips.
“You meant it when you said you'd take care of me,” she whispered. “But I never imagined it would be like this.”
“Me neither,” I said. “But, I wouldn't have it any other way, Casey. I was just over there thinking about how absolutely perfect life was and how delir
iously happy I am.”
“I love you,” she said.
“Did you ever think you'd say those words to some asshole from the bar?” I laughed.
“You were never an asshole,” she said. “Which was why I liked you from the start.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “From the start?” I laughed. “That's a bit of revisionist history, because I seem to remember – ”
“Hush, you,” she said, playfully batting me in the chest. “You know what I meant. You were never like your friend, Greg.”
“Ex-friend,” I said.
Greg and I hadn't talked since that night. No reason to. Our lives had gone in opposite directions. Truth be told, they'd been going in opposite directions for a long time before the night I punched him, but I'd held on to him as my friend because he was familiar. Comfortable.
But, things had changed drastically, and I had no desire to be an immature frat boy my entire life. Especially, now that I had a family of my own to take care of.
As I looked at Casey, I smiled again. She had the most profound effect on me.
“I love you, Casey.”
She smiled wide. “And I love you, Malcolm Crane.”
I never knew life could be as good as it was turning out to be. Casey reached out and gave my hand a gentle squeeze.
“Our best days are still to come,” she said.
I nodded. “They are,” I said. “And I'm looking forward to spending all of the rest of those best days of my life with you.”
The End
CHRISTMAS WITH THE MCCORMICK BROTHERS
CHAPTER ONE - HAILEY
The late fall sun was setting on the horizon. The sky was growing dark in the east, but the western horizon was a riot of colors – red, orange, and gold. It was stunning and reminded me of the leaves on the trees that time of year.
Darkness was coming, but the fun was only getting started. Black Oak's Annual Community Bonfire was an event I'd attended as a child more times than I could count but being there again as an adult felt entirely different. The leaves had fallen from most of the trees, coating the ground in those brilliant shades of red and orange that reflected the sky above. It was a beautiful side of nature I'd missed during my time in California.