She watched him cross the kitchen and called out just as he turned the corner, “Remember Alexander. Be nice.”
In the big mudroom where Zeus had long-ago claimed her spot and set up camp he found his spirited pet sprawled on a dog-sized miniature version of a tufted sofa with rolled arms and nail heads. The only things missing were a coffee table and a TV.
“What the hell,” he murmured with his hands at his waist. Zeus’s tail wagged happily.
“Woof.”
The low bark sounded happy to Alex’s ears. “Looks like we’re both coming up in the world, eh girl?”
Another noise got his head turning. Bam, bam, bam. Was that hammering?
Zeus hopped off her sofa and came to his side as Alex followed the sounds. Through an archway in the labyrinth of connected nooks and crannies in the rear of the main house, he rounded a corner into the breezeway leading to Carmen’s private apartment and stumbled to a halt. There, about fifty feet in front of him was Duke, and by the look of things he was putting together a book case. Carmen had her back to Alex and was reading directions off a sheet of paper.
The dog nosed his hand and looked up at him. He met her canine gaze with an expression of confusion.
It was probably all kinds of fucked up that the damn book case got his attention first. His mind worked in strange ways sometimes because his inner narrative went like this: A book case? Sold in a box? With directions? Why? There was no need for any of them to use make-it-yourself furniture. Not with Drae and his ridiculous woodshop right down the damn road.
By the time he shoved his ramblings aside and let it sink in that what should be earning his attention was Duke, both of them had noticed his presence.
“Alexander,” Carmen called out. He heard the surprise in her tone.
Swallowing with some difficulty he had a second of panic and then pulled it at least halfway together.
Duke rose and came straight toward him with his hand out. “Major Marquez,” he grated out. “Good afternoon, sir. I was just helping Mrs. Delgado with a house project.”
Man, he really hoped he wasn’t staring at him like an open mouthed fool but Alex suspected that’s exactly what he looked like. It took him less than a few heartbeats after that to connect the dots.
Duke’s ever-present hat was nowhere to be seen and his long hair was neatly brushed into a tail. He was also clean-shaven and wearing a light blue button down shirt and a pair of slacks. Slacks. Not jeans, and the shirt was so far from Justice standard issue that Alex was sure he was seeing the man off duty and dressed to please a woman.
The woman in this instance was his second mother. Oh sure, Carmen worked for the family but the truth was she’d been taking care of him since he could remember. She also had a direct, open line to his mom and acted as her surrogate in all things big and small. Finding her in a low cut dress with a face full of make-up shook him up.
He knew in an instant what this awkward situation called for. Reaching for Duke’s hand he offered a big smile and a friendly shake.
“Hey, Duke. Good to see you. And call me Alex, please. You’re off duty. No need to be formal.”
Carmen’s look of approval and thanks struck a chord deep inside him. She really liked the gruff, inscrutable Vietnam vet and though her reasoning mystified him, he was happy if she was happy.
“Thank you, sir,” Duke drawled in what he recognized was an attempt to sidestep using his given name.
Once a commanding officer, always a commanding officer, his spirit sighed heavily.
With a side-glance at Carmen he commented in as un-sarcastic a tone as he could, “Nice bookcase.”
The suggestion of a smile curved the corners of her mouth and she met his mocking gaze with a challenging brow arch that made him laugh.
If she wanted to fill her place with cheap crap so her paramour could play the macho card, who the hell was he to call bullshit?
She put him in his place so fast he took half a step back.
“Is there something you need?”
Feeling like she’d caught him raiding his dad’s cache of nudie magazines, he fumbled for a way to rescue his dignity.
“Oh, yeah. No. We’re good. Zeus was showing me her new furniture and I heard hammering. By the way, why is my wife chopping up carrots?”
Carmen’s laugh was full-throated and truly funny. “You left her alone Alexander and you know what that means. So to keep her out of trouble I gave her something to do.”
Duke’s amused snicker was quickly cut short by a cough.
“Your dinner is in the oven. Finn sent over half a ton of smoked brisket and there’s a refrigerator full of sides. Go tend to your wife.”
Well damn! Guess she told him. “And the carrots? What do you want me to do with them?”
He was smirking when he asked and she returned his cheeky grin with a dazzling smile.
“If you have to ask, Alexander, then you have a long way to go as a husband.”
“All the news is good, Heather. You can relax. I’ve reviewed the hospital records and gone over the battery of tests we put you through.”
Brody sat immobile but his senses were on high alert. Not knowing what to expect from this appointment, he’d pulled the nurse aside and very respectfully asked her to remind the doctor not to dwell on the past. He was worried too much focus on something that nearly devastated his lady would be a trigger.
Though he didn’t show it, a huge sigh of relief escaped his lungs when the doctor wisely moved on and focused on where they were and not how they got here.
“The long and the short of it is this. I see no reason why you can’t carry a pregnancy to term. Fertility is not an issue,” he said with a glance in Brody’s direction. “Your partner has a child and conceiving was not a problem for you.”
Heather sat back in her chair. She was outwardly calm but he wondered what was going on beneath the surface.
“Your cycle became irregular when there was a change in birth control. You’ve chosen to cease all prescriptive contraception, am I correct?”
She nodded jerkily and shot him a sharp glance. He smiled and winked.
Brody liked this doctor. She knew her shit, that’s for sure, and Tori spoke of her in glowing terms. So far Heather had been happy with her experiences at the small, highly professional practice.
“Here’s my advice to both of you. Relax. And don’t borrow trouble. There’s enough to go around as it is,” she quipped. “If you feel like you need to do something, start with some lifestyle changes. Making healthy choices will help your system reset and normalize.”
Sounded like smart, sound advice to him.
“And will be a terrific starting point when you conceive.”
When you conceive. Holy shit.
Heather reached blindly for his hand. He grabbed it when it waved erratically in the space between their chairs.
With a kind smile the doctor folded her hands on the desk and looked at them. “Sometimes a silver lining waits for the right time. If this is your time, embrace the possibilities and above all else, just be happy. And grateful. The rest will take care of itself.”
Downstairs at the entrance to the medical building, he caught a glimpse of them reflected in a window when they were waiting for the valet to bring the car. They made a good-looking couple.
At his side, Heather had her hand curled in the crook of his arm. It came as a surprise to discover he was an old-fashioned guy and liked that she took his arm whenever they were out.
She wore a pretty dress in a dark wine color. The clingy fabric molded to her curves and made her ass look fantastic when she walked. He didn’t tell her of course because Brody liked having all his teeth but that didn’t stop him from enjoying the view.
The valet motioned to him with a heads up that their car would be arriving any second. One of the first things they did after getting settled was go car shopping for her. He had a big ass vehicle that suited him perfectly but she needed a regular car to run around in
.
She researched the mother-fuck out of every car that even slightly tickled her fancy and settled on a Chevy Impala in a color called blue metallic velvet because it screamed family and was made in America.
As the car drew up to the curb she looked at it as though it was her first time. He had to nudge a little and ended up guiding her to the passenger side.
They were in traffic and on the road home when she found her voice.
“I can’t believe this is happening.”
Yeah, well neither could he. Thinking about the doctor’s words he murmured, “Silver linings wait for the right time.”
She turned and looked at him.
“Heather, honey, seriously. I’m so fucking glad that this one waited for us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Babe. This silver lining is exclusively ours. Don’t you get it? We’ve been through a lot together. Dark, serious stuff that most couples never have to deal with. And look at us! We love each other and suddenly have a family when for the longest time neither of us thought in those terms. And now? Oh my god, Heather. I can’t find the words.”
“This changes everything,” she murmured.
“Actually, sweetheart. The news changes nothing. All those things I just pointed out are still true. Only now? Shit, honey. Now we have a shot at an unforgettable happily ever after.”
She stayed quiet and he let her have the space to deal with the emotional fall-out of having her world turned upside down. Heather was a strong woman. He believed in her and knew she’d come out the other side of this unexpected development with her spirit renewed.
As he drove along Brody thought about his short visit with Pops. It was hard to get through because both of them knew his grandfather’s time was slowly winding down. He’d told him everything and went on and on about his girls and their new life in Arizona.
More than anything he wanted the gentle old man who stepped into the breach when his parents died to know that his life was pretty goddamn great. Ensuring that his eventual passing would be with the knowledge that Brody was happy and looking ahead to the future was the least he could do. Letting Pops know that he and Heather were trying for a baby would make the old guy ecstatic.
“Can we stop and get something really, really horrible like a double cream macchiato with caramel and shaved chocolate?”
“What?” he asked, his mouth twitching with amusement.
“Making healthier choices starts after Christmas. Between now and then, I want it all.”
She did not sound at all annoyed by a total lifestyle change. His soul lit up. If they were gonna do this, they’d do it together. As a family.
“Whew!” he comically hooted. “Well thank fucking god because I’ve got my eye on some of Ria’s homemade eggnog and believe me when I say that shit is in no way healthy.”
“You can have all the full fat, high calorie, alcohol laden eggnog you want.”
“Until January first,” he informed her rather bombastically. “After that it’s all hands on deck at the Jensen home. Bella will love it! Give her something to focus her junior chef talents on.”
“Why would you do that?”
Did she really need to ask? Maybe she did and that was okay. Whatever doubts shadowed her thoughts would all be put to rest on Christmas morning.
He reached across the center console for her hand and kissed it. “Why? Because we’re all in this together. Team Jensen. You’re not alone Heather. I want to be there with you every step of the way.” He squeezed her fingers reassuringly. “If you think about it, babe, nothing changes. We’ve been supporting and watching out for each other a lot longer than people realize. Together,” he murmured gently. “Okay?”
She took her hand back and flopped her head onto the rest and turned his way. When she spoke, her heart was revealed. He committed the emotion filled words and their naked sincerity to memory.
Her voice was hushed and her delivery slow and thoughtful. “When I heard what the doctor said, in my mind’s eye I saw a little boy who looked a lot like Bella, with his daddy’s blonde hair and heart-melting smile.”
He was having trouble breathing.
“Kids and babies have been such a painful subject for me and for so long that I developed an immunity to it emotionally.”
The seriousness of her admission gave way to quiet laughter when he pinned her with a meaningful look and said, “Gonna bottle the water at the villa and that’s all you’re to drink until I knock you up. Understand?”
“And that,” she said drily, “is how family legends get started. There was something in the water.”
Their conversation turned playful. It felt great to crack up and hurl some really awful one-liners back and forth. Brody felt confident everything was going to work out the way it was intended.
He couldn’t wait to let Bella know their big plan was a go.
37
Lacey and Tori held hands as they walked away from the villa and headed down the road to their homes.
Raven trotted along next to them, occasionally darting off to chase a roadrunner until a sharp command from Draegyn brought her to heel.
Behind them their husbands pushed the kids safely secured in their sturdy, all-terrain strollers.
Her belly led the way, covered in a red maternity tunic with a cute Christmas theme.
They were coming from the villa after a welcome get together for Alex’s parents. She liked Cristián and Ashleigh Marquez. It was evident why Alex turned out so well. Forty some years of marriage hadn’t dimmed their loving twinkle at all.
It was terribly sweet how they doted on Meghan. Losing her mom at an early age helped Lacey understand how others react to the same or similar situation. Having come so close to losing Alex, his family regarded each happy milestone on the road away from that terrible time as an occasion worthy of fireworks and general mayhem. And underneath it all was a love so strong that all of Family Justice felt it.
“What do you think Sophie’s deal is?” Tori asked.
Good question. One she was sure they were all asking. “I have no idea.”
“Ashleigh and Cris seemed a bit cryptic each time her name came up. Did you notice?”
“Not at first,” she admitted. “But when Angie mentioned pinning down Sophie’s dress for the wedding it was hard to ignore Ashleigh’s reaction. ‘Plenty of time later for that’? I know they’ve been in Europe for years and years but I’m pretty sure even in Madrid they say yes to the dress. Time is critical.”
“Hmph. You’re right. That was strange.”
They walked along at a slow stroll. The boys and Raven had dropped back quite a way. She looked over her shoulder and saw Drae bending over at the edge of the road. These guys cracked her up. Their latest silly quirk involved collecting stones. Stones. Not rocks. There was a difference.
She pulled on Tori’s hand to bring her close and slipped it through the bend of her arm. “Real quick before they catch up.”
Tori looked up at her and snorted. “Lacey! Gossip?”
“Oh shush. Not gossip. Inside information. And you’ll thank me when you hear.”
She gave a quick glance behind them. The guys were walking again but even slower than her and Tori.
“Going all cloak and dagger means it must be good. Spill, sister!”
“Well,” she began like she was giving a book report, “Cameron went to Brody to ask about us getting a pet.”
Tori gasped. “Really? Why the change of heart?”
“Dylan and baby girl Cameron. Anyway, back to my story. It seems he walked in on Brody and Bella practicing their cues.”
“Cues?”
“Mm hm. For a Christmas morning surprise.”
“What about Heather?”
She dipped her head and gave Tori a steady, unblinking stare.
“Oh my god! Are you saying? Oh, sweetie! Really?”
“That’s what Cameron and I think. My husband said he was all kinds of flustered that his secret leak
ed out.”
Tori’s highly amused laughter rang out. “I bet he invoked the Justice Brothers’ version of an everlasting vow. On pain of ridicule and payback they keep each other’s secrets.”
“I love these guys.”
They hugged each other tight.
At the turn to the St. John cabin, they stopped and waited for the stragglers to catch up. It was late afternoon and the sky was turning a beautiful shade of deepening blue.
“Are you going to do Christmas Eve dinner with your mom and Calder?”
Her friend’s immediate smile illuminated her face in the waning light.
“Yes. At the cottage cabin. She’s like a two-year-old with a shiny toy in her fancy new kitchen. Hey, how’s your mother’s helper working out? I love Sharon even though letting someone else do all that stuff makes me feel terribly spoiled.”
“It’s all good and I’m fine with the spoiling. Means I can focus what little energy I have on my guys.” She rubbed her tummy. “And miss fussy pants.”
“Have you decided what to call her yet?”
“No. Cameron is okay with using my mom’s name but you know what?” She scrunched her nose and shrugged. “I don’t want to saddle our little ray of sunshine with that. She’s going to be her own person.”
“Why the serious face?” Cameron called out when he came within earshot.
Ah. Her ever-watchful sexy man.
“Tori was just saying how she thinks M*A*S*H was better as a TV show than a movie.”
Cameron made a ferocious growl that made Dylan giggle. “Sacrilege Mrs. St. John!”
“Gee, thanks,” Tori whispered.
“Honey,” Drae sniggered. “What did I tell you about shitting on Cam’s movie critic role?”
“Excuse me Mr. St. John,” Lacey snapped. “But did I just hear you say a swear word in front of my son?”
“Ha ha,” Tori jeered. She stuck her tongue out at Drae. “Scolded by the school teacher.”
“Not quite yet,” she gently reminded them. “But by this time next year, you’ll be calling me Miss Lacey.”
Unforgettable (Family Justice Book 5) Page 48