Saving Ever After (Ever After #4)

by Stephanie Hoffman McManus

  “Clearly she doesn’t remember,” Heidi pointed out to the other two. “Not surprising considering last night,” she chuckled.

  “Someone want to fill me in?” I looked at each of them questioningly.

  “Let’s just say we made good on our promise to show you a good time, because damn girl, did you have a good time. I knew as soon as I met you that you were going to be fun, and I was right. You were dancing and singing. You even stood on the coffee table and did a little dance for the guys at one point. They loved that.” Her tone and expression intimated just how much, while internally I cringed at the thought of climbing up on the coffee table and putting on a show. I decided I was definitely closer to an eight than a four.

  “You have to go to the next party with us,” Jillian insisted while I tried to call up the number of people who had been at that party and could have witnessed my awful Miley moment. That was so something old Mia would do, and had done before. I did not want to be the girl who danced inappropriately on tables.

  It was just one night, I tried telling myself again.

  “Come on, let’s go get breakfast. Derek and Leland are already down there.” Jillian pulled me out of my room by my arm, not even allowing me the chance to go back in and change out of my sleep shorts and sweatshirt. I was terrified to look in a mirror. I could only imagine how ragged I must look. My head was still pounding and all I wanted was to crawl back under the covers only to realize last night was just a bad dream.

  That didn’t happen though. I allowed the three of them to drag me down to the dining hall where I was met with good mornings and amused smirks from Derek and Leland.

  “Having a rough start to your day?” Leland teased and I dropped my head down to the table and groaned.

  A repeat of last night could not happen again. I wouldn’t let it happen again. The partying was out of my system now. I had my embarrassing college story. One was enough.

  Chapter 3

  Chris

  It felt good to be home, I thought when I pushed open the door to my room at Ace’s house. Our summer tour hadn’t been especially long, just two months, but the label had packed a lot of stops into that two months. I wanted nothing more than to climb into the shower and then my bed, but sleep would have to wait. I needed to shower quickly and then get my ass to the hospital.

  The minute our plane had touched down at Logan International, we’d all been bombarded with texts that Jax was going into labor. Ky had rushed straight to the hospital. I, along with everyone else who wasn’t the father of the baby, decided it would be better to go home and clean up before heading over to the hospital to meet the newest member of the McCabe family.

  He was three weeks early. It was a damned miracle that we even landed in time for Ky to make it. If that was any indication, then the kid obviously took after his dad, impatient and having to make his entrance into the world on his own terms. Jax was going to have her hands full with baby and daddy. I knew she wouldn’t have it any other way. Her little family was her whole world. I wasn’t ashamed to admit that I was the tiniest bit jealous of what her and Ky had.

  That reminded me that I needed to call Katrina. She was expecting me to let her know as soon as we arrived in Boston, but the baby news had distracted me. I didn’t know whether I should invite her to go with me to the hospital or not. We’d been seeing each other for about five months now, but she wasn’t very close with Jax, or any of the group really.

  I decided I would call her from the hospital and make plans to drop by her place afterward. With that decision made, I tossed my cell down on my bed and hurried to shower and change.

  Downstairs, I found Ace in the kitchen, also fresh from a shower, brewing coffee in the fancy machine Sadie convinced him to buy a few months ago. Now that her stay here wasn’t temporary – there was no chance of Ace letting her move back out – her feminine touches could be found throughout the place. More pictures hung on the walls and there were throw pillows and rugs and blankets on the couches and chairs. The dishes in the kitchen actually matched and other small things like that. Of course she always asked Ace before she did anything, afraid of overstepping, but she should know by now that he couldn’t deny her anything. I knew from the little box he’d been toting around with him the last month, that it wouldn’t be long before he had that ring on her finger and gave her free reign over the house.

  I really needed to start looking for a place of my own. Danny had moved out over the summer to take on New York with his photography business, and even Spade had packed up and got himself a penthouse bachelor pad down on the water. He’d already extended an invite for me to move in with him. At the time it was easier to stay put at Ace’s since I spent most of my time at Katrina’s anyway, but if the lovebirds were about to get engaged, they’d probably prefer having the place to themselves.

  “You figured out when you’re going to pop the question yet?” I asked him, grabbing my own mug out of the cupboard and waiting for the machine to spit out the hot, rich brew.

  “Not yet, man. I thought I would do it tonight, you know as soon as we got back from the tour and I saw her, but of course Ky’s kid would have to upstage me by making his grand entrance into the world early. I figure I’ll let the little man have his show, and when that excitement’s faded a little, I’ll ask her.” He filled his cup and then moved out of the way so I could get to the machine.

  “You decide how you’re going to do it yet?” I raised my now steaming mug and took the first sip of caffeinated bliss. I needed to remember to thank Sadie, for like the hundredth time, for convincing him to get this machine and for finding the local roaster who was enabling our coffee addiction in this house.

  “Nah, I’ll wing it,” he said nonchalantly.

  “You’re going to wing your proposal?” My brow lifted.

  “Yeah, when the moment feels right, I’ll do it. It’s not like I can ask her on stage at a concert since Ky already did that. Besides, I don’t think Sadie would want that anyway. For Jax it was right. She needed Ky to make that declaration in front of the whole world, to publically claim her and make it clear to everyone that he belonged to her.”

  “Yeah, I get that.” Ky and Jax were still somewhat of a shock. It’d been almost three years now, but it still seemed like a miracle that they made it through everything they did and got to this point. “Whatever you do, I’m sure she’ll say yes. Now, we better get our asses to the hospital. I want to meet my nephew.”

  Ace didn’t argue, and seemed equally excited about getting there to see Jax and the baby, whose name we still didn’t know. They’d been keeping it hush. I think there was some disagreement between them about what his name would be. I just hoped Jax wasn’t trying to convince Ky to go with some new age, artsy, hipster name, like Kale or Lotus. Ky was so in love with her that he’d probably let her get away with that shit.

  It was a good feeling for a change to be able to walk into the hospital and ask for directions to the maternity ward instead of the emergency room or ICU. There’d been too many of those kind of visits to the hospital.

  When we got to the waiting area, we found most of the gang assembled there. Spade was the only absent one, which wasn’t surprising. He’d show eventually. I was surprised to see Mia sitting next to her sister. I don’t know why since I’d heard she moved to Boston over the summer while we were on tour, and that she would be starting at BU in the next couple weeks. I guess I just hadn’t expected it. She caught me off guard, and with her that was never a good thing. In the past, she hadn’t been the most subtle about her crush on me.

  I hadn’t seen her since we all flew out to Seattle for Sadie’s birthday during the spring, but I’d thought about her a few times. Something about that girl had struck a chord with me since the first moment I met her, coming up on a year ago. She looked about the same as she had then, pretty, but too young for me to give it anymore thought than that. I gave her a slight smile and nod, before Bas came over to update us on Jax.

 
“Jax and Ky are in the delivery room, so I guess that means the baby should be here any time. I think it will be a while before any of us get in to see them though. The doc said they’ll clean up the little guy and then take his weight and measurements and all that. Then they’ll give Jax and Ky some time alone with him before we can go in.”

  “Dad coming?” I don’t know why I asked. I knew my dad wouldn’t miss this, I just expected him to be here already.

  “He’s already here. Not in the delivery room, but he used his connections to get back there.”

  “Okay, then I guess we better take a seat and get comfortable,” I said. Ace wasted no time in going to sit beside Sadie, who had been staring at him with those big googly doe eyes since we walked in. I shook my head and rolled my eyes, which then landed on the amused smirk Mia was giving me. Bas returned to his seat next to his pregnant wife, which left a seat between him and Mia or one over by Vi and an also pregnant Lucy. Both their other halves were missing. Izzy, who was growing like crazy every time I saw her, was absent as well, probably in school by this time in September.

  After taking in my choices, I plopped into the seat between Mia and my brother. “Hey, Mia,” I said softly. “How’s it going?”

  “Really good,” she smiled at me. It was good to see her smile. Ignoring the fact that it was a beautiful smile, the last time I’d seen her, she’d been pretty miserable and going through a rough time after her accident. She was a sweet kid and I was glad to see her get away from the rest of her family, especially her mom. It always brought out my protective instincts thinking about her trapped in that house with her vicious mother and that catty sister of hers, Leila.

  “Heard you’re going to BU,” I said, making small talk.

  “Yeah. Move in day was Monday. Classes start in a little over a week.” I could hear the excitement bubbling under the surface of her words. That was also refreshing. She deserved this fresh start. I knew from talking to Ace and Sadie that she’d made her share of mistakes, but no doubt they stemmed from the pressure put on her by her parents and her unhappiness. I’d seen it in her eyes last winter when she showed up on our doorstep trying to escape.

  “So you’re settling in then? Liking Boston alright?”

  “Yeah, it’s great so far. I like it here a lot and I think I’ve already made some good friends,” she shared.

  “That’s good to hear, Mia. I’m happy for you. It’s a great school. I know you know Bas went there, but I also graduated from Boston U.”

  “That’s where you joined the first band you played in before you met the guys, or umm, I think that’s what I read somewhere, maybe,” she admitted almost bashfully.

  “Yeah, that’s right,” I chuckled. “I had a lot of fun there and met a lot of cool people. I actually heard Ky play at a campus bar when he was doing his solo thing.” Her eyes drank in my expression and she seemed riveted on every word I spoke. I had to remind myself to be careful around Mia. Her crush was flattering, but I didn’t want to do anything to encourage it.

  I couldn’t figure out what it was about Mia that tugged at me. Maybe it was that I’d recognized that lost and angry look in her eyes when she showed up in Boston last winter and could relate with her need to push boundaries and test limits. I’d been there. I’d been that kid until my music gave me an outlet.

  Or maybe it had to do with the night back then when I heard her crying in the guest room across from my bedroom, and had literally felt the pain I heard in her cries. Fifteen minutes I’d stood there, hearing it, not knowing what to do, but wanting to make it stop, until finally it had. The next morning she joined us all for breakfast with a bright smile like nothing in her world was wrong, when I knew she was keeping something inside, something that was tearing at her.

  Whatever it was about her that got to me, that made me want to do whatever I could to keep that smile on her face, she was still just a young, emotionally vulnerable girl. I didn’t need to give her any reason to pursue her little crush and turn it into anything more. The last thing I wanted was for her to have any more hurt, and the thought of being the one to cause it, was too hard to stomach.

  We chatted for a little while longer. I made sure to keep it friendly but casual, and then when Spade finally strolled in, I got up and moved over by him. It wasn’t too much later that Ky appeared to say that Jax had given birth to their son, Abel Fender McCabe – good girl Jax, no hippy name – and that she was resting and he was going with the nurse who would clean the baby up. Everyone’s excitement increased, and the girls gushed over the name. It was a good name. A solid name.

  A little while later, a doctor came out to say that we could go back, but just a couple at a time and only for a few minutes. Of course my brother insisted that he and Lissa go back first, and no one argued. Not that doing so would have stopped him from going back there first anyway. Jax had Ky and Bas had Lissa, but that didn’t change what Jax was to my brother or vice versa, or that they hadn’t been talking about the day they would have kids and their kids would be best friends, since they were little more than children themselves.

  That was happening for them. Lissa was just over a month away from her due date, so it wouldn’t be long before we were all here again. I didn’t know how far along Jax’s sister-in-law, Lucy, was, but this damn baby business seemed contagious. I looked over at Sadie and Ace, sitting close, smiling and whispering low to each other.

  Yeah, they were definitely next, just as soon as he found the time to pop the question.

  When Bas and Lissa reemerged about ten minutes later, my brother’s eyes were unusually shiny. My dad was with them, and he looked really close to losing his shit. They both walked over to me and Liss went to Lucy and Vi.

  “How is she?” I asked

  “Really good,” Bas choked out somewhat hoarsely. “She’s really good. I’ve never seen her look as happy as she does sitting next to Ky, holding their baby.”

  Since the day Jax had come into our lives when we were kids, Bas had appointed himself her champion, and even though Ky had taken on that role, I knew that Bas and Jax would always share their unique bond. As long as Jax had been believing in fairytales, wishing for her own to come true, my brother had been right beside her, wishing for all those same things for her.

  “Patricia would have been so proud of her. It’s just a shame that little guy won’t ever get to meet her,” My dad said, more than a little emotional. He never talked about the way his and Patty’s relationship had changed and grown over the years before she passed, but even as kids we’d all seen it happening. Losing her was hard for everyone, but my dad was right, Patty would have loved today, and been so proud of Jax. It sucked that she wasn’t here, but I knew Jax was going to be a fucking great Mom because she’d had the best Mom for twelve years.

  Shit, now even I was starting to feel emotional. She was like a little sister to me, and now she’d brought another life into this world. Fuck, I was really proud of her and happy for her.

  “That’s our girl,” I said. “Now get out of here before you make me cry. I can’t go back there all teary eyed, you jackasses.”

  Bas chuckled and Dad smacked me once on the back, before Lissa came over, taking Bas’ hand. Then they all walked out together. Vi and Lucy were the next to go back, and when they came out, Sadie and Ace stood. Sadie looked at her sister, but Mia just shook her head.

  “I’ll wait for you out here. I think it would be weird if I went back since I don’t know Jax and Ky that well.”

  “It wouldn’t be weird, but if you want to wait, that’s fine,” Sadie told her.

  “I’ll wait,” she reiterated and then Sadie and Ace disappeared behind the doors that led to Jax’s room.

  “So you came to the hospital, but you don’t actually want to see the baby?” I chuckled looking at her.

  “Well, I was having a late breakfast with Sadie when Jax called to say her water broke. Sadie didn’t want to take the time to drop me back off at my dorm before getting up here,
even though Jax had your brother and his wife with her.”

  “I see, so you were just along for the ride. Probably not how you expected to spend your Saturday afternoon.”

  “Pretty much, but it’s okay. I like Jax. She’s always been nice to me, and it’s kind of exciting to be here for the birth of a celebrity baby. I mean did you see those reporters and people with cameras outside? It’s kind of crazy.”

  When we’d arrived at the hospital, we were accosted by the usual crowd of paparazzi. Jax didn’t like to bend to them, changing her life just because of who Ky was, so she insisted on doing most things as normally as she could, including giving birth at a hospital. Even though this was the best hospital in Boston, and they promised that they took privacy very seriously, no doubt someone low on the staff had made a phone call as soon as Jax had been admitted.

  Her and Ky’s story was one that people never really got tired of, and the more notoriety that the band got, the more we were all hounded in our personal lives. Most of the time, it wasn’t that big of a deal. It came with the gig, and we all took it in stride, but Ky and Jax got more of it than any of us. Before the tour this summer, they’d actually had to move out of Jax’s childhood home next door to my dad’s place, and into a more exclusive and private neighborhood. It’d been hard on Jax, who just wanted to maintain as much of a normal life as she could, but with the baby coming, she’d known it wasn’t realistic and they wanted to be safe.

  “You’re not planning to sell them a story now, are you Mia?” I teased her, but her eyes went wide like she thought I was serious.

  “Oh, God no. I would never do that. I swear. I know what it’s like to have people turning your life into their entertainment.”

  “Relax, I was just giving you a bad time,” I reassured her, wanting to erase the mortified expression from her face.

  “Besides, if you did,” Spade added, “we know where to find you.” He winked and she smiled somewhat nervously. Then her sister and Ace were back and she stood as if to leave with them, but Sadie stopped before her.