By seven o’clock, everyone was gone and Mags and I were sitting on our new deck.
Thank you, Mags. This is…I don’t even know. Surreal. Jesus, look at this view! I was giddy with happiness. It scared me. I had the very best husband in the world, a gorgeous house to live in, and the cherry topper—a baby boy on the way. I launched my big-ass body at him and he hardly even flinched.
We were face to face. “Ah, Jennie. I wish you knew how much you mean to me, sweetheart. This house is just a house—although I admit, it’s pretty fucking awesome—and the view is breathtaking, but I hope you realize that I’d be just as happy with you, our baby, and a seven-hundred-square-foot apartment.”
Tears immediately came to my eyes. “Oh, Mags. Me too. I would!” I took a breath and wiped my eyes. “But I sure do love the nice house, even if I do have to start all over with the nursery that we’d just finished in the other house.”
He laughed and then kissed me. It was hours later when he finally left our bed after making gentle love to me. There were only three days to go before he got fitted for his external hearing apparatus. Guarantees weren’t real, and both he and I spent many hours pondering that thought.
The only thing that seemed to sooth his nerves was watching the rhythmic pounding of the waves crashing upon the shore. I wished I could assure him of the results of his upcoming procedure, but I couldn’t.
Magnus
The morning had arrived. After this appointment, I’d know whether I’d be able to hear or not.
Sweetie, stop fidgeting. She was right. I couldn’t sit still. We still had a half an hour to go before we were leaving for the appointment. I’d already changed my shoes twice, as if it mattered, and tried on two different pairs of pants.
Sorry. Shit, Jennie. I think I’m panicking. I don’t really have to do this, you know?
She smiled but told me the truth. Yes, you do have to do this. You’ve gone back and forth so many times in your mind. This could be incredible or it could fail. Come on, babe, it’s time to find out. She kissed me deep. Either way, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t define you.
I don’t deserve you, you know that, Jennie?
She flashed me her saucy smile. Of course I do.
Chapter 27
Jennie
I was so nervous, I could hardly swallow. If Mags got his hearing back, great. If not, no big deal for me, but I knew it was a big deal for him whether he admitted it or not.
We sat in the waiting room for an eternity, gripping hands but not speaking. When they called our names and I pulled on Mags to get us moving, he shot me a glance that I’d forever remember.
His soul was bared to me. He was equally scared and hopeful, but beyond both of those I saw his pure love for me. I grinned and continued to lead him back to the testing room.
Okay, Mr. Eriksson, this is the big day. Are you ready?
Yes, ma’am, I am.
Dr. Jeffers wasn’t there. A nurse practitioner was doing the honors. She didn’t say anything else to us as she placed the magnet from his new external communicator against the receiver behind his ear, attaching it to his head.
When she was done, she sat down at a computer and tapped away on her keyboard. Mags’ head was pointed down as he waited. She hit one last key and his head snapped up. She smiled and hit another key.
Mags looked right at me. “Say something.”
This was it. The moment of truth. “Can you hear me, Magnus?”
His hand shot to his forehead and he cast his eyes downward. “Say my name again.”
“Oh, Mags. Can you hear me, babe?”
He looked up at me, raw emotion spilled across his face. He pinched the bridge of his nose hard, but his tears came anyway. “Sweet, Jennie. I can hear you.” And then my big, tough hockey guy covered his face, and I sat perfectly still watching as his shoulders shook with such sentiment I felt it in my soul. He didn’t hide it from me. He looked right back at me. “I love you. Say it back.”
I smiled through my own tears. “I love you too, Magnus.”
Magnus
I had no idea the sound of Jennie’s voice, robotic as it was, would hit me as deeply as it did. Each sound I heard was as if it was synthesized. It wasn’t like I remembered, and I was okay with that. I’d been told to expect the difference. But Jennie’s voice resonated within me all the same. She and the baby were my everything.
It was more difficult than I would have imagined getting used to hearing again. There were so many sounds coming from all directions, at first I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be hearing. It was hard to concentrate.
The aftereffects had been explained to me. All of my reactions were perfectly normal. I had to get used to understanding sounds again. I needed to figure out what was directed at me and what was background noise. When people were learning how to decipher sounds as babies, it came to them slowly, but when a previously deaf person suddenly got their hearing back it was like an all-out assault on their senses.
Jennie and I sat out on our deck across from each other, as had been our habit. I was concentrating on separating the sounds of the ocean from the sounds of cars driving by, dogs barking, and kids dragging their bodyboards down the sidewalk.
“You okay?”
I was starting to understand why Jennie hated those two words so much. “Yes, dear.”
Her smile set me at ease, as it always did.
“Are you okay?”
She shook her head and smiled. “Yeah. Tired, back hurts, hungry—the usual, but I’m fine.”
“Well, it won’t be long now.” Jennie had a little less than two months to go before her due date. She’d gained almost thirty pounds. I thought she looked beautiful, just like a woman should look when she was carrying and nurturing your baby. She thought she looked like a beached whale.
“I know you’re uncomfortable, but damn, Jennie. You’re phenomenal. You’ve taken such good care of our baby—and me. I wish I could do something for you.”
I again caught myself looking at her lips when she responded and mentally reminded myself that I didn’t need to do that anymore. “I wouldn’t say no to a bubble bath and a watermelon cooler.”
Her warm bath and cool drink was one thing that helped her relax. “You got it. Go run the water. I’ll be in soon.” She rarely asked for anything from me. Finally, I felt useful. If she let me give her a relaxing orgasm in the tub again, I’d feel like a king.
***
Jennie and I settled into our new life. Our home was pretty much set up the way she wanted it, although new wallpaper was going up in the very near future. I’d gotten a new contract with the Breakers that I could live with—five point two million a year for three years. Not bad for a thirty-four-year-old, and aside from all of that, Jennie had been having strong contractions for the last couple of hours.
She was only two days past her due date. “Mags, I think my water broke.”
“You think it did? How do we know?”
“Well, the couch is wet and I didn’t pee.”
Holy fuck. We’d gone over this a thousand times, and I was drawing a blank. “Okay. Um, suitcase, insurance card, and ice?”
She laughed through a gripping pain. “Ice?”
“Shit. Okay, give me a minute.” I sat down to think over my list, but Jennie beaned me in the head with a pillow.
You don’t get a minute. Take me to the hospital.
Without even thinking about it, I signed back. Yes, okay. You ready?
She shook her head as if to clear it. Why are we signing?
“Fuck! I don’t know.”
I sprang up from my chair and scooped her up in my arms, grabbing her bag on the way out the door.
By the time we’d gotten to the hospital, I wished I was deaf again. Jennie’s painful keening was killing me. If only I could take her pain. “I’m so sorry I did this to you, sweetheart.”
She grabbed my shirt with more force than I would have bet she had. “Shut up. It’s fine. I just need
to get this kid out of me, okay?”
What the ever-loving fuck was I to say to that? “Um, yes. Okay, sweetheart.”
An orderly beckoned me to follow him, and I deposited Jennie into a wheelchair. He handed me a clipboard and told me to fill it out on the way up to the maternity ward.
I’d texted Izzy and Cage before we left, and to my surprise we passed them, along with Karen, in the hallway on our way to the birthing room. Karen ignored me and gave her attention to Jennie. “How are you doing, honey?”
“I’m doing fine.” Just then another contraction gripped her, proving her words were a lie.
“Okay. We’ll be waiting for the good news. Good luck, Jennie!”
Cage and Karen took a left when we got out of the elevator, to sit in the friends and family waiting room.
Izzy kept with us. Jennie looked at me almost apologetically. “Is it okay if Izzy comes into the delivery room with us?”
Hell, I was just glad she wasn’t kicking me out. “Of course. Whatever you want.”
It turned out to be a good thing. I had no idea Izzy and I would have to hold her legs as she pushed. I certainly didn’t want a stranger doing the honors.
Not in my wildest dreams could I ever imagine a man would be able to do what my wife did in that delivery room. And she did it with such grace. Aside from a few well-placed f-bombs and a shot—well, three shots—to my groin, she was a classy lady all the way. And at the end of her trials, we had a healthy nine-pound, twenty-one-inch baby boy, which I heard cry for the first time with my very own ears. Life was good.
Epilogue
Izzy
Hearing little Frey take his first breath kicked me right in the gut. Neither Jennie nor I had much family, but we had each other. I was going to be the best aunt that Frey could ever have. I’d known him for all of two minutes before I fell hopelessly under his spell.
As a shock to no one, Magnus was fiercely protective of his son. He hovered over whomever was lucky enough to be holding him until Jennie had to physically push him away. As Frey got to be one month, two months, and then three months old, Magnus was slightly more bearable; however, when Frey started walking, Magnus hired a professional childproofing company to pad every corner of their rambling house.
Jennie was no longer working for the network. I’d always felt her talents were wasted there anyway. She worked from home as a writer—some fiction, some not. Her first book she published was a collection of all the sports greats, including, of course, her Silent Defender, who really needed a new title. She was currently working on a novel about a woman who lost everything but found her way back to life through the very same man who’d taken it all from her. I couldn’t wait to read it.
Magnus and I had gotten almost as close as Jennie and I were. He was the big brother I’d never had. It made me happy that his implant was still working so well for him. He periodically went into the doctor’s office for adjustments, but that was expected. Having him back in the hearing population was great for me too, because now when he tried to pull his big brother crap with me, I could yell at him. Sometimes I was so loud I made him cringe. Those times caused Cage to smile wide if he was around.
My Pop was still with us, although sadly he had more bad days than good. I knew my days with him were numbered, but with my extended family of Cage, Karen, their kids, and then Jennie, Mags and Frey, I’d be okay.
Of course then there was Mitchell Simard. I still didn’t know what to do about him, but that was a problem for another day.
*****************************************
I hope you enjoyed Magnus and Jennie’s story! Please see the next page for a sneak peek at Five Minute Major, the next book in the Breakers series. Keep in touch with some old friends from the team, while making new ones at the same time.
Chapter 1
Isabella Wolf
I had no idea what Jennie and her friends were thinking when they set me up with Mitchell Simard. He was the enforcer for the Atlantic City Boardwalk Breakers, and I couldn’t stand him.
All he did from the time he’d met me was leer at me. I’d be the first one to admit that I liked to attract men. Yes, I dressed to the nines with the thought of a possible seduction in mind, but nothing was hanging out. My nipples didn’t poke through my blouse, and I was pretty damn sure my modest two-inch heels didn’t shout “fuck me!”
“What is your problem?” I’d had it. And that was saying a lot for me. To my shame, I was usually the meek girl who said nothing if a guy ogled her. Jennie said it was because I didn’t know my own appeal. Maybe she had a point, but apparently I didn’t feel that way with Mitch. I was not his “yes” girl.
“No problem here, sweets. Everything I see is A-okay.” His hand reached over the console of his truck to caress my bare leg.
“Hands off, Simard.” I knew I should have driven myself to Jennie and Magnus’ wedding. I’d had a creepy feeling about it all day.
He laughed at me. Laughed! But he put his hand back on the steering wheel of his midnight black Hummer. Overcompensate much?
“Jennie said you needed to lighten up.” He took a flask out of his suit pocket and took a deep pull from it. “Want a shot?”
“What? You’re driving! Oh, my God. This is insane. What was Jennie thinking? Pull over.”
He laughed at me—again! “Relax. That’s the first thing I’ve had to drink in a week, and we’re here.” He pointed to the arena to the right, that I’d neglected to see since I was too consumed by my disgust of all things Mitchell.
I grabbed the flask out of his hands and swallowed a big gulp, coughing at the fire that immediately ignited in my gut. “What in the world is this?”
“Everclear. I’ll mix it with punch when we get inside. And share it liberally. You really shouldn’t take that big of a shot, honey.”
Holy shit. “Everclear? As in the liquor that’s ninety-five percent pure alcohol?”
His shit-eating grin was still firmly in place. “That’d be the one.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“Ah, come on, honey. You can do better than that.”
I swear, I don’t know what came over me, but I hauled off and punched him right in his smug face. And it felt good.
“How’s that?”
He parked before he answered me, wiping the small drop of blood off his mouth. “Well now, that shows some spunk.”
Then he shocked me for real. Quicker than I could process, he unsnapped my seatbelt, pulled me over the console between us, and kissed the daylights out of me. I meant to fight him off, but my tongue had other ideas.
What a bumpy ride to my best friend’s wedding.
Acknowledgments
CP Smith. What can I say? You are a formatting genius. Even with your teachings, I know I still screwed up my formatting, but I also know that you’ll fix it. I humbly thank you and bow to your greatness!
Cassy Roop. I FLOVE this cover. It’s one of my very favorites. You rock, girl!
My Sissypoo, Tracey Bejsiuk. I started this book over once and still didn’t love it. I made her read it, and she told me it sucked too (she used nicer words though). Honesty is hard to come by, and I treasure it. Thank you.
Lia Fairchild, my editor. Thank you for working with me when I messed up my deadline. You made it a very easy and stress-free process!
My beta readers. Thank you for catching my mistakes and making me clarify things that I only understand because I have the whole story in my head.
Beth MacMullin. What can I say that I haven’t said before? Every single person involved in helping me get this book out is important, but since day one, four years ago, you’ve gone that extra mile for me. I can’t adequately tell you how much I value your opinions and the time that you put into reading my stories. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Last, but only because she was the last person to touch this manuscript, I’d like to thank Amy Jackson for proofreading. I had no idea how valuable a service proofreading was. You roc
k!
Also by Nikki Worrell
NHL Scorpions Series
Captain, My Captain (Prequel novella) – April 2014
The Enforcer – May 2013
Goalie Interference – November 2013
Cage’s Misconduct – September 2015
Escort Series
Perfect Ten – August 2014
Imperfect Encounter – March 2016
Other Works
Stories for Amanda (Novella) – Oct 2013
What Mother Doesn’t Know (Novella) – April 2014
Find Me Here
www.nikkiworrell.com
https://www.facebook.com/NikkiWorrellAuthor/
https://twitter.com/nikkiworrell45
Silent Defender (Boardwalk Breakers Book 1) Page 23