by Jaime Lewis
The room went completely silent, and Alex wanted to laugh at the expression on Tenley’s face.
“What happens if I actually poop? Oh my god. That is disgusting, not to mention embarrassing. Tenley looked down at the doctor that sat between her legs. “Is there another way to get these little hellions out?” Alex couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. It must have been contagious because soon, everyone in the room was laughing, including Tenley. “Well, shit, let’s just get on with it because if I have endure this much pain any longer, I think I might just pass out.”
Alex held Tenley’s hand as another strong contraction hit Tenley hard. She pushed and grunted, and the doctor motioned for Potter to look at the action happening between Tenley’s legs.
“What is that?” Potter asked as his face took on a little bit of a green, sickly look.
The elderly doctor just smiled and said, “That, son, is the top of the head of your first baby.”
Alex really wasn’t sure what she was expecting from Potter, but what she damn well wasn’t expecting was for Potter’s eyes to roll back in his head and his large body to collapse to the floor.
“Oh shit!” Alex blurted out as Tenley just sat there staring at her husband sprawled out on the floor, then started laughing hysterically.
By the grace of God, Juliette entered the room. “What happened?” She asked, all concerned as she stepped over Potter to get to Tenley’s other side and held her hand.
“Well, my big badass SEAL husband apparently can’t stomach a baby coming out of my hoo-ha.” She started sobbing. “He’s the one that put them in me. And, it’s not like he’s the one having his vagina stretched the length of the Grand Canyon.”
Jesus, Alex didn’t know if she wanted to cry for Tenley or to laugh at her and the mayhem that was taking place in this room. They could win America’s Funniest Home Videos, hands down. Potter would never forgive himself if he missed the birth of babies. Well, as long as he wasn’t working for Uncle Sam. Alex looked at Juliette. “Can you handle Tenley? I’m going to go get Derek and Ace, and they can help get daddy here up.”
At Juliette’s nod, Alex took off running down the hallway to the waiting room. When she got there, the whole team was now there, and she explained what happened. She could see they were all trying to suppress their amusement with the situation, and honestly, she couldn’t blame them one bit because as soon as all of this was over, they were all going to sit around having a drink and laughing their asses off.
When Alex, Ace, and Derek hit the door to Tenley’s room, Alex heard the most amazing sound. The sound of life, double time. Her heart melted as she opened the door and saw Tenley and Potter both sitting on the bed, each of them holding a bundle of pink.
When Tenley raised her head and looked at Alex with unshed tears in her eyes, Alex couldn’t be any happier for her best friend. She was envious of her. She had the perfect family. A husband who loved her unconditionally, a seven-year-old daughter who they brought life to again after her parents were killed, and now these two precious bundle of joys they welcomed. She looked up at Ace, who seemed to have the same look on his face as she did. But when he looked down at her, she saw guilt, even though nobody else would recognize that look. It was a look that Alex was pretty sure Ace made a point not to let many people see.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest. He then whispered the word “soon” to her, and she felt her heart kick-start. They had been trying to get married for almost a year now. But life got in the way, and things got postponed. But her friends weren’t letting life slow them down. Maybe it was time to take a different approach to marriage. Maybe she didn’t need the big fairy tale wedding she’d dreamt of. Maybe all she needed was just the man.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Stitch couldn’t wait to get to Mia’s side. He smiled, and even found himself whistling as he walked through the emergency room department as he headed to Mia’s room. Seeing Tenley and Potter’s twins had been a bright spot on the events that occurred today.
As he rounded the corner, he caught sight of a man entering Mia’s room. He was on full alert with everything that had happened today and became suspicious and hastened his walk. As he neared the open door, he heard Mia’s soft voice, followed by the guy’s.
“Terek.”
“Hey, Mia.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I was told you were here, and I wanted to come and make sure you were okay.”
Stitch stood at the door enough to where he could see in. He felt horrible for eavesdropping on a private conversation, but he wondered why her ex-boyfriend would come all this way just to see if she was okay.
“I’m good—some bruises and a broken arm. But it could’ve been worse.” She tilted her head sideways as she looked at him. “Terek, you could’ve called to see how I was. Why are you really here?”
Stitch heard him sigh. “I needed to talk to you before I headed out, and I wasn’t sure if you would take my call.”
“Terek, Ace explained why you did what you did. I can’t say that I agree with your style of execution, but I do understand why you did it.”
“Mia, I’m so sorry. I really wish things could’ve worked out between us. You are an incredible woman.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Things happen for a reason.”
“So, you’re happy?”
She smiled, “I am.”
“Then, that’s all that matters.”
“You said you were headed out. What’s next for you?”
“Well, since my cover was blown and my target skipped the country, my career in the bureau is pretty much over unless I want a desk job.”
“That doesn’t sound like you,” she teased.
He chuckled, “No, definitely not. I spoke with a buddy of mine from the service. He just opened a private security company in Florida. He offered me a job, so maybe I’ll head down that way and see how it goes.”
“Well, I wish you all the best.”
“Thanks, Mia.”
He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Take care, Mia.”
Stitch didn’t want to be seen, so he slipped into the vacant room next door until Terek passed. Once the coast was clear, he entered Mia’s room and saw her wiping her eyes. He knew everything had to be taking a toll on her.
“Hey, you okay?”
She looked up and smiled, red eyes and nose. “Yeah, just a very emotional day.”
He grinned, “Yeah, it was. I saw Terek was here. Everything okay with him?”
“Yeah, all good. He just wanted to see how I was and say good-bye. He’s taking a job down in Florida. Some security business a friend of his from the service opened.”
“Good for him.”
Mia snorted a laugh. “Stitch, you don’t give a rat’s ass about him.”
He gave her a boyish smile. “True.”
He took her hand. “All your paperwork is taken care of. You ready to get out of here?”
“Yeah, can we make a quick detour? I’m dying to see those babies.”
Stitch’s smile grew, and he kissed her lips. “They are so cute. Come on, a quick stop; then I want to get you home.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Mia locked the doors to the clinic and smiled as she admired the new signage on the door—Virginia Beach Animal Hospital and Rescue Center – Mia Chambers, DVM. With Stitch’s mom's help, Mia was the new owner of the town’s veterinarian clinic and rescue shelter.
A lot had happened in the last three weeks since the incident at the cabin. After Mia was released from the hospital. She had flown back to New York to meet with Federal Investigators regarding Dr. Walters. During those discussions, Mia found out that Dr. Walters held several properties around the country to import and export puppies illegally. In the end, the FBI had arrested a little over forty people in connection with the operation, and they were working with international law enforcement to crack down on the growing business of puppy smuggling.
She had made arrangements with the FBI to have all of the puppies that were still in Dr. Walters’ possession to be shipped to Virginia Beach and housed at her rescue center until they could be adopted.
During the meeting with the investigators, she had asked about her friend Willow. While Dr. Walters had claimed he had killed her, there was no solid evidence to back up the claim, so the police considered her a missing person, though Mia had her doubts knowing now what type of person Dr. Walters was.
Stitch had been by her side the entire time. Her brother and a couple of the others from the team traveled to New York to help pack up her apartment and move her “home.”
The biggest surprise had come when she and Stitch arrived in Virginia Beach. Instead of going to Stitch’s apartment, Mia was puzzled when Stitch pulled the moving truck up in front of a house. It had been dark by the time they arrived, and she had been asleep the last leg of the trip, but once her eyes had time to focus, she realized it was the same house that she had seen when she and Stitch had come to town. It was a quaint home just down the road from Stitch’s parents’ house. She had seen a ‘for sale’ sign in the front yard and looked it up on the internet and had fallen in love with it just from the pictures alone. With the help of his mom and dad, Stitch had contacted the realtor and started the process of purchasing it. With their connections, they had pushed the sale through very quickly to surprise her.
Not only did he surprise her with a house, but he had it newly furnished. Stitch owed Skittles and Diego for helping pull off that part, along with Alex and Autumn, who had helped pick out the furnishings since they knew Mia’s style.
She pulled her coat a little tighter around her as she walked to her car. It was the day before Christmas Eve. Though she had been over the moon with all of the positive changes in her life, she’d admit that she had felt a little depressed because Stitch wasn’t sure if he’d be home for Christmas, but she understood. He and the team had gotten called up a few days after they returned from New York. And, of course, with his assignments, there was no timeline on when they would return.
On a positive front, she had been cleared by her doctor to resume all strenuous activities. She had started running again, and even started joining Alex for kickboxing, though she still had a cast on her arm. But she was due to have that removed in three weeks.
As she pulled into their driveway, she sighed, looking at the dark house. She hadn’t even put up Christmas decorations. Hell, she still had boxes all over the house to go through and unpack. With the clinic closed for the next couple of days, she’d have a lot of time to spend working on getting the house organized. It would be a nice surprise for Stitch for when he got home.
She unlocked the door, and when she stepped into the foyer, a white light flicked on, and she dropped her bags as she covered her mouth. Tears began to flood her eyes as Stitch stood next to a fully decorated Christmas tree.
She was speechless but began to walk toward him.
He smiled and met her halfway.
“I thought it would be nice to surprise you.”
“You did,” she said, looking between him and the tree.
She couldn’t stop crying. She was still emotional over everything that happened, so the slightest little thing could send her into a fit of ugly tears. But these were tears of happiness.
“I’m sorry I don’t have the house cleaned. I’ve just been so busy with trying to get the clinic running in the direction I want it to go.”
“Mia…”
She looked up at him as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.
“Stop apologizing.” He leaned down and covered her mouth. He kissed her deeply and with so much passion that she relaxed and gave over all control to him.
As he released her lips, he smiled. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
She smiled then looked at the tree. “The tree looks beautiful.” She touched some of the ornaments. They were all ornaments that they both had collected over the years.
“I saved the angel for you to put on the tree.”
He picked up a shoebox and brought it over to her.
“Really?”
“Your mom mentioned how it’s always been your thing.”
She was excited because she and Stitch had picked out the Angel together. She wanted an angel that held meaning for them.
When she stood beside him, he looked down at her and smiled as he ran his knuckles down her cheek. She was so in love with him.
She removed the lid to the box and gasped. In place of the rustic Woodland Angel was a stunning white gold band with a diamond embedded into the band.
Stitch took the ring box out of the shoebox and dropped down on one knee, and took her hand in his.
“Mia, since I met you; you have always been the source of joy and happiness in my life. No matter where I’m at in the world, when the sun shines, it reminds me of your beautiful smile. I want my heart to be your shelter and my arms to be your home. Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” Mia whispered with tears streaming down her cheeks. She was so overcome with emotion, she dropped to her knees next to Stitch. He slipped the ring on her finger and pulled her into his embrace. He was absolutely right; her home was in his arms.
Epilogue
“Mia, this is gorgeous!” Alex said as she admired Mia’s engagement ring.
“Thank you,” Mia replied and then winked at Stitch. “He did a good job picking it out.” Because the diamond was embedded in the ring, it gave it a smooth surface so she wouldn’t snag it on anything while at work.
The gang was once again gathered at Ace and Alex’s celebrating the holiday. Stitch couldn’t stop smiling. There was so much to celebrate besides Christmas. He glanced over and wanted to laugh at Potter as he sat back in the chair with his new daughters, one in each arm as they slept the day away.
“So, did you and Mia talk about wedding plans yet?” Frost asked Stitch.
“Some. She wants a small event. Similar to what you guys had,” Stitch said, looking at Frost, Potter, and Irish.
Just then, Sienna, Irish, and Bailey’s little girl walked into the kitchen and grabbed a cookie off the tray in the table, and Stitch smiled, seeing how Irish morphed into daddy mode. It was heartwarming, and Stitch couldn’t wait for the day that he would become a dad. Mia had told him last night that she had been cleared by her doctor. It had been killing him not to be able to make love to her, and the last thing he wanted was to cause her more pain. But she better be ready because tonight, he was going to show her what she meant to him as he explored every inch of her body.
“Sienna, where are Cody and Alejandra?” Tenley asked.
“Oh, they’re in the game room playing with Cody’s balls.”
The room went silent, and Stitch wasn’t sure what was more amusing—the blood draining from Frost’s face, or Potter spewing his beer all over his newborn twins. Everyone else thought it was funny as shit.
Before Potter blew a gasket and Frost keeled over from lack of oxygen, Bailey asked Sienna while trying to keep a straight face, “Honey, what balls are they playing with?”
“You know, the squishy ones.” She said as she squeezed and relaxed her fist.
“Oh hell!” Potter exclaimed as he leaped up and handed the twins over to Tenley before high-tailing it out of the room.
Everyone else laughed their ass off when Sienna clarified that the squishy balls were the stress balls that Alex kept around the house.
Once the amusement died down, Stitch turned toward Dino, who had been on the quiet side for most of the day. He noticed he kept looking at his watch as if he had some place to be.
“Dude, what has been with you the last two weeks?”
Dino looked up with his forehead scrunched up. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve been skipping out on drinks at Bayside, not to mention hauling ass out of the base, and just like you’re doing now, you keep looking at your watch. What gives, man? You
got a woman waiting on you or something?” Stitch joked, but Dino didn’t reply.
“Wait a minute. Have you been seeing that neighbor of yours?” Diego asked.
Judging by the death stare that Dino gave Diego, Stitch knew Diego had hit a nerve.
“Are you seeing someone?” Alex asked, and Stitch smiled to himself. He knew that Dino couldn’t and would never lie to Alex. Although he could skate around the truth, Stitch knew Dino respected Alex too much.
Dino just shrugged his shoulders. “It’s really nothing. I have a new neighbor that moved in next door, and we’ve been….talking.”
“Oh, well, talking is good, I assume.”
Dino just nodded his head, and Stitch could see that the conversation was becoming uncomfortable for Dino, so he changed gears.
“Hey Alex, I heard that Arianna was coming back to town in a few weeks.”
Alex smiled at the mention of their old high school friend. “Yeah, Paul said she was due in between Christmas and New Year’s. It will be great to catch up with her.”
As they all discussed the impending arrival of their old friend, Stitch couldn’t help but hope everything was okay with Dino. Whatever was going on, he hoped it all worked out for his friend.
Dino and Arianna’s story is coming in April 2021!
Pre-order available now!
Book List
The Trident Series
Volume I
ACE
POTTER
FROST
IRISH
STITCH
DINO (April 2021)
SKITTLES (June 2021)
DIEGO (August 2021)
The Trident Wedding (2021)
About the Author
Jaime Lewis entered the indie author world in June 2020, with ACE, the first book in the Trident Series.
With a barrage of positive reviews and a series embraced by readers, Jaime is a rising star in the romantic suspense genre.
Coming from a military family she describes as very patriotic, it's no surprise that her books are known for their accurate portrayal of life in the service.