Justice Falling

by Audrey Carlan

  “That would be,” I choked and shuddered, overwhelmed with the feeling of finding my family for the first time. Nate’s warmth permeated the back of my shirt as he put a hand on my lower back.

  “It would be amazing. You know you have a nephew now.“ Tripp’s eyes widened and a huge toothy grin split his face. “Tanner will be ecstatic to meet his Uncle Tripp.”

  Tripp placed one last kiss on my cheek as London came to our little huddle. She placed a hand on his shoulder. Collier was close behind. “Everything okay, mate?” he addressed Tripp. “Brother?” he questioned Nate.

  “Never better. I was just meeting my sister for the first time.” Both Collier and London’s face sported matching shocked expressions. “Can I call you?” Tripp pulled out his phone.

  “Anytime you want.” I smiled and gave him my number. He tapped several buttons on his phone and I heard a buzzing in my purse.

  “That’s me. You have my contact information now. I’ll call you tomorrow,” he added excitedly.

  Nate grumbled and pulled me into his chest. “How about you call her in a couple days, mate? We’ll have you over for supper. My girl is tired, needs a good night’s sleep, food, and time with our son.”

  Tripp’s eyes widened and he ran a hand through his already messy hair. “Okay, yeah. You’re right. Sorry.” He grinned. “I got a little ahead of myself. This news, it’s probably…” He took a huge breath and stared at me. “It’s probably the best news I’ve ever gotten.”

  I melted and flung myself back into his arms, hugging him tight. He returned the hug and spun me around. “My brother,” I whispered against his ear. “I have a brother.” I laughed when he put me down.

  When we finally pulled apart, we both were beaming. “See you soon…sister,” he quipped.

  “After a while, brother!” I called as Nate tugged me away, chuckling. I waved goodbye one last time and then hugged my fiancé.

  “My life is perfect!” I said as he whirled me around and kissed me long and deep against the hospital wall.

  “It’s only going to get better,” he promised.

  “You’re right, because I’m marrying you.”

  ***

  Camille slept for half a day and was still zonked. I picked up Tanner and brought him home.

  “Okay, son, I’m going to teach you how to make breakfast for your mum.”

  Tanner dragged a stool, the legs grated along the expensive pine wood floor before he hopped up. I shook my head but figured I’d let it go for now.

  “Alright, you crack an egg like so.” I cracked the egg tapping it on the edge of the stainless steel bowl. I tossed the shell in the sink. “Now you have a go of it.”

  Tanner’s little tongue came out of his mouth as he focused. It took him awhile to crack the egg. Finally I covered his hand with my own and wacked it hard enough to break the shell.

  “Now pull it apart here,” I pressed his thumbs into the middle, opened it and let the egg drop into the bowl. His eyes lit up.

  “I did it, I did it! Did you see that, Dad? I’m so a good chef!” His little chest puffed with pride.

  “You are doing a brilliant job!” I cracked the rest of the eggs and let him mix them up. He enjoyed that part immensely, though I think he got more on the counter than was left in the bowl.

  For good measure I cracked a few more and finished pouring them into the pan. I fried some bacon and potatoes and let him add the fruit I’d cut up to the plate.

  “Mom is going to love this breakfast!” he squealed, running down the hall.

  “No, sport, wait!” I tried to whisper loud enough for him to hear but not to wake Camille. He stopped just at the door. I handed him a bright yellow sunflower. The rest of the bunch was in a vase on the kitchen table. One thing I learned about Camille, she loved flowers. She seemed to adore them all, but her favorite were sunflowers. I had flowers delivered every week to our flat so she could enjoy them every day. Seeing her lean her delectable arse over the table in her tiny bed shorts and sniff them each morning was thank you enough. I loved starting my day with a shot of Camille-cheek with my tea.

  I held my fingers up to my lips, mimicking quiet. He giggled and held his hands over his mouth. The boy could hardly contain his excitement. We entered as silently as possible for a four year old who couldn’t be quiet. He crawled along the side of his mum and held the flower to her nose. I chuckled and she smiled, obviously aware of our sneak attack.

  “Mmm, something smells divine.”

  “It’s this flower Mommy.” Tanner shoved the flower into her nose. Her eyes opened and she tried to move her face as he continued to press it against her nose. “Smell it! Stop moving so you can get a good sniff,” he said seriously.

  She stopped and noisily sniffed the flower, then pushed it away and sat up.

  “It’s great, baby. Thank you.” Her sleepy eyes caught mine and the tray I held. “What’s this?”

  “Breakfast in bed, my love. You deserve it.”

  Tanner jumped on the bed. “I helped, I did it. I cook-did and cracked up the eggs!” he said with pride.

  “You did? Well I’m starving and I will eat them all up!” she assured him.

  “Okay, little man, stop jumping. I can’t set down mummy’s food.” He jumped down and crossed his legs.

  “Can I have cartoons and cereal?”

  I laughed. “We just made breakfast. You don’t want that?” I asked completely astounded. He normally ate everything.

  “Today I want Lucky Charms and Batman!” He ran out of the room screaming the batman theme. We put the cereal and bowls at a low level in the kitchen so he could serve himself. He actually did a great job not spilling the milk.

  I set the tray over Camille’s lap and watched as she ate. She was ravenous, not having eaten a proper meal in more than a day. Once she was done, I moved the tray and snuggled into her side, kissing her sweet lips. She tasted of tea and butter.

  “Mmm that kiss was the perfect ending to my meal.”

  “Is that right? Well, I’ll just have to kiss you after every meal, my love.”

  “You promise? Every day?”

  “I do. And that brings me to something we haven’t spoke of.”

  Her eyebrows knit together. “What’s that?”

  “The wedding. Mum called and wants to make travel plans to the States.”

  Camille bit her lip. “We could always just do something really simple. Like Justice of the Peace? I’m sure you know a couple judges who could marry us. We can pick any ole day and it would be fine. I don’t really care. I just want to be your wife.” That answer, sandwiched with ambivalence and lack of excitement, were not what I expected from a soon-to-be bride.

  “Do you not want a wedding?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t really have any friends or family, besides Jin and now Tripp. What’s the point really? There’s no one to walk me down the aisle. We could just elope like Collier did. That would be fine.”

  “My Mum would have a heart attack if we did not have some form of ceremony. How about this? We have a small wedding with close friends and family? We’ll each have one attendant. You could have Jin. I’ll have Colly. Tanner will be our ring bearer. Wouldn’t you like to see him in a little tux that matches mine?”

  A huge smile lit her face. Now that was the excited bride I needed to see. “I do love when you boys are twinsies. He’d love that, too.”

  “And you could pick the dress of your dreams. No budget. Which reminds me.” I hopped out of bed, pulled out my wallet and handed her two cards. One was a new debit card, the other was a Visa with her name on it.”

  “What are these?”

  “The new cards to our banking accounts. I had your name added. You can keep your own account or merge it with mine. We’re getting married soon. I want everything in both our names starting now.”

  “But, I figured you’d want a prenup?”

  My head swung around to hers. “Whatever would give you that sodding idea? What’s mine
is yours, Precious. And what’s yours is mine. Just like Tanner. When you’re officially a Walker, he will be too. We’ll sign a wedding license and the official adoption papers at the same time.” She needed to understand that there wasn’t ever going to be anything between us ever again. No lies, secrets, no broken pasts, just the three of us making our life and home together.

  Camille flew out of bed and into my arms. She wrapped her legs around my waist and sat in my lap. “I love you, Nathaniel Walker. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me or Tanner. We will wear your family name with such pride.” She kissed me for all she was worth. I pressed my arms to her back, surrounding myself with the thing that made me the happiest man on earth.

  Epilogue

  One year later…

  I stared at the wedding photo of Nate, Tanner and me. It sat in a position of honor on my desk at Jensen Construction. Thinking back to that day six months ago filled me with incredible joy. Our Caribbean cruise ship wedding was utterly magical. Nate and Tanner wore matching tuxes, as promised, each with a dark eggplant colored vest and tie. Jin wore a stunning strapless, purple tea-length gown that matched. Collier looked handsome in a similar tux standing as best man. The helm of the cruise ship was decorated with hydrangeas and a white metal arch was fashioned with ribbon and filled in with giant bursts of sunflowers. Hank walked me down the aisle wearing a dark grey suit with a lavender tie. I could have had Tripp walk me down but I didn’t want Marcus to feel slighted. Besides, Hank had been there for me from the very beginning and we shared a deep care and respect for one another. The same way a father and daughter would, even though he was only eleven years my senior.

  The sky had been a pristine blue and the ocean waters calm as we vowed to love, honor and cherish one another all the days of our lives. We added a section to the ceremony where Tanner officially accepted Nate as his father. We signed our marriage certificate and Tanner’s adoptions papers in front of God and everyone.

  All the people we loved and cared about were in attendance. The Jensen’s, the Stone’s, Dean and Oliver and my two brothers, Tripp and Marcus. Nate’s family flew in from England.

  After the ceremony, we spent ten days with our friends and family cruising along the Caribbean islands. After the ten days, everyone went their separate ways, and Nate and I spent an additional week in Jamaica for our private honeymoon. It was the first time in five years I had been away from my son, but Jin and Tripp assured me they had it covered. We received text messages and funny pics of Tanner daily. My brothers and I had gotten to know each other pretty well. Marcus had another year of college, but kept in touch. He had a lovely girlfriend he was smitten with and planned to marry one day. When school was over, they agreed to move to New York to be closer to Tripp and me.

  Tripp still lived in London’s condo and offered them a home with him. He said he hated being in the apartment alone.

  Tripp and I were now the best of friends. We lunched every Wednesday and he attended family dinners every Sunday night at my home with Nate. Dinners were a standing invitation to whomever could make it. That included Collier, London, Emma, as well as our extended family of friends; Hank, Aspen, little Hannah, Dean, Oliver, Jin and Zach. Tanner adored Hannah and treated her like his cousin. We left it that way. In my world, friends were the family you chose.

  “What are you still doing here? Let’s go get the kids,” Hank said as we closed up the office. It was our usual routine. We entered the private elevator. Yep, I had been upgraded to special status and now had use of the private elevator. It felt incredibly “Mission Impossible-esque” to have my own code. I entered the number and pressed the button to go down to the fifth floor. We exited and pressed another few buttons on the door outside the office. Security in this part of the building had been expanded. Oliver wouldn’t have it any other way.

  As we entered, several squeals could be heard. Hannah toddled over to her father, arms open wide as she gibber-jabbered. Drool escaped her mouth in a long string of slime as Hank scooped her into his arms. “How’s my Hannah Banana today?” Hank asked as he peppered her face with kisses. She slobbered and held her Dad’s neck, smacking his face repeatedly. Her golden blond hair curled around her neck and ears. A bright red bow held up a tiny bunch of curls, reminding me of Pebbles from the Flintstones.

  A whoosh hit my side. “Mommy!” Tanner hugged me tight then brought his ear to my belly. “What’s my baby doing in there?”

  I leaned over and hugged my son. “Sleeping.” He concentrated on my stomach and frowned. “My brother sure sleeps a lot.” He sighed and his little shoulders slumped. From behind me I heard two more voices.

  “Hey, Precious, I thought I was picking up our guy today?” He hugged me and kissed my neck, nibbling a little. The spark sent chills down my spine to settle heavily between my thighs, softening my sex, making it wet and ready to be taken. He growled into my neck. “I know that look. Don’t make me take you to the nursing room to shag the shite out of my wife.”

  “Please do,” I murmured back, my need building stronger with each second. Damn hormones were insane. I wanted him morning, noon and night. A few times the past few weeks I’d begged him to meet me at the apartment for an afternoon delight. He always obliged. Such a good husband.

  “Later, love.” He kissed me one last time, gave the baby belly a rub and crouched to hug Tanner.

  Aspen must have entered behind him because she had Hannah on her hip and was talking to Jin about weaning Hannah off nursing and switching to cow’s milk. Above Jin’s head, the sign AIR Bright Children’s Center sparkled. I smiled widely, truly enjoying how life came full circle.

  When Aspen had Hannah, she and Hank couldn’t bear to be away from their daughter, but neither of them would agree to leave their job. The issue of a nanny was born. Oliver suggested they open a daycare instead. Nate came up with the idea of hiring Jin as the Director for the center. She had spent the last year going back to school getting her certifications and was ready when the center opened. I loved seeing Jin so content.

  She was dating one of the attorney’s at Stone, Walker, & Associates, which brought us all together even more often. Now she ran the entire daycare center, made a high dollar wage, and had moved into one of Nate and Collier’s apartments in downtown New York.

  The entire fifth floor of the AIR Bright building boasted the full daycare and children’s services for kids between four months to twelve years of age. There was one adult to every five children and only allowed a handful of babies. Those spots were dedicated to our small group.

  Oliver interviewed, background checked, and called every reference for the personnel himself. He was dedicated to making the center the safest place for AIR Bright’s children. I believed it was because of Hannah and he and Dean’s daughter, Isabella.

  That was another big change. It occurred after Hank and Aspen had Hannah. He and Dean had a simple wedding, hyphenated both their names, and found a surrogate who went through in-vitro for them. They’d talked about it a lot during Aspen’s pregnancy. When Hannah was born, they decided that they were ready. No one knows which Dad is the ‘real’ biological father, but they both take their role very seriously and as far as we were told, they don’t plan to ever find out.

  The best part about the children’s center was that if you made over a certain amount, you paid tuition. If you earned less than the threshold but worked for AIR Bright, daycare was free for up to two children.

  Aspen was adamant that having a child should not be a hindrance to her staff. Since the addition of the daycare, every facet, including her revenue streams had increased twenty percent and staff turnaround was at an all-time low.

  London and Collier entered and surprised both Nate and I.

  “Hey, mate, what are you doing here?”

  “I thought Aspen and Hank had a date tonight? Weren’t we supposed to pick up Hannah?” London asked while furiously rubbing her swollen belly. It turned out our honeymoon was very fruitful. Both London and I we
re due a couple days apart, though her bump was expectedly a bit larger.

  Hank slapped Collier on the back then made a grab for London’s belly. She rolled her eyes. “Go ahead.”

  He grinned and placed his giant paws on each side of her huge belly. We were both six months, and I’d just found out we were having a boy. Her visit had been this week.

  “So? What are you having?” I asked excitedly.

  London looked at Collier. “A boy!” he said and looked at London.

  “A girl!” she said.

  Hank’s eyes widened and Aspen entered, rubbing London’s belly. “A boy and a girl? Oh, how perfect!” She hugged her sister. The twins news wasn’t new, but the sex was. The couple looked thrilled. Originally, London was beyond freaked out at being pregnant. When she found out she was having twins, she accepted her fate and went with it. For a woman who had been so open and free, she now had everything dialed in and organized. I had to believe that was Collier’s effect on his wife.

  “Angel, we need to catch up.” Hank gripped Aspen’s hips and rubbed up against her like a cat on a scratching pole. “Let’s start tonight after our date! I want another baby.”

  Aspen looked at her husband’s face. “Are you serious? I just got my body back!” She pouted. He pulled her against his chest and palmed her ass.

  “Yeah and it’s fuckin’ to die for. I want to put a baby in it!” He jerked his hips against hers and she grinned, clasping her hands around his neck.

  I shook my head and laughed. Their little display reminded me of the heavy ache between my own thighs.

  “Okay, okay, that’s enough, mate. Christ! Too much info!” Nate scowled and hugged me to his side. I tickled his lower back then grabbed his bum to remind him of my plight. His gaze shot to mine and turned a swirly navy blue color. He nipped my lips. “Behave,” he said then gave me another peck. It wasn’t nearly enough.

  I took a breath, trying to calm my libido and focused on London and Collier. “We’re having a boy, you two are having one of each and we already have Hannah, Isabella, Zach and Tanner. Our family is growing and I for one couldn’t be happier.”