Be My Baby Lite

by ANDREA SMITH

  Be My Baby - Lite

  Book 3 of ‘Baby Lite’

  A novel by Andrea Smith.

  Author: Andrea Smith

  8/24/2013

  MEATBALL TASTER PUBLISHING

  Text copyright © 2013 by Andrea Smith. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under The U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior express, written consent of the author.

  ISBN: 978-0-9898250-5-4 (E-Book)

  ISBN: 978-0-9898250-4-7 (Paperback)

  All characters and events in this book are fictional; any resemblance to actual persons or events, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  This book is intended for adult readers only.

  Editor: Brenda Wright

  Cover Design: SueBee

  www.BookCoversbySueBee.com

  FBI ANTI-PIRACY WARNING

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in FEDERAL PRISON.

  Playlist for 'Be My Baby' Lite Edition

  "Stop and Stare" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OneRepublic

  "Be My Baby" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ronettes

  "Apologize" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OneRepublic

  "Montego Bay" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bobby Bloom

  "Paradise" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coldplay

  "When a Man Loves a Woman" . . . . . . . . . . . . Percy Sledge

  "It's Christmas. Baby Please Come Home" . . . . U2

  "Heaven's a Place On Earth" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Belinda Carlisle

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Be My Baby - Lite 1

  Book 3 of ‘Baby Lite’ 1

  CHAPTER 11 139

  CHAPTER 15 188

  DeKalb County, GA Several Years Later 341

  About the Author 358

  CHAPTER 1

  I was pacing back and forth in the visitor’s lounge with my phone up to my ear. I was trying like hell to reach Trey. I wanted to let him know what was going on with Gina.

  The door opened suddenly and Tristan came in. His face was pale. He was scared. I hadn’t pulled any punches when I'd finally gotten in touch with him earlier. I'd lit into him pretty good, feeling bad afterwards when he told me the reason he hadn’t heard his phone was because he was busy sanding and staining the cradle he'd made for the baby. He'd been working on the nursery furniture in his spare time in the basement at the club. It was to be a surprise for Gina.

  “How is she?”

  “I don’t know anything more, Tristan. They took her for an emergency C-Section. It seems like it’s taking too long. I’m scared.”

  Tristan came over and pulled me to him. We both loved Gina.

  “How are you feeling, Tylar?”

  “I’m holding up okay. This pregnancy is certainly different than with Preston’s. I’m just so tired all of the time. When my doctor increased my vitamins I was nauseated all of the time. I’ll get through it.”

  “Where’s Trey? Have you called him?”

  “I’ve tried several times. Tonya said that he and the new junior partner are in depositions and can’t be interrupted.”

  “Oh. Amber, huh?”

  “Who else?”

  Just then the nurse came out to the lounge and asked who was here for Gina Hatton. Both Tristan and I answered at once.

  “Well only one of you can come back. She’s in recovery now.”

  I turned to Tristan.

  “Call my cell and let me know as soon as you talk to her doctor or her?”

  “I promise,” he said, squeezing my hand. He headed out the door, right behind the nurse.

  I sat back down on one of the stuffed chairs. I was glad that Gina and Tristan had worked things out. I never doubted that they would. Surprisingly, it was Trey that had talked some sense into Tristan about the situation. That had shocked the hell out of me.

  Trey had been furious with me the night all of this had gone down. Ian had presented some lab report to Tristan at the club showing him that he had a normal sperm count of all things. Tristan immediately jumped to the conclusion that Gina had been trying to pull one over on him by not telling him that she and Ian had hooked up one last time right before Gina and Tristan became involved.

  It had been a real mess for about a week. Trey had calmed down sooner than Tristan. Gina had simply told Tristan that he could believe what he wanted to believe. She didn’t give a shit. She would raise the child with or without him.

  They eventually worked it out but Gina was better at forgiving than forgetting. She told Tristan she was having the DNA testing done as soon as the baby was born. She also told him once she had the results she was going to personally shove them up his ass.

  I giggled as I remembered standing there at the club and watching her as she'd lit into him. She'd jabbed her finger into his chest to drive the point home. Tristan had simply watched her calmly. When she'd finished her tirade, he'd pulled her against him and held her tightly. He'd told her it was fine; he deserved it, and that he loved her.

  He'd treated Gina well during the rest of her pregnancy. They had moved her furniture into Trey’s old apartment once we had moved out. It was their home now. Gina had re-done Preston’s nursery preparing for a boy. She'd wanted to know the sex of the baby. Both she and Tristan were going to be great parents. I just wished he'd call me. I needed to know they were okay.

  My phone chimed just then; it was Tristan. “Hey,” I said.

  “She’s fine; the baby's fine.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief.

  Thank God.

  “Apparently there was a separation of the placenta and tearing of something else. I don’t know all of the technical terminology involved but her doctor said she'll be fine. She needs to stay in the hospital for a few days. Our son weighs six and a half pounds and he is beautiful, Tylar.”

  “Oh Tristan, I'm so happy for you both. Congratulations, Daddy. When can I see them?”

  “She can have visitors tomorrow. She’s pretty groggy right now. Hey, do you need me to drive you home or anything?”

  “No. I’m good. I’ve got my car here, so no worries. Tell Gina that I love her.”

  “I’ll do it, Tylar. See you tomorrow.”

  Jean had Preston fed and in her pajamas by the time I made it home. I'd still not heard from Trey. I filled Jean in on Gina’s status. She assured me those things while not all that rare, are not all that common, either. I knew Jean was worried about my pregnancy. She knew how sick and tired I'd been. I don’t know how I would've managed had it not been for her.

  I walked out to the barn to check on Derringer. Marcus was still out in the paddock area when I got there. Derringer had strained a ligament earlier in the week and I wanted to make sure that Marcus was still putting the liniment on it and wrapping it. I hadn’t gotten out to the barn yesterday. It hadn't been one of my good days.

  “Hey there, Tylar,” he greeted me with a smile. “Are you feeling any better today?”

  “A little bit, thanks. I just wanted to check on Derringer.”

  “Don’t trust me to take care of that spoiled horse of yours, huh?”

  “You know me,” I replied with a wink. I checked on Derringer; he had a fresh wrap on.

  “See?”

  “Okay, okay. Yes, I'm a worrywart about some things. I appreciate your tolerance of that, Marcus.”

  The truth was I didn’t know what I would've done w
ithout Marcus looking after the horses, keeping up with ordering supplies, and scheduling stud services. My father had sent two gorgeous Arabians to us shortly after we moved to the ranch. The stud fees we collected from those alone were a small fortune.

  “I’m sorry I haven’t done more around here to help, Marcus.”

  “Hey now,” he said, leading ‘Majestic Maverick’ out of his stall, “I know you haven’t felt well, Tylar. Don’t you worry a thing about it, okay? The important thing is to take care of yourself and that baby. We’ll manage out here for the time being.”

  He clicked his tongue and walked the horse out into the arena area for exercise. I liked Marcus regardless of Trey’s feelings about him.

  Trey seemed to think any male working with me or around me had some ulterior motives for trying to get into my ‘knickers’ as he put it.

  I'd hired Marcus several months after we'd moved out here. The stud service and boarding had grown significantly. Trey had told me I needed to financially justify hiring a full-time hand which I easily did. I think even Trey was surprised at how lucrative our facility had become. Still, he made the occasional comment about how much time I spent with Marcus. He hadn’t made those comments in a while; probably since my pregnancy had become so obvious.

  I could have raised a stink about how much time he spent with Amber these days. Ever since they brought her into the firm as a junior partner several months back, Trey had been tasked with mentoring her. Not that he complained of course. She'd been out to the house several times working with Trey on various cases. I didn’t like her. I knew she knew that as well.

  I walked across the pasture back up into the house. I saw the headlights of Trey’s car as he came up the driveway; another car was right behind him. Shit! That was Amber’s little BMW. Of course, I would totally look like shit at the moment. Trey might've shown me the common courtesy of advance notice, but no, he never did where she was concerned.

  He told me I should appreciate the fact that when he had to work late, he did so at home. That part I was used to; I just didn’t appreciate him having Amber right next to him working in our home. She wanted him. That was very obvious to me.

  I pulled off my muddy boots and dropped them to the floor of the back porch. Hopefully, if I went in through the back I could avoid the prissy bitch. No such luck. She and Trey were in the kitchen getting coffee made.

  “Well Tylar, hello,” Amber greeted, taking off her coat and putting it on the back of a kitchen chair. “Trey tells me you’ve not been feeling well.”

  “Hi Amber. You know, just the pregnancy stuff I guess.”

  “Well actually, I wouldn’t know about that yet. I’ve not been blessed but I fully intend to have children someday; just as many as my man wants.”

  Amber was perfectly made up and coiffed. Her make-up and nails were always impeccable. I couldn’t remember the last time I'd indulged in a manicure or pedicure. She had chestnut brown hair that was but just above the shoulders. Her eyes were a dark, chocolate brown. They were very intense; they were doe eyes.

  Trey handed her a mug of coffee and she sat down at the table.

  “Trey - do you have a minute?” I asked.

  “Sure baby.”

  He stood there expectantly, waiting for me to continue. I rolled my eyes at him indicating it was of a private nature.

  Duh!

  “Oh, excuse me for a moment Amber. You can go ahead and get started marking up the depositions if you want.”

  “Sure Trey,” she gushed, flashing him her signature, flirty-ass smile.

  “See you later, Tylar.”

  “Uh huh,” I replied leaving the room.

  Trey followed me out of the kitchen and down the hall to the living room where we were out of earshot.

  “Trey, I've been trying to reach you all day. I must’ve left three messages with Tonya.”

  “I’m sorry, Tylar. We were taking depositions all day at the office of opposing counsel. I haven’t even been back to the office.”

  “What? You don’t check your phone either?”

  “I’m sorry, babe. It’s been a crazy day. What can I say? I’m here now. What is it?”

  “Gina had the baby today. Emergency C-Section. She nearly bled to death.”

  I threw the last part in to make him feel really bad.

  “Oh God, Tylar! Is she okay? What about the baby?”

  “Yes, they're both fine. I couldn’t reach Tristan for the longest time so he didn’t get there until she was out of surgery. I couldn’t get in touch with you at all which I find unacceptable being that I'm significantly pregnant right now. What if I can’t get in touch with you when it’s time?”

  “Honey, honey, I think you're going a bit overboard here. You’re not even due for a couple of months. Don’t worry. This case should be winding down by then.”

  “Well don’t rush it on my account,” I snapped at him turning away.

  He reached for me pulling me back to him. “Hey, why don’t you go up and take a nice, relaxing bath? We should be finished down here in an hour, tops. I’ll come up and give you a back rub, okay? Does that sound nice?”

  I melted against him just like I always did. The truth was it sounded like heaven.

  “Mmmm,” I sighed, “yes it does.”

  “That’s my girl. I’ll see you in an hour, baby.”

  “It’s a date.”

  He gave me a quick kiss and headed back to the kitchen; back to Amber with the full, pouty lips; and the perky, pushed-up breasts.

  CHAPTER 2

  I checked on Preston who was sleeping peacefully in her crib when I went upstairs.

  Jean had retired to her apartment for the night. I gave my baby girl a soft kiss on her check and pulled her blanket up around her. She was getting so big; growing up so fast. She was excited about the prospect of having a new baby brother or sister. Jean and I made sure we kept explaining about why Mommy’s tummy was getting big. She liked to put her hand on my stomach and feel the baby kick.

  I'd stopped breast-feeding Preston right before she turned a year old. Trey had insisted. He didn’t think it looked right for a pregnant woman to be breast-feeding another child. He said it looked ‘hill-jack’ whatever that meant.

  I ran a warm bath and got a clean nightgown out. My long soak in the tub felt wonderful. I washed my hair and shaved my legs. Trey was right. I worried too much. I knew that he would be there when the time came. My hormones were making me overly emotional again.

  I slipped under the clean, warm sheets of our bed. I looked at the clock. It had been an hour and twenty minutes. I was so looking forward to my back rub. The baby was relatively quiet now. The past few days he (or she) had been doing gymnastics within the confines of my uterus - at least it felt that way. Tonight it was very calm. I would probably sleep much better.

  I drifted off to sleep. I wasn’t sure how much later it was when I felt Trey beside me in bed. He smelled fresh from the shower. I could feel his damp hair as he lowered his face to mine, capturing my lips with his own. He kissed me softly, the passion building.

  What about my back rub?

  “Mmm-Trey,” I started, “what about…?”

  “Hush baby,” he whispered, “I need to be inside of you; it’s been so long, Tylar.”

  I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination or not, but it seemed like Trey was always horny after a late work night with Amber. It was difficult to tell though, because we hadn’t been having sex on a regular basis for quite a while.

  I just never felt good. I knew Trey was getting tired of my excuses. There was no way I was going to make an excuse tonight. As much as I wanted to simply forego the back rub in favor of him allowing me to roll back over and go to sleep without having sex, I knew it wouldn't bode well. It wasn’t his fault I was never in the mood.

  Whatever, I suppose.

  I laced my arms around his neck, pulling his face closer to mine. He lips and tongue hungrily devoured me. His breathing was already getting fast
er. Perhaps it wouldn’t last too long tonight.

  I lay on my back; my eyes had adjusted to the darkness of our room. It was if I was someone else watching a bad porn film. Trey was doing all of those things to me that I used to love. His lips and tongue were doing magical things to my breasts and below. His fingers were gently probing the folds of my sex; I felt myself get wet for him. My body was responding; why wasn’t I?