“I keep telling everyone that I haven’t felt well since I woke up here but no one seems to get that,” I say as she walks out and waves then comes right back in.
Carter and Mia come running into the room. “Tell, Uncle Jude, goodnight, kids.” Mercy picks up Mia so she can reach me and she gives me a kiss on the cheek.
“Goodnight, Mia.”
“Night, Unkie Jude.”
As I run my hand through her perfectly coiffed, blonde locks which are usually on the unruly side, I think about the day when we adopt her and make her our first Hurst daughter.
Mercy puts her down and Carter gives me a salute. “Goodnight, sir,” he says then laughs. “Me and my friends were pretending we’re in the army. That’s how we say hello and goodbye now.”
So I give him a salute back. “Goodnight to you too, sir.”
And that little man will be our first Hurst son. Our oldest child and my heart swells with love for my little family. Mercy kisses me on the forehead. “I’ll see you in the morning after I drop the kids off at daycare.”
“Mercy, about that. About help with the kids. How about we hire Becky as our full-time, live-in, nanny?” I ask.
The kids’ faces light up and they both jump up and down. “Yes!”
Mercy looks at them and then me. “I’ll ask Becky what she thinks about that.”
“Make sure you tell her a safe car comes along with that to cart the kids around when necessary. And tell her she’ll have every other weekend off. We won’t monopolize her time.”
“I’m sure she’ll like that.” Mercy kisses my lips only for a moment then they’re gone and I feel the absence of them already. The room is quiet and I feel lonely.
For the first time since I’ve been here, I feel lonely. I wish I was going home too and spending the night in bed with my wife. But that day will come soon.
Please let that day come soon!
Chapter 5
MERCY
In the small waiting room, we all wait for news of how the surgery has gone. We had an update a little while ago and the nurse said Jude was doing well. The surgery was pushed back three days after he spent two of them with fever. But once the small infection cleared, he was fever free and eligible for the surgery once more.
Rose and I are sitting in a corner, looking at the pictures on her phone of our little wedding and laughing at some of the sillier ones. We look up as we hear a man’s voice say, “I wanted to be the first to tell you,” Randy walks in and says as he looks at Rose. “He’s in recovery. He looks great.”
Rose gets up and goes to hug him. The two have been inseparable since they met at our wedding and I have to say my matchmaking skills rival those of the best. I get up to hug Loretta as Doctor Padron comes into the room.
We all look at him as he smiles at us. “It went better than I even expected it to. I was worried about all that time in bed affecting his muscles and I have to say if it did, I sure as hell couldn’t tell. That man is in perfect shape. I don’t know how he did it, but he needs to patent his workout and diet.”
I laugh. “He pretty much is going to do that, doc! So he might walk again?”
He nods. “The odds are in his favor now with the repairs I made and the new bones I put in to replace the damaged ones. His recovery time is around three months, give or take. In my opinion, with his determined spirit, it will be less than that.”
I fall back into the chair and let out a sigh of relief. This is the first good news we’ve had since the accident. I needed this little pick me up. “When can I see him?”
He wiggles his finger at me. “Right now, Mrs. Hurst. You’re his wife, you can come see him in recovery. Your face can be the first one he sees when he wakes up.”
I jump up and go to the waiting doctor. “Well, what are we waiting for. Come on, doc!”
Going with him down the different hallways I find myself giddy with emotion. “You know, Jude told me that you went to the doctor yesterday and got the news that you two are having a baby.”
“He told you?” I ask as he takes another hallway to the left and I’m now completely lost. “He told me not to tell anyone until tomorrow.”
“Well, he told me right before we put him under. He said if he didn’t make it he wanted us to know he was having a baby and he felt he’d accomplished at least one good thing in his life.”
I get a little choked up as I think about my Jude, lying there on an operating table and thinking he might not make it through the surgery. “That man.”
Finally, we get to a door that says recovery on it and he opens the door. “This is Mrs. Hurst, Bonnie.”
The older woman gives me a nod as she runs a wet cloth over his forehead. “Good, maybe he’ll wake up for you.” She hands me the cloth. “Run it all over him and call for him to wake up.”
I look back the doctor. “Thank you for everything, doc.” Then I turn back to Jude and wipe the cool cloth over his cheeks.
He looks pale compared to his normal tanned skin. But he’s been inside for quite some time now and with more surgery and blood loss, I guess it’s pretty normal. “Jude, honey, it’s time to wake up.”
His hand moves to touch my arm and he holds it with a weak grip then his dark eyes flutter open and he’s looking at me. “How did it go?” he croaks with a scratchy voice.
“It went better than the doctor expected. He said your recovery time is around three months.”
His smile is weak but he looks a thousand percent happier than I’ve seen him since his accident. Even happier than on our wedding day.
“Good. I had a dream, Mercy. I had a dream that we had five kids, including Carter and Mia. I had a dream we lived in a beautiful home,” he whispers to me, then his eyes close again.
“He needs to stay awake,” the nurse tells me.
So I try to keep him talking. “And what kinds of kids were they? Boys, girls, a mixture of them all?”
I touch his cheek with the cloth and his eyes open again. “Uh, uh. You have to be surprised.”
“Come on,” I say with a smile. “Did we have any pets?”
“There was a bird,” he says and he looks past me like he can see something behind me. “Hey, is that her?”
“What?” I look back and see no one there. “Is who her and who is her?”
“I think that’s your sister, Mercy. She’s nodding her head. Her hair is blonde but her eyes aren’t blue like yours, they’re green like Carter’s.”
I look back again and feel no presence at all. Then I look back at him. “You’re right.”
“She’s mouthing, thank you, to me.” He blinks and smiles. “You’re welcome, Hope. I promise to always take excellent care of them all for you. I’ll never let them forget you guys.”
I look back again. “Me too, Hope. Even though I can’t see you. Which isn’t fair in the least, may I add.”
“It’s the drugs, baby,” Jude says, making me turn back to look at him. “She’s gone.”
I run my hand through his hair and kiss his forehead. “The drugs, huh?”
“Yeah, these are some good drugs. I don’t feel anything but in a good way this time. And when I get all the way better you had better watch out for me.” His hand moves slowly up my arm and then it’s resting on my breast. “Because I’m going to make up for lost time, over and over.”
“Shush, Jude!” I say as I blush. “There’s a nurse in here.”
The older woman laughs. “I think it’s sweet.”
I lean over and kiss his lips. “Okay, we can talk about that much later in your recovery.”
“I get it,” he mumbles. “You’re afraid of that little doctor Sweeny getting all over our asses again, huh? Don’t worry about her. I’ll protect you.”
I look at the nurse. “He sounds like he’s drunk.”
She nods. “You wouldn’t believe some of the things people say when they’re coming out from the effects of the anesthesia. It’s hilarious.”
“All I know is, I can’t
wait to get this man home where he belongs.”
“And in our bed. Right, baby?” he asks as he pulls at a lock of my hair.
Oh Lord, how am I going to keep him calm with this attitude?
Chapter 6
JUDE
Standing in front of the judge, Mercy, Mia, Carter, and I become a legal family under one name. “I know pronounce you, the Hurst family,” the judge says.
Carter asks, “So now my name is Carter Hurst?”
The judge nods at him. “How do you like that?”
“I like it just fine,” he says with a smile and he turns to me and holds his hand up for a high-five which I give him. “So can I call you Dad, now?”
“You better call me that, buddy,” I say as I pat him on the back. “I’m your Dad now.”
Mercy picks Mia up and straddles her over her large baby bump. “You can call me Mom now Mia. If you want to.”
Mia takes Mercy’s face between her palms and places a kiss on the tip of her nose. “I do, Momma.”
That little girl has never been able to call anyone that before and it stirs my heart. I just might cry. But men don’t cry in my family so I sniffle and shake away the tears. “See you, Judge. I’m taking my family for pizza.”
Carter jumps up and down as he walks out ahead of us and Mercy puts Mia down to join him in his jumping as they shout, “Pizza, yes!”
I put my arm around her as we follow them out and whisper in her ear, “I love you, Mrs. Hurst.”
Her hand flows over my cheek. “I love you too, Mr. Hurst. We’re a real family now, aren’t we?”
I nod. “We always were but now it’s official.”
She runs her hand over her stomach. “And in about a week, we’ll have this little guy to add to us all.”
Our son will be born soon and then things will really be flowing with us. It’s hard to believe that less than a year ago I had no hope of ever walking again much less having an entire family of my own.
Mercy won’t let me talk openly about things like her days of tragedy being behind us all but I do think that’s the case. We’ve only had blue skies since my surgery to regain mobility and feelings. Which went better than the doctor ever expected it to.
I feel almost like the man I was before the accident. Thanks to his special work on my broken body and my continuous work on keeping it strong and healthy.
It seemed like forever until I could take those first steps but once I managed that, the rest went pretty quickly. And as we get out to the parking lot and we each grab a kid’s hand, Mercy and I look at each other and all we can do is smile.
All those little things that make people aggravated each day, roll off us like water off a duck’s back. We don’t sweat the little things. Not one bit. When you know you’ve come to the edge and made it back, it makes you see life in a whole new light.
As I buckle Carter into his car seat, I say, “How about you join me later to go fishing at the pond this evening. If you catch a fish, I’ll teach you how to clean it and Mom can teach you how to cook it.”
He holds up his little hand and I give him another high-five. “Cool, Dad,” he says with a laugh. “That feels funny calling you that. But don’t worry, Dad, I’ll get used to it. Dad!”
Mia laughs and kisses her hand then throws it at me. “Dad, wuv you!”
I’m having to fight back the tears. Man, these kids are making it rough on me today!
So I mess up Carter’s hair and throw a kiss back to Mia and climb into the driver’s seat of the new Range Rover I bought to replace the Jag. I figured something a little more family oriented would be better than another speedy car.
Mercy takes my hand once I get going on the road and holds it on the armrest between us. She smiles at me. “Dad, looks like we have a pretty great day ahead of us, doesn’t it?”
“Why, yes it does, Momma,” I say and pull her hand up to give it a kiss.
Carter asks, “Can we name the baby, Rock?”
Mercy laughs. “No, Carter. We’re naming him Stanley after my father.”
I watch Mia in the backseat as she crinkles up her nose. “That name’s not good. Not at all. I don’t want to call the baby, Stanley.”
Carter nods. “Come on! Let’s name him, Rock. I think that name sounds cool.”
“I don’t want him to be cool. I want him to be my little man,” Mercy says as she turns to look back at the kids to try to explain to them for the one thousandth time why she’s insisting on that awful name. “Cool is not a thing I want any of you kids to be. Forget cool. Just be good and nice and kind.”
Mia giggles. “You can be all of those things and still be cool. And I don’t want to call my new baby brother, Rock, either. I want to call him Paco.”
I have to interject because it’s obvious all of these people are related and have terrible ideas of what a person’s name should be. “How about I get to name this one? And maybe if you guys can learn anything about picking out good names, one of you can name the next one.”
“So, what name do you like, Dad?” Carter asks then laughs again. “Dad, that’s still weird. But anyway, Dad, what name do you like?”
Mercy’s forehead is creased as I think she’s not super happy with my idea. But I kind of hate the name Stanley too so someone has to step in and save this kid. “I would like to name him Rogan.” I wait and let the name sink into their brains for a moment.
“Rogan,” Mia says.
Carter echoes her, “Rogan.”
Then Mercy, the person I’m most worried about, looks out the window for a second then whispers, “Rogan.”
“So, what do you think?” I ask as I tug at her hand.
She looks back at me. “You know I hate to let you have your way all of the time, Jude. I don’t know how come you are so easy to spoil and give you everything you want. But, damn it! I like it. Rogan, it is then.”
I don’t know why it’s so easy for me to get my way either but I’m not trying to find that out, anyway. All I know is I get to call my son Rogan, instead of Stanley and I’m damn happy about that!
As I pull into the pizza place’s parking lot, I look back at Carter. “Bet I can beat you at Skeeball, buddy.”
“Bet you can’t!” he says as he holds up his little fist. “Cause I am the champion of that game, Dad!”
I know it sounds crazy but hearing that little guy calling me that just sends sparks of love all through me. And all I can think about is how lucky I am. I’m so glad I took that horrible bitch to the spa that day!
Chapter 7
MERCY
Getting out of the bathtub after a nice, long, hot soak as Jude puts the kids to bed, I find myself a little nervous about tonight. The baby turned six weeks old today and my doctor officially released me and I can get back into physical action with Jude.
I know we had a much longer time of no sex while he recuperated after his surgery but this time, it’s me who’s been through a body altering experience. I have a host of stretchmarks on my stomach and it’s a little saggy still. My boobs are pretty full of milk and I don’t know how that’s going to go.
But I pull on my robe and go out into our bedroom and find my husband lying naked on our bed. He turns to one side and watches me as I come out. “Lose the robe.”
I knew he was going to say that. I’ve been kind of keeping myself covered at all times since the delivery. My new body needs a major overhaul and now that the doctor has released me, Jude is planning how he’s going to work me out to help me regain my former body.
“Jude,” I whine.
He shakes his head. “Lose it.”
I do as he says and drop the robe on the floor and he smiles. “Don’t.”
“I can smile if I want to, Mercy. You look so gorgeous. Come here.”
I walk slowly toward him, not feeling one bit sexy. “Don’t expect a miracle. I feel like a deflated balloon.”
“I can fix that,” he says as I get to the edge of the bed and he reaches out for my hand and pul
ls me down to lie next to him, facing him. His finger trails over my lips then he kisses them.
Soft, sweet, and gentle, he kisses me as his hand moves over my back and down to my ass where he takes a handful of it and massages it. I move my arm around him and feel his tight muscles.
I wiggle my body closer to him until we’re touching. My breasts are pressed against his chest and the nipples are growing hard and starting to get a buzzy feeling around them.
Jude’s heart starts pounding so hard I can feel it and his kiss changes as his tongue moves into my mouth and strokes mine. His hand on my ass grips harder and I feel his cock going hard between us.
He flips me onto my back and hovers over me, pulling his mouth off mine. “You let me know if anything hurts you, baby. I’m going to go down south and get you fired up and ready to reintroduce you to my most favorite part of my anatomy.”
I giggle at him as he moves down my body. Kissing along my stomach as he goes. He takes my legs and pulls them up to bend my knees. My body is already quivering with anticipation.
He looks at me as he presses his lips to my little pearl and I hiss with how good it feels. He smiles and licks it as he continues to watch my response. “You like that, don’t you?”
I run my hands down to run them through his hair. “You know I do.”
He kisses it again then he turns all of his attention to what he’s doing and takes me into another world. My moan is continuous as the wet heat of his mouth sends me into a frenzy of nearly forgotten feelings.
I feel his hand moving over my leg then his finger is circling my opening and I get an ache to feel it inside of me. As he slips it in, I let out a sigh of sweet relief, “Yes.”
He moans and it vibrates my clit and sends a jolt of pure joy through me. His mouth grows hotter as he licks me over and over until I’m a quivering mess who can only shriek his name again and again until I can’t take it anymore and yank his hair to make him come up.
Moving up my body, he looks at me like a wolf who’s come after a sheep and is about to eat it all up. His mouth is shiny with moisture and he moves right on up and kisses me with my taste in his mouth and I feel his hard cock on the edge of me.
Billionaire’s Quarry: A Billionaire, Bad Boy, Romance (An Alpha Billionaire Romance Boxed Set) Page 29