Claiming Amelia

by Jessica Blake

  “You’ll only screw it up, Hawk. Stand back and let me do this.” She calmly pushed the button and then stood back enough to watch the car’s progression by the lighted numbers overhead. The doors opened, and we all crowded inside. Marga tapped the button for the third floor, and soon we burst out into a corridor. A sign directed us to an OR waiting room, and that’s where we headed.

  A half hour passed and there was no word. “Should it be taking this long?” Hawk groaned.

  No one said a word. Marga stood up and paced a bit, peeking down the hallway for some advance glimpse of the doctor. Suddenly, she twirled toward us and beckoned madly, pointing down the hall.

  We crowded around the doctor. “Congratulations, Mr. LaViere, you have a tiny, but healthy baby son. Mrs. LaViere has been taken to the ICU where she will be monitored. We expect her to survive, but she’s not out of the woods yet.”

  I held my hand over my mouth to stifle the cry of relief. When Hawk’s legs buckled, Worth stepped over quickly to hold him up. Ben stood on his other side. Mark placed a hand on his shoulder while Marga began to cry again in earnest.

  “Your son will be in the NICU, but you won’t be able to visit until the doctors there have examined and stabilized him. He may require a breathing apparatus. Even then, only the father is permitted at first. I would appreciate if you would wait an hour before trying to see your wife. They will be settling her in the room and hooking up monitoring equipment. If nothing unexpected arises, she has a very good chance. Tomorrow will tell us much more.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  Auggie

  I sat in the sunshine next to Liane and watched the baby sleeping in his carrier, shaded by a soft baby afghan. It was nearly Christmas, but a warm spell had sent us outside. As we Kentuckians like to say, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.” It was supposed to snow tomorrow.

  As tiny as Benjamin Bernard LaViere was, he could wail louder than an ambulance when hungry. He’d spent his first four weeks of life in the hospital, growing strong enough to come home. He hadn’t stopped eating since and had chubby baby cheeks to prove it.

  Liane was still weak, and the sunshine felt good to both of us. Hawk was hovering nearby. He and Worth were looking over the house plans and for the first time in decades, looked like father and son. They had, by all accounts, gone through a religious experience, even if it had been delivered by a very earthly, very angry vicar. Liane and Hawk had named the baby for him, adding the middle name for our beloved Bernie. Nothing could have been more appropriate.

  The holidays advanced upon us and this time, everyone, including Grandpa Ben, Hawk, Liane, and the baby joined us at Carlos Acres, making it the most special Christmas of my life. I still missed my dad and when I hung his special ornament on our tree, the ache for him was nearly unbearable.

  Brandon and Lily stopped by on Christmas Eve and Letty outdid herself with a very British Christmas meal, in honor of the vicar. She smiled at him often, and he seemed to enjoy the flirting. I looked at Worth, and he nodded. We would have to invite the vicar here more often.

  After the holidays, Worth and I flew to the condo for a couple of weeks and I learned what it was to be a wife again. Mark and Marga chose to stay behind and took up residence with Hawk, Liane and the baby while we were gone. Marga was turning into quite the helpful babysitter while Mark helped Hawk with the farm. Good therapy, he called it. In fact, the exercise was doing him a world of good.

  We’d left Lettie behind as well, giving her some much needed time off. I cooked, I cleaned, and Worth took care of the yacht and helped me when I needed it. We traipsed the towns along the coast, and I began to accumulate a collection of miniatures. I had always been fascinated with scale, and Worth had bought me a dollhouse for Christmas, which I was now enthusiastically decorating. “It’ll cost me a lot less for the architect,” he had teased, and I’d playfully slapped him.

  We Skyped with Hawk and Liane, and they’d hold baby Ben up to the camera so we could virtually pinch his cheeks. He was growing at a healthy, normal rate and couldn’t be more perfect.

  Worth and I made love almost every night. After the hunger of long abstinence was sated, we had settled into slow, luxurious and sensual sessions that left us both fulfilled and more in love each time. We learned about one another, one on one, without the interference of work or family drama. For me, it was like an extended second honeymoon.

  But when it was time to go home, we were ready.

  Time passed and Spring came, and before I knew it, it was Mark and Marga’s graduation. Because Mark had been so studious before the accident, he’d taken a number of honor’s courses as well as advanced placement. So even after missing a semester, he still had enough credits to graduate with his class. I still wonder sometimes if Worth had bribed the principal, but never got up the nerve to ask.

  As for Marga, she had blossomed further over the winter and was now quite an impressive young lady. Although we’d been concerned about her in the past, she’d done admirably and made us proud. Her grades had improved, and it was feasible that Worth may not have to bribe a college in France to take her in.

  At their commencement, we all cheered as Marga, then Mark walked across the stage. He still limped and his speech would most likely always have a stutter, but he stood tall and looked graceful to me.

  Brandon declared his candidacy to become state senator and Worth, under my raised brow, wrote out a very healthy contribution check. Lily had the best news. She was pregnant and would be welcoming their baby in the summer.

  When Hawk and Liane moved into their new house, we all helped them get settled. It was breathtaking. Ultra-modern and very spacious, I knew they would be entertaining regularly. Hawk had taken over management of the farm after Lily’s wedding. He had plans to add additional outbuildings and eco-areas. Liane was planning to create a zoo for exotic and endangered species. I applauded this whole-heartedly and thought what a magical place it would be for Ben as he grew up.

  It appeared as though our lives had finally stabilized. Everyone had made their peace and had something to look forward to. Even the vicar and Lettie. I’d caught them kissing in the kitchen.

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  Hawk

  Standing in the stirrups of my beloved Diablo, I gained a few precious inches to look down upon the rolling hillside of Carlos Acres.

  Home.

  My real home this time.

  I still couldn’t believe it.

  Nearly five years had passed since I stood on this same ridge, looking down upon the lush hillside, filled with the toxic venom of hate.

  “Look, Daddy! Bird!”

  I followed the little finger pointing to the sky and love pounded through my heart. Ben looked up at me with his bright green eyes, a huge smile splitting open his face.

  “See, Daddy?”

  I ruffled the hair of the little boy sitting in the saddle in front of me. “Yeah, Daddy sees it. It’s a hawk, looking for his dinner.”

  Ben looked up at me. “Hawk? Like you?”

  I laughed and leaned down to kiss each one of his fingers, ignoring the sticky ice cream that had melted on them long ago. “Yes, like me.”

  As we watched the predator sweep across the skies, searching for his prey, I wondered if I’d one day tell my son how my name came to be. Maybe. Maybe not. None of that was important anymore.

  At the sound of laughter, I turned in my saddle.

  That. What I saw there. That was important now.

  As if she knew I was watching her, Liane turned and looked our way, her hands cupping her swollen belly. There, she nestled our daughter who would be saying hello to the world in only a few weeks.

  Behind Liane was my family. Mom and Dad, Grampa Ben and Lettie, Mark and Marga. They all sat on blankets, enjoying a picnic lunch. Ben and Lettie had gotten married almost a year ago and were now settled in a cabin nearby. He’d retired from the church, but volunteered often. Mom and Dad never replaced Lettie. For some r
eason, Mom now enjoyed cooking, and she’d hired a pair of sisters to clean once a week.

  When Mark and Margo had turned eighteen, I deeded them both a third of the property that had been given to me. It seemed only right. It was our equal inheritance, after all. Marga could have cared less, she was too busy enjoying France. But Mark… Mark had turned into not only my brother, but my best friend. It had meant a great deal to him to be included.

  Loving my mother had been easy. My dad took a little longer, but I’ve not regretted letting him back into my heart. Finally, after so many years of damage, it looked as if the LaViere curse had been broken.

  “Mommy!” Ben yelled and waved madly at his mother. “Look. Hawk. Like Daddy!”

  Liane shielded her eyes and looked up, spotting the bird. My heart squeezed in my chest as she headed our way, her beautiful hair trailing behind her in waves.

  When she was close, I swung down from the saddle, keeping one hand on our son. “Have I told you how incredibly beautiful you are today?”

  Her smile grew wider. “Only a couple hundred times.”

  I kissed her nose, then her eyelids, then her mouth. “Well, I’m slacking. I’ll have to do better than that.”

  Between us, our daughter stirred, and I dropped my hand to her belly, feeling the movements, unsure if it was a little foot or hand. Liane groaned as she was kicked again, harder this time. “She’s been very active today. Sometimes I think she’s trying to climb out.”

  I smiled and turned us all to face the people sitting on the blankets, and it became hard to breathe for a second. “I don’t blame her,” I told my wife. “I bet she can’t wait to meet her family.”

  THE END

  Continue on to read a special sneak peek of one of the books in the Crystal Brook Billionaire Trilogy, Wrecked.

  A Sneak Peek

  WRECKED

  Crystal Brook Billlionaires

  CHAPTER ONE

  Grace

  The long streak of light crackled and whizzed, pirouetting up into the air and exploding in a glorious plume of purple and green. More fireworks followed, each one lighting up the sky and the calm ocean beneath them. I pressed my hips against the banister, leaning as far as I could. The scene was so vivid. If I only tried hard enough, it felt as if I could reach out and touch the multi-colored stars.

  Next to me, Rainy whistled and jumped up and down, some of her cocktail spilling over the rim of its glass. “More blue!” she slurred, like whoever was at the pier setting off the fireworks might just hear her and abide.

  “Swim over there,” I teased her. “Just make sure to change into your bathing suit first. That’ll convince them.”

  She gave me a saucy pout. “That’s a good idea. Maybe I will. Or maybe you should go. Men love Latinas.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

  “Half Latina counts,” she said. “Because you know...”

  Another round of fireworks burst into the sky, drowning out the end of her sentence. Several more people from the party pushed against the edge of the yacht, oohing and smiling up at the sky.

  Two firm hands pressed into the small of my back before snaking around my waist. I tried to play it cool and hide my smile. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rainy grin and waggle her eyebrows at me from underneath her thick blonde bangs.

  “How’s the view?” Eli said into my ear between two explosions.

  I pushed one hip back just right, the tight fabric of my sparkly green dress stretching to its limit. I’d picked it out with him in mind, although not in a million years would I admit that. My hip grazed his thigh, and he responded by shuffling forward a bit.

  “Better now that you’re here,” I answered, making an attempt even though half of my sentence was lost in the noise.

  I turned sideways to peek at him. His unruly brown hair was sticking up every which way — a style that was meant to seem casual but which I knew took painful time crafting.

  His hand slid down to my palm and tugged. I hesitated, planting my six inch stilettos firmly into the deck. Eli gazed back at me, and I cocked an eyebrow, letting it be known that I questioned his intentions. No way was he drawing me away that easily, no matter how willing I was to go. Eli and I had only hooked up once. Well, maybe once and a half — that depended on exactly what you considered hooking up — and there was no reason for me to stop playing hard to get anytime soon.

  He jerked his head to the main door leading below deck. Between us and it, several black tie servers moved about with trays, offering drinks and hor d’oeuvres to the mostly twenty something crowd. The best Fourth of July party I’d been to in years was in full swing, and there was no way Elijah Bishop Welty was going to enjoy the satisfaction of drawing me away from it without a fight.

  “Well?” I said, despite the fact that he couldn’t hear me. He could read my lips, though, and his fingers grasped mine harder as he took a step towards me.

  “I want to show you something below,” he said into my ear.

  I tried to keep my face composed while I slowly nodded. One minute, I mouthed, although we both knew that if things went well for both of us, we would be gone for much longer than one minute.

  I let him lead me through the door and into the red carpeted hallway decorated with gold and white striped wallpaper, past the entrance to the kitchen and into a long room at the end of the yacht. I didn’t know much about boats — except that it probably isn’t okay to call a yacht a “boat” — but I knew the vessel we were on was impressive. It was all thanks to Rainy’s father, a man who had made his mark as a leading actor in high budget action flicks decades before Rainy and I were even born. He called the party an early birthday present for her, though her twenty-second was still months away.

  The room Eli pulled me into had a fish tank longer than a couch in the middle of it. A big flat screen TV was planted against the wall and strewn about the room were chairs and chaises. I walked over to the tank, inspecting the tan starfish creeping along the pebbled floor.

  “You look amazing tonight,” Eli said to my back.

  “Oh yeah?” I softly responded, watching his reflection in the fish tank’s glass.

  His voice practically dripped with lust. “Yeah.” The boy wanted me, and he wanted me bad, but I was enjoying the chase too much to just give in right then and there. Trailing my finger along the base of the tank, I tried to think of what to say next.

  The cell phone ringing in my clutch interrupted all thoughts. I jumped slightly, having forgotten that I’d left the volume on the stupid thing turned up all the way.

  “Do you need to get that?” Eli asked.

  I dug in my little white purse while I turned to face him. My fingers found the side of the phone, and I hit the silence button. “Nope.”

  He took a couple of fast steps towards me, stopping only a foot away. “What was I saying?”

  I tilted my face up towards his. “You were telling me how good I look tonight.”

  His mouth broke into a side grin. “Oh, yeah. I was.”

  “You wanna keep going with that?”

  Two palms grasped my hips, pushing my back up against the tank. “I’d rather do other things with my mouth.”

  The dam inside of me broke. To hell with playing hard to get.

  “Show me what you had in mind,” I whispered.

  ***

  The cool glass against my forehead felt like heaven. I sucked in a deep breath and batted my eyelashes open. I’d brought along the darkest sunglasses I owned, anticipating a hangover, but even they did nothing to shield me from the painful glare of Los Angeles’ midday sun.

  The car’s driver hit a pothole, and my stomach lurched. Had I really had that much to drink last night?

  It was hard to remember. I knew I’d thrown back a couple of cocktails by the time Eli and I went down below. After that, we’d found the liquor cabinet hidden in the room. There’d been a lock on it, but breaking it open was child’s play. Somehow the entire bottle of Grey Goose Magn
um disappeared in no time at all, much like my strapless bra, which I never did manage to locate.

  After going back up to the deck, we proceeded to drink more as well as smoke something questionable out of Connor Gentry’s bowl.

  But considering that I had successfully hooked up with Eli and had no real physical damage other than a gnarly headache, I’d say it had all in all been a successful night.

  Rainy and I had loose plans to meet up later to have drinks and rehash the events of the party. As I debated whether or not a little hair of the dog might do me some good, the car pulled into the circular drive on Sierra Mar. There were no cars in our driveway since my dad always preferred to use the garage, so it was impossible to tell whether or not he was home.

  Saturdays could be iffy with him. Half the time he chose to see them as any other day of the week, working straight through the mornings and afternoons at his office downtown. “People need cat food every day,” was something he liked to say, referring to Pet Hop, the pet store chain he’d begun expanding across the country years ago.

  Fumbling for the handle, I let myself out of the car. My legs shook slightly and I was glad I’d had the foresight to pack a pair of flats. After staying out on the yacht till close to dawn, Rainy and I had drunkenly traveled — thanks to her father’s personal driver, of course — to her house in Venice Beach. After a few hours of sleep, my own journey home began. It was time for a shower and a pair of underwear that didn’t ride up my ass in the name of being sexy.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled to Rainy’s driver, remembering at the last second to turn around and grab my Gucci Soho leather shoulder bag. One of my high heels peeked out the top of it, and I jammed the shoe back in.