Cynical Heart (Heart Series)

by Lee, Vivian Rose

  “My precious girl,” Dana cried. “Fight for Mommy. Please, don’t give up.”

  Seeing the tape across her tiny face and the tubes from her mouth and nose made her heart hurt. She knew that the machines were helping her to survive, but it still hurt to see her baby girl attached to them.

  “Mommy loves you and you keep fighting,” she said, stroking the tiny fingers that wrapped around her finger.

  “Daddy love you too, my angel,” Cab said from behind her.

  Dana turned her head and looked up at Cab. “She’s so tiny,” she whispered.

  “Yes she is, but she’s a fighter and she knows that we love her Dana,” Cab stated, gazing at the baby.

  “I’m sorry, but we have to put her back in,” the nurse interrupted. Although she wasn’t quite ready to let her go, Dana nodded sadly.

  “I love you Cabri,” she said as the nurse placed her in the incubator.

  Dana slowly rose from the chair and took Cab’s extended hand. The other thing that she was thankful for was the cover gown that the nurse had given her so that her ass wasn’t out. She suddenly stopped moving and bent over as a sharp pain sliced through her side. Cab was there in an instant. He lifted her and carried her to her room, where he lay her gently on her bed, right before he left her to get the nurse. The nurse came in, and when she noticed that Dana was no longer hooked up to her IV bag, she shook her head and left the room, telling the two of them that she would return. Dana rolled to her side and held her stomach as she moaned softly. Not long after, the nurse returned and replaced the IV’s. She also gave her something for the pain.

  “The next time you want to see your baby, we will gladly take you. Just don’t pull out the IV’s,” she admonished.

  Dana nodded her head and apologized, and when she closed her eyes, the medicine took instant effect. As she fell into a tranquil state of relaxation, Cab sat beside the bed looking down at her.

  “We need to talk when you are ready, Dana,” he said, taking his hand and gently stroking her hair. There is so much I need to say to you, but it can wait until our daughter is better.”

  He tucked the sheet around her and kissed her on forehead. He then whispered something in her ear before turning and leaving the room. Dana’s eyes sprung opened and her mouth dropped. Stunned by his unexpected words, she stared at the door until her eyes closed.

  When she awoke sometime later, Dana awoke to the most glorious scent. It wasn’t food, but it was one of her other favorite aromas, Jasmine. Her eyes opened wide and she gasped with surprise because the room she was now in was not the same room she fell asleep in. This room was much larger and looked more like a hotel suite than a hospital room. Disoriented somewhat by the sudden change, Dana frowned. She was still in the hospital because the IV drip was still attached to her arm, but this definitely wasn’t the room she was in earlier. The room was decorated with a pink and white balloon bouquet sitting in the corner of the room. Various sized vases were arranged around the room that held her favorite jasmine flowers beautifully arranged with other exotic blossoms. Even a pink blanket covered her. That must have been one powerful painkiller the nurse had given her, she thought as she looked around the room. There was small sofa and chairs in a conversational like arrangement around a coffee table, and although the room was indeed a beautiful surprise, she wondered who was behind it.

  She saw an oversized pink bear sitting in one of the chairs, and she smiled. Cab had played with that same pink bear when they were at the toy store in the mall. She pressed the remote to raise the head of the bed so that she could sit up and get a better view. This had to be the work of Cab, but how in the world did he know that jasmine was her favorite flower? It didn’t matter; everything was beautiful.

  When the door eased open, Dana’s mouth dropped with surprise as Cab came in carrying a large tray with several covered dishes.

  “Good Morning beautiful,” he greeted with a smile.

  Dana’s brow furrowed. Did he just call me beautiful? She watched him set the tray down on the table in the sitting area and couldn’t believe it. He’s smiling

  “What are you doing?” Dana asked.

  “I’m taking care of you,” he stated simply.

  He placed the tray with the covered dishes on the moveable table tray and moved it across her lap. When he lifted the dish covers, the most wonderful aromatic scents assaulted her senses, and to her embarrassment, her stomach growled loudly. She looked down at the platter of fluffy golden pancakes and turkey sausage, and another dish filled with fluffy scrambled eggs, her favorite meal. Reflexively she licked her lips, but quickly glanced over at Cab. Thankful that his back was turned and he didn’t see her reaction to the delicious meal sitting before her, she pinched a little of the scramble eggs and stuck them in her mouth. She moaned silently.

  “Go ahead Dana and enjoy,” he said with laughter in his tone. He placed a cup of tea and a glass of pomegranate juice beside the dishes.

  Dana dropped her head and blessed her food also saying a prayer for her baby. She lifted her head and met Cab’s bronzed eyes. For some reason, they didn’t look so hard and intense. In fact, they appeared lighter, almost softer.

  “Aren’t you eating?” Dana asked, mainly because she didn’t know what else to say.

  “No, you go ahead and enjoy sweetheart, I’ve already eaten,” he smiled looking dreamy.

  Dana cut into her pancakes after spreading butter and pouring warm maple syrup over them, and groaned as the treat attacked her taste buds.

  “This is definitely not hospital food,” she replied in between bites.

  Cab chuckled. “No it isn’t. I had it ordered and delivered this morning.”

  Dana took a sip of the delicious tea, another one of her favorites, and looked at Cab.

  “Thank you Cab, but how? The jasmine arrangements… the breakfast… how beautiful the room looks with all these pink decorations… these are all my favorites.”

  Cab nodded.

  “How did you know?”

  “These are your favorite flowers, right?” Cab asked smugly.

  “Yes,” Dana answered.

  “Well you may not remember, but we did talk… in between our mind-blowing lovemaking,” he stated.

  Dana could feel her face grow hot at the memory. Mind-blowing was putting it mildly compared to what they did those many months ago.

  “If I could rewind time, it would have been different. We have a beautiful daughter together, and I want us to raise her together. Can we do that?”

  Dana groaned and let her head fall back to the pillow. “I’m willing let whatever happens happen Cab, but slowly. I don’t want the birth of our daughter to rush you into something you might later discover that you are not ready for.”

  Finished eating, she pushed the tray away.

  Cab shook his head. “I can’t promise that baby, because I already know what I want.”

  Dana heart slammed in her chest. She already knew that she loved him, but she wasn’t sure about his feelings. “I love you, you are mine,” echoed in her mind, and caused Dana to frown. Was it possible? Could they really have a true relationship?

  Cab cupped her face in his hands, pressing his lips gently to hers, and before either of them realized what was happening, their gently caress became heated.

  “Get your lips off my sister Howard!” Dell yelled out from behind them.

  Cab kissed her one more time before raising up and stepped aside. Dell stared at him hard before moving to the bed. After taking a seat on the side of the bed, he took Dana’s hands in his.

  “How are you Sweet pea?” He asked.

  Dana looked up at him, and saw him wink.

  “I’m fine,” she said, warmly hugging her brother to her.

  Dell moved out of her embrace. “I took the first flight out after receiving Duke’s call. Why didn’t you tell me that this was the joker that seduced you?” Dell said, looking back at Cab with a fierce look.

  “I am not a child anymore
Dell, and it was consensual,” Dana stated rolling her eyes at him.

  “I don’t care; I still want to hurt him!”

  “Stop it Dell,” Dana ordered. “Did you see your niece?”

  “No, not yet. I wanted to make sure that you were all right first. Whew Sweet Pea, you scared me to death!” Dell replied with a chuckle.

  “That’s sweet,” she said yawning uncontrollably. “Now go see your niece Cabri.”

  She must have been more tired than she thought because a few seconds later, she was asleep. Dell smiled at the large pink teddy bear sitting in the chair before going out the door.

  Cab bent over and kissed her softly on the forehead before following Dell out of the room. When the door closed, Dell stood leaning on the wall waiting on him with his arms folded across his chest, and a fierce look on his face.

  Cab groaned inwardly. He might as well get this over with. Talk about the shoe being on the other foot. He couldn’t blame Dell for having an attitude one bit. He remembered having the same feelings when Zoey and Yaz started seeing each other.

  “Let’s talk in the waiting room and then we’ll go see my baby girl,” Cab suggested.

  Both men took a seat, and Dell stared hard at Cab. “Right now all I want to know is when you and my sister start seeing each other, and please don’t tell me you’re that one night stand she spoke of when she told me she was pregnant. I would really hate to think that you seduced my sister. Now I don’t want to hear no damn details, I just want to know what you plan to do now that you are the father of my niece!”

  Cab rubbed his hand down his face. “You are Duke’s best friend and now we are business partners. I have always thought of you as family Dell, so I’m going to be totally honest with you. At first I didn’t believe Dana, and suffice it to say that I said some things that I will forever regret. It is because of the things that I said, at times out of spite, other times out of sheer foolishness, that I don’t deserve your sister’s forgiveness, but believe me when I tell you that I want it. This past week I began to see things in a different light and stepped up to plate. Dana and I are working on a relationship for the sake of Cabri, but I want more than just to be a father, I want Dana as well.”

  Dell sighed. “That’s a mouth full. I won’t ask what was said that you regret, because I will probably have to hurt you. I’m just going to say that if you want your family you have your work cut out for you, but the most important thing is that if you hurt my sister in any way, shape, or form ever again, nothing will stop me from hurting you. You got me Bruh?”

  The men rose to their feet, and when Dell extended his hand to Cab, he took it gratefully. “I guess this truly makes us family,” Cab answered with a smile.

  “Yes, I guess it does,” Dell smiled in return.

  “I want to marry Dana,” Cab blurted out.

  Stunned by his sudden declaration, Delco looked at Cab for a long minute, and then started laughing. “Good luck with that, player.”

  “Do you have any objections to me marrying your sister?” Cab asked, his tone now serious.

  “Hey, I have no say in what my sister does, unless I think she’s going to get hurt. You aren’t going to hurt her in anyway?”

  “Am I going to hurt her? What kind of question is that Dell?”

  Dell got instantly serious and took a step closer. “Let’s face the facts Cab. You have women issues and that has made you cynical. Now I understand that there are some messed up women out there, but my sister is not one of them, contrary to what you might have believed. I am not going to interfere in her business unless I have to. Being with you, or marrying you, all of that is her decision to make. I want my sister and niece to be happy, and if you don’t think that you can do that, then back off and accept what she’s willing to give.”

  “I want my daughter and Dana with me, Dell. I am willing to sacrifice everything for them, and marrying Dana is one sacrifice that I am willing to make, with all my cynical heart,” he answered snidely. He was getting damned tired of everyone calling him cynical.

  “And that’s just fine. So long as long as that cynical heart doesn’t hurt Dana, go for it, but I’ll see what I can do. Don’t expect much.”

  “Thanks Dell. From the moment we first met, there has been a connection between us, and I just recently realized that I cared more about Dana than I wanted to admit. It had to be something between us, just wait until you see the beautiful daughter that we made.”

  Dell nodded his head, and both men left the waiting area to see the new addition to the family.

  Chapter 14

  Two days later, Cab was again at the NICU bonding with his daughter. Before the family had returned to Philly, they had all stopped by to see baby Cabri and Dana, and he remembered standing aside and watching the easy camaraderie Dana had with them. Cat and Zoey wholeheartedly embraced Dana, as did his brothers, and that meant a lot to him. On more than one occasion Duke had asked him what his intentions were with Dana, and he purposely kept his reply evasive and unsure even though he knew exactly what his intentions for Dana Whalen and his daughter would be. Someday soon, they would be a family, but at the present time, he was not quite ready to confide that information in his family, at least not until he found out how Dana felt about marrying him. She had told him that she loved him, and even though she said it while she was heavily sedated, he refused to let her take it back. Love was something he vowed years ago not to venture into ever again. Then Dana swept into his life and forced him to change his mind into at least giving it a try. He had come to terms with the fact that every woman was not a Veronica or Cassandra. There were still women out there that could love unconditionally and Dana was one of them. He had misjudged her so severely in the past, but now, every word he spoke to her since his transformation, he meant from the bottom of his heart. “I love you, you are mine.” The doctor had informed them that they would be releasing Dana the next day, but Cabri had to stay, and he had promised Dana that he would be in LA as long as she and Cabri were still here.

  Cab rubbed the tiny finger that held onto his finger. “What do you think baby girl? You think mommy will have me?” It was a daily occurrence for him and Dana to visit the baby, but he always returned alone for some daddy time. In the three days since she’d been born, he could see a vast improvement. She still had the tape on her eyes and still needed the ventilator to breath, but she was improving and would be coming home soon. It was time to have the talk with Dana.

  Dana sat in the chair beside the window. She was going home tomorrow and she didn’t know where her life was going now that Cabri was born or even where she stood with Cab. She knew he wanted to let their relationship grow and she wanted that as well, but could she really settle into a life with Cab? Of that she wasn’t so sure. Cab was a man with some major issues that she wasn’t sure she wanted to take on, but in these past few days he had changed from the hateful man that she knew when she initially told him about Cabri, to a loving father and caring man. She had learned from the nurse that he was in the nursery around the clock, sometimes holding his daughter and other times just looking in the window at her. There was so much riding on what they were trying to build. She loved Cab, but the million dollar question was did he love her?

  The door opened and the man who was forever in her thoughts walked into the room.

  “Hi Sunshine,” he said, taking a seat on the bed. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m feeling fine,” she answered before turning to look out the window. “I don’t think I can leave without my baby,” she stated not looking at him.

  “Look at me Dana,” Cab said gently. Her head turned.

  “I know how you feel, but we both know that she needs this. The doctors predict that she will be in here another month. I’m not leaving until she is home with us baby, and we will be here with her every day until she comes home.”

  Tears spilled down her face and Cab was instantly in front of her wiping them away. He took her hand in his and pressed a
soft kiss onto her fingers.

  There is so much that we need to talk about Sweetheart. For starters, I’ve made accommodations at the hotel closest to you…”

  “Cab, you don’t have to stay at a hotel, you can stay with me or Dell,” she said.

  Cab smiled. “Do you want me to stay with you?” He asked, holding his breath and praying that she wanted him with her.

  Dana dropped her head. “Yes,” she said softly. Cab extended his hand to her, and when she put her hand in his, he gently helped her to rise.

  “Thank you Sunshine,” he said.

  Dana looked up at him and her eyes zoomed in on his sexy lips before locking onto his mesmerizing eyes. He took a step closer, holding her in his paralyzing gaze, and for a brief moment there she was unable to move. Needing space, she finally broke the spell and took a step backward, but before she could put distance between them, he reached out and pulled her to him. Her body responded to him instantly, and when she looked up at him, flashes of the night they shared together came back in vivid clarity. Dana’s hands pressed against his chest and she would swear his heart was beating as erratically as her own.

  “What are you doing?” She whispered.

  A smile touched his lips. “Thanking the mother of my child,” he stated in a tone that was both low and sensual.

  Dana tried to ease out of his grasp, but the arm around her waist made it difficult. She continued to stare at him.

  “Thank me for what?” She whispered.

  “For your being willing to give us a try for one, but more importantly, for our beautiful daughter Capri.”

  Dana’s breath hitched in her throat when he lowered his head toward her. She wanted to resist, to stop the kiss that she knew was coming even, but when his mouth floated mere inches away from her own, she relented and tilted her head to accept his beautiful offering. At first contact, she savored the touch of his warm and soft lips on hers, and to show her appreciation, her hands slowly inched up to encircle his neck.