“I can’t do it, I can’t, it burns!” I holler. I look over at Blaze who looks about ready to faint.
“Come on Brynn, I can see a head, and on the next contraction the midwife is going to want you to push that baby out. You can do this,” she says calmly and sympathetically.
I’m so thankful I met her again in the hospital while Marie was recovering. We talked often. She was there for a mom who had transferred in from a home birth. I knew that’s what I wanted to try, as well.
Lana was my bus monitor when I was in elementary school and one of the only people I can ever remember being kind to me. When I found out I was pregnant, Blaze arranged for her to come stay with us for the two weeks before my due date. Luckily, this little one decided to come a week early.
I feel the contraction coming on and I bear down, giving it my all.
“There’s a head, beautiful! There’s a head,” I hear Blaze cry excitedly.
“I was hoping there would be,” I say through pants.
“Come on, Brynn, one more push, and you’ll finally get to see your baby.”
I bear down as hard as I can, and push. I look down at my midwife, who catches the baby and places them in my arms immediately.
“Congratulations, Brynn and Blaze. Meet your new son,” Lana says, wrapping a blanket around him.
“Son? We have a son,” Blaze says, tears forming in his eyes. “Thank you, Brynn, thank you,” he says, placing a kiss on my and our newborn son’s forehead.
Five years later
“Brogan, Blythe, Bennett,” I say, calling out my daily tongue twister. I have no idea what possessed me to continue naming all of our babies with B’s. I still blame the hormones. “Brynn, Blaze, Brogan, Blythe, Bennett,” I murmur to myself. What a mouthful.
Brogan, our oldest boy, who just turned five comes into the living room first. “But Mom! We were playing,” he complains.
His big green eyes remind me so much of his father’s, it’s surreal. Next comes our sweet three year old little girl, Blythe, her hair just a mess of brown ringlets. She doesn’t say anything at all—just climbs up into my lap for a cuddle. I look around the room for any sign of Bennett and Blaze, but there are none.
“Wait here, your aunt will be pulling in any minute,” I tell Brogan. I pick up Blythe and carry her up to the playroom, but still no sign of the boys. I walk into his nursery and find Blaze asleep on the recliner with our one year old son, Bennett, cuddled up in his arms. I grab my camera and take a quick photograph before waking Blaze.
“Hey beautiful,” he says sleepily. “I must have fallen asleep. What time is it?”
“It’s five. Marie will be here any minute,” I whisper, picking Bennett up off of Blaze’s chest and laying him back to sleep in his crib.
Marie is driving back here today. She just graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Chicago University and was accepted into medical school there next year, with a full scholarship. She’s been working her butt off since she started, and it’s all finally starting to pay off. She was supposed to be home a week ago, but decided she wanted to do a week-long road trip first.
I hear the crunch of gravel as she pulls up the driveway, and I run to the nursery window. I watch as she parks her victory red Camaro that Blaze bought her after she got her license. She has been coming back to stay with us during the summer since she started college, and we’re excited to have her back. Brogan and Blythe helped me decorate earlier, and Wren even dropped off a cake. I rush downstairs, knowing that Brogan will be going out of his mind waiting to see his favorite aunt. Well, okay, his only aunt, but he loves her to death.
“Aunt Marie, Aunt Marie!” Brogan shouts, tapping on the window. “Who’s that with her, Mommy?” he asks. I look at him, confused.
“She’s alone, baby,” I tell him, rushing over to the window. “Oh, no she’s not,” I say as I notice there’s also an incredibly cute boy stepping out of her passenger side. He looks over at her with such love, and I know that Blaze is going to lose his mind.
“She here?” Blaze calls, coming in to the front room.
“She is, but you’re not going to like this,” I tell him. Of the few dates Marie has tried to go on, Blaze has scared them all off. Go figure. “Sorry Blythe,” I say, kissing her nose. She bursts into a fit of giggles.
Marie comes through the front door, holding hands with the man she’s brought with her. He has black hair, olive skin, and hazel eyes; I can totally see why she’s interested in him. I wonder why she hasn’t told me about him before. We’re pretty close.
“Marie!” I say excitedly, pulling her into a big hug. She wraps her arms around Blythe and me. “We missed you a lot. Facetime just isn’t enough. We’re going to have to visit you more next year,” I tell her, setting Blythe down.
“I know, I miss you guys, too,” she says, and I can tell she’s nervous.
“Who’s that?” I ask her in a whisper. She looks at me nervously before speaking.
“My husband, Alden.”
My jaw drops to the floor, and I hear the room turn silent. I grab a hold of her hand, and sure enough, there’s a single solitaire diamond on a platinum band and a wedding band on her ring finger.
“Is this some sort of sick joke? You didn’t even have a boyfriend!” I cry out.
“Actually, I’ve been dating Alden since my first year of college. I didn’t tell you because Blaze always scares everyone off,” she huffs.
I look over at Blaze who has steam rolling from his ears, and I know he’s seconds away from murdering Alden. I rush to his side and grab a hold of his hand.
“What do you mean married?” Blaze asks angrily.
“I mean we stopped in Vegas on our way here. I didn’t want you guys to chase him off. I want you to know he’s here to stay.”
“What kind of man doesn’t ask her family for permission?” Blaze asks, glaring at Alden.
“She told me she didn’t have a father. I didn’t think I needed to answer to anyone,” Alden says smugly.
“I am her family, and you will answer to me. She’s just as much my family as Brynn is, or any of our kids are,” Blaze retorts.
“Listen, we are not doing this in front of the kids. They’ve been excited to see their aunt for weeks now,” I say, handing Blythe over to Marie.
I uncurl Blaze’s fists, placing my hands in his. “Beautiful, don’t even try,” he starts.
“Blaze, she’s twenty-two. She needs to be able to make her own decisions. I don’t like it either, but this is her life, yeah?”
Blaze turns his angry gaze from Alden and brings his kind eyes back to my face. “Yeah,” he says, and I know it’s breaking his heart. He pulls me in for a kiss, and I thank my lucky stars that I found a man like Blaze Prescott.
Keep an eye out for Lana’s book, next in the Fighting for Freedom series, coming summer 2013, followed by Marie’s book in winter 2013 …
Contents
Title page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
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Hell, Fire & Freedom (Fighting for Freedom) Page 23