Double Daddy Trouble: A Groomsman Menage

by Violet Paige

  It was the only thing that mattered in this world—my true family. I pressed my palm to my stomach. “Ok, baby. Daddy number two is right. We’re going to fight for the Warriors because this team is going to be yours one day, if you want it.” I smiled. “You don’t have to have it. I won’t force you to have it, but I’m going to fight so you can make that decision—not your crazy uncle.”

  I picked up my pink leather bag and marched to the elevator.

  Candy called after me. “Do you need me to do anything?”

  “No.” The doors started to close. “I’ll be out for a while.”

  Forty-Four

  Vanessa

  Something felt off when I climbed the steps to my grandmother’s house. Gretchen wasn’t smiling. She had an odd look on her face.

  “Hi, Gretchen.”

  “They’re in the Warriors room.” She looked down and closed the door, taking two quick steps before she disappeared.

  The Warriors room was what we called the room my grandfather had decorated with every piece of Warriors memorabilia collected since the team’s creation. Rugs, curtains, lamps, coasters. If they made something with the Warriors logo on it—it was in that room. As a kid, I thought it was fun. As an adult, I thought it was the height of tackiness.

  I walked to the back of the house. I heard arguing. Their voices were getting louder. My grandmother was practically screeching.

  “Grammy? Danny?” I looked between them.

  “Nessa,” my grandmother called, trying to change the tone of her voice. I pretended I hadn’t heard them shouting two seconds ago. She scurried past the Warriors bookcase and presented her cheek for me to kiss.

  “We didn’t know you were stopping by. It’s good you’re here.”

  “Is it a bad time?” I asked.

  I hadn’t seen them since last week. Danny’s unusual appearance in my office was the last visit.

  “No, come on in, sis. Gram and I were just discussing my inheritance.”

  “I’m not Gram,” she scolded. “It is Grammy and has been since you were born.”

  “Gram, Grammy. We’re adults. Why can’t I say Clementine?”

  She twirled to face him. “You are my grandson. Show some respect.”

  He shrugged. “Sis, want to weigh in on this topic.”

  I was hesitant to walk deeper into the room. “I’m not sure if I should, but I’ve always preferred Grammy.”

  He scoffed, “Not about her name.”

  Grammy shook her head. “He insists that since he has depleted his inheritance that you and I should split ours and contribute to replenish his trust fund.” She pinched her lips together.

  “What?”

  Danny spread his arms across the couch. “I can’t be the head of the family, if I’m the poor one. It wouldn’t look good.”

  I was tired of it. Tired of the damn charade. Tired of his flippant attitude. My grandmother may have created this monster, but I hadn’t forgotten what Charlie said. She was still a woman mourning her son and husband—she was just desperate to cling on to a life that was buried. She didn’t deserve to be stripped of her money in her golden years so my brother could spend it on a stripper in Thailand. She didn’t deserve his treatment. Granddad wasn’t here to stand up for her, so I had to. Someone had to.

  “You aren’t the head of the family, Danny.” I stated it as calmly as I could.

  “I’m the big brother. Dad’s dead. Granddad—dead. That leaves me.” He pointed at his chest with both index fingers.

  “Maybe I am glad I interrupted this feud. I came over to tell you that the Warriors legal team has us on complete lockdown. You’ll never get through the iron fortress they have built. And if you try it’s going to take years. So many years, you’ll be middle-aged, Danny. And then what are you going to do with all your party money? Buy sports cars? Blond girlfriends?” I huffed. “And you do realize it will take a legal team as big as the one I have or bigger to go up against me? And you have to pay them, Danny. With money. They expect money for their work. Work that is going to take them years and years and they’ll still come up empty-handed and you’ll still owe them hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

  I turned toward my grandmother. “And Grammy, I don’t want you to use your money for this battle. He’ll take it. He’ll drain you dry. He already ran through millions of dollars and he’s thirty for God’s sake.

  “I would be happy to have your input on things at the office. I realize there are things you know about the team I haven’t even thought about. Maybe even some secrets.” I smiled slightly. “I’m not asking you to choose between your grandchildren. I wouldn’t put you in that position. I’m still your granddaughter either way. I’m still going to love you either way.”

  I stared at my brother. “But you are an embarrassment to this family. While I’ve been trying to rebuild our name and bring the team’s reputation back, all you’ve done is destroy it. The team doesn’t want you as the owner. I have a hundred men who will back me, Danny. And that’s before I even set my legal team loose.”

  I crossed my arms and waited for a response.

  My grandmother clutched her pearls and sat on the edge of the Warriors couch. “I-I, Nessa, you’ve never sounded so sure.”

  I smiled. “I am certain of this. I was meant to run this team. It might have been Granddad’s happy accident.”

  Danny rolled his eyes. “You act like you’re some kind of saint.”

  “She is,” my grandmother snapped. “She most certainly is.”

  “Fuck it.” Danny stood. “Give me some money and I’ll go. I can’t stand all this estrogen.”

  I stared at him. “What?”

  “You heard me. Don’t make me beg. Give me a million. I’ll leave.”

  My grandmother rushed over to the drawer of my grandfather’s desk. “Grammy, don’t write him a check for that. You don’t owe him anything. No one does. He can get a job.”

  “I most certainly will.” She scribbled his name and the figure and ripped it from the trust. “You have to take this to my accountant.” She handed it to him. Danny folded it in half and tucked it in his pocket.

  “Grammy,” I groaned.

  “It’s done.” She looked at me. “Pack your things, Danny. You are welcome back when you’ve accomplished something.”

  My mouth hung open. I couldn’t believe it.

  He scowled, walking from the room.

  Grammy turned to me. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. The last few months have been a cold dark dream.”

  I pulled her into a hug. Something she didn’t let me do very often. “It’s ok. I know you’re still hurting.”

  I felt her tiny arms circle me. “I was a royal bitch, wasn’t I?”

  I burst out laughing. “I’ve never heard you curse. Ever.”

  She looked at me. “We all have secrets.”

  Epilogue

  I pressed the button on the side of the speaker. “Testing. Testing. One. Two Three.”

  “Roger that.”

  I giggled when I heard Isaac on the other end.

  I tapped the button again. “Ok, this works.” I smiled.

  Dylan walked in the room carrying bags from the shower. “I think this is the last of it.” He deposited them on the floor. “How many gifts does one baby need?”

  I started pulling more of the presents out and lining them up just as Isaac appeared with the remote to the baby monitor.

  “This thing is awesome. It has great video quality.” He plugged it into the charger. “What else did we get?”

  I was waiting for them to find the surprise I had tucked away in the bags. I had slipped it in when they weren’t looking.

  Dylan held up a tiny Warriors jersey. “Ok, I’m going to admit it. This is awesome.”

  “We got so many beautiful things.”

  I hadn’t expected the shower. It was a surprise from Candy and my grandmother. They had lured me over for lunch and I ended up with nearly fifty women
chattering and giving me advice about babies.

  There were bottles. Diapers. Outfits. Crib Sheets. The bags were filled. But the guys still hadn’t found my surprise.

  “Isaac, did you go through that last bag?”

  He dug through. “Looks like baby stuff to me.”

  I sighed. They were helpful. And it was amazing to have two of them pampering me at all times, but I was dying for them to get to the surprise.

  “See anything special?” I prodded.

  He turned the bag upside down, dumping all the gifts on the floor and then his eyes landed on it. He scattered the presents and plucked the sonogram from the floor.

  “Is that?” Dylan jumped over to look at it.

  I nodded, practically squealing.

  Isaac held it up. I saw the grin on his face before he handed it to Dylan.

  “A boy? It’s a boy.”

  I laughed. “Yes. Verified many times, I assure you.”

  Dylan studied the picture. “Wow.”

  Isaac circled his hands around my belly. It wasn’t much bigger than if I had stuffed a football under my shirt, but I loved my baby bump. I loved everything about my body when I was pregnant. How beautiful I felt. How thick my hair was. How Isaac and Dylan took care of me.

  I knew I was one of those glowing pregnant women. I could see it every time I looked in the mirror. I had that same glow on our wedding day.

  Isaac stood next to Dylan on the natural alter we built at Isaac’s ranch. As I said my vows, my eyes locked on each of them. My vows were to them. To us. To the love I shared with each of them.

  My grandmother was upset we didn’t get married on the estate, but the ranch seemed like the right place. It was where I became the woman I was today. It was where I pledged my body and soul to these men I loved with all my heart.

  Besides, we had to move the wedding up so it was before Christmas and didn’t interfere with playoffs. I didn’t think after everything Grammy had been through, she could handle the confines of a small wedding.

  We kept the guest list limited. Charlie ran proper background checks and no press was included, except the Warriors’ press corp.

  I couldn’t think of a more perfect day than our wedding day. And no night meant more to me than our honeymoon.

  “What are you thinking about?” Isaac’s hands massaged the swell of my belly.

  “Our honeymoon.” I smiled.

  “We should do that again.” Dylan winked.

  He folded onesies and stuffed them in a drawer.

  I giggled. I was staring at my husband. A man who had more career receptions than anyone the entire season. The sexiest, most irresistible playboy and he was folding baby clothes.

  “What’s so funny?” He turned around.

  “Six months ago you were in my office telling me how I should run the Warriors.”

  “And?” He’s eyebrows arched.

  “And now we’re married and you’ve never been more adorable getting this baby’s room ready.”

  “Adorable?” Dylan looked at Isaac. “Did she just call me adorable?”

  I giggled harder.

  “I think she did, brother.”

  “Please, stop. It hurts to laugh this much.”

  Dylan strolled across the nursery, planting a kiss on my lips. “I love you, darlin’.”

  “I love you too.”

  Isaac’s eyes popped. “Shit. Did you feel that?”

  I smiled. “He’s missing out.”

  “I want to feel him kick.” Dylan dropped to his knees.

  I thought I would die from happiness. I had everything I ever wanted. The two loves of my life who adored and worshipped me. A healthy baby on the way. I had found my way in a haze of confusion and sadness because of them. They brought me into clarity. Into light.

  They gave me a family. And for the rest of my life I would always have double the joy and double the love. My happily ever after was twice what I could ever have imagined.

  Shh…another secret from Vanessa…You didn’t think she was finished with the secrets did you? She gives you the inside scoop on what happened on the honeymoon. Keep reading to get to the **deleted scene.**

  Second Chance Doctor

  Copyright © 2018 by Katerina Cole

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  One

  My alarm sounded precisely at five a.m. I didn’t need it to wake me; I was already dressed and sitting on the edge of my perfectly made bed. I told myself that I still wasn’t used to the time change. Syria was seven hours ahead of Sweet Haven, Georgia.

  The doctor training in me knew that three weeks was more than ample amount of time for my body to readjust to the time difference. The fact that I was still wide away at three a.m. every morning had nothing to do with the time change and everything to do with my inability to adjust back to civilian life.

  Sometimes I hated the fact that I was a doctor. I would have much rather just lived in the blissful ignorance that most of my fellow comrades had when returning from active duty. At least they could believe the lies they told themselves. I, however, knew that my inability to adds had nothing to do with time change or readjustment buffers and everything to do with what I had seen over there.

  I realized I hadn’t moved in some time when I stood, muscles stiff, and shut off the alarm. I turned and smoothed the wrinkles my body had made on the bed before silently walking out of my bedroom.

  The townhouse was small and barely furnished. It reminded me more of the container barracks I lived in for the majority of the last six years. It made it feel like home. I walked silently down the darkened hall and to the small kitchen. I didn’t need lights on to know where I was going. A quick and efficient breakfast left me sitting on the lone chair in my living room while I waited for time to pass again.

  Time was now my enemy. I never seemed to have enough things to fill it. When I kept busy, I was okay, but with significant gaps of empty time like this, all I had left to do was think on my past. Most of the time it was in longing for the Navy Seal brothers I had made. Wondering what they were doing now. But in rare instances, it was reliving memories I would much rather forget.

  Sure I had been retired for medical reasons, but it still made me feel like a pussy. I was here living the soft civilian life while my brothers were still out there putting their lives on the line. I rubbed my thigh where the shrapnel had ripped through my flesh and did my best to ignore the constant ringing always at the back of my eardrums.

  Finally, I figured I waited long enough and headed out the door to my first day at my new job. I allowed the medical retirement from my SEAL team for two reasons. One, I wasn't at all sure if fighting it would have even made a difference in the end. Two, because my father was begging me to come and take over his practice so that he could retire himself.

  Today marked day one of our six-month transition into his retirement. He deserved it; I would give him that. I had always planned to take over the business one day, anyway. Joining the Navy was just a way to put my skills to some good use before having to settle down to this quiet town.

  I had never expected to love the military so much. If I had it my way, I would have stayed in until the day I died. Of course, life expectancy as a SEAL was short lived. I didn’t care much about that. I was making a difference where it mattered.

  Now I would be handing out cold medicine for runny noses and painkillers to people who couldn’t hack simple aches. It was drudgery going back to the life I had always planned to have after experiencing something far superior.

  I walked through the small office doors listening to the little chime of bells that automatically sounded. It was like blasting back into my childhood. I hadn’t entered the offices since coming back from overseas, and I was not surprised to
see it exactly how I remembered it.

  “Good morning, Hawk,” Mrs. Jennings said from the receptionist counter.

  I gave her a weak smile in return. Mrs. Jennings had been just as much of a fixture to this office as the worn out chair and dated magazines. I reached into her candy bowl and pulled out a jolly rancher.

  When my mother lost her battle with breast cancer, Mrs. Jennings had stepped up to take her place. Every day from the time I was nine, I came here after school and sat in this old waiting area with her to do my homework while Dad saw to his patients.

  “A little early for sweets,” Mrs. Jennings said in a motherly fashion with her darken brow raised.

  I gave her that innocent boy smile she never could say no to.

  “Come on Mrs. J, just trying to cut my nerves a little.”

  “What nerves, boy?” She asked in her normal southern sassy tone. “You have been practically raised in this office.”

  “I guess just the fact of coming back to real life,” I said softly.

  I didn’t share my concerns or struggles with many. Mrs. Jennings made that short list.

  “Honey,” she said reaching out and taking my hand. I loved the feel of her motherly touch. She may have been as dark skinned as I was light, but she was a mother to me through and through. “you are gonna to be just fine. Just keep breathing, and it will all come back to you.”

  I gave her a soft smile and kissed the back of her hand. She giggled at my debonair action and waved me off.

  “Go on now, you tease. Your father is already waiting for you in the back room.”

  I gave her one last wink before slipping the hard candy into my mouth. I liked to have something to concentrate on, to take my mind off the ringing.

  Sure enough, there was my father back in his office stacked high with files. He was the worst when it came to organization. It made me cringe a little. Step one would be computerizing everything and lighting every single one of these stacks on fire.