by Ashlee Price
She didn’t seem to believe me and I don’t know if I believed myself, but she smiled after a time. “Is your brother coming?”
I looked over at Marcel and he shook his head that he hadn’t found transport off the platform yet. With the oil rig about fifty miles offshore in the Gulf, there was going to have to be a helicopter to come get him because the normal boats that came to and fro were not scheduled back for a couple of days.
“He is trying to make it Leanna. I know you want him here, but don’t hold back. We are all here for you and Elna is here, as well as your parents. I know we aren’t the father, but we are all here for you love. It’s going to be okay.”
Another spike on the monitor and she closed her eyes tightly. I felt so bad for her in that moment and I wondered why anyone would want to go through with it. I had never seen Leanna in so much pain before and though she was usually the type to always be smiling, it didn’t look like she was going to be smiling for a while.
The doctors started to move into the room and I was told that I had to go. I didn’t want to leave her, but her parents were already there and they needed more room for them to work as the time drew near. The contractions were coming closer and closer together and it was time. As I left the room, I looked back at her and threw a prayer up that she would be okay. It didn’t look like it at the moment, but I knew somehow that everything was going to be okay.
When I got out of there, I called my brother again and told him what was about to happen. I could hear the stress in his voice and his need to be there.
“I can’t believe I am going to miss my own son’s birth.”
“Well she is early. It’s not like you were going to know about it. Besides, we are all here for her brother. The whole Callahan clan is here in her corner rooting for her. She is going to be fine. Just hurry your butt up and get here.”
“Thanks sis for being there for her. You know I wouldn’t have left for a two week shift if I knew she was going to pop so soon.”
“Well she is, so figure out a way to get here. We are going to see your son before you do.”
I hung up and went to the vending machine and got a cup of instant coffee. I grimaced at the taste and walked back into the waiting room. At least Marcel wasn’t pacing so much like he had before.
Chapter 2 – Gemma
Almost four and a half hours later, Caston was born into the world and though not everyone was there, I don’t think anyone could have been happier. When I held the small baby in my arms, I was overtaken by emotions. I had never really experienced such a feeling before and when I looked at the love in Leanna’s eyes, I felt a moment of jealousy. This is what I wanted and I hadn’t even known it. I wanted a child of my own and the love that transpired between the two.
“Well Gemma. I don’t think I have ever seen you cry before.”
Handing her baby back to her I smiled. “I have never felt so much love in a room. He is going to be so loved and happy Leanna. My brother is going to fall in love in a second.”
She smiled and though he wasn’t there and that bothered her, how could she be upset. There was no way to be and I knew then that it was all going to be okay. As I walked out of the room, mom stopped me and gave me a hug.
“They are a miracle, aren’t they?”
I nodded. It was the only thing that could be said. “Yes they are. He is so precious and looks like dad in a way.”
Elna smiled and nodded her head with her own tears in her eyes. She was more emotional, so it seemed more acceptable. “I wish he was here to see the first grandkid.”
“He is mom. He is here with us all the time.”
She wanted to believe it. I could see it in her eyes. “I just wish he could be here one last time to see how well you have all turned out.”
Now I felt myself getting all teary-eyed. She was the only person that could make me so emotional. As the only daughter with five brothers, there was never a time for emotions, but in that moment I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted to believe that our father was there with us, but it was all of it that made me feel so raw inside.
“I wish that too.”
“I wish that you would find your soul mate as well, Gemma. You have much to offer a man and you would be such a good mother.”
I just nodded and wiped my eyes. I had never wanted the same things that she did, but with all of the love going around on that day and the months prior, I almost wished the same thing. If Paul and Marcel could find love after all that time, why couldn’t I?”
“Well mom I am going to get home before it gets too late.”
“Alright, Gemma. Make sure you call me when you get home so that I know you are okay.”
I told her I would. “Are you going back to the city tonight or are you staying at the ranch?”
“I will be staying with Leanna when she gets out if your brother doesn’t come back by then.”
“Oh he will be here. You should stay at the ranch. Did you hear about Davina?”
Her face started to grin and I knew that she had. It had been her dying wish that all of her kids found happiness and got married. I knew that I was one that she worried about, but until that day, I wasn’t sure that I really wanted it. But then I saw Caston and he changed my mind. The way that Leanna looked at her son was a love that I had never experienced and it was hard not to want it.
“I did hear about her being pregnant. I know that Marcel is over the moon about it. Who would have thought that he would ever be a father?”
Elna had known. She had that look of slight smugness. She knew that she had planted the seed in all of us. That was her purpose and it was never hard to see what she really wanted in it all. She wanted us to be happy.
“I love you mom. I am going to get out of here. I will stop by the ranch tomorrow if you are going to be there.”
“What about work?”
I shrugged. I never was too worried about my job. It wasn’t something that I really wanted to do. “The boss doesn’t care. I have all of my work done on time and I have been working off location for a while. I don’t have to be there to fix their books.”
Elna just sighed at me. She was the type of woman that always had to work, but to me, I still hadn’t found my calling yet. There was no passion in what I did. I knew then that I needed to find that thing that made me happy like it did her. I was starting to wonder if maybe a family life was what I really wanted. It wasn’t like I could just go to the store and get a husband, though, especially not one that was to be my soul mate. It just didn’t happen like that, I was sure of it.
I gave her a kiss on her cheek and promised to see her the next day. It had been a long one for me and as I left the hospital, I realized then that it was already dark outside. I had been there all day and I was exhausted. I had a moment, a second really that I thought about calling my ex and seeing if he wanted to come over, but I resisted. It was not to be and Henry was not the one for me. He never had been and going back would just be taking a step forward.
When I got home to the small house on the other side of town, I gave my cat a pat on the head before I took my shoes off and headed towards the shower. All I could think about was Leanna and Caston and what I wanted in my life. It was one of those moments where I just knew that I had to change things. I didn’t know if it would be for the best, but some parts of my life needed it. Fighting back the urge to call Henry again, not wanting to be alone, I finally lay down and spent an hour or more, thinking about how my life had turned out. I was almost thirty and the clock that we all heard about was ticking loudly in the quiet room.
***
The alarm woke me up and as my hand searched for the source of the pain in my head, I knew that it was going to be another long day. I had been dreaming about a dark-haired man with bright green eyes and a young baby boy that I knew in my heart was to be mine.
As I sat there thinking about it all and what I would do that day, I knew that I wanted to do something different. While I thought about going to th
e city and seeing an old friend, I remembered that I had promised mom that I would go and see her. So I got dressed and called into work and told them that I wasn’t going to be in today. I didn’t give a reason and I felt like I didn’t have to.
After getting dressed, I made my way to the ranch to see everyone. There was still a bit of buzz in the air when I got there. My brother Marcus was supposed to be in later that day after finally finding transport and I was just excited to see him. He was always my favorite brother since we were closest in age and I couldn’t help but smile when I thought about how he was going to feel when it was all said and done and he had met Caston. The little blue-eyed boy was going to steal his heart as he had stolen mine. I was sure of it.
Chapter 3 – Billy
“So when are we leaving?”
“I don’t know Billy. I think we have to wait for air transport. They were supposed to send out a boat, but that was hours ago. All I know is I am ready to leave. I can’t believe Leanna had the baby without me.”
I tried to look sympathetic. I knew that he was upset about it, but there really wasn’t anything that I could do about it. After hours of calling the bosses in main headquarters, they had finally agreed to give us a lift back to the mainland. I was going for moral support and really I just needed some time off. I was going on three weeks on the platform when one of the main drillers quit unexpectedly, but now I was ready for some chill time.
“Are you coming to the house?”
“Yeah, if you don’t mind. I was thinking that I might go see Denise, but then I got a call last night that she doesn’t want to see me. I think she has that guy over there again and I know if I go over there I am going to jail.”
“Well don’t do that Billy. Denise never was worth it.”
It was easy for him to say. I had to sit and hear about how great his wife was all the time and now that she had their first born, it all seemed even more perfect. I was jealous of their love, but happy for my best friend. At least one of us was happy, I thought to myself.
“I know, but if you and Leanna weren’t so damn happy all the time, maybe I could stop trying to find what you had.”
Marcus shook his head. “You are not going to blame me for Denise. When you picked her up at the bar, I knew she was bad news.”
I just agreed. She was obviously bad news when I met her, but I couldn’t help but be attracted to blondes. They were categorically bimbos, but I guess I liked the trashy look.
“Actually Billy, I can’t think of one girl you have dated in the last year that wasn’t bad news. You need to find you a good girl.”
“Like Leanna, I know.” I had heard it all before. When was he going to realize that good women were hard to find?
“I keep telling you that you should meet Gemma.”
I rolled my eyes. I had heard about his sister for years and even saw her from across the room once, but I had never actually spoken to her. “I thought you said she was dating someone?”
“He’s a loser and she finally left him. It won’t be long till she has found another loser, so I wish she could find a good guy. The one before the last took her for all she had. She was paying his rent and everything else because she felt bad for him. She is a great girl, but her heart is too tender.”
“I don’t know Marcus. I don’t think she is really my type.”
“Why, because her IQ is higher than her age?”
I had to smile at him. It wasn’t a secret that I liked my girls pretty and if they were dumb, well that was okay too. I figured I didn’t have much to say to one anyways. All I did was work, so when it came time for my week off a month, the last thing I was thinking about was what was in the girl’s head. There were times that I wondered what it would be like, but I knew that dating those types of women was for my own salvation. If they weren’t very smart and didn’t mean much to me beyond the physical, then I couldn’t be hurt again.
I was almost married once before. Stella was going to school to be a lawyer and I was going into engineering. When her time at college had ended and she was going on to Law School, she had decided that she wanted a man more suited to her. I guess my job as a drill operator wasn’t posh enough for her. After that, I stopped dating those types of women.
“I appreciate the thought Marcus, but I think I will stick to the bottle blondes. They are easier to deal with.”
He just shook his head at me and started towards the top side of the rig. We had to check a couple of measurements before we left and he was keen to get it all done so there was no chance of him missing his flight out of there. Had I ever felt so excited to get off the rig before? I couldn’t think of a time that I had.
The gauges were dirty and I started to wipe them off so he could write down the numbers in the log book. The rig was like a second home and though I liked my time off of it, there were times that I thought I could be perfectly content on there, full time. If only there was more women that worked for the company, but getting them out in the middle of the ocean was almost impossible. Being stuck out here on the rig with all men must be daunting as well.
We heard the chopper before we could see it. There wasn’t much noise besides the waves and the constant grind of the drills, so when there is another sound, it is easier to distinguish it. Having just finished the last readings, I went down to drop the book off and grab my things to meet the chopper up top. I didn’t care for flying that much, but I was ready for some R and R on land.
“Are you sure that your wife won’t mind if I stay?”
“No, not at all. You can also stay at the ranch if you want. Scott and Paul will be there, so at least you will know some people. I am going to stay with Leanna in the hospital tonight before she goes home tomorrow, but you are welcome to stay either place. You are basically part of the family Billy.”
I thanked him. It was nice to hear, especially when I didn’t have any family of my own. I never had and since me and Marcus had been friends, his family had always been great to me.
“You know that our family loves you. Mom is in from the city so you will get to see her.”
“How has she been doing?”
“Good. She is making all of us kids crazy. She made a deathbed request and then she recovered, but she is harping on Scott and Gemma a bit more than usual.”
“Ah, is that why you are trying to push me onto your sister?”
He shook his head. “No, but I am sick of seeing both of you date idiots.”
Chapter 4 – Gemma
I went to work with my brothers, having nothing better to do with my day. Even though I was mucking out stalls, it was always better than being at work at the office. I had ran as far from the ranch as I could when I was older, but there was something so simplistic in the work that I found myself drawn to it again. I missed the fresh air and the sun beating down on me. The fact that I was there alone and it was so peaceful was just another reason to never want to go back to work.
“Gemma!”
I heard Marcus’ voice and smiled to myself. Setting the shovel to the side and leaning it up against the side of the building, I went out to see Marcus. He was always gone too much and I was sure that he would have gone to the hospital first.
“Marcus, what the hell are you doing here?”
“Well I came to see you of course.”
I ran up and gave him a big hug. He was standing next to another guy and I looked at him for a second before he picked me up and twirled me around. “Still light as a feather.”
When he set me down, he took in my dirty clothes and the muck boots. “What are you doing here instead of at the office?”
“I took the day off so I could see you. I can’t believe you are not up there with your wife.”
“I am about to go in a minute. Billy is going to be staying here for a few days until she is out of the hospital.”
I stuck my hand out and shook his. “Nice to meet you, Billy. I have heard so much about you.”
Our hands touched and I felt a l
ittle spark. He looked down at me surprised in a way. I was sure that I looked a mess, but he didn’t seem to notice and I didn’t seem to care. There was something in his dark green eyes and I could have sworn he was the man I had seen in my dreams. I know it sounds weird, but he was the man I had dreamt about the night before.
After a time, I realized that I was still holding his hand and I pulled my hand back suddenly, a bit embarrassed. “Nice to meet you, Gemma. I feel like I already know you.”
My brother had a strange look in his eyes that I didn’t quite understand, but there was something else there too. He was up to something. I could see it in his face. What was his thinking to look like that?
“Well you are more than welcome here Billy. There is always room for one more.”
“Thank you Gemma. It is nice to finally meet you after all these years.”
I nodded and started to walk back towards the house. The man was handsome, but I knew he was off limits because he was my brother’s friend. I used to crush on many of Marcus’ friends and I know how much he hated it. It wasn’t my fault that all of the guys on the rigs looked all hot and manly.
“So are you going to get your hands dirty while you are here or hit every bar before you go back?”
Marcus laughed. “God I have missed you Gemma. Will you show Billy around while I go up to the hospital?”
“Sure, no problem. You are going to love Caston. He is the cutest kid I have ever seen and I know I am bias, but just wait, you are going to fall in love at first sight.”
“I’ve never heard you talk about kids like that before Gemma. You ready for your own?”
I looked at him sideways. I can’t believe he was talking about that in front of his friend. “I don’t know about that, but it made me rethink things I guess.”