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“I hate condoms.” Sam growled. “I thought most women were on birth control nowadays.”
“Yeah well, I’ve never had a lover before you, so I didn’t have to worry about it. Besides, I was on the run for two years, when would I have time to get birth control?”
Sam ran his fingers through his hair. “I can’t believe this is happening to me, yet again.”
“Third time’s a charm, they say.”
“It would be, but this is the fourth time, not the third.”
“The fourth time?” she asked while feeling stunned.
“Yeah, I have another daughter. She’s about fourteen. Her name is Adriana.”
Melora was surprised. “Well, this is news. Do any of your other children know about this one?”
Sam shook his head.
“Well, you are a man of many surprises aren’t you? You do realize Deke is gonna kill you for this don’t you?”
“I didn’t know about him until he was twelve, like I said. I can’t say the same about Quinn. I knew about her from the beginning. But back then, I was young and stupid and I wasn’t ready to be a father yet. I told Junie that and she was ok with it. All she asked was that I leave her and the baby alone. She didn’t want me coming and going in the kids’ life. She said it would be too confusing for the baby. So, I tried to stay away. I really did but every few years or so, I’d go for a ride and come see them. I never told Junie I was there but I watched over them. I got the chance to see her grow up. Then I found my son and I wasn’t going to miss out on his life anymore. I took him with me and made both our lives hell.”
Melora sat very still and listened to this rare sharing of his past.
“After he left, I met Stacy and shortly after that, she got pregnant with Adriana. She didn’t even give me a choice, she left me. My mistake was that I let her go without a fight. I thought I was too old to be a father again.” Sam rubbed his forehead. “Then I met you and it began all over again. I guess I’m too old to start all over. Christ, I’m fifty two years old, I have a son who’s thirty three, a daughter who’s twenty nine another daughter fourteen and now I’m having a newborn? On top of that, I have two grandkids.”
“Make that three, Cassie’s also pregnant,” Melora informed him.
Sam went over to the bed and sat down hard. “Damn.” He swore softly. After a moment, he looked up at her. “So now what? Are you going to tell me to stay out of the kids’ life too?”
Melora shook her head. “No I don’t want that but you have to understand something here. There will be other men in his or her life. Deke, Mountain and everyone else around here. I won’t let you hurt my kid but I’m not going to ask you to stay away either.”
“I can deal with that.”
“I’ll be by your place and collect my things sometime today. Deke said I could stay here until Izzy and I find a place in town. I won’t bother you anymore.”
“Sweetheart, you were never a bother,” Sam insisted.
Melora nodded then turned back to the window.
A few minutes later, Sam got up and left the room.
Melora finally let the tears fall down her cheeks. Her situation wasn’t unique but it still hurt. Sam had become important to her over the last few months. For the first time in her life, she’d fallen in love and now, she was on her own again. Only not alone, she would have her child, maybe not the father but she did have her baby.
Brushing the tears away, she gathered up her jacket and left the bedroom. She was going to meet Cassie, Peaches and Izzy at Redemption House. She and Cassie were going to the doctor’s office for the first time. She was a little bit nervous about it.
She paused in the hallway and laid her hand on her belly. She’d known about the baby for some time now, she’d just been afraid to say anything. Now her secret was out. She’d hoped Sam would step up and want the baby but that hadn’t happened. Now she had to deal with it on her own.
Melora smiled. She wasn’t really on her own. Deke would be there for her. So would her own father and Izzy, Cassie and the rest of them. They would all be there for her and the baby, even if Sam wasn’t. That had to count for something.
As she made her way through the main room and out the front door, she could feel eyes watching her. She wouldn’t look around though.
~* * * *~
Raine and Sabbath sat with Sam at one of the tables. They’d come out here with him this morning but he hadn’t told them why he wanted them along.
When Melora finally walked out the front door, Raine turned to Sam and asked, “What’s up Sam? Why did she stay here last night?”
Sam watched her leave then looked down at his coffee cup. “She’s having my kid.”
Raine stared at the older man for a moment, then turned to Sabbath. He saw a stunned look on his face. One that matched his own. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“Are you gonna rabbit on this one too, Bones?” Sabbath growled.
Sam turned to glare at the other man. “I ain’t going anywhere.”
“Does her daddy know about the baby?” Raine asked.
Sam nodded.
“And you’re still staying?” Raine asked.
“Yeah, I’m still gonna be here.”
“That either takes balls or guts and I’m not sure which at the moment,” Sabbath agreed.
Sam snorted. “Mountain has already threatened my balls. He wants to chrome them now and make dangly earrings out of them.”
Sabbath and Raine laughed. “Oh, that hurts just thinking about it.”
Sam reached down and adjusted himself. “I think I like my balls right where they are, thank you very much.”
“Still doesn’t explain why she stayed here last night, instead of with you.” Sabbath pressed the issue.
“Don’t tell me you pulled a bone move and bailed on her?” Raine gritted his teeth.
Sam nodded. “It wasn’t only that.”
“What else was it?”
“I have another kid. She’s closer to Deke’s age and she might be in trouble. I met her brother briefly before he stomped out of here.”
“Damn, Bones, how many kids you got?” Sabbath asked.
Everyone turned as the door opened again.
Gator and Reva came in to the main room. Reva went to the kitchen and Gator joined them.
“The new baby makes four,” Sam stated as he stared at the wall.
“Four?” Raine asked. “Did I miss one somewhere?”
“Yeah, Adriana is about fourteen.” Sam turned to Gator. “So where is Deke this morning and what was Junie’s kid doing here yesterday?”
~* * * *~
Gator stared at Bones. They had been friends for a long time. He had stayed with the man for many years. They’d even seen a war together. He wondered now though, if he ever knew him at all. “Deke is at the hospital this morning donating bone marrow for his sister. She’s pretty sick right now and because of your blood type she needed Deke.”
“What the fuck?” Sam whispered.
Gator shrugged. “That’s all I know right now. The kid you met yesterday is Charlie. Quinn is his sister and he came to Deke for his help.”
“What’s wrong with Quinn?” Sam demanded.
“I don’t know but it must be bad. Charlie really didn’t want to ask him for help,” Gator admitted.
Sam got to his feet. “Do you know which hospital?”
Raine and Sabbath got to their feet as well.
Gator thought for a moment. Should he tell him? He just wasn’t sure.
“St. Peter’s in Albany,” Reva informed them as she joined Gator.
As they watched the three men leave, Gator turned to Reva. “Why did you tell him where they were?”
“It’s about time that man stood up for his kids,” she replied with a stern tone. “Maybe if he has to deal with them head on it will make him think about what he’s done to them all these years.”
“Most likely, Charlie will punch him in the mouth,” Gator reas
oned.
“Well…” Reva shrugged. “He needs that too.”
Gator chuckled. “You have a devious mind woman and I love it.”
“Damn right you do.” Reva smirked.
~* * * *~
Boston….The Vincinti Estate
Leon picked up the small book and opened it where the marker was. The sun was just coming up and he was still in his silk pajamas. He put his robe on and walked down the hall, book in hand, to the sitting room he shared with Calderone.
His son was already there drinking coffee when Leon appeared. When he poured himself a cup and joined Calderone at the table, he pushed the book toward his son.
Calderone lowered the paper he was reading and took the book. He studied the photo and raised his eyes to his father. “What am I looking at?”
“I found this book amongst the items we picked up from Janelle’s house. It has nothing to do with the baby ring or Peaches but I’m curious about why she would have it.”
“And why is that?”
Leon shrugged. “This is an old book. It was written about the time of the Civil War when Boston was a major port of call.”
Calderone raised an eyebrow. “And you’re wondering why Janelle would care about the history of Boston?”
Leon sat down and snorted. “Janelle didn’t care about anything but Janelle, unless it was about money.”
Calderone picked up the book again and studied the symbol. “What do you think it is?”
“I’m not sure but I’ll bet Cassie would know. She kept a very close eye on what Janelle did back then. If anyone would know she would.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I think I’ll make a trip to Troy. I miss our girl, Peaches don’t you?”
Calderone grinned. “Don’t forget the baby. I miss the baby too.”
Leon chuckled. “Well of course, the baby too.” He loved his great grandchild to distraction. He picked up the phone and called his driver.
After the call, Calderone had to ask, “Do you really think this is anything to concern us?”
Leon shrugged. “Perhaps not but it could be fun to find out, don’t you think? Boston was a big deal back in the day. There’s so much about the city still left undisturbed for the last two hundred years. What if we find something exciting? Then again, I do wanna see my great grandbaby awfully bad.” He chuckled.
A short time later, their car left the estate gates.
CHAPTER FIVE
By early afternoon, Melora was waiting at Redemption House. She was in the nursery with Peaches when Cassie and her kids arrived.
“Well, how did it go this morning?” Peaches asked her friend.
Cassie smiled. “It went well.” She sat down at the table with them while her kids were busy with the other kids there. “We finally got to meet Quinn and she’s a good woman.”
“Was she mad about Deke finding out who she was?” Melora asked.
Cassie shrugged. “I don’t think so, well not mad exactly. She was surprised to find him sitting there when she opened her eyes. I think she thought he’d be like Sam and not want anything to do with her. Once they got past that she was pretty good about the whole thing.”
“I think Sam has more explaining to do.” Melora nodded.
“Such as?” Cassie frowned.
“Such as another daughter he hasn’t even seen. She’s fourteen.”
“Oh lordy.” Cassie groaned as she hung her head in her hands. “Karma is gonna be a bitch to this man, for sure. Doesn’t the man know what condoms are for?”
Peaches snickered from beside her.
Melora shrugged. “He told me he doesn’t like to use them.”
“He might not have to worry about that anymore when Deke finds out.” Cassie rolled her eyes.
“He’ll have to stand in line.” Peaches smirked. “I hear Mountain isn’t too happy with him at the moment.” She looked over at Cassie. “What’s going to happen now?”
“As soon as she’s released, she’ll be coming out to the compound to recover. She and Charlie will have one of the cabins if they don’t want to stay with us.” She paused then announced, “Oh and Sam showed up at the hospital just as I was leaving.”
Peaches shook her head. “Well, that should have been an interesting conversation.”
Cassie nodded. “I’m not sure who was more surprised, Deke, Quinn or Sam.”
“Speaking of family reunions,” Peaches whispered as she turned to face the door Leon and Calderone just came through.
As soon as little Sam saw Leon, he clapped and got to his feet. On shaky legs, he toddled over to the older man.
Leon’s smile grew as he watched the boy come to him. Picking the toddler up, he gave him a hug. Calderone picked up the baby girl crawling to him and together, they brought the kids over to their mother. Peaches had her own child in her arms as she waited for her father and grandfather.
Leon passed Sam to Cassie and took his great grandson in his arms. “I can’t wait for this one to walk toward me,” he told Peaches.
She smiled and watched the interaction between the two men who meant the world to her. “It shouldn’t be too much longer. He does love you guys.”
“So what brings you all the way here?” Cassie asked the two men.
“We missed the babies,” Calderone replied as he exchanged babies with his father. Holding his grandson in his arms, he looked like he couldn’t believe how quickly he was growing.
“Our lives have certainly changed since we got you back,” Leon commented as he grinned at Peaches. “Our family is growing.”
“Even more than you know,” Cassie said as she rubbed her belly.
Leon raised his brows. “Are you trying to tell us something?”
“Yes, I am. We’re expecting another baby. Not only me but Melora as well.”
Ahh…” Leon turned to Melora. “Congratulations are definitely in order then.” Turning to Peaches he told her, “You’ll have to hurry and catch up my dear.”
“Yeah, well maybe I’m not so far behind,” Peaches announced.
Cassie turned to her friend with a wide smile on her face. “Really?” she whispered.
Peaches nodded. “Yeah, I know it’s too soon but Jesse is going to be a big brother in about eight months.”
Cassie jumped up and hugged her friend. “That’s wonderful! The clubhouse is going to be full of babies!”
Leon and Calderone hugged her as well. “Well, this is good news!” Leon exclaimed. “I am gonna be a great grandpa again.” There were tears in his eyes. “To think we thought we lost you and now look at what we gained.”
Calderone bounced his grandson in his arms. “Did you hear that little one? You’re going to be a big brother.” When the baby gurgled back, he laughed out loud.
The door opened again.
Deke, Iceman, Sam, Raine and Sabbath came in. Iceman wrapped his arm around Peaches and looked at the two other men. At the sight of their grins, he knew Peaches had shared their news.
Leon held out his hand “Congratulations on the new baby.”
“Another one?” Raine asked.
“The next generation of Sin’s Bastards is well on its way,” Cassie assured them. Looking at Deke she asked, “How did it go this morning?”
“We’ll talk later.” He grinned. “But I think it went well.” Nodding toward Leon and Calderone he asked, “What brings them here?”
“I’m not sure,” Cassie replied. “They said they missed the babies but I have a feeling it’s more than that.”
“Yeah, me too.” Deke nodded. “I just hope they didn’t bring trouble with them.”
Cassie shuddered as she felt a chill. “I don’t think there could be anymore trouble do you? Janelle’s mess should be over.”
“Trouble like that is never really over,” Deke reminded her. “God only knows how deep her kind of trouble goes.”
“But it’s been over a year.”
Deke sat down and turned to Leon.
When he brought the small book out of his pocket, Cassie gasped and paled.
Deke and the others turned to watch her for a moment.
“Where did you find that?” Cassie whispered as she stared at the book.
“It was amongst the things we recovered from Janelle’s house before it burned. Do you know what this book is?”
Cassie closed her eyes and nodded. “She bought it at an estate sale…” She paused. “I had hoped that book would have burned in the fire.”
“For what purpose?” Calderone asked.
Cassie shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I don’t think she did either.”
“I remember that book,” Peaches spoke up. “I think we were nine when she got it. She came home all excited one day. Lord, I haven’t thought about that for years. She was almost a different person that day. She was almost human or as close as she could get.”
“Yeah, I remember. It was a good day,” Cassie agreed.
“What happened then?” Leon asked.
Cassie shuddered again. “Are you sure you want to know?”
“Maybe not.” Leon stared at her. “What excited her about this book I wonder?”
“I don’t think it was the book itself but rather what she found in the book,” Cassie explained as she reached out for the book and when Leon gave it to her she quickly thumbed through it until she found what she was looking for. Leaving the book open, she pushed it back toward Leon.
The page she had opened the book to was the page that held the symbol he’d found earlier. “But what does this symbol mean? What was she so excited about?”
Everyone studied the symbol on the page.
Melora paled when she saw it but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she sat down hard on a chair.
“I’m not sure but this symbol drove her crazy. She couldn’t find it in any of the history books she looked at.” Cassie shook her head. “She couldn’t find it anywhere online either. All she could find were the rumors about this symbol.”