The Complete Langley Park Series (Books 1-5)

by Krista Sandor

  The door to the roof entrance opened, and a man in scrubs stepped out, shielding his eyes from the wind kicked up by the helicopter.

  “I’m not sure if it’s a good sign or a terrible sign, but it looks like one of the hospital’s head honchos is meeting us on the pad,” Joaquin said, flipping a switch.

  Nick unbuckled his seatbelt. “Thanks, Joaquin. I owe you.”

  “I hope your girl’s all right.”

  “Me, too,” Nick said. He removed the headset and got out of the chopper, ducking down and jogging toward the safety zone and the man waiting for him near the doors.

  “This is a very unorthodox way to arrive at the hospital, Nick, even for the airport’s new director of aviation.”

  “Dr. Stein,” Nick said, immediately recognizing Midwest Medical Center’s Chief of Surgery and Ben and Zoe’s father. “I had to get here. I had to get to Lindsey. Is she okay?”

  Neal led him into the hospital. “She’s stable, but they’ve decided to admit her for observation.”

  “Did something happen? Did someone try to hurt her? You know she’s—”

  Neal stopped him. “Nick, she’s in good hands. My wife, Rosemary, Jenna, Zoe, and Em are all in with her.”

  Nick knew what Neal was trying to tell him. He didn’t need to be here. Christ, he’d been a fool, pushing Lindsey away. And not only that, everyone had noticed.

  “I need to see her, Neal. I promise I won’t upset her.” He swallowed hard and looked the man straight in the eye. “I love her.”

  Neal’s gaze softened. “The women have become quite protective of her.”

  Nick nodded. “I’m glad she has them, but from this day forward, I’m going to be the one protecting her—if she lets me.”

  A pang of fear spread through his chest. What if she didn’t want him? What if he had pushed her away one too many times? Dammit, he had to try. She could turn him down, but it would have to be after he pleaded his case.

  “Good luck,” Neal said, gesturing to a door. “This is her room.”

  Nick took a breath. He was trapped in the space between land and sky. He was either going to take off or crash and burn. Either way, there was no turning back. He opened the door, and six pairs of eyes locked onto him like an F-16 trained on an unfriendly target.

  “Lindsey, are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

  “Nick, we love you. We really do,” Zoe cut in, holding Lindsey’s hand. “But Lindsey’s had a rough couple of hours.”

  He looked around the room. The women circled around Lindsey. Mrs. G and Kathy stood on either side of her while Jenna, Zoe, and Em sat next to her on the hospital bed.

  The door opened, and Michael walked in balancing a tray of coffees. “Dude, was that you who just got dropped off by a helicopter?”

  “You came here by helicopter?” Lindsey asked. She looked tired, but her eyes were sharp and alert.

  “Yeah, I had to get to you, Linds.”

  “Why? Why are you here, Nick?”

  He looked around the room. Nobody moved. In fact, the women seemed to circle in closer.

  He was going to have an audience.

  “Linds, this afternoon, I took a plane up to test it out for a friend. The engine failed, and I had to make an emergency landing.”

  Her face fell, and her eyes filled with tears. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I’m more than fine because that emergency landing put everything into perspective for me. After I was back on the ground, do you know what I wanted?”

  She shook her head.

  “You, I wanted you.”

  A tear trailed down her cheek. She rested her hand on the slight curve of her abdomen. “But what about this?”

  Nick took a step closer. The women were still watching him, but the fierce protectiveness that radiated off of them in waves when he had first arrived had cooled to a watchful gaze.

  “I want to tell you what the letter that I left you sixteen years ago was supposed to say. What I was too scared and too stupid to tell you, until now.” He took a breath. “I didn’t want to fall in love.”

  Lindsey closed her eyes and grimaced. Those words had tortured them both for years.

  “But I did,” he said.

  She opened her eyes.

  “Lindsey, what we have only comes around once in a lifetime. I want to wake up next to you every morning, and I want to fall asleep with you in my arms every night. I want to be by your side for as long as I’m breathing, and after that, I’ll still find you. My heart will always show me the way back to you.”

  She wiped away another tear, but she was smiling.

  He took a step closer. “Do you remember what we said to each other at Camp Clem?”

  “I remember.”

  He smiled. “This is just the beginning.”

  She held his gaze. Those blue-green eyes, shiny with tears, cut right into his soul.

  “This is our new beginning, Linds. This is how our story continues. I don’t need to know about your past. All I need to know is that I love you. I always have, and I always will. And I’m going to love that baby. That baby is part of you, and I will protect and care for you both for as long as I live.”

  She held his gaze a beat. “This is just the beginning.”

  “This is our beginning for the three of us.”

  His voice cracked. He was crying. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d shed a tear. His father had drilled into him that crying was only for the weak. Real men didn’t cry. But instead of feeling that deep, biting anger that gripped him like a vice when his father came to mind, he could only feel sorry for the man. His father had never allowed himself to love. He had never taken someone’s heart and protected it with his life. He had known a shallow, superficial existence. He had been cruel and abusive—there was no excuse for that. But he’d never known love, and for that, Nick pitied him.

  “I think we should give Nick and Lindsey a moment alone,” Rosemary said, putting a hand on Lindsey’s shoulder.

  Nick blinked. He’d forgotten seven other people were watching him spill the contents of his heart all over the floor. He met Zoe’s gaze first, and she gave him a wink.

  Kathy pressed a kiss to the top of Lindsey’s head. “Let us know if you need anything, dear.”

  “We’ll be right outside,” Em added, following Michael and the women out the door.

  Jenna hung back and patted Lindsey’s leg and met Nick’s gaze. She smiled at him through teary eyes. “You and Lindsey found each other. Don’t let anything get in the way of that love.”

  He nodded through his own tears.

  Jenna shut the door quietly, and Nick sat next to Lindsey on the bed. He took her hands into his. “I’m sorry, Lindsey, so sorry. I’ve been a fool, a total ass. I let my father and my anger and all my fears cloud what I’ve always felt for you.”

  She squeezed his hands. “There are things I need to tell you, Nick. I want you to know everything.”

  He leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers. He inhaled the sweet cream and summer rain scent that had stayed with him, locked in his heart for sixteen long years. “I love you, Lindsey. There’s nothing you could ever say that can stop that.” He pressed his palm to her abdomen. “I’m going to love you, too.”

  “Little banana,” she said with a teary chuckle.

  He smiled. “You’ve named the baby, banana?”

  “It’s just a nickname. The first time I had an ultrasound, my doctor said the baby was the size of a small banana.”

  “This ultrasound?” Nick asked, shifting to take his wallet out of his pocket.

  He handed her the creased ultrasound photograph.

  She ran her finger across the baby’s little head. “You kept it?”

  “Yeah, my heart must have known I could never let you go. It was my head that got in the way.” He rubbed her belly. “Is the baby going to be okay?”

  She laid her hand on top of his. “They think it’s just Braxton Hicks contractions.”
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  Nick furrowed his brow. “The only things I know about pregnancy are what I’ve seen with Michael and Em. That mostly includes him going out on late-night grocery runs for whatever she’s craving that day.”

  Lindsey smiled. “Braxton Hicks contractions are like practice contractions. My abdomen tensed up. It took my breath away. I could barely stand, but the doctor says they don’t cause labor.”

  Nick brushed back a lock of her chestnut hair. “Linds, that must have been terrifying.”

  “Luckily, I was with Jenna, Em, Zoe, Kathy, and Rosemary. I’d just finished leading a photography class at the Rose Brooks Women’s Shelter. I’m helping them with a photo project. They called an ambulance as soon as I started feeling the contractions.”

  “Do you know why they started?”

  “The doctors think it was dehydration. That’s why I have this.” She pointed to the IV in her arm.

  He looked at the tube. “I’m going to take care of you, Linds.”

  She touched his cheek. “Every man who said they loved me, always ended up hurting me.”

  “Not anymore. Not ever again. I’m here, and I love you, and I’m not going anywhere. Tell me you’ll have me.”

  “You’re just a prickly pear,” she said, through a teary grin. “Of course, I’ll have you. You’re all I’ve ever wanted. I’ve loved you since the moment you kissed me on Rachel and Rory’s rock.”

  Two sharp taps came from the door. A man peeked his head inside and then carted in an ultrasound machine.

  “Looks like dad made it,” the man said, then shook Nick’s hand. “I’m Preston. I’m the sonographer.” He nodded to Lindsey. “I met you a few hours ago when you were admitted.”

  “Yes, I remember. Is something wrong?”

  “No, nothing like that. The nurses have been monitoring you and the baby from the nurses’ station. Everything is looking good. The obstetrician on call asked that I take a few more pictures and get a little more information. If everything looks good, you’ll probably be going home within the hour.”

  Nick squeezed her hand as relief flooded his system.

  Preston flipped through Lindsey’s chart. “Looks like you are a little over twenty weeks along. Would you like to know what you’re having?”

  Nick narrowed his gaze. “She’s having a baby.”

  Lindsey chuckled. “No, silly, he wants to know if we want to know if it’s a boy or a girl.”

  “Don’t worry,” Preston added with a kind smile. “You’re not the first dad who’s said that to me.”

  “I’d like to know who this little banana is,” Lindsey said through a teary smile.

  “Me, too,” Nick answered, pressing a kiss to her temple.

  Lindsey lifted the hospital gown, revealing a gentle bump, and the sonographer went to work. Nick’s eyes danced between the screen and Lindsey’s belly.

  Preston moved the ultrasound wand across her abdomen. “Let’s see what we have here. I can’t predict to perfect accuracy, but I’m ninety-nine percent sure you’re having a girl.”

  “A girl,” Nick whispered.

  He stared at the baby’s image. Her little arm was tucked under her chin. He turned to Lindsey. She stared at the screen. All of a sudden, the hospital melted away, and he saw her standing in Camp Clem’s dining hall, hair pulled up in a messy bun, dish towel slung over her shoulder, washing dishes and singing that stupid fruit song that he had come to love so fucking much.

  “This is our new beginning,” he whispered, staring at his daughter.

  20

  Nick thrust his hips. Lindsey braced herself, one hand on the Cessna’s back window, the other, pressed to the center of his chest. He’d had the backseat of the Skyhawk taken out to do some routine maintenance and was just about to reinstall it when Lindsey stopped him, handed him her panties, and climbed into the small space. Never, in all his years of flying, had he done anything like this in an airplane.

  Thank God they were just parked in the empty hangar. Had they been cruising at three thousand feet, the air traffic controllers would have gotten to listen to one hell of a show. He wasn’t sure how they had worked their way into the tight space, but with Lindsey straddling him and riding his cock, he didn’t care if someone had to extract him from the back of his Skyhawk with a fucking shoehorn.

  Her body had changed over the last three weeks. The swell of her belly had become more pronounced, and her breasts, which he’d always thought were perfect, had grown fuller and more sensitive. He ran his thumbs over the peaks, and she bucked forward, arching into his touch.

  “I’m so close, Nick,” she breathed.

  She pressed her hands to his chest as he gripped her ass, angling her body the way he knew she liked it.

  “Oh, yes!”

  Her eyes fluttered closed. She bit her bottom lip.

  Christ, she was gorgeous.

  He pumped harder. She released a tight moan, and her expression of pure ecstasy edged him closer toward his release.

  Weeks ago, he had thought Michael was crazy when his friend had shared the joys of pregnancy sex. Now, like Michael, he too walked around with a stupid grin stretched across his face.

  He cupped her face into his hand. “You are so fucking beautiful.”

  Her core tightened around his cock, and he followed her into oblivion, giving in to complete carnal desire.

  Her body slowed, drawing out the last threads of pleasure, and she met his gaze with a sated expression. But her face contorted into a look of disbelief.

  She bit her lip to hold back a smile. “That can’t be comfortable.”

  “I’m crammed in like the bus seat to Camp Clem.”

  A sweet smile graced her lips. She traced his jawline with her finger. “You looked like some kind of giant trying to fit into that bus seat. Your legs were all twisted and smashed against the front of the seat. But we fit in there together pretty well.”

  “Yeah, we fit so well that you fell asleep.” He took her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “That’s when I knew.”

  “Knew what?”

  “That I was a goner. That my heart wasn’t mine anymore. You smelled so good, and it felt so right having your head rest against my shoulder. I could have stayed like that forever.”

  “Just a prickly pear,” she said. “Hard on the outside. Soft and mushy on the inside.”

  “Mushy, huh?”

  Her eyes turned mischievous. “Like lumpy oatmeal.”

  He shifted his body and rested his back against the side of the plane. “This bowl of lumpy oatmeal has somewhere he would like to take you.”

  “Oh, yeah?” she asked, curiosity lacing her words.

  “Oh, yeah! Do you think you and the banana can handle a little trip?”

  “Sure, Dr. Al-Amin says I’m safe to fly.”

  He smiled. He knew that, too. He had gone with her to all her prenatal appointments, but he had still called and double checked with the doctor that morning.

  “I’m going to run inside and clean up. Are we on a tight schedule?” she asked.

  “No, we’ve got some time.” He lifted her up and set her gently next to him.

  His shirt had ridden up, and she ran her fingers down the hard plane of his stomach. Her eyes grew hooded and hungry. “Maybe lumpy oatmeal is the wrong way to describe you.”

  He pressed another kiss to her palm. “I never thought I’d say this, Linds, but we better get moving. I’ve planned out the whole day, and as nice as it would be to make love in the back of my airplane for the next eight hours, I really want to show you something.”

  “Oh, all right,” she said with mock disappointment.

  They extricated themselves from the back of the small plane. Lindsey headed for the ladies’ room, and he jogged up the stairs to his office. There was one important item locked away safely in his desk drawer that he didn’t want to forget.

  “It never gets old, does it?” Lindsey remarked, looking out at the horizon. She shifted her gaze to Nick. The sun w
as playing with the golden highlights in his hair as rays of light glinted off his aviators. He was a gorgeous man, and he was hers.

  Nick cracked a smile but kept his gaze forward. “What are you looking at?”

  “Just you,” she said.

  There was nothing sexier than watching this man pilot a plane. If it wasn’t so dangerous and her belly wasn’t so big, she would climb onto his lap and start round two right there in the cockpit, mid-flight.

  “Hey, Linds,” he said, gesturing with his chin. “Does anything look familiar?”

  They had only been in the air for about forty-five minutes. She figured he was just taking her out and back. Thankfully, he still had his pilot’s license. He hadn’t gotten into too much trouble for fleeing the scene of an emergency plane landing and then making an unauthorized helicopter drop on Midwest Medical Center’s helipad. The investigator sent from the National Transportation Safety Board to assess Nick’s emergency landing had a wife who was pregnant. He had told Nick he would have done the same thing had it been him.

  She looked out across the horizon. It was early May, and the world had transformed from a barren landscape of spindly trees to a bright green canopy of young leaves and flowering bushes. A large body of water stretched out before them. Beyond that, a steep bluff stood silent and rocky in the distance. Two structures sat near the water.

  Lindsey narrowed her eyes. “Is that the dining hall?”

  “Yep,” Nick answered. Even through the headset, she could hear the smile in his voice.

  “And that’s the boathouse,” she added, leaning forward like a kid pulling up to Disneyland. “Nick, It’s Camp Clem.”

  “You guessed it.”

  She gazed at the buildings. “There’s the lodge, and what used to be the big garden, I think. It looks pretty overgrown.”

  “Yeah, whoever owns it now hasn’t kept it up. I came out last week to check things out.”

  “You did?” she asked.

  He hadn’t mentioned this. After she was discharged from the hospital, Nick moved into the Foursquare with her. They hadn’t even discussed it. It just happened. She had been with him every day since then, and he hadn’t said a word about any trips to their old camp.