Chapter 4

Tanner - Chapter 4

Noelle was just putting the finishing touches on the planter that she'd just gotten in when she felt the tightening of her belly. It was hard to stand up when it hit her, and sitting on the floor, she noticed that she was sitting in liquid. It took her befuddled mind a few minutes to realize that her water had broken, and she knew that it was time. Calling for Marty, she was as calm as she could be when she told her what had happened.

"Really? You're in labor now?" She said that she wasn't hurting, but her water had broken. "That's the start. I've been reading up on this since I started working here. All right. We have to make some calls. You contact Elijah and I'll get Sterl. He's been working upstairs to be close in case we needed him."

When she was alone again, Noelle reached for Elijah and told him that her water had broken. He was as calm as she'd been, and she was glad for it. They'd been planning to go in tomorrow for her to be induced, and he said this was so much better.

I'm on my way. She thanked him. I'm letting everyone else know too. So, you be prepared for the invasion.

I don't hurt at all. I mean, I've had this backache since I got up, but I did move all that stuff into the babies' room last night. He had told her then and again now that she should have waited on him. I wanted to surprise you.

Well, you did at that. He told her again that he was coming, and she felt better knowing that he was on his way.

Sterl came downstairs, lifted her up off the floor, and took her to the office, telling Marty to lock up. As soon as she was in her office, the pain started. It hurt badly now, and she could hardly breathe around it. When she was lifted again, she saw that Elijah had her and she asked him where he was taking her.

"To the hospital. You don't want to have the babies on the floor, do you?" Noelle was hurting too badly now to joke around, and she told him she thought she just might. "Hang on, baby. We'll be there soon."

They weren't going to make it. As soon as she was put in the back seat of the car, she felt the urge to push. And it hurt so bad that she screamed with it.

Noelle could see that there were others around her, some she could make out and others she didn't even care. When one of them told her to breathe, she looked around at her and wondered where she'd come from. And for that matter where she was.

"It's Giyanna. I've done this before, delivered a baby. And thankfully we're not on a busy highway in rush hour traffic when I do it this time. You just keep breathing and we'll be fine." She told her that she hurt. "I know, honey, and I wish I could give you something for it, but I don't think your antique shop has morphine in it. We're going to get through this, you and I, and when it's all over, you'll have your baby."

It seemed like forever since this started, but Giyanna kept telling her that she was doing fine, great as a matter of fact. And when the urge to push came over her this time, there was no denying it. Noelle pushed as hard as she could while Giyanna told her to breathe between contractions.

"I'm breathing, damn it. This fucking hurts." Giyanna told her that she could see the head. "Really? It's coming? I want to hold them. Hurry this along, Giyanna, I need to hold my children, so I can forget all this pain."

"You will. And honey, it's the baby, not me, that's taking its time. We'll get it in your arms. Just one more push like that last one and I'll have your baby for you." She heard her father-in-law say there was twins. "Oh. Well, I'll have baby number one for you in just a minute now."

Noelle could hear sirens. She didn't know if it was her screaming, really, or the police. They were going to arrest her, she just knew it. Waking the dead with her screams had to be breaking some law, she thought hysterically. Giyanna told her that there wasn't a person in the world that would arrest her, not so long as she was with her, and Noelle believed her.

She was told to push again, and Noelle felt the first baby leave her body. For a few moments she was in heaven. Nothing hurt, but she wasn't sure that she could do it again. It was then that she noticed that Elijah was behind her, holding her up like the chair did at practice. They'd been to all their classes, and she was glad for it. Then the first baby screamed.

It was possibly the best sound that she'd ever heard. But before she could hold her little boy, she had the urge to push again. This time she pushed once and expelled her little girl. Noelle couldn't help it, she fell unconscious before she could ask if they were both all right.

Noelle woke to someone talking. And when she opened one eye she realized that she was in a real bed in the hospital. Elijah was on his cell phone, talking quietly, when she saw where he was standing. There was a large crib in front of him, and he was talking while looking down at it. Noelle said his name.

"I have to go, Chris. Yes, I'll tell her what you said, and we'll see you tomorrow." He told her that he was happy, then put his phone away. "How you doing, Momma? You feel like holding one of your children? You fell asleep so quickly after they were born you scared me a little. But my mom told me that you'd done more labor than most and needed it. Which one do you want to hold first?"

"Both of them." He laughed and told her that he'd help her. "Are they all right, Elijah? Do they have all their fingers and toes? Did you make sure that they were healthy and not hurt from me having them at the shop?"

"Honey, they couldn't be more perfect. They have ten of each. I counted them before you were brought here. And they're very healthy. Our son is full wolf, and our daughter is human. I'm so happy that I have to keep pinching myself to make sure that I'm not dreaming." She took the first bundle from him and held her son. "We still haven't picked out a name yet. We don't have any more time now."

"I know, but it's so hard. They'll have it for the rest of their lives." He said that was the plan. "You know what I mean. They'll be labeled if the name is too silly or strange. And they'll be made fun of if it's easy to shorten it into something dirty or even funny to say. I don't want that for them. They need to have a name that will be perfect for this clan. A name worthy of being a Calhoun."

"All right. Then what would you like to call our son?" She knew what she wanted to call him, but was afraid that he'd think it was too much. "Noelle, just tell me, love, before they all come in demanding names. And you know as well as I do that they'll start making suggestions, and that will be all she wrote. What were you thinking for our son?"

"Elijah James Anthony Calhoun." He smiled, and she felt like that was the perfect thing to call him. "We can do as your father has done and call him E.J. for short. Then for our daughter? Let me think."

She traded him babies and held their daughter for the first time. She was simply perfect, just as E.J. was. She thought of how she had ended up with them here. How a near stranger yet family had come to save them all.

"Christine Jasmine Giyanna Calhoun. For the two people in the world that I think the most of. And the woman who made it so they were brought into the world safely." He kissed her on the mouth and told her she was wonderful. "You don't think it's too much for her? I know what I said about them being made fun of, but she needs a powerful name, don't you think?"

"You couldn't have picked any names, all three of them, more powerful. I love them both." With another kiss, he told her to be prepared, they were coming in. And almost as soon as he finished speaking, the door opened, and the family crowded in.

Noelle loved this family of hers. They were kind and bossy, generous and very nosey. But she loved them as her own. And when Elijah held his son so that they could all see him, she laid her little girl on the bed and unwrapped her.

"My goodness, what a pretty little thing." Noelle looked up at Mom and smiled. "And you, just look at how happy you are. Motherhood suits you. Can I hold her now?"

"Absolutely." Handing her Chrissy, she smiled at her. "We've got names for them both. Would you like to know what hers is?"

"Oh my, yes, I need to know what to call this precious little bundle." She told her the name and also what she thought they should call her. "You named her after me? You did that for me?"

"Yes. Being that she's a human, she needed a strong name. Something that would empower her as she got older. I don't know of any other women that I could have named her after and been happy with it." Mom wiped at the tears that were on her cheeks. Then when Sterl brought his little boy to them, she held him while the others passed hers and Elijah's babies around. Life was suddenly very fulfilling for her. And she was as happy as she'd ever been before.

Benson, Sterl's son, was getting so big now. He was a happy little fellow, despite the fact that he'd lost both his parents in such a short time. Sterl and Marty were raising him to know that he was adopted, and hoped that someday he'd want to take over the gallery that his father left for Sterl so that it would be in his family again. This family was forever thinking of the other person when they made plans. Noelle thought that was why she loved them so much.

Everyone seemed so pleased with the names that they'd picked out. And each of them liked the idea of calling them E.J. and her daughter Chrissy. It would keep the confusion down as well as help them when they were older. All the Trents in the family got confusing when a stranger would call the house asking for him.

She was exhausted again when they were getting ready to leave, but she had to talk to Giyanna and thank her for helping her bring her little babies into the world. Her shyness had Noelle warming to her more, and she held her hand as she spoke to her.

"You did something for me that I cannot repay you for." Giyanna said that it had been her pleasure, but not to make a habit of it. "No, I won't. I don't know what I would have done had you not been there for us."

"You would have done just fine. Women have been having babies for a very long time. It was easy really. I mean for me, not you so much." They both laughed. "I want to thank you for naming your daughter after me. You didn't have to do that. I'm just as happy as I can be that everyone is safe and sound. You did a great job there, Momma, and you should be very proud of yourself."

"I wanted her to be strong. It's so hard in this world to be something different. And while she is wholly human, she'll have magic that will set her apart from the rest. Besides, you're going to be my sister-in-law, right?" She just looked over at Tanner but didn't answer. "He's a good man. All the Calhoun men are. But Tanner has always been someone special to me. Others too. He's like the big brother that I never had. And he's a smart, good guy to have around."

"I know that, but I'm not exactly what he would be dating." She asked her why not. "I don't know. I have a lot of baggage. More than most, I would imagine. I mean, Rogan alone is enough to make a lesser man run for the hills."

"You have no idea how much baggage we women brought when we joined this family. And a great deal of it was something that our families had brought down on us. Even Joe—she had things in her life that she had settled just the way she wanted. Living her life the way she wanted. But now that she has Trent, they're as happy, both of them, as I've ever seen a couple." Giyanna said that her brother was causing trouble. "Yes. And we'll get through it. Like a family. All of us will be at your back, your side, or wherever you need us. That's the way they do things around here. You'll see what I mean when things start to fall apart—these people will hold you together."

"You're very sweet, but I think this is well beyond what they've been dealing with." She told her about Sterl and his she-devil, and the demon that came to get him. Also about the demon Richard. "Tanner mentioned that, and it seems unreal, don't you think? But now that I think on it, maybe my troubles are not so bad. At least I hope not."

They both laughed, and when Giyanna told her that she was glad they were going to be friends, Noelle thanked her again. It was getting harder and harder to keep her eyes open. And as she was drifting off, no longer able to fight it, she felt the kiss to her forehead and knew that it was Elijah. She loved that man more than she thought possible.

~*~

Tanner was in his office when Giyanna came to see him. He'd been working on the things for the trial when she sat down across from him. Looking at her, he could tell that she was upset about something, but he let her take the lead. Instead of asking her about it, he told her what he was working on.

"There isn't any way that he's going to get out of most of this. I've tried to explain it to him, but he just doesn't believe that he's been doing anything wrong. Not even beating his wife and kids." She nodded, and he knew that she wasn't really paying attention to him, so he had some fun with her. "Then there is the fact that he dances naked in his cell nightly, and had rituals that involve him taking little snips of his hair and using them for chewing gum."

"I found out who the woman is." He told her that was good. "Yes, and now that they know her name, Joe can ask the earth to help her find where he buried her. I'm not at all sure how that works, but I'm guessing that she can do it and do it well."

"Yes, she can, and that's good, right? Trent has a way to make sure that the prosecuting attorney can figure it out and bring those charges against him as well. He told me that he has a foolproof plan in regard to that." She nodded. "What else is it? Did someone say something to you?"

"The woman that Rogan killed was a nice person with a family. Not a whore at all like I had thought at the time. I think in my mind it was a way for me to deal with what he'd done. Not that she deserved to die like she had, but I was only a teenager and couldn't deal with it any other way." Tanner told her that he might have done the same. "No, you wouldn't have. You'd have been outraged and done something about it. Don't patronize me."

"I wasn't. And I'm not nearly as strong as you seem to think I am. I want you to take a deep breath and let it out slowly and tell me why you have a burr up your ass today." She just stared at him—he could see that she was really pissed now. "Or you could come over here, sit on my desk, and let me have my way with you."

"Do you ever think of anything but sex?" He told her plenty, but he was making a joke. "I'm not in the mood."

"I can tell."

She got up to pace, and he reached for Chloe to find out what happened. She's tense and upset. Can you tell me what the hell happened? I've never seen her like this before.

Tanner, we couldn't have ever found this woman had she not helped us. It was good of her to tell me, and to help us close this for the family. He asked about the woman. Her name was Margaret Penny, and she was a mother of four and married to a very nice man who has been grieving for his wife since she disappeared over ten years ago. The children are nearly grown now, of course, but they still remember her and miss her daily. When Giyanna figured that out, she cried for an hour. I think this has been harder on her than even her brother has been. She's been holding onto this knowledge about the death, and I think that it's been eating at her more than even she realized.

After thanking her, he got up to sit on the edge of his desk, waiting for Giyanna to come back his way so that he could talk to her. When he reached out to touch her, it was as if that had been all she was waiting on and she burst into tears, clinging to him as she told him what Chloe had.

"She had children that missed her. He killed her for no other reason than to prove a point to me, I guess. It was lost on me then, and even now, why he had to murder someone like he did. Was it to frighten me? I was already afraid of him. I don't understand why he thought it was all right to kill anyone, but this woman had a family. She was a good person. People have been looking for her since she was killed."

He held her, listening to her disjointed conversation. When she started to calm a little, he picked her up in his arms and took her to the couch that was in his office. There he sat with her, just holding her as she cried again.

He'd never been good around crying women. He knew that there were a few of them that thought that was the way to get him to do whatever it was they wanted. But he was more turned off about that than he was if they whined. And Tanner hated a whiner. But this was different. She wasn't asking him for anything but support. Nor was she trying to get anything from him.

"Chloe said that you were helpful in the search. Had you not then they would never have found her to help the family." She laid her head on his shoulder but didn't say anything. "I'm sorry that I was joking around with you. I had no way of knowing that you were that upset or why."

"I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm not used to people being...well, being kind to me, I guess. I'm new to this kind of feelings for someone." He asked her who had been mean to her. "I only just realized that I became an attorney for all the wrong reasons."

"I'm sure that you're just upset." She told him she was, but that wasn't it. "Then tell me why you think they were the wrong reasons."

"I wanted to see justice for that woman. And I thought if I was this great attorney that I could have my brother arrested and taken to jail, and I could come home again. I missed my brother, Tyrrell, the weather here, believe it or not, and the way people are here. They're not as nice sometimes as they are where I was, but here was home to me. But I couldn't return even after I got my law degree because I was afraid of Rogan and what he might do to me even then." Tanner told her that he was someone to be afraid of. "Yes, well, a woman never got the proper burial, and her family didn't get the closure that they needed because I was afraid of him. But they will now, damn it, even if I have to pay for it all by myself."

"I'm so very sorry." She didn't move but stayed on his lap with her head resting on his chest now. "Rogan wants to see you. He's going to tell you that he's sorry, or so he told me. He goes to court tomorrow morning. I told him that I'd not go to bat for him unless he told you how sorry he was. I don't think it'll be all that sincere, but he is going to say it to you."

"I don't want him near me." He nodded and adjusted her on his lap so that his erection could get a little relief. She sat up and looked at him. "You're very hard, aren't you?"

"I am. And I've been in a constant state of arousal since I met you. You have no idea how hard I've been since I've met you." She looked at his mouth, then at his eyes. "You're very beautiful, Giyanna. And I'd like nothing more than to kiss you again. But I want you to realize that I want you very badly, and have since I touched you the first time."

"It's inevitable, isn't it?" He asked her what she meant. "That you and I come together. That we have a relationship that will be based on DNA rather than love."

"I do love you." She started to move, and he held her. "No, wait, let me finish. I do love you. And perhaps, yes, it's DNA that makes me love you after such a short time. I don't really care how it worked out. You're my other half, the woman that was to make me a whole person, and you did. More than that, you gave me something that I didn't realize I was missing, and that is calmness. Loving you is nothing that I ever expected to happen. Not the way that I do. I knew that you were coming. With the rest of my family mated and happy, I knew that it was only a matter of time before I was as well. However, I never thought that I could be like my brothers in their relationships. I thought, and this was before I met you, that I wasn't going to have time to have you changing me. I liked me the way I am. But you came into my life, and it's like I've been waiting my entire life for you to be there with me. My home is that, a home now, when before it was just a house, a place where I slept and ate leftovers from someone's house that I ate at the night before. My life seemed to be going along like it should. But it was far from perfect, as it is now with you here. I'm more relaxed, happy with the turn of events, and I couldn't love you any more than I do right now. I'd die for you."

"Why?" Tanner asked her what she meant. "What is it about me that you love? I'm not much like the women you more than likely dated before I came along."

"You're very different than they were. When I dated, which really wasn't all that much, I'd go out with a friend of a friend. A sister to one of the women that my brothers were trying to woo. It wasn't that I didn't have fun, I really did, but it wasn't all that exciting to me." She asked him if he thought she was exciting. "You are. And funny. You have this calmness about you that brings me in too. Makes me feel relaxed, and I can think better. And sometimes you make me feel more like a man than I have before."

"I don't know how to be the woman that you might need. I'm just me." He asked her again what she meant by that. "You know, pretty and bright. I have opinions and ideas, and I'm not afraid to voice them."

"You think that I'd not allow you to have an opinion?" She shook her head. "Then we can mark that off the list. All right. Ideas. Yes, you should have them. And act upon them if you want to see them work. The fact that you had no trouble going to see Chloe and helping her makes me believe that you have a sense of justice. That you wanted to help, and you did so. I'm happy for you in that. Happy for all the people involved in you coming forward and finding out who this woman was."

"She could have been buried a long time ago. With her family knowing what had happened." He nodded but waited for her to say more. "I should have done this much sooner, before leaving. Maybe gone to another police station or called them with a tip. Of course, I had no idea what her name was, nor where he might have buried her."

"You could have, certainly. What do you think would have happened back then?" Giyanna asked him what he meant. "You know that the force was corrupt and that they had their own set of rules. Do you think they would have brought your brother in? Put him in jail? Or would they have gone after you? A young pretty woman that tells on her own family? I shudder to think what might have happened to you had you done either of those things. And, as you said, you had no idea where she might have been, nor her name. They would have marked you as a crackhead and jailed you for fun or sent you back home to Rogan."

"They would have brought me in, like you said, and jailed me. Perhaps sent me home with him too. I would have been unable to get away when I did." He nodded. "My brother would have come to get me, and no matter what I had told them that Rogan had done, they still would have given me over to him, and I would have been killed by him too. And probably even buried next to the young woman, where my body would never be found."

"Yes, he would have." He held her tighter and she laid on his chest again. "I never would have met you. I would have been a lonely man for the rest of my life, wondering what had happened to my other half. And your poor brother, he would have been killed as well. There wasn't going to be any way that anyone would be able to think it was anyone but Rogan that had done it."

She got up then and stood in front of him. He wasn't sure what she was thinking, but the smile that she had on her face brought out his own. Tanner would have given everything that he had to know that he'd been responsible for such a look, but for now, he'd take whatever he could get from her.

"I want to go shopping." He said all right. "I need some clothing and some other shoes. I know that I can make them. I can, right?"

"I don't know how that will work for you." She closed her eyes and he thought even her concentration was beautiful. When she was suddenly in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, he laughed. "I guess it does work for you. All right then, what are we shopping for? The reason I ask is, we have to find the perfect store."

"I want to go and see Second Time Around. I heard that Noelle and Marty have the nicest things in there." He took her hand when it was offered. "Also, your grandda was telling me about the buildings that are being renovated. I'd like to see those as well. Show me our town, Tanner. I want to see it all."

She had said our town, but he didn't get his hopes up yet. They had a lot of things to work out, the two of them. And he wanted to get a start on those things right away. But not today. Today was for fun. He was going to show her the entire town, take her to lunch, then he was going to take her shopping anywhere she wanted to go. Tanner was nearly skipping when they left the house.

Giyanna was telling him about her home, the one that had been left to her in Ireland. And that she wanted to keep it so that she could go and visit sometimes. It was a place that was near to her heart simply because it was the first one that she'd ever owned. He agreed with her, telling her that at one time, he thought his family had owned a few houses there. His grandparents liked to travel, but they hated hotels.

"We'll have to find out how close we are to some of their homes." He told her they were going to his parents' house for dinner tonight. "Okay, I'll be better at handling them now, I think. You're all very big guys, aren't you? I mean, Rogan is big, but he's sloppy fat. And someday I bet it will be his downfall. But you guys are tall and muscled."

"And yet my mom and dad still call us their boys. And if we do something wrong, when she's nearby, Mom will pop us in the back of the head like she did when we were younger. And let me tell you, I didn't get hit nearly as many times as the others did. I was the baby, and special to her."

They were still laughing about it when he pulled up in front of the antique shop. Taking her hand when they got out, Tanner kissed her again. Today was going to be a good day.