Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Brook

My phone rang with a call from Hornet. “Hello, handsome,” I sing-songed. “I hope you’re having a wonderful day.”

“I’m hanging tough,” he responded tightly. “How are you, kitten? Hope my mom and dad haven’t been telling you embarrassing stories of what I got up to as a kid. It’s all lies.”

I laughed, “I’ll fill you in later, right now they’re playing with Ariel. Your dad swears she just laughed, but your mom was telling him that doesn’t usually happen until three months, and it was probably a burp. He reckons he’s got a prodigy for a granddaughter.”

“Sounds like my old man,” Hornet said. “How’s your arm?”

I moved my arm and felt a twinge. It wasn’t as bad as it was when I first woke up, though. “A little sore. I took some pills about an hour ago. How did the talk with Herb go?”

“It went really well. We had a nice long chat. Not only did I clear him, but he offered to put up a ten-thousand-dollar reward for information leading to arrest of whoever ran you off the road.”

“He what?” I gasped. “I can’t believe he would do something like that. That man doesn’t even like me, and he’s pretty particular about what he spends his money on. This doesn’t make a bit of sense to me, Hornet.”

“I guess he’s more affected than we think.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I responded, still shocked by his out of the blue generosity.

“Anyway, about the accident, I have good news,” Hornet said.

“You do?” I was still musing over the fact that Herb had offered to put up a reward for me.

“We found the person who ran you off the road.”

Shock filled my brain. Then fear. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I was safe and whoever it was couldn’t get to me. “Who was it?” I asked. “Who hated me enough to want to kill me?”

“It wasn’t anyone you knew or were friends with, so you can rest your mind if you were worried about that.”

“That is a relief, though why would a stranger hate me so much?”

“It wasn’t exactly a stranger. It seems that your ex got himself a whacky new girlfriend. She had some pretty messed up thinking around punishing you for ruining his life—with a side order of jealousy that he got so obsessed with you—she was behind everything, the accident, the harassment, she even admitted to getting you fired on various occasions over the past year.”

“What?” I asked, totally confused by what he just said. Not only did I not ruin Tate’s life, but I was often the only one working and paying our bills. I’d bailed him out of jail several times and even helped pay for his mother’s funeral. But then again, he always blamed me for everything that went wrong in our lives.

Hornet replied soothingly, “Don’t expect it to make sense, Brook. This woman isn’t exactly what you would consider mentally healthy. She shot at us and tried to stab me with a kitchen knife.”

Alarm filled my mind. “Sweet Jesus, please be careful, Hornet.” I couldn’t imagine a woman trying to knife Hornet. He was a big guy with big muscles, built like a freaking tank. That was something only a desperate person or crazy person would do.

“We’re just waiting for the police to show up. She was cooking meth in her garage, so in addition to charges of criminal vehicular assault, plus stalking and damaging of property, she’s gonna be getting some serious jailtime. After they get here and we give our verbal report to them, I’m going to head home.”

“Thank goodness. I hope you come home hungry. Your mom is making dinner.”

“Let me guess. She’s making lasagna,” he said happily.

“Yeah, how did you know?”

He chuckled dryly. “It’s my favorite. She always makes it when she cooks for me.”

I made a mental note to get the recipe and learn how to make it.

“The police should be here any minute. I’m going to stop by the clubhouse and shower. The fumes from meth cooking can be harmful. I don’t want that shit around you or Ariel.”

“I’m sorry you had to be subjected to dangerous fumes and were almost shot and stabbed, all on my account.”

“None of this is your fault, Brook. Please try to remember that.”

“I will, but I want to thank you for figuring this all out, Hornet. You’re a good man and I appreciate every single thing you do for me. Do you think she’ll actually end up in jail or worm out of it somehow?” My biggest fear was that she might come after me again and be more successful at completing the task.

Hornet responded firmly, “I’m pretty sure she’s going down for a long time. Like I said, she was cooking meth in her garage. Once the police get a whiff of that, it’s probably going to be game over for her.”

Relief surged in my chest. “That’s good. Really, it is. I’ve been swallowing down my fear and pretending it wasn’t there this whole time, thinking if only I could minimize the whole situation, I could struggle through somehow. I didn’t want to be a source of trouble or aggravation for you. But the truth is, keeping it all locked inside turned out to be suffocating.” I took a deep breath and added, “Sorry if I’m rambling. I just wasn’t expecting this to get resolved so quickly.”

“Well, if you plan to keep me around, you should get used to it. I’m a man who gets shit done.”

A slow smile spread over my face. “I like that about you.”

Hornet added teasingly, “I’m strong and handsome too.”

“And playfully irreverent,” I teased him back. This man asking me to keep him had a fantastic sense of humor. There was no denying that.

“I’m also a good provider and have aced the midnight feedings. That might be important to you if we have kids together in the future.”

“You, sir, are a great catch,” I agreed, leaving my anxiety behind in favor of flirting with my gorgeous boyfriend.

“Then you should keep me.”

“You of all people don’t need to talk yourself up to me. To be quite honest, you had me at strong and handsome.”

His laugh sounded relieved. “If that’s at the top of your list, remind me not to miss any trips to the gym.”

“Don’t worry, you’d look good with a dad bod too.” I didn’t want him to think I was only after his body.

“Perish the thought, woman. I’ve got to keep my muscle mass pumped up so I can carry around all the babies we’re going to have.”

Imagining him carrying around our babies made me hot for him. “To be honest, I always hoped to have a large family.”

“In that case, I’m your man. As many kids as you want.”

The thought of making babies with this man sent a torrent of explicit thoughts through my head, and my cheeks burned. Good thing I wasn’t taking this call in the kitchen with his parents. I forced myself to respond around the lump in my throat. “Well, alright. It’s settled, then. We’re gonna give this thing between us a go.” I could hear the excitement in my own voice. And why shouldn’t I be excited? Being with Hornet was the chance of a lifetime.

Hornet let out a whoop so loud it was almost painful in my ear. Pure joy surged through my heart for this man who’d put himself in harm’s way to find the person who hurt me, and make sure they ended up behind bars.

“You’re a good protector, Hornet,” I stated sincerely.

There was a slight pause, and when he spoke, his voice was filled with emotion. “You could not have said anything to pump up my ego more. That’s how I see myself and how I always want others to see me. You’re making all my dreams come true today, Brook.”

“You are doing the same for me, babe. I want you to be happy. You deserve all the happiness the world has to offer.”

“My sweet kitten.” I heard someone shout something to him in the background. “Better end the call, the police are here. I have to go and see to business. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

“Sure, I’ll be waiting when you get here. Watch your back, babe.”

“Will do. Give Ariel a kiss from her dad,” Hornet said, then ended the call.

I got up and walked to Ariel’s room to find her sleeping soundly in her crib. She looked so tiny and angelic. I gently cupped the top of her head. It hit me hard and fast that this child I had grown so attached to might soon become my daughter.

I couldn’t help but wonder what our future children would look like. I could see us having at least three more, a mix of boys and girls.

Images rose in my mind of our little family going camping, to a cozy seaside resort, and opening presents together on Christmas morning. As soon as the thought popped into my mind, I wanted this fantasy of belonging he’d offered me so badly. Having his babies spoke to me as a woman and I was falling hard for this biker with a heart of gold.

I glanced over at the doorway to see his mother walking in. “I heard a noise on the baby monitor and thought Ariel might be awake.”

Just then she made a gurgling sound. When I glanced down, her eyes were open, and she was staring up at us. “I guess she is. It’s hard not being able to pick her up and take care of her myself.”

“You should take some time off while you’re healing. The last thing you need is to reinjure your arm trying to take care of her.” She lifted Ariel out of the crib and laid her on the changing table.

While watching her change the baby, I asked, “Do you mind if I ask why you only had one child? I mean I know it’s none of my business, but…” I stopped realizing I was asking a pretty personal question. It was none of my damn business.

She glanced up at me, amused. “What makes you think I had a child?”

My eyes widened. “You adopted Hornet?” He hadn’t told me this about himself, though I had to admit there was quite a lot I didn’t know. And a lot I wanted to learn about this big, kind man of mine.

“Yes, we did. We brought him home from the hospital and raised him as our own. His birth mother was my younger sister. She was too young to care for him and wanted to go to college. So, we adopted him. We’d been trying to have children for years, but it wasn’t happening. Drue was the answer to our prayers.”

“Hornet never mentioned being adopted to me.”

“He never seemed to care about that. To him, we were his parents and that’s all that mattered.”

“I don’t mean to pry, but did your sister ever regret the decision to give him up?”

A look of pain crossed her face. “No, Bethany died when he was five. She was hit by a car while crossing the road on her college campus. It was some frat boy who was drunk driving.”

“I’m sorry. That must have been so hard for you.”

“It was a devastating loss, to be sure. But she’d left me the most precious gift imaginable to remember her by. I see her in his facial expressions, the way he sometimes shrugs with one shoulder, and even in the sound of his voice. All that he is reminds me of bittersweet memories of Bethany.”

I reached out and gave her arm a little squeeze. “I’m glad he had you for a mother.”

“Me too. Because I wasn’t able to get pregnant, I poured all my energy into raising Drue to be the kind of man she would have been proud of. I suppose I was a bit overprotective, but Drue took it all in stride. He really was a delightful baby and the most kindhearted child. I think my sister would be proud of him.”

“I’m sure she would. He’s an amazing man—strong, handsome, and protective.”

Her expression lifted. “Whenever someone talked about his finer qualities, he would always remind them that he was handsome too.”

I laughed. “He did that just today.”

She dusted a cloud of baby powder on Ariel and closed the diaper tapes firmly into place.

As she put a clean onesie on her, I asked, “If you were able to have children, how many would have been your perfect number?”

A ghost of a smile crossed her face when she glanced back up at me. “I wanted a half dozen. Enough that they could all play together and support each other when they were adults.”

“I want a lot of kids too. Maybe Drue and I can shoot for six.”

Her face lit up like Christmas morning. “So, the two of you are really together?”

I grinned at her, happy that she was so pleased with the news. “I apparently got promoted to girlfriend.”

She plucked Ariel up and laid the little one against her shoulder. “That sounds just like something Drue would say. He’s got his father’s sense of humor, honestly when those two get going it’s hard to know whether they’re being serious or not. Here’s a handy tip, if those two men sound like they’re squaring up for a fight, just sit back and enjoy the verbal sparring. They love each other to bits really.”

We walked downstairs, and when her husband reached for the baby, she handed her over. They looked so natural together. “I’ll get her a bottle. Remember not to feed her too fast. She’ll get gas.”

“This ain’t my first rodeo, woman,” he grumbled back.

I followed her into the kitchen, charmed by their interaction. “I hope Hornet and I get along as well as you do.”

“Forty-five years, and I don’t regret a single moment.” She said softly as she warmed the milk in a bottle warmer, then took it to her husband.

I stood there trying to imagine being with Hornet for that length of time.

“Hunter says welcome to the family,” she told me when she came back to the kitchen.

“I’m not in quite yet. We just agreed to be exclusive.”

She hesitated for a moment before saying, “To me it looks like you’re in it already, but you don’t sound sure of the situation.”

“Oh, I’m absolutely crazy about your son. Don’t ever doubt that. And I’d love the honor of becoming Ariel’s mother. I’ve had a difficult few years, and what with the accident and everything I guess this situation feels a bit too good to be true, so I want to give it some time to be sure.”

“Good luck getting Drue to slow down. My son’s a real go getter. If he sees something he wants, he goes right for it. Prepare yourself to become his new favorite thing.”

I laughed. “His favorite thing is little Ariel. Mine too. I’ll only ever come second in his world. I don’t mind, because I think kids should always come first.”

“I like where you head is on that one, soon-to-be daughter-in-law.”

I raised my eyebrows at that, but his mom just gave a knowing smile, and went to check on the lasagna.

I loved that Hornet’s parents had embraced the idea of me officially joining their family at some future date so enthusiastically. It felt good to be welcomed and wanted. I hadn’t felt much parental love and acceptance in a long time.

“Thank you for giving me a chance. I promise I won’t ever hurt your son or let him down.”

“We’re all human, and we all make mistakes in life. All I ask is that you don’t hurt my son intentionally, and if you do so accidentally, make things as right as you can right away. Don’t let hurt linger and never go to sleep on an argument. Life’s too short to make mistakes like that.”

I nodded, fighting back tears. “I’ll remember that. Thanks for reminding me that no one can be perfect, no matter how hard they try. I tend to forget that sometimes. I always tried to be perfect, thinking that way people would care for me.”

“Sometimes when we try and be perfect for others, we forget who we are ourselves. In this family, you don’t have to do anything but be yourself to be loved.”

I gave her a quick, but firm hug. “You’re an amazing woman. Drue is lucky to have you for his mother.”

She gave me a quick squeeze back and we stepped back, each with glassy eyes.

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to our son, Brook. I can see it in the way he looks at you and worries over your safety. Don’t tell him I said this, but I was worried that he would never find anyone. We used to joke about wanting grandkids before we were too old and decrepit to play with them, but really what we wanted, was for him to find someone that he’d want to make a family with—and it looks like that someone is you.”

Happiness lit up every corner of my heart. “I almost forgot to mention, Drue found the person who ran my car off the road and who made those complaints about me.”

“That’s wonderful news, I do hope their identity isn’t upsetting for you,” she responded sincerely.

I knew she was thinking it might be my dad. This woman was the kind of nice one rarely found in the world. “My ex ended up with an unhinged new girlfriend who was obsessively jealous of me and blamed me for whatever bad that happened in his life since we broke up. I can’t imagine why, because I haven’t seen or talked to him in a long time. But she decided to sideswipe me and almost killed me.”

“That’s awful! I can’t believe there are people in this world who would kill someone over something like that.”

“I’m still trying to get my head around it.”

“Well, I hope the police arrest her and lock her up for a nice long time.”

“The police came while we were talking on the phone earlier. Apparently, she was into other illegal things. He thinks she’ll be gone for a long time.”

“I hope so, dear.”