We expect that Dominic’s trial will take years. That’s not really an issue for us because there is no way he will ever live his life as a free man again even if he were to have a trial tomorrow. There is just too much stacked against him—all because of Asher.
“I think they’ll be here in about an hour. I wasn’t sure about Maddox and Emmy. Not sure what’s going on with them right now, so I guess we will see.”
“All right, baby.” I lean my head and close my eyes, determined to sleep until the last second possible.
I hear Asher laughing as he walks back down the hall to get the food ready for tonight.
I smile and thank God for bringing that man into my life.
***
Axel, Izzy, and baby Nate are the first ones to arrive. Izzy gives me a warm hug and we both laugh when our bellies smoosh together.
“Are you still grunting and groaning about having a daughter?” I laugh, leaning over Nate to give Axel a hug.
“I wasn’t. Woman, did you tell them I was complaining about my princess?”
Izzy bursts out laughing, her tiny belly bouncing with her mirth. “Oh my God! You’re already terrible! She isn’t even here yet and you’re going all possessive over her! I tell you, Axel Reid, she is not going to like that when she gets older.”
He pulls himself up, towering over us all at six foot six, pulling Izzy to his side. He cups her under her arms and lifts her right off the ground as if she weighs nothing more than a feather. “You listen to me, babe. My princess will never date. Ever. I’m considering going ahead a looking at homeschool. We need to get all those dicks away from my baby.”
“Your baby?” she mocks.
“You heard me. Just like her mom—she’s mine, and I’m not letting some little prick get near my princess.” He gives her a deep kiss before putting her back down.
“Incorrigible caveman,” she says under her breath, earning her a light smack against her ass.
“Daddy! What’s a prick?”
We all turn our heads sharply when we hear Cohen speak from behind Axel. He looks up at us with his wide smile, chubby cherub cheeks, and his chocolate-colored eyes twinkling with wonder. He really is one of the coolest kids I’ve ever met. I’ve never seen him act up, and the things that come out of his mouth are hilarious.
“Can you guys make at least a small effort to remember there are little human ears around?” Greg complains while carrying both of his daughters—in their car seats—into the house.
Melissa follows close behind, a blinding smile across her face. She gives me a bone-crushing hug before following after Greg to help with their twins.
Right when I’m about to close the door, I hear another car pull into the driveway. I smile when I see Dee and Beck. She is shaking her head and moving her mouth as if she’s singing—but anyone who knows Dee knows that that’s a terrifying thought. That girl can’t hold a tune to save her life.
Beck sits in the driver’s seat, watching her with adoration shining bright.
I shake my head and lean against the doorframe to wait her out. When the song finally ends, she jumps out of the car and runs towards me.
“Guess what!” she screams.
“Uh, what?”
“We started trying,” she says with the biggest grin on her face.
“Awesome, Dee! And Beck! I would say have fun, but we all know that would be a pointless thing to say. I’ve heard stories about you, John Beckett!”
He actually blushes at my jest. I laugh, throwing my head back and almost taking Asher’s nose out in the process.
“I don’t tell her everything,” Dee defends.
“HA! Like he’s going to believe you… Wildcat!”
She smacks me in the arm before giving me a big hug. Beck gives me a one-armed squeeze. I never really understood the point of those.
“Who is missing?” I call through the house, turning away from the door.
“Me,” I hear rumbled behind me.
I turn around so quickly that I almost fall on my ass. Maddox reaches out quickly and steadies me.
“Hey, Mad.” I give him a big hug and kiss his rough cheek. “Where is Em?”
“I’m right here,” she grinds out, her eyes never leaving Maddox’s. Well, alrighty then.
“I swear, you two—both of you need to wear bells. It’s just not natural how quiet y’all prowl.”
Emmy looks over and flashes me a smile. We’ve grown real close since she saved my life. I feel like I owe her tremendously.
“How are you?” she inquires.
“A lot better. I haven’t had a nightmare since the bad one I had three days after it went down. I think I’m getting a lot better. Asher helps a lot though. If I need to talk, he helps me get it all out and sort my head. I still have my moments, but for the first time in a long time, I don’t feel alone. I’m really happy. It doesn’t hurt knowing that crazy bitch is going to be locked up in that mental hospital for probably the rest of her life.”
“They finally sentenced her?” Maddox asks.
“As far as I know. I don’t want to talk about the details with Asher. He let me know that she would be spending the rest of her life at a treatment center, and that’s all I need to know. Apparently, she went batshit crazy, and no, that isn’t the technical term they used. It’s just a fact. I did ask him one thing, and really, it’s the only thing I care about. I wanted to know why. Why she went so far off the rocker she fell of the porch and down a hill where she landed in a pile of shit.”
They all laugh. I join in because, really, now that it’s over and done with, the only thing I can do is laugh. I don’t want to remember the fear she had me drowning in. I see it every time I look at my wrists and see the scars that will probably always be there.
“Anyway, she got hooked on some hardcore drugs after Asher dumped her ass. Her father cut her off both physically and financially. She’s been living off her seriously thick trust fund for the last eight years.”
The specifics on just how she was able to get to me still make my skin crawl.
“She had it planned for months. Or as soon as she noticed how serious Asher was with me. Then, when my stomach started growing, apparently that’s when she snapped. They called it a psychotic break—or something like that. To her, I was the other woman who had moved in on her man.” I could laugh at Emmy’s shocked expression. We all knew that it was bad—we just didn’t realize it was this bad. “She rented the apartment just a door down from ours. She would sit and watch our every move. The day that she knocked Joe unconscious and attacked me in our home was of the most terrifying experiences of my life, but I’ve vowed to put it behind me. It’s time for Asher and me to start moving forward and focusing on all the positive things in our lives. I just wanted to know what her motivation was. Now that I do, I can move on.”
“I think they’ll be here in about an hour. I wasn’t sure about Maddox and Emmy. Not sure what’s going on with them right now, so I guess we will see.”
“All right, baby.” I lean my head and close my eyes, determined to sleep until the last second possible.
I hear Asher laughing as he walks back down the hall to get the food ready for tonight.
I smile and thank God for bringing that man into my life.
***
Axel, Izzy, and baby Nate are the first ones to arrive. Izzy gives me a warm hug and we both laugh when our bellies smoosh together.
“Are you still grunting and groaning about having a daughter?” I laugh, leaning over Nate to give Axel a hug.
“I wasn’t. Woman, did you tell them I was complaining about my princess?”
Izzy bursts out laughing, her tiny belly bouncing with her mirth. “Oh my God! You’re already terrible! She isn’t even here yet and you’re going all possessive over her! I tell you, Axel Reid, she is not going to like that when she gets older.”
He pulls himself up, towering over us all at six foot six, pulling Izzy to his side. He cups her under her arms and lifts her right off the ground as if she weighs nothing more than a feather. “You listen to me, babe. My princess will never date. Ever. I’m considering going ahead a looking at homeschool. We need to get all those dicks away from my baby.”
“Your baby?” she mocks.
“You heard me. Just like her mom—she’s mine, and I’m not letting some little prick get near my princess.” He gives her a deep kiss before putting her back down.
“Incorrigible caveman,” she says under her breath, earning her a light smack against her ass.
“Daddy! What’s a prick?”
We all turn our heads sharply when we hear Cohen speak from behind Axel. He looks up at us with his wide smile, chubby cherub cheeks, and his chocolate-colored eyes twinkling with wonder. He really is one of the coolest kids I’ve ever met. I’ve never seen him act up, and the things that come out of his mouth are hilarious.
“Can you guys make at least a small effort to remember there are little human ears around?” Greg complains while carrying both of his daughters—in their car seats—into the house.
Melissa follows close behind, a blinding smile across her face. She gives me a bone-crushing hug before following after Greg to help with their twins.
Right when I’m about to close the door, I hear another car pull into the driveway. I smile when I see Dee and Beck. She is shaking her head and moving her mouth as if she’s singing—but anyone who knows Dee knows that that’s a terrifying thought. That girl can’t hold a tune to save her life.
Beck sits in the driver’s seat, watching her with adoration shining bright.
I shake my head and lean against the doorframe to wait her out. When the song finally ends, she jumps out of the car and runs towards me.
“Guess what!” she screams.
“Uh, what?”
“We started trying,” she says with the biggest grin on her face.
“Awesome, Dee! And Beck! I would say have fun, but we all know that would be a pointless thing to say. I’ve heard stories about you, John Beckett!”
He actually blushes at my jest. I laugh, throwing my head back and almost taking Asher’s nose out in the process.
“I don’t tell her everything,” Dee defends.
“HA! Like he’s going to believe you… Wildcat!”
She smacks me in the arm before giving me a big hug. Beck gives me a one-armed squeeze. I never really understood the point of those.
“Who is missing?” I call through the house, turning away from the door.
“Me,” I hear rumbled behind me.
I turn around so quickly that I almost fall on my ass. Maddox reaches out quickly and steadies me.
“Hey, Mad.” I give him a big hug and kiss his rough cheek. “Where is Em?”
“I’m right here,” she grinds out, her eyes never leaving Maddox’s. Well, alrighty then.
“I swear, you two—both of you need to wear bells. It’s just not natural how quiet y’all prowl.”
Emmy looks over and flashes me a smile. We’ve grown real close since she saved my life. I feel like I owe her tremendously.
“How are you?” she inquires.
“A lot better. I haven’t had a nightmare since the bad one I had three days after it went down. I think I’m getting a lot better. Asher helps a lot though. If I need to talk, he helps me get it all out and sort my head. I still have my moments, but for the first time in a long time, I don’t feel alone. I’m really happy. It doesn’t hurt knowing that crazy bitch is going to be locked up in that mental hospital for probably the rest of her life.”
“They finally sentenced her?” Maddox asks.
“As far as I know. I don’t want to talk about the details with Asher. He let me know that she would be spending the rest of her life at a treatment center, and that’s all I need to know. Apparently, she went batshit crazy, and no, that isn’t the technical term they used. It’s just a fact. I did ask him one thing, and really, it’s the only thing I care about. I wanted to know why. Why she went so far off the rocker she fell of the porch and down a hill where she landed in a pile of shit.”
They all laugh. I join in because, really, now that it’s over and done with, the only thing I can do is laugh. I don’t want to remember the fear she had me drowning in. I see it every time I look at my wrists and see the scars that will probably always be there.
“Anyway, she got hooked on some hardcore drugs after Asher dumped her ass. Her father cut her off both physically and financially. She’s been living off her seriously thick trust fund for the last eight years.”
The specifics on just how she was able to get to me still make my skin crawl.
“She had it planned for months. Or as soon as she noticed how serious Asher was with me. Then, when my stomach started growing, apparently that’s when she snapped. They called it a psychotic break—or something like that. To her, I was the other woman who had moved in on her man.” I could laugh at Emmy’s shocked expression. We all knew that it was bad—we just didn’t realize it was this bad. “She rented the apartment just a door down from ours. She would sit and watch our every move. The day that she knocked Joe unconscious and attacked me in our home was of the most terrifying experiences of my life, but I’ve vowed to put it behind me. It’s time for Asher and me to start moving forward and focusing on all the positive things in our lives. I just wanted to know what her motivation was. Now that I do, I can move on.”
