Chapter 21
Jules
The Allen house in Pasadena has two lemon trees in the front yard, one on either side of the front porch. There are beautiful yellow rose bushes planted around the house. Their house is painted light yellow. And the cushion on their front porch swing is yellow as well.
“Oh my God, I’d forgotten how much the Allens love yellow,” I exclaim out loud.
Daniel smiles from beside me in the back seat. “Yellow has always been my favorite color too. I wonder how many other things we have in common.”
Flint comments from the driver’s seat as he eases into the driveway.
“They say identical twins raised apart have all kinds of uncanny things in common.” Flint hesitates for a second before adding, “Except that whole being a mobster thing. I don’t think you have to worry about him outshining you in that arena. ”
“As far as being a mobster goes, I wasn’t the best one. It’s why I ended up in an apartment and my brothers ended up in mini mansions. My mother always told me that I just wasn’t applying myself and I needed to think like a criminal if I wanted to outsmart one.”
Flint exclaims, “No shit? Your mom really told you to think like a fuckin’ criminal. She understood the family business was about crime, right?”
“I’m not sure how much of that she understood. Sometimes, I got the feeling she thought we were competing with each other to take the most racing bets or something like that.”
“I’ve always heard mobsters keep their old ladies in the dark about what they do.”
“That sounds like the men in my family,” Daniel murmurs while looking out the window.
The car comes to a rolling stop, and everyone in the Allen house comes spilling out onto the front porch.
“Fuck,” Daniel mutters under his breath. “It looks like they called in the entire extended family.”
“Hey, what’s going on?” I ask. “You’re not getting cold feet, are you?”
“Of course not. It’s weird how much his wife looks a lot like my first girlfriend.”
I laugh. “Are we betting on whether they had the same first name?”
“I doubt it,” he says, straightening his clothing.
We get out of the car and hang back as Daniel walks towards the front porch. An older woman comes running out of the crowd. She stops right in front of Daniel, and her hand flies to her mouth. “Oh my God, it’s true. I have another son.”
He reaches out and pulls her into a hug, holding her close.
I’m close enough to hear her say, “I wish your father had lived to see this day.”
When they break apart, Daniel tells her, “I was told you didn’t want me. That my parents didn’t have enough money to pay for two babies.”
She stares at him like he’s grown a second head. “No, your father came from money. We never would have wished you away. Even if we were poor, we would have simply worked harder before ever giving you up.”
“You think it was all on the nurse? A moneymaking, baby-swapping scheme” Flint asks.
“Some people will do anything for money,” I add.
“I should have known better than to believe their lies,” Daniel says bitterly.
Suddenly, Robert is on the sidewalk, reaching his hand out for Daniel. “We look just alike, you and me. I couldn’t believe the photographs you sent of you and your mother. She looks like a nice lady.”
“She had nothing to do with what happened. She knew nothing about it until a few days ago.”
“You should invite her to come with you next time. We’d love to meet her,” Mr. Allen’s mother says.
I guess I know where Mr. Allen got all his niceness.
Flint comes up beside me and wraps his arms around me. He whispers in my ear. “You did that. You got him out of that warehouse and put him in touch with his family. He reached out to the right person that night on the beltline.”
I glance up at him, thrilled that everything worked out for Daniel.
I’m also grateful that Flint and I ended up together.
All’s well that ends well, for everyone except Anthony Terrance and his sons.
Anthony and his sons are in federal custody and the case keeps growing.
Once the investigation got warmed up, all kinds of illegal skeletons began falling out of their closets.
When the whole family walks back into the house, Lauren hangs back. She rushes down the steps and right up to me, throwing her arms around me. “I am so sorry. I never should have doubted you, Jules.”
I pat her on the back and try to appease her worries. “You already apologized for that days ago.”
“I appreciate you not holding a grudge about that. Getting a new uncle is the best thing that’s ever happened to our family, and we have you to thank for it.”
“I was glad to help. But your uncle has an amazing story to tell about how he got here. You should go in and listen to it.”
“Really?”
I nod. “Yes. I wouldn’t lie about something like that. Your uncle has had a pretty interesting life. I’ll bet he’s got tons of interesting stories.”
She glances back at the door and gives me one last hug before running back inside the house.
Mr. Allen comes back down the walk, passing his daughter along the way.
“Jules, wait. I want to thank you,” he calls out.
Stopping in front of me, a little out of breath, he puts both his hands on my shoulders and looks at me with a warm smile on his face.
Now that we’re standing face-to-face and I’ve spent a couple of days with Daniel, I notice all the tiny details that distinguish the two of them.
He has a tiny mole on his right temple that Daniel doesn’t.
Their hairline is a tad different. And Daniel has a scar running through one eyebrow while his brother’s is smooth and flawless.
“I want to tell you that when I got the call that night that you saw someone who looked like me being shoved into the trunk of a car on the beltline, it never occurred to me that it was anything more than a case of mistaken identity.”
“Yeah, I was starting to think the same thing. But the similarity between the two of you was impossible to dismiss.”
His hands drop from my shoulders, and a pained expression jumps onto his face.
One hand comes up to rest against his chest, his fingers digging into his body a bit.
“I feel terrible for not taking you more seriously that night. I should have gone to the police station and helped you sort the situation out.”
“Look, I know that it must have sounded like an absurd story, and it came at you in the middle of the night. You were probably still half asleep.”
“I’m so grateful that you refused to let it go. That you cared enough about a total stranger to rally help and keep searching until you found him. You saved my brother for me when I didn’t even have the presence of mind to know I had one.”
“It was my pleasure.” Bringing one hand up to my mouth, I try not to let my emotions get the better of me.
He pulls me into another hug that lasts a beat or two too long. He pulls back and then reaches past me and grips Flint’s hand.
“You’re always welcome in my home as well. Take care of Jules.”
“I will, and remember, we’re always here for you and your family if you need anything as well.”
Robert nods once. “Thank you for saying that. Are you sure you won’t come in and visit for a while?”
“Sorry, we have other plans for today,” Flint responds. “Today should be about Daniel. Your family has a lot of catching up to do.”
“Very true,” he agrees before reaching out to give me another brief one-arm side hug.
Flint and I get back into the car feeling pretty good about ourselves. He starts the car and eases out onto the road.
“I’m so ready for some us time. Where is this beach house you booked for us?”
I punch the address into the navigation system, and it begins directing us to the rental.
“It looks like we are forty-eight minutes away. It should be a relaxing drive.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to get used to riding in a cage.”
I huff out an exasperated laugh. “I can’t believe bikers refer to vehicles as cages.”
“It feels like one when you’re used to riding the open road on a Harley,” he mutters before stopping himself.
I decide to change the subject, because there’s still something I have to tell him. Now that everything is settled and I can finally breathe, it’s time. “I have a special gift for you today.”
He glances at me. “Is it lacy or delicious?” Before I can answer, he adds, “Or maybe it’s both.”
I just laugh because I love Flint when he’s playful like this.
***
The beach house is more like a hut and ten yards from the sand. There’s a deck with two chairs and a welcome mat made of coconut fiber.
We walk through the front door to find the kitchen the size of a closet, and a huge king-size bed that dominates the rest of the room.
It’s covered with a quilt edged in a seahorse pattern.
Flint drops our bag beside the bed. I go in the bathroom and change into a one-piece swimsuit I packed this morning.
When Flint turns to look at me, I have to laugh. “Aren’t you just made of eyes today?”
He lets out a low whistle. “Foxy doesn’t begin to cover what I’m seein’.”
I slip my sandals on. “Get into your trunks and let’s go for a walk on the beach.”
He doesn’t move. Instead, he just gropes around in the side pocket of our suitcase for his swimming trunks while continuing to stare at me. “Sweetheart, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever set eyes on. You’re glowing.”
“Stop. You’re making me blush.” I try to make it sound like a complaint, secretly loving how wowed he is by my new swimsuit. It has a really cute vintage cut with a ruched waist and cups that push my breasts up.
Suddenly, Flint turns the tables on me by slowly stripping off all his clothing, revealing every bump and swell of his ripped body. Standing there, in all his glory as he casually steps into his swimming trunks, takes my breath away.
When we walk out to the beach, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. It’s midmorning, and the sun is still climbing higher in the sky. Fresh waves are rolling in, leaving behind shells that glisten in the sand.
He pulls the towel off his shoulder and spreads it down on the sand. We drop down and watch the waves rolling in. The salty smell of the ocean soothes me in a way that nothing else does.
“Flint. Thank you for suggesting we get away for a couple of days.”
“You deserve a break after everything you’ve been through.”
“We both do. You were with me every step of the way.”
He reaches over and wraps one arm around my back. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, foxy.”
After a while, he murmurs, “Sun’s gonna burn your beautiful pale skin if we’re not careful. Did you bring sunscreen?”
“Yeah, it’s in my purse.”
“I’ll grab it,” he offers.
Before I can respond, he gets up, walking back across the sand the way we came. I sit there enjoying the breeze with my arms wrapped around my knees.
Flint’s gone for longer than I expected. I look over my shoulder at the deck of the house. He’s standing on the deck. He has my purse open in one hand and something in his other hand. I close my eyes, knowing all the way down to my bones what he’s found. This isn’t the way I wanted him to find out.
I jump to my feet and quickly walk back to him, dragging our towel behind me in one hand.
He is watching me come. He’s not moving towards me, not meeting me halfway.
He’s staring at me so intently that I worry he’s going to be mad.
Mad that I’m carrying his child. Mad that I didn’t tell him and he had to find out on his own.
I climb the three steps onto the porch and stop in front of him. “Flint. Look, I’m sorry.”
He tosses the bag back through the front door and drops down on the stoop with the plastic bag containing the three pregnancy test strips. Turning his hand so he can look at them, his gaze turns intense.
I quietly sit beside him, deciding to give him a minute to absorb what he’s seeing. Just when I think he’s too shocked to grasp what he’s seeing and maybe this is going to be worse than I ever thought, he snorts a laugh. I’m honestly bewildered by his response.
Then he laughs again. It sounds more relieved than anything, a soft sound, low in his chest.
“Sweetheart, when were you gonna tell me? I mean, it doesn’t matter. I would have noticed eventually anyway, right?”
“Flint, I was going to tell you tonight. This is the gift I was talking about. I’m carrying our child.” When he doesn’t immediately respond, I add awkwardly, “Three tests don’t lie, right?”
He brings his other hand up and cups the side of my face and runs his fingers around the shell of my ear. “How long have you known?”
“Three and a half weeks,” I reply in a strained voice. “I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner.”
“Stop apologizing, sweetheart. Listen to me. Telling or not telling me doesn’t matter. I understand that pregnancy involves hormone changes and you’ve gotta do what feels right every step of the way. I ain’t never gonna fault you for that.”
“You’re not mad? Not even a little?”
“Hell no. I’m just so fuckin’ happy, Jules. I am the happiest man on this beach right now. Only an asshole would ruin news this good over something like when he gets told.”
“You don’t think it’s too early? We haven’t been together for long.” I ask cautiously.
“I’m sorry if you spent three and a half weeks scared to tell me. You don’t need to be worried about telling me anything.”
He sets the pack of test strips aside and pulls me into his lap.
I press my cheek into his chest as his arms come up around me, holding me close.
He murmurs into my hair. “I could not love you more than I do right fuckin’ now.
Same goes for our kid. The two of you will always come first in my world. ”
One hand slides down to my still-flat stomach, and he talks directly to our child. “Did you hear that, little bitty bit? You have two parents who can’t wait to meet you.”
I don’t know if it’s hormones, like Flint said, but I’m too emotional to speak.
Instead, I put my hand over his and listen to him talk to our unborn child for the first time.
I know that I will remember this moment for the rest of my life.
Making a baby with the man I’ve been crushing on for years is like a wonderful dream come true, but seeing him so happy about it is something I don’t have words to describe.