Chapter Seven.
Adam
Walker and I had towed our shopping haul upstairs before Rina saw it. He hid everything in his room, which was opposite ours. Rina came upstairs about half an hour after us and asked about our day. I noted that she seemed on edge.
“Is something wrong?”
“No,” she clipped quickly.
“Wow, I only asked!” I exclaimed.
Rina looked guilty, her brows drawing together and mouth turning down. “Sorry. I was distracted. Nothing’s wrong.” She opened her lips to say more but nothing came out.
“Rina?”
“I might have done something you won’t like! But I did it out of love,” Rina blurted. “I see how hard you’re trying, and that the future with you is hopeful again,” she added softly.
“Okay,” I drawled, melting at her words but noting how shifty and guilty she appeared. “Whatever you’ve done is fine. Do you want to take the kids down while I quickly shower?”
“Of course.” Rina almost fled from me, making me wonder what the hell she’d done. I guess I’d soon find out.
◆◆◆
Heading downstairs, I was still wondering what Rina had done. I’d just taken two steps down the stairs when my leg spasmed, and I began to go down.
“Shit!” The word flew from me as I made a grab for the bannister but missed.
There was no stopping this, and it was going to hurt.
I was going down and down hard, maybe even getting a broken leg out of this.
I hissed and tried to regain my balance as my arms windmilled.
A strong hand caught me and steadied me.
I got my footing, breathing a little heavy, and looked up into the steady gaze of James Washington.
“What the fuck?” I exclaimed as I got my equilibrium.
“Happy Christmas, Adam,” James replied.
Happy Christmas? Was he joking?
“What the fuck?” I repeated, and James smiled.
“Not quite. Are you okay?”
“Yes. What are you doing here?”
“We came for Christmas,” James replied as he began walking down the stairs. Wanting answers, I carefully hurried after him.
“We?” I asked.
“We,” James stated as we reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the bar.
My jaw dropped open as the crowd of people there turned and faced me.
Kate, James’s wife, stood with their four children, a happy smile on her face.
Mandy and Jaime were trying to control their brood of five kids.
Meanwhile, Frankie and Jason had their four sitting behind a table, colouring.
Tammy, Kate’s sister, stood talking to her husband with their twins chasing two of Jaime’s boys.
Even more shocking were Gunner, Autumn, and their brood. Gunner had a kid in each hand, holding them by their collars. I smirked a little at that, as twins Noah and Asher glared up at their dad. Dane appeared with his wife and two kids too, and I shook my head.
“Surprise!” Rina said weakly.
“What are you all doing here?” I asked, shocked.
“What part of you’re family didn’t you understand?” Gunner demanded. “Dragging my sorry ass and this group of hooligans across the damn ocean to remind you wasn’t a Christmas wish!”
“You came for me?” I replied, deeply surprised.
Jamie’s kids crawled under a table and made their escape. Mandy made a desperate grab for them and caught them.
“Why else would we drag this bunch on a private aeroplane across the freaking ocean, asshole? Can you imagine the chaos they caused? All for your sorry ass,” Jason complained.
“I don’t understand…”
“Of course not. Because you’re stupid,” James quipped as he settled down in a chair. He sent his kids a stern look, and they subsided quietly. Then James plucked a piece of imaginary flint from his perfectly creased pants.
“Thanks for that comment. It doesn’t answer my question,” I said with a healthy dose of sarcasm.
“When did we stop becoming family?” James demanded.
“I… what?”
“A simple question, Adam. When did we stop being a family? Don’t bother answering; we didn’t.
You forgot a simple rule. Families celebrate, grieve, and work together.
If one of us is hurt, we all hurt. One of us hears joyous news, then we all celebrate.
Your injury hurt us all, but you didn’t let us help you.
We’re done letting you push us away. Either come to your senses yourself, or we’ll knock it into you. You’re my brother, Adam.”
I held James’s gaze after his heartfelt words. There had only been two men James had ever called brother. Frank and Gunner. To be included in that circle was the deepest honour James Washington could bestow.
“I can’t protect you anymore.”
“Did I ask you to, Adam? Jesus, you’re at the office as much as I am, running your part of Bryant and Washington. I rarely used you as a bodyguard, but you had your head up your ass and didn’t notice. You’ve been more than a bodyguard for years, you stupid fool,” James retorted.
“I thought—”
“You didn’t think. Asshole, your value isn’t in being a bodyguard; it’s in being someone James can trust and call brother. And we’re all quite fond of you,” Gunner said, sounding reluctant to admit that.
“That hurt you, didn’t it?” I asked, and Gunner grunted. Autumn laughed at him.
“We came for Christmas with you, Adam. Because you might think you walk alone, but you don’t,” Mandy stated.
“We’re just happy you didn’t die,” Dane said, and several of the kids stopped running about and stared at us.
“Uncle Adam is going to die?” Chloe, James’s daughter, demanded. Her bottom lip began to quiver.
“I don’t want Uncle Adam to die!” Asher, one of Gunner’s twin sons, wailed.
“No! Uncle Adam can’t die. Daddy, you gotta kill that baddie!” Kitty, Gunner’s youngest daughter, screamed. Karter, her twin brother, held his hands over his ears as tears began tracking down his face.
“He’s our Uncle Adam,” Hunter stated fiercely with a scowl on his face. James’s younger son turned to him. “Take care of the problem, Daddy!” he ordered.
“Wonderful, our kids think we’re hitmen,” Jaime drawled. “Nobody is hurting Uncle Adam.”
The kids’ innocent reactions warmed a place in me that had been frozen for a long time. A wobbly smile touched my lips.
“We’ve got two weeks here. While we eat dinner, we need to make plans to keep these hooligans occupied,” Kate said as they began ushering kids to tables.
Piercing eyes stabbing into my back, and I looked up and saw the ghost of Lady Catherine watching us. A smile crossed her lips before she offered me a nod.
“Family is what’s important in life, Adam. Don’t forget that again. Make the most of this Christmas because it’s a new start for you.” Her words echoed in my head before she faded.
Mariah
The smell from the kitchen was making my stomach rumble. Trudy and Julie were placing trays filled with food on our serving hatch, and Benedict was placing them on the heated food buffet bar. It was something we only used on a Sunday or if we were doing a theme night.
Starters were two different soups this evening, and several trays of chicken goujons and garlic bread for the children.
They were now serving the mains, and my mouth watered at the smell of the Hunter’s chicken.
Four plates with our own dinners were waiting in the kitchen.
Usually, we didn’t expect customers to wait on themselves, but with no wait staff or help in the kitchen, it was serve yourself time.
Nobody appeared bothered, even though it was clear the guests had money. I liked the way the adults all served the children first before themselves. As Benedict carried trays past me, my stomach decided my throat had been slit and began growling.
“Go eat. I’ve got the bar,” Benedict ordered.
“I can wait.”
“Mariah, you were ill earlier. Go eat.”
“Okay, bossy boots,” I replied. Benedict grinned at me as one of the men, Mr Bryant, I think it was, approached the bar.
“Can I have seven beers, please, and seven glasses of white wine?” he asked.
“Any preferences?” Benedict asked.
“We’re easy-going. Can we also have another couple of jugs of pop for the kids?” he asked.
“Pop?”
“Squash, Benedict,” I said, and now Mr Bryant looked confused. “It’s called squash over here.”
“Ah, thanks.”
I left Benedict to serve the drinks and headed into the kitchen to collect our dinners. Benedict may have the bar, but he could take fifteen minutes to eat something. I was sure the guests wouldn’t mind.
I brought our plates out as Benedict carried the jugs of squash over to the tables. He joined me after I sat down.
“God, Julie knows how to cook,” he said after his first mouthful.
“She sure does.”
“I love you, Mariah,” Benedict stated out of the blue. He jolted me a little.
“I know. I love you too, Benedict.”
“Mariah, no matter what happens, we’re going to be happy. I promise you.”
My heart melted at the earnestness in his voice.
“If you’re by my side, then nothing can touch us. Because together we’re strong,” he said.
A smile crossed my lips. Despite my heartache at not being pregnant or having a child yet, I knew somehow everything would be okay.
◆◆◆
Two days later, Benedict held my hair back as I heaved into the toilet. Damn, I’d never eat again if this continued. My stomach rebelled once more, and I shook as heaving overtook me. I swallowed hard and spluttered.
“This has been twenty-four hours, Mariah. Maybe we need to call a doctor in,” Benedict worried.
“Benedict, it’s just a stomach bug. They can last a few days,” I said tiredly.
Damn it, I really didn’t want to be sick on top of Christmas, especially with the inn full and only the four of us to manage.
Trudy cleaned the rooms in the morning and helped Julie prepare dinner in the evening.
I now had to stay away from food, per health and safety laws, which stopped me from helping Julie.
Benedict manned the bar and did everything else.
I couldn’t even clean the rooms in the morning because I was hunched over a toilet. This bug had rendered me useless until late afternoon, when I felt better. By then, most of the work had been done. It was frustrating, to say the least.