Chapter 15 #2
The ride was done in silence. Turning her head to look out the window, she wondered if this was his way of making her feel guilty.
Well, damn him then, she thought angrily.
It was her body, and if she decided she wanted to have a baby, then it was her decision.
He had no right to make her feel as if she had done something wrong.
After all, it took two to make a damn baby, right? She was so keyed up, it took her a while to notice that they had turned off onto a dirt road that led to a property belonging to his family. He had brought her here a few days ago when they were out to dinner.
It was a fairly remote area, with rolling hills and a stunning landscape. Snow, so white it hurt the eyes, was piled high on either side of the large clearing. There had been a broken down warehouse the time he brought her here.
"What happened to the building?" Forgetting her anger, she stepped out of the vehicle as he opened the door.
"Razed." Taking her hand, he led her carefully over patches of powdery snow. "It's quiet and large enough."
"For what?"
He turned her to face him. "What happened to not keeping secrets from each other?"
Shifting her feet, she looked over his shoulder. "How did you know?"
Curving a hand around her neck, he forced her to look at him.
"Educated guess. You were not taking wine with your meals, and you had stopped drinking coffee.
It was confirmed when your mother told me you were at a doctor's appointment.
" His blue eyes bore into hers. "I thought we decided you were not going to go through that kind of hell again? Losing you is not an option, Abigail."
"You won't." She gripped his wrist, her eyes pleading.
"I want another baby, Cade. I want to experience being pregnant with you by my side.
Dr. Manning assured me that there would be no complications.
" Her fingers tightened on his wrist. "I want this for us.
You were deprived of the joy of seeing your little girl make her first appearance in the world.
You never got to hear her first cry or see her take her first step. Or hear her first word. I never gave you the option of deciding whether or not you wanted to be a dad. I'm offering it to you now."
He stared at her for a beat and felt emotions storming. She was so tiny, looked so delicate, he was always afraid of breaking her in two. He had wanted all of those things but was never prepared to put her life at risk. He was terrified of losing her.
"Cade, I--" The rest was cut off when he swooped her into his arms and crushed her mouth with his. Shattered with relief, she wound her hands around his neck and poured herself into the kiss.
Everything faded away, the stillness broken only by the shrill sound of a blue jay soaring upwards, the wind slicing through the leaves of the trees crowded together.
The warmth spread and enveloped them as the kiss continued.
Finally putting her down, he held her tight against him, his breathing unsteady, his heart beating like a jackhammer.
Pressing a kiss on her forehead, he used his hands to frame her face, eyes fierce with passion.
"This is going to be our home. I have to admit that when I suspected you were pregnant, I was angry, an anger based on fear.
" He smoothed back the strands of hair the wind had whipped free from her tidy chignon.
"But then I came to the realization that we're going to need the space. " He turned her around.
"I hope you like it. It's not too far from town and our places of business. It's enough yard space for Zoe and our son or daughter to run around. A tree house over there." He pointed to an old oak tree. "What do you think?"
She turned in his arms. "I think I'm more in love with you than I can possibly bear." She whispered.
"Welcome to my world." His voice was thick with emotions. "If anything happens to you--"
"Nothing will." She interrupted hastily.
"If anything happens to you, I'm going to be royally pissed."
"Noted." She wrapped around him, inhaling his scent. "I love it."
*****
The weather cooperated. The sky was a clear unclouded blue, the air crisp and clean.
The rain had started the day before and washed the last vestiges of snow and winter away.
Everything looked green, flowers were blooming, the air was redolent of hope and radiance.
They could not have asked for a better day to celebrate their union.
They had all decided on an outdoor event. The grounds of the manor were manicured, every blade of grass uniformed. The arbor had been painted a bright blue. Trees swayed in the slight breeze. Flowers were everywhere.
The women had been true to their word and had gone out to make everything perfect. Abby did not have to lift a finger.
The night before, they had ambushed her at the bookstore and surprised her with a wedding shower. It had turned ribald, complete with strippers and outrageous provocative lingerie.
Speeches had been made, the one from Eloise especially made her emotional. The beautiful woman had called her daughter.
Now standing in front of the mirror of the room she had called home for twenty-eight years, she studied the exquisitely beautiful dress she had chosen to make her vows in.
It looked simple. Ivory satin with Irish lace.
Irish for the man she loved. The neckline was plunging, to her navel, fitting over her breasts and highlighting the shape of them.
A jeweled belt was draped around her narrow waist and hung over her left hip. Ice white diamonds dazzled at her throat, lobes, and right wrist, a gift from her fiancé.
A veil, wispy and delicate, was something borrowed from Eloise and had been passed down from her mother.
She turned at the sound in the doorway to see her best friend standing there, one hand clasping her cheek. Jillian's ice blue gown flattered her ivory complexion and wine red hair. A simple square cut diamond winked on her finger.
"Well?" Abby asked tremulously.
"Honey, I think I hate your guts." Tears moistened her green eyes as she walked in and wrapped around her. "You're the most beautiful bride I've ever seen."
"I'm in danger of messing up my makeup." Abby sniffed, clinging. "And Barry warned me not to spoil his work."
"To hell with the old fart." Stepping back, she studied the vision her friend made. "You're happy."
"So much, it scares me. I love him so damn much." She pressed a hand to her stomach and could imagine feeling the life growing inside her.
"That's handy. He loves you." Jillian shook her head.
"I've never seen a man so besotted. Except your brother of course.
" Her grin spread wickedly. "He tries to be cool and composed about it, but it's beyond him.
Okay honey--" She added briskly. "Let's get you to that man of yours.
But first--" Whipping out her phone, she pressed her face to Abby's cheek and took a selfie.
*****
It was expected that the man would never remember the details of the wedding.
But for Cade, that was not true. He knew without a doubt that he would remember every detail of it.
The scent of oleanders, baby's breath, and daffodils vying for supremacy.
The cloudless day, the breeze swaying the palm trees.
The smell of the freshly mowed grass and the sounds of birds chirping.
Mostly, he would recall with vivid clarity his first sight of his little girl, wearing her beautiful pink and white dress with a garland of flowers entwined in her curly hair, her smile a mile wide. A basket was over one arm, and she was scattering rose petals along the way.
The guests roared with laughter when she simply abandoned the task and raced towards her daddy. He scooped her up and wrapped her around him, breathing in the smell of baby oil and powder.
She was followed by his sister and a friend from college. Then Sarah-Jane, looking serenely lovely in winter green. His eyes moved past Jillian and was turning to acknowledge something his brother was saying when she came into view. His breath stopped.
He would also recall that he went still as stone. Without thinking and with his daughter in his arms, he walked to meet her. Nodding to her father, he held out a hand. When she reached for it, he yanked her towards him, forming a unit. His daughter in his arms and his bride snug against him.
He could ask for nothing else.
His eyes bright with tears, he breathed her in, his mate, his love, his heart, his entire life. And just stood there inhaling her scent. It took some time before he could walk with her to face the minister who was waiting.
*****
Their son, Zachary Paul, was born on a very icy day in December, two days before Christmas. To his anxious father's relief, it had been an easy birth. The pregnancy had been somewhat trying, but Abby could have endured anything. This time around, the man she loved, her husband, was with her.
A lot had happened during those months. Her brother had got married, and to her parents' joy, she was expecting. Andre and Sara-Jane also had a son three weeks before Abby.
Their house, the land Cade had taken her to, was almost completed.
Very soon they would be able to take their family home.
Zoe was excellent in her role as big sister, declaring that her brother was the cutest baby in the world.
Her parents agreed with her. The boy had inherited his father's looks, taking nothing of his mother.
Abby grumbled about the injustice and unfairness of it all when she was the one who did all the work.
"I agree with you completely." Her husband murmured in his smooth deep voice, arms wrapped around her.
"Say it again, and this time, try and sound convincing." She retorted.
With a charming grin, he turned her to face him. They were alone at last. The family had gathered to admire the new addition to the growing family and were now downstairs with the new bundle of joy. Kevin and Sarah-Jane's son, Christopher, was sharing a nursery for now.
"Soon, we'll have our own home." She wrapped her arms around him and leaned in. "I love this place, but I want to reside in my own kitchen." She had decided to cut back from the business. She wanted to concentrate on being a mother and a wife.
Tucking his fingers under her chin, he gazed at her, heart in his eyes. "I adore you." The quiet conviction in his deep voice had the tears burning her throat.
Lifting her mouth to his, she responded in kind, the passion flaring between them and binding them forever.
The end…