47. River
Chapter Forty-Seven
RIVER
What a way to wake up.
With a warm, toned body wrapped around me and the scent of not only the man I loved drifting to my nose, but freshly brewed coffee, too.
“You snuck out of bed.”
My voice was still groggy with sleep, but when Huntley pulled my earlobe softly between his teeth, I jolted wide awake, my body flaring to life.
He was spooning me, and it wasn’t lost on me that he was turned on, his arousal poking me in my backside. I turned in his embrace and met his gaze head on. Feeling the same but a bit shy too, I felt my cheeks flush from both.
Leaning in close he dropped a sweet kiss on my temple, the tip of my nose, and then his lips grazed tenderly across my mouth.
“Remember what you told me last night?” he asked. His eyes bored into mine as he waited for my response and I couldn’t help but mess with him.
I gave a mock yawn, shoving the laughter down that was working to be set free. “I was really tired; I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I bit my lip to keep myself from smiling.
Shaking his head, his hand curled over my hip. “I saw that, you little tease. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
I did too.
How could I forget one of the biggest questions of my life? Sure, him asking me to marry him was monumental, but so was setting a date. First, I had to know I could give him everything he deserved. I just hadn’t realized how much I would enjoy it.
Making love to Huntley had been earth-shatteringly amazing.
And marrying him would be life-altering perfect.
He started to tickle me and I giggled, screaming, “Uncle!”
In one swift move, he rolled to his back, taking me with him and planted me on top of his hard, muscled body. Both of us were still naked, and my skin felt like it was burning everywhere we touched.
“I’d do it today if we could.”
He slid his hand over the curve of my ass and I pressed in closer, if that was even possible. I already felt molded to the man and that was just fine by me.
“I love you.”
There was never a time when I was going to get tired of hearing that.
“Show me,” I whispered.
Just as he went to respond, the alert for the camera went off and my phone rang almost simultaneously. Huntley reached for his phone to check the security system as I reached for my cell, Bre’s ringtone filling the room.
I didn’t even know what time it was, but as I went to answer, I realized it was ten in the morning. My soon-to-be husband had really worn me out last night if I slept that long.
Looked like round two would have to wait.
I watched Huntley climb from the bed and strut his mouth-watering naked self across the room to grab clothes.
“Mom, are you there?” Bre yelled in a panic-induced tone that had my focus changing in a heartbeat.
Something was wrong.
I jumped from the bed, forgetting just how naked I was too. “Honey, are you okay? Is everyone okay?”
Huntley swiveled around, his gaze troubled at hearing the worry in my voice. He raised his brows in question and I held up a finger.
“It’s Auntie Lake.” I heard her blow out an audible breath. “She’s in labor. You’ve got to come now, hurry.”
A loud moan came through the line and I knew it was my sister. “Tell her, I’m okay. It’s just a baby,” she said, another moan coming way too close to the other.
Jesus, was the baby coming right now?
The doorbell rang and I looked at my guy. “My mom,” he mouthed .
Val was here?
The morning after our first lovemaking and finally believing I deserved this incredible man who made me feel so loved and whole, was really starting out crazy. My sister was in labor, and Huntley’s mom was here and probably going to see right through me, knowing her son just had his wicked way with me.
“Did you call an ambulance and Bronson?”
I was throwing on clothes as I spoke and Huntley, already dressed, walked out to let his mom in I assumed .
“Lennon did. They are both on the way, but we need you .”
Roxie was barking in the background, I thought I heard Stormi whimpering, asking her mom if she was okay, and Lennon…
Well, I couldn't hear him but could picture him standing there in semi-shock but still trying to hold everything together the way he always did.
“I’m on my way, sweetheart. We’ll be there in five minutes.”
Rushing to the bathroom, I swooshed some mouthwash and grabbed a scrunchie. I was running out of the bedroom, throwing my hair into a knot on the top of my head and slammed into a brick wall.
Huntley’s hands had come out to rest on my shoulders, trying to take some of the impact. “I got you, baby.” He reached down and took my hand. “My mom said she would follow us so we had two cars if needed.”
As we moved quickly through the house—my man, a whole lot calmer and more collected than I was—we found Val waiting by the door.
“Bronson must be going out of his mind,” I murmured.
The sweet, motherly woman, my angel , grabbed me softly and wrapped her arms around me. Planting a kiss on my cheek, she said, “It’s going to be okay.”
I believed her.
This lovely lady had an air about her that made a person feel at peace.
And she was going to be my mother soon. Well, technically my mother-in-law, but none of that mattered. To me she’d be everything I wanted when it came to the nurturing person she was and who cared for you when you needed her too.
Something I’d never had but craved all my life.
We made our way out of the house, Huntley locking up, but his one hand never left mine and we moved toward the cars. Once he had me in my seat and buckled—taking great care to keep me safe, as always—he made his way around to the driver’s side and then we were off, Val close behind.
As we pulled up outside my sister's house, Bre came flying outside, Roxie hot on her heels. “She said it’s coming!” my daughter screamed as she swept her dog up into her arms.
Coming? Like right now?
I was running for the front door and when I crossed the threshold into the living room, I froze. My feet just stopped functioning as I took in the scene.
My sister was the damn warrior.
She may be about to give birth, but the woman was remarkable. Lake was in full paramedic mode, still able to mother and soothe, all while staying in control.
Lennon was next to her as she lay on a blanket on the floor, pillows propped up behind her head, and Stormi on the other side. She was giving my son some instructions in preparation and comforting her daughter as she moaned through her contractions.
It was wild how calm my kid looked.
Val, Bre, and Huntley came in behind me. My sister looked up and held out her hand. I rushed to her and dropped to my knees, tears swimming in my eyes.
This was my family.
Reaching out, I took her hand and she gripped it in a vice as another contraction took over her whole body.
“This baby is coming, guys,” she panted out.
“What can I do?” Val asked, coming over to us, her hand reaching out to rest on my shoulder.
She was comforting me and I felt more tears gather in my eyes. Then Huntley was there. He planted a kiss on the top of my head .
The sound of sirens wailed, not too far away, and I heard a vehicle kicking up dirt outside.
“I got this,” Huntley said as feet pounded up the stairs toward the front door.
Bronson was racing toward his wife. “No, I got it, man. Thanks.”
We all moved so he could get to his wife. All but Stormi, who stayed close to her mother, worry, etching her angelic face. Wanting to give my niece support, I moved in and dropped back onto my knees behind her.
“She’s gonna be okay, sweet girl. It’s just time to get that baby brother you asked for at Christmas last year.”
I hugged her to me as she kept her hand in her mother’s and Bronson spoke softly to his wife. Their interaction was one of the sweetest things I’d ever seen. He moved up toward her head, planting a sweet kiss on her lips and whispered in her ear. Lake's smile was radiant for a second before she screamed again in pain.
Bronson moved down to take a peek at Lake’s progress and looked up a bit stunned. “Oh shit, it’s definitely time.”
Lake yelled again as sirens blared right outside and the sounds of a bunch of screeching tires ripped through the air. And then the room was a blaze of activity. I got up to leave the sweet family for their moment, but my sister screamed my name.
“River!”
I turned back and once again, my sister had her hand stretched out. “I want you to stay.”
Blowing out a breath, my gaze searched for Huntley and when I found him, he was smiling and nodding in encouragement. “I love you. Go be with your sister.”
God this man knew exactly what I needed and he gave me strength. He was my rock. My everything . How fitting was that when his mom was my angel ? I watched him, Val and my kids walk toward the front door, where a group was gathering outside.
With the phone tree probably in full effect, I had no doubt it was probably every one of our friends there to rally around one of their own.
“Whoa momma.” Kace started in the door and stopped in his tracks.
All of a sudden a huge hand reached out and I could see Gyth behind him. “Yo, Dipshit, get the hell out of there!” he yelled at Kace, yanking on his shirt and flinging him back outside.
I heard Kace say something about Gyth being a big brute.
Leave it to those two to add comic relief everywhere they went.
Forgetting about the guys and anyone else, I turned back and quickly made my way back to my sister’s side and knelt by Stormi once again, both her little hand and mine in her mother’s as Bronson held her other one.
“Pant, pant, scream. Push,” I heard the paramedic say over and over. “Pant, pant, scream.”
The sound of a baby's cry echoed through the room.
Lake, Bronson and Stormi were all crying. I was right there with them.
My nephew, Forrest Michael Caddell, was born.
And he was perfect.
Mother and baby were doing amazing.
Everyone—and I mean literally every one of our friends and their kids—had followed the ambulance to the hospital and we took turns visiting the happy family.
Once again the waiting room was packed because of our clan. Even Patience came with Ruby, but the girl looked so defeated. Ruby had said that there had been no word from Jett for a while and she was worried. Again, it was obvious that Ruby was too but was doing her best to be positive for her family.
I was just bummed that Huntley had gone already. He had a shift, so he had to hightail to the firehouse shortly after he checked in on the Caddell family.
When leaving Lake’s house, Val had run Lennon and the dog home, where he got Roxie settled, then drove his truck to meet us so he could take me and Bre home later from the hospital. After dropping Lennon off, Val also drove to the hospital to check on everyone.
She’d been hovering close to the kids and I ever since.
Close enough that she noticed when Alley’s eyes lit up before she’d blurted out, “Holy crap, woman. You did the deed!”
I tried shushing her, frantically looking around for the kids, but thankfully they’d moved to the other side of the room to play with some of the little ones. However, my cheeks turned beet red when my gaze landed on Huntley’s mother, who had an amused look on her face.
The other women gathered around and it only got worse as they all joined in.
“You’re totally glowing,” Capri said.
Teal was wagging her brows. “Was it good?”
“Spill girl,” Gemma told me.
Shit, they’d been serious about me telling them about it. I thought they’d just been being silly at the sleepover, but I should have known when it came to this group of women.
“He totally watered your lady garden, didn’t he?” Alley asked in a hushed tone, finally trying to be a little bit quiet. “He obviously watered your seed with Miracle Gro because girl you are in full bloom. ”
She hadn’t been quiet enough because not only did all my friends start cackling, to my horror, so did Val. I sucked in a stunned breath as I stared at the woman who birthed the man I was going to marry.
These ladies were crazy with a capital C.
But damn I liked them a lot.
“Good for you, honey,” Val said, causing the ladies to giggle even harder.
Suddenly, I was out of the hot seat when someone let out a slow whistle.
“Who is that silver fox?” Brinley asked.
Everyone started looking around, trying to see who she was talking about.
“Whoa baby, if I was older—” Gemma started, but was stopped when her husband swept a possessive arm around her waist.
Brody’s gaze bored into his wife’s. “Don’t finish that sentence or you will find yourself with a whole load of spankings racked up for later. You already have an older man in your life and don’t forget it.”
Gemma’s eyes sparkled with desire and mischief. The woman was banking on those spankings, I could see it as she stared at her husband, their eyes locked on one another.
“Damn it’s getting hot in here!” Ruby said, fanning herself. “And that’s Dr. Solace. He’s a sweetheart.”
Ruby and Summer, both nurses, knew most everyone at the surrounding hospitals. This was the one Ruby worked at still, so she had the in on all the nurses and doctors. A small smile lifted my cheeks as I remembered how she got me in to see Huntley.
As the hot doctor walked by, he must have seen us all staring. He grinned and made his way over. “Hey, Ruby, what are you doing here on your day off?”
She told him that her friend just had a baby and we were all there for support. They talked for a few minutes and then his gaze made its rounds, taking in the whole group but something really interesting happened when they landed on Val.
The good doctor did a double take, then lingered on the beautiful women by my side before his face transformed into a sexy smile. Val blushed and we all watched in fascination.
Dr. Solace snapped out of his trance. “Well, all right then, you all have a good day,” he said as he started to walk away. “See you Monday, Ruby,” he called out, turning to look back over his shoulder.
But his eyes were on Val, not Ruby.
“Did everyone see that?” Jurnee asked.
“I sure did,” London replied.
“He’s a good one,” Summer told us. “And he’s not married.”
All eyes turned to Val and hers widened when all the attention became focused on her. “W-What?” she stuttered.
“Someone looked interested,” I told her.
Her blush deepened and she shook her head. “You're silly,” she said.
“Project!” Alley exclaimed, clapping her hands in glee.
All the women joined in. “Project!” they yelled in unison.
“Oh no!” Val told them, shaking her head.
Some of the guys wandered up to the group.
Kace shook his head, just as Val had seconds ago. “Here we go again.”
“Poor Val doesn’t know what just hit her,” Lyric said as Val looked at us with a panicked expression.
“Hit who?” Gyth asked.
Kace smacked him on the back. “You’re late to the game dude. Go sit down, buddy.
Gyth gave him a feral growl.
Ignoring the duo once again—after laughing at their antics of course—I focused on the woman next to me. “It’s going to be okay,” I soothed, giving her the words she gave me earlier today.
Wait until Huntley found out his mom was part of the ladies’ new matchmaking scheme.
And I was fully onboard.