Chapter 41 Veda
forty-one
Veda
The dust rises beyond the ranch gates, and I kick off in a run.
“Veda!”
Jesse and Derrick call after me. They tried to keep me inside the whole day while we waited, but I couldn’t. The sun is setting. Major left more than twelve hours ago, and my heart has been in a state ever since.
The truck turns in a bend, getting closer to us, and I realize it’s truly his truck. A sob climbs up my throat, tears stream down my cheeks, and I take off in a sprint.
Dust rises as I run to meet the car. My legs burn, and I’m gasping for air, but I keep running, only stopping when my hands find the hood of this truck and Major has to hit the brakes abruptly not to run over me.
He hops out of the car with an angry expression, rounding to find me, both of his hands cupping my cheeks. “Veda, that was dangerous.”
I don’t care. I shake his hold away, the only question that matters bubbling from my throat. “Do you have her?”
As I ask, a click of a door opening rips my attention from him to a woman I’ve never seen coming from the back seat. I fall apart when I see she has a baby in her arms.
“Oh god,” I cry out and go to her.
There are no questions. I extend my arms, and she gives me the baby, so easily as it should have been before. I curse the tears blurring my vision. I want to look at Mirasol, but all I can do is cry and hold her to my chest in the middle of the road.
I sway, but a hard chest behind me keeps me in place. I’m not surprised to find Jesse there. He doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t try to move me or tell me it’s best if we go inside. He just stands there and lets me lean on him as I hold my daughter for the very first time.
She’s so perfect, I can’t breathe. The mass of dark hair now is loose in beautiful curls framing her chubby face. Her eyes are brown like mine and alert. She watches attentively, as she’s very aware of what is happening around her. She has a button nose, and even her ears are the cutest.
“Hi, Mirasol,” I try not to sob too hard. I don’t want my tears falling over her face. “I’m your mommy.”
“She doesn’t need introductions. She knows who you are.”
The comment makes my eyes flick from my daughter to the woman, and I'm confused when I find her crying, watching us. She has a melodic accent, something really pretty that makes my heart happy. It’s like every word ends in ie in her mouth, yet it sounds right somehow.
It fits a hole in my chest, while I can’t understand how, because I’ve never seen this woman before.
Clutching Mirasol against my chest, I turn to Major. My eyes beg for explanations, but all he does is shake his head.
“Let’s go in. We have a lot to talk about.”
I hear how tired he is; it’s impossible to miss his tone. I nod and start my way to the house, but he chuckles and leads me to the car, making sure I’m comfortable in the front seat before driving us to the house.
The woman hops in, too. I don’t miss that. Not that I didn’t expect her to follow, but her presence brings a lot of questions when all I want to do is be with my daughter.
“I never even got a baby seat,” I say, holding the baby against my chest as Major drives extremely slowly.
“Yeah, I never thought about it,” he confesses. “We can get one now.”
I nod. We need to get her everything. A crib, clothes, diapers, and everything babies need.
Now that Mirasol is here, I realize how little I know.
Grandpa was always making sure I didn’t learn to take care of the baby, reminding me I wasn’t keeping her, and for a while, even watching a video of a mother with their child made my heart hurt.
The nine months I should have been learning, I was burying my head in the sand.
Never again.
We stop at the house, and Major jumps out to help me. He’s careful with me, as if I’m just as fragile as the baby in my arms. He’s right with me when he guides me to the living room, finding the most comfortable chair for me to sit.
Mirasol whines as we sit, her little arms and legs kicking out with a lot of strength. She’s complaining, but I smile. I know I’ll smile at anything she does for the rest of my life.
“It’s feeding time,” the woman says. “I brought some of the formula I had, but we’ll need more soon.”
She jumps into action, and I can only assume she is going to find her bag with the formula.
I’m left with more questions, but I ignore them for now and keep watching my daughter.
I kiss her temple, breathing in her baby smell, and I do all I can not to start crying again.
She needs me to be clear-minded so I can take care of her.
She doesn’t deserve a crying mess of a mother after all she’s been through.
I’m not sure how long it takes, but the woman comes back in with a baby bottle. She hands it to me, an encouraging smile on her lips as she nods to the baby.
Mirasol kicks off a cry, her little face scrunching and turning red, so I forget all about my insecurities and offer her the bottle. Though clumsy, she takes it quickly and sucks hard. She was very hungry indeed.
As the baby relaxes into my arms, I look at the woman in front of me.
“Who are you?”
It doesn’t sound polite, but it’s a fair question regardless.
“I was taking care of her.” She nods to my arms. “You called her Mirasol?”
I nod, and she smiles tenderly. I don’t miss that she didn’t really answer.
“Thank you,” I say anyway. It doesn’t matter who she is. She took care of my baby, so I’m grateful for her.
“She’s a very happy baby,” the woman tells me. “She’s incredible.”
Of course she is. I do not doubt it.
The men arrive, three walls of muscles blocking the sun coming from the entrance. I raise my eyes at them and smile. This is the happiest day of my life, and it’s all because of them.
“Thank you,” I say to Major.
He shakes his head as if it’s nothing, but we both know it’s everything. He brought me back my reason to live. It doesn’t matter how little part he thinks he played in this. Actually, it was the three of them. They gave me the strength to stand tall and be the mother Mirasol deserves.
Sometimes the best thing someone can do for you is to stand by your side and hold your hand while you pick up the pieces. That was what my cowboys did. They took me from the darkest place I’ve ever been and gave me room to grow.
“We found more Omegas.” He changes the subject from my gratitude.
My eyes go to the stranger. “I see. Is Dominic able to help them?”
Major sighs and takes a seat on the couch across from me. “He’s going to try, but he’s not with the Alliance anymore.”
I have a million questions, but he shakes his head. “We already moved them to a safer place, they are not in danger anymore. I’m just saying that he’s not with the Alliance, so I’m not sure how much he can do besides take them from immediate danger.”
The only person we have on our side is now gone, another reason to believe that Mirasol, here in my arms, is a miracle. Without Dominic’s investigation, we’d have nothing.
“That means Grandpa will walk free,” I say.
Major’s jaw ticks. “You don’t need to worry about St. James.”
“Don’t I?” I shake my head. Mirasol has finished her bottle, and I hold her against my chest. I vaguely know she needs to burp, and I look at the woman, a little lost at what I’m supposed to do now.
“Gentle taps on her back,” she tells me.
If it were anything else, I’d swallow my questions not to look stupid, but this is about my daughter. My ego has no place here. It’s about what’s best for her. I follow her instructions, relaxing when Mirasol burps.
“You don’t ever need to worry about your safety. Ever,” Derrick cuts in. “St. James can’t take you from us.”
I don’t point out that a pack will. They contacted the township to let them know I won’t be making an appearance until Mirasol is safe in my arms, but that’s just a delay in the plans. Everyone seems to be very convinced I don’t belong here. Everyone but me.
“Anderson won’t be a problem for long,” the woman says. “People are talking about him, finding a way to edge him out of business. The packs don’t like that a Beta controls every breeding house in Texas.”
I suck in a breath. I never knew my grandpa’s reach was that far. He’s responsible for so much pain, for so many losses. How many mothers did he separate from their kids? How many tears were shed because of his greed?
“If people are just trying to take him out, he won’t see justice,” I say.
“He’s not your problem,” Major says with a finality that soothes my soul. “He won’t ever touch you or Mirasol, and that’s enough for now.”
“Okay,” I accept, choosing to believe it’s enough. “So what else aren’t you telling me?”
My eyes find the stranger sitting close to us. I'm grateful for her taking care of Mirasol when I couldn’t, but I don’t understand why she needs to be here. There’s so much to be discussed, so much to think about, and it doesn’t make sense.
If he found more Omegas and Dominic is helping them, why not this one?
He dips his chin, hearing the questions I don’t say out loud.
“This is Manuela, Veda.”
Everything stops, even the air in my lungs. I don’t know if that’s a popular name in Brazil, but it’s definitely not here. And Major wouldn’t throw that out, assuming I wouldn’t think…
I take in her features, the way her brown eyes shine as she looks at me. The same brown in my eyes and in Mirasol’s. Her curly hair has a similar curl pattern of mine. It’s like looking at a mirror a few years down the line.
When our eyes meet, I realize she’s crying. Her hands are folded in her lap, shaking too. The pieces fall into place, and what was doubted now is certainty in my heart.
“I never wanted to leave you, Veda,” she tells me.
Something inside breaks when I ask in the smallest voice, “Mom?”