Redeem Me: Oakville Series:Book Four (30 page)

“Sweet pea, are you blushing?” Angel asks, enjoying my embarrassment a little too much.

“You ain’t seen blushing yet,” Holly laughs. She walks over to the cakes, cuts into one, and places a piece on a plate. She comes back and hands the plate to me. I look down and gasp in horror. The entire head of the penis is on the plate with a pink fork sticking out of it.

“Oh my God! I am not eating this,” I shriek. I try to hand it back to her, but she shakes her head.

“You ARE eating it, pregs,” Amber orders from behind me. Before I know it, they are all chanting, “Eat it. Eat it,” over and over. I am so gonna kick her ass for this.

Giving Angel a wink and a lopsided grin, I lift the cake closer to my face. Deciding to give them the show they want, I stick my tongue out slowly and as seductively as I can, lick the tip. Angel spits his beer all over Paul who is standing there wide-eyed and open-mouthed. The girls bust out laughing.

“That’s my girl. You’re learning,” Holly encourages as she sinks her fork into one of the balls. I watched as all the guys cringe. “Now, let’s open presents,” she says, her mouth full of cake. After taking another huge bite, she points to Angel, then me, then to the thrones. I take it that’s our cue to get in the chairs.

With my hand in his, Angel leads us to the stage and helps me sit on my throne. Marcus and Kyle carry the table holding all the gifts closer to us. Amber is off to the side with a pen and pad of paper, ready to keep track of who gave us what gifts. I love unwrapping presents. Angel allows me to open them all. He just sits and smiles sweetly at me, as if just seeing me enjoying myself makes him happy. How did I end up with this perfect life? I have amazing friends. A man I love with all my heart. And soon, I’ll have my beautiful babies.

My happy little bubble bursts when the door opens and Riley walks in. I roll my eyes. Does this chick have a serious death wish? Holly spots her and makes a beeline right for her. This is going to get really bad, really quick. I get up as fast as I can in my present state and try to jog over to Holly and Riley, but it turns out more like a fast-paced waddle.

When I finally reach them, Holly is bitch slapping Riley with insults. I appreciate my girls going to bat for me, but it’s time I fight my own battles. That means it’s my responsibility to put her in her place. I place my hand on Holly’s shoulder and she stops her tongue lashing.

“You have a lot of nerve coming in here. What do you want?” I ask through gritted teeth. The bitch just looks at me and smiles. She’s acting like she belongs here, like she’s done nothing wrong. I feel Angel’s hand resting on my waist. His touch, his presence, seems to give me strength. Add that strength with my already brewing anger and I can’t control myself. Before my brain registers what my body is doing, I make a fist, pull my arm back, then slam my fist into her face. Ouch! “Son of a bitch!” I yell, cradling my hand against my belly. That hurts a lot more than I thought it would, but the stunned expression on her face makes the sharp pain in my knuckles worthwhile.

“What the hell was that for?” Riley shrieks, holding her hand over her eye. “You bitch...” she yells, and lunges toward me. Angel pulls me back and Holly, Amber, Taryn, and Kayleigh form a line between me and Riley.

“If you know what’s good for you, bitch troll, you’ll walk your skanky, lopsided ass right out of here. Now,” Holly booms so loudly, I jump. Riley backs up a little bit. She cranes her neck around the girls and smiles at Angel. Does she want me to dot her other eye? I take a step forward, but Angel holds me back and hands me off to Paul. I love how everyone’s protective of me, but I’m a big girl. I wiggle my way out of Paul’s grasp and push through the girls until I’m toe to toe with the uber bitch. Holly and Amber are on either side of me looking like rabid guard dogs.

“Do you really think you really have a shot with him? Why can’t you get it through that thick skull of yours that he is with me? Nothing you do will ever change that,” I spit. She shrugs her shoulder with a smirk on her face. This girl is a fucking wackadoo. I can’t take it anymore. Something inside clicks and I snap. I reach out, grab a handful of Riley’s hair, and wrap it around my wrist, and just for fun, I give it a hefty yank. She grunts in pain and I smile.

I’ve always been a big believer in the whole violence is not the answer and all, but I have to admit, this feels phenomenal. Glancing back, I see all of my friends completely stunned. All except Angel. There’s a mixture of fear and admiration in his eyes. When he gives me that sexy wink of his, it just spurs me on.

“Holly, can you please open the door for me? I’d like to take out the trash.” She snickers and scurries by me, opening the door wide. I jerk her head a little harder than necessary and drag her across the bar. When I get to the door, I thrust her out of it as hard as I can. She goes flying out the door, landing face first in a mud puddle.

Angel

I’
m stunned and scared after watching Chelsie drag Riley across the bar and to the door. When she told Holly to open the door so she could take out the trash, I wanted to take her home and straight to bed. I have never seen this side of her before. I am a little worried about the babies, but there are enough of us to keep an eye out. And as bad as Riley is, I can’t see her hitting a pregnant woman. If she did, I’d be forced to break my rule about never hitting a woman.

Beasley rushes by us and out the door. The scream of sirens gets closer and closer until they’re right outside. What the hell is going on? For a second, I’m afraid they may be here for Chelsie. I wouldn’t put it past Riley to call the cops on her. The thought sends me into a panic. Would they really put a pregnant woman in jail for a little punch? It’s not like Riley doesn’t deserve it and more. I make my way out the door, ready to stop them from taking her.

When I get outside, I’m both shocked and relieved when I see Beasley cuffing Riley. My first instinct is to jump up and down and tell the bitch she’s getting exactly what she deserves. A little childish, I know, but after all the shit this girl has put us through, it just seems fitting. I walk up to Chelsie and wrap my arm around her. She’s watching intently as Beasley reads Riley her rights.

“What the hell are you arresting me for?” Riley questions. Beasley looks our way before answering. Chelsie takes hold of my hand.

“Attempted murder,” he says, still looking at us.

“What the fuck?” I yell. “You bitch.” Instantly, I know she messed with Chelsie’s car. She could have killed her and our babies. I run my hands down my face. This is all my fault. I brought this woman into our lives by being with her. Granted, it was before Chelsie, but I was still the one with Riley and obviously gave her the impression there could be something more. Chelsie grips my hand tighter and gives me that beautiful smile of hers, making me forget my doubts.

“Why aren’t you arresting her ass? She hit me. There’s a bar full of witnesses. I want to press charges,” Riley demands. A boisterous laugh rings out from behind me and I see Holly walking up, shaking her head.

“We didn’t see a damn thing, Beasley,” Holly shouts. Beasley nods his head and gives Chelsie a wink.

“I didn’t either, and I was in there the whole time. So, let’s go and let everyone get back to their party. You’ve caused enough trouble for this group,” Beasley states, leading a furious Riley to the waiting police cruiser. She begins to whine and protest long after he closes the door in her face. Everyone laughs as they head back into the bar.

I lean down and whisper in Chelsie’s ear. “Watching you kick her ass was pretty fucking hot.”

“I know.” She giggles.

“Maybe now that ho bag will finally leave my man alone,” Chelsie says, and plants one hell of a kiss on me. Seems I’m not the only one turned on by that little catfight. She breaks the kiss. “We will pick this up later at home.”

“You’re a big tease,” I say, then smack her ass. She playfully puts her fists up in the air.

“You better watch it, mister. I might just throw your sexy ass out if you keep it up,” she says, trying her best to sound serious, but failing miserably.

“Man, I would love to see that,” Paul laughs. “That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, but how about you stay away from fights until after those babies are born?” he says, kissing Chelsie on the cheek.

Holly pulls us back up to finish opening gifts, seeing as we were so rudely interrupted before. This whole gift opening thing doesn’t interest me. I’m thankful to our friends for all the great things they’ve given us for the babies, but I don’t get all excited about it like Chelsie and the other girls do. I do, however, enjoy sitting here watching her open them. Her face lights up like a kid on Christmas morning every time she’s handed a new gift to open. I could sit here and watch her like this all day. I love seeing her happy. I intend to keep her that way every day of our lives. This is the life I’ve always dreamed of. I finally have the kind of family I’ve always wanted, but never thought was possible for someone like me.

Once all the gifts are opened and Chelsie is off chatting with the girls, I spot Kayleigh sitting by herself at the bar. Now would be the perfect time to ask her about naming the baby Katherine. I slide onto the stool beside her and she looks over, smiling at me. It’s the same beautiful smile I remember from years ago.

“Great party. I still can’t believe I’m going to be an aunt,” Kayleigh says.

“I know the feeling. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m gonna be someone’s dad…two someone’s.”

“You have me beat there,” she says with a laugh. For a while, we just talk about nothing and everything. It’s comfortable with her, even in the short amount of time since we found out about each other. It makes me wonder what it would be like if we had grown up together. We missed so many years and the opportunities to make so many memories.

“Chelsie and I were talking about names for our little girl and we came up with the perfect one, but I want to run it by you first.” She looks at me oddly.

“Why would you need to run your name choices by me?” she questions.

“Because we’d like to name her Katherine. As long as that’s not weird for you,” I say. Her smile fades and tears fill her eyes. My hearts begins to race. I’ve upset her. She’s still reeling from finding out all the shit about our past. This is probably too much for her. The last thing I wanted to do was upset her in anyway.

“You really want to name her after me? Well, the old me…uh, you know what I mean,” she says, flustered. Does she not know how much she meant to me? How much she means to me?

“Of course I do. You’re my baby sister. I’ve been in hell since the day you disappeared. Not one day went by when you weren’t on my mind. I missed you more than I can ever express,” I confess. She smiles at me as she reaches for the chain around her neck and holds out the ring attached to it—the ring I gave her before she was taken.

“I never knew who gave this to me. I did know it was the only thing I had to connect me to my real family. I also knew that whomever gave this to me loved me. I always felt a little safer with it so close to my heart,” Kayleigh explains. I remember how she used to hold her hand up and stare at that thing like it was treasure. She reaches for her purse and pulls out a small velvet box. “I thought your little girl may want this.” She hands me the box. I open it and what I see blows me away. Tears pool in my eyes. Quickly, I try to wipe them away before they’re noticed. It’s the exact same ring. “I would be honored to have my niece named after me. It’s perfect.”

I reach over and hug her. This is what I’ve wished for: my sister back with me, safe and sound. I really do have it all.