The O'Malley Brides (15 page)

“I guess I’ll grab a cab and head over to the hospital,” Bridget informed him
with a pout
.  “If you don’
t want to come along, that is,” she sighed, looking over her shoulder.  The man’s
eyes were glued to her ass and she grinned, this was a good sign.  Winston was pretty attractive in
general for a tie guy.  If
he would lose the su
it and get some regular clothes,
he might even be presentable to her friends.  She’d yanked his chain pretty hard a couple of times now
and
the most he did was get red in the face and spout off some big words. 

Dell would have like
d
to get up, push her out
of his office
and close his door, but the erection that was tenting the fron
t of his trousers prevented it
.  Bridget was leaning against the door frame, her pretty green eyes pleading. 
“Certainly not, Ms. O’Malley, now if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do,” he told her as coldly as he could.

“Okay Winston, don’t get your shorts in a knot.  I’m going.  Bye,” she called back as she strolled out, her ass giving an exaggerated wiggle. 
Pulling out her cell phone she called for a cab and waited outside.

Looking for a new man, Bridget considered all of her criteria.  He had to be intelligent.  Despite her dumb blonde act, Bridget was smart.  He had to have a bright future.  She wasn’t going to school so she could support some lazy ass man.  Good looks were pretty important, not drop dead
gorgeous
though.  In her opinion
,
there was such a thing as a man being
too handsome, especially if he
knew it.  It was much better being the best looking one in a relationship. 
Then they
were thankful to have you and you didn’t have to worry about them running around.
  It also helped if you didn’t have to watch your own girlfriends every second they were around.  Her man had to be laid back.  No bossy, dominant men for her. 

Yes, Winston seemed a likely candidate.  She had to admit that he was awfully cute, especially when he got all flustered.  Of course
,
the name was a drawback.  Delbert wasn’t exactly a manly name
but
then again, he
didn’t know anything ab
out sports and that was a plus
.
  That meant he would probably be available to do the kind of things she enjoyed, like shopping and movi
es.  He wouldn’t be hanging out in front of
the big screen
TV
at her
parents’
house every Sunday watching football, drinking beer and farting. Ugh! 

Yes
,
all in all
,
Winston might be just what she was looking for.  Not a lot of old girlfriends for her to compete with and certainly not as experienced as her
.  Hopefully she could mold him into exactly the kind of man she wanted.  Yup
,
putty in her hands.  He might even be a virgin, and she could teach him exactly what she liked in bed.  She had no doubt he had all the right equipment, he was quite a large man
.  N
ow if she could just show him how to use it.

Dell watched from the window as Bridget got into the cab.  At twenty-five
,
the girl should have better work ethics he thought.  He had never met Mr. & Mrs. O’Malley, but he felt sorry for them.  Bridget was a hellion and he couldn’t imagine what they must have gone through when she was a teenager.  No wonder her brother had warned him.  Well, he didn’t have to be told twice, he knew Bridget O’Malley was more than he wanted to deal with on any kind of regular basis.  In fact
,
it would please him if she never came into the office again.  His reaction to her was unprecedented. 

Dell had been attracted to several gir
ls over the years, but none
affected him as Bridget had and he’d certainly never had to hide behind a desk to conceal a raging hard on.  The limited self-control he had over his physical response was embarrassing.  Yes
,
Bridget O’Malley was trouble with a capital ‘T’ and he planned to stay as far away from her as possible.

Juliana Kord
was born at four forty-three that afternoon,
weighin
g in at seven pounds even and twenty
inches long.  Although her father was in the delivery room, he was there as a patient.  Mason’s
unfortunate incident
as Rebecca was calling
it
resulted in
several
stitches and
a
concussion.  Mason was in a wheelchair under doctor’s orders and was not under any circumstances to get out of it or he would be removed from the room. 

Rebecca was very sweet
and supportive to Mason now that she was no longer in pain and wanting to
snatch him bald
.  While he had been able to hold Rebecca’s hand and offer encouragement during the delivery, his view had been somewhat obstructed, for which he would be eternally grateful. 
So
far nothing had been what he
expected and frankly he didn’t think he could handl
e any more surprises.  Mason
always prided himself on being a strong and capable man, able to handle any crisis.  Apparently that did not extend to needles being pushed into the spine of the woman he loved while she screamed bloody murder.  Giving a shiver he took the small bundle the nurse placed in his arms. 
Of course,
she wouldn’t let him hold her
without her assistance, but it was better than nothing.

“Isn’t she beautiful,” Rebecca whispered in awe.  “I can’t believe we did it. 
I don’t thi
nk it was so bad. 
I mean after I got the shot
,
I felt much better and if you hadn’t…”

Mason turned and looked at her, his eyes squinting in the bright light and his head pounding
. 

“It’s a good thing Rory and Nick were here
,
huh?
” she continued.  “
I mean they are family right?  It’s not like they laughed right in front of you and really you can’t be sure the laughing you heard coming from the waiting room was actually them
,
can you?  And even if it was
, they
did help get you up
and onto the stretcher.  I think
the ER doctor
did a great job stitching you up, why there will hardly be any scar at all….” Rebecca rambled on. 
“I’m so glad we reserved
a suite
,
aren’t you?  Now you will at least be in the same room with Juliana and me instead of off somewhere on another floor for the night.”

Mason’s arms were curved as though
he sti
ll held his daughter even after
the nurse had scurried away with her moments before.  His mouth hung open in shock and his blue eyes stared at his wife
,
unable to process a single thought.  Not sure if it was the concussion or not
, Mason snapped his mouth shut.  Better to not say anything at all
,
he thought
,
just before he blurted out.
  “Is she on some kind of speed?” he asked Dr. Maxwell, who had his back to them and was making some sort of snorting sound.

“Not at all,” Dr. Maxwe
ll replied quickly
,
trying to hide is amusement
.  Finally getting himself under control
,
he turned back to Mason and Rebecca.

“Women behave differently after a birth.  Some women cry.  Others are quite euphoric.  Some women shake and tremble for several hours
after
and others fall right to sleep.   Rebecca’s behavior is perfectly normal,” he told him.  “Especially for Rebecca,” he smiled
.  “Let’s get finished up here and get both of you back to your room.  I’m sure you’re ready to take that pain medication you refused earlier
,
Mason.  At least I would recommend it.  It’s been quite a day and I’m sure your family is chomping at the bit to see that little girl.  She certainly is pretty.”

“Isn’t she
, Doctor Maxwell?
” Rebecca chimed in.  “I’m just amazed at how perfect she is.  I might just never put her down at all,” she continued, looking at Mas
on out of the corner of her eye and remembering that she still had not found Mason’s book.

“Rebecca, it would not be good for you or the baby to hold her all the time.  I’m sure your pediatrician would not recommend it.  Infants need time alone in their beds to stretch and move around.”

Rebecca worried her bottom lip.  Mason was still squinting at her and she wasn’t at all sure it was from the lighting.

“Well it might not be good for her,” Rebecca agreed, “but I’ll bet it would do wonders for me.”

By the time Rebecca, Mason
,
and Juliana were settled in their room it was dark outside.  Nick and Maggie, Rory and Tess
,
and Bridget were all waiting patiently.  They had already seen the baby in the nursery after she was born, but all of them wanted to see the proud parents.

Flowers decorated the window sill and brightly wrapped packages had started to appear as the aides brought in gifts that had been delivered. 

There was much kissing and hugging and of course the inevitable back slapping, but on a much lighter note due to the
unfortunate incident
.  Mason took the medication the nurse brought him and seemed in a much improved mood.  Rebecca had wound down and her lids were starting to droop so Maggie gathered her things and began to shoo everyone off.

“We should
let these two get some rest
, Lord
knows they won’t get any at home for the first few weeks.  Rebecca
,
you call me if there is anything at all
you need
,
and Mason
,
if you need help
,
don’t be afraid to ask.”

“Yes Mason,” Rory coughed behind his fist.  “Is there anything Nick or I
can do for you before we leave?
Like maybe get you a blindfold,
j
ust in case you have to look at anymore needles?”

Nick busted out laughing, while Tess slapped Rory’s arm.

“That is not very nice
,
Rory.  I am ashamed for you.  It could happen to anyone on such a day as this,” she told him, her dark eyes flashing.

“That’s nice guys, really nice,” Mason shot back.  “Just remember your time is coming and I hope I’m around when it does. 
It’s
okay
Tess,
I appreciate you sticking up for me, but believe me I can handle both of these guys on my own.”

“Yeah,” Nick jumped in smir
king, “a
s long as there’s no blood or anything.”

“Just get out of here and let my wife get some
rest will you?  You don’t have to
bother hurrying
back either
.”

Rebecca had dosed off and they all trooped out of the room quietly.  Nick and Maggie took Bridget as they had to go pick up their kids anyway.  Tess and Rory called goodnight as the
y
made their way across the parking lot to his car.

“So where to now?” he asked softly.  The interior lights in the car were not enough that she could read his expression.

“I do not know,” Tess answered.

“Tess
,
I want you to come home
.  I thought you understood that
this morning?”

“I did, I am just not sure it is the right thing to do. 
We have many differences
,
Rory.  Maybe too many,” she whispered, her head bent forward, her dark hair swinging to block her face.

“Honey, I’m crazy about you.  Nothing is too big for us to work out if you’ll give us a chance.”
  Rory slipped his hand behind Tess’s neck and pulled her gently towards him.  Settling his lips over hers, he kissed her as if she were the most precious thing in the world.  And she was.  As she relaxed and slid her fingers into his hair, Rory hit the button on his seat and moved it back as far as it would go.  With both arms around her he lifted her onto his lap.

“Tess, I
know I can be a hard-ass, and may not be the easiest man to understand,
” he whispered as he held her trembling body.  “I don’t know why fate brought us together, but I truly believe you were meant for me.  I have never felt this way about another woman and I don’t believe I ever will again if I lose you.  If you’re looking f
or someone you can control, Babe
that’s not me.  I have to be in charge, it’s the way I’m made.  There will be times when we will have arguments
. 
I will always listen to you, but I will decide what’s best for us.  I make the rules
,
Tess, and I will expect you to follow them.”