The Truth Be Told (The Truth in Lies Saga #3) (27 page)

“On one condition,” she murmured.

“You want to make a condition to marry me?” I admonished.

McKenzie reached over to the beach bag and opened it.  “Yes.”  My ego was deflated.  I couldn’t believe she was doing this to me.  My hopes of this tear-filled, joyous moment turned into a negotiation.  This was a disaster.  “When I say yes,” she reached into the bag “you have to promise to a speedy wedding.”

“Why’s that?” I demanded, my tone filled with hurt.

“Because,” she removed her hand from the bag, holding three white, plastic sticks in her hand, “I’m pregnant.”

It was my turn to have my jaw hit the floor.  I stared at the three pregnancy tests, all them indicating a positive result.  “You…you’re…”

“Pregnant,” she finished, nodding her head.  “Are you upset?  I know this wasn’t in the plans yet.  That’s why I took three tests, because I didn’t want to take any chances that it was a false positive.  I even have a fourth one, ready to take if you want…”

I stood up, bringing her with me.  “Upset?  Of course I’m not upset!  We’re having a baby!”  I swung her around in my arms, kissing her with as much passion and happiness as I could muster.  When I set her down, she looked in my eyes and grinned.

“So, you’re okay with marrying me pretty quickly?  I really don’t want to wait another year, and I also don’t want to be showing in my wedding dress.”

“I’d marry you this instant if that’d make you happy, but you still haven’t said yes.”

She pressed her hand to my face, her eyes swimming with tears.  “Yes.  Yes, I’ll marry you.”

I slid the ring onto her finger.  It fit perfectly and sparkled with every color of the rainbow in the direct sunlight.  Our lips met and time stood still.  For in that moment, nothing could touch us.  Our hearts beat as one.  All of our hopes and dreams, all of our pain and suffering, blurred into memories.  This was the day we’d longed for, and now that we had it, it was ours to keep.

We often believe that happily ever afters only belong in fairy tales, and while that’s true, real life does have its own version.  McKenzie and I would marry.  We would have our family.  We would grow old together.  There would be disagreements and fights, but there would also be love and happiness.  While nothing in life is ever perfect, when we looked back on days like this, we’d remember only the good, never the bad.  That, in itself, is a happy ending, and I was proud to say, we lived happily ever after.

McKenzie

Four years later...

“Ow!” Chloe yelled.  “Daddy, Connor pulled my hair!”

“She started it,” Connor bellowed back.  “She hit me.”

“Chloe.  Connor.  Stop it!” Drew scolded them both.  “Your Momma’s trying to rest.”

“When Jacen be here?” Chloe asked, crawling up on the hospital bed with me.  She placed her tiny hand on my swollen belly, patting me ever so gently.

“Soon, Sweetie.  Very soon,” I told her.

My contractions started at four in the morning.  I fought through them, figuring them for Braxton Hicks since I’d done that with the twins. For several hours, I suffered in silence, propping myself in front of the television to watch reruns of
The Big Bang Theory
, re-reading my favorite scenes of my favorite books, pretty much doing anything and everything to keep my mind off of the pain shooting through my abdomen and back.  Nothing worked.  By eight, when Drew got out of bed to get ready for work, the pain had become so unbearable that I demanded he take me to the hospital.

His initial reaction was for me to hold off until my doctor’s appointment scheduled for later in the day, but when I threatened to rip his dick off and beat him with it, he realized I was in a lot of pain and rushed me to the emergency room.  Drew planned on leaving the twins with Ruby, but they cried, wanting to be with me and the baby.  Needless to say, the twins won that battle.

Drew was an amazing father, just as I knew he’d be.  He doted on kids as if they were more precious than gold.  While he spoiled them, he also was a wonderful role model.  It could’ve been because he was a twin, but there were many times he’d catch them in the act of something before I even realized they were causing mischief.  He amazed me with how tentative he was, but also how he commanded the children without them even realizing he’d done so.  I couldn’t have asked for a better father for my children.  

“Look, Daddy.”  Connor pointed to the monitor attached to me, registering my contractions.  “That funny thingy jumped.”

Drew ruffled our son’s sandy blond hair.  “That’s because Mommy's having a contraction.”

“What’s a con…contra…?” Chloe attempted the long word.

“Contraction, baby,” I corrected her.  “It’s where my tummy is preparing for Jacen to arrive and so it’s pushing him a little to wake him up.”

“Oh.”  She leaned in, putting her mouth to my stomach.  “Wake up, Jacen.  We want to play with you.”

I looked up to Drew and chuckled at our sweet little girl.  “You can’t play with him right away,” Drew explained.  “Jacen’s going to be very little.”

“Connor’s little,” Chloe announced.  “And I play with him.”

“Am not!” he argued, stomping his foot.

“Are, too.  I’m taller than you.”

“But I’m older,” Connor boasted.

A knock came at the door and it cracked open.  “Everybody decent in here?” Jared tittered.  “I don’t want to see legs up in stirrups or a baby’s head popping out of…”

“Jared!” Drew and I shouted, stopping him from filling the kids heads with images we weren’t ready to explain to four year olds, yet.

Jared opened the door, his big, brown eyes flashing at us, filled with mischief.  

“Uncle Jared!” the kids squealed.  Jared skidded across the room, picking Chloe up off the bed and swinging her around.  Andie slipped in behind him.  Her smile dimmed as she watched him with the kids, but brightened again when she looked at me.

“How are my favorite kiddos?” he asked, resting Chloe on one hip and grabbing Connor, placing him on the other.  Jared had changed his look since moving to New York.  Sans the faded ball cap and graphic tees, he’d chopped off all his long, blond hair, and even combed it.  While he and Andie weren’t married, I figured their time would come.  Something seemed to hold them back.  Drew claimed it was her fear of marriage, but my intuition told me it went much deeper than that.

“How’s it going in here, Nova?” she asked, giving Drew a hug.

“It’s going great since they gave her the epidural,” he replied, giving me a wink.

“Yeah, McKenzie never did handle pain well,” Jared teased.  He whipped around, the kids hanging upside down from his hips, squealing.

“Oh, hush or I’ll show
you
pain management,” I smarted back.

“How much longer?” Andie inquired.

“Not much.  My water broke about thirty minutes ago.”

“And your parents?” Jared asked.

“Mom and Niles are on their way to the hospital now.”

Two year ago, Kat finally had enough of Jonathan and his overbearing ways.  With the help of her three children, she left him.  In the weeks following, she filed for divorce, hiring Peltier/Wise to handle her negotiations.  That infuriated Jonathan more than the divorce, but the proceedings didn’t last long.  During one of their meetings, Jonathan suffered a stroke.  It left him in a coma, and weeks later he passed away, having never reawakened.

My heart broke for their family.  Jonathan left a gaping hole in their lives, and not in a good way.  His pride never allowed him to make amends with Drew, which was something that Drew carried with him everyday.  As far as we knew, he’d never even seen a picture of the twins.  Since the divorce was never finalized, he left Kat a widow.  Sure, that worked to her benefit, but she told me it felt strange to call herself the widow of a man who loved his company more than he ever loved her.

After the funeral, Gavin took his rightful place as named partner of Wise & Associates, and Kat moved to Florida to be near her boys and grandchildren.  The board wanted Gavin and Morgan to move to Boston, but they refused.  Morgan’s family was in Florida, as was her career, and since Kat had moved to Sarasota, there was nothing for them up north.  Gavin tried to persuade Drew into returning to the family business, and while the offer was generous, Drew couldn’t walk away from his own firm.  He and Niles had built their company up.  It was bigger than either of them dreamed of and he would’ve been foolish to leave it.

“Bill, Lindsey, and Granny should be landing any moment,” Drew continued.  “Gavin’s picking them up from the airport.  I think he secretly wanted to see Granny again.”  We all had a good laugh at Gavin’s expense.  Ever since their trip to Amarillo, Gavin had kept in touch with Granny.  Granny had claimed him as one of her own.  She’d made a real impact on him during their trip.

“Hello?” Kat called into the room.

“Grandma!” Connor squeaked, wriggling free of Jared.  

Kat and Niles entered my delivery room that was starting to fill up fast.  Kat looked amazing, happy, and healthy.  In the months following Jonathan’s death, she and Niles began to see one another.  All that time she’d harbored feelings for him, but her loyalty and devotion to her family stopped her from ever acting upon them.  Before long, they were happily married.  Drew was proud of her.  Not only was she finally living the life she deserved, but she hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol since Jonathan’s death.

Niles hugged Andie, then gripped Drew’s shoulder, giving it a good squeeze.  “It’s a good day for a new life,” he mused.

“That it is,” Drew replied.

“And how are you, my dear?” he asked me, reaching for my hand.

I squeezed his in return, my eyes feeling slightly heavy.  “I’m wonderful.”

“You look amazing.”

I waved him off, laughing.  “Always the charmer.”

Kat moved to Niles’ side and wrapped her arm around his waist while carrying Connor on her hip.  “That he is, but he’s right in this case.  You’re radiant.”

Drew slipped in, brushing my hair back from my face.  “My girl’s always beautiful.”  He leaned in and kissed me, tender and sweet.

The room bustled with life.  Everyone gathered around my bed, chatting as if this was a normal, everyday occurrence.  We could’ve easily been sitting at a dinner table talking.  I loved how conversations broke out around me, family reuniting and catching up with the ongoings of each other’s lives.  Connor and Chloe were passed from adult to adult, soaking up all the love and attention they could garnish.

All talking ceased when Morgan entered.  Dressed in green scrubs, her bright red hair pushed under a surgical cap, she was a welcomed face to the crowd.  “My, it’s busy in here,” she chortled.  She shared hugs and greetings, making her rounds to our extended family.  Morgan and I had grown close over the years.  I loved her like the sister I always wanted.  We had our secret club of being Wise wives.  “All right, everyone out,” she instructed.  “I need a moment with the patient.”

A chorus of goodbyes were made as everyone filed out of my room.  Jared carried Chloe and Niles had Connor, who both fussed about having to leave their parents, at least until they were promised ice cream in the cafeteria.

When the room was empty, Drew took me by the hand, sighing in relief.  “A little overwhelmed, are we?” Morgan teased.

Drew shook his head, laughing.  “Maybe a little, Dr. Wise.”

She laughed, rolling her eyes.  “Well, let’s have a look, shall we?”

She slipped on a latex glove, lifted my sheet, and completed her examination.  “Do you feel your contractions?” she inquired after her check-up was complete.  Snapping the glove off her hand, she tossed it in the trash.  She moved around and took a gander at the monitor.

“I don’t.”

“At least we know the epidural is working.”  She glanced over the readout.  “I’d say maybe another hour or so at the max.  Your contractions are coming pretty fast.  I’ll start prepping now.  Oh, and Gavin called.  Your family has landed.  He’s bringing them straight over.”

“Thanks, Morgan,” Drew said.

“Get some rest.”  Morgan gave me a pat on the leg and slipped out of the room.

“You hear that, baby?  Not much longer and our little man will be here.”

Tears filled my eyes.  My family was growing.  I couldn’t imagine feeling happier than I did in that moment.  The day we had the twins, I’d felt the same way.  I remember thinking that the birth of my babies was better than my wedding day, and that nothing could top the happiness I felt in my soul in that moment.  But I’d been wrong back then, and I knew someday something wonderful would happen and I’d be wrong again.  I welcomed that day, but today, I couldn’t imagine feeling happier.

Drew lifted my hand, pressing his lips to my wedding band—which had become his little gesture of love—then kissed my lips.  I cupped the side of his neck, savoring the taste of his mouth on mine.  It didn’t matter how many years passed, I would never get tired of his kisses.

“Hey, you two,” Jared intruded, startling us.  We’d been so lost in the moment that we didn’t hear the door open.

“Hey, you.”  I scooted up the bed, propping myself with pillows, happy to see him.  Transferring to New York was a good move for him, and even though we talked or texted daily, I still missed him.  “Everyone okay?”

“Yeah.  Kat and Andie are catching up, and Niles is regaling the kids with one of his tall tales.  I figured I’d come down here and see what you two kids were up to.”

“Oh, just having a baby,” I noted with a shrug.

“That’s all.  Jeez, you’d think you were doing something important,” he teased me with a wink.

Jared sat down on the rolling stool stationed at the end of my bed.  He started to scoot the chair back and forth at the foot.  “I see why Morgan likes these things.”  Before long, he had his legs in the air, squealing as he rolled the chair from one end of the room to the other.  Drew gave me a mischievous, little wink and released my hand.  He gripped Jared by the shoulders and commanded, “You might want to hold on.”  It warmed my heart that they’d managed to overcome their differences.

Jared clamped his fingers around each side of the stool, and Drew took off running, pushing him as hard and fast as possible.  Jared tried his darndest to stay on the seat, but his skinny butt kept sliding off.  Then it was Drew’s turn.  He managed to stay on the stool a little better, but not by much.  The two of them acting like fools had me laughing so hard I was nearly in tears.  Back and forth they took turns, rolling the chair around the room, attempting to knock each other off.  They’d created a new sport: hospital rodeo.

As Jared raced Drew around the room, the door opened without warning.  Jared barely came to a stop before they slammed into the door, but it didn’t keep Drew from flying off the stool.  He landed on the floor with a humph, bouncing a few inches on his ass, stopping at my grandmother’s white sneaker-clad feet.

“What on earth are you hooligans doin’ in here?” Granny bellowed.  My dear grandmother tapped her foot, her wrinkled face glaring down at my husband, but I could see in her eyes she was holding back her laughter.  She rested her fist on her thick hip, her plump body sheathed in one of her favorite track suits.

Drew stood up, rubbing his bottom.  “Granny,” he crooned.  “How you doing, ol’ girl?”  He pulled her into a hug, only to have her pinch his sore bottom. Drew jumped, his eyes widened, and his face turned a light shade of pink.

“Always good when I get hugged by two Wise boys on the same day,” she noted, giving his butt another pat.

Gavin, Mom, and Dad appeared at the door, each smiling but looking exhausted.  They'd spent the better half of their day in airports, but I was grateful we were able to get them here before Jacen was born.  “Mom, Dad.”  I extended my hand out to my parents.  Mom rushed to my side, wrapping her fingers around mine.  “My sweet girl,” she cooed.