Destiny Undone: The Complete Series Box Set (58 page)

The toilet flushed and after some splashing sounds in the sink, Pepper emerged, smiling, and I fell in love with her all over again. Her face radiated such beauty and goodness—it constantly caught me by surprise.

It was real love, I guessed.

“All yours, sweetie,” she chirped. “I’ll get the coffee going, unless you’d like a blowjob first.”

She’d said it so matter-of-factly that I almost didn’t catch it. It was like, ‘Would you like me to lay out your gray tie, or the black one?’ I froze in the bathroom door and turned.

“Seriously? You’d do that?”

“Try me,” she replied with a cheeky grin. “Call my bluff, darling, if you dare.”

“That’s good to know,” I winked. “Rain check?” Hot as Pepper was, I still felt a little rattled from my dream.

“Tired of me already, eh?” she taunted as I ran the shower water. “Look at me—twenty-three and I’m over the hill. Couple of years and you’ll be trading me in for a new one, mark my words.”

I cocked my head in the doorway and gave her one last look before entering the shower. “Nah. You’ve still got plenty of miles left on ya!” I teased and ducked into the shower in case she decided to throw something at me.

“You’re so sweet to me,” she sang in a goofy, fawning tone, and I heard her whistling as I washed. She could take as well as she could give, in banter as well as in the boudoir. I loved Pepper and I loved having her around. But my dreams… they were totally taking over my sleep. They started soon after our engagement. Sure, I’d had a lot of back-and-forth, some soul searching about whether I was ready to take the plunge, but there was never a doubt about Pepper herself. I was certain that no other woman could hold a candle to her, as they say, not for me anyway. But perhaps my enthusiasm to prove my commitment to her so she didn’t slip through my fingers had been too…
zealous?

Did I feel she was drowning me… suffocating me? Was the dream telling me that I was getting in too deep… over my head… out of my depth?

“Gabe!”

Pepper’s voice snapped me out of my musings.

“Mills is at the hospital! Her water broke last night and she’s in delivery! I’m taking the Escalade! Meet me there when you get dressed!”

“Where?” I shouted, rinsing the soap from my ears.

“Cedar!” she shouted back before slamming the door behind her.

I found myself nodding. “Sure,” I muttered. “I’ll be there as soon as I’m done. And dressed. And had a cup of coffee.” After all, no one, not even the baby, would want to see me before I’d had a cup of coffee. What a rude welcoming that would be!

With the Audi in for repairs again, I’d borrowed the work vehicle—a 2000 Ford pickup. It was ragged, but right, and my folks didn’t mind me bringing it home as long as I kept it hidden in the garage. I chuckled to myself, God forbid the neighbors to think that anyone actually worked for a living around these parts.

The air was a little chilly as I walked from visitor parking to the main entrance. Fall had arrived in Florida and I wished I’d brought a jacket, but knowing the weather here—it’d be in the 90s by noon.

I found Pepper and Fallon in the Labor and Delivery waiting area. Pepper squeezed my hand as I shook Fallon’s. The four of us had socialized several times, mostly for dinners.

“Hey, kid,” I said. “How are you holding up?”

He looked away as we shook hands. “Okay,” he stammered. “Didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Get used to it, buddy,” I grinned. “Say, shouldn’t you be in there with Mills?” Pepper squeezed my hand again. Hard.

“Uh… it’s optional,” he mumbled, looking down at his smart phone. It looked like I’d interrupted his game.

“So you opted out,” I said, finishing the thought for him. “Don’t blame you. Messy stuff. Best to maintain the mystery,” I counseled in a confidential tone.

“Well, I’d like you in with me when
my
time comes,” Pepper protested.

“Yeah, baby, we’ll have to talk about that,” I teased, watching as Fallon sat down to immerse himself in his virtual world. I liked the guy, but something about him made me want to rattle his cage to engage him. Then I remembered that he’d been studying to get his pilot’s license. Who knows? Maybe he’d just be content to space out in the flight simulator.

“So,” I persisted, “how’s the flight training going?”

“Um, okay. I’ve had to… you know, back off… because of the baby.”

“Damn, that sucks,” I said with a straight face. “Well, probably for the best. You can probably kiss that dream goodbye.”

“Gabe!” Pepper screeched.

Now I had Fallon’s attention. He looked up at me like the proverbial deer in the headlights.

“Yeah, too dangerous. You’re a family man now, Fallon. A father. The breadwinner. Can’t have you flying around, carefree in the clouds, right? Got to keep your feet on the ground. Unless you were going to be a commercial pilot! That’s different. That’s practical. Stressful, though. Do you handle stress pretty well?”

“What’s gotten into you, Gabe?” Pepper scolded. “Leave him alone.”

Fallon’s mouth hung open, but no words came out. I think he was suffering from information overload, or maybe he was just shocked by getting a glimpse of reality. At any rate, he looked relieved when the nurse finally appeared in the doorway.

“Fallon?” she smiled. “Congratulations. You are the father of a healthy baby boy!”

I patted him on the back and Pepper hugged him vigorously.

“Do I have to sign something?” he asked the nurse.

“Actually, your presence has been requested. Follow me and I’ll take you to them.” She turned to us. “And I’ll come back for you two in just a little bit, okay?”

We both stared as she left. Out of the blue, I sighed, “Kids having kids.”

Pepper nudged me in ribs. “I can’t believe the way you were dogging him!”

“Sorry, baby, but I’ve never been very good at small talk. Part of it was an attempt to get his attention.” And part of it was me acting out and rebelling against my becoming domesticated. It was the wild animal inside snarling at the prospect of being tamed.

“Well, we’ll see how you do when
your
time comes, mister,” she said. Her voice was stern, but I could tell she wasn’t really mad. “Everybody reacts differently to stressful situations.”

“Just like war,” I offered. “You don’t know who’s going to be a hero and who’s going to cut and run.”

“Can you please be less gloomy when we go in Mills’ room?” Pepper pleaded. “I don’t want the baby’s first moments of life to be filled with negativity.”

A man’s voice interrupted. “Speaking of negativity, I hope I’m not interrupting your domestic disturbance.”

It was Jonathan Church, clutching a bouquet of flowers and a blue teddy bear.

“Church! Look at you, all thoughtful and shit,” Pepper beamed. I didn’t like it when she beamed at Church, and I liked it even less when she leaned in to accept his kiss on her cheek, but it was one of those social events where a weasel like Church gets a free pass. He was, after all, a friend of the family, among other things.

“How’s kid sister doing, Pep?” he asked, totally ignoring me.

“The nurse said the baby’s healthy and I assume Mills is too. We’re waiting for the okay to visit her room.”

“How’s Fallon doing?” he smiled. “Did he pass out when they cut the cord?”

“Of course not,” Pepper replied, without offering any additional details.

“Alrighty, folks, we’re ready for you.” The smiling nurse said as she led us to Mills’ room. I had a little trouble keeping up. The walk uphill from the parking lot had made the scar tissue on my leg throb. The cooler weather may have had something to do with it, as well. The Doc had told me that sometimes injuries develop a sensitivity to changes in the weather.

We circled the bed and took in the sight of the pretty, young mother and her tiny baby. Pepper’s expression was one of pure delight, even though tears streamed down her cheeks. Fallon smiled like a proud papa and Church… I didn’t bother looking his way.

I just nodded as the others provided commentary on the beauty of the baby’s appearance and which facial features resembled whose. Really, I didn’t even hear the comments. I was focused on the tiny bundle cradled in his mother’s arms, a tiny miracle of flesh and blood and bone and brain. This baby, not yet even named, as far as I knew, represented unimaginable potential and vulnerability.

I looked up at Fallon, who was still smiling, standing off to the side, like a spear carrier in some play, half onstage and half off, basking in the reflected glory as his leading lady takes a bow. Was he aware of the challenges this little package would bring to him, or all of the worries and joys? Did he yet realize that his own childish pursuits and pleasures would diminish, and that his task was to create a safe, loving environment in which this child would grow and thrive?

‘We’ll see how you do when your time comes, Mister.’
Pepper’s challenge echoed in my ears.

Fuck.

It was becoming apparent that day wasn’t too far off in my future. I just hoped I’d be ready.

Church was the first of our group to bail out. He said he’d felt like one of the three wise men looking down at the Christ child and felt guilty about not bringing any myrrh. For the most part, though, he’d behaved himself, and I was glad that he’d made the effort to come. I was sure that Mills was happy to see him, too.

In total, we were there about twenty-five minutes before the nurse returned, gathered up the baby and gave us the boot. Obviously, Mills was tired, and we didn’t want to overstay our welcome anyway.

I was proud of my little sister. Even after Fallon’s initial reaction when she told him she was pregnant, she never once wavered. Sure, she cried a lot and vomited even more often, but she was determined that—with or without Fallon’s participation—she was going to give birth to that baby. It was like she suddenly leapt a light-year ahead of me in the maturity department.

“You rest up, sis,” I said, and leaned down to kiss her goodbye. I gave her a couple of extra kisses as well, just because she looked so cute and I loved her so much. “Thanks for giving us a head-start,” I winked. “You can notify Mom now.”

Despite her fatigue, she managed to laugh, but I could see she was drifting into a sweet afterglow, closing her eyes but still smiling. Of course, it might have been the drugs.

I held Gabe’s hand as we walked down the corridor. “You were so sweet in there.”

“Who, me?” he asked, looking stunned.

“I saw you! You couldn’t take your eyes off that sweet little boy.” I gave his hand a squeeze. “Just think, you’re going to be his Uncle Gabe, if you play your cards right.”

“Uncle Gabe,” he echoed. “Has a nice ring to it, eh?”

I could tell he liked the idea. “And whatever his father doesn’t teach him, he can go to his uncle for help.”

“For anything other than playing video games, you mean?” I gave him a light elbow in the ribs. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Our ancestors did the same thing, passing down their hunting knowledge to their offspring. I just pray that he inherited Fallon’s thumbs.”

“Come on, don’t be mean. He’s going to grow up really quickly. He really loves my sister, you know.”

“Then he can’t be all bad,” Gabe smiled. “Some people have to learn to care about others if they don’t experience it at home at a young age. His mother has passed, right?”

“Yeah,” I said, “but his father’s a sweetheart.” We’d arrived at the main entrance and stepped outside. “Where are you parked?”

“Right next to you.”

“So… are you still going into work early? It’s only 6:15.”

“Why?” Gabe asked, his eyes narrowing all suspicious and sexy. “Did you have something else in mind?”

“Actually, I did,” I smiled. “I felt guilty about you going to work so early. You haven’t even had anything to eat. So… maybe I could whip up a little something for you? Something to put a little
zing
into your step!”

“Zing? Hmmm, I don’t believe I’ve
zung
in quite some time.”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Race you to the cars!” I took off at full speed, weaving through the cars toward the Escalade. I had the keys in my hand and unlocked it with the remote. The lights flashed, helping me to zero in on where I’d parked. I looked over my shoulder and saw Gabe trotting behind me with a slow, easy gait. Hell, at that pace, I’d be showered before he even got home.