His Hotcakes Baby (19 page)

Aiden was home for the varsity break
and he walked into the kitchen where she had just poured some coffee in a cup. 
She looked up and frowned when she noticed he looked wary and avoided her eyes.

“I am listening, Aiden.”

He pretended ignorance and smiled at
her.

“What’s up, sis?  You’re up early this
morning.”

“There is something you know,
something you are not telling me.  What is it, Aiden?”

“You are imagining things.  Is little
C still asleep?”

“Yes.”  Mackenzie scowled at Aiden.

“Where is Chase, Aiden?”

He cleared his throat and avoided her
eyes.  “Probably jogging.  You know he always goes jogging first thing in the
morning.”

“Yeah … and you always jog with him. 
Where is Chase, Aiden?”

“Sis … damn, I told him!”

“What?”

“That I could not hide things from
you.”

“Where is he?”

“He is not here.”

“Dammit Aiden!  I am well aware of the
fact that he is not here!  Where is he?”

“Nassau.”

“Doing what?”

“I … ehm … don’t know.”

“Aiden!”

“I promised not to tell you.”

“I promise you that if you don’t, I
will hound you for the rest of your days!”

“Dammit! It is not fair that you put
me in the middle of this!”

“You are wasting time.  Answer me,
Aiden!”

“Shit! He is at the Clinic.”

A band of steel clamped around her
heart.

“What is he doing there?”

“Sis, he is never going to trust me
ever again!”

“TELL ME!”

“He is having a vasectomy done.”

“He … is what?”  Her voice was deathly
quiet.

“A vasectomy.  He is getting sterili
…”

“I know what it means!  ESSIE!”

Essie came running with big eyes.

“What is wrong?”

“I need you to take care of Carter for
a few hours.  Would you be fine with him?”

“Of course.”

“Let’s go, Aiden.”

“Think about this, Mackenzie.  He did
not want you to know.  He most definitely do not want you to pitch up at the
hospital.” 

“Which boat did he take?”

“The small speed boat.”

“Shit!  I can’t drive the big one, but
if you don’t take me, I will!”

“Sis , this is not a goo …”

“You are wasting time and if I am not
in time to stop him, I will blame you!”

“That is not fair!”

“Then let’s go!”

Aiden stalked outside with his sister
tight on his heels.  He mumbled all the way to the jetty about the unfair
treatment and being thrown in the middle of their disagreement.

They
arrived in Nassau and immediately rushed to the private clinic where Carter was
born.  The ladies from the Reception area recognized her when she approached
and immediately directed her to the pre-operation room where Chase was already
waiting to be operated on. 

She stormed into the room, ignoring
the nurses who tried to keep her out and found him lying on the bed, slightly
sedated with his jaw rigid and his face slightly pale. Good! Hopefully because
he knew he was wrong in what he was doing!

He was shocked to see her and she
glared at him with so much anger, he flinched.  He sighed, knowing they were
about to have a major fallout in front of the other patients and hospital
staff. Mackenzie was clearly so angry, she would not stop to think.

“How could you do this, Chase?  How
could you?  It is not a decision you have the right to make on your own!   It
effects my life too, both our lives!”

“I told you after Carter’s birth that
we will not have more children.”

“I am on the pill.”

“Which you were when Carter was made
too.”

“Then wear a condom.”

“In your dreams.  Now that I have felt
your heat around my skin, there is no way I’m dressing up in rubber!  We both
know no contraceptive is 100% effective, honey.  I am sorry, but I am not
prepared to take the chance again.”

“But I am!  You heard what Stiles
said.  You are being totally unreasonable!” 

A nurse approached them hesitantly to
fetch Chase for the operation. Mackenzie turned on her and lifted her fists. 
Chase grabbed her hands and held them down on his chest.  

“If you know what is good for you,
nurse, you will disappear!

“I am sorry, nurse Links.  Would you
please give us a moment?”

“No!  You can just scrap him from the
list.  He is not having this op done!”

“I am doing this, Mackenzie.  You will
not sway me.”

“So what you are telling me is that we
will be getting a divorce?’

“Where the hell did that come from? 
No we are not!”

“Well, I am afraid we are, my dear
husband.  Because I want more children and if you are not prepared to give them
to me, I will have to find someone else that will!”

Chase was livid.  His face looked as
if cast from stone and his eyes incinerated her.

“Like hell you will!  You are my wife
and that is what you will stay!”

“Not if you do this.  I swear Chase,
if you go through with this I will never forgive you and I will leave!  I.
Want. More. Children!  Please Babe!  Go and talk to Stiles again.  I did and
now I know it will not happen again.  It is a rare condition and mine was a
fluke! “

“It won’t help!  I saw what it did to
you!  I lived it … I suffered the fear that you might die, every day!  I will
not …”

“And I am the one it happened to.  No
one was more scared than me.  I love you, Chase.  With all my heart, but I will
not … I refuse to allow you to do this!  Either you give me the children I
want, or you don’t.  But I will have more children!”

She spun around and stormed out,
taking the biggest gamble of her life.

Chase shouted after her, but she kept
walking.  He stumbled from the bed and stalked drunkenly after her.  The sedative
they gave him made his legs weak.  He held on to the wall as he followed her
down the passage, ignoring the people gaping at him.

“Mackenzie Paxton, I am not done
talking to you!  Get back here!”

Mackenzie stopped in her tracks and
rounded on him with angry steps.  She jabbed her finger into his chest.

“Are you shouting at me, Chase
Paxton?”

“Well, if you bloody listen when I
talk I won’t have to!  You are not having another man’s child, is that clear?”

Her eyebrows rose and she slammed her
fists on her hips.

“I guess seeing as you will not be my
husband for much longer you have no say in that matter.”

“You bloody better listen and listen
well. I am your husband and will remain so.  You belong to me and I will kill
any man that touches you!  But you have to understand how I feel about this! 
We can adopt more children … as many as y …”

“As long as I am able to have my own,
I am not interested in raising someone else’s child.”

Mackenzie noticed some of the young
nurses passing by ogling Chase and openly stood and stared when they looked
back.  She blew up like a blowfish.  He received the full lash of her fury.

“Do you enjoy flaunting yourself to
these damn women, Chase?  Is that what this is all about?  Are you are ready to
go and play the field?”

He gaped at her, his mouth hanging
open.

“Where the hell did that come from?  I
married you!”

“Then why are you flaunting your naked
ass around for all to see?”

He stared at her and then realized
that the hospital gown he wore gaped open at the back, leaving most of his back
and ass open.  His shoulders were so wide they could not find a hospital gown
that fitted him properly.

 “If you did not huff away like an
angry school girl I would not have had to run after you, flaunting my ass
around!”

“Angry school girl!  I am … oeff!  You
are so infuriating!  I am leaving, Chase Paxton.  You better heed my warning!”

“Mackenzie, you are not going anywhere
until we have …”

“No … I have sai … noo!”

He yanked her into his arms and shut
her up very effectively with a kiss so hot and sensual, Mackenzie’s toes curled. 
Liquid heat suffused her thong.  She felt his shaft rise rapidly against her
stomach and she rubbed her hips against the enticing ridge.

Chase growled and deepened the kiss. 
Eventually they broke apart.  Chase glared at her.  She moved her hips against
his again and heat flared in his eyes.

“I guess if you go back into that
theatre, this will be the last time I’ll feel your arousal against me.  Quite a
pity though, I would have liked to actually have it inside me for one last time
… but I guess that is up to you …”

“I will not divorce you!  Never!  Is
that clear woman!  Never!”

“Hi Brother Chase.  I was wondering
who was causing such a stir amongst the nurses.  I guess I should have realized
it was you.”

“Traitor!”

“Hey, not fair!  Even you would not
have dared stand up to her this morning when she found you gone.”

“We are not done talking about this,
but I am prepared to let it go.  For now.  Wait here for us, Aiden.”

He grabbed Mackenzie’s elbow and drew
her along with him back to the ward where his clothes were. 

“I’ll just wait here with Aiden.”

“No.  It is your fault that I am
‘flaunting my ass’, so you will make sure I am protected from these … jeez, it
does not even bother them that you are with me!  They are still staring!”

“Hmm … have you ever seen your ass,
Babe?  It is quite delicious to look at.” 

She stroked her palm down his muscled
cheek in front of her and Chase nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Mackenzie!”

He slammed his back against the wall
and yanked her in his arms flush against him.  His shaft now fully aroused
between them.

“Are you bloody crazy?  This damn …
dress does not offer anything to hide behind, woman!  Do you want them to rape
me too?”

Mackenzie’s laughter tingled down the
passage.

“Oh, the vanity of the high and mighty
Hawk Carter!  Although … you are quite … ahum … impressively endowed, Babe. 
Who can blame them?”

“I am very glad you find this so entertaining. 
If any of them touch or proposition me … remember it is all your fault!”

“You better make damn sure nobody
touches or propositions you, Chase Paxton.  If I catch you with another woman,
I’ll personally castrate you, then you won’t need a vasectomy!”

Mackenzie stood watching Chase get
dressed with her hands on her hips.  She was still angry.  He had only acquiescence
to ‘leave it for now’.  She needed him to just drop it … permanently.

He took her hand in his and tugged her
next to him as he walked to the door.  He had a brief chat with the nurse, who
just smiled and shook her head. 

Aiden was waiting for them outside
beside a cab he had hailed earlier.  He had a wide smile on his mouth.  They
got into the big speedboat and Chase threw the keys of the smaller one at
Aiden.

“You get to drive that one back!”

“Gmphf … I am the innocent here!  See,
Sis.  I told you he is never going to trust me again.

“Why?  Because he discussed something
with you he should have discussed with his wife?”

Chase speared a resigned glance her
way and said dryly to Aiden.

“I guess I am not off the hook,
brother in law.  You better stay close.  I might just need your assistance
later.”

Mackenzie just scowled at him and sat
down on the bunk right at the back of the boat.

“Come sit closer, hotcakes.”

“I am quite comfortable here, thank
you.”

Chase sighed heavily, realizing she
was going to brood all the way home. He tightened his jaw.   One way or another
they would have to find a way where both of them would be happy with the
solution.

Mackenzie knew that Chase was hoping
to convince her that there were other alternatives to having more children. 
None was going to sway her.  If she could believe that what happened to her
would not happen again, and she truly did, she would have to convince him of
the same.

She wanted more children and she wanted
them to be his.  He was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She
sighed and stared at his strong back where he stood behind the steering wheel
of the speed boat.  The stress he felt was visible in his rigid back.

They arrived just ahead of Aiden and
Chase waited for him to tie the smaller boat before they joined Mackenzie in
the beach buggy where she already sat waiting.

She heard Carter’s screams the moment
she ran up the front stairs. She rushed towards the den where she found Essie
walking back and forth rocking him.

“What is wrong, Essie?”

The moment Carter heard his mother’s
voice he shrieked even louder and his arms waved frantically.

“I believe the little rascal is angry
because his Mommy and Daddy was not there when he woke up.  He has been glaring
at me in a very Chase like fashion since I took him out of his crib.”

Mackenzie took Carter from her and she
cooed softly.

“What is the matter Mommy’s little
guy?  Are you angry?  There now.  We are here now.  Shh … there you go.”

He hiccupped a few more times but
stopped crying.  He now glared at her, but started gurgling.  He waved his arms
with more excitement when he saw his father over Mackenzie’s shoulder.

“What is this, little buddy?  Hmm …
you should not give Essie such a hard time!”

Carter kicked and waved frantically
and Mackenzie smilingly turned and handed him to Chase.  The moment he cuddled
him against his chest he stilled and gurgled happily.  He smiled, his heart
thudding with warmth.  His eyes raised to Mackenzie and she looked at him with
sadness in her eyes.

“Can you honestly say you would not
want to hold your own little girl like that one day too, Babe?”

Chase flinched and kissed Carter’s
head.

“You don’t play fair, Hotcakes. A
little miniature you would blow me away.”

He sighed heavily, fisted his hand in
the hair behind her nape and pulled her closer.  His lips closed over hers and
he kissed her deeply, passionately yet with so much tenderness, she got tears
in her eyes.  He leaned his forehead against hers.  His voice hoarse.

“You win, honey.  If only you know how
hard this is for me … I can’t lose you, Mackenzie.  I just can’t!”

His passionate declaration told her
more about his love for her than hearing the actual words.  She wrapped her
arms around both the men in her life.

“We will get through any bumps in the
road together, my love.  What we went through … I believe it was the worst we would
ever face … from here on, it will only get better.”

“How many more?”

“Oh … three.  I think four is a nice
number.  We already have a pet for each of them.”

“Three … you want three more
children?”

“Babe, I promise I will be fine.  I am
a lot stronger than I look, and maybe the others will be quick and easy.”

“I’m ... not as strong, hotcakes.  It
nearly broke me apart seeing you in so much pain.  I won’t survive three more!”

“Best we have them soon then … get it
over and done with, so to speak.”

He shook his head and scowled at her.