Limitless (Journey Series) (22 page)

“Thank you so much. This means a
lot that you would go to all of this trouble. I can’t believe you got everyone
here.”

“So, you were surprised?” he
whispered into my ear as he swayed me gently to the music. “I thought maybe
after the whole truck thing, it would kind of tip you off.”  I leaned my head
back to look up into his green eyes that were twinkling with amusement and my
mouth dropped open. “You set that whole thing up, didn’t you? You seduced me on
purpose, Chase O’Neil.”

“Well, yeah.” His head dipped down
and he nipped lightly on my ear before pulling back. “I wanted to recreate the
day I proposed to you and that was the first thing that popped into my head.”

“Of course it was,” I replied.
“That’s okay, I certainly didn’t mind. So my answer was obviously yes, the
party’s in full swing now. What do you think we should do next?” I raised my
eyebrows at him and he gave me a knowing smile, bending down to place his hands
behind my knees and scooped me up into his arms. I giggled as he raced towards
the house, dodging the well-wishers. We would get to them later.

I buried my head in the crook of Chase’s
neck, feeling his pulse against my lips. I loved the way my head fit perfectly
in this spot right here.

Mary was right; we had been through
quite the journey. And through it all, Chase had been there right along my
side, no matter how much I tried to push him away. Our journey might have been
a bumpy one, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Each experience we had gone through,
we had went through together and I think, it had changed us for the better.
Together with Caleb, we were a family and that bond couldn’t be broken.

We might have not even made it
through a year of marriage yet, but I knew without a doubt in my mind that we
had a lot more years ahead of us and we would only continue to go stronger each
year as they passed.

Four years later

“Chase, how in the hell did I ever
let you talk me into this?” I grabbed on to the V of his shirt, pulling his body
as close to me as possible as I glared back at him so hard, I almost felt
firing shooting out of my eyes. I could tell I looked scary too by the
expression on Chase’s face. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had peed his pants on
the spot by the piercing look I gave him.

He reached down, gently prying each
of my fingers off his shirt until they were completely removed. “At least you
have a nice view, right baby?” He stated in a calm, low voice. I had no clue
how he was calm right now, who in their right mind could be? And who cared
about the damn view?

Yes, I guess you could see a couple
trees out of the wide window and it was considered a top room. But truthfully,
who the fuck cared? I guess I had a little bit of pull here since I had been
hired almost four years ago to the day and now I was a patient.

After a few years of living happily
married, Chase and I finally decided to try for a baby again. We were happy,
our life was in order, and thankfully no other disasters had yet to occur. It
was truly amazing and I was in awe at how perfect it all had finally panned
out.

 Caleb was one of the happiest
eight year old boys I knew, which wasn’t a lot I guess, but I was always one to
brag. Roy had stayed a permanent fixture in his life and had finally settled
down with a perfectly nice, sane woman. We insisted on a background check when
they first started dating, that’s how paranoid I was. Roy, thankfully, didn’t
argue and although his new girlfriend found it a little strange, she agreed as
well.

Another contraction pierced my body
and I sucked in a quick breath, while Chase tried to remind me of the breathing
techniques we had learned in our Lamaze classes. I squeezed his hand so hard, I
was sure the circulation had been cut off and he finally shut up. Who in the hell
really used those when they were in this much pain? More power to those women
who did this drug free, but I definitely wasn’t going to be one of them.

I let out a sigh of relief as soon
as Dr. Schneider walked in, already dressed in his gown. I knew him well since
I worked on the labor and delivery floor. And right now, he was my new best
friend. Screw Ally.

We worked closely together and now
I could easily relate to those women who I thought were crazy when they would
actually kiss Dr. Schneider when he was finished.

“Ah, Leah. Ready for this, are we?
No worries dear, you are my top priority right now since you’re my favorite
person. You’ll be relaxing in no time, I promise.” His bushy gray eyebrows
bunched together as he laid all of his needed materials in front of him on the
rolling metal tray and then moved behind my back to prepare the area.

“Okay, just hunch your shoulders
forward, relax your body as much as possible and don’t worry, this will all be
over soon.” I clutched Chase’s hand as I tried not to move and almost
immediately felt relief radiate through my body. I was so ready for this now. Game
on.

My labor progressed pretty quickly
after that. And now that I was in a much better mood, Chase seemed to be too
and squeezed in a small nap before the real action started.

I looked down at my husband, his
head resting against my leg, the way his eyelashes fanned against his cheeks
because they were so long. I felt so lucky for making it this so far, and
really it was all because of him.

 He was always there to push me
when I needed one, even if I didn’t know it, and I truly appreciated it. We
probably wouldn’t be here today, if he wasn’t as stubborn as me. I leaned my
head back just as the door creaked open and the doctor walked in.

“Well, dear. Let’s check you out
here and see how far along you are.” Chase sat up almost immediately, dropping
a kiss to palm as I was examined. One of my friends, Maxine, that I worked with
on all the late night shifts, popped her head in and smiled at me. “How’s it
going, doc? Is our favorite patient about ready?”

“In fact she is, I think a few
pushes should do it and baby O’Neil will be having a very happy birthday. What
do you think, Leah? Are you ready?”

I nodded my head, the reality
sinking in that a little human body that Chase and I created would soon be
coming into the world. And I was actually going to be pushing it out of
my
body.
I guess it didn’t matter if I was ready or not, it was definitely game on now.

Within the hour, a cooing baby girl
was being set against my chest, with a head full of dark curls, while Chase
leaned his head down feathering light kisses down onto our cheeks, the love in
his green eyes so apparent it was almost overwhelming. “Welcome to the world
Ava Marie O’Neil. You’re already as beautiful as your Mommy,” Chase whispered
as her eyes drooped close.

I loved the way her name rolled off
his tongue. We had decided together on using my mother’s name as her middle
name. Marie had never been the mother that Caleb or I had deserved, but without
her being the way she was, our lives probably would have been set on a totally
different path.

As our family members and friends
filed in quietly to get a peek at our baby girl, I couldn’t help but be
thankful for the life I had been given. Caleb led the herd, the ever proud
beaming big brother. He was growing up way too fast, I wished I could just
freeze time.

Mary and Chris followed closely
behind and Ally and Teddy directly behind them. Those two had baffled everyone,
and were going stronger than ever, even with Teddy having one of the most
popular bands right now.

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be
said for Mark and Remy who had decided to go their separate ways, but they were
both dating other people right now and seemed to be equally happy. Neither one
of them could make it today and I’m sure it probably had to do with the fact
that they were still a little uncomfortable around each other.  

Yes, life had been hard at first,
but as soon as I found Chase, or rather he found me, it had completely turned
around. I might have tried to run at first, but he chased me down and held my
hand the whole time along this crazy journey that we called life. Now, we were
surrounded by our loved ones that always supported us and this little miracle
cradled against my chest would only bring us closer together.

C.A. Williams is a stay at home to
two crazy little boys, with another baby on the way. She is married to her high
school sweetheart and lives in Michigan. She has always had a love of books
since the time she was a little girl and can almost always be found reading
something at any time of the day.

 When her husband gifted her with
her first reader, the dream of being an author someday really sparked to life.
After reading countless books and having ideas for books fill her head at night
to the point of where she couldn’t sleep, she told her husband she wanted to
start writing books. Luckily, he didn’t look at her like she was crazy in the
head and purchased a laptop within the next week. And thus the story continues.

You can keep up with C.A. Williams
for updates on future books at:

https://www.facebook.com/authorcawilliams?ref=hl

Thanks for reading and don’t forget
to leave a review!

Keep reading for a sneak peek of my
newest book, Chaotic, coming out spring 2013!

“Excuse me, I
think this one needs redone. There’s a tiny little smudge. I think you really
should just start completely over to make it perfect.” I scrunched my nose at
the woman who was painting my nails in the Charged up Cherry, who gave me a
scowl, but proceeded to remove the color as I asked without a word. Which was
probably a good thing, I’m sure she didn’t want to be losing any customers and
I could make that happen very quickly.

“I just love
that color, Adelaide. It will look perfect with that dress you bought at
Divinity for the party on Friday. Did you hear who Mark is bringing by the
way?” I lost interest as one of my best friends, Marley, droned on and on about
Mark Zander, one of the most popular guys at our school.

I could care
less.

 Been there,
done that.

 And never going
back.

At least Madison
was paying attention, hanging on Marley’s every word. Madison with her dark
chestnut hair, petite frame, and brown eyes was all in all a good looking girl
by most people’s standards, but she tended to be a worshiper and that kind of
made her pathetic.

Marley on the
other hand had flowing bleach blonde hair that curled into soft ringlets, stood
as tall as most guys, but had a slim model like figure and a full chest, and
definitely knew that she was hot.

The three of us
had been ‘best friends’ since I had moved here almost four years ago. And when
I used the term best friends, I used it lightly. They basically just welcomed
me with open arms, because of who my step father was.

 I guess if you
wanted to, you could call me the one in charge, they both seemed to follow me
anywhere, but they were also quicker than anyone to turn around and stab you in
the back.

It had all
started in the summer in between junior high and high school, when I had a
crush on Parker Stanger. Marley knew that I liked him, so she sunk her claws
into him first and I caught the two of them hiding behind a tree with Parkers
hand up her shirt. Now that I thought about it and passed him in the hallways
at school, along with the rest of his friends that liked to dress in all black
like they were going to a funeral daily, it kind of made me gag.

Whenever I had a
guy, Marley had to have him next. Whatever. I guess she liked sloppy seconds.
The only guy she hadn’t managed to score was Mark.

 And Madison
always tended to side with Marley whenever the three of us had a little tiff.
Eventually I got over it. I had to admit, when they weren’t around to shop with
or go out to parties, things did get rather lonely. So I would forgive Marley
for whatever minor discretion and move passed it, but that didn’t mean I always
liked hanging out with them.

I checked back
into reality when I heard a click and “That’s a wrap.” I blew out a breath at
those three simple words and relaxed just a little. The camera men began to
pack away their equipment while the director scrolled down some notes and then
picked up his phone.

For the past
year, our school had been featured on a reality show, Unrehearsed, that
centered on high school life and the everyday dramas. Luckily, they switched
schools after a year of recording. It had been stressful to say the least,
putting on a show for all of America, that everything in my life was picture
perfect. Far from it.

“Well, girls,
it’s been a total blast.” I stood up, handing my credit card to the cashier and
gave them a wiggle of my fingers. “I’ll see you two tomorrow. Is the plan still
to come over to my place before the party tomorrow night?”

“Of course,”
Madison gushed. “Your place is the best. I’ll bring my stuff with me to school,
so I can ride over with Madison. Daddy still hasn’t given me my keys back,” she
huffed and pouted her lip out. “He’s such a pain in the ass, hopefully he gives
in soon.” Hmm, I wonder why Madison. Could it be due to the fact that you were
driving it shitfaced and ran into a tree before you even left the driveway of
Zoe Michaels house. Even I wasn’t that stupid. About drinking and driving at
least.

“Meh. You have
Marley to chauffer you around everywhere, no need for a car,” I replied
sweetly.

Madison giggled
as she blew on her finished nails. “So right, Adelaide.” I watched as Marley
stiffened next to Madison and gave her an icy stare.

I bet Madison
really loved it, even though we all knew Marley had to scrape money together to
get the piece of shit car she had, while Madison and I had brand new cars
bought for us the second we turned sixteen. She tried to hide it from everyone
at school, but I made sure to let it slip, by accident of course, that her
father was a janitor at some factory and her mother was totally out of the
picture.