The Rebel's Own (Crimson Romance) (12 page)

“Dear God, why me?” Ryan groaned as he turned to face her.

“I’ll go find your rugrat,” Matt volunteered.

Just then Riley’s voice rang into the air, “Uncle Matt, Uncle Matt, look!” He slid across the room, balancing on a serving tray, a waiter hot on his heels.

Ryan chanced a glance at Kennedy, half expecting her to be angry. But she was laughing as she side-stepped out of their son’s way.

“You should get him a leash.”

“Clara, to what do I owe the displeasure,” Ryan ground out.

Like a dial turning, Clara switched from her spiteful self to flirtatious in a second. She rubbed up against Ryan, and he took a step back in disgust. “I thought that we could take that trip to Paris, like we always talked about.”

“Why would I do that?”

“You promised me.” She pouted her red bottom lip. “You said when you win the Super Bowl we could finally take a trip.”

“I’m a married man, Clara.”

“So? We can fix that.”

“Fix what?” Ryan chuckled, distracted as Riley ran past them minus his tuxedo jacket, with Matt and the waiter behind him. “There is nothing to fix. I’m happy.”

“You couldn’t be. They are bound to embarrass you. Look, your son is causing chaos. And even if you dressed her in expensive clothing and jewelry, she will always be from the wrong side of the tracks.” Clara reached out and stroked the side of his face. “You and I are meant to be, don’t you see that?”

Ryan could barely hear her. All he saw was Kennedy’s dazzling smile as she laughed at Riley causing havoc and recruiting other children into his reign of terror. And when Kennedy turned to her side, he saw the rounded bulge of her belly where his new baby grew. Then there was Rebecca, who, for the first time since he had met her, wasn’t casting him a hateful glare, and his own mother chatting with the other players’ parents at the party while his father announced to everyone who cared to hear that his son was the MVP. All he could see was his family. They accepted him for who he was and loved him in honesty and truth. That was what he wanted, what he’d waited for his whole life.

“I’m sorry Clara. I’ve moved on. I’m choosing her, myself, and my family. I can’t be high school Ryan anymore. You’ll have to find someone else,” he said, truly meaning the words. “I’m happy.”

Kennedy watched as Riley and the band of misfits he had recruited tortured the waiter. She knew that she should do something to stop him, but she was having so much fun watching him. She turned to look at Ryan, and her smile froze on her lips. Clara was there, pasting herself on Ryan. But he didn’t seem to notice, because his eyes were on her. She gave him a small wave. Kennedy wasn’t going to go there and mark her territory, stake her claim. She needed Ryan to choose her, to come to the decision on his own. But then she was married to him and she was the mother of his two children, what kind of choice did he have.

Ryan started towards her, leaving a stunned Clara behind him. Clara was able to recover from her shock to send a hateful glare her way. But the closer Ryan got, the more Clara seemed to disappear. She couldn’t contain the happiness that burst in her heart. He had chosen her. Kennedy for the first time had become someone’s first choice. She had taken his words to heart but she needed to see them in action. Now he had proved it to her without a doubt. If she was still in high school she would have stuck her tongue out at Clara. But she wasn’t. Just like Ryan, she too had left high school behind and was looking forward to a future with her sexy husband.

“Ladies,” Ryan greeted them in a charming drawl. “I hope you are enjoying yourselves.”

“We are.” Her companions responded.

“This is the wives’ corner.” Kennedy whispered to him, “Apparently the girlfriends are kept away from the wives and the children. They don’t want anyone from the outer circle to get attached. Imagine that, Ryan! I’m in the inner circle.”

Ryan laughed and she was glad he realized that she meant it as a joke. It was ridiculous. Kennedy thought cliques and crews something left behind in high school, but apparently not. “I think it’s ridiculous.”

“They are just trying to keep the single ladies away from their men,” Ryan explained. “Girlfriends bring along their unattached friends who would do just about anything to catch a football player.”

“My God.” She snickered. “Would it bother you so much if I didn’t want to hang out with this clique?”

“Only if you don’t mind hanging out with me.” He smiled, looking down at her stunning gown. “Ivory is my favorite color, by the way.”

“I know.”

Kennedy met his gaze, and the stormy desire that burnt through them sent a shiver down her spine. She couldn’t speak, so instead she took his hand and let him lead her. But they didn’t get far because suddenly the room started chanting Ryan’s name. He stopped and turned to face her, a growl rumbling from his throat. Kennedy laughed, appreciating his frustration over their interrupted alone time. She accepted the gentle kiss of his lips, and watched as he walked towards the large group of football players. Riley’s interest dropped from the waiter and he crawled between his father’s legs and into the circle that had formed around him.

“He’s going to leave you, you know that right?”

Kennedy let out a huff of frustration as she turned towards Clara, “I guess you are going to tell me why?”

“You are just not good enough for him. Once that little brat is healed, he’ll have a clear conscience and he’ll leave you for me.” The Cheshire cat was so sure of herself.

Kennedy couldn’t help but laugh. “He chose me over you, Clara. I have given him so many chances to get out of our marriage but he hasn’t. He chose me, and you will never understand how great that feels. We aren’t in high school anymore, Clara. Move on and stay away from my husband.”

As she watched Ryan address the crowd, her hand fell to her belly; it had already started taking shape. The innocent life in there didn’t know what was waiting outside the safety of her womb. But she was sure that it would be proud of the man it would call daddy. Ryan voice calling her name got her out of her head and into the moment. Without any doubt in her mind, she took a step forward and greeted the crowd as Mrs. Carville.

I love you,
Ryan mouthed to her. She blew him a kiss and restrained herself from doing the jive. She was happy. She was finally happy.

• • •

“I think it might be time to go.” Kennedy said an hour later, as she looked at the tired sleeping little boy hanging off his father’s wide shoulders.

“He’s out like a light, isn’t he?” Ryan whispered.

“He had so much fun today, thank you.” Kennedy rose on her tiptoes and kissed Riley’s cheek, then Ryan’s.

“No problem.” He smiled back at her. “Matt has gone to get the cars for us. I would drive with you and Riley, but Dad had a little bit too much to drink, and my truck doesn’t have a car seat.”

“It’s okay. He’ll sleep the whole way.”

Kennedy took Riley from Ryan and followed him as he tried to help his father walk to the valet station.

“You did good, Son. My son is the MVP.” Ryan senior kept on repeating as he hugged Ryan.

“Jeez, if I knew you would be this emotional I would have won the Super Bowl a long time ago.” Ryan chuckled. “Matt, will you help me strap him in.”

Ryan handed his father off to Matt and followed Kennedy to the black Rage Rover. “Here, let me.” He said as he took Riley from her and strapped him into his car seat. “I’ll be right behind you. If you need anything just put your hazards on, I’ll come to you.”

Kennedy nodded and smiled. You’d think she had never driven home alone before. But this time she had Rebecca, Elizabeth, and Riley to keep her company, “I’ll drive under the speed limit.”

Ryan flashed her a smile and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to mother hen you.”

“We’ll be fine Ryan,” she said, and he bent over and gave her a quick kiss. Kennedy’s breath hitched in her throat. She could get used to this married couple business.

“You and Ryan seem to have a wonderful marriage.” Elizabeth pointed out as they drove on the highway headed for home.

“Yes.” That was all she could say without misleading her. Truth was she didn’t know what kind of marriage she had with Ryan. It didn’t seem like something her mother-in-law would want to hear.

“What’s this business of Riley wanting to be called RJ?” Rebecca asked, a bit of steel in her tone.

“Riley just wants to be like his father,” Kennedy said, praying that her mother would drop the subject.

“I hope not,” Rebecca mumbled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Elizabeth turned to look at Rebecca who was in the back seat with Riley.

“Mama, please don’t.” Kennedy hissed a curse when she slowed down at a red light. More than anything she wanted it to change. They were ten minutes away from home, but she wasn’t sure her mother could hold her tongue for that long.

“Lara, I noticed you don’t like my son. I would like to know why.”

“Trust me, you don’t,” Rebecca said curtly.

“What does that mean?”

“Can we talk about it when we get home?” Kennedy piped up. “It’s been a long, exciting,
good
day. Let’s not ruin it.”

“No, Ken. I want to know what your mother meant.”

“It’s Kennedy, not Ken. And it’s Riley, not RJ. You people can’t just come in and take over, hours after you have arrived into our lives,” Rebecca said, her voice louder than necessary, “I was the one who was there when Kennedy was pregnant, when Riley was born. My husband was the one who named him Riley. We were there when Riley was brought home from the hospital, when he had his shots, when he took his first steps, when he said his first word, when he had the flu, when we found out he had leukemia. You are just coming in when all the hard work is done. If it wasn’t for the fact that we needed your son’s money—”

“What!”

Kennedy drew in a breath of horror. Her mother-in-law now knew she was a gold digger. When the light turned green, she was so anxious to get home that she didn’t see the truck coming.

• • •

“What the hell is going on in that car?” Ryan leaned forward as he tried to make out what was happening in Kennedy’s car. It seemed like his mother had her body turned towards the back, and Rebecca was leaning forward. But he never saw any movement from Kennedy or Riley. “Dad! Dad!” But all Ryan got were incoherent responses, “You are such great help, old man.”

Ryan put his foot back on the pedal when the light changed. But something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. There was a rig barreling fast down the road. He didn’t seem like he was slowing down for the red light. He looked at the Range Rover again, but he didn’t think that Kennedy had noticed the rig as the car slowly rolled forward. Ryan didn’t think his next move through. All he knew was that he had to get his family out of the way. Pushing the gas pedal all the way to the floor, he took off. The last thing he remembered was the impact of his truck and the range rover.

• • •

“What the hell!” Kennedy’s curse rang out in the midst of screams and gasps. She looked up at her rear view mirror, and just then her heart stopped beating. Her anger disappeared as she watched Ryan’s truck get forcefully pushed by the six-wheeler rig down the road, leaving a trail of sparks shooting out from under the vehicle like fireflies. The rig stopped, the crumpled metal of what was once Ryan’s pride and joy, continued to roll down the street with him and Senior in it.

“Ryan?” she gasped.

She watched Elizabeth jump out of the car and run. “Mama, stay with Riley.”

Kennedy jumped out of the car and chased after the metal wreck as it rolled a couple of times more before stopping in the middle of the road. Kennedy felt like she was in a trance, as her feet pushed her forward. Her walk turned into a sprint as she kicked off her designer shoes. She hunched next to the car, which had landed right side up. At first she was terrified of looking inside, not knowing what she would see. But she finally got the courage to look. Shouts of people yelling “call 911” and Elizabeth’s distraught cries were drowned out as she stared at Ryan’s still body.

“You should step back,” she heard a man say.

“No,” she whispered, but when the man tried to forcefully remove her, she let out an untamed, emotional shriek. “No, he’s my husband.”

“Ken.” She heard Ryan’s barely audible whisper. He coughed, and then called for her again.

“I’m right here, sweetheart.” Kennedy wasn’t sure where to touch. The only place she could reach was his shoulders and face. But he was a bloodied mess that she feared that any touch, as gentle as it may be, would hurt him. “You’re hurt pretty bad, Ryan.”

Ryan tried to give her a brave smile, but he coughed a splatter of blood. “R-robyn.”

“What?” Kennedy asked, confused.

“The…the baby’s name.” he swallowed hard, “I want…to name…her…Robyn.”

“Like the bird.” Kennedy risked it and touched his head; another second without her hands on him was about to drive her crazy. She just needed to feel his warmth, to know that underneath all that blood her Ryan was there.

“My…my little bird…my little girl.” Ryan choked as a tear rolled down through the blood on his cheeks.

“You can tell her when she’s born.”

“Promise…promise me—”

“I’m not promising you anything.”

“Please!” he wheezed out.

Kennedy stared at his chest and she could see, and hear his labored breathing, “No, Ryan. If you want to name your daughter after a bird, you’re going to have to be there to do it.”

“Daddy!”

Kennedy gasped as she noticed Riley standing next to her. He was on his tiptoes as his fingers fought to reach into the car. She wanted to take him away, but how could she. She herself was plastered at Ryan’s side, terrified that if she just blinked he would be gone from her forever.

“Hey buddy.” Kennedy could hear how hard he fought to keep the emotion out of his voice so as not to scare Riley, “You are going to take care of your mom and the new baby for me.”

“I will.” Riley cried, as he struggled to reach Ryan.

Kennedy picked him up and Riley laid his clean hand against Ryan’s bloody cheek. But Riley wanted to hold his father’s hand and she knew it.