Alluring Temptation (Bayou Stix #3) (6 page)

Gasping, I realize in just a few short months, I’m going to have a baby. I cry again. She smiles once more and asks the technician to print out some photos.

As the ultrasound photos print out of my baby, I thank her. She responds, “No problem, Miss Rodrigue. I think you will make a wonderful mother. There is nothing better in the world. I have four babies of my own at home.”

A knock at the door interrupts our conversation. She pats my hand as I call out, “Yes.” The door opens and Bradi swarms in. She smiles at the doctor and then her eyes zero-in on me. They are flashing fire. Oh yes, she’s pissed. Apparently Dr. Bush realizes this too. She smiles at me one more time and says, “Get some rest. You should be able to go home tomorrow.”

I thank her again and clutch my ultrasound photos to my chest. The door closes and I sigh. Time to face the music. Looking up, I see Bradi standing at the foot of my bed, tapping her foot rapidly, with her arms crossed. She’s staring at me, not saying a word.

I stare back. Finally, I can’t take it anymore and I look away. She sighs and moves to the side of my bed and sits in the chair Cruz vacated earlier. Watching her from the corner of my eye, I see her cross her legs and glare at me again.

I open my mouth and the only words that escape are “I’m sorry.”

Frowning, she looks at the photos still clutched in my hand. She holds her hand out and I pass them to her. Looking at them, her face softens. She looks up and her glassy green eyes meet mine. Once again, I start to cry.

Taking my hand, she squeezes and says softly, “Shhhhh. Stop. It’s ok. Why didn’t you tell us? I wish you’d told me.”

I raise my eyes and whisper, “No one knew… Except Dade.”

Her eyes flash fire. “I’m going to kick his ass! I’m your friend, you should have told me. You’re by yourself and pregnant, Clove. You need a woman around. Dade is great. He’s all sexy and all, but he’s your brother, and a dude! You should have told me!” Her voice changes and it cracks. “Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

She’s really mad. I knew this was going to be bad. But she also sounds hurt. I wasn’t expecting that.

I answer her, “I wanted to tell you. I’ve wanted to since I got here. Do you have any idea what it’s like for me? I’m twenty-three years old and knocked up. By a guy who had sex with Jude’s fans in his house! A guy I trusted and who I was in a relationship with. I had to call my big brother and come crawling back home. I have no job. I live in my brother’s house. Why would I want to share that with other people, Bradi?” Tears are rolling down my face and I feel all of my frustration, fear, and anger over everything releasing. “All of you are beautiful and successful and then there’s me… knocked up and alone. I can cook, but I have no one to cook for. Why would I want to drag any of you into this mess I’ve created of my life?!”

Bradi looks shell-shocked. She’s sitting there staring at me with her mouth hanging open. After a bit, she composes herself. Taking my hands in hers, she stares at me. “You stop that. You don’t say that about yourself. You are beautiful and smart and you can damn sure cook… you’re also about to add kick ass mother to that line-up.” She squeezes my hands. “I just talked to Cruz in the hallway. He’s with Erik, Alec, and Micah. Liam called me about an hour ago and told me what had happened and that I needed to get over here. Dade is on his way home. I called Jessie and Blue on my way over and they are also on the way home. No one is calling Jude and Lexi, because they are honeymooning, but if we did, they would be on the way home too. You are not alone. We are
all
here for you, Clove. You might be a single parent, but you are
not
alone. We’re all in this together. We are your family! You get that?”

Tears are rolling freely down my face. She’s right. Had I just been honest with all of them instead of worrying that I would disappoint them in some way, I wouldn’t have felt so alone. These are my friends. They are my family. I was wrong to keep this from them.

Nodding and sniffling, I smile. “I get it. Thank you.”

She leans over and kisses my forehead. “Good. Now, get some rest. Aunt Bradi is going to shop online while you sleep. I’ll be here until Dade gets here.”

I am really tired. Smiling I say, “Aunt Bradi…” and pass out from exhaustion.

Liam

A
s I’m whaling on the punching bag in the gym off of the garage, I can’t stop obsessing over all that’s happened.

Clove is pregnant. Dade KNEW! He knew and he left. He went on vacation and left me here with his little sister. The little sister that some asshole cheated on repeatedly and knocked up! Only, she’s not really little. She’s a woman. No, no she’s not. She’s Clove. I kissed Clove. And she kissed me back. She’s pregnant and she kissed me. But she hates me.

Why did she kiss me if she hates me?

The same thoughts have been running through my mind on repeat for almost a full day now. I stayed at the hospital last night. She was knocked out on pain meds and I sat in that uncomfortable ass chair all night long. I don’t know why. But I couldn’t leave. I am telling myself that it’s because Dade specifically asked me to keep an eye on Clove while he was gone. He left her in my care. I’m responsible. Why the hell did he do that anyway? Why would he leave his precious baby sister with
me
?

He knows we’re like oil and water. We can’t stand to be in the same room together and if we aren’t snarling or screaming, we’re avoiding each other.

Women love me. They love me. So, why does she hate me? I’m trying desperately to remember back to the time when she stopped being nice to me and started snapping at me every chance she got. It was about five years ago.

What the hell happened five years ago?!

I can’t pinpoint any specific thing. The last time I remember us getting along we were about to go on tour. She had just graduated high school and we had a going away party for us/graduation party for her at Jude’s place in Los Angeles. She’d just moved to L.A. after she graduated. She’d been accepted to some acclaimed cooking school. She always could cook, but I think Dade talked her way into the school, and Jude set up some scholarship thing so they took her. She was moving into Jude’s, since he was never in L.A. anyway, and when he was, the house was gigantic, so she was getting her own wing. Having a body in the house also made the insurance people happy, so it worked out.

It was a crazy party, like they all were. Women were everywhere. Alcohol was flowing. Everyone was having fun. We even hung out and talked some. I think we danced a few times and just cut up.

After that night, she changed towards me. I just have no damn idea why.

Who the hell knows anyway? She’s crazy.

I can’t believe I kissed her yesterday. It must have been the fall. It threw me off. I would never have kissed her any other way. No one but Cruz knows and he won’t say anything.

Thank God for loyal, trustworthy, Cruz.

The more I think about it, the more pissed off I get. My anger is giving me a killer workout.

Fuck Dade for not telling me she was pregnant! Why was she standing on the damn counter anyway if she was pregnant? That was careless! She can’t do shit like that! It could be bad for the baby. What if I hadn’t been there to catch her!?

Shut up, Liam. If you hadn’t startled her, she wouldn’t have lost her balance and fallen in the first place. Hell, maybe she still would have. Thank God I caught her.

My phone buzzes and I stop pummeling the punching bag. Sweat is running down my face, chest, and back. I hadn’t even noticed. I’m going to be so sore tomorrow.

Grabbing my shirt, I wipe my face and neck and grab my phone.

“Dade

Just landed. Grabbing my bag and heading to the hospital. How is she?”

Swearing aloud, I take a minute to compose myself. I’m so pissed off at Dade. But right now he’s worried about his baby sister. We’ll hash all this out later… in person!

“Liam

I left about two hours ago. She’s fine. Bradi is with her.”

Almost immediately, I get a reply.

“Dade

Thank you for calling Bradi. We’ll talk later. I know you’re pissed. I’m sorry.”

Reading the screen a few times, I lean my head back and groan. Damn straight we’ll talk later. I type out a quick reply as I head into the house to shower.

“Liam

Ok.”

Half an hour later, I’m clean and freshly shaven. I’m also exhausted. I didn’t sleep last night since I was in that damn uncomfortable chair next to Clove’s hospital bed, and in true hospital form, someone was in and out of the room every forty-five damn minutes. Throwing on some sweatpants and a t-shirt, I head to the media room. The TV is huge in here and it’s the most comfortable, lived-in room in the house.

I’m watching Nashville on On Demand and half dozing when I hear a key in the front lock. I glance at the clock and see it’s after 9PM. A few minutes later, Cruz walks in. He doesn’t say anything, he just walks over to the recliner, and plops down.

We watch the TV for a bit and then before I can stop myself, I ask, “How’s Clove?”

He looks over at me and raises a brow before answering. “She’s good. No more pain and should be released tomorrow. She saw the baby and heard the heartbeat. Bradi stayed in there until Dade arrived. Everyone just left. Dade is staying the night with her.”

I stare back at him. “Good. I’m glad I called Bradi. She was furious, but she said she was rushing right over.”

He’s looking at me strangely. “What?” I asked, exasperated.

Shaking his head, he replies, “Nothing. Thanks for calling Bradi.”

I nod. “Why does everyone assume I’m some inconsiderate asshole?! I figured she could use a female around. And they’re friends. I can’t believe she didn’t tell her she was pregnant.”

Cruz sighs again. “Look, Liam. She’s young and scared. No one knew. Except Dade. She’s terrified about all of this, but determined to be a great mother. I believe she will. She thinks she’s all alone.”

I look at him incredulously. “The fuck? She’s not alone. She lives in Dade’s house. He’s her brother. He would do anything for her! She is friends with all of you and Lexi, Bradi, and Blue have taken her under their wing. They’re all protective of her. That’s stupid!”

He looks at me. “I know this. You know this. She knows too, but she’s twenty-three years old, Liam. She was cheated on and her boyfriend was arrested for statutory rape and felony theft.” His face flashes with rage at the words. “Then she found out she was pregnant and she was alone in a huge city. She reacted the way anyone would.”

His taking up for Clove is pissing me off and I don’t know why. “I know that, man. I get that. But that’s a big deal! No one here would judge her. Hell, look at us. We’re the most fucked up bunch of characters in existence!” I punch the couch. “Look, I don’t want to fight with you. I’m just in a really bad mood and I’m fucking exhausted.”

Cruz continues to look at me with his eerily light eyes. They’re compassionate. “I get it. And I know that you were scared last night. I was scared too.”

Jumping up from the couch, I start to pace, flailing my arms around. My voice gets louder and louder as I get more worked up. “Of course I was scared. Dade left his precious baby sister in my care and I didn’t know what was wrong with her. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. I never want to see anything like that again! Dade would kill me if anything had happened to her!”

Cruz leans back on the couch and crosses his arms. “That was not your fault.” I turn towards him and glare. He glares back before asking quietly, “Are you sure you’re only worried about her because of Dade?”

Grabbing my phone, I turn and walk out of the room in anger, calling over my shoulder, “Don’t fucking psychoanalyze me, Cruz. I’m going to bed. Lock up when you leave!”

Asshole. Of course I’m only worried about her because of Dade. Why else would I worry about her?! Besides, she’s going to have a baby. She should be taking better care of herself! Damned woman needs a caretaker!

Slamming my bedroom door in anger, I feel a slight measure of relief. Why the hell am I so pissed?

Throwing myself face down on my bed, I pass out from sheer mental and physical exhaustion.

The buzzing of my phone wakes me. I squint at the clock and see it reads 2:17AM. I think about ignoring it, but then realize it might be Dade about Clove. I grab it and swipe the screen to unlock it.

“Chelsee

Hey sexy. What you up to? Want some company?”

Chelsee is a local model who is what I like to refer to as a “good time girl.” We hook up occasionally, but since she hooks up with pretty much everyone she models with, and is known for doing whatever it takes to get a shot, no one takes her all that seriously as a model. She is pretty though and she isn’t looking for commitment. I decide that she’s just what I need for a distraction.

“Liam

Hey Chels. Sure. Home alone. Come on by.”