Emergence (Awakening Series Book 2) (17 page)

Chapter 32

Carson

I woke to Carly's soft babbling and opened my eyes, looking over Lou's still sleeping form to see big blue eyes staring at me over the top of the porta-crib. I smiled at her and she smiled back at me, flashing her few baby teeth as her eyes sparkled. I felt my heart clench, my love for her threatening to overflow.

I slowly slipped out of bed so I wouldn't wake Lou, and crept across the room to Carly, who was holding her arms up to me. I reached down, picking her up and she patted my cheek with her palm.

"There's my girl," I whispered to her and she beamed at me. "Let's get this diaper changed."

I walked downstairs to the living room, grabbing a diaper and some wipes from the bag Lou left there, and laid Carly down on the couch.

"After we change this diaper, you want to help me cook breakfast for your mama, Aunt Charlie, and Grandma and Grandpa?"

She gurgled as I removed her wet diaper, wiped her up and secured the new one in place.

"Come on sweet thing," I said, picking her back up and disposing of the wet diaper before setting her on the floor in the kitchen and washing my hands in the sink.

"What do you want for breakfast?" I asked her, opening the cabinet and searching for a couple jars of baby food.

Carly sat on the floor looking at me, and then leaned over and crawled toward me. When she reached my feet she sat back and smiled up at me, reaching out to grab my pajama pants so she could pull herself up.

As soon as she was up she fell back and landed on her bottom and then started to do it again. I crouched down in front of her and held out my hands to help her stand.

She smiled at me again, scrunching up her nose and babbling to me. I picked her up and kissed her cheek, turning toward the open cabinet. Her tiny fist clenched my t-shirt as I pulled out bananas, Puffs, and some apple and rice cereal.

After we made the cereal I sat her in her seat and put a few Puffs on her tray.

"Here you go, sweet girl," I said, pulling up a seat in front of her.

Then I picked up the spoon, scooped up a bite of cereal with a little bit of bananas mixed in, and held it towards her. As soon as she got it in her mouth she smiled a gooey smile, melting my heart as she stuffed a Puff in with the rest of her food.

For me the sun and the moon rose with her smile and my heart beat faster with every soft giggle. She may not have been my child by blood, but she was mine in every way that counted and I knew without a doubt that I would love her and protect her for as long as I lived.

I marveled at Carly as I continued to spoon food into her mouth and watch her stuff fistfuls of Puffs in with each bite. Once she was done, I made her a bottle and then sat her back on the kitchen floor with it while I started breakfast for the rest of us.

**

"Thank you Carson, that was delicious," Charles Evans said, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his hand over his non-existent belly.

Chuck was a pretty fit man. He was in his early fifties, with salt and pepper hair and kind blue eyes the same color as Lou's. His wife, Deidre, on the other hand, was fair skinned with jet black hair the same shade as her daughters'. She was an attractive woman and it was clear that her husband loved her very much.

"My pleasure, did everyone get enough?" I asked. "There's some bacon left, and I think there are a couple more cinnamon rolls and little bit of eggs."

"I couldn't eat another bite if I tried," Deedee commented. "Thank you for cooking breakfast."

"It was more like a feast," Lou added, standing to clear the table.

I stood up to help, followed her into the kitchen, and met her at the sink.

"Hey babe, what do you think they want to do today?" I asked, picking up the dish towel to dry the pot she was washing.

"I don't know, I haven't really talked to them about it. Do you have any suggestions?"

"We could take them to the beach. I know it's not exactly hot out, but it's warm enough, and I bet Margaret would love to put her feet in the sand and water, and it could be nice to walk out there and look for shells, or sharks teeth."

"That sounds nice to me," Lou said, leaning into me with her shoulder. "Hey, thanks for letting me sleep this morning, and for feeding and entertaining Carly. I can't tell you how much I needed that extra hour of rest."

"Don't mention it," I told her. "I was happy to do it. I know you've been overwhelmed lately and anything I can do to help take some pressure off you, I'll do gladly."

She stopped washing a pan, and set down the dishrag, shaking out her soapy hands and turning towards me to wrap her arms around my waist.

"I love you Carson," she told me, burying her head in my chest. "I'm not sure what I did to deserve you, but I'm thankful for you every single day." Her arms tightened around me and I could see tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Hey, what's going on," I asked her quietly, not wanting to alert her family to her being upset.

"Nothing," she said, pulling back and smiling up at me through her tears. "I'm just happy, that's all."

Lou's face fell a moment later when we heard footsteps on the stairs. Her sister, Charlie, who had taken an extreme disliking to me, or maybe to any man in her sister's life except Derek, bounded into the kitchen with Margaret on her hip.

"Good morning, Charlie. Can I fix you a plate? We've all eaten already," I said to her, trying to keep the peace. "We've got bacon, eggs, and cinnamon rolls, or I could make you some toast, if you prefer."

I watched her eyes travel around the empty room, to Lou, and then back to me.

"Morning Carson, bacon, eggs, and a cinnamon roll sound great. Thanks for cooking, and sorry I'm running late this morning. That bed is really comfortable," she said, giving me a tentative smile.

"Should I make a plate for Margaret too?" I asked.

"Yes, please."

"Alright. Go have a seat in the dining room and I'll bring your food in."

As Charlie walked out of the room, I glanced down at Lou's face and her mouth was curved upward in a small smile. I hoped that, for Lou's sake, this moment was a turning point for Charlie and me.

I released Lou, made a plate for Charlie, and a small one for Margaret and made my way to the dining room, setting the plates down in front of them.

"So, Lou and I were talking about heading out to the beach this morning. It's not warm enough for swimming, but the sun is out, so it should be a really nice day. We thought the girls would like to play in the sand and look for shells," I said, my eyes roaming the room, to garner reactions from our guests.

"I think that's a lovely idea, Carson," Deedee said. "And this evening, Chuck and I would like to spend some time with our grandbabies, so you should take Charlie and Lou out on the town."

I thought that sounded like a great idea. Lou and I had never really gone out to the bars, and I knew she could use a break. I also hoped that getting a drink or two in Charlie would help loosen her up so maybe I could get on her good side.

Chapter 33

Lou

My parents insisted on watching the girls so Carson, Charlie and I could go out. I had spent a good hour going through every item of clothing that Caroline had lent me and finally dug out the blue top that she'd worn to Deuces the night I ran back into Carson.

I had paired it with some black skinny jeans and a pair of Louboutin's that I was seriously coveting. I was going to loathe having to return them to Caroline one day, but for that moment, I was loving them.

Carson looked seriously delicious in his long sleeve black Henley with his jeans. The shirt stretched across his chest hugging his muscles expertly, while his jeans hung low on his hips, hitting him in all the right places and making his ass look incredible.

We sat in the bar at Churchill's, the place we'd met, while we waited for Max and some of Carson's other friends to show up. It was early still, but people were starting to file in the door, and I soon realized that we were lucky to have gotten seats at the bar. I sipped on my vodka grapefruit while Carson drank scotch and Charlie a martini.

When Max finally arrived I scanned his entourage for any familiar faces and came up empty. I guessed he and Rebecca must have split up by the fact that he had some fake blonde hanging off his arm.

"Hey Lou, good to see you again," Max said, turning to Carson. "You two have been laying low. I never see you anymore, dude. Where you been?"

"I've been around, I assure you. I just haven't been doing the bar scene," Carson said.

"Oh yeah, that's right. You two have been playing house."

I tensed at Max's words. Was I holding Carson back from doing things he wanted to do?

"Come on Max, it isn't like that and you know it. I haven't been big on the bar scene in a long time. We're out tonight because Lou's family is in town, and we wanted to show her sister a good time."

I took that as a cue to introduce Charlie and Max, who promptly shrugged off the blonde and took my sister's hand, pouring on the charm.

"It is
very
nice to meet you, Charlie."

She raised a challenging brow at him and Max's smile widened as his eyes travelled from Charlie's eyes down to her toes and back again.

"Can I buy you another drink?" he asked her.

While I'd been distracted by the exchange between Max and Charlie the blonde had migrated to Carson's side and had practically wedged herself between our chairs.

"Brittney, I'd like you to meet someone," I heard Carson say as he reached for my hand.

Brittney's dull brown eyes turned on me, taking me in from head to toe and instantly going feral.

"Hi, I'm Lou," I said, pretending not to notice the hostile look she was giving me.

"My girlfriend," Carson added for effect, scooting my chair closer to his now that Brittney had moved out of the way.

"Nice to meet you," Brittney said through clenched teeth, not fooling me at all. "If you'll excuse me, I need to use the ladies room."

As I watched her disappear into the growing crowd, I looked at Carson who's eyes danced with amusement. "Thanks for saving me from her. I thought she was going to try to hobble my ankles and keep me in a remote cabin for weeks on end."

I busted out laughing. "Is she one of your groupies from back in the day?"

"Unfortunately, yes. And she's probably not the last one we'll see tonight. I wish I could spare you from it, but..."

"It's okay, Carson," I said, resting my hand on his knee. "I know you have a past from before we met, and I can't hold it against you."

"Plus," he said, leaning into me. "The only woman I want held against me is you. You know I love you and there's not a woman in the world who compares to you in my mind."

Then he kissed me and I felt warmth unfold in my belly as I sank into him.

"Do you two ever quit?" Max asked, slapping Carson on the shoulder.

I leaned back laughing good-humoredly while Carson shoved Max's arm off him.

"Have y'all been watching the Bulldogs lately?" Max asked.

"Nah, man, it's been too crazy. We haven't had a minute of spare time between Caroline's wedding, the fire, working on the house and Lou's family visiting. They've been doing pretty well though. I've tried to keep up with them online," Carson said.

"Yeah, season's off to an okay start. After that big win at LSU today, I'm excited to see what's in store for the rest of the season," Max said.

"Who do they play next?" I asked.

"Tennessee next weekend. I'm having a few people over if you two think you can make it," Max invited.

I looked to Carson, letting him make the decision for us. I hadn't seen any games this season, but I was really excited to catch up and possibly get to Athens with Carson one of these days.

"Sure man, we'll be there," Carson said and then excused himself to the bathroom as Max turned to greet a trio of women who'd just come into the bar.

I shook my head at him and turned back to Charlie.

"You having a good time?" I asked.

She brushed her bangs out of her face and toyed with a strand of her boy short hair at the nape of her neck.

"Yeah, I'm glad for a break from Margaret. I love that kid, but sometimes I feel like the only person I ever talk to is a three year old. You know?"

I eyed her, concerned. "Is Aiden still spending a lot of time away from the house?"

"Even more than usual. He claims it's part of the job though. The real kicker is that he says if he works all these long hours it will pay off eventually, but I don't see how that can work. Usually when you get promoted, you have more work to do, or at least more responsibility. I feel like that would take him away even more. I just don't feel like he loves us the way he used to."

My heart sank for her. I knew she wasn't happy, but she was unwilling to do anything about it, and I knew there was nothing I could say to convince her otherwise.

"I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do to make it easier for you," I said, getting the bartender's attention and ordering us some shots.

Once he placed them on the bar in front of us, I turned to her. "Here's to the men we love; here's to the men that love us; if the men we love don't love us, well, fuck 'em, and here's to us!"

She giggled and downed her shot as I followed, slamming my glass back to the bar top.

"Thanks Lou, I needed that," Charlie said. "I'm gonna hit the bathroom, be right back."

I nodded as she walked off, checking my phone, which was on silent, to see if Mom had called or texted. A few minutes later Charlie returned with a grim look on her face.

"Lou, I don't want to have to be the one to tell you this, but I think you should probably go back towards the bathroom. Carson's back there with a girl."

"What?" I asked.

"I wouldn't lie to you. I know you two are supposed to be in love and all, and you want him to be a father to Carly, but I don't think he's up to the challenge," she said, wrecking me. "Once a player, always a player."

My heart lurched and my body stiffened as I swiveled on my bar stool and stalked off toward the bathrooms. As I made my way to the back hall, I could see Carson leaning against the wall with his back to me. There was a pair of arms wrapped around his waist, and one of his arms was obviously wrapped around the girl, with the other tucked into his pocket. I saw his face descend toward hers and my pulse sky rocketed.

I felt like I was going to throw up as I continued to approach them. My neck and chest felt hot and there was a ringing in my ears. My eyes were watering and I felt destroyed before I'd even announced myself.

"How could you?!" I asked in a low and eerily calm, yet shaky voice.

He straightened at the sound of my voice and turned toward me.

"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing the look on my face, dislodging himself from the woman I still couldn't see and reaching toward me.

Tears threatened to overflow as I took a step back from him and raised my hands up. My heart was breaking.

"Lou?" I heard from behind him and a moment later Caroline sticks her blonde head around his form. "Is everything okay?"

"Caroline," I state, relief flooding through me. "I thought..." My eyes drifted up to Carson's and I watched his features cloud over and his mouth thin out as he realized what I had thought was happening.

"Luke and I just had dinner on the roof deck with Eva and Nick. I came down to the restroom and ran into Carson. I wish I'd known y'all were planning to come out, we could have all gotten together."

"Maybe next time," I suggested, schooling my features and managing a smile for her.

We said goodbye to her as she headed back up to the roof deck and then Carson leveled me with his gaze. Before he could say anything I started talking.

"Charlie came back from the restroom and said that you were down here with some woman. I couldn't see who she was when I walked up and... I'm so sorry Carson."