Fostering Love (The Soul Sisters Series Book 1) (27 page)

“Fucking hell Dolly!” I look up and see Chris running across the field after throwing his coffee cup on the grass, “What the hell are you doing?”  He doesn’t seem happy and then he grabs me and picks me up.

“Just trying to get home,” I pant and gasp for air, “need a cab, these little fuckers are heavy!” I finish on an out breath and start to try and bend to ease my back ache.

“Unbelievable Dolly, you could have tripped and fallen again, you do remember yesterday and the day trip to the hospital?”  He snaps at me as he dumps me on his couch and gets me a cold glass of water which I gulp back in an unladylike manner.  I lie down and raise my feet and feel the pressure on my back ease immediately.  “She’s here,” I turn and see Chris snap his cell phone shut.

“Chris! Really!” is all I can muster and ten minutes later Jonas hits the room from the back yard decking, he’s wearing running gear and he does not look happy, he does however, look sinfully hot in little shorts and a vest top.

“Are you for fucking real?  What is going on in your head?” he shakes his head as he finishes.

“What? I needed to go home,” I’m trying the casual approach.

“And you couldn’t wait for me? You figured it would be better to take my babies on an early morning fucking hike.  Not clever Dalton.  I can see I’m going to have to keep a closer eye on you.”  His calm demeanor is making me feel unhinged; I was expecting a raging monster to rock up and bollock me and he hasn’t.  What’s going on? I was braced and ready for it.  “I’ll go and get my truck, do you think you could wait here or should I have a chopper on standby for your next crazy adventure?  Chris, you’re up man, discourage any potential plans she has for an escape route and keep my energetic baby momma on lockdown until I return.”

“Who are you and what have you done with Jonas Drakeson?” He ignores me and heads back out but does it with an annoying smile on his face.  Chris is also grinning and he’s wearing the smile I saw at the hospital when Jonas went all cave man. 

It irks me. 

“I don't know what you’re smiling about, this is just an epic disaster in the making and you will be the first person I hunt down and beat when this goes south and I need to release my anger,” he now ignores me and carries on grinning. 

Time for new tactics then.  The best I can devise in such short time is to let him take me home and then refuse to leave.

We venture into his truck after I’ve been with Chris for a while; he was longer than I expected but this is because he took a shower and changed.  He’s got a dumb ass smile on his face and it’s really bugging me.  “Why are you so cheerful and smug looking?” I ask.

“Because you’re predictable.”

“Yeah well, you’re irritating, ” I return back like a school kid and he just laughs and continues to drive to my place.  The irritation continues in the form of him tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, whistling and smiling.  It’s pissing me off.  When we pull up I wrangle myself out of the truck and storm off in a huff desperate to get inside.  Once I am in my territory, this will proceed much better I tell myself.  Jonas is still following me at a casual pace.  When I get in I see all of Mig’s work stuff is gone and he spots the confusion.

“I asked Neely to let him in so he could gather his stuff,” he states, like he has the right to dismiss my friend.  Oh you did, now the fucker is taking over here as well.

“Right, well, thanks for the lift back, I’ll be fine now,” I deliver this clearly and precisely, trying to get him to understand I’m heading nowhere.

“I’m sure you are fine, but just to be on the safe side you’re still coming home with me.” 

Smiling! The fucker is smiling.  I’m not having this, he needs to know that.

“I’m not.  And this is bullshit.  You can’t sex me, impregnate me, dump me, fucking ignore me and then expect me to actually want to be with you?  You’re delusional, fucking delusional.”  His eyes flash for a brief second and then he smiles and doesn’t answer.  I march over to the house phone and dial the numbers from memory.

“Neely, can we move in together? Apparently I need a babysitter.”  Her reply is “Nope and by the sounds of it, it’s going swell.  Have fun girlfriend,” and she hangs up.  I direct my glare back at him and say “OK.”  He’s still fucking smiling at me, so I dial a second well known number.

“Barbara, can I come and stay with you and Harrison for a few days?”  “No dear,” she starts, “you’re not allowed.”

“Not allowed? What do you mean I’m not allowed?”  It hits me then, he’s done this.  I spin around at a wicked pace and see his beautiful face lit with a smug smile, I get even madder and shout “You did this!  You got to them all didn’t you?  You bastard.”  I’m only offered a big grin in return.

Barbara, who is still on the phone, says “Dolly, I can tell you’re with Jonas, so I’ll leave you to it, oh and watch your language, you can’t be cussing like that with kids around, bye.”  And she hangs up. 

The game is on.

“OK dickhead, bring it on,” I say piercing him with eyes that fail to shoot the laser beams I need right now.

“Like I said Dolly, predictable.”

“Oh really,” I return a smug smile of my own and start dialing another number.

“Mig, Hi,” the smile of his face disappears quickly, as I knew it would.

“Not funny Dalton, put the phone down,” he says warning me, but I ignore this and continue.

“Any chance you can house a fat lodger for a few days?”  The only way to describe his reaction is like lightening and within a moment he is in my space, because I’m currently shaped like an egg I do a rubbish job of fighting him off and he snatches the phone off me.

“Mig,” Jonas barks down the phone, “my woman doesn’t need a place a stay.  She’s with me and I’ll warn you now, you come at Dalton with anything other than professional thoughts and intentions this problem we have is going to escalate.”

“JONAS!”

“OK. Do we understand each other?...good,” and then he hangs up.  “Oh dear Dalton, I was playing nice, but if you’re gonna go all guerrilla tactical on me then I guess I can too.  Just remember you started this.”  His attention returns to the phone which he starts dialing.  “Neely, it’s Jonas.  Yeah, she’s being predictably difficult, I’m gonna take her back to mine, when you get five later can you pack her some things?”

“Jonas, Fuck no, you can’t do this!”  He looks at me and raises his eyebrows before he continues “Change of plan Neely,” I breathe a sigh of relief, “pack all of her shit, she’s moving in with me.”

“I AM NOT.”

“All of it Neely,” he continues, “I’ll get Chris to give you a hand carrying it all to mine. Yeah. Later.”

“DO NOT TREAT ME LIKE A CHILD,” I’m now screaming at him, “I make my own decisions and the first one is that I am not moving in with you.”

“Easy way or hard way baby, it’s your call, but just so you know the more you fight the fuckin’ harder it makes me.”  I still in response, I don’t want to hear this.  “I thought that’d make you think again about being a dick tease with your difficult ways.  OK.  Get changed and grab what you need for today only and let’s head home.  You’ve already gone against the doc’s orders by having too much exercise and stressing yourself out by this pointless argument.  Your blood pressure is probably cooking my babies as we speak so it’s time to go.”

“Your babies,” I mumble, “if these kids turnout like you I’ll be fucking suicidal.  And it’s your home, not my fucking home.”  I storm off trying my best to convey the temper I’m feeling at having to do what I’m told.

We reach his place and I have to make an effort to relax.  I brought my laptop with me today so I go through my emails in attempt to do something normal and mundane, made more pleasurable by gazing out of the windows; the view is perfect.  Worry still creeps over me that I could get used to this and I’m shitting myself that I have no resilience where this guy is concerned, he’s dangerous for me.  I have to remind myself that I’m here because he wants the babies, not me.  I’m just his offspring’s incubator.  That’s it.

Later the door flies open and in troops Neely, Chris, Sonny, Lottie and Flo with items of my belongings either stuffed in bags or being carried individually.

“Neely, for Gods sake, you’re supposed to be my girl, whose side are you on?  You’re my person not his, I expected you to ignore that shit, not drag everyone else into it.”

“Hey crazy momma, are you kidding? We haven’t had this much voyeuristic fun since we stalked the bleachers at school trying to catch the football team making out.  Your life is a soap opera.” I get up and grumble in her direction and then try and help.

“Here let me take some, at least Oli was clever enough not to get involved, you lot are all on my shit list until hell freezes over.”

“Hey Dolly, OK?”

“Oli, why? Show some sense and stay out of this car crash, you’ve just made it to my bad list, it’s clear I’ve got no one.”  Instead of helping, I decide they can go to hell; I slump on the couch instead and act like the invalid they all think I am.

“Don’t look at me like that Dolly, this activity apparently constitutes the correct criteria for a fake date with my beloved.”  He smiles about that, but Lottie doesn’t.  That’s... Interesting.

“OK Dolly, where do you want us to dump this stuff?” asks Chris.

“Back in your bloody truck!”

“Nice try, where?”

“The bedroom on the left, the same side as the bathroom,” I shout.

“Put her stuff in my room, the one opposite the bathroom mate,” Jonas orders as he comes in with more stuff.

“WHAT! NO! That’s not my room.”  What is he doing?  Chris heads that way and starts to dump the stuff in the room as Jonas told him to, I follow and start to grab the stuff, but stumble when I see how beautifully kitted out it is.  Come on Dolly, get your shit together, stay strong my brain urges.  So I just grab anything and turn to the door only to see that Jonas, who has figured out my plan, is now blocking the door.

“Easy way or the hard way Dalton and if you think I’m kidding try me,” he challenges.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Yes I would and in front of all these people.  My woman and my babies sleep with me.  No arguments.”

“WHAT!”

“Last chance baby, are you in or is it game on?” he dares.  That was how I found myself ambushed again.  Into his life, his home, and finally his bed.

Panic sets in so I turn and go outside.  Neely follows me because she saw this coming.  I’m raging though because she saw this coming and didn’t help me prepare myself or my heart.  I’m on the verge of tears and there is no one to help me, no one who understands or is on my side.  I sit on the edge of the decking and my head drops as my tears begin. 

“Dolly, what’s wrong?” she asks me and Jonas follows close behind her.  I hate that he knows he’s affected me like this.  I’m mad about the way he just carries on slotting me into his life.

“What do you mean what’s wrong?”  My voice is getting louder and louder than it needs to be and the tears really flow now, “I’ve been bullied into coming here with you,” I point at him, “I’m going to be living with someone who doesn’t want me and is trying to do right by the kids he’s conceived.  That’s just ugly and it makes me feel shit and pathetic.  I’m desperately trying to prepare myself for when you change your mind because it’s going to happen,” I sniff.

“Come on, you don't know that,” Neely tries to reach for my hand, but I snatch it back and use it to wipe my nose in the same way a snotty kid does.

“I do.  Look, you’re not even denying it,” I’m pointing at him again. “You did it before.  You’re chasing your chance at having a family and I just happen to be the fucking test tube cooking them.”

“You’re being stupid Dolly and getting yourself all worked up for...”Neely looks horrified that I’m saying all this, but more because she is witness to Jonas being on the receiving end of it.

“DON'T YOU DARE SAY FOR NOTHING, have you forgotten how you found me, because I haven’t and I’m terrified, this time I’ll be left destroyed with two fucking kids that will need me sane and I barely found my way out of that hole the last time.” I’m on my feet now, getting more worked up and animated by the second.

“Dolly, honey, this is your chance to have what you always wanted and dreamed about.  Who cares how it comes about?”

“I CARE, I FUCKING CARE...AAARRRGGGGH,” and then I’m bent double clutching my side breathing deep and feeling winded.  Jonas is at my side in an instant but his face is contorted into a painful mask.

The things I’ve said, the awful thoughts I’ve truly been feeling are now out in the open.  I can’t take them back because I believe them and if I can push him away, I’m saving myself having my heart destroyed in the long run.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Nothing,” I snap at him, “just leave me alone, I’m fine, just your pissing offspring are fucking break dancing.”

Neely intervenes and takes over, “Let’s get you to your room for some rest, I’ll come with you,” she says as she guides me past him to go inside and then onto the bedrooms.  I automatically go to mine and climb on the bed.  The tears return, but not as aggressively as they’ve been during our discussion and she climbs on behind me, putting her arms around me.  “It’ll work out, you’ll see.”