Need You Tonight (22 page)

“No.”

She bursts into tears, covering her face with her hands.

“What the hell? I thought that would make you happy?” I rub her back, take her in my arms, and rub her back some more. I have no clue how to fix what’s going on in her head. “I thought I was doing the right thing by giving you time.”

“By moving to the other side of the country?”

“I can’t stay here, Brooklyn. I can’t. But I don’t want to lose you.” The thought of losing her makes my stomach drop, my heart break, and the rest of my body go numb. “Tell me what to do. I can’t take it when you cry.”

“Then ask me to go with you,” she sniffs, lifting her head. Her eyes are rimmed in red, she’s ghostly pale, and her hair looks like rats have been living in it, but, if she isn’t the most beautiful woman in the world, then I don’t know who is.

“Come with me,” I blurt, before she can come to her senses and change her mind.

“Marry me,” she says.

“What?”

“Marry me.”

“Right now?” I don’t have a ring. I hadn’t allowed myself to buy one, too afraid she would change her mind.

She laughs. “Not right now, but before we go to Colorado. I don’t want to move there as Mrs. Reeves, widow.”

“We?”

“Yes,
we
. I don’t want to be left behind here all alone, without you. I don’t want to be anywhere unless you’re there with me. I
refuse
to let you go without me. Since you’ve been gone—since I made you go away, all I think about is you, us, and everything you’ve done for me. You’ve proven your love time and time again, but I was too scared to let myself believe it. But, I’m not scared anymore. I trust and love you,” she says, then glances away. “Unless
you
changed your mind…”

I crush her to me. “I haven’t changed my mind.” I pull away, look at her to make sure she’s real, and then hug her to me again. “You can’t change your mind.”

“I’m not. It’s made up. It’s been made up about you for a long time.” She snuggles into me, her breasts rubbing against my chest and making me hard. I have to remind myself that not even three hours ago, she was puking all over the bathroom floor. “I love you, Parker Morgan. I love you enough not to let you go anywhere with out me.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

“You’d better.”

I kiss the top of her head, the tip of her cute nose, and the corner of her mouth. “You won’t mind being Brooklyn Morgan?”

“I’d love it.” She kisses my cheek. “You’re my present and future, Parker. And I don’t want to waste a single minute more stuck in the past.”

“Mr. Morgan, I’d like to ask you a few question,” he says.

For a moment, panic sets in, and I lean forward in my seat. Then, Brooklyn catches my eye and mouths
I love you.
My chest puffs out. I can do this. My friends and my family, while shocked at first, all love and support me.

Cole glares at the woman sitting on the other side of the room. Yeah, he’s ready to go to jail for me, but this time—the Morgan boys will do things the right way.

I focus on the man standing in front of me. “I’m ready.”

“But there are a hell of a lot of things I could do to them,” Cole growls.

“Settle down, Hulk Smash,” Beau says, “Let’s enjoy this side of the bars, yes?”

Wyatt punches me in the shoulder. “You did good today.”

“So good you’ll let me deal?” I ask, and Brooklyn laughs. All I talked about on the plane ride over was playing Texas Hold ’Em with the guys. Honestly, it helped keep me calm, and my mind off what I was coming here to do.

“Not a chance,” West says. “I’m dealer, and Reese’s Pieces are worth hundreds today, boys.”

“But, I brought gummy worms.”

“Seriously, Beau. No one with good taste likes those nasty thing.”

“I do.”

“Like I say, no one with taste.”

“Fu—”

“Parker. Parker!” Kelly screams as she comes barreling toward us. “You’re here. You’re here.”

I pick her up, relishing the feel of the little girl I helped raise in my arms again. Brooklyn tears up, looking away. Then again, she tears up a lot lately.

“I’m here. Are you ready to fly back with me and Brooklyn tomorrow?”

“Yep.” Her brown curls shake. “I packed all my stuff, but then Cole said I had to leave some here because the airplane won’t have room.”

“What? I bet it can.”

“No you can’t,” Cole says, taking Kelly from me. “Go play.” He turns his attention back to me. “When she said all her stuff, she literally meant
all
her stuff. Twenty bags worth.”

Brooklyn giggles. “I thought Parker was bad.”

“Hair care stuff, right?”

She nods and I grab her, careful to squeeze her gently. “I can’t believe you’d reveal something so personal.”

“Dude, everyone knows how you feel about your hair,” Beau says. “Kiss your wife, pat her tummy, and let the baby know you’ll be right back. We have a game to play.”

“The baby knows you’ll be back, but take your time, I’m starving.” She kisses me and pats my ass, then struts away. Well, as much as a pregnant woman can strut.

Two weeks after we were married, Brooklyn came down with the stomach flu again, only this time… she stayed sick, but only in the mornings. One quick trip to the doctor revealed she was six weeks along.

She almost had a breakdown in the doctor’s office, but then she pulled herself together and told me how happy she was. But, I knew the truth and later, she confessed that the first thing she’d thought of was Braden and his desire for a family.

I held her while she cried tears of joy and sadness.

Since then, she’s been better, but even if she needs someone to lean on, someone to be strong for because the past creeps up on her, I’ll be there.

No matter what.

Love isn’t jealous. It’s kind and patient. It’s accepting—it’s late night talks and early morning kisses. It’s arguing and making up. It’s life with the one you can’t live without.

“Seriously, bro. Write it on a card or something. I’m ready to play.”

“I said that out loud?”

The four of them nod, and my cheeks heat.

“We thought you were having a moment,” West says, with a gleam in his eyes. He gets it. I know he does.

“A monthly moment,” Beau adds.

“Shut it, Montgomery,” Cole snaps.

Wyatt starts edging his chair back, a small smile on his face as he brings the Reese’s with him.

“Would you look at that, they’re cycling together.” Beau lays his hand over his heart. “How cute.”

Oh yeah, he needs his ass kicked. I glance at Cole and take off my suit jacket. “You ready?”

“Born ready, brother.”

Beau’s face pales. “Oh shit.”

We stride to Beau, yank him up by his collar, and hug the ever-loving crap out of him.

“I’d rather get my ass kicked,” Beau mutters, but he hugs us back.

“Hush,” Wyatt says.

“Enjoy the moment. Be the moment,” West says as he gets in on the action.

“Would you look at that,” someone says. “That’s going on Instagram.”

“Get my good side, baby,” Beau yells.

“How about all of you face us, and we can take your pictures properly.”

We line up, flash our best smiles for the camera phones, and put up with our wives fussing over the pictures.

I can only imagine how we look, dressed in our Sunday finest—the fighter from the wrong side of the tracks with a heart of gold, the playboy raising a baby without knowing if she’s his, the former Marine suffering from PTSD and in life with his best friend, the rich boy whose money could buy anything but the girl he loved and me—the luckiest guy alive to be able to call these men my friends… and brothers.

“I know the perfect caption for this,” Rae says and looks up at Cole. “Hot Men of the South.”

“I don’t know,” Brooklyn says, “They seemed more like
boys
of the south to me when they were all piling on Beau.”

I nod. “That fits.”

“Yeah. Anyway,” Cole huffs. “Let’s eat and celebrate.”

I stay back, grabbing Brooklyn’s hand, wanting a bit more time with her for some reason I can’t explain.

“Do you miss living here?” she asks.

Squinting at the sun, I nod. “Sometimes.”

“We could always move back, once things die down,” she offers.

“Maybe one day.”

She squeezes my hand and lets go. “Ready?”

I turn to her, placing my hands on her small belly. “I love you, Mrs. Morgan.”

“And I love you, Mr. Morgan.”

Up next for my Boys of the South Series is Rowan and Seth’s story, called TAKE THE FALL, coming December 2014.

Can Seth and Rowan protect their hearts, or will their undeniable chemistry burn them both?