Fallen Woman(87)

His mother reached us in no time. She didn’t wait for introductions or even say hello to her son before she pulled me into her arms and squeezed me tight enough to cut off circulation. “I’m so glad you found my boy,” she whispered into my ear. I was already in love with her. She pushed me back to get a good look at me, keeping her hands on my shoulders. Her eyes drifted from my face to my belly and backed up. “Do twins run in your family, doll?”

“Mom, don’t do that. Gia’s been here all of thirty minutes. You’re going to freak her out.”

I looked between the two of them, waiting for someone to fill me in. “Hello?” I finally croaked.

“Jase, it’s just very odd for a woman to carry two sets of twins. It has to run in her family is all I’m saying.”

I finally understood what she was saying. I snickered. I didn’t want to be rude. “No, ma’am. To my knowledge, Megan and Trace are the only set of twins in the family history on either side.” The truth was that was an assumption. I didn’t know squat about my family tree.

“Well, dear, get ready. You have two more on the way, and they’re both boys.” Her eyes crinkled when she smiled, and the sun danced on her gray orbs.

It dawned on me we hadn’t told her I was pregnant. At least not to my knowledge. Turning to Jase, I was miffed. “When did you tell your mom we were expecting?”

She patted my arm. “Oh, baby. He didn’t tell me. It’s written all over your face, and it’s in your aura. You just confirmed it.”

“Mom, obviously we have no idea what we’re having. She hasn’t been for an ultrasound yet, but please don’t wish twins on her. Especially boys.”

“I’m not wishing anything, and you know it. But let’s not dwell on that. I bet you’re over the moon, son.”

Luckily, we were saved from more baby conversation by Jase’s tribe of friends…minus one. Oddly, there was nothing awkward about being in their company. We didn’t dwell on what had happened. I could see the shock on their faces when Emmy came running up to Jase, crying, “Daddy, it hurts!”

“Let me see, sweetheart.” He squatted down to examine her boo boo, and she sat on his thigh and pointed to her knee. She’d scraped it enough for it to bead with blood, but mostly, she just wanted his attention. He picked his little girl up and took her into the house to clean up the wound and put a Band-Aid on it.

When they walked off and I turned back to the huddle, they seemed in awe. “When did that happen?” Max was baffled. “I’ve never met that man before.”

“He’s great with all of them. You know he adopted Derrick and my three?” They all agreed they knew. “Emmy snagged his heart months ago and won’t let him go. She has him so tightly wound around her finger it’s unreal.” I couldn’t help but smile as I shared.

“You guys doing okay? We all miss both of you; you know that right?” Drake could be a jerk, but all in all, he was a good guy.

“We miss you guys, too. Things have been crazy with the Holland stuff and getting married, adoptions. Our lives are just really different now.”

Just as I finished my sentence, my husband and youngest daughter joined us. Emmy charged the way and waved as she went back down the little hill to play.

“Crisis averted.” Jase was talking to me, but his friends jumped in.

“When did you become Mr. Mom? Dude—you have a family!” Their banter was endearing and masculine. They were happy for him, for us. And I hoped we’d be able to move beyond everything with Holland in time and start to live a normal life. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind Jase missed these men, and he needed to find a way to incorporate them into his new life.

We hung out with his crew while the kids played and then all ate dinner together. Penelope’s festivities ran well into the night, and at almost ten, the kids were struggling and started to whine. Emmy fell asleep in Jase’s lap an hour before the others gave out. The two of them belonged together. They were a Hallmark card in the making. I might be a tad biased, but he was one of the most stunning men I’d ever seen, beautiful actually, and Emmy was perfection. Two gorgeous creatures—her tucked into his chest and his muscular arms securing her there. I wished I had a camera.

“Jase, we’re going to need to get going. The kids are tired.” I tried to whisper to him so he could make way for our exit. “And maybe you should encourage the guys to come over sometime.” My smile was masked by the darkness of the night sky and softened by the glow of the moon.

We said goodbye to his family, which seemed to take an eternity. Then, each of Jase’s friends picked up a sleepy child and helped us carry them all to the car. I climbed inside to give my husband a few minutes alone with his buddies. I hoped they’d mended fences and could resume their relationship. We needed them in our lives.

~~~

Mid-morning the following Monday, Jase’s grandfather called the house. I’d met him at the party, and he’d seemed pleasant enough, but a bit stern for my liking. It was easy to see how Penelope railroaded him to get her way, and sadly, I could see Emmy being that way with Jase down the road. We had exchanged pleasantries before he asked to speak with my husband.

Handing off the phone, I left the room to give him some privacy. He’d predicted his grandfather’s call. Jase knew he’d call him back, but it didn’t sit well with me. The fact the board didn’t even give Jase a chance to explain himself or offer up his side of the story bothered me. My husband had been devoted to that business his entire career, and when things got bumpy, not only did his family basically fire him, but they also bailed on him instead of rallying their support and showing a unified front. Obviously, I have no family, so I didn’t have anything to compare it to other than lame C-list movies on Lifetime, but it just didn’t seem right.