Against the Odds (Fighting to Survive #2)(40)

“Please, Robert? It’s been so long.”

“I can’t.” I break away and stand. “Soon, Leah, I promise,” I yell over my shoulder as I walk to the bathroom to take a cold shower. I don’t wait for her to reply or for her to be understanding. I know my wife wants this as much as I do. There is very little that’s worse than sexual frustration in the Grether house. I think it’s because we very seldom suffer from it, except for times like this.

I shower and hope Leah is asleep when I return to bed. She isn’t. “Did the cold shower work for you?” I look up and Leah doesn’t sound happy.

I remove the towel that’s wrapped around my waist and ask, “Does it look like it did any good?” I look down at my painfully hard dick.

She laughs, “Good if I have to go to bed with all this pinned up sexual frustration, you should too.” She rolls over and turns off the lights, “Good night, Ace.”

“Good night, Sweets.” I pull on a pair of boxer briefs and climb into bed, making sure I keep a safe distance from her. “In four weeks, you’ll be begging me to get off of you.”

“I’m counting down the days.”

The next morning we have breakfast before going to the hospital. Leah and I go about our day like last night didn’t happen… or almost happen. Two weeks post-delivery is definitely too soon for sex. I think she knows this, too.

We walk hand in hand into the N.I.C.U. and Gracie is lying awake in bed. Leah talks softly to her and I watch. I think Gracie is starting to interact with Leah. She turns her head in the direction of Leah’s soothing voice. Leah becomes excited and reaches for my arm. “You try it,” Leah says to me softly.


I watch Gracie and she watches Leah. “Hi, Daddy’s little girl,” I attempt to speak in a quiet and soothing voice. She doesn’t look at me, her eyes stay focused on the bright ceiling lights. “What’s Daddy’s little girl doing?” I ask and she startles. Leah laughs and begins talking softly to her again.

The doctor comes in and says, “It looks like Miss Grace is only one pound away from going home.”

“Gracie, did you hear that? You’re becoming a big girl,” Leah says softly.

“Keep talking to her, she seems to like that,” the doctor says. He examines her and documents her progress. I watch as he carefully holds her and monitors her movements. He smiles and says, “Miss Grace is developing as she should. In another week or two, you should be able to take her home.”

Leah squeezes my hand and it makes her happy to know that soon all this will be put behind us. “That is fantastic news,” Leah says.

The doctor leaves and I leave for my training when Leah begins to nurse Gracie. I run to Upper Cut where I know Gus, Dad, and Tim will be waiting for me. I texted Dad and told him when I was leaving the hospital. They still beat me here. I know Gus likes to have everything lined up and in order before I get here.

I walk into the room and head straight for the water cooler. I see Gus, Dad, and Tim standing near the lockers. I rehydrate and notice my sparring partner in the ring. He’s larger and more my size than the other one from yesterday. I nod and acknowledge him and his trainer.

While I get gloved up, Gus discusses the news conference with me. “The hotel booked our flight for us. I insisted we fly out the same day we arrived.”

“Good, I can’t stay. I have too much at home to deal with.”

“I’m beginning to see that,” Gus says and I feel that there is more to come. “I wonder if maybe this isn’t a good time for you to fight.”

I move my hands to stop Dad and Tim from wrapping them. “You think I can’t stay focused on the fight?”

“I’m just saying you have a lot going on,” Gus says holding up his hands in defense.

“I got this. You worry about getting us to where we need to be and I’ll worry about winning the championship fight.”

Gus, says, “Fair enough. Are you ready?”

“Let’s dance.”

Bruce Myles

I sit in my office waiting for Drake Sinclair to arrive. He’s my last appointment and he’s already late. To say I was shocked by his request to have a private meeting with me would be an understatement. I knew the motions we filed in family court for custody of Madison would get his attention, but I didn’t think Drake would reach out to me personally. I figured he was a man who would let his attorney handle everything. He’s not as smart as I once gave him credit for.

When Drake is thirty minutes late, I stand to leave. I have dinner plans with my wife, Mason, Angel, and their twins, Ana and Alex. It pleases me to know that Mason has finally settled down. I gather my briefcase and head towards the door when the speaker comes to life and my secretary announces my last appointment is here.

I open the door and watch as Drake Sinclair saunters towards me. He looks like a powerful man, but he is definitely a stupid man. He pays an attorney to do what? “Drake,” I say, politely.

“Bruce, thank you for seeing me,” he says with an outreached hand.

I shake his hand and say, “I see you didn’t take my advice and bring your attorney with you.”

He laughs. “No, I didn’t. Mr. Reed is on a more important mission.”

Once he is in my office, I close the door and motion towards the chair, “Please, have a seat.”