Six months later
Jenna was standing at the spot where it all began. The river was calmer, there wasn’t any ice or snow covering the area, but it was the same place. She and Cash had been living a short distance from the cottage for a while now, but this was the first time they were able to get away and just be by themselves.
She loved Cash with all her heart now, she knew she always had. He was a good man, one anyone would be proud to call a mate, husband, and friend. His kind heart and actions were making Gemini into something they all could be proud of. But things weren’t always candy and roses; their lives together hadn’t been completely smooth. Jenna had lived by herself for so long, it had been hard to get used to so many people being around. Especially her sister. They still had issues, and now that Danni was here, even more. Her niece was a beautiful, sweet baby, and Jenna cherished every day with her, but Jessie, well she wasn’t turning out to be the best parent. Chase and the rest of the team were trying to make up for it, but it was causing problems. Cash had to intercede more than once.
Jessie had taken off two weeks ago, to find herself. It was bullshit as far as Jenna was concerned, just another selfish act on her sister’s part. Jenna believed Jessie needed just to grow up. Chase was maintaining, but Jenna could see the stress he was under. Jenna couldn’t imagine being away from Cash for one day, let alone weeks or longer. She might get annoyed, irritated, or miffed, but she still wanted him there all the time; he was her lover and best friend. But right now, she was firmly in the miffed category. Her emotions were going from one extreme to the next without notice. Half the time she was surprised the poor man put up with her.
Breathing out, she looked into the sky for answers for her ever-changing moods, but the sun and clouds didn’t answer back. There was still so much to be done, she felt kind guilty for demanding this little vacation, then being a bitch.
She hadn’t heard from Kayden in a long time. After he left that day, she had talked with him exactly twice. He had been short and clipped with her. Mia was still gone, and NAC didn’t have a clue who had taken her. Alpha was working with Bravo, but the leads always lead to dead ends. Gemini was going to try to find her, but again, her sister's selfishness put a stop to that plan. They had avoided doing anything involving Jessie and her gifts while she was pregnant. After she had Danni, she refused, then left. They had tried using Chase’s precognition, but due to stress or sleep deprivation, they couldn’t zero in on Mia. They did find some interesting things out about Declan though.
Shocking things, but they weren’t sharing that information. Jenna also found out more than she wanted to about her Uncle Matt’s motives; she was keeping those things close to the vest. Cash wasn’t saying much about what they had found out on either man, but she could feel through their bond he was pissed. Uncle Matt had stayed away while they refurbished the new base for Gemini, only calling her a handful of times and sending regular shipments of supplies. There was a part of her that wanted to believe not all his motives in taking her in and caring for her were part of some kind of conspiracy.
She felt Cash’s warmth before he brought his hands around her and hugged her to his body.
“Okay, babe, I let you stew for an hour. Tell me what’s going on in that mind of yours?”
“Don’t you already know?”
“Pretty much. You’re pissed at Jessie, Mattias, and me. I don’t give a shit about the other two. Why don’t you tell me what I’ve done this time to make you mad?”
Jenna sagged in his arms. She was mad at Cash a little but really more like jealous, and she hated to let him see this side of her. It was easier if he just thought she was mad, but that was the coward’s way out, and she refused to be a coward.
“Ryleigh called me today.”
“Yeah, I know I heard you two talking for over an hour. Is that why you're mad?”
Jenna said, “No,” then changed it to, “Yes.” She couldn’t be dishonest with Cash. She didn’t want to be.
“It’s either one or the other, babe. Tell me what Ryleigh said to make you mad, and I’ll fix it.”
Jenna pulled out of his arms and spun around.
“That’s just it, you can’t fix it Cash. Every time I talk to her or one of the other women from Alpha, they brag about all the things you’ve made for them—your famous biscotti and the special dinners, blah blah blah. You haven’t ever made me anything more than hot dogs with boxed macaroni and cheese!”
“Babe, seriously?” Cash laughed. “That’s what has you in such a mood? I was starting to wonder about you and your palate. You always made such a big deal about loving that macaroni and cheese. Last week, Trace almost knocked my head off when I made it again. You said it was your favorite. None of the rest of us can stand the stuff.”
Jenna felt deflated, she had made a big deal out him making her macaroni and cheese. The first time, it was great, the fifth and sixth time, not so much. They didn’t have the option of going to the local grocery store. The base had been in a state of disrepair, and they had been working on it, nonstop. Only one of the burners worked on the stove, and the refrigerator was iffy, at best, and that didn’t even account for the rest of the place.
Their priority had been getting in the supplies they needed by plane, taking only one trip a month into town. The town was small and didn’t offer much. Cash had also flown out a couple of times to bring back things, but she had freaked every time, not wanting him on a plane again, the past still very clear in her head. She needed to get over that, being a pilot was part of who he was. Now, she felt horrible and could feel the tears building. She was such a mess.
“Babe,” Cash said, wiping the tears from under her eyes with his thumbs as he cradled her face, “none of that, you're breaking my heart.” Hugging her, he let her hold on to him for as long as she liked. When she finally got herself under control, he said, “Come on I have a surprise for you.”
Jenna walked with her head down and let Cash lead her anywhere he wanted. She hated not being in control of her emotions. It sucked and sucked even worse because she knew she was making Cash feel bad because of it; damn mating bond. When they got to the cottage, the lights were off, and he had set up a picnic in front of the fireplace. It wasn’t cold enough for him to have started a fire, but he made up for it with all the candles. It was beautiful, and it made her cry harder.
“Damn, babe, this was supposed to make you happy, not make you cry harder,” Cash said, hugging her again.
“I know,” Jenna said between sobs. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Cash, I feel like I am going crazy.”
“Jenna, you’re not going crazy, it’s natural. It’s just going to take you some time to get used to it.”
“I don’t want to get used to this, Cash, I want it to go away. Maybe I should go with you the next time you fly out to see Kiera. Maybe she can give me something.”
“You can go with me the next time, but, babe, I don’t think there’s anything Kiera can do about it, it’s just hormones. Once the babies are born, you’ll be fine.”
Two words stuck in her head—hormones and baby. Jenna started doing the calculations in her head; she hadn’t had a period in a while. Jenna started to cry harder.
“Oh my God, Cash,” she said through hiccupped sobs, “I’m going to be like one of those women who walk into Walmart, wearing their leggings, and all of a sudden, a baby pops out and fills the leg of her stretch pants. How didn’t I know? I mean, I should have known. Oh my God, that’s what I’ll be saying when the ambulance takes me away. Cash, I can’t be a Mom, I don’t know how to be a mom, I didn’t even know I was pregnant.”
“Babe,” Cash laughed, “what the hell are you talking about? First, there isn’t a Walmart anywhere close to here, and the only time you wear leggings is when you work out. Where do you get this stuff?”
Then it hit her what Cash had said, babies, as in more than one. Oh, shit. Jenna looked down at her jeans, would they fit? She needed to get better leggings or bigger ones. Could two babies just pop out? She had watched that video over and over again on YouTube. It had mortified her at the time; how doesn’t a woman know she’s about to give birth? But she was that woman, she had no clue she was pregnant, so it could happen. She knew she was being irrational but that video.
Cash was still laughing. “Babe, you’re only a couple weeks pregnant, stop thinking about that shit. I promise you won’t give birth in a Walmart or have our babies just pop out and fill your pants. Okay,” he said, caressing her back, “we have time to plan. Besides,” Cash said, making Jenna look up into his eyes, “you're going to make a wonderful mother for our cubs. You will love them fiercely, protect them with everything you have, and give them all we missed. I know this babe. I promise it will all be okay.
“Come on, let me show you what I did.” Cash led her over to the blanket where he had laid out the picnic. Jenna knelt down, then sat on the blanket. There were several plates covered with domed dishes. Jenna tried to pull herself together.
“You did this for me?” she asked, through hiccupped breaths, still crying but not as hard.
“Yeah, babe, just for you. I wanted to celebrate and give you something a little special. We’ve been working so hard getting the base together and working with the team.” Cash crouched down in front of her and looked down at the blanket. “I just wanted you to know, you are the most important thing to me. All that other stuff is for our future, but it doesn’t mean shit without you.”
“Oh, Cash, I love you so much.”
“Me, too, babe, more than you will ever know. Okay, let’s get you and the little guys feed.” Cash lifted the first dome with a flourish. Jenna looked at the food—a crisp salad with fresh berries and tiny orange slices; it looked beautiful. The next he revealed was a pasta dish covered in mounds of melted cheese that looked so delicious, her mouth watered. Then she got a whiff of it, and her stomach started to turn. When he lifted the next dome, uncovering a chocolate cake with raspberries and sauce, she couldn’t hold back her stomach anymore and ran to the bathroom.
She was still heaving over the toilet when Cash came in, sitting behind her on the floor. He moved her hair out of the way and rubbed her back, up and down until the spasms stopped. Jenna was too worn out to cry anymore, so she just slumped back into Cash, letting him hold her weight.
“I’m so sorry, you cooked for me, and it was so pretty and special, and I ruined it. Cash, I’m such a mess, how I am going to do this parent thing?”
“Babe, you have so much crap clouding up that mind of yours. You just need to take a minute and let it all sink in.”
Jenna did that but realized fairly quickly, it wasn’t easing her mind at all. It was actually causing her to worry more. She was happy about being pregnant and giving Cash children, but damn, that also meant bigger problems. Could she protect them? Could they?
“What are we going to do?” Jenna said, rubbing her stomach, imagining the two little babies floating around in there. Everything was very real now, the video forgotten, and the reality of her world crashing into her with force. Twin babies born from two destined Alphas would be prized by NAC, Pandora, Davis, and the Affiliation. Their children would never be safe, they would never be safe.
“We take it one day at a time,” Cash said as he placed his hand over hers on her stomach. “We keep this to ourselves for as long as we can, and we deal with the future as it comes. Together, we are strong, with the team we are invincible,” Cash said, vehemently. “I swear to you, no one will harm you or our children.”
“You can’t promise me that, Cash. I wish you could, but you can’t. We do this together, both of us, for them, for our future, for theirs.” They sat on the floor of the bathroom for a long time until Jenna’s stomach grumbled.
“Cash?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Do you think you could make me…”
“Boxed macaroni and cheese?” Cash said with a smile on his lips. “Sure thing, babe.
“I love you,” Jenna said, still not moving.
“I love you too, babe, now and forever.”
Not really the End!
More to come from Cash and Jenna with Gemini.
Turn the page for a look at Whiskey, RBMC – Book 1
And
My Co-Write with Livell James!