CHAPTER TWELVE
It was after midnight the third day after her babies were born when the door to her hospital room quietly opened. A shadow stepped inside and approached the bed slowly.
Cassie opened her eyes and waited as the shadow drew closer. Her heart was pounding as her fists clenched in fear.
The shadow stopped a few feet away and a voice called out softly, “I’m not here to hurt you child.”
Cassie recognized the voice and relaxed. “How are you Leon?” she reached up and turned on the lamp at the top of her bed.
Leon Vincinti smiled at her and stepped closer. “I wanted to come and see how you were doing. Peaches told us about your babies.”
“I’m sure she told you about Victor as well.”
“Yes, she did and I have to tell you that young man will never bother you again.” He brushed off a piece of lint from his suit. Then he looked her in the eye and said, “And neither will your uncle.”
“Is my uncle still alive?”
“Yes child, he is and now he knows the truth about his brother.”
“How did he take that news?”
“He was upset understandably. The Irish can be unforgiving about stuff like that but he was able to see the truth and that’s what really matters.”
“So, he’s not going to come after me or Peaches for revenge?”
“No, he isn’t.”
“Good, I think he’s lost enough time in his life. Flynn certainly wasn’t worth it.”
“No, he wasn’t,” Leon agreed. “I also wanted to see your beautiful children. They are part of our family you know. You and Peaches were very close growing up. Calderone and I want to watch your children grow along side of Peaches’ children. I hope to live long enough to watch them all grow up together.”
“So, do we. Peaches means a great deal to me. She’s the closest person to family I have. I know I found my sister again and I love her very much but I love Peaches as well. We will always be sisters.”
Leon smiled. “I hope you will always feel that way. She is very important to us as you are. You brought her home when no one else cared what happened to her. We owe you a blood debt.”
Cassie shook her head. “You don’t owe me anything. I brought her back to you because it was the right thing to do, not for what I could get out of the deal.”
“I know that child and so does my son,” Leon told her. “You’ve made that quite clear to us by turning down any reward we offered.”
“I only ask that you become my friend, that’s all I want.”
“Then that is what you shall have, our friendship.” Leon grinned, as he looked proud of her. “But I hope you will allow us to spoil your children as we would our own.”
“Spoil them with love.”
Leon chuckled. “Oh, we shall. I have to go. I don’t want to disturb your sleep but I wanted to let you know about your uncle. And to pass along a message from him. He wanted you to know he understood what you told him was the truth and that he would never bother you again, as he promised.”
“How did you meet my uncle?’ she asked. “The last time I saw him, he was set to killing Calderone.”
“Ah, yes well, let’s just say he tried but my son isn’t a fool. He sat Donavan down and talked to him. He told him exactly what his brother did not only to you, but to Peaches as well. At first, he didn’t want to believe what he was hearing but my son has a way of making people believe him. It was all quite civilized and in the end, Donavan believed him. He even gave him a job.”
“If you see him again, tell him I wish him peace. I’ll never know what kind of man my father could have been, only what he was. I hated Flynn for so long for what he did, I guess I never gave him a chance.”
“My dear…Flynn never really gave himself a chance. He had a good woman and two beautiful children and he turned his back on of all of you. He turned his back on himself as well. Even posing as Theo I never liked the man. He was a coward right up till the end.” He hesitated then asked, “I know I don’t have the right to ask but I’m going to anyway. Please forgive Donavan. Right now, he’s feeling all alone in the world and he doesn’t know it yet, but you are his family. Maybe it’s the Italian in me but family is so important. No one should be without someone they can call their own. Donavan might not be ready for it but if you can find it in your heart to forgive him, he might become the man he could be. I see potential in him.”
“Flynn ruined so many lives…” She took a deep breath and let it out, “I can try to forgive Donny. I think my mother would have wanted me to. He needs to be at peace. She was all about family too and doing the right thing. If he will give me time, I would like to see him again.”
Leon leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “That’s all we can hope for in the end is that we all find peace. I’ll let Donavan know of your decision.” He then turned and left as quietly as he arrived.
Cassie reached up and turned the light off. Laying in the darkness, she prayed for Donny to have peace as well. She also prayed she would never see him again. That part of her life was over and she didn’t want it back.
~* * * *~
Six months later
Cassie winced as Peaches’ grip tightened on her hand.
“Oh God, I can’t do this anymore!” Peaches groaned.
“Yes, you can and you will,” Cassie admonished her softly. She wiped the sweat from her best friend’s brow and held on while the pain gripped her. The hand Peaches was holding was being crushed at the moment but neither of the women cared. One of them was in the pains of childbirth and the other was trying to get her through it. Right now, that’s all that mattered.
“Where the hell is Iceman?” she screamed. “He said he would be here.”
“Honey, he’s on his way. So are your dad and grandfather. They were at the shop looking at the renovations Iceman was making when I called him earlier,” Cassie reminded her. “You’re the one who didn’t want him to know until now that you were in labor.”
“Yeah, I know but he should be here by now!” Peaches yelled as yet another pain gripped her belly. “I can’t have this baby until he’s here. Tell the baby to wait for his daddy. He has to be here for the birth, he just has to.”
The door opened up and a frantic Iceman joined them. “I’m here baby.”
Cassie got up and leaned over the bed. Cupping Peaches’ face between her hands she said, “I’ll leave you two alone. I love you baby girl. Make me proud.”
Peaches shook her head. “Please don’t leave me. I need you both here for this.”
Cassie turned her head and looked at Iceman.
He smiled and nodded. “Please stay. She really wants you to.”
Cassie sat back down. “Okay, but this is something you two should be doing together.”
The door opened and the doctor walked in. “Okay, Mrs. Caulder, let’s see how close you are to being a mother. He went to stand between Peaches’ legs. When he lifted the sheet he smiled. “I do believe that time is right now. I can see the baby’s head crowning. Are you ready?”
“Yes, let’s do this!” Peaches screamed as the pain overwhelmed her one more time. The pressure to push made her groan as she began to push. The next few minutes were busy as the pain rushed through her. With one hand in Iceman’s and the other holding on to the best friend she ever had, she let out one last scream and pushed. Soon, she felt her baby slip out. The first cry startled her and then tears flowed as she heard Iceman call out to her, “It’s a boy. We have a son.”
Peaches laughed as she cried. The pain of the last few hours was gone as the doctor placed her son on her chest. She couldn’t believe it and her fingers shook as she outlined her son’s head and face. “Cassie, I have a son. Iceman, we have a son.”
Cassie got to her feet. Her own tears blinded her and she leaned forward to kiss Peaches on the forehead. “We did it, now we both have families again, and this time, no one can take them away from us. We’re whole again.”
“Oh Cassie, we both got our dream,” Peaches told her softly. She lifted her right thumb and showed Cassie her thumb. Cassie pressed her right thumb against the slight scar they both shared. Flashing back to when they were both just kids they remembered well the vow they had taken in that damn cave. Both had wanted more out of life than they had and the vow they took became their dream of a new life, a better life, a life they didn’t dare hope would be theirs one day. But now, that dream was very real for both of them.
~* * * *~
Iceman watched as they both cried. Peaches had shared their dream with him in the darkness of a night not so long ago. When they had lived in the cave just outside of Boston, both girls had made a vow with one another. They vowed to both have a child one day, a child that would share their dreams of becoming a real family. Cassie had gotten her part six months ago when her babies were born but now the dream was real for both of them. Now, they both had babies of their own and men that loved them beyond all their dreams.
He sat back and enjoyed sharing their moment. The new shop was doing great, the new club was doing even better. He and Peaches finally had a place they could call home, and they had gotten married three months ago.
She had wanted to wait but he hadn’t. Her father and grandfather almost killed him but he wanted what Deke and Cassie had and he didn’t want to wait for a big wedding with flowers and a church. He convinced her to join him in a simple ceremony. The wedding had been a simple one conducted in the dooryard of the club but it was the one place where nothing else mattered but the two of them.
Cassie had made it special by decorating the dooryard with ribbons of bright colors and hanging flowers. Deke and Deacon had built a simple arch and platform for them to stand on and later, there had been tables full of food laid out nearby waiting for them to feast on. The whole wedding took three days to plan and execute, but it had been the longest three days of his life. The whole club had come together to make this day one of the very best.
Calderone and Leon hadn’t quite seen it that way as they had plans of a bigger wedding in mind for Peaches but she had agreed and the day they got married with friends and family surrounding them had been one of the best days in her life. He would never forget the look of awe in her face as they stood there after saying their vows. The sun had broken out from behind the clouds that day, just as he leaned in to seal their vows with the first kiss of their married life and had bathed them in rays of light so bright he was blinded for a moment.
He never thought he would get married but he had never known a woman like Peaches before either. She was everything he needed to make his life whole and he loved the hell out of her. She had made his life complete and he had been happy with just the two of them. Then she’d given him a son. Iceman looked at his family and decided life couldn’t get any better than this.