Chapter Ten
DJ
Braxton told us to let Ralynn spend the night with them when we left the house with the boys. We end up meeting Trinity at the ER to get the boys looked over. Turns out that Jasper’s limp is due to severe bruising on his hip area from when he lost his balance and landed against the wall after trying to get out of Mr. Johanson’s grip. Hatch mentioned what he noticed the other day with Talon, so they did x-rays and found out that two of his ribs were cracked. That news makes me want to drive over to wherever they took that jackass and personally kick his ass! The doctor prescribed some mild pain meds for both boys and wrapped Talon’s ribs. He also informed us that we should get the boys on some vitamins to help them with healing and growth. I already have Ralynn on a daily dose of Flintstone vitamins, so I’ll just give the rest of the kids theirs when I give her hers. Maysen is also getting a second dose of vitamin D along with her daily supplements. Apparently, she spent more time inside than outside and her bloodwork shows that she’s in need of an extra boost.
When we get home, I see that Braxton has already used his master key and entered the apartment. The box with the air mattress and bedding is in our living room. Hatch grabs the box and takes it into my office where we’ll be setting the boys up for the night. I know it will be a tight fit, but it’ll work temporarily. I’ll just use my laptop instead of desktop computer for editing and writing. It’s not my favorite way to work, but it’s doable and will get the job done. I’m not going to complain, I’d rather have to do it this way, and know that these boys are safe, and in a home where they will be looked after and loved.
“Miss DJ?” Jasper calls my name as he is leaving the bathroom after a shower.
“Yes, sweetie?”
“Thank you for coming to get us, things weren’t great there. I know that you’ll take care of us. Talon says that Mr. Hatch is a good man and will protect us.”
“He will, and you’re very welcome. I hope you come to feel safe with us. I promise we will both take very good care of you and your brother.” He leaves the hallway and walks into the makeshift bedroom to join his brother. I remind them that we’re just down the hall and to come get us if they need us. I make a mental note to set an alarm so we can get up and give them more pain meds in the middle of the night. With tears in my eyes, I go and join Hatch in the bedroom after making sure both boys are settled for the night. “What’s wrong, gorgeous?”
“Nothing really, I’m just happy we were able to get those boys and bring them home with us. My tears are for what they’ve gone through over the past six months. I mean, losing their parents and then being abused? It’s heartbreaking.”
“Sweetheart, I’m just counting my blessings that Talon called me and didn’t stay in that situation.”
“It could’ve been so much worse, Hatch.”
“I know. C’mere,” he says beckoning me on the bed to join him. I climb up on the bed, still in my dress and go straight into his arms. “This isn’t exactly the evening I had planned for us,” he says, gripping me tightly.
“I know, but it happened the way it was intended to. We can say the day we got engaged, we expanded our family by two. Those are some traumatized kids, Hatch. They’re going to need us to hold them as much as possible and show them they aren’t alone in this world any longer.”
“C’mon, darlin’, let’s get you out of this dress,” he says, getting of the bed and pulling me up to join him.
Our shower together, something I’ve grown to love, isn’t the norm. Instead, we’re focused on holding and touching one another. He helps dry me off and then takes care of himself before grabbing my nightgown from the back of the door. Once back in bed, he pulls me so we’re face-to-face and says, “Never gonna forget tonight, DJ. I had no clue the day that you came to the cookout that we would end up here. You and Ralynn bring so much joy to my life and your willingness to take on raising a child that isn’t yours by birth makes me love you that much more. Add to that the fact that you’re now taking on two boys who are grieving the loss of their parents plus dealing with the shit they dealt with at that place and, gorgeous? You’re never getting rid of me.”
I laugh at his words because he has no idea how I’ve dreamed of a large family. Coming from such a dysfunctional household and then being a single mom all these years, I thought my dream was like a unicorn, just wishful thinking. “I love you, Jayden. Yesterday, today, tomorrow; they all belong to you. I was existing until you came into our lives and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for all of us.”
“Love you, too, Donna Jo,” he whispers before leaning closer. The kiss is soft and sweet and not a prelude to our normal nighttime rendezvous. Somehow, I’m okay with that.
Hatch wakes me up early the next morning grinding against my ass. “Hey, lover, you awake?” I ask.
“Kinda.”
“Well, part of you is definitely awake. Thinking we need to take care of that before the boys wake up and Ray comes home and Maysen gets here. Whatcha think?”
“Thinking I wanna fuck my fiancé in the shower,” he all but growls out.
“What are you waiting for?” I question as I hop out of the bed and walk toward the bathroom, putting an extra sway in my every step. Within seconds, I can feel the heat of his chest against my back as he pushes me into the bathroom and closes the door.
Hatch and I are sitting here enjoying a cup of coffee while we wait for Maysen, Trinity, Cara, Lily and Ralynn to arrive. Hatch checked on the boys earlier and they’re both still sound asleep. “DJ, I know the plans were for you to take the girls shopping today, instead of adding the boys to it, I thought maybe you could just pick out the essentials for them and then you can let them pick out their bedding and clothes tomorrow while I take the girls to get their nails done,” he says, rolling his eyes at the word nails. I can’t help but smile into my cup of coffee. I know he’s giving me a hard time about taking them, but I think secretly he’s liking the fact that it will be him and his girls tomorrow.
“What are your plans with the boys today?”
“I talked with Axe last night while you were still getting the boys settled. He thinks we should do some bonding time with them before the cut ceremony and BBQ. We thought go-karts or bumper cars would help them have a good time. In fact, he and Luca are coming with Cara and the girls this morning and will ride over with me.”
“Just make sure Jasper is careful, his hip is still bothering him.”
“Will do, momma bear,” he says, smiling into his own cup of coffee. Just then we can hear movement upstairs.
“Better go tell the boys your plans so they can get ready and come down for some breakfast.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he says as he gets up and does my bidding.
As I take a sip of coffee I can hear a knocking on the front door. I get up from my seat at the kitchen table and go look through the peephole even though I know who it is. If I answer without looking and Hatch catches me, all hell will break loose. He’s very particular when it comes to the safety of his family.
As I open the door, Ray launches herself at me, “Momma!”
“Hey, baby, did you have fun with Lily and Luca last night?”
“Yes!” About that time Hatch comes down the stairs and I’m all but forgotten when she screams out, “Daddy!” and runs from me and jumps up into his awaiting arms.
“Hey, how’s my sweet princess?” he asks her as he carries her to the kitchen. I turn back around to Cara who is watching Ralynn with a skeptical eye.
“Why don’t you go into the kitchen with Hatch and Ray, sweetie,” Cara says to Lily. Without a word Lily skips off to the kitchen, excited to be with her friend.
“I know that look, spill it.”
“Well, we had two minor meltdowns last night.”
“Oh no, what happened?” I ask her worriedly. My girl is well-known for some pretty epic temper tantrums.
“Okay, so the kids were playing in the living room last night and Ray mentioned having a sister. Luca not aware of everything going on was confused and told her, “You don’t have any sisters.”
“Yes I do!” she screamed out at him.
“No you don’t, Ray, I’ve known you all my life and know for sure you don’t.”
“I does too! Her name is Maysen and she’s coming to lives with us!”
“I had to intervene and tell Luca about Maysen and how she’s Hatch’s daughter and he didn’t know about her. After explaining, Luca apologized to her and all was good until she overheard Braxton telling me about the boys. Then she wanted to come right home, and when we informed her that she was staying with us she broke down crying and it took me an hour to calm her down.”
“You should’ve called me and we would’ve come and picked her up.”
“I thought about it, but Braxton got her involved in a game with the kids and she calmed down. I knew y’all were dealing with getting the boys settled, so it would have been a last-ditch effort, believe me.”
Hatch
Overhearing the girls’ conversation makes me want to wrap my daughter up and protect her from all that has the capability to break her heart. Ray may not be mine biologically, but she’s a piece of my heart and I love her just as if she was.
“Baby girl, did you have a bad night?” She and Lily are sitting at the kitchen table with me munching on some cereal I made for them. She nods her head up and down but doesn’t say a word, she’s instead looking into her bowl of cereal like it holds all the answers to life’s mysteries.
“Talk to me, angel.”
“Luca hurt my heart last night when he said I didn’t haves a sister,” she says to me.
“He didn’t know about her, sweetie, he wasn't trying to hurt you, ya know.”
“I knows, but it did. He’s my bestest friend in the whole world.”
“He would never hurt you intentionally. He was confused and didn’t understand. Are y’all alright now? Did you two make up?”
“Yes, sir,” she says quietly. Surely she doesn't think she’s in trouble.
“I’m proud of you for standing up for your sister.”
“But I was bad, I cried and screamed, and Miss Cara was upset with me.”
“I wasn’t upset with you,” Cara says entering the kitchen. “I was worried about you and for you, but I wasn’t mad at you. Do you understand the difference, Ray?”
“I think so.” Before any of us can respond, the boys make it down the stairs.
“C’mere, boys,” I say, beckoning them over. They hesitantly come over and stand next to me. “Ralynn, this here is Talon,” I say pointing at him, “and his brother Jasper. They’re going to be staying with us from now on.” She surprises us all when she walks up to first Talon then Jasper and gives them both hugs.
“I always wanted a big brother,” she says looking up at Talon. “And now I have two!” she says excitedly, looking at Jasper. They both smile at her and I know they’re going to get along fantastically. There is a knock at the door, so I get up to go answer it.
“It’s either Trinity and Maysen, or Axe and Luca,” I say to the room at large. Color me surprised to see it’s all of them standing together waiting on the door to open.
“Hi, Daddy,” Maysen says coming up to me and wrapping her arms around my middle. I close my eyes and savor the moment. I didn’t realize I was missing anything in my life before she, DJ and Ralynn entered the picture.
“Hi, beautiful,” I tell her, hugging her back. I open the door all the way and invite them in, “Well, come on in.”
DJ
As Hatch goes and opens the door, I get the boys settled with their own bowls of cereal. Usually I make a big breakfast in the mornings, but this day is going to be rushed. Maysen is in need of just about everything, and the boys need some personal items before they get the opportunity to go shopping with me tomorrow. Before I know it, everyone has come into the kitchen to join the party. It begins to feel a bit crowded, so I tell them, “Okay, if you’ve had your breakfast already head into the living room and watch television while the rest finish up. We have a busy day ahead of us.” I look down as I feel a small hand attach to mine then it squeezes my own. I look down and see Maysen standing next to me and I’m shocked she came up to me on her own without me having to engage her first.
“I want to stay with you,” she says in a whisper.
“Sure, sweetie, did you eat? We’re going to be leaving soon. We have some shopping to do?” Her eyes light up on the word shopping. Yep, a little girl after my own heart.
“I get to pick out some new clothes?”
“Yes, clothes, shoes, toys,” I barely get the last out of my mouth before she’s excitedly dancing in the middle of the kitchen causing the adults to laugh. She sinks back into my side and I realize she doesn't know everyone here. Luca is the first, which doesn’t surprise me one bit, to come up and introduce himself. I can see he’s going to be just as protective over her as he is with the other two girls. Once all the introductions are made and the kitchen is cleaned up, we split up with the girls in Cara’s SUV and the boys in Hatch’s truck. Let the fun begin!
We pull up to the mall thirty minutes later, luckily Cara got a new SUV and it fit us all. I drove since her stomach has gotten too big for her to comfortably fit behind the wheel. I’m in love with this new Chevy Tahoe and am thinking I should invest in one for our family since we’ve grown so much in the last twenty-four hours. As we exit the vehicle, I get Ralynn holding one of my hands and Maysen on the other side doing the same. They’re each swinging my arms as their excitement for the day gets to them.
“Looks like we’ve got some very excited little girls to do some shopping. You have two built-in shopping buddies, DJ.” Trinity says to me as she’s smiling at the girls.
“Yep, I see lots of shopping in our future,” I say, causing both of the girls to giggle. Music to a mother’s ears. “Let’s start with clothes then we’ll move on to shoes,” I tell Cara and Trinity.
“Of course, we need to know what kind of shoes to buy to match our outfits,” Cara says to which Lily wholeheartedly agrees with her. Lily has a bit of a shoe fetish since Cara entered the picture. She now has a pair of shoes to match each outfit she owns. That kid is spoilt, but I know Cara has been enjoying purchasing things for a little girl. Luca could care less what he wears, unless it’s a specific action hero shirt since he’s gotten into those this last year. Our first stop in the mall is the Disney store. We load up on Disney Princess tops, hair clips and decorated rubber bands, socks and a few toys they have available. We even purchase Maysen her very own copy of Frozen. She tells me she’s never had her own movie before and I had to take a minute away from them and gather myself. Cara and Trinity distract them, and once I’m composed, I walk back in and the shopping commences. I go over to the movie section and gather as many movies as I can carry in my hands, I figure since the girls are going to be sharing a room, they can keep them in there with them and watch them to their heart's content.
When I make it back over to the girls, their eyes alight with gratitude, which they both express by hugging me. I have become a Ralynn and Maysen sandwich. The saleslady comes over and takes our items and puts them behind the counter so we can continue to look around. The girls end up with new princess characters backpacks and some journals. Then Lily, Ralynn and Maysen decide they need a matching outfit for tonight. I talk them out of dresses since I know they will be ruined by the end of the night with all the playing I’m sure they’ll be doing. Thankfully, they finally agree on an outfit that will work and we grab each of their sizes before walking up to the counter to pay for our items. Lord have mercy, Hatch may kill me yet! Oh well, they’re his ‘princesses’ so they need to look the part, right?
“Girls, after shoes we need to go and find Maysen some new bedding for her brand-new bed.”
“We have some Frozen beds in a bag that were clearanced and didn’t sell. We’ve also got posters and pictures in frames that would go well with the bedding. They’re in the stockroom and aren’t out on display. Would you like for me to go in the back and get a set for you?” the saleslady asks me.
“Ooh, Mommy, can I get one too so Maysen and I match?” I look at Ralynn, but notice both girls are nodding their head in agreement.
“Sure,” I say, “bring us out two, please.”
“Make that three,” Cara says with an excited Lily at her side.
“We have blue, purple, and pink. Which color should I bring out?”
“Pink!” Ralynn exclaims.
“Purple,” Maysen says.
“Blue!” Lily squeals.
“One of each,” the saleslady says, laughing at our girls. “Twin-sized?” she asks, and we tell her, “Yes. And can you grab us the posters and pictures if it’s not too much trouble?” I have purchased the girls matching white canopy beds for their new room. These comforters will go perfect with them. Guess this is trip one out to the car.
Hatch
As we get out of my truck at ‘Bumper Karts and More’ we sit outside and wait on Twisted and Tig to get here to join us. We’re sitting on the bench watching Talon, Jasper and Luca talking and laughing. I love seeing how Luca has already taken them in and made them feel like part of the pack. Axe and I are sitting here discussing and laughing about how Nan and Paisley, have been left to their own devices and are preparing for the BBQ all on their own, with only the prospects to do their bidding. It will be good for the prospects to have to deal with those two...good training in patience and endurance. Then again, I hope we’ve still got prospects by the time we get there. All four of them are fitting in well and I’d hate it if Nan or Paisley ran them off.
Tig walks up to the group of boys and inserts himself in their conversation. I watch as he introduces himself and once again I’m blown away by how these boys are able and willing to accept new kids into their group. No questions asked, no hesitations or any type of boy clique where only the chosen ones are invited. They are the most accepting and loyal group of young men I’ve ever encountered, and I wish I’d known kids like them growing up.
“How are they doing this morning?” Twisted asks, making his way over to us.
“Good, actually. We got up once in the middle of the night to give them both pain meds but otherwise, they slept well.”
“That’s good to hear,” Axe says to me. “They seem to be fitting in well with the boys, and I couldn’t help but notice the way Ray looked at them like they hung the moon.”
“That girl worries me,” I tell them, “she already has a crush on Jaxson. I’m going to end up either bald or prematurely grey before she becomes a teenager.” I can’t help but secretly wonder if DJ would like me bald or have a hair full of silver. I could be her silver fox! I chuckle to myself at that train of thought. We gather the boys up and head inside to pay for our two hours of fun with bumper karts and go-carts.
“Jasper, I know you're hurting, if you don’t want to do the bumper karts I can sit out with you.”
“Why is you hurting?” Luca asks Jasper. Shit, I didn’t want them to know.
“Because the man we lived with was hurting us,” Talon replies. “I called Mr. Hatch and he and Miss Trinity got us out of there.”
“My daddy and Uncle Twisted won’t lets anybody hurts you again either,” Luca tells the boys. Tig eagerly agrees with him nodding his head up and down. “And Uncle Hatch protects Ray already so he’ll protects you too.” These damn kids, I think Cara’s hormones have affected us all because my eyes begin to water like some damn pregnant chick. I need to pull my wallet out and make sure I still have that man card in place.
“You knows you has to protect the girls, that’s our job,” Luca states.
“What do you mean?” Jasper asks. He’s been mostly silent but curiosity has obviously caught his interest.
“We makes sure that no one picks on them when we are at school and when we walks with them, we walks on the outside.”
“That’s how Luca got hurt,” Tig states.
“Yeah, but thankfully my cast has been removed and I can do things again.”
From the corner of my eye I see Axe close his and take a deep breath. That was so fucking scary for all the kids that day, not just our three. A whole class had been coming back across when some douche nozzle came through. If Luca hadn’t pushed the girls out of the way? Nope, not going there. Today is about fun and bonding time with Talon and Jasper. “C’mon, boys, let’s go see what we can find to do.”
“If you is hurt, Jasper, we can always plays video games,” Luca says.
“No, I want to try the bumper cars. I’ll be careful, I promise, Mr. Hatch.”
Damn right he will be because he’s riding with me so I can protect him from the hits. I’ll let him drive, but I’m going to be there to cushion him from any potential blows.
“I’ll ride with you, little man, I could use some drive-free time,” I tell him so he doesn’t think I’m trying to invade his space.
“Okay, Mr. Hatch,” he tells me, guess it doesn’t phase him as long as he’s in the driver's seat. We get into our karts and I make sure everyone is buckled up properly before I get into the passenger side with Jasper in the driver's seat. The excitement on his face is one I’ll remember for the remainder of my living years. Boys should be able to have fun instead of stuck in a store working at their tender ages of fourteen and nine. I grab my phone and snap some pictures of the boys and text them to DJ so she can see they’re having a good time. I hope my girls are as well. When I get a chime, I look down and start laughing.
DJ: We’re having a blast. Just remember how much you love me when you see the credit card statement!
As if her spending a few hundred dollars is a big deal. It’s chump change compared to my little princesses’ happiness. I smile and send her one of those emoji things she loves so much. “Okay, little man, let’s show ‘em how it’s done,” I say to Jasper.