Chapter 28
Makenna
“Maybe since we’re in a hospital, your little one will sense it and come on,” I said.
“Trust me, I wish it worked that way,” Monroe said. “I’m ready to have this little man out of me.”
“So, it’s a boy?” I asked.
“Two boys,” Everly said. “Which is why, if you and Brewer work out, it’ll be nice to have a little girl in the mix.”
“Stop pushing her, Everly,” Monroe said. “A lot has happened these past few days.”
“What? I knew almost immediately with Grave, though I didn’t want to admit it to myself,” Everly said.
“Don’t worry,” I said with a smile. “I think Ana and I will be sticking around for a little while.”
“Good. Because we’re going to need some feminine energy in this group of testosterone-ridden flunkies.”
“I heard that,” Knox said.
“For you,” Rock said as he handed me a glass of water.
“Thanks,” I said as I smiled up at him.
“How’s he doing?” Diesel asked as he pointed to Brewer’s room.
“Out like a light with the drugs right now,” I said.
“The nurse had to check on them twice because his heart monitor kept going off the rails,” Everly said with a grin.
“Woman. We just got him patched up a few days ago. Why are you trying to kill him?” Grave asked.
“Because I love him too much,” I said. “I can’t help it if I want to kiss on him a bit.”
The guys all looked around before smiles trickled across their faces. And I thought Everly and Monroe would never stop giggling about it. Brewer was healing quickly. Though he still had a lot of pain medication running through his system, he was doing a lot better. The bullet in his shoulder went through and through, and now that he had been stable for a few days he seemed to be getting a lot stronger.
And while he was in surgery in the abandoned warehouse, I got to know the guys a little better.
“How are you doing?” Diesel asked as he sat next to me.
“I’m doing better,” I said. “Now that we’re out of the woods of the first three days, I’m a little more settled in his strength.”
“No one can fucking take Brewer down,” Rock said. “That’s the first mistake those assholes made.”
“Should we do something about his house?” I asked.
“Already taken care of,” Mick said.
“Well look who finally decided to show up,” Monroe said with a smile. “How are things on your end Mick?”
“Good,” he said as he bent down and hugged her. “Mom’s better and my sister’s stable. How are you doing, though? You look like you’re ready to grab the scalpel yourself.”
“Don’t tempt me. These rolling silver trays are looking might tempting,” Monroe said.
“You get your mother situated, Mick?” Diesel asked.
“I did, but it’s still touch and go. My sister was a mess when she came home and found her gone. But I tracked her down,” Mick said. “Though there’s an unfamiliar face here I have yet to meet.”
“I could say the same thing,” I said. “I’m Makenna. Brewer’s neighbor.”
“Oh, you’re much more than that,” Everly said as she rubbed her stomach.
“Then it seems like our family’s gotten bigger. I’m sorry I’m the last to meet you,” Mick said as he nodded towards me. “Had a family emergency that took me out of town.”
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“For now,” Mick said as he sat down. “My mother’s in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s and my sister refuses to put her in a care facility. She came home from work and Mom had just disappeared.”
“Oh my gosh. Is she all right?” I asked.
“Yeah. That’s the second time that’s happened this year,” Knox said. “You sure you can’t step in on your mother’s behalf and do something?”
“I feel like shit that I wasn’t here,” Mick said. “How’s Brewer holding up? I came as soon as I checked my phone.”
“He’s good now,” Rock said. “It was touch and go there for a while, like I told you on your voice messages. But now he’s drugged and sleeping it off.”
“Through and through?” Mick asked.
“Yep,” I said. “He’s resting now, but I’m sure when he’s awake you could go in and see him.”
“I appreciate that. And as for your question about his house, I’ve already got it taken care of. I went by a couple of days ago and stayed in his place to clean it up. Got the windows replaced. The carpets cleaned. I replaced the parts of the carpet that couldn’t be cleaned. Also fixed that damn door of his. They really did a number on that thing.”
“Did you take a look at his sliding porch door?” Grave asked. “I think I knocked it off its track coming in from the back.”
“You did a lot more than that,” Mick said with a chuckle. “But I got it fixed.”
“Mick runs our books for us, but he’s a hell of a fix-it man, too,” Diesel said. “This man can fix anything that’s broken. Though he can’t shoot a gun to save his damn life.”
“So, it was probably a good thing you weren’t there then,” I said with a grin.
Everyone around me chuckled as I took a sip of my coffee. I felt a real connection with the people around me. And I had to admit, it took me setting aside my prejudices to experience it. But the girls were fantastic and blooming with life in their bodies, reminding me of my own pregnancy with Ana. And the guys were undeniably supportive. I sat within the ranks of a true, bonafide family. As makeshift as it was and as backwards as they came, they all had love for one another.
And the fact that they considered me one of them made me excited to introduce my daughter.
“So, where’s the little one?” Diesel asked.
“Right now? School. I’ve taken some time off work to help Brewer with his condition, but Ana still has school to attend.”
“Well if you need one of us to go get her or anything, let us know,” Knox said.
“I really appreciate that, thank you,” I said with a smile.
“How old is she again?” Rock asked.
“Five. And as sassy as they come some days,” I said.
“So, she’s Brewer’s type as well,” Rock said. “Looks like he found himself two perfect little ladies for his life.”
“You got anyone special?” I asked.
“Hell no. I like my women like my coffee. Bold, fast, and loose.”
“How can coffee be loose?” I asked.
“You’ve never seen Rock drink coffee,” Grave said. “It’s like he’s got a damn hole in his face.”
I put my hand over my mouth to keep myself from spewing my drink everywhere.
“Rock likes his women a little on the trashier side,” Diesel said. “Not too trashy, but enough to make him feel less like shit for not getting attached.”
“Hey, I don’t judge. I’m not a relationship expert by any means. But as long as they know where you stand before they, you know, do their thing with you? Go for it,” I said.
“I like her. Can I have her?” Rock asked.
“Sorry. Already spoken for,” I said as I sipped my coffee.
A groan hit my ears and my head immediately whipped over to Brewer’s room. I saw him moving around in his bed and I stood to my feet. I left everyone in the waiting room as I strode in, trying to get to his side before he opened his eyes.
I didn’t want there to be a single second where he was alone in this place.
“Hey there, sleepyhead,” I said as I sat down on the edge of his bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired,” Brewer said. “What the fuck is up with always being tired?”
“You were shot. You’re drugged. It happens,” I said.
“How’s Ana doing?”
“She’s at school. She’s asking about you a lot. I told her you weren’t feeling well and that doctors were helping you get better. Then, she could see you.”
“I wouldn’t mind seeing her now,” he said.
“Then maybe I can bring her by once I pick her up from school. But I don’t want to overwhelm you.”
“That little girl is the best kind of overwhelming there is.”
I smiled down at him as I brought a cup of water to his lips. He rose up before taking the cup in his hand and tossing it back. He really was getting stronger. The initial pain of his wound was dying off and he was beginning to look and feel like his old self again.
But there were still a lot of unanswered questions.
“I never wanted to involve you in all this, you know,” he said as he set his glass down. “I’m sorry you’re involved now.”
“Please don’t be. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now,” I said. “When I saw you hurt, Brewer. It-”
I laced my fingers with his good hand before bringing his knuckles to my lips to kiss.
“When those men busted in your door, I panicked. So many things ran through my mind, but the one thing I kept returning to was how my last words to you were the fact that you were a mistake. And then I recalled the name of your mechanic shop and called in a Hail Mary attempt to get someone to come help you because I knew I couldn’t. And I wished I could have, Brewer. I would’ve run over there in a heartbeat if I knew there was something I could’ve done.”
“I would not have wanted you to do that, Makenna. Do you hear me? They would’ve hurt you. Killed you, even.”
“But when you came out of that house in those guy’s arms, this horrible pain filled my chest.”
I brought his hand to my heart and held it there as I caught my breath. The memories assaulted me. The emotions and the fear were still fresh in the forefront of my mind. His hand gripped my shirt and tugged me towards him and I fell into his body. Into his strength. Into his embrace. He kissed my head over and over again, smoothing his broad hand up and down my back.
“I knew then and there how much I loved you,” I said. “And I kept telling myself that if you made it out of this alive, I would do anything in my power to make things work with you. If you wanted me.”
“You have no idea how much I want you, Makenna.”
“Whatever we have to do to figure this out, we will,” I said as I rose up. “Whatever you feel you have to do in order to keep my daughter and I safe, I’ll abide by. Because I love you, Brewer. And I figured out three days ago that losing you isn’t an option.”
His hand came up and cupped my cheek and I nuzzled into it. I turned my lips into his skin and pressed a kiss there, trying to feel every part of him I could. I wanted more. I wanted my naked skin against his. But I would have to settle for his hand until he got to feeling better. Until he healed more and I didn’t risk re-injuring him with all the ways I wanted to apologize.
With all the ways I wanted to show him how much I loved him.
“I’ll do anything to keep the two of you safe, okay?” Brewer asked. “Whatever is required of me and whatever I have to do, no harm will come to you or Ana because of the life I lead. It’s my job to make sure the two of you have whatever you could possibly want.”
“We just want you,” I said with a whisper. “We only want you, Brewer.”
I watched him try to sit himself up as pain washed over his face. I wrapped my arms around him as my eyes widened, trying to figure out what the hell he was doing. But the second I pulled him upright, he crashed his lips against mine. My head tilted back while his lips massaged me, his hand threading through my hair and fisting it in the palm of his hand. He pulled my head off to the side. He tilted me for greater access as his tongue explored the inside of my mouth. I melted into him. Tears of love and happiness flooded my eyes as my hands fell to his strong, pulsing chest.
His heart monitor was screaming at us, and the sound of footsteps coming around the corner broke the moment.
“Really. The two of you need to cut it out,” the nurse said.
I giggled as Brewer’s forehead settled against mine.
“Sorry,” he said. “Just had to go see a woman about a thing.”
“Well keep that ‘thing’ for when you get out of here. Your heart needs to rest,” the nurse said.
“No,” Brewer said. “My heart needs to soar.”
I placed my hand against his rapidly beating heart as my smile ached my cheeks.
“I love you,” I said as my fingers splayed along his chest.
“I love you too, Makenna. With everything I am and everything I have.”