CHAPTER ONE
Ruby
“I swear to shit, Mercier, if you don’t stop coddling me, I’m gonna junk punch you and you better believe I will step right over your crumpled body to move this stuff myself.” I slam the heel of my boot down hard and the soft dirt shifts under my feet. I’m surrounded by old boxes and tubs, looking at a half empty storage shed.
Kingston snaps his back straight and I stare at him. He’s grinning all amused like and I nearly fumble over my own words when he swipes his hand across his bare, sweaty pects.
“Woman, you’re delicate now. You have me at your beck and call. Use me! Honestly, how many can say they have the muscle of a damn black bear to do all the heavy lifting and grunt work?”
“Dammit. I am far from delicate and you’re gonna have to let me do some things on my own before I go stir crazy.”
He dips his head and nods. “I hear what you’re saying. I get it, I do. But you’re gonna have to work with me, here. You’ve barely been outta the hospital but a minute and now, I gotta keep an eye on both of you.”
It’s my turn to giggle. He’s like a big kid with wide eyes and big expectations. Kingston twists his lips, getting impatient and my laughter bubbles to the surface.
“I don’t see how this is funny. You have to take care of yourself.” He tosses his head back and releases an exaggerated huff. “Ruby, you’re almost three months pregnant. You’re still getting your strength back after nearly being murdered. And I don’t know how to do any of this shit. I don’t know what you should eat or how much sleep you need to get. I don’t even know if you should be out here breathing in all this dust and rat shit.”
He drops and sits down without looking. Lucky for him there’s a tub full of old, baseball trophies. My mind wanders and I can’t help but think about Kingston and wonder what he must have looked like as a child. Holy shit, he didn’t always have a beard! I wonder if he started with t-ball. What position did he play? How long did he play? Was he any good?
Ok, the last one is a stupid question. There’s not a damn thing that Kingston Mercier does bad. He’s good all the way from his dimples down to his pinky toes. He just has a difficult time getting that notion through that handsome head of his.
As the leader of the Mercier clan, he holds more responsibility than any one man should. I suppose that’s why it’s a good thing he’s a shift and part black bear. And he’s all good. Sure, he’s had to make some crap decisions, but the tough call never gets any easier. That’s how I know. That’s how he shows what’s really deep down. He struggles. He has a conscience and he’s full of so much love.
Maybe our sweet, little bundle won’t have his chocolate eyes or his signature dimples. No, that stuffs genetic, and the father is dead. But the baby will have all the important stuff, like humility, upstanding character, and strong family roots.
I watch him stare at his hands as he uses each thumb of rub at the grime covering his huge palms. His mere presence calls out my name. I untangle his arms and he makes room for me to sit down on his lap. I try not to get lost in his dark eyes when he gazes up at me.
“Alright, big daddy, I’m gonna say this just once and I need you to hear me. You are going to be a great father. A father for the god damn record books. Hell, it’s not like either once of us have our own to compare it to. You get a blank slate, mister, and you’re gonna fill that slate up with memories from Christmas mornings and picnics. The first fishing trip and school functions. There are going to be tons of special daddy moments. We’re gonna figure it out as we go, together.”
Kingston twitches his full lips and I melt when his dimples practically wink at me. “You always know how to tame my bear.” He plants his yummy lips on my cheek, giving me an extra tight squeeze, forgetting his own strength.
“Yeah, you can make excuses all you want. This whole thing,” I wave both hands in front of him like I’m trying to make him disappear. “Yeah, you have your human condition to thank for this little freak out. This is not a, um, bear situation. I’m pretty dang sure most future daddy’s go through this very moment of panic.”
“I only get one time to panic?” He pops his eyes huge and it pulls a giggle from me.
“Of course not.”
“I was gonna say I’ve done fucked this shit up before even getting outta the gate!”
I try not to, but the snicker just builds and now my body’s shaking from the full blown belly laughter.
“I’m glad you’re having a good time poking fun at me.” He gently traces medium circles on my tummy before bending down and brushing his lips across my non-existent baby bump. “Damn, I can’t wait to be a day.”
“Think you can wait long enough to finish the nursery?”
“I pick up what you’re saying, sugar.” He grips my chin and gives me a kiss that curls my insides all the way to my toes. “Now, quit distracting me with your wicked ways and let me get back to work.”
I leave him alone and try to make a dent in the mountain of dirty laundry. The Mercier boys’ mother was damn near a hoarder. They have every, single item from their childhood. Including Fournette who didn’t come to the family until he was fourteen years old.
“That’s the last of it.” Kingston drops the final box in the middle of the room. “I got everything else loaded up on the trailer to haul to the dump.” He claps the dust off his hands. “How ‘bout I get cleaned up and treat my lady and first cub to a healthy supper?”
I ponder the suggestion, only these days, I tend to think more with my stomach than I do my brain. “How about you get cleaned up and I’ll go pop a pizza in the oven with a side of double fudge brownies and we spend the evening watching Archer?”
“MmmMmm!” He smacks me on the ass, lightly, and leaps up the stairs.
That’s one thing I’m looking forward to after this little bundle takes his/her first breath.
An old fashion fucking.
*
I spend most days at the marina store, although Kingston made sure to go on record as saying he objected to me working through the pregnancy. Hell, that man objects when I leave the damn house. I’d be home eating bon-bons and growing bed sores on my ass if he had his way.
I get it and his worry holds some merit. I did almost die after being attacked by my abusive ex-boyfriend. If it hadn’t been for my clan – I wouldn’t have lived, and neither would this precious baby.
I have a clan, a real family. Wyatt’s going to be an uncle and Kingston’s baby brother is loving every second of it. And Fournette, well, he’s not a bear or a Mercier, by blood anyway. But he is most definitely a vital member of this clan.
I’ve never had brothers and now, I have two.
When a part man/part pitbull takes a knife for you, you don’t question his loyalty. When Kingston found me in the swamp, Robbie Ward never stood a chance of taking another breath or being found.
“No, I’m not taking it.” I finish recording inventory on the day’s deliveries. “Put that money back in your pocket, or the register. I love helping at the store and I know I’m here every single day. I’m not gonna let you pay me for all that time. Four hours a day, that’s it. If I’m here any longer than that, I consider myself paid in good company.”
Gus, my friend and boss, chuckles and it sends whistles vibrating through the humid air due to his missing teeth. “Girl, you’re as hard headed as my Mary was, God rest her stubborn soul.” He snickers and his pot belly shakes. “Fin, but you’re gonna take a bag of those shelled pecans home with ya.”
“And let me guess. I can whip up something sweet and delicious, possibly in a crust?”
The bell above the front door dings and in strolls my only other friend, outside of the clan and Gus. “Who’s whipping up what and how can I get my grubby, little paws on some?” Deb pulls her thin, painted lips into a full grin.
“Our girl here’s gonna make me a pecan pie. Want one?”
I tap the back of my hand playfully on the man’s pointy shoulder.
“What? Take the money then!” He thinks he has me over a barrel, but I don’t quit that easy.
I glance over at Deb and shrug. “Looks like it’s pecan pie for everybody.” I wink at Gus and he beams from his gaunt cheeks.
“Well, I got here just in time then.” Deb pours herself a mug of coffee and drinks a sip. “What the hell is this?”
“Decaf. He insists on going caffeine free with me until the baby comes.”
She holds up one, long, pale finger. “First of all, that’s absolutely insane. You’re on your own with that one. Second, yes to the pecan pie. And finally, I still can’t believe you’re pregnant. You’re actually gonna be a momma.” With large eyes, she slowly shakes her headful of red hair.
“I have a hard time believing it myself. It’s even weirder when I try to wrap my head around the fact that my first trimester has just about come and gone.”
“You should be finding out what you’re having soon.”
Gus points his chin toward Deb. “For real? Are we taking bets yet? Because I put $20 on a girl.”
“Actually, we find out the sex at our appointment next week. I can’t wait. I mean, I don’t really care about the baby’s gender. I know everyone says that, but I’m serious. I never even thought about having kids, but this little nugget has taken over my whole life. I just can’t wait to meet him or her!”
“What about baby daddy?”
My eyes grow, and I gawk at Deb. “Baby daddy? Really?” They both double over from laughter and I continue. “Kingston, however, swears it’s a boy.”
“Yep. I’m with him.”
“Lotta good that does. Just like women. It’s 2-1 and a cliché vote.”
The moment is right. It feels good. It feels normal. At least, my normal. After being passed around in foster care and being used as a punching bag for years, I don’t have much to compare to family. But my life here in the bayou is a fucking fairytale.
My fucking fairytale.
COMING SOON!