Broken (38 page)

Maggie was the last one to hug Cassidy. Turning with one arm around Cassidy’s shoulder, she said, “Momma, don’t you have something to say?”

Chin raised, eyes stony, his mother said, “No.” But Max noticed her hands clutched her rosary and her voice trembled, ever so slightly.

“Momma, how can you be so stubborn? You know what you did was wrong,” Maggie chastised, proving all his siblings were aware of what had transpired and his mother’s role in it.

Cassidy reached up and touched his sister’s hand. “Don’t. Mrs. Desalvo made her feelings concerning my relationship with Max plain.” Cassidy turned the focus of her cool, clear-eyed gaze on his mother. “You are entitled to your feelings and your beliefs just as I’m entitled not to subject myself or my child to your prejudices. I encouraged Max to reconcile with his family because I could see how the breach was hurting him. You choose not to recognize our marriage? Fine, that’s your right. I’ll be the bigger person. I’ll accept the overtures of friendship from your children. I’ll even forgive the lies you told that caused my child to be without a father for almost two years. However, I will not continue to remain in this home when I’m clearly not welcome. I’m ready to go, Max.”

There were cries of instant protests against their leaving. Max saw a flash of pain and what looked to be remorse cross his mother’s features in the second before he turned his back on her. “Katy, can you go upstairs and get our jackets?”

“Yes, Uncle Max.” The pre-teen rose and took off up the stairs.

Max took a sleeping Zoe from Cassidy, and placing an arm around her, guided her up the stairs. His siblings, nieces, and nephews followed.

“Do you hafta go, Unca Max?” Tommy asked again, his brown eyes huge in his face.

“This time, yes, I do. I’ll see you again, though,” Max assured him.

“’Kay,” Tommy said.

“Once the holiday madness slows, I’ll have you and Max over for dinner one night. You can meet my husband and get to know your nieces and nephews,” Maggie offered.

“Thank you. I’d like that,” Cassidy said. “Max and I will return the favor, if you don’t mind driving to West Chester, that is.”

“We’ll come. All of us. My baby brother’s happier than I’ve ever seen him before, and I know it’s because of you. You call, and we’ll be there,” Maggie assured her.

Max leaned over and kissed her on her plump cheek. “Thank you.”

She ruffled his hair. “You! Don’t be a stranger.” Her grin faded. “Momma will come around. She’s just stubborn and set in her ways. She missed you while you were gone. We all did.”

He felt his jaw harden. “I won’t let her hurt my wife.”

“We’ll talk to her. You’ll see,” Maggie assured him.

Nicco assisted Cassidy with putting on her coat while Max handed Zoe to an excited Maggie so he could shrug into his.

“You have a beautiful daughter, Baby Brother,” Maggie said as he took the sleeping Zoe from her.

“I know,” he said smugly.

She punched him lightly on the arm. “When we call, answer the phone!”

Laughing, he said, “I will. Promise.”

“Go on. Get your family home, out of the cold,” Maggie said, her hand planted between his shoulder blades as she pushed him toward the door.

They left to a chorus of “goodbyes” and “don’t be a stranger.”

The temperature had dropped a good fifteen degrees, and the wind had picked up, making the walk to the SUV a chilly one. Max pushed the button on the fob to unlock the vehicle, opened Cassidy’s and then the rear door to strap Zoe in.

“I’m sorry if my words about your faith offended you,” Cassidy said as soon as he was seated behind the steering wheel, looking solemn.

He brushed her cheek with his fingers. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry for my mother’s behavior. We can work out the church issue later.”

Cassidy shook her head. “Don’t be. I didn’t expect anything different. Bottom line, I’m not who she wants for you. For your sake, I’ll be polite when we have to be in each other’s company, but otherwise, I’ll stay away from her.”

“I don’t deserve you,” he said, meaning the words from the depths of his heart as he kissed her. “I love you, more than mere words can express.”

“I love you too,” she said, giving him that special smile of hers that warmed him right down to his bones. “Let’s go home, Max.”

“When I’m with you, I’m already home,” he told her.

Max started the ignition, checked for oncoming traffic, and pulled out into the street.

Zena Wynn is a multi-published romance author of erotic and sensual romance. She writes in multiple subgenres: Interracial, Contemporary, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, and Inspirational. To learn more about her, visit her website, www.zenawynn.com.

More books by Zena Wynn

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rue Mates

TM: Mary and the Bear

TM: Nikolai’s Wolf

TM: Tameka’s Smile

TM: Carol’s Mate

TM: Claiming Shayla

F
antasy Island: Mya’s Werewolf

Fantasy Island: Cyn’s Dragon

T
he Nina Chronicles:

The Apology

Love’s Challenges

Worth Fighting For

T
he Contract

Illicit Attraction

A Matter of Trust

The Question

Seduced by a Wolf

Marry Me

Dear Jon

Reclaiming Angelica

Naughty Seductions: The Naughty Student

B
eyond the Breaking Point

Broken

In case you missed it, the book that started it all…

© 2013

B
reaking point
. Everyone has one. For Dr. Cassidy Brannon it was discovering her husband, Phillip, in a compromising position with his best friend Max’s almost fiancée, Amber, while vacationing with the other couple. Angry and heartbroken, she and Max indulge in a night of drunken, vindictive sex. The next day, Cassidy returns home with one goal in mind—divorce.

H
owever, nothing goes as planned. Phillip, hell bent on fixing their marriage, won’t agree to a divorce. What was only meant to be one, never to be spoken of again, night with Max is evolving into something much more complicated. Then Cassidy discovers she’s pregnant. With both Max and Phillip adamantly claiming to be the father, how much more can Cassidy take before she’s pushed beyond the breaking point?

If you enjoyed Beyond the Breaking Point and Broken, check out the following…

© 2009

W
hat would you do for a friend? What sacrifice would you willingly make? This is the issue facing Gail Henderson when her best friend, Crystal Al Jabbar, asks her to be a surrogate for her and her husband Rashid, using Gail's own egg. Complicating the decision is Gail's recent loss of her husband and toddler son in a fatal car accident, two years earlier. After much contemplation, Gail reluctantly agrees. Her decision sets off a chain of events none of them could have anticipated.

E
njoy the following excerpt for
The Question
…

Chapter One

“
Will you have my baby?”

Gail Henderson abruptly began to loudly choke on her iced tea.  All around her conversations ceased as they became the center of attention. As she coughed and wheezed with tears streaming down her eyes, she squinted at her best friend Crystal who was sitting there, calm as you please, as though she hadn’t just dropped what amounted to a nuclear bomb into the conversation. 

They were seated at a table in Golden Corral, sharing lunch after a hectic morning of Christmas shopping, which was only a few weeks away. The place was packed as usual. The other diners slowly turned their attention to their own business when Gail glared at them for being nosey.

“I’ve given this a lot of thought.  You know I can’t have children.  If you had one for me, I would have the best of both worlds -- a child from the man I love more than anything -- and my best friend, who is more like a sister to me,” her friend continued.

Crystal had been pregnant several times. Each one had ended in miscarriage, the last almost ending her life.  After that, her husband Rashid had put his foot down.  No more pregnancies. Crystal told Gail that he’d threatened to get a vasectomy before he’d allow her to risk her life in another pregnancy attempt, and she’d reluctantly agreed.  Gail thought Crystal’d resigned herself to her barren state, but apparently not.

“What do you mean, have a baby for you?” she cautiously asked as she blotted the tears from her eyes and face.

“I want you to be my surrogate.  I’ve been looking into it.  Rashid would be its father and we’d use your eggs.  Once the baby was born, I’d adopt it, making me it’s mother and as my best friend, you’d naturally be its godmother.” Crystal looked at her with a hopeful expression on her face.

“Isn’t this kind of drastic?  I thought you were considering adoption,” Gail asked a bit desperately.

“I did, but that’s not for me.  I want a child of my own.  At the very least, I want a child fathered by Rashid.  You know how important family is to him.  Do you really think he’d be satisfied with an adopted child?”

Rashid Al Jabbar was as Arabic as his name. Because of his heritage, family and children meant a great deal to him.  “Crystal, you know that’s not fair to Rashid.  He loves you.  If you wanted to adopt, he would go along with it just because it made you happy.”

A brilliant smile lit Crystal’s face.  “Yes, he does love me, doesn’t he? That’s why I want this so much.  I want to give him the child he so desperately desires. Hopefully, it will be a son to carry on his family name. Gail, please. You’re my best friend in the world. There’s no one else I would trust to do this for me.”

“Crystal, look at us. We look nothing alike. Don’t you at least want someone who is similar in appearance?”  Crystal was a short, curvy, natural blonde with pretty brown eyes.  Gail was tall and slender with skin the color of nutmeg.  Not only did they not look alike, they were from two different ethic groups.  Crystal was Caucasian while Gail was African-American.

“Pshh. You know I don’t care about things like that. Besides, who would know?  Rashid is almost as dark as you.”  It was true. Rashid’s complexion was the dark, olive-brown complexion of a man from the Middle East, though he was as American as she.

Gail could feel herself caving. It’s not that she didn’t want to help her friend. She just had a bad feeling about this and over the years, she’d learned to trust her instincts.  She took in Crystal’s pleading expression. “Have you discussed this with Rashid?”  It was a last ditch effort to avoid the inevitable. She’d never been able to say no to Crystal.

Crystal leaned forward, determination showing in her eyes.  “He’ll agree. Don’t worry. How could he not? This is a win-win situation.”

Win-win for whom? Gail wondered. Then she sighed, knowing Crystal was right about Rashid. Crystal had him wrapped around her little pinky. “I’m not saying yes, but I’m not saying no.  Let me look into it. Do a little research. This is too big of a decision to make on the spur of the moment.”

Crystal squealed, causing other diners to turn and stare -- again.  She got up from her seat and ran around to hug Gail. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Gail returned her hug but inwardly, a feeling a dread was growing. She was going to say yes. She always did and Crystal knew it, but she sensed that this time, the results would be disastrous.