His Hotcakes Baby (11 page)

“How would that affect the larger sea
life?”

“There has been none after those during
the first few months.  We can only assume they were from the Gulf as well
during the spill.  There is nothing in this or the surrounding area that could
affect them.  Frasier and the team is leaving in the morning to go to the
Gulf.”

“Well, that is ideal timing then.  You
are seven months pregnant, honey.  I want you to stop working.  You can’t …”

“Yes.”

“Just yes?”

She laughed.  “Have I really been that
bad over the past few months?”

“Let’s just say your hormones really
gave me a hard time some days.”

Aiden has become a regular guest and
he spent many weekends with them. Both Billy and Chase became the father he had
to grow up without.  His rebellion has disappeared overnight.

It was early Friday afternoon and they
were enjoying the sun at the pool.  Mackenzie wore a bikini with a chiffon shawl
draped over her like a dress.  Chase thought he has never seen anything as
alluring and as beautiful as she was, even heavy with child.  The knowledge
that her glow was caused by their child growing inside her, made his heart
swell.

Essie hastened towards them with a
slight frown on her face.

“Chase, the coast guard is on their
way.  They have someone on board that is adamant her niece is being held
captive on this island and insists to be allowed to enter.

“Oh Lord!  I thought I managed to set
her mind at ease!  I am so sorry!  It must be Gaby.”

“Sis, you have told her about the
baby, right?”

“Ehm … no, I did not.”

Chase frowned at her.  “Why not?”

“Gaby is … somewhat difficult.  I
planned on introducing her to him once he was born … sort of preventing her
from worrying over me for months.”

“And worry she would!”

“Where is Billy?”

“He went to pay the wages for the
week.  I’ll go and meet Aunt Gaby.  I hope she brought little Z with.  I miss
the little guy.”

They watched him leave and Chase
turned his angry gaze back to her.

“She is your only family, Mackenzie. I
want to know why you never told her you are pregnant.”

“Chase it is not what you think.”

“Isn’t it?”

“No. Gaby was …”

“Mackenzie!  Come here, your darling
woman!  I have been out of my mind with worry!  Oh no!  Mack … what have you
done?”

Mackenzie sighed and walked towards
her aunt.  She took her hand and then gave her a hug.  Neither noticed Chase
turning to stone behind them.

“Relax, Gaby.  I did not want you to
worry, which is why I did not tell you.  I was going to come and introduce him
to you once he was borne.”

“Are you telling me you got married
without telling me too?”

“I’m not married.”

“Oh, Mack!  I never wanted this for
you too!  I wanted you to have a happy ever after!”

“Gaby!  Enough already! I am happy
about the baby!  Very happy!”

“But you’re alone!  You know how hard
it is …”

“Bree, you are upsetting Mackenzie and
it is not good for her.” 

Both women froze.  Mackenzie because
Chase knew Gaby’s nick name, which she knew she never told him. Gaby because
she recognized the much older Chase Paxton.  She paled and Mackenzie frowned. 

She swung to Chase, her eyes wide and
hurt.  He went from concern for her to furious from one heartbeat to the next.

“Goddammit Mackenzie!  No!  I never
slept with her!  I did not have sex with every damn woman on the planet as you
seem to think!”

“Oh God … Billy!”

How Billy reached her aunt before she
hit the tiled floor, Mackenzie would never know.  He stood staring at her in shock
a few yards away when she noticed him and fainted.    Mackenzie watched him
carry her to one of the pool loungers and laid her down carefully.  He tenderly
brushed her hair from her face and took her hand in his.

“Billy … he’s the one … that broke my
aunts heart?”

“I would say your aunt is the one that
broke his heart, hotcakes.”

Mackenzie looked up at him, his anger
still flashing at her.  She went on her toes and kissed him on his mouth.  She
slapped him on his naked chest.

“Shimmer down, big boy!  What else was
I supposed to think?  I guess neither of us really knows what happened between
them.”

They turned to watch the couple on the
pool lounger.   Gabriella’s eyes flickered.  When they found Billy’s she sat up
quickly and scrambled to her feet.  Billy’s lips tightened.

“What are you doing here, Gabriella?”

“Ehm … Billy, this is my aunt Gaby.”

He did not even turn her way, his eyes
glowed like globes of steel and Gaby took a step back.  A movement behind Gaby
caught his attention and every cell in his body stiffened.

“Aunt Mack!”

Gaby’s son came tearing over the
distance and would have hurled into her arms, if Chase did not step in front of
him.

“Easy there, buddy.  Your aunt is
pregnant.”

“For real?”  Wow!”

“Come here!”  She folded him in her
arms and he wrapped his around her waist carefully.

“I missed you Aunt Mack!”

“Not as much as I missed you!”

He glanced at Chase.  “Who is he?”

“This is my baby’s father, Chase
Paxton.  Chase, this is my nephew, Zach.”

“Zachary.  My full name is Zachary.”

Chase gulped and looked up at his
uncle.  Billy was rooted to the spot.  His eyes hungry, hurt and angry on the
young boy in Mackenzie’s arms.  She recognized the look in his eyes.  She
looked at Chase.  Her eyes suddenly haunted.

“He did not know?”

Chase shook his head, not taking his
eyes off Billy.  Billy forced his gaze from Zach and pinned Gaby with an
obliterating glare.  His voice was harsh and cold.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to …
YOUR … son, Gabriella?”

Gaby
bit her lip and Zach walked closer.  His eyes curious as they met the quiet,
large man staring at him with so much feeling in his eyes.

“Zachary, this is Billy Paxton.”

Zach walked closer and held out his
hand proudly.  Mackenzie saw how much control it took for Billy to only clasp
the small hand in his and shake it.  Zach held on to his hand and looked at
him, his head sideways.

“You look familiar.  Do I know him,
Mom? Why does it feel as if I know him?”

Gaby swallowed and closed her eyes. 
She clasped her hands in front of her and her eyes pleaded with Billy.  His
eyes were hard and relentless.  He was not going to help her.  She could not
even deny that Zach was his.  He had Billy’s father’s name.  She took a deep
breath and glanced at Mackenzie, noticing the possessive hold of the massive
man behind her.  Mackenzie nodded at her.  Gaby’s eyes swung back to Billy’s. 
Zach was still holding his hand. 

He stepped closer and looked deep into
his eyes.  He frowned and glanced at his mother, then back at Billy.

“Do you … do you have a birthmark that
looks like a dolphin on your hip?”

Billy lowered the edge of his bathing
suit and Zach gasped when he revealed the small dark shaped birthmark that
indeed looked like a dolphin.  Zach reached down and lowered his pants to
reveal the mirror image on his own hip.

“Mom, I have his eyes, his mouth and
his birthmark.  Is this my father?”

“Yes, Zachary, this is your father.  But
he … he never knew about you.”

Zach turned to her slowly.  His eyes
full of questions, his young heart and mind battling to work through what was
happening.  Mackenzie clutched Chase’s arms around her.

“Why?  How could you not tell him? 
All these years I thought my Dad was dead.  You should have told him, Mom!  He
might have … he might have come to find me!”

“Had I known, Zachary, you would have
been part of my life every day of your life!  Now that I do know … now we will
get to know each other!  Come here!”

Billy pulled him into his embrace and
hugged him against his chest. Tears trickled unashamedly down his face.

Gaby cried, her hands covering her
mouth.  Her eyes caught Billy’s.  His were inscrutable and cold. 

“We will talk later, Gabriella.  For
now … I want to get to know my son.”

Mackenzie turned into Chase’s arms and
wrapped hers around his waist, hugging him close.  She nuzzled and kissed his
chest and felt his shaft rise eagerly against her bulging belly.  She giggled
and he snorted.

“It’s not funny, woman!  I just don’t
seem to be able to get enough of you!”

“Even with this bulging belly and
wiggling ass?”

“Your ass is not wiggling and still as
tight and sexy as the day I met you.  Your belly is beautiful … you are
beautiful!”

He leaned closer and kissed her
tenderly.  She stroked his chest and looked into his eyes.

“I am glad I told you about your son. 
No matter the circumstances, every father has the right to know and make the
choice.”

“I would not have allowed you to walk
away Mackenzie.  I did not believe for even one moment that you were expecting
anyone else’s baby but mine. Just to remind you, honey … you did not tell me, I
had to force it out of you.”

“I would have told you eventually.  I
just needed time to get over the shock and accept the fact that the most sought
after bachelor and gigolo was the father of my child.”

“Are you ever going to get over that,
little dove?  Or are you going to remind us both about me being a gigolo for
the rest of our lives?”

She felt her breath hitch in her
throat and she had to swallow hard to catch her breath.

“What are you saying, Chase?”

His eyebrows rose and his anger
shimmered there once again.  It seems he was adamant to fight with her today.

“What do you think I am saying,
Mackenzie?”

Obviously that pushed her temper a
level higher as well and she glared right back at him.

“Are we going to play cat and mouse
now, Chase?  If I damn well knew what you meant I would not have asked the
question!”

“I have no intention of letting you
leave with my child on your hip after he is born.  Nor do I intend for my child
not to carry my name.  We are getting married.”

“So that our child can carry your
name?”

The anger in his eyes became even more
heated.

“So that we can be a family.  Just a
warning, Mackenzie.  You will never leave.  I do not believe in divorce.  Our
marriage will last.”

“There are an awful lot of wills in
that statement of yours, Chase Paxton.  I do not appreciate being bullied into
marriage.”

“You will marry me!  As a matter of
fact, before the end of this month!”

“Not unless I am asked, I won’t!”

She huffed and spun around to stomp
inside and was mortified when she realized everyone stood watching and heard
everything they said.

“Mackenzie, get back here!”  She
ignored him and increased her speed.  “Dammit woman, I am talking to you.”

“Guh!  I did not hear any talking! 
All I hear are demands!  You will ... get back … stuff you and your orders,
Chase Paxton!  I am not interested!”

He followed her into the kitchen and
watched her fling open the cupboard to take out a bowl and a spoon.  She
mumbled angrily all the time.  Words like buffoon, medieval jackass, alpha male
and flaunting muscles, reached his ears.  His anger reducing with each angry
jiggle of her breasts with every word she uttered.  He leaned against the
doorframe and watched her.

Essie walked in with a plate and held
it far away from her.  She handed it to Mackenzie with a wrinkled nose.

“Are you sure you should eat this,
Mack?”

“Oh thank you, Essie!  This would
taste wonderful with the bubblegum ice cream!”

“You … you’re going to … eat that with
… ice cream?”

Mackenzie took out the jar of ice
cream she had them add to the shopping list, from the fridge and scooped a
generous amount in the bowl.

“Hmm, with bubblegum ice cream.”

“I am sure you are going to get
heartburn if you eat this!  Can’t I rather make you a ham and cheese sandwich?”

“No Essie.  This will do wonderfully.”

Chase could not see what was on the
plate but it smelled like anchovies.  Essie shook her head and with a last
wrinkle of her nose, walked out, shaking her head at Chase.

He sauntered closer and wrinkled his
nose as well when he noticed the concoction on her plate.  Mackenzie ignored
him and took out a knife and fork from the drawer.  Chase shook his head when
she battled to get on the high kitchen chair at the breakfast nook and he
lifted and sat her down on it.

“What is that you’re eating,
Mackenzie?”

“Toasted rye bread with cottage
cheese, peanut butter, apricot jam and anchovies with blue cheese on top. Oh,
with a blob of bubblegum ice cream.”

“You are not seriously going to put
that in your body?  Good Lord, woman, are you trying to poison our son?”

“It is MY son that is demanding this! 
So shoo … go away and let me eat in peace.”

“You did not just shoo me away!”

She took a bite of the gory sandwich
with the ice cream on top and watched him while she chewed with obvious
enjoyment.

“We have a discussion to finish,
hotcakes.  I am not going anywhere until we do.”

“I havmgh notfghn to sff.”

“What was that?” 

Not understanding a word she said around
the bite she just took.  Mackenzie just glared at him and proceeded finishing
off her sandwich.  Once done she started to slide off the chair and Chase
cursed.  He grabbed her around the waist and placed her on her feet.

“Call me when you want to sit on one
of these damn chairs!”

She huffed and took a soda from the
fridge and opened it. She took a few sips and walked out of the kitchen, still
not saying a word.

“Bloody hell!  She is going to drive
me crazy!  Mackenzie!  Where are you going?”

He followed her and ground to a halt
just outside the arch leading to the pool.  She had just removed her shawl and
walked with a slight sway of her hips towards the pool.  From behind she was
still just as sexy and seductive as always and his dick was in total agreement
when it tightened even more beneath his bathing suit.  She walked into the pool
using the steps and pushed off at a slow crawl.

Chase took a dive into the pool to
cool his rising arousal and cleared the water in front of her. She stopped and
scowled at him.

“I told you I have nothing to say!”

“No, you mumbled something
unintelligible.”

He caught her around her waist and
pulled her into his body.  Her hands rested on his chest and she gasped when he
pressed his hard shaft into the apex between her legs.  This man was
insatiable!  He always wanted her!  Not that she did not want him, she just
could not associate his continued need for her when he was used to so much
variety.  Even more amazing was the fact that she was seven months pregnant
with a bulging belly, and he still wanted her!

‘Do you know how sexy you looked
gobbling down that revolting sandwich, hotcakes?”

Mackenzie could not help but giggle
and looked up at him.

“If that is true, big boy, I don’t
imagine you would mind kissing me?”

Chase hesitated remembering the smells
and the content of what she ate, but the temptation of her pouty lips were too
much and he pulled her up against him and his lips covered hers.  He felt the
smile on hers and he growled when she refused him entrance.  He raised his head
and scowled at her.

“Open for me, honey.”

She giggled and shook her head.  “I
was only kidding, Babe.  I would never expect you to kiss me after what I just
ate!”

“Let it be noted though that I was
quite willing to suffer for a sweet kiss from your lips.”

“Are you trying to score brownie
points by any chance?”

“Did it help?”

She laughed and pushed him away to
crawl leisurely to the side of the pool.

“Where did everyone disappear to?”

“Billy, Aiden and Zachary went down to
the beach and Essie took Bree to her room.”

“I better go and see how she is.  I
can just imagine what shock it must have been for her to meet Billy here.  And
for him!  To find out he has a twelve year old son.”

Chase wrapped his arms around her from
behind and caressed her belly.  He nuzzled her neck, his breath hot against her
ear.

“We are not done talking, hotcakes. 
Not by a long shot!”

“You might not be, but I am.  I will
not be bullied into anything, Chase Paxton!” 

She
pushed away from him and he groaned when his dick once again reacted to her
swaying hips as she climbed out of the pool.  He dove under and swam until his
chest ached, forcing his mind to concentrate on that rather than the need that
raged through him.  Getting out of the pool, he decided to go and find Billy
and his son.  It was time he got to know his cousin!

Mackenzie
knocked on the door and waited for Gaby to open.  She knocked again when there
was no response.

“Gabs?  It’s Mackenzie.  May I come in?”

Gaby opened the door and Mackenzie
followed her, closing the door behind her.  She walked out to the balcony and
sat down on one of the big patio chairs.  Mackenzie sat down next to her and
looked at her with concern.  Her eyes were swollen and red from crying.  A
forlorn sob still escaped her lips.

“Are you alright, Gabs?”

She just shook her head and fresh
tears trickled down her cheeks.  She stared towards the beach where Mackenzie
realized Zach were with Aiden and Chase that joined them as she watched.

“I … never expected to see him again! 
I can’t … begin to describe how it felt to look up … and see him standing
there!  I could not breathe!  Oh God, Mack!  How is it possible that he is here
… how cruel is fate to bring me here?”

“Was it, Gabs?  Cruel?  Or a relief?”

Gaby looked at her hands, a wry smile
on her lips.  Her eyes rose to meet Mackenzie’s.

“You know me too well, Mack.  I just …
where is … where is his wife?”

“His wife?   He never married, Gabs.”

“What do you mean he never married? 
His … his mother told me … she told me he was engaged and getting married in
three months … how could he not be married?”

“I believe he never got married
because his heart was broken thirteen years ago.  That is all Chase told me. 
Is that why you left?”

She nodded and bit her lip.