Levitate (28 page)

IT’S A BOY. We found out yesterday that we’re having a boy. I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling since the doctor uttered the words. I would have been just as happy with a little girl who looks like her mama, my wife. I think a lot of the happiness comes from getting to see him. We had a three dimensional ultrasound and it was… life altering to be able to see him growing inside of her. Life is good.

She’s currently in the office entering invoices into the computer. “Hey, babe, you hungry? I thought I could run down the street and pick up some lunch.”

“Yes.” She rubs her belly. “Your son and I are starving.”

My son.

“How about I go get it? There are a few invoices here that I’m not sure about. You can take a look at them while I’m gone.”

“I can—” She holds up her hand, cutting me off.

“Maxton, I am pregnant not dying. The doctor said me and the baby are healthy and doing great. The short walk of what, fifty feet, will be good for me.”

“Okay. I’m sorry; I just want to take care of you.” I pull her against me and place my hand on her belly. Dropping to my knees, I talk to my boy. “Tell Mommy she needs to get used to me taking care of both of you.” I kiss her bump and stand to my feet. I hand her my wallet. “Please take your phone with you.” I worry. I will always worry about her.

“I’ll be right back.” She steps on her tiptoes and quickly presses her lips to mine.

I’m in the middle of taking a look at the invoices when Brian, one of my bartenders, knocks on the door. “Max, there’s a guy here to see you,” he says.

“Thanks, Brian.” I stand to follow him out to the main bar area. When I reach the bar, I stop in my tracks. Standing at the opposite end is JT, Justin. I haven’t heard from him since that day at the farm. I’m instantly on alert. Kensington will be back any minute and she doesn’t need the stress; it’s not good for her or the baby.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, my voice heated.

“I just wanted to explain to you what happened back then,” he says.

“You don’t need to explain anything to me. My wife filled me in,” I retort.

“Wife? Wow, I, uh… I didn’t know. Congratulations, man. She’s amazing,” he says.

My anger rises. “You have no right to talk about her, to think about her. You know nothing about her,” I seethe.

“Maxton.” Her voice comes from the door behind JT.

Shit! I hop over the bar, needing to be next to her. “Brian!” I yell, he comes over and I hand him the bag of food Kens just brought back.” He takes it without a word and walks back to the bar. He stays close, his eyes on us.

I place one arm around her waist and the other rests on the side of her belly by her hip. Protecting them both from him. He will not get near her.

“Kensington.” Justin says her name like he’s pained to do so.

“Don’t fucking—”

She places her hand on my chest to get my attention. “It’s okay, Max. I’m good,” she tells me. “Just don’t let go.”

Like I would do such a thing. I raise my eyebrows at her and she chuckles. It’s a sound I didn’t expect to hear considering the present company. Then my girl surprises me even more; she turns to JT. “Justin, what can we do for you?” she asks as if he is some stranger off the street, not the brother of the guy who murdered her mother.

“I came to explain to Max about then, about what happened.”

“My husband is aware of my past and the events surrounding it,” she replies.

JT runs his fingers through his hair. “I’m so fucking sorry about your mom, Kens. I was young and stupid and I looked up to Joe. At first, I just thought it was a dumb club. Just a group of guys who would do silly things for no other reason than to say they did. They started out telling me I had to make you fall for me and then break up with you. I wanted to be a part of his group, so I agreed. Then I talked to you that first day and I immediately began to question why the hell I would ever let someone as great as you slip away even to be in some group with my older brother.”

He takes a deep breath. I’m barely holding onto my anger, but Kensi wraps her arms around my waist and rests her head against my chest. She’s calm, which keeps me in check. “Joe, he was… intense, always was. He knew I was falling for you. I talked about you all the time and spent all the time I had to spare with you. It pissed him off. Then he changed the rules. He said he knew I wouldn’t let you go, so the plans changed. I was to videotape the two of us together, having sex. I admitted to him that we hadn’t gotten that far yet.” I growl at the thought.

JT takes a few steps back. Smart man. “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t hurt you like that. I told him so. I told him that I…” He pauses to look at me. Turning away, he focuses his attention on Kensi. “I told him that I loved you and refused. I told him he could take his club and shove it up his ass. The next night after school, he and his buddies jumped me. They were pissed I was backing out. They kicked the shit out of me. That’s why I cancelled that night. I didn’t want you to see me and ask what happened. I didn’t want to lie to you, and I wasn’t ready to tell you the truth. If I would have thought for a minute that he would come after you…” He swallows hard and I can see this is difficult for him.

I look down at my girl and her eyes are glassy but she’s composed and calm. I hold her a little tighter, rubbing her belly. JT’s eyes follow my hand and I can see from the look in his eyes that he is just now realizing we’re pregnant. “I didn’t know how far gone he was. He was heavy into drugs. I knew he had tried them, but I had no idea it ran as deep as it did. He hid it well from all of us. I swear to you, I didn’t know he was coming after you. He beat the shit out of me and I took it. I thought he would leave you alone. I didn’t even fight back. I thought he was pissed that I changed my mind.” He rubs his hands over his face before he returns his gaze to my wife. “Kensington, I would never let him hurt you, if I knew. When I heard what he had done…” He swallows hard. “When I heard about your mom, I closed up. I wouldn’t talk to anyone. I ignored my friends. Max, man, I did it to you,” he says. “I wrote you that note, and I know you got it, your dad confirmed as much to Joe’s attorney. I just wanted to tell you in person how sorry I am. I know it doesn’t make it any better and it will never take away the pain or bring her back, but I am so fucking sorry,” he says.

“Why?” she asks. Her voice is soft and calm. “After all these years, why now?” she asks.

“It’s always been in the back of my mind. I told myself I needed to leave you alone and let you try and move past it. That you didn’t need me tracking you down and bringing the pain to the surface. Then I saw you that day at the farm, and well, I just… I didn’t know I would find you here today, that I would have the chance to tell you. I was going to explain it all to Max and tell him I was sorry. I didn’t know about the wedding,” he glances at our son, “or the baby. I hope you two have a long, happy life and I’m truly sorry for the pain my family has caused both of you.” He drops his hands to his sides and walks toward the door.

I don’t know what I expected to happen, but I never would have dreamed I would hear the words, “Justin, are you hungry? I bought a ton of Chinese. You’re welcome to stay and eat,” come out of her mouth.

“Kensi?” I question her.

Looking up at me, she says, “I’m good, Maxton. He didn’t make him do it. He did the right thing and he’s your friend. I don’t think I’ll be naming him godfather of this little guy anytime soon, but we can share a meal with an old friend. Besides, you’re here, so I know I’m good. He can’t break me; you won’t let him.”

Trust.

Words escape me at her strength, at the kind of person that she is. She’s going to be an amazing mother. “I love you hard, Kensington Cooper.”

She giggles. “Right back at ya, Maxton Cooper.”

I DECIDED AGAINST walking for graduation. My feet are swollen and, honestly, I just want that piece of paper. Maxton and I talked and I’m not going to work right away. He makes more than enough to support us, and I’m grateful we’re able to be provided for so I can stay home with our little man for a while. A professor at the college is looking for a teaching assistant, but the job doesn’t start until September when classes start up. She offered me the position and I immediately accepted. It’s close to home and decent hours. Max and I will be able to work our schedules with him owning the bar so we will be able to watch the baby with no need for childcare.

“Hey there, sexy mama”, Maxton says as he comes into the kitchen. He steps beside me and kisses my temple. His hands land on my belly as always. “How’s my two favorite people?” he asks.

“Good, my back’s hurting a little, but I think it’s from washing and folding all of those clothes.” Nicole threw me a shower last weekend and I spent all day yesterday washing them and organizing the nursery. We are all ready for our little man to arrive.

“Kens, you need to stay off your feet. Come on.” He takes my hand and leads me to the living room. He helps me down on the couch and places a pillow behind my back. He places another on the table and props my feet up on it. “You need to relax and stay off your feet,” he scolds me.

“She’s nesting,” Nicole says from behind us. Bright follows behind her. “We brought dinner,” she says, pointing to Bright who is holding up two pizza boxes.

“How you feeling, mama?” Nicole asks, leaning over the back of the couch to rub my belly.

“Like I’m as big as this damn couch,” I groan.

“You, my darling wife, are beautiful. That’s my son that’s cooking in there, so watch what you say. You might hurt his feelings,” he says, winking at me.

I laugh at his antics. I read somewhere that the baby will recognize our voices when he’s born and made the mistake of telling Maxton. He now talks to my belly more than he does me. It’s sweet and makes me fall even more in love with him every day.

“So does my nephew have a name yet?” Bright asks. He sets the pizza boxes on the table. Nicole places a bag with paper plates and napkins beside it.

“I’ll go grab some drinks. Don’t spill the deets without me.” She skips off to the kitchen.

“I think so,” I tell Bright, “but we’re waiting until he’s born. Maxton seems to think we need to see him, hold him, before we make our final decision.” I roll my eyes playfully. I happen to think it’s adorable how involved he’s been and how serious he’s taking this issue. I can still hear his words the first night we talked about names.

“Babe, this is serious stuff. Our kid is going to be called this the rest of his life; it’s got to be good. We don’t want him to be made fun of.” The look on his face when he said it was priceless!

“So, really, how have you been feeling?” Nicole asks, handing each of us a bottle of water.

“Good. My back has been hurting today, but I think it’s because I over-did it yesterday. I got all the clothes washed and the nursery organized. We are ready for this little guy any time now.” I smile at the thought.

“You have, what, a week to go?” she asks.

“Five days,” Maxton and Bright say at the same time.

Nicole and I both look at them. “It’s my baby,” Maxton says. “What’s your excuse?”

Bright shrugs. “Well, not only do I hear about it at work, I’m excited to meet the little guy. Maybe I can get my fiancée to set a wedding date and we can work on one of our own,” he says. His eyes locked on Nicole.

She sits back in her chair and studies him. “Whenever you’re ready, I’m in,” she replies.

“I get to pick?” he asks her.

“Yep.” She pops the p, challenging him.

Brighton looks at Max. “Your little man is due in less than a week. You good in thirty?” he asks. I smile, knowing what they’re talking about.

“Absolutely.” Max grins.

Bright turns to Nicole. “Max is going to marry us. We figured we both fell hard and that’s only fair. You’ve got thirty days. Tell me what you need and I’ll do it. I can even plan the whole thing, just needs to happen in thirty,” he says, taking a big bite of pizza.

We all burst out laughing and I have to pee again. “Ugh. Babe, I have to pee yet again, can you help me up?” I ask Max.

A slow trickle runs down my leg. At first, I’m embarrassed thinking that I actually pissed my pants. Then it hits me. Back pain… my water just broke.