MARRYING MR. RIGHT (The Brides of Hilton Head Island Book 3) (26 page)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

                           
F
ourteen
days later, Taylor stood upstairs in the hallway of her home with Jaheem on her left and little Evan on her right, in front of a closed bedroom door. Anxious for the boys to see what she’d done to each of their soon-to-be bedrooms, Taylor’s insides jiggled.

                            The boys’ presence gave Taylor so much joy. “This is your bedroom, Jaheem. Are you ready to see what it looks like?” Smiling, Jaheem nodded his head. “I hope you like it.” Taylor opened the door, and the three of them walked inside.

                            Jaheem’s mouth dropped. His eyes spread wide. “Whoa! This is my room? I even have my own bathroom?” Standing in the center of his bedroom, Jaheem started dancing. Snapping his fingers, his feet shuffled.

                            Taylor and Evan started laughing.
Having these boys here is going to be so much fun,
Taylor thought
,
noticing Jaheem had a lot of soul and rhythm.

                            Because Jaheem had mentioned he loved the Florida Gators football team, Taylor had selected a Gator theme for his room. Blue walls, orange sofas, white curtains with tiny alligators, desk against the wall. By the amazed look on Jaheem’s face, she felt he loved his room. “Do you like it?”

                            Jaheem finally stopped dancing. “Like it? I love it! Thank you so much, Ta—” He stopped speaking mid-sentence. “Is it okay if I call you Mom?” His white teeth accentuated the dark brown complexion of his smooth skin.

                            Taylor’s heart melted like butter. “Sure, Jaheem. I’d love for you to call me Mom.”

                            Evan patted Taylor’s shoulder. “Can I call you Mom, too?” he asked.

                            Taylor ruffled her hand over Evan’s brown, curly hair. Looking down at him, she noticed his honey brown skin held a red tint and he looked feverish. He’d said earlier he hadn’t been feeling well. “Yes, Evan. I’d love for you to call me Mom, too. Are you ready to see your room?” she asked Evan.
He looks sick
.

                            Evan nodded. “Yes.”

                            Taylor and the boys exited Jaheem’s room and rounded into Evan’s bedroom. Evan was a huge fan of the Miami Heat, so Taylor had had a basketball-themed mural painted in the center of the wall above Evan’s full-size bed. On the basketball court itself, Evan’s name was painted in black, bold letters. A play basketball goal stood tucked in the corner across from his bed. Maroon and black bean bags sat on the floor beneath the window. 

                            Evan’s eyes were as big as the Mississippi River. “This is soooo beautiful.” He wrapped his arms around Taylor’s waist and gave her a big hug. “Thank you so much, Mom. When I get a job, I’m going to take good care of you and pay you back for this.”

                            Rubbing his knuckles over his eyes, Evan walked up to the window and plopped down on the bean bag. Smiling up at the ceiling, he crossed his legs at the ankles and spread his arms toward the ceiling. “Dear Lord, if I’m dreaming, please don’t ever let me wake up.”

                            Taylor and Jaheem both laughed at the precocious kid. After Evan explored his bedroom a little, she showed her sons their loft, filled with two arcades, a Play Station, and a pool table. As Taylor sat on the sofa watching Jaheem and Evan play with their Play Station, her heart rejoiced.

                            She thought Zeke had fulfilled her, and he did; beyond her wildest fantasy, her husband did. But having Jaheem and Evan gave her a different kind of fulfillment. A sense of pride. Accomplishment like she’d done something to help others. She couldn’t explain it, but like Zeke, she felt so close to them. She loved them so much, and she’d do everything in her power to protect them and make sure they never went without.

                           
Thank You, God, for giving me these two precious little boys. I don’t know why You blessed me with them, but thank You. Thank You.

                           
Thunder crackled. Grey clouds hung over the ocean. Raindrops suddenly poured from the sky. Bringing her feet to the sofa, Taylor’s cell vibrated against her hip. She pulled it from the clip attached to her jeans and answered it. “How is the world’s greatest husband doing?”

                                          “Bad.” Zeke’s deep voice sounded troubled.

                            Disliking the frustrated sound of Zeke’s voice, Taylor straightened her back on the sofa. “What’s wrong?”

                            “I have some bad news, Taylor.”
Oh no, please don’t tell me Don died.
Zeke continued. “It’s about Evan. His mother is protesting the adoption. She claims she now wants to raise him.”

                            “Hold on for a second.” Tears quickly crept into Taylor’s eyes as she stood and left the loft. Descending the staircase, her feet hit the floor on the first level. “I’m back. Zeke, no. We can’t let Evan’s mother take him from us.”

                            Zeke’s sigh came through the phone. “Evan was never legally ours, Taylor.”

                            Taylor’s heart crackled. “Isn’t there something you can do? I love Evan. I know I’ve only spent a few weeks with him, but in those few weeks I’ve grown so attached to him. He feels like my own. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was mine.”
He looks just like he could be ours.

                            “I know, baby. I feel the same way, too. But his mother wants to keep him. She’s changed her mind about letting us adopt him.”

                            A hot tear rolled over Taylor’s cheek as she stood at the window in her family room, glaring out the window at the dull, rolling sea. Dark grey clouds hung in the air over her home. The ocean tides grew higher. “I bet his mother doesn’t even want him. She’s probably knows we’re rich and wants us to offer her some money.”

                            “That thought came across my mind, too. Evan’s mother is going to pick him up today after you drop him off at the group care facility.”

                            Disappointed, Taylor fought not to burst into tears. “Today? Evan has been at the group care facility for months, and not once has his mother visited him. How could someone just drop their baby off and never come back to see him?”
Oh God, why is this happening?
“Offer her some money, Zeke. I bet that’d get her attention. Get her to change her mind. I don’t care how much you have to pay her, just do it. Evan is meant to be my son. There’s nothing anyone can say or do to make me feel any different. I love him,” she choked out.
How did I get so attached to him so soon?

                            “Oh, baby, don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I’ll promise, I’ll make Evan’s mother a monetary offer. One she won’t be able to refuse.”

                            “Thanks, Zeke. I love you so much.”

                            “I love you, too, my wife.”

                            Zeke and Taylor ended their call. Drying her weeping eyes, Taylor continued looking out at the rolling ocean. Waves crashed up against the beige sand, then rolled back into the sea.
I can’t lose you, Evan
. She wanted to adopt Evan more than anything in the world. If she lost him, it’d kill her.              

                            “I’m not going back to her,” Evan’s said, sneaking up behind her.
Oh no, he overheard me talking on the phone with Zeke.
Taylor slowly turned to face Evan.

                            Dread filled his doe-like brown eyes. “I know you don’t want to go back. I don’t want you to go back either. But she’s your mother—”

                            “She’s not my mother! You’re my mother. That old lady don’t want me. She’s never even liked me. All she do is beat me. I’m tired of her beating me.” Tears dripped rapidly from Evan’s eyes. “Please don’t send me back. If you do, I’m going to run away.”

                            Taylor tried so hard to hold back her tears, but it was useless. “I’ll fight to get custody of you, Evan. But I don’t know if it’ll work. As much as you don’t like your mother, she has certain rights—”

                            Evan flung open the sliding glass door and took off running down the beach. Taylor chased after him. Bare feet twisting in the wet sand, rain pelted Taylor’s scalp. “Evan! Come back here! Please, Evan!”

                            The beach stretched for miles. Thunder roared. Zigzag lightning struck the sky. White sheets of rain saturated Taylor as she scurried as fast as she could after Evan. How could his mother do this to him? Originally, she’d agreed to give him up for adoption. Why did she all of a sudden want him back? Chasing after Evan, Taylor wept.

                            Evan halted. Shoulders motioning up and down, he turned to look at Taylor. Just as she reached him, his red-stained eyes stretched wide.

                            Gasping for air, Evan gripped his throat. He fell to the ground. Eyes rolling to white, his body jerked wildly. Foam bubbled from his opened mouth.

                            Taylor dropped to her knees beside Evan as he lay on the ground writhing. Hunched over him, she touched his shoulder with one hand and his face with the other. “Evan! What’s wrong? What’s wrong, baby?” Taylor snatched her cell from the clip attached to her hip. Her fingers quivered as she dialed 911. “Oh God, what’s wrong with my baby?!”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

              Two days later                           

                            Z
eke draped his arm around Taylor’s shoulder and peered at Evan through the glass window of the intensive care unit at the hospital. Tubes in Evan’s mouth, nose, and veins, grief pricked at Zeke’s chest like sharp needles. Suffering from kidney failure, Evan needed to have a kidney transplant in order to live. His brain working overtime, Zeke swallowed. His eyes grew watery.
God, please pull Evan through this. I’m begging You, God. Please help this poor, innocent kid.
 

                            Zeke groped inwardly. How could a kid’s kidney be failing, and nobody knows? How could it get to the point where it’d become life-threatening? Were there any signs before two days ago? Any symptoms? Did the people at the group care facility notice anything different about him and just ignore it?

                            Right now, Evan was on a waiting list to receive a kidney. Yesterday, Zeke had informed Evan’s doctor he’d like to donate his kidney to Evan. Doctors explained to Zeke and Taylor that Zeke first had to be tested to see if he was compatible. Because Zeke and Evan weren’t blood-related, the chances of him being compatible were slim. Taylor had offered to donate her kidney to Evan as well, but Zeke had told her under no circumstances would she do such a thing. If he’d lost her due to surgical complications, he’d die. Literally.

                            After Zeke had told Taylor that under no circumstances would he let her donate her kidney to Evan, she’d gotten angry and tight-lipped. If she loved Evan just as much as he did, Zeke understood why she’d gotten so upset over his hard stand on the whole organ donation thing.  

                            Taylor folded her arms beneath her breasts. “Look at him, Zeke. He’s so precious. His skin is so pale. He looks so tired.”

                            “After all he’s been through, he has to be tired, Taylor. There’s only so much a kid like him can take. Child abuse. Sent to the shelter to live just because you were born.”

                            Stress pulled the lines on Taylor’s face tight. “Considering Evan’s mother said she wanted to keep him, I’m in disbelief she hasn’t paid him a visit yet.”

                            “Evan’s mother turned down the money I offered her to let us adopt him, but something in my gut tells me she’s going to change her mind. His mother, Muriel, is broke. My friends in Beaufort tell me Muriel has never liked the kid. Trust me, she’s just waiting to see if I up my offer—”

                            “My baby!” A loud scream coming from the receptionist desk made Zeke’s eyes divert from Taylor to the lady standing at the circulation desk. Severely upset, the crying woman nodded as she spoke with the nurse. Sitting behind the circulation desk, the nurse handed the lady a tissue, then pointed her in their direction.

                            Grey hair and flowery dress, the wide-hipped woman with thick legs walked in their direction. Obese, she more like wobbled toward Zeke and Taylor. When she reached the doorway to Evan’s room, she gave Zeke and Taylor a sad look, then she looked at Evan from the doorway. Head tilting, the woman’s bottom lip poked out. She put her hand over her ample bosom. “Oh, just look at my baby boy.”

                            Astounded, Zeke thought he’d heard the lady wrong. “Are you Evan’s mother?” Zeke asked the old Caucasian woman.  All that screaming she’d just done, yet the woman hadn’t a single tear in either of her eyes. What a performance.

                            “Yes, I am.”
Dear Lord, she looks old enough to be Evan’s grandmother. She must’ve had him in her late fifties.
“Seeing him like this just breaks my heart.” The woman slowly walked inside Evan’s room to go stand beside his bed. Fake crying, her shoulders shook as she looked down at Evan.

                            “She doesn’t look anything like I expected.” Taylor seemingly read his mind.

                            Zeke remained outside the room, observing Muriel from the glass window. “I was thinking the same thing.”
Where are the tears, lady?

                            “Evan doesn’t even look anything like her,” Taylor acknowledged.

                            Evan must look like his father.
“I know. But according to the documentation, Muriel Elliott is Evan’s birth mother.”

                            Taylor’s vexation was evident. “He must look like his father. I think Evan looks more like me than he does her.”

                            “I agree. Let’s go introduce ourselves to her,” Zeke said, leading Taylor inside the cool temperature room. Zeke’s attorney had told him Evan’s mother, Muriel, had given birth to Evan right at this very same hospital. With Don fighting for his life two doors down and Evan fighting for his life on the same hallway, Zeke fought hard to remain strong.

                            Brokenhearted, Zeke wanted to shake the hell out of Muriel as she stood over Evan’s hospital bed, pretending to love him. From what he’d heard, Muriel didn’t have an ounce of love for Evan in her heart.

                            Evan looked so at peace, even with all those tubes running every which way in his body.

                            Tired of listening to Muriel’s fake crying, Zeke cleared his throat. “Muriel.”

                            Muriel met Zeke’s gaze. “I’m Zeke Balfour. The man who—”

                            “Wants to adopt Evan.” Dry eyes, Muriel sniffed.

                            “Yes. I want to adopt Evan. This is my wife, Ta—”

                            “Taylor. Your attorney has told me all about you two. Nice meeting both of you in person. And thanks for your kind offer to adopt Evan. But he’s not for sale. Even if he were, he’d be worth way more money than you offered.” She placed a hand to her right, hefty bosom, then transferred her gaze back at Evan. “Worth a whole lot more.”

                           
She wants more money.
Zeke chuckled nastily inside his head.                            Muriel’s hand lingered up and down Evan’s arm. She put her lips to Evan’s ear and whispered. “Evan, its Mama. I’m here now.”

             
              Disgusted with Muriel’s fake performance, Zeke fixated his eyes on the vitals machine beside Evan’s bed. His heart jostled wildly. The green numbers on the vital machine started dropping quickly. The green line going up and down on the machine flattened.
Beeeep
. A loud bleep came from the machine.

                            “What’s going on, Zeke?” Taylor’s voice cracked.

                            Zeke’s heart collapsed. “He’s coding. Hang in there, Evan.”

                            “Code blue East 516. Code blue East 516.” The emergency warning came over the intercom system. Seconds later, an emergency team of doctors and nurses scampered inside the room. The doctor said, “We need you to leave so we can work on him.”

                            “I’m not going anywhere,” Muriel stated, standing still.

                            “Oh, yes you are.” Furious, Zeke jerked Muriel off her feet and carried her heavy behind out of the room.
Oh God, she’s heavy.

                            “Put me down, you crazy fool!” Grumbling, Muriel kicked up a storm.

                            Zeke’s back hurt from carrying the overweight woman.
I’m about to drop her.
Once they got outside the room, Zeke gladly lowered Muriel to the ground, then pointed his finger in her face. “This is all your fault!”

                            Muriel touched her chest. “My fault? How is this my fault? He was with Taylor when this happened, not with me.”

                            Zeke looked over his shoulder at Taylor. Bawling, she stood at the glass window, watching the doctors and nurses try to bring Evan back. Other than Katherine, he’d never desired to slap the hell out of a woman.

                            “Evan didn’t start coding until he heard your voice, Muriel. Doesn’t that tell you anything?” Muriel parted her lips to speak, but Zeke held up his hand, stopping her. “The boy doesn’t feel love from you. He doesn’t want to go home with you. Do us all a favor, and give Evan up for adoption. Taylor and I love him, and we want to raise him.”

                            Muriel’s weight shifted. “If you want Evan, you can have him. But it’s going to cost you more than a million dollars.”

                           
Thought so.
“How much more do you want for Evan, Muriel?”

                           
Not in the least bit concerned about Evan possibly dying inside the intensive care room, Muriel’s eyes traveled to the ceiling, then back down to Zeke’s face. As if she were thinking, she curled a finger over her top lip. Her left brow arched. “How about five?”

                            “Five what?”

                            “I’ll let you adopt my Evan for five million dollars.”

                            “You’re pathetic, lady. I’ll call up my attorney, have him draw up the paperwork, and I’ll be more than happy to pay you five million dollars to adopt Evan. As of today, I want you to stay out of Evan’s life—forever. If you even think about showing your face to him after I pay you and he legally becomes my son, I’ll have you arrested for stalking.”

                            A smirk was on Muriel’s chubby white face. “I promise to stay away. Please make sure you tell your attorney to put this in the contract—I get the money even if Evan dies. Goodbye. He’s all yours.” Not even bothering to wait to see if Evan would pull through, Muriel began walking away.

                            Watching Muriel walk past the circulation desk, Zeke felt like taking off his shoe and throwing it at her round grey head.
Good riddance, Muriel
. Katherine and Muriel would make great friends. The two of them acted much alike. The only difference was, one was skinny and the other was hefty.

                            Struggling to pull himself together, Zeke walked over to stand beside Taylor. “Evan’s going to pull through this, Taylor.”

                            With an entire medical team trying to bring him back, the doctor gripped the handles of the defibrillator, placed the metals on his chest, and shocked him. Evan’s tiny little chest rose violently, then slammed back onto the bed.

                            The green light on the vitals machine spiked upward.

                            Taylor ran inside the room. “Is he going to be okay?”

                            The doctor nodded. “He’s stable for now. He’s a very strong little boy.”

                            “Yes. He is. He’s like me, his father.” When Zeke called himself Evan’s father, mixed emotions stirred within him. Glad that Muriel had agreed to let him and Taylor adopt Evan, he was also sad because the little guy was lying in a hospital bed, fighting for his life.

              After the physicians and nurses left the room, Zeke stood on the left side of Evan’s bed while Taylor stood on the right. Zeke put his mouth close to Evan’s ear and whispered, “Evan. It’s Zeke. Your father, Zeke. Muriel has agreed to let Taylor and I adopt you.” Taylor’s watery eyes widened, her lips curved into a smile.

                            Zeke continued. “If you want to come live with me, Taylor, and Jaheem, you have to try and get better. You have to fight for your life. You can do it.” Aching inwardly, Zeke cupped Evan’s hand and squeezed it.

                            Evan’s free left hand lying on the bed jerked.

                            Taylor gasped. “His hand moved.” Bloodshot eyes, Taylor pointed at Evan’s hand. “Evan. If you can hear me, wiggle your fingers.”

                            Evan’s fingers wiggled. Taylor let loose a wet chuckle. “Thank God. You’re going to be all right, Evan. I love you so much. Mommy loves you so, so, so much.”

                            Zeke and Taylor lifted Evan’s hands to their lips and kissed his hands.

                            Long moments later, Zeke rounded the foot of the hospital bed, walked up to Taylor, and whispered, “I’m going to go spend a little time with Don. Afterwards, I’m going to stop by the attorney’s office to make sure he takes the paperwork to Muriel today. I want her out of Evan’s life as soon as possible.”

                            “Okay. I’ll see you later at home.” Taylor smooched her lips together, and Zeke kissed them.

                            Shoulders knotted, Zeke stalked down the hallways and rounded into Don’s room. Still on life support, Don’s chubby face had turned darker since he’d seen him on yesterday. All alone inside the cold room, stress punched Zeke’s gut.

                            “Don, man. I’m here again. I wish you’d tell me who did this to you.” Too sad to describe, Zeke’s eyes roamed over Don’s face.

                            Don had said on the phone right before he’d been shot that he had a photo of the members in the
Southern Mafia
gang. Well, when the police arrived at Don’s office, the photo was nowhere to be found. Since then, he and Taylor had taken a DNA test to see if Broderick’s son was theirs, and it turned out the little boy wasn’t any relation to them.