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

Chapter Three

            
 
I
ndulging in a very bland meal, Zeke sat in silence at the long, wooden dining table. Along with him sat his stepmother, Katherine, and his two half-brothers—Antonio and Bane. Forking green beans into his mouth, Zeke’s eyes traveled to the empty chair at the head of the table, where his father normally sat. His workaholic father, billionaire Colton Balfour, was still at work.

              Hating the tension stabbing the air, Zeke’s eyes left the vacant chair to glimpse Katherine’s round, red, freckly face. When their gazes connected, Katherine shook her head in disgrace, then rolled her eyes.

              Sitting across from him, making mean faces, Katherine’s long ivory dress bunched with ruffles over her breasts area.
Who gets dressed up just to stay in the house all day? She swears she’s an actress on the soap operas.
Dark red hair, striking green eyes, and pink lips, Katherine was attractive on the outside, but on the inside she was ugly.
Past ugly. Way ugly. 

              Always prim and proper, Katherine worked hard to maintain a perfect image for her family, especially her marriage. Because Zeke was the result of a secret affair, Katherine felt embarrassed by him. Part of him couldn’t blame her; but then again, it wasn’t his fault his mother had had an affair with his father and had gotten pregnant with him.

             
Everybody makes mistakes. I can’t wait ’til dad gets home. Katherine’s evil stare is driving me nuts. When I leave here, I’m never coming back. Taylor and I are going to get married and move far, far away. Raise our son or daughter together.

              With his older brother Bane to his left and his other older brother Antonio to his right, Zeke spooned a heaping tablespoon of dry mashed potatoes into his mouth.
Yuck!
Katherine’s cooking was horrible. He’d be glad when their chef, Delbert, returned. But what he really couldn’t wait for was to speak with Taylor.

              Happiness filled Zeke’s insides.
Oh, Taylor.
You’re having my baby.
As soon as he finished his dinner, he was going to go upstairs and call her. Longing to speak with Taylor about the pregnancy, Zeke forced himself to swallow the disgusting food inside his mouth that Katherine had cooked.

              When Taylor said she was in trouble earlier, he had no idea she was trying to tell him she was pregnant. Right before she’d taken off, she’d even apologized. As far as he was concerned, she didn’t have anything to be sorry for, he thought, dragging a napkin across his mouth.

              Zeke’s older brother, Antonio, nudged him in his side with his elbow. Chuckling, Antonio shook his head. “Heard you gon’ be a father, dude.”

              Holding a glass to his lips, Bane’s tea flew from his mouth. “Damn, dude, you got somebody pregnant?! What the fuck?!” Bane laughed.

              Dabbing at the corners of her mouth, Katherine’s napkin went flying in the air. “Watch your mouth, Bane!” Her eyes narrowed at Antonio. “And you. How do you know about this?”

              Reddish-blonde hair, blue eyes, Antonio looked a lot like his mother Katherine. Antonio’s blue eyes became flat as he pondered what to say. “I overheard you talking with Taylor’s mother, Veronica, a little while ago.”

              Shoulders pushed back, Katherine jutted her chin. In her famous proper tone, she spoke, “What did I tell you about getting in grown folks’ business, Antonio? That wasn’t polite, you know.”

              Antonio met Katherine’s dark green gaze and shrugged. “Well, it’s not like I was trying to hear you speak, Katherine. All that yelling you were doing with Veronica, I couldn’t help but overhear you.”

              “Please, don’t address me as ‘Katherine’. I’m your mother, Antonio. Anyhow, I’m going to tell you just like I told Zeke…no baby is coming into this house. Veronica and I discussed this situation, and we both agree that it’d be in Zeke and Taylor’s best interest if she had an abortion.”

              Zeke tried to give Katherine a black, angered glare. Fuming, he scooted his chair back and jumped to his feet. His angry gaze held Katherine’s hateful glare. “Taylor is not having an abortion.” His tone came out bold and icy. Just the way he felt.

              Katherine’s red eyebrows dipped. Her pink, thin lips twisted with disdain. “Don’t you dare speak to me in that manner,” she ordered through clenched teeth. “You’re too young to have a baby, Zeke. You’ve been accepted into some of the most prestigious universities, colleges in the world—Yale, Howard, Princeton, and even Oxford, just to name a few. If you have a baby, you can forget about going to college. You’ll be stuck here raising a baby. And the last thing I need is for you to stay here in Hilton Head.”

              Shaking his head, Zeke’s fists balled. He tossed his head back and released a throaty, fake laugh. Meeting Katherine’s evil stare again, he retorted in cold sarcasm, “You’ve never wanted me here, have you, Katherine? Don’t worry, I won’t mess up your plans to get rid of me. I’ll find a place of my own, and I will take care of my baby and Taylor all by myself.”
Suggesting Taylor has an abortion; Katherine is one nasty woman.

              Katherine rose to her feet and fisted her hips. “If you and Taylor decide to have this damn baby, you and she will take care of it!” She roughly thumbed her chest. “Not me!” Hands back on hips, she gave her head a hard shake. “And not your father! Your father has invested too much money in you for you to go out and mess up like this! You—”

              “What’s going on in here?” Zeke’s father, Colton Balfour, emerged from the kitchen and stood beneath the framed arch. Wearing a navy blue suit and loosening the red speckled tie at his neck, Colton stalked toward his seat at the head of the table. “I can hear you screaming all the way outside, Katherine. Please, lower your voice.”

              Katherine huffed. Her eyes were filled with contempt, and she looked like she hated him. Just hated him. “Are you going to tell him, Zeke, or should I?”

              Silence hung in the air like black smoke, suffocating Zeke.

              Both Zeke and Katherine sat back down in their seats.

              Colton stood at the head of the long wooden table, shrugging his arms from the sleeves of his suit jacket. Clearing his throat, he draped the jacket on the back of the wingback chair, then plopped down in his seat next to Katherine. Waiting for Katherine to fix his plate, like she always did whenever Delbert was absent, Colton clasped his hands.

              Expressionless, Colton’s dark brown eyes went from Katherine to Bane, then to Antonio, and lastly to Zeke. “Well, is somebody going to tell me what the hell is going on, or what?”

              Zeke’s heart palpitated wildly in his chest.
He’s going to be pissed.
Mustering up the courage to drop the bombshell on his father, Zeke inhaled deeply. “My girlfriend, Taylor…well…she’s pregnant.”

              “This is just horrible. Horrible,” Katherine mumbled.

              Colton’s eyes rounded in disbelief. He opened his mouth to speak, then zipped his lips shut. Straightening his back against the chair, he folded his arms across his thick, burly chest. As his father sat thinking, silence loomed in the air. Waiting for his father to say something, tension coursed through Zeke’s veins.
I don’t care what anyone says, I’m going to support Taylor. She’s having my baby, and that’s that.

              Suddenly, Colton’s eyes brightened. Looking at Zeke, his full lips pulled into a big, wide smile. “Well, congratulations, my son. I’m looking forward to being a grandfather. It’s going to be fun having a little one running around here. Please invite your girlfriend, Taylor, over so I can tell her face-to-face how happy I am for the two of you.”

             
Holy shit! He’s not mad.
Shocked at his father’s response, Zeke’s heart swelled. “Thanks, Dad.”

              Katherine threw her hands up in the air. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Is that all you have to say, Colton? Really? Really?”

              Colton nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. “Yes, Katherine. That’s all I have to say. Having a baby is not the worst thing that can happen to Zeke. He’s not on drugs. Has a four-point-eight grade point average, smart as a whip. About to go to college. Got accepted into some very prestigious schools, I might add. I’m very proud of Zeke.” Colton held his right hand up to chest level. “I’ll admit, having a baby this early in the game isn’t the best situation to be in, but what’s done, is already done. And there’s no need to mope about it. We’ll just have to make the best of an unexpected, challenging situation.”

              Bane slapped Zeke on the back and chortled. “Congratulations, my brother. I’m going to be an uncle.”

              Antonio jabbed his fork into his steak, then sliced it with his knife. Holding a chunk of meat to his mouth with his fork, his bottom lip folded under. “I bet she got pregnant on purpose.”

              Glowering at Antonio, Zeke balled his hands beneath the table. “You better watch what you say about my girl, bro.”

              Antonio bolted to his feet. Zeke hopped to his. Standing face-to-face, Zeke was tempted to throw a punch at his idiotic brother’s face. Antonio jutted his chin. “And if I don’t? What are going to do about it?”

              Zeke spat, “I’m going to beat your face in with my fist until it becomes a bloody pulp.”
And fuck your ass up
. “Now say something, so I can make good on my threat.”

              Colton ordered in a husky tone, “All right, you two. Stop—”

              The doorbell rang, interrupting the chaos taking place inside the Balfours’ home. Ordering both Antonio and Zeke to sit their behinds back down with one look of his cold eyes, Colton rose to his feet. “Everyone needs to calm down and be happy for Zeke. I don’t want to hear another negative word out of anyone’s mouth about this here situation. Everyone here is going to be happy for Zeke. As a family, we’re going to support both Zeke and Taylor and welcome their baby into our lives with open arms.” Colton’s dark gaze bounced back and forth between Katherine and Antonio. “For the record, I’m not asking. I’m telling everyone at this table, that we
WILL
be supportive of Zeke. Period. End of discussion.”
Ringringring.
The doorbell rang repeatedly, signaling a sense of urgency. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go get the door.” Halfway to the front door, Colton yelled out, “Katherine, fix my plate!”

              Rolling her eyes, Katherine strolled toward the kitchen. “I swear, he can never do any wrong in that man’s eyes,” she murmured beneath her breath, but Zeke heard her loud and clear.

             
Stop hating.

              Antonio stated, “Don’t ask me to babysit, because the answer will be no. Good luck.”

              Bane exclaimed, “Dad said no negativity. I’ll help you with the baby as best as I can, Zeke.”

              The corner of Zeke’s mouth lifted in appreciation of Bane’s kindness. “Thanks, bro. At least someone has my back—”

              “Zeke, get in here! Now!” Colton shouted.

              Glad his father and his brother Bane were supportive of him, Zeke trudged through the living room and headed for the front door. When he reached the living room, he instantly recognized Taylor’s mother, Veronica Spelling. Red-stained eyes and bright red nose, Veronica’s brown face held a sullen expression. Short, straight-haired bob, Veronica looked like she’d been crying.

              Nervous, Zeke swallowed. “Hi, Ms. Spelling. I guess you’re here about Taylor. I’m—”

              “Have you seen Taylor?” Veronica blurted. Water filled her eyes. “She’s normally home by seven, but she hasn’t come home yet.”

              Zeke’s heart dunked. “We were together earlier today, not far from here. We split around six, right after it got dark. She said she was going straight home.”

              Veronica’s lips trembled. A tear streamed down her left cheek. “How was she right before she left you? Did she seem sad?”

             
Oh God, Taylor. Where are you?
Terrified, Zeke shook his head. “I wouldn’t necessarily say sad. More like scared. Yeah, she was scared. She said she was going to be in big trouble.”

              Veronica swiped at the tear falling from her right eye. “Was she scared because of the pregnancy?”

              When Zeke nodded his head, his bang fell from the hair on top of his head to his brows. “I didn’t know at the time that she was pregnant, but yeah. I think she was scared to tell me she was pregnant.”

              Curiosity rounded Veronica’s red-stained eyes. “She never told you that she was pregnant?”

              Having a bad feeling about Taylor’s unknown whereabouts, Zeke swallowed. “No, Taylor never told me. Right when she was about to, Katherine came looking for me and interrupted her.”
Darn Katherine. She always messes things up for me.

              “Now, Zeke,” Katherine said, strolling inside the room up behind him. Looking ever so elegant in the long ivory dress she wore, Katherine had the nerve to caress his spine like she really cared for him. Like she really loved him. Boy, she could fake it good. “What did I tell you about calling me ‘Katherine’?” The only person who
regularly
addressed her as ‘Mom’ was Bane.