Reckless Redemption: A Bad Blooded Rebel Novel (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) (23 page)

“Well
I definitely didn’t plan it to go this way but I can’t lie and say I’m not
super excited,” I answered.

“So,
Jessie,” Mom asked, “when are you and your husband going to have a little one?”

Jessie
smiled her beautiful smile and ran her fingers through her long light brown
hair.

“Someday
soon, hopefully. We’ve definitely been trying, that’s for sure.”

“Well,
that’s the thing about babies. They come when they are ready,” Mom reassured
her. “Although if I was married to someone as gorgeous as your husband I’d be
practicing baby making
all the time
.”

We
all busted out laughing at that comment. Sadie walked over and snaked her arm
through Mom’s.

“Danni,
your mom is the shit. Will you adopt me?”

Mom
smiled at her and said, “Absolutely, doll. You and Jessie have been such great
friends to Danni and Everleigh, especially through that awful situation in New
York. I already love you both like daughters.”

I
noticed both Sadie and Jessie suddenly had sad smiles on their faces.

“That’s
so sweet, Brenda, thank you,” Jessie said. “I hope Danni realizes how lucky she
is to have had a mom like you growing up.”

“I
take it you didn’t have the best childhood either?” Mom asked as we all walked
into the living room.

“No,
sadly,” Jessie said, sitting down on the couch. “Ryder was the only one out of all
of us that was lucky enough to have great parents. My mom was a nightmare.”

“I’m
so sorry sweetheart,” Mom said to her. “You too, Sadie.”

“Don’t
be sorry, Brenda. We both didn’t have it easy but we made it here now and
that’s all that matters,” Jessie replied.

“Was
it just you and your mom growing up?” Mom asked Jessie.

“For
the most part, I guess. When I was ten child services stepped in and took me
from her. It was one of the best and worst days of my life.”

“Why
is that?” Mom asked, her eyes glistening with fresh tears.

“I
was glad because I thought I was getting away from my mom for good, but it also
meant I didn’t get to see Kris. That was something I’d gotten used to and I
missed him. He was always my escape from home and I was away from him for a
while.”

“So,
I take it you had to go back home?”

“Yeah,
after about six months of being bounced around from home to home the court
decided that my mom had cleaned up her act well enough for me to go back to
that hell hole with her. I didn’t want to go home obviously, but I was so happy
that I’d be with Kris again. He always made me feel so safe even when logically
I wasn’t.”

As
if sensing things were getting too serious, Sadie sank down next to Jessie and
changed the subject. “So, have you two thought of any names for the baby yet?
Hint…Sadie has a nice ring to it.”

I
chuckled and answered, “No, we haven’t really discussed names yet. To tell you
the truth, we haven’t even really had the discussion of moving in together
yet.”

“Girl,
you’re halfway through the pregnancy. You’d better decide soon,” Everleigh
said.

“She’s
right, Danni. He asked you over a month ago. What are you waiting for?” Jessie
asked.

I
sighed and admitted, “To marry him.”

Everyone
gasped and Sadie asked, “Did he propose to you?”

I
shook my head sadly and answered, “No he hasn’t. I’m afraid he doesn’t want to
and that he’s getting freaked.”

“Why
do you think that?” asked Jessie. “Girl, Beau is in love with you. He’s so
happy with you and we all see that. Why do you think he’s freaked?”

I
shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. He just…he’s seemed really nervous since
we came back from Muncie. I feel like there is something off but I can’t
exactly put my finger on it.”

My
mom wrapped her arm around my shoulders and gave me a reassuring squeeze.

“Danni,
anyone with eyes can see that man loves you and this baby girl. Men just
sometimes get stressed over the little things. I wouldn’t worry honey. A new
relationship that has been fast tracked into family life sometimes just takes
you by surprise.”

My
emotions were getting the better of me, and my bottom lip started to tremble.

“I
just don’t want to lose him. I love him so much,” I whimpered, feeling the
tears pooling in my eyes.

“Oh
Danni,” Everleigh said, kneeling in front of me. “You aren’t going to lose
Beau, I know it. Maybe he’s nervous for a good reason. Who knows? He might be
planning a surprise for you or something and he’s just nervous about how you’re
going to react.”

Her
words gave me a lift. “You think so?”

“He
could be. Just…don’t freak out yet. Talk to him when he gets home,” Ev reassured
me.

Just
then the front door opened and in walked Beau with my dad and the guys. When
his eyes landed on me, he smiled and said, “Hey beautiful.” He walked toward me
and when he reached the couch, he leaned down and kissed me, his tongue gently
sweeping over my bottom lip.

“H-hey
Beau,” I muttered, dazed from feeling his lips on mine. “You’re back early. Did
you have a good time with the guys?”

“I
did, but I couldn’t wait to get back home to you,” he answered, his tone full
of lust.

A
shiver trickled down my spine and my nipples instantly hardened as I looked
into his deep brown eyes. I hoped like hell everyone was right…I loved this man
so much and I would die without him.

“Ugh,
keep it in your pants until we leave, man,” Jude grumbled.

I
looked up at Jude and asked, “Aw, what’s the matter big guy?” I took in his
appearance and fought back a laugh. His tee shirt looked wet and clung to his
hard chest.

“Oh
nothing,” he answered glumly.

Ryder
walked to Everleigh, who was still kneeling in front of me, and helped her to
her feet. He laughed and replied, “He ran into some chick he fu-, um, I mean
slept with at the movie theater.”

“Why
are you all wet then?” Sadie asked and I couldn’t help but pick up a bit of
irritation in her voice.

“It
was actually hilarious,” Ryder answered. “We were waiting to pay for our
tickets when we saw this group of girls leaving the theater. This one chick
recognized us and she came storming over and yelled at Jude, calling him an
asshole and shit. Well, he didn’t even have time to say anything because as
soon as she reached us she threw herself at him and stuck her tongue in his
mouth.”

“Classy,”
Sadie said, rolling her eyes.

Dad
laughed. “Oh yeah, she was a gem. When Jude shoved her off of him she slapped
him across the face before she threw her drink in his face.” He placed his
hands on Jude’s shoulders and gave him a friendly shake. “I’m sorry to laugh
son, but it was hilarious.”

Jude
playfully elbowed my dad in the ribs. “You’re lucky I like you, old man,” he
answered, and my dad laughed harder.

Sadie
stood up off the couch, seeming to be in a better mood than she was a few
minutes ago.

“Well,
as much as I would love to have been there to see that, why don’t we go home so
you can get changed?”

“Yeah,
all right,” Jude answered, and wrapped his big muscular arm around Sadie’s
neck. “Thanks for dinner, everyone, and Danni…congrats on your little girl. I’m
really happy for you.”

I
grinned brightly at him and replied, “Thanks Jude.”

Ryder,
who was standing behind Everleigh with his arms wrapped around her waist,
kissed the top of her head and said, “I think we’re going to head out too. I
was only away from my gorgeous wife for an hour but I’m already pitching a tent
in my pants.”

Everyone
snickered and Everleigh blushed. “Easy, rock star. Dan and Brenda are like my
parents.”

Mom
smiled at them and said, “Oh, Ev honey, you are married and you’re pregnant. We
know you have sex, sweetheart.”

When
her face got even redder, Mom said, “Go ahead. Go home and get some.”

Ryder
laughed and kissed Everleigh’s neck. Her eyes closed for a moment as he said,
“That sounds good to me. Let’s go, gorgeous, I need to get you home.”

Just
then Everleigh giggled and I saw Ryder’s eyes widen. His face broke into a
handsome smile and they quickly looked at each other. She gasped and I asked,
“Ev, what’s wrong?”

Her
eyes were wide and suddenly glistened with tears. “Nothing, it’s just…oh my
God!”

Ryder
let go of her and walked around to face her. He knelt down on the floor and
placed his large hands gently on her stomach. He was still grinning widely as
he softly said, “Holy shit.”

“What
is it, Ev?” Jessie asked, who I now noticed had gotten up and was tucked under
Kris’ arm.

“He
just kicked. Max just kicked me,” she said, a tear falling down her cheeks.

“Haven’t
you felt it before?” Mom asked her.

“I
have, but Ryder hadn’t until just now,” Everleigh answered.

I
smiled, so happy to be in this moment with them. I suddenly couldn’t wait to
feel our little girl kicking and playing in my belly. I looked at Ryder and I
almost started to cry as I saw the expression of happiness on his face. He had
tears glistening in his eyes too as he rubbed his hands reverently on her
swollen stomach.

We
all watched in amazement as Ryder got to feel his child kicking for the first
time. Before anyone could blink, he kissed her stomach and quickly stood up.
“Okay, we need to go. I have to get you home and naked in our bed
now
.”

Everleigh
barely muttered a goodbye before Ryder took her hand and led her quickly out
the door.

Kris
snorted out a laugh and said, “Well, I guess that’s our cue to head out too.
You ready to go, Jess?”

“Ready,”
she said, kissing his cheek. She broke away from him and hugged both of my
parents quickly before saying good night to everyone else and going home.

“Well,
Princess, I think I’m going to have to call it a night. Trying to keep up with
these young rockers tonight reminded me of how old I really am. Besides, tomorrow’s
a big day,” my dad said, winking at me.

Beau
shifted nervously next to me and I felt my worry start to rise again.

“Why
is it a big day?” I asked.

My
mom playfully elbowed Dad in the ribs and answered, “It’s the Fourth of July,
Danni. We’re going to watch fireworks explode on the river! That’s really
exciting!”

Something
in her answer made me pause. “Mom, we used to watch fireworks at Prairie Creek
Reservoir on our pontoon every year.”

“Well,
this time it will be on a yacht. I would definitely say that’s an upgrade from
a pontoon, don’t you think?” Mom asked.

Something
still didn’t feel right but I decided not to push it tonight. I had to talk to
Beau about what was bothering me and the longer I waited the more anxious I
felt.

“Yeah,
I guess so. Well, I’ll let you two get some rest,” I answered, hugging both of
them. “I’m kind of tired myself.”

“You’ll
let us know if you need anything, okay?” Beau asked.

“Oh,
I’m sure we will be fine. Thanks for dragging my ass out tonight son,” Dad
answered, giving Beau a quick shake around the shoulders. “You boys made an old
man feel young again.”

Beau
chuckled and smiled at Dad. “Old man my ass. You had it all over us and you
know it.”

“I
did, didn’t I?” he joked, and I laughed.

He
pulled Beau into a quick hug and said quietly, “Good night, son.”

Beau
blew out a nervous breath and answered, “Night, Dan. You too, Brenda.”

My
stomach was really rolling now…the way everyone was acting had my suspicions on
red alert. After my parents disappeared into one of the spare bedrooms, Beau
took my hand in his.

“You
ready to head to bed?”

“Yeah,”
I said, my voice starting to crack. He led me to his bedroom and just as we
walked inside, he turned on the light and I turned to face him. Before I could
speak he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.

“Mm,
I’ve been dying to kiss these lips all night,” he murmured against my lips.

My
body tingled as his hands roamed down my back to rest above my ass. I could
already feel him getting harder by the second and as much as I wanted to give
into him, I really needed to talk to him.

“B-Beau,
wait,” I whispered, pushing against his chest.

“What’s
wrong, Danni?”

“Listen,
can we talk for a minute?”

His
brows furrowed together and his eyes quickly filled with worry.

“Talk
about what?”

I
took a deep breath and pulled him to the bed. I sat down and he fell into place
next to me.

“Beau…are
we okay?”

“What
do you mean? Of course we’re okay. At least I hope we are,” he said, tucking a
strand of hair behind my ear. “Why do you ask?”