"Aunt Sandra is right, she"s okay. Delilah is awake and responsive and was her normal loving self. Before I got the boot she asked me to tell all of you that she"s fine and she can"t wait to see you tomorrow. Actually I guess I mean today, since it"s the middle of the night. Anyway, she"s got a rough couple of hours ahead of her because the nurses are going to wake her up every ninety minutes or so, but in a day or two we can take her home and she"ll be just fine. They did a good job st.i.tching up her forehead. She looks good."
While I was talking, Brooke had reached out and grabbed Damien"s hand, and now he had her cradled against his chest. I could tell that he was having a hard time reigning himself in. "Thank G.o.d Spence. I mean seriously, thank f.u.c.king G.o.d. I thought the worst when we got the call. I"m sure I don"t have to tell you the s.h.i.t I imagined."
I shook my head in the negative. I didn"t have to imagine. As long as I live, I"ll never forget the moment that she lost her balance, or the way my heart felt when I heard the sickening thud as she landed at my feet.
Looking at Damien, the whole night came flooding back to me and I realized that I really needed to talk to him about more than just Delilah.
Clearing my throat, I held his gaze. "I actually really need to talk to you though. Either I can go to your place or you can come to mine, but we need to talk. It"s urgent."
I heard the rest of the family tut-tutting and I knew they all thought that I was going to drop the pregnancy bomb on him. I was, but I also had to lay out everything that Hank and Marceline dumped on me.
Giving me a nod, he said that I should meet him at his house and crash there for what little remained of the night. I didn"t have the heart to tell him that I didn"t think either one of us was going to be getting any sleep after our talk.
As we were all hugging and saying our goodbyes, I pulled Aunt Sandra aside. I made sure no one was listening when I asked her to meet us at Damien"s. "I didn"t want to announce this in front of Dominique, but what we have to talk about is something you need to know too. It"s got nothing to do with what just happened with Delilah though, so don"t panic."
She gave me a nod, but I could see that she was concerned. I got that, because I was concerned about telling them. I hitched a ride with Dominique and Tally back to Delilah"s place so that I could grab my car, and then I raced off to Damien"s to tell him all about it. By the time I got there, Aunt Sandra had already arrived. Damien let me in with a worried frown. I followed him into the living room where Brooke and Aunt Sandra were already seated, and after he sat down next to Brooke, I took a seat in an armchair.
"Alright spill it Spence. What"s going on here?"
Taking a deep breath, I got right to it. "For the last few weeks Marceline has been hounding me. It was weird, but I didn"t think too much of it since she"d hit me up for a loan that night she tricked me into going to her party. I figured she just wanted money. Anyway, earlier tonight when I left the wedding, I told you it was because I got a phone call. What I actually got was a bunch of threatening texts demanding that I had forty-five minutes to get my a.s.s over there or she was going to bring down the Hart family."
Brooke gasped, but Damien and Sandra just looked disgusted. Now came the hard part. I was going to have to lay it all out for them, and I knew that it wasn"t going over well.
"I went to the house. Marceline and Hank met me at the front door. That was my first clue that they thought they had something. When I got inside, they gave me this folder. I"ll show it to you when I"m finished. There"s no easy way to say this, so I"m just going to get it out quickly. The first thing is that Mike Hart isn"t Dominique and Delilah"s biological father. Their father is a man named Todd Rand. Todd has another child, a son. His name is Flynn Rand."
At that, all three of them gasped. You"d have to have been on Mars for the last decade not to know who Flynn was.
"The second thing in the file was the real kicker. Mike had two more children, both born to my mother. The first child was a son. He"s sixteen days younger than Dante. They kept him for a year. Marceline says Dillon was the back-up baby. Something about Mike needing an heir or whatever bulls.h.i.t they were feeding themselves at the time. They got rid of him when he was thirteen months old, which is the same time they got rid of the newly born daughter Marceline had given birth too. Her name is Leah. The children were adopted together, but their adoptive parents were killed in a freeway shooting. They grew up in the foster system with nothing."
Damien looked the way that I felt, which was absolutely gutted. As f.u.c.ked up as our lives were, we"d had each other and once his father died, we"d had Sandra. To know that we share siblings who grew up with nothing is hard to take.
"As bad as all of that is... the worst part is yet to come. Marceline and Hank have photos and a video of your mother with Todd Rand. They are threatening to sell it all to TMZ because everyone would be interested in knowing that Flynn"s got sisters he never knew about. They"re also threatening to set the press on Dillon and Leah. They think the bad publicity will hurt Hart International. At least that"s what they hope."
Through clenched teeth Damien asked one question. "What the f.u.c.k do they want?"
"They want ten million dollars from me, and they want Hart to contract work out to my father. Big jobs. Apparently they"re broke, and they feel we all owe this to them. They blame Sandra for my father"s business failing."
Jumping from the couch, Damien started shouting. "f.u.c.k those a.s.sholes! You, me, this entire family, none of us owe them s.h.i.t. I hate those a.s.sholes for what they"ve done to you to begin with, and now this. How could they just give children up? Why did none of our parents give a s.h.i.t?"
Brooke stood and wrapped her arms around him, laying her head down on his chest. I could hear her talking him down, and I was more than thankful for her being there. "Honey, this is terrible news, but we"re going to deal with this together. Don"t let them upset you any more than they already have."
Watching Damien look down in wonder at his fiancee was surreal, because it was something I never thought I"d see. She centered him somehow, made even things like this bearable for him. I realized that"s what Sabrina has done for Dante too, and I knew that I would also be getting through this s.h.i.t storm with the woman I loved at my side. Even at this moment, when things weren"t going so smoothly, the thought that I had Delilah in my corner made everything seem manageable.
I was surprised to see Brooke pull back from Damien, and then even more surprised when she came and enveloped me in a hug. "I know that must have been a terrible scene Spencer, and we are so sorry they made sprung that on you when you were alone."
Over Brooke"s head, I saw Damien staring at her with a look of pure pride on his face. I hugged her back and smiled at her as she walked back to the couch, taking Damien"s hand and pulling him down next to her.
Aunt Sandra had stayed fairly silent, but I could see how upset she was about everything that had been said before she started to speak. "The idea that there are two children out there who grew up in the foster care system when they should have been with us is just heartbreaking. I don"t understand anything my sister or her husband did, and I don"t understand how the Cross" have kept this knowledge to themselves for all of these years. I couldn"t care less that they think I"m responsible for his decline in the business world. I definitely didn"t help them, but the truth is that it was their sickening lifestyle that got them into the most trouble. No one wants to do business with drug using s.e.xual deviants. Hank destroyed his business just like Mike almost destroyed Hart before he died. Marceline and Hank are both insane if they think we"re giving them business. Spencer, you won"t be giving them any money, either. We"ll get out ahead of this, find Dillon and Leah. I will put some feelers out about getting ahold of Flynn. If Marceline and Hank want to put out pictures and video of my sister and Flynn"s father having s.e.x, so be it. My sister was a wh.o.r.e, and we owe her nothing. What she did to her children is unforgivable and I have no love for her, even in death."
I nodded my head. "I agree with you. But who I"m really worried about here, besides Dillon and Leah, are the twins and Dante. I don"t know how Dominique and Delilah will feel knowing that they have a different father, don"t know if they would be interested in meeting their other brother. What if they want to meet him and he has no interest? I can"t have them hurt like that. As for Dante... this is just going to eat at him in the worst way. We all know he"s pushed down more than any of the rest of us, and I don"t want him to be hurt by this. He"s so happy right now, and it just kills me to know that we"re going to have to tell him all of this. We all know how he gets when he thinks the twins are upset. That"s going to be hard for him, but I think it will be even more upsetting for him to know that we share siblings that grew up with nothing."
Shaking his head, Damien buried his face in his hands. "You"re right. Dante"s going to take this really hard. Not that there"s ever a good time for this type of thing, but he"s never been so happy. He and Sabrina are trying to get pregnant and start a family of their own, and now this. It"s like even from the grave our parents are still f.u.c.king with us."
That reminded me that I had some news of my own to share, and I couldn"t put it off for another minute.
Shifting uncomfortably in my chair, I mustered up my courage. "Damien... I know you"re going to be p.i.s.sed when I tell you this, but please remember that I love your sister more than anything in the world and I"ll always take care of her."
His head snapped up so that he could look at me, and I could see the tension in his shoulders. My only course of action was to blurt it out. "Delilah"s pregnant. We"re having a baby."
I noticed that Brooke didn"t gasp or show even a flicker of surprise, so somehow she had already been told. Damien"s mouth opened and closed a few times, his eyes wide with shock.
"You got my sister pregnant?"
Yikes. That did not not sound good at all. sound good at all.
"Yes. I"m sorry it happened this way, but I"m not sorry that I love her. As soon as it can be arranged, we"re getting married. I"ve loved her forever, and I bought her an engagement ring two days after you started having Brooke"s made. Even when I didn"t think she"d say yes, I always knew she was the only girl I"d ever love. I wanted to ask for permission, but looking at her in that hospital bed... I needed her to know that I was going to be with her forever."
Gesturing wildly he snapped, "I f.u.c.king knew something was wrong with her tonight at the wedding when she wouldn"t drink the champagne. I should have put it together. Of course you"re marrying her, a.s.shole. I"d shoot your a.s.s if you didn"t. Good move getting a ring on her finger. Hopefully that will take some of the sting out of Dante"s anger. Tell me now, is Delilah happy about this? Because if she isn"t you and I have a problem."
I nodded quickly. "Yes. She"s thrilled. You know your sister, so you know what a big heart she has. She"s already crazy in love with the baby."
He took a full visual a.s.sessment of me in silence for a moment, then asked Sandra and Brooke to leave the room. Brooke looked concerned, but he soothed her with a kiss. "It"s alright sweetheart, I just want to talk to him."
His eyes told me wanted to do more than talk. Maybe even wanted to punch me, but if it came to that, I"d take my punishment.
Once we were alone in the room, he wasted no time in going at me. "I know my sister has a giant heart and will love the baby, but I also know that two f.u.c.king days ago you sat in a restaurant with me and Dante and told us you never wanted children. I know you wouldn"t have been able to keep this secret, so you can only just have found out. How far along is she, and how do you feel about this?"
I looked away for a moment as I gathered my thoughts. Turning back his way, I started speaking. "I found out tonight. She"s six weeks along. The baby was conceived the weekend you took Brooke away. I wasn"t good when Delilah told me, but it had nothing to do with not wanting to be tied down or anything stupid like that. I"m f.u.c.king terrified the baby will grow up to be like my dad, terrified that I"ll be a horrible father."
Damien was across the room like a shot, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Hey, don"t say that s.h.i.t. My niece or nephew is going to be awesome. Crazy f.u.c.king spoiled, ridiculously over-protected and totally adored by us all, but awesome nonetheless. You"ve always put yourself down about s.h.i.t like this and it p.i.s.ses me off. You aren"t Hank. You"re nothing like Hank, not even on your very worst day. You think I"d be best friends with someone that had any of Hank in them? Think I would have begged you to come live with all of us? If you had any of him in you, I wouldn"t have. Luckily for you, I never had to worry about it, because you are NOTHING like him. You"re going to be a great dad. You"re probably going to win awards for being father of the year, because Dante will shoot your a.s.s if you do anything less. He raised us to be good men, Spencer. You"ve done him d.a.m.n proud up to this point, and you"re going to make him happier than ever when he sees you loving your child."
I felt different arms around me, and I looked down to see Aunt Sandra had come in. "Oh honey, you"re going to be such a good daddy. I"d never have trusted my little girl with you if I didn"t know what a great guy you are. I"ve always known that it was you for her. From the first day that I met all of you, it was so obvious. It used to scare me that she was so sure about where you would end up, that to her it was decided before she even took her first breath. Over the years, she brought me around to her way of thinking. You two are meant to be, and this baby is meant to be a part of you both. Embrace that sweetie. You"ve created a miracle together."
Pulling her closer I hugged her hard as I furiously wiped at my eyes with my hand before pulling back and mock glaring at her. "You were so totally eavesdropping!"
Laughing at me, she pulled back. "I was. I wanted to make sure Damien here didn"t go all Rambo on you. I"m not sorry I listened though."
I wasn"t sorry either, because she"d really made me feel better, had helped put everything in perspective. I"d always had a choice, and I"d always chosen to be nothing like Hank. Right then and there, I vowed to myself that I"d be the best father I could possibly be. With Delilah by my side, I could face anything... even my own fear.
Chapter Thirty: Delilah
I was exhausted after being woken up so many times during the night, but I didn"t care. A happy bubble had descended over me, and I was more than willing to tolerate a hospital stay, all things considered. When I thought I"d lost our baby, I"d felt so desolate and broken inside. Knowing that our baby was thriving inside of me made me so happy that I was keeping a smile on my face in spite of how tired I was. The knowledge that at this time next year I would be changing my name to Delilah Cross and holding our baby in my arms put everything into the proper perspective.
Spencer was in my room the second that visiting hours started. He looked like a hot mess, and I knew he hadn"t slept a wink either. Still, he was smiling, and I sensed that he had a mindset similar to my own. We survived, and these few sleepless days are a small price to pay. Leaning over my bed, he cradled my face in his hands and kissed me deeply. "How are you and our baby this morning?"
Smiling, I rubbed my non-existent belly. "We"re good. Better now that you"re here. I was starting to get nauseous, but now it"s fading away. This is what happened during the five days you spent at my apartment. Clearly the baby already loves daddy, because whenever you"re around, I feel much more solid."
He looked blown away but ecstatic. "Really? You think the baby knows when I"m around?"
I smiled at him, thrilled by the cautious wonder that filled his face. He was scared s.h.i.tless, but he was hopeful. I took that as a good sign. "Yes, I really believe that little b.u.t.ter bean knows when you"re there."
Smiling shyly, he rubbed my stomach. "b.u.t.ter bean eh?"
Laughing, I covered his hand with mine. "Yes. I don"t know why, but I"ve taken to calling the baby that. I know at some point we"ll need to talk about real names, but that"s months away. For now, I"m calling the baby b.u.t.ter bean."
He laughed with me before saying, "b.u.t.ter bean Cross. I like it."
Grinning back like a fool, I nodded. "You"re right. It has a certain ring to it."
We spent the next few hours dozing or talking quietly while doctors and nurses occasionally walked in to check on me. I wasn"t allowed to have other visitors until the doctor cleared it, but I was chomping at the bit to see everyone. I knew they were worried.
Each time the doctor came by he told me how well I was doing. Luckily I didn"t have any other symptoms of a concussion than the headache I"d had last night. By late afternoon, the doctor concluded that it was very mild, and decided that they"d just as well release me around dinnertime.
"All things considered, you"re doing beautifully Miss Hart. Your vitals are perfect, you aren"t experiencing any pain, and you look good. I"m advising you to rest for the next day or so, but that"s more just to catch up on whatever you lost last night than anything else."
I was thrilled that I was going to be able to leave. The hospital was so not the place to get any rest. Spencer jumped in as soon as the doctor left with, "I think we should go to Malibu for the next week. We can relax and just chill."
I agreed before he even finished talking. I loved the Malibu house, and I loved the idea of setting up camp there. "I love that Spence. We can go to your house, then my apartment to pack, and then we can spend the rest of the week relaxing."
Looking down at me, he smiled. "Angel, it"s our house now. Everything I have belongs to you, too. How about I have Dominique pack for you?"
With a big love struck grin on my face, I smiled and nodded. Spencer kissed my forehead and then stood up and grabbed his cell phone to call Dominique. I laughed when he casually laid his hand on my stomach, almost like it was a good luck charm or a touchstone. Sliding my hand over his, I smiled up at him as he hung up the phone and told me that she hadn"t answered. Giggling I asked, "You don"t think the baby is going to high five you or anything yet, right?"
We were laughing together when the door opened and Mama San, Dante and Dominique walked in. They all but attacked me, hugging and kissing me, and doing a full visual check. "Sorry I didn"t answer my cell," Dominique said, "but the nurse gave me the evil eye when I pulled it from my bag." The three of them then proceeded to hit me with a barrage of questions, one right after the other. I answered everything I could, a.s.suring them again and again that I really was fine.
Looking down at my stomach where Spencer and I still had our hands clasped together, Damien smiled. "Well, now that I know how you are... how"s the baby doing today?"
Turning my head, I raised my eyebrow at Spencer.
"I went to Damien"s last night and told him our news. I was going to tell you right before he got here but as usual, he beat me to the punch."
Nodding, I turned and smiled at my brother. "The baby is doing great. We both feel good."
Damien beamed at me like I"d just told him I"d cured a disease. "Oh ladybug, I"m so proud of you. You"re going to be a mom! I"m thrilled. I can"t wait to spoil my niece or nephew."
It was Dominique who noticed the ring first, lifting my hand up and squealing. "Oh my G.o.d, it"s beautiful! When will you get married?"
I laughed and shrugged my shoulders. Gesturing to Spencer I said, "This one tried to get me to go to Las Vegas with him last night. Just like my brothers he"s got the patience of a small gnat. I"m guessing within the next few weeks."
There was a collective laugh and before I knew it, Damien had his hand on my stomach, followed by Dominique and then Mama San. Damien smiled at me and kissed my forehead. "I"m excited that you"ve got a new member of the family in there."
Mama San nodded, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at me. "My grandbaby is in there, snug as a bug in a rug," she said with a sniffle.
I was so wrapped up in the beauty of the moment that I didn"t hear the door open, and none of us had any idea that someone else had entered the room until he spoke.
"What the f.u.c.k? My little girl is pregnant and no one f.u.c.king told me?"
My jaw dropped when I saw Dante standing at the door looking completely flabbergasted.
Looking from my stomach to me, then back to my stomach, he looked up again and locked eyes with Spencer.
"Everyone get out. I want to talk to Spencer and my sister."
Everyone scurried like rats on a sinking ship. I"d never seen any of them move so fast. I couldn"t believe that my brother was going to make a scene, but he looked p.i.s.sed so I braced myself as I clung to Spencer"s hand. I could feel the tension in his body, and I knew that Dante being angry was hard on him.
Looking at Spencer, Dante went right at him. "Am I to understand that my little girl is pregnant, and that you are the father?"
Standing tall, Spencer nodded. "Yes. We"re having a baby. I"m sorry that this is how you found out, I really am. I only found out last night, but I did go to Damien right away and tell him. If you"d been here I would have told you too, but you had already left for Hawaii. You know I love her Dante, and you know I"d do anything to keep her safe and happy. I swear to you that she"s never going to regret loving me. I"ve already asked her to marry me. I"m sorry I didn"t come to you first. You have to know that I meant no disrespect."
Nodding his head, Dante looked at me. "Are you happy honey? Is this what you want?"
I smiled at him with my heart in my eyes. "I"m ecstatic. This is all I"ve ever wanted Dante. I"m going to have a child that is the embodiment of my love for Spencer. It doesn"t get any better."
Smiling, Dante came forward and kissed my forehead and patted my belly before standing up and grabbing Spencer"s hand. "You"re a lucky son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h. I swear to G.o.d if she"d started crying, I"d have killed you with my bare hands. Looks like that conversation we had two days ago didn"t mean s.h.i.t, eh?"
Spencer shook Dante"s hand as they both laughed. "Joke was on me. There I was yapping about how I didn"t want to be a father, and now I"m beating you idiots to it. While you"re dealing with food cravings and doctor"s appointments, I"ll be holding our baby."
I could see that made Dante happy, and I smiled as he continued talking.
"You just wait Spence. I am going to spoil this kid like nothing you"ve ever seen before. I"m going to be that annoying uncle that gives all the really loud and obnoxious toys that will drive you both nuts."
Holding up his hands in mock surrender, Spencer laughed. "Hey, if you do that to us, we"re totally returning the favor."
When my brother looked back at me, I grabbed his hand. "Why did you come home, Dante? I know they must have told you that I was okay. You shouldn"t have lost out on a honeymoon."
Tut-tutting me like I was insane, he laughed. "Little girl, did you really think I"d be able to take their word for it? I had to see you for myself. Besides, my wife had already talked to the pilot on the jet and had him file a new flight plan for us to turn around as soon as we landed before I even got off the phone with Aunt Sandra. Family comes first, always. There"s never even a question. Besides, we wouldn"t have been able to enjoy ourselves until we knew for sure that you were okay. We already talked to Damien, and in a few days we"re going to head to his new beach house for a week or so. All we care about is being together. Of course, now we"ve got to catch up to you two in the baby making department."
The three of us laughed at that and I grinned like a fool. "It would be so amazing if Sabrina could get pregnant ASAP and we could have our children close together!"
Giving his biggest s.h.i.t-eating grin, Dante laughed. "Sounds like a plan. And if Damien has anything to say about it, Brooke will be pregnant in about ten minutes too."
Giggling I said, "sounds like there"s about to be a baby explosion in this family!"
Nodding at me as he smiled Dante said, "That"s the idea."