“I was scared, baby, but I would have fought even longer. I will never let anything or anyone come between us.”
I lean in and press my lips softly to hers. She hums lightly in the back of her throat like she always does when I kiss her like this.
I pull back and look at her in question. “How are you dealing with all of this? Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really. I saw her, Ash. She wasn’t right in the head, so if you’re going to start blaming yourself, thinking because she was some chick in your past that you’re responsible, then you can stop now.” I look at her, slightly embarrassed that she has such a good read on me. “I’m not sure that there will ever be enough help to make whatever is broken in her mind. She was talking nonsense. It’s over and I would really prefer to put it behind us. One thing I know for sure is I do not want to go back to that apartment. I can’t, Asher. Even though I know there isn’t danger anymore, I don’t think I will ever feel safe there again.”
“I understand. We’ll get you out of here and stay at Coop’s old house until we decide what we want to do. We don’t need to make a decision now or even a month from now. All that matters is that you and Zac are going to be fine. I love you,” I softy remind her, shifting slightly so I can bring her closer. It’s hard to get her as close as I want to with the wires and probes and crap all over her stomach.
“I love you too,” she murmurs, placing her head against my chest.
We fall into a restless sleep after that. I wake up a few times when the nurses come in to check on her, but not once do I remove her body from my arms.
CHAPTER 36
Chelcie
Two Weeks Later
“Asher!” I call from where I’m rocking. He surprised me with the mother of all nurseries and I never want to leave it.
When we decided to move into Coop’s old house, it wasn’t something we decided lightly. I was worried that it would be too hard for Asher to be in his old house. We had made amazing progress in cleaning it out, moving things that were trash and donating the others that didn’t mean anything to Ash. All that was left were the items Ash wanted to keep.
We decided that the first order of business was repainting the entire house. We spent hours painstakingly picking out each color for each room. Then we spent an even more obnoxious amount of time picking out the new furniture for the house. We got rid of everything that had been in my old apartment. Since the majority of it was old stuff Dee had left behind, I didn’t have many emotional attachments.
We did keep all of Zac’s nursery items—except this chair. It’s a new addition.
Designed to resemble the look of a baseball, it’s white in color with red stitching that stands out beautifully. The creamy leather and softness of the plush cushions are enough to make me never want to leave this spot.
It. Is. Heaven.
“Yeah?” He shakes his head when he comes into the room and sees that I haven’t left the seat—again—for the second day in a row. “Sunshine, should I get you one of these in every room?”
Whatever he sees in my face has him throwing his head back and his rich laughter booming in the room.
“It’s not going to happen, so get that thought out of your head.”
“What time is everyone coming over tonight?”
We decided late last week that we wanted to have everyone over for dinner. It means a lot to us that we share this with our family. I’ve been so proud of Asher. After the successful takedown of Dominic, eight other major players in the nasty underworld of drugs, guns, and sex trafficking were apprehended that day. I know there are still times when Asher questions himself if he made the right call, but then I will see him look over at me, his eyes tracing a path from my face all the way to my very large belly. His eyes get all sexy and soft and he just nods his head—coming to the conclusion without any help from me that he is, without a doubt, on the right path. His decision to give up his determination of being the one to take Dom out made it so that some major players in crime are now locked tight behind bars.
We expect that Dominic’s trial will take years. That’s not really an issue for us because there is no way he will ever live his life as a free man again even if he were to have a trial tomorrow. There is just too much stacked against him—all because of Asher.
“I think they’ll be here in about an hour. I wasn’t sure about Maddox and Emmy. Not sure what’s going on with them right now, so I guess we will see.”
“All right, baby.” I lean my head and close my eyes, determined to sleep until the last second possible.
I hear Asher laughing as he walks back down the hall to get the food ready for tonight.
I smile and thank God for bringing that man into my life.
*
Axel, Izzy, and baby Nate are the first ones to arrive. Izzy gives me a warm hug and we both laugh when our bellies smoosh together.