Love Brewing (Love Brothers #3) (23 page)

“What’s placenta?” Jace piped up, intrigued. “Hi, Miss Jen.”
He waved, having unlatched so he could sit in the open truck window.

“Hey, sweetie. Listen, your Daddy has to come with me for a
bit. He’s going to the hospital with me to help Miss Diana get her baby out.”

Jace’s face blanched, likely matching Dom’s own. “Her baby
is coming…out?” He gulped. He turned to his father. “From where?”

“Never mind. Sit yourself down. We gotta go.” He set his
jaw, gripped the wheel and drove eighty-plus miles an hour on the familiar
country roads to the small suburban hospital, got out, and attempted not to
hurl. Jace grabbed his arm.

“Come on, Daddy. Miss Diana needs you. You got some pliers
to help get her baby out, right?”

Dom took a breath. “No, but the doctors have some. I’ll call
Uncle Kieran and have him come get you.” Dom left Jace with Dale in the waiting
room, got gowned up in silence, then followed Jen down the hall. He could hear
Diana yelling at someone three doors away.

Jen grabbed his arm and shoved him forward. “Go in there and
help her, goddamn you, or I will kick your ass from here to Sunday.”

He froze, hands on either side of the door.

Jen punched his arm so hard he jumped. “Come on, ass wipe.
You owe her so much, you’d have to deliver five of her kids yourself to make it
right. Jesus.”

He nodded, squared his shoulders, and walked into the room.
“Diana,” he barked out, trying to ignore all the horror. “Don’t be such a
butthead. I’m here. Now let’s do this thing. I’ve got better stuff to do than
…. Oh…my…God.” He couldn’t hold back a groan when he saw something red dripping
onto the hospital floor, even as he took in the scrum of people gathered between
Diana’s legs. “Oh…ah….” He gripped the wall and focused hard on not passing out
but sensing himself fading fast.

“Get over here,” a nurse barked at him. “Talk to her or
something. Calm her down. Stay up there at her head and you won’t even know
what’s happening down here.”

He nodded, gulped, and walked slowly in her general
direction, still hoping this could be a nightmare.

“Fuck you,” Diana spat out, her sweaty hair hanging over her
face, her teeth clenched, looking for all the world like she’d been possessed
by a demon from hell.

“Now that’s more like it.” He headed for the area of Diana
well above the wall of blue paper at her waist. “Come on, kid, let’s get that
girl outta there.”

Three hours later he sat by her bed while Diana slept,
revved up beyond belief, his mind awash with the miracle he’d just observed.
When a nurse brought the baby into the room, he picked her up out of the tiny
rolling bed without even hesitating, meeting her dark blue gaze and falling
head-over-heels in love in an instant.

“Hey,” Diana croaked out.

Dom smiled at her but held on to the infant.

Diana frowned at him. “Give me my kid,” she demanded, her
voice breathy. “Just because you played at that whole helping-me thing doesn’t
mean you—”

“Marry me,” Dom interrupted her as he handed the baby over.

“Are you drunk? Never mind, don’t answer that.” She spent a
few seconds kissing the baby’s nose, cheeks and forehead. “I’m never marring
anyone ever again. And even if I did,
Dominic Love
would be the last man
on a long fucking list.”

“Don’t curse,” he said with a huge smile, weathering her
drop-dead-asshole
stare. Figuring he’d earned it, and her comment, he took a seat next to the
bed, content for the moment just to watch Diana with her baby and formulating
his new life’s goal in his mind.

Ten Years Later, Christmas Day

Dominic got out of the truck and noted the few inches of
snow had brought the Love family spawn out in force. He spotted the haphazard
snowman against the pole barn about the same time a snowball missed him by mere
inches.

“Hey,” he hollered, scooping up some and heaving it in the
direction of the kids who were running away and laughing.

Loud rap music heralded the arrival of his son. Dom watched
as Jace’s car pulled up in front of the house and the boy unfolded his tall
frame from behind the wheel of his junker sub-compact. Jace ran fingers through
his too-long hair and adjusted his tie, checked his phone then stuck it in his
pocket.

“You’re late,” Dom called out, arms crossed. “Did you bring
it?”

“Of course.” The young man grinned from ear to ear. “Sorry.
Helen’s mama kept us over dessert a while.” He patted his stomach. Dom raised
an eyebrow, his eyes going straight to the distinct bruised spot on the boy’s
neck.

“Yeah, and those are some kinda wrenching good-byes. Hell,
boy you’re gonna see her again in just a few hours.” He smacked his son behind
the head. “She suck your brains out that neck hole?” The boy yelped and
blushed. “Cover it up before your grammie sees it.”

“I love her.” Jace’s expression went instantly moony in a
way that made Dom want to shove the damn kid face down into the snow. Jace fell
hard in love with every girl he ever took out on a date. But this particular
girl had her hooks in him good, thanks to how much she let him in her panties,
Dom figured.

“Using the condoms, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jace frowned. “You ready?”

“Yep.” Dom unfastened one of his shirt buttons, revealing
the top of a red t-shirt. “I’m ready.”

“Granddaddy’s gonna shit a brick.” Jace hesitated and ran a
hand around the back of his neck, a nervous tick they shared.

Dom laughed and slapped his son’s back. “Well, it wouldn’t
be the first one. Come on, let’s go tell everybody the good news.”

They tossed a few snowballs at the smaller kids then walked
in the front door and into the upper family room. Anton sat, holding
AliceLynn’s little girl in his lap and petting one of the many cats Lindsay had
rescued. Now that she volunteered once a week doing paperwork for the Humane
Society, she had a new mangy animal in here every week.

“Hey, come on in here a second,” Dom called into the kitchen
and then again down the steps. The Love family gathered, the women bringing
more dishes to the table, the teenagers scowling at being interrupted from
their video games, his brothers in various stages of fatherhood and now, in the
case of Antony, grandfather-hood.

“We have an announcement to make.” Dom smiled at Jace. “One,
two, three.” They ripped open their dress shirts to reveal matching Louisville
Cardinal basketball T-shirts.

The room got so quiet Dom heard the ice melting in the
bucket over on the bar. Anton rose slowly to his feet.

“What in the
hell
?”

Kieran burst out laughing and gave Jace a hug. The rest of
the family crowded between them. But his grandfather stayed stock still.

“You come into my house, wearing that blasphemous color?”
Anton glared at Dom. “This is a Kentucky Wildcats house, boys.”

Jace laughed and draped an arm around his grandfather’s
shoulders. At six-foot-six and a half, the kid towered over the whole room with
the exception of his Uncle Kieran a former NCAA division 1 player himself. “You
can be for the ‘Cats, Granddaddy. As long as they aren’t playing the ‘Ville!
Can I get a C-A-R-D-S?”

Everyone in the room went utterly silent, regarding Jace as
if he’d suggested they eat their feet for diner. He shrugged.

“Full-ride scholarship, Daddy,” Dom stated, keeping his cool
in a way he’d come to value, thanks to a lot of years of practice, not to
mention staying on his medication.

“Well, I always knew you could do it. Taught you that hook
shot myself.” Anton smiled up at his grandson without missing a beat. Jace
kissed his balding head and bounded into the kitchen, leaving Dom with his
brothers and father.

“This calls for a drink.” Anton pulled out one of the
bottles of Love Bourbon, poured them all a generous helping and held up his
glass then, with a wry smile, pulled a bag out from behind the sideboard. Dom grinned
when his father settled the red and black Louisville Cardinals ball cap on his
head with a slight wince, as if the thing had burned his scalp, then gave three
more over to Antony, Kieran and Aiden. His brothers pretended to choke and gag,
but they put the hats on too.

The moment froze in Dominic’s memory, making him even more
glad he’d bitten the bullet and dealt with his own demons since it had netted
him his place once more amidst the Love family. They were his rock and anchor.
He had to take them, warts and all, just like they took him.

“Let’s eat, ya’ll,” Angelique called from the kitchen. Dom
shot Kieran a glance, surprised to see her here.

“Just wait,” his brother whispered. “Mama’s got a
matchmaking reunion up her sleeve this year.”

As they were filing into the crowded dining room, the
doorbell rang.

“Angelique, honey, will you get that for me?” Lindsay sang
out. Kieran elbowed him as the girl—no, a woman now—threw open the door.

“Merry Chri—” she began.

Dom peeked over her shoulder and spotted her ex-husband, the
former EMT, now Doctor Calvin Morrison, standing there, holding a bottle of
wine and a bouquet of roses, his face set in determined lines.

“Mama!” Angelique screeched, gripping the door and staring
at the man she’d dumped in favor of some a-hole—for reasons that escaped
everyone in the Love family—who’d moved her to Florida, then left her
high-and-dry.

Dom stepped up, quickly took the wine and flowers, then
moved aside so Cal could grab the stubborn girl and lay a kiss on her that made
everyone behind them start whistling and clapping.

“Merry Christmas, Angel. I love you,” Cal said, once he
broke the liplock, impressing Dom with his straightforwardness.

She struggled a half-second, then threw her arms around him.
Dom gave the wine to Kieran and headed for the kitchen to find a vase.

They all sat in their usual places for the dinner, with the
kids filling a large second table in the adjacent living room. Dom took his
mother’s hand. Lindsay said grace and the eating frenzy commenced.

By the time they’d all finished and the second generation
had done the cleanup, Dom and his brothers had drawn straws for the Santa suit.
He got the job for the first time in a while so he hammed it up, ho-ho-hoing
like mad and distributing the zillions of presents piled around the Love family
tree. As he fished the final wrapped packages out and passed them to the proper
recipients, he felt a tug on his Santa coat.

“Well, who is this? A Christmas princess has come from the
North Pole and she has something for me?” He snatched the girl up, noting that
she’d probably be too old for such nonsense by next year and kissed her cheek.
“Merry Christmas, LeeAnn, my sweet.”

“Here, Daddy.” She held out a gift, her jet-black hair
curled into little ringlets, cheeks flushed from too much sugar. “This is from
me. I made it in my art class.”

He set her down and opened the box, pulling out a T-shirt
that had a beer glass painted on it, and the words
My Dad Loves Me More Than
Beer
above that. He held it up to his chest and let the room make admiring
noises. Then he crouched down and met the girl’s serious gaze. He kissed her
nose and pulled a small jewelry box out of his pocket. “Here, take this to your
mama for me, okay, princess?”

She nodded and bounded across the room. Dom picked up his
bourbon and sipped, watching as his wife accepted the present, then burst into
tears, bringing all the sisters-in-law, his sister, and his mother running.

Jace joined him, holding the bourbon bottle and a glass. Dom
frowned at him at first, then shrugged and held his out for a refill. “Just one
for you, junior,” he muttered.

“Good call, Santa.” Jace sipped, then nodded toward the
scrum of women hovering around Diana. “She’s a keeper. ‘Bout time you laid a
ring on her.” He raised his glass. “Merry Christmas.”

***

Dom sat by his fireplace that night, arm around his wife,
dog at his feet and had never felt more content. It had taken him nearly a full
three years of begging, pleading, cajoling and babying but Diana had finally
capitulated. After what he referred to as the
horror
of LeeAnn’s birth,
he’d been focused on two things—expanding Love Brewing and getting Diana to
marry him.

Dom had stuck with her through the stages of grief, anger
and despair, and had assisted with the sale of Lee’s property to the county
Humane Society, and the conversion of the Brantley farmhouse into a
bed-and-breakfast. Once she’d closed that deal, he’d claimed she had no choice
but to move with the then-toddler LeeAnn in with him, in his new house, a simple
one-story on a few acres, not far from Antony’s.

She’d claimed he only wanted the baby in his house. He’d
pleaded the fifth, but wouldn’t deny his nearly irrepressible urge to have them
both under his roof, with Jace of course. They were a package deal.

Diana snuggled into his neck, and ran her fingers down his
bare chest under the Santa coat that she’d insisted he keep on. “Nice to see
Jace behaving today.”

“He’s fine,” Dom insisted, groggy and not wanting to engage
in anything resembling conflict. “Not sure what’ll happen with that girlfriend
of his, whatever her name is.”

“It’s Helen, you pig.”

“Helen, Susan, Janice, whatever. Trust me, he barely
remembers it.”

She smacked his chest but he held her tighter.

“Baby, I am only speaking the truth. He’s his father’s son.”

“Yeah, well, I only had to throw away four used condoms I
found when I cleaned his room this week. So….” She turned her face up to his.

“Darlin’, if the damn kid were more me, there would be no
condoms to throw away. And
that
would be, in a word, bad. Hey, speaking
of teenagers having sex, did you catch the hickeys on Jeff’s neck? Aiden is
freaking out over that kid. Serves him right.”

Dom let the looming exhaustion from a full belly, too much
bourbon and excitement fog over his brain. “Oh and what the hell is going on
with Mandy?” He named Aiden and Rosalee’s daughter. “She was like some kinda
devil worshiper in all that black. I thought Mama was gonna choke when she saw
the hot-pink hair-dye job. Antony told me she had a tattoo.”

“It’s not a contest to see whose kids are the most
fucked-up, Dominic.” Diana stretched her arms over her head and her toes closer
to the fire.

Dom grinned and slid his hand up her bare leg. “Well sure it
is, doll. You’re just now catching on?” He grimaced. “Damn, this dog has the
worst farts…say, honey, did you get a load of Josh’s girlfriend? Antony told me
he and Margot are terrified she’s gonna get knocked up and…hey!” Dom rubbed his
shoulder where Diana had punched him. She frowned, but he grabbed her and kissed
the entwined Ds tattoo on the inside of her wrist, then held out his matching
one next to it.

“I can’t believe you kept this, married to another man and
all.” He kissed his way up her arm to her neck.

“Lee wasn’t the jealous type. One of his many superior
qualities.” She flicked the ring in his nipple.

“Hmm…okay. I’m not gonna speak ill of the dead or anything,
but I’ll bet he couldn’t do this as well as yours truly.” He pushed her down,
yanking her silky shorts off with one jerk before diving down and focusing on
her pleasure until she came with a sigh, digging her bare heels into his back.

He rose up, wiping his lips, watching her shiver. She opened
her eyes, smiling in that way she had—the way that made him feel safe,
loved…and wanting to fuck.

“C’mere.” He flopped onto his butt. She crawled over and
straddled him, her left side lit from the dancing flames in the grate, her hair
tumbling down her back. “Je-sus.” He pressed his face into her chest, holding
tight to her ass. “Remind me to give you a diamond ring seven years late more
often.” He angled his hips and thrust faster, nearing release, but never
wanting to be disconnected from her ever again.

“Dominic,” Diana whispered. “I love you. Thank you.”

“I love you,” he gasped, realizing he still had on the
stupid Santa coat. “Whew. Thanks. Santa needed that.”

She grinned. “Naughty Santa…just the way I like him.” She
tugged his nipple ring, making him grunt as she got up and off him.

“Don’t ever leave me,” he called out to her enticing,
retreating backside.

“Only if you deserve it,” she replied, grabbing her robe
from a nearby chair and wrapping up in it. “Here.” She tossed him a pair of
shorts. “Naughty Santa time’s over. Cover it. Kids’ll be back upstairs any
second.”

“But…why?” The fire warmed his skin as he pulled on the
shorts and tugged the now sweaty Santa coat together over his chest. The sex on
top of all the earlier excess took its toll and he drifted toward a happy doze.

“Daddy!”

He smiled at the sound of LeeAnn’s voice, mentally thanking
the girl’s mother for tossing him clothing. She clambered up onto the couch and
into his lap. “Jace says I have to go up to bed.”

Dom kissed her hair. He’d built his son a veritable suite of
rooms in the basement, but the boy loved his baby sister and knew to how to
keep her entertained with video games and movies at opportune times. “I love
you, princess.”

“I want a puppy.” She snuggled into his side.

Skywalker whined at their feet as if sensing the topic.

“We’ll go play with Uncle Aiden’s puppy tomorrow.” He
deflected like a pro, something else he’d gotten good at. “Time for bed.”