Phantom Scars (31 page)

Chapter 59 – Family Issues

As soon as I was off the phone with Emma, I was on the phone with Warren. I needed to get the latest update on my girl's safety.

"Dr. Greyson, how may I help you?" he answered.

"Warren, it's Devin. How’s my girl?" I rushed out.

"She's doing as good as can be expected. The stress of losing her momma is getting to her, though. I have Abby doing all of the funeral arrangements for her, so when the time comes, Emma can just show up. I doubt she‘d be up to doing anything more with a new baby in the house."

"Thank you. What about the Italians?" That was what I really wanted to know.

"They didn't stay long after Tyson and Bode showed up. Joseph and Marie were already packing up before they came, but that was the final push to get Victor to go. Tyson followed after Victor, keeping a tail on him, and he sent another set of agents after Joseph and Marie, just to be sure they really left and didn't send anyone else back to watch.

“I still think we should be careful when we first bring Clark home, the less people who know about him, the better. I could tell by the way they spoke that they had a vendetta against him. I think it’d be best to have a headstone engraved with his name as well and put his death date as the day of the accident. It should be put in the Kingman cemetery, and hopefully, that’ll be enough to throw them off his trail. We don't want anything linking him to Emma here in town."

"The money from this run will be deposited at the end of July," I informed him. "The stone can be ordered then."

"Clark will be home before then."

"I know, but I don't want Emma to be tight financially."

"If she can get through the red tape in Florida, she should be able to get it herself soon. I'll look into the mortuary in Kingman where they're from and see if I can get it set up."

"Thank you, Warren. I really appreciate your help on this."

"I hope you know I consider you family, and I hope you’ll consider me family, too, Devin," he said carefully. I didn't like the idea of my momma being with anyone new, but he did make her happy, and he helped us out a lot. I didn't know what I would do without him looking after my girl at this point.

"Devin," he broke the awkward silence, "I hope you’ll give your momma and me your blessing to wed. I know it’d mean the world to her and me. I'm not replacing your father. I'm just here to help the family, and I want to be a part of your family officially."

I let out a sigh. If I thought about it hard enough, I would have to admit that he already was part of my family. "You both have my blessing, Warren. You're good to her, and to us. I already consider you family, too. You take care of my momma and my girl until I come home. Speaking of which, is there any way to speed up the completion of our apartment over the restaurant?" I asked.

"Speed it up? Why?"

"I've rearranged things, and if all goes as planned, when I come home at the end of June, I can stay there. I’d only have to leave if the weather turned bad shipside."

"Really?" He sounded just as excited for me to come home as I was.

"Yeah, but I haven't said anything to anyone. I was worried stuff might fall through. Shipping is an unpredictable business."

"Of course, I wouldn't want to get the girls’ hopes up, either, if I were you. I'll see about speeding up the process without them knowing. Does this have anything to do with you cutting out a few of your old routes?" he asked, and I was surprised he knew about them.

"Yes, actually, I rerouted the whole plan, cutting out some old unnecessary stops."

"Was one of those stops the one where you picked up Emma?" he asked, curious.

"Actually, yeah, that port was just a morale boost stop, the last of its kind. Why do you ask?"

"I overheard Joseph and Victor arguing. Joseph had looked into your route plan before they left, just to appease Victor. He was getting too close for comfort. I was about to suggest a holiday to visit my aunts in Virginia to get away from them without the girls knowing. Turns out your captain had changed the route just before they looked, and it showed that you didn't stop in Germany. Victor was sure you’d picked up Emma there, but since it wasn't on the itinerary, they think your ship never stops there, so you should be in the clear."

"That was a close one then. I didn't change things up too long ago. I hope Victor doesn't do any more digging. There's no telling what he’d find if he looked at our old shipping routes, but he’d have to do some extra work to get access to them. You said Tyson was still on his tail?" I asked.

"Yes, I've called him a few times, and it looks like Victor will be going to Cuba for a while. Dante had an estate there that Victor has taken over. From the looks of things, Joseph is clean. He runs businesses that are legit, but most were funded by his brothers at one point to get him on his feet. Otherwise, he seems like a good man and is on your side. I wouldn't come out and tell him the truth about Emma any time soon, though. Marie would be fine with it, but I can’t imagine Joseph would overlook it, because his brother died," Warren said.

"Believe me; I don't plan on saying a word to them. You be sure to keep my momma's mouth shut about this, too. I know her and Marie are friends."

"They've gone back to Italy. I don't think they'll have much contact anymore. I wouldn't put it past Victor to send scouts to keep an eye on us for a while, though."

"We'll just have to deal with it when it happens. As long as we lay low with Clark, everything should be fine. Should we get Clark his own apartment to keep his relationship with Emma a secret?"

"I don't think that's necessary, Devin. In the end, it wouldn't matter where he lived. It’d just be too much of a coincidence for Emma to be mistaken for someone else and then that person's father come to live in the same town as her. It's best we keep him close, so we can keep an eye on things. Putting him in another apartment would make him more vulnerable, as well as Emma. She‘d be going to visit and take care of him. It’d just spread us too thin to keep an eye on them."

I let out a sigh. Putting him in the house with my girl made her vulnerable regardless. "I'll be home soon," I said. That was my only comfort. I would be coming home as soon as possible, and then I would be able to protect my family.

Warren, Jessup and I shared the watch time on Emma. I knew Warren was thinking it was a bit much, but I was glad Jessup didn't seem to mind. I was also impressed, when he somehow snuck a camera into the hospital where Clark was staying. He'd had some complications with his last surgery and was stuck there again. Jessup said my girl wasn't dealing with that well, but Warren and my momma seemed to be keeping her busy. I could tell from the video feed that Clayton and Jen were looking out for my girl, as well as Eli and Faye. Faye was actually bringing Emma a bag of candy every morning to cheer her up. She actually would smile when she saw it. Just not as big as when she saw me. I think I was a little happy that she wasn't completely fine without me. I hoped that didn't make me a bad person.

I wasn't completely okay without her, either. That much was obvious by my sore throat. I had been on the men like mad lately, working them hard, so we could get home faster. If I thought the ship could handle the extra knots, I would speed it up more, but we couldn't do that until we dropped our last load, and I would be on my way home by then. I was sure they would all be relieved to find me gone when the time came. I was sure I was making a few enemies this route. Of course, once they saw their paychecks, they wouldn't care anymore. That was what Captain Tower kept telling me, anyway.

I hoped he was right.

Chapter 60 - Homecoming Surprise

We had just finished restocking and doing maintenance on the ship. I double checked my flight back. It was ten hours home, but definitely worth it. I had called Warren and made sure he could pick me up from the airport. I went over the supply list and made the last minute checks one more time. Captain Towers walked in and relieved me of my clipboard. "We'll be fine, Son. Now go catch that plane of yours," he said with a smile. I didn't have to be told twice.

The flight was insanely long, and I couldn't sleep, I was too excited. The in-flight movie was a kids’ show, and the food sucked. That was no surprise. The fact that it sucked worse than the slop we ate on the ship was, though.

I folded my check and unfolded it several times. I was sure to wear the crease through and tear it. I was a little shocked, when the captain gave me my check early for my work. There was a nice bonus in it as well. My usual fifty thousand dollar paycheck was now sixty thousand. That was a lot more than I expected, but I was sure we could use it. I knew my girl would be busy with her new little brother in a few days, but I hoped she would have time to let me hold her for a while. Truth was, I was a horny bastard, but I knew I had to hold back, since she was gaining a brother and losing her momma in the same day.

"Devin," Warren called to me. His face lit up when he saw me, and I knew it was because he knew my momma and wife would be ecstatic at my sudden appearance. I had purposely been very vague about when I was coming back, not sure myself when I would be able to get away and leave the captain and not feel guilty about it. He had ended up buying the ticket for me and told me to stop dicking around and get ready to go home.

Warren gave me a hug. "How are my girls?" I asked.

"They're both doing fine. Jessup is keeping an eye on them now. I wanted to talk to you about something important and run it by you, before I bring it up to Emma. I talked to Clark and let him know that Victor was still after him. I told him we were trying to make it look like he’d died in the accident, but even with the headstone I had Emma buy, I don't think it's working. There’ve been a few strangers passing through town. A few more than I feel comfortable with. Joseph and Marie believed Emma to be pregnant when they left. It was an assumption that we didn't correct at your going away dinner. I want to have Emma pose as her brother's mother. She's a sweet, loving woman, so I don't think it's going to be an issue, but you’d have to see him as your son."

I stood back, dumbfounded. It was a little out of my league. Babies were not something I knew a lot about, and even though I was excited for Emma to finally get to bring her brother home, I wasn't sure what to do with him.

"I've spoken with Clark, and as it is, he needs to sign guardianship over to someone, and Emma has agreed to take it. Clark is in a lot worse shape than predicted. His surgeries have not gone well, and they're not seeing a good outlook for him. He isn't going to be able to take care of himself, let alone a baby. CJ will officially be yours."

I rubbed my hand over my face. "Does Clark know this? I don't want him thinking I'm trying to steal another one of his kids."

"He knows, Devin. There's nothing he can do about it. He's looking at probably another six years of operations and physical therapy, just to get to the point where he can feed himself and write, and it's not looking good for him being able to ever walk again. Caring for a newborn is something he knows he can't do. He's agreed to let you adopt his son, if you're willing to take him."

I was floored, or not, heck, I didn't know what I was. I was being asked to be a father. I mean this was my little brother-in-law, and I guess I knew on some level that I would be helping take care of him, but as his father? That was just…wow.

"Why don't we get in the car, and you can mull it over. I have the papers at my office, so just let me know when you're ready to sign them."

I nodded my head, thankful I had time to let this sink in. I really just wanted to get home to my girl.

Warren pulled up to my momma's house. "Your place is ready, but Emma didn't want to stay there without you."

"Thanks, Warren, I mean it," I said. As I pulled my bag out of the backseat, a dark figure came out of the bushes. I was worried for a minute, until I saw them holding a big long shotgun. I knew then it was Jessup.

I gave him a hug, as he welcomed me home. I thanked him profusely for looking after my girl, and as humble as he was, he just said, "It was nothing."

"No, she's my everything, so it's definitely something to me," I pointed out, and he smiled.

"You're right. Thanks, Devin, for trusting me. Most folks think I'm not right in the head."

I patted his shoulder. "Well, I just happen to know better."

"Do you have your key?" Warren asked.

"Yeah, I'll take it from here, guys," I said rushing up the steps and into the house. I set my bag in my room, but it was empty. I knew she had been sleeping with my momma lately, and I wondered if there was enough room for me to squeeze in, or if I would have to move her to my bed so I could sleep with her. I did not want to be away from my girl for another minute.

There was a little bit of space behind my girl, and so I kicked off my shoes and started to slide in behind her. I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her back against me, only to be met with a scream and an elbow. She pounded her elbow into me a few more times and then kicked me in the balls. I fell off the bed, cupping myself and cringing, and when I opened my eyes, my momma was pointing a gun at me, and Emma was turning on the lights.

"Devin? Oh, my heavens, are you alright?" my momma asked, and Emma blinked at me a few times and then burst into tears.

I looked worriedly at my girl, afraid I had hurt her somehow, and so I quickly scrambled up, pulling her into my arms. "Emma, sweetheart, are you alright?" I asked, and she just sobbed harder.

I picked her up and carried her to my room. "Please, talk to me," I begged.

"I'm so sorry," she bawled loudly. "I didn't know it was you, I was just so scared."

"No, baby, it's fine. I want you to fight if you think you're in danger. I don't mind taking a few hits, if it means you're safe," I said, kissing her face and wiping her tears.

"I missed you," she whispered, kissing my lips softly, and suddenly, the mood changed very quickly. Unfortunately for me, my racked balls were not moving quite as fast. It was good to start slow again. It was nice to take my time and get to know my wife once more.

The next morning, I woke to a knocking on the bedroom door. I cracked open my sleepy eyes and smiled at Emma's naked form sprawled over mine. I tugged the sheet up over us and answered whoever it was. "Yeah?" I said in a rough morning voice.

"Devin, sugar, it's your momma. I'm sorry about pulling the gun on you last night."

"It's fine, Ma, you were just taking care of my girl."

"I've made breakfast for you both when you're ready. It's in the warmer."

"Thanks," I called, but I didn't plan on getting out of bed anytime soon.

I gently rolled my girl off of me and started kissing down her body. She was so beautiful, and I loved that she was letting me have all of her again, after all the time we had been apart.

"I thought you were a dream," she said pulling me up for a kiss.

"No, I'm here, and I'm staying."

"Now I know you're a dream," she said pouting.

"No, sweetheart, I rearranged the schedule. I should be able to stay, unless a storm comes in early. I think we'll be in the clear, though. I'm here for good," I said kissing on her neck. She pushed me up, looking at me right in the eyes, trying to see something. "I'm staying," I said again, and her face broke out in a huge grin, as she squealed in excitement. My excitement was showing in another way pressed against her leg, and she quickly shifted her hips, lining me up with her. My girl could not be more perfect. That was until I plunged into her. Yeah, that was more perfect than before. She was perfect.

We were eventually forced from my old room, but I didn't mind, because it was just to move to our rebuilt apartment. We snacked on our “breakfast” that was more of a lunch now that I looked at the time, and I listened to Emma tell me about the final touchups that had been done to our new place.

"I put CJ's room right next to ours, and then my father's is on the other side. He has an in-home nurse who’ll be coming by to take care of him during the day, when he finally comes home," she paused and swallowed hard.

"Emma, are you going to be okay? I know taking care of your brother is going to be a lot of work, but I'll be here for you."

"He asked me to adopt him, Devin," she spoke with watery eyes.

I smiled, knowing this was hard on her and probably hard on Clark, too. "So we adopt him," I smiled, kissing her hair.

She looked up at me nervously. "Are you okay with that? Okay with adopting CJ and being his dad?"

I shrugged. "I don't know much about babies, but I figured you could teach me, right?"

She sobbed into my neck, squeezing me so tight. "Devin, thank you so much." I didn't know why she ever thought I would say no to her. I had never been able to tell her no.

The next two days were a mess of baby furniture assembly and nervousness. My momma assured me that everything was set for the funeral, which would basically be a simple and short cremation memorial, and it was set for three days from tomorrow. Tomorrow, I would become a father. I had gone to Warren's office, and when I walked in, he didn't say a word, just pulled out the papers and handed me the pen.

"You know we're all here for you," he said, as he took the papers from me.

"I know, thanks for the heads up on this. I'm glad I’d already processed it when she’d brought it up, so I didn't freak out on her."

"I doubt you would’ve freaked, Devin. You're a good man. Your momma raised you well. I didn't even consider that you might say no, because I knew you’d never turn your back on them. That just isn't you," he said proudly.

He was right. There was no way I would ever say no to my girl or my son. I had a son. I had no idea what he looked like, but I would be meeting him for the first time tomorrow.

I sat nervously in the waiting room. Emma and I were not allowed to be in the room, because of the complicated state Paige was in. Basically, I asked the doctor not to let my wife watch her momma die. He agreed that our being in the waiting room would be for the best. Emma had said her goodbyes to her momma, before they’d wheeled her into the delivery room. I knew Clark had been down the day before, but he was going under the knife again himself today for another surgery.

It was two hours later that Dr. Canter came in with a soft smile. "Well, you have a beautiful baby boy waiting for you in the nursery. I think the few extra days of cooking did him some good, because he has quite the set of lungs on him and protested loudly when we delivered him. He was a big eight pounds nine ounces and has a full head of dark curly hair," she said smiling at Emma. At least our son would look like her. Maybe people wouldn't question the sad circumstance in which he had come to us.

"I'll take you back, so you can feed him his bottle," Dr. Canter said with a smile. I helped Emma stand. She was looking a little pale, so I kept my arm around her, trying to keep her steady.

We stopped at the nursery window and looked at the little blue bundle. He already had the Clemens name. Warren said it would be safest for him to be a Clemens, not a Declan, and I was surprised when Clark had agreed with him. He wanted his boy safe and knew that I would protect him. I was determined to protect my son.

We walked into the nursery with freshly washed hands and wearing hospital gowns. Emma stepped forward next to his bassinette and swayed a little. I caught her in my arms, just as she collapsed. The nurse on duty had me carry her to a room next door and called for a doctor to come up and look at her.

The doctor was very kind and had been apprised of the situation by Dr. Canter. He suggested it was the stress of today's event that had caused her to faint, but he was going to do some bloodwork just to be safe. He asked Emma a few questions before sending in a nurse to draw blood.

Emma frowned at me sheepishly, and I kissed her forehead. "Would you like me to get CJ, and we can try this again with you lying down?" I offered.

She nodded yes, and I had the nurse bring in the baby. I squeezed into the bed, too, and we squished little CJ between us. He looked up at us with his newborn gray eyes and let out a yawn. "I guess I'm boring," I teased, causing Emma to smile.

"Do you really think we can do this?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know if we can do it alone, but we've got my momma, Jen and Clayton, Faye and Eli, and I'm pretty sure Warren plans on having a hand in raising little CJ, too. We're not alone in this, honey, we can do it."

She let out a breath. "I just don't want to mess him up."

I leaned forward and kissed her lips softly. "That right there is what’ll make you a great momma. You have nothing to worry about."

There was a knock on the door, and Dr. Patterson came in quietly, taking in the sight of the sleeping baby between us. He smiled softly. "Looks like you're doing better."

Emma nodded yes, blushing lightly.