Reckless Redemption: A Bad Blooded Rebel Novel (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) (20 page)

“It
is nice, Dad, I’ve missed this place.” My eyes scanned the menu and I said,
“Hmm, what do I want? I’m starving and everything looks so good.”

Just
then Deuce brought a pot of coffee and another pot of hot water, some tea bags,
and a bottle of honey.

“Anything
else I can get you all before I head back into the kitchen?”

“No,
thanks Deuce, we’re good for now,” Dad answered, shaking his hand.

Deuce
smiled and headed back toward the kitchen.

As
my eyes roamed the menu, I asked, “Beau, what are you going to have?”

Before
he could answer, Mom cleared her throat loudly.

“Okay
kids, let’s get something out of the way right now before we order anything.”

The
tone of her voice made me take notice and my eyes snapped up from the menu to
her. She looked so serious.

“Mom,
what’s wrong?”

“Do
you think your dad and I are stupid, sweetie?”

I
cocked my head to the side and slid my hand under the table to grab onto
Beau’s.

“What
do you mean?”

Dad
chuckled softly and said, “Come on, Danni. You’re eating as much as a
lumberjack, you’re wearing loose tops, you are drinking tea this morning
instead of coffee, and last night you didn’t touch your beer. Not even to move
the bottle around to at least make it look like you were drinking it. You want
to fill us in here, princess?”

I
looked from Mom to Dad and I knew this was it. I was planning on telling them
about the baby this morning anyway, I just thought I’d have a little more time.
Like when they already had their coffee. I took a deep breath and Beau let go
of my hand. I looked at him, confused, but he smiled reassuringly and wrapped
his arm around me. He pulled me into him and I went willingly.

“Okay,
well, um…Mom, Dad, there is something Beau and I need to tell you. It’s not the
reason we came here to visit you but the timing of it just sort of fit.”

I
stopped to take another deep breath and Beau whispered, “Go ahead, Danni. I’ve
got you.”

I
smiled at him and said, “Dad, Mom…Beau and I are having a baby,” I said, almost
breathlessly.

Dad
smiled and said, “Tell us something we don’t know.”

Mom
reached across the table for my hands and after Beau gave me one final squeeze
he released me and I placed my hands in hers.

“Danni,
this is wonderful, sweetheart!”

“Really?
I asked her.

“Of
course it is! My baby is having a baby…this is wonderful news,” she replied.

I
looked over at my dad and he was still smiling, but his eyes quickly moved from
mine to Beau. Smiling at the man that knocked up his daughter after officially
dating her for only two months? That was a good sign.

“Dad?
What do you think?” I asked him.

His
eyes moved back to mine and he was beaming with pride.

“Oh
princess,” he said, “I am beyond happy for you and Beau.”

I
breathed a sigh of relief (not that I needed to, I knew they would be okay with
this). “So, you’re ready to be a grandpa then?”

“Oh
lord,” he said, laughing. “I didn’t think I’d be hearing anyone calling me that
for a while but, hell yes I am. Bring on my grandson.”

I
barked out a laugh and Beau chuckled.

“So
you think you’re having a grandson?” I asked.

“If
nature isn’t cruel, I will,” he laughed. “I have been outnumbered in the gender
department for twenty-six years and now that we have Beau in the family things
are finally even. Don’t you think the men are due to be on top for once?” he
asked.

My
mom giggled and said, “What do you mean, ‘for once’? You are on top all the
time.”

She
nudged him and I rolled my eyes and laughed. I really hoped that Beau and I
would be as in love and still going at it like rabbits when we reached their
age.

“And
I hope it’s a girl. I’d love to spoil a little girl again now that my girl’s
all grown now,” she said, smiling at me warmly.

I
felt my emotions beginning to get the best of me but I choked them down.

“Mom,
don’t make me cry. I’m already an emotional mess. This baby is making me crazy
in every way,” I said, fanning my face.

“So,
Beau,” my dad asked, “how do you feel about all of this? You ready to be a dad?”

He
turned to me and ran a finger gently down my cheek.

“Absolutely,
especially since it’s with Danni. Don’t get me wrong, I was shocked when she
told me, but as long as it took us to get to this point, I am ready for
anything with her. We’re going to rock parenthood just like we do everything
else.”

I
smiled and kissed his lips lightly.

“I
know you will. Come on, son, you have to get on my side here. You want a son to
carry on those rocker genes of yours, right?” Dad asked, nudging him from
across the table.

“Honestly,
Dan, I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl just as long as it’s healthy,” Beau
stated and my dad groaned.

“That’s
such a whipped thing to say,” Dad laughed. “I know what you mean though. I’m
sure no matter what it turns out to be he or she will be so loved and spoiled
rotten by Grandma and Grandpa Sharpe.”

At
that moment our waitress came to our table and we placed our orders. I of course
got banana walnut pancakes with a huge side of bacon and sausage. This little Jelly
Bean was going to make me turn into a hippo before it was all said and done.

“So,”
Mom asked, “how far along are you? You aren’t showing too much that I can tell,
so you can’t be that far into the pregnancy.”

“I’m
twelve weeks today, so I am officially into my second trimester. I have an
appointment when I get back to Cincinnati and Beau is coming with me. It will
be the first time he will hear the heartbeat.”

“He
hasn’t yet?” she asked me.

“Um,
no. I’ve actually known about the baby for a few weeks but I was too chicken
shit to tell him at first. It was lame, I know, but we’d just gotten back together
and everything was perfect. It’s been a tough year for us and I was afraid
something this big would set us back. Thank God it didn’t,” I said, snuggling
into him. He kissed my hair and I sighed.

“Well
I’m sure this was a wrench in your plans but a baby is always a blessing and
I’m happy you two seem to be okay taking this step,” Mom said.

She
took a deep breath and clapped her hands together. “Okay, so, let’s talk baby
names. Have you picked any out yet?”

Beau
and I laughed at my mother’s enthusiasm and we spent the rest of the morning
eating, talking, and laughing. I had never been happier in my entire life as I
was right then and I knew things were only going to get better. I’d had enough
drama to last a lifetime in the past year. Now I was really looking forward to
our future and our child with a new kind of excitement I’d never felt before.

Beau

Two
days later, I was feeling more relaxed than I had felt in years which surprised
me since we had been at Danni’s parents’ house all weekend. I was really
relieved that Dan and Brenda seemed to like me; it made everything so much
easier.

Danni
had been right; they were thrilled when we told them about the baby and had
decided to take bets on whether the baby would be a boy or a girl. Now that
everything had fallen into place, there was just one more thing I needed to do
to make my life perfect.

Brenda
had mentioned yesterday that she wanted to spend some mother/daughter time with
Danni before we left for Cincinnati, so when she asked me if I could hang with
Dan for the day I didn’t hesitate to say yes. I had actually wanted to get him
alone to talk to him about something and this was the perfect opportunity to do
it. I had pretended to be slightly annoyed by it just to throw Danni off, but
this was going to be the most important conversation I would ever have with him,
and it had to happen before we left Muncie.

“I
promise we’ll only be gone for a few hours,” Danni said, wrapping her arms
around my neck. “We are just going to the nail salon and Mom said something
about checking out some of the baby shops around town.” She rolled her eyes
playfully and smiled. “We won’t even know what we are having for another two
months and she already wants to start buying baby stuff.”

“Let
her have her moment, Danni. She’s just excited,” I told her, wrapping my arms
around her waist.

Danni
smiled widely at me but I could see something in her eyes, and for a brief
moment I thought she might start to cry.

“What’s
wrong, baby? You seem like a mix of emotions.”

“Oh
Beau, I’m just…this time last year I didn’t even know if I could ever be in the
same room without you without feeling hurt. You were drowning more and more in
alcohol and you were alone to deal with everything,” she said, and I saw a tear
fall quickly down her cheek.

“Danni,”
I said, kissing her wet cheek, “all of that is in the past. We have so much to
look forward to now, including our Jelly Bean.”

“I
know and I’m so thankful for all of that. I guess…I just love you so much and
sometimes it’s overwhelming to see how far you’ve come. Please don’t take me to
sound condescending because I don’t mean to, but I’m just so proud of you.”

I
smiled at her beautiful tear-stained face.

“Danni,
you shouldn’t be proud of me, I was a mess. You are what turned me around. You
coming back to me and pulling me out of that bad place is what saved me.”

More
tears fell from her eyes and she snuggled into my chest. “You are amazing, Beau
Cavanaugh. I’m sorry I’m an emotional mess, these damn hormones are going to
kill me before it’s all said and done.”

“Don’t
apologize, Danni. I think it’s cute,” I said, kissing the top of her head and
inhaling the sweet floral scent of her shampoo.

“He
says that now,” noted Dan as he walked into the kitchen. “Just wait until she’s
close to her due date and she’s uncomfortable and screaming at you over the
television being too loud or chewing with your mouth open.”

Danni
giggled and released me.

She
walked over and hugged Dan. “Are you and Beau going to be okay for a few hours
while Mom and I are gone?”

“Of
course, we’re just going to be shooting the shit and getting the food ready for
the barbecue, right?” Dan asked.

“Right,”
I answered, grinning at Danni.

Brenda
walked into the room and asked, “Danni, are you ready to go? If we don’t go now
we’ll lose our appointment.”

“I’m
coming Mom,” she answered. She walked back to me and asked, “You sure you will be
alright while I’m gone?”

Rolling
my eyes, I laughed. “Relax, Danni, I’ll be fine. Go enjoy the afternoon with
your mom, okay? I’ll still be here when you get back.”

“Okay,”
she answered. “Like I said, we won’t be long.”

“Have
fun baby,” I said. She leaned up on her tip toes and kissed me deeply.

“I
love you,” she whispered against my lips.

“I
love you too,” I replied as she and Brenda left the kitchen.

As
soon as we heard the front door shut, Dan turned to me and said, “Well, it’s
just us men now. What should we do?”

“Well
I don’t drink anymore, so we can’t do that,” I said jokingly.

“Oh
yeah, that’s right. Well, we can get all jacked up on cola and play go fish,”
he suggested and I laughed.

“You
sure know how to party hard, man,” I told him.

“Actually
there was something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Dan
smiled at me and motioned to the kitchen table. “Well, have a seat, son, while
I grab us a few sodas.”

I
walked over to the table and grabbed a seat as he opened the refrigerator. He
set a cold can of Coke in front of me and then sat down across from me. I popped
open the tab, took a drink and set it down in front of me, keeping my eyes down
and suddenly feeling a bit nervous.

“So,
what was it you wanted to talk to me about, Beau?”

I
spun the cold can in my hands on the table several times before I looked up at
him.

“Man,
this is harder than I thought it was going to be.”

“Whatever’s
on your mind you can talk to me about it. Go ahead, son.”

I
sighed deeply and said, “I want to ask Danni to marry me and I would love your
blessing before I pop the question.”

Dan
leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

“So,
this isn’t you getting my permission, this is basically just a heads up?” he
asked with an amused expression on his face.

I
grinned back at him and said, “Pretty much.”