Reckless Redemption: A Bad Blooded Rebel Novel (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) (26 page)

“Okay,
I’ll sit around the apartment and order the movers around while I drink
lemonade, how does that sound?”

Beau
grinned.

“Excellent,”
he replied, as he wrapped his arms tighter around me.

I
laid my head on his warm, bare chest and we just held each other for a few
moments before the fireworks started to light up the night sky. I watched them
exploding and glowing above us; they were so beautiful. It hit me in that
moment that this time next year we’d be watching the fireworks with our
daughter in our arms. As we watched the show together, the lights of the
fireworks reflected off my engagement ring, making it shine brighter than
anything in the sky. I smiled as I looked at it and felt such joy at what it
represented; the life that I’d always wanted and the happiness our family would
always have.

I
woke up the next morning to the sun shining through the white cotton curtains
in my bedroom. Beau had one arm pillowed under my head and the other cradling
my belly. I stretched my arms out as he let out a soft moan.

“Good
morning, beautiful,” he whispered into my ear.

I
twisted in his arms to face him and looked deeply into his eyes.

“Good
morning to you. Did you sleep okay? I know this bed couldn’t have been very comfortable.”

We
had stayed in my apartment for my last night here and I still had the queen-sized
bed I’d gotten from a friend when I moved out on my own. The thing was on its
last legs and was one item I would not be bringing with me.

“I
had you in my arms all night. I slept like a baby. Which reminds me…” he said,
letting me go and moving down so his face was next to my stomach.

“Good
morning to you, Jelly Bean. Daddy loves you.” He kissed my bare belly and I
shivered. His mouth and hands began to explore my body but I knew I had to stop
him. I had to completely move from my apartment to his house in one day and
there were a ton of things to do.

“Listen,”
I said, combing my fingers through his thick soft hair. “As much as I want to
play around in this bed one last time, we have a lot to do this morning and the
movers are supposed to be here early.”

Groaning,
he kissed my belly one more time as he spoke to our baby.

“You
hear this? Mommy’s already bossing me around. Guess I better get moving.”

I
lay back on the pillow admiring him as he stood and stretched. Tingles rushed
right to my core as I watched him get dressed. His naked body was a sight to
behold; he looked like a living breathing sculpture.

“I’m
going to get things started, but you might want to get dressed soon because
Ryder and Ev are supposed to be coming by this morning to help. They’re
bringing breakfast so you won’t have to cook.”

“Good,”
I said, sitting up. “I am already feeling drained and I just woke up. I don’t
think I have the energy to make food for everyone.”

He
zipped up his jeans before turning to face me. I started to get out of bed but
he rushed over to me before I could even get one foot on the floor.

“Here,
let me help you, baby.”

“Beau,
I’m only five months pregnant. I’m not an invalid.”

“I
don’t care. Hands off, feet up today, okay? You and Ev both. Just tell us what
to pack and how you want things arranged and we’ll get it done, okay?”

He
pulled me into his arms and I smiled as I snuggled into him.

“Okay,
okay. Geez, since when did you go all caveman on me?”

“Get
used to it, woman,” he replied, smacking me lightly on the ass.

Giggling,
I walked over to my dresser and pulled out some clothes.

“I’m
going to get started on the kitchen, see you in a second.” He dropped a kiss on
my forehead and walked out of the room.

Several
hours later, everything had been packed into boxes and bags and the moving crew
Beau hired had completely cleared everything out of the apartment. Ryder and
Beau were helping the movers load the last few pieces of furniture onto the
truck, so Ev and I were alone in the empty apartment.

“Well,”
she said, putting an arm around my shoulder. “This is it. You’re moving in with
your fiancé. Are you excited?”

“I’m
so excited,” I answered. “Can you believe this is all happening? This time last
year I was living in Muncie, depressed, and missing the only man I’ve ever
loved and now here I am. Engaged, pregnant, and about to have the life I’ve
always wanted.”

“I
knew you and Beau would work it out,” she said with a grin. “Beau is such a
good guy and I am thrilled to see you both so happy.”

“I
really am so happy.”

I
looked around my empty apartment and instead of feeling sad, I was ecstatic. I
moved here after Ev called me to help Beau, and this place would forever remind
me of that time. I was glad that I came here but this apartment held memories
of me being alone and sad and crying for him. I was looking forward to leaving
all of that behind and moving on.

Beau
and Ryder walked back into the apartment and Ryder asked, “You beauties ready
to get out of here?”

I
sighed and walked into Beau’s waiting arms. “Take me home, sexy.”

He
growled into my ear and squeezed my ass.

“I
like the sound of that, beautiful. Let’s go.”

I
smiled at him as he took my hand in his and led me out of the apartment for the
last time.

After
all of my belongings were unloaded into Beau’s house, the guys insisted on
going to dinner so they could feed the women in their lives. After eating so
much that I was sure the baby had gained a full pound, we said our goodbyes to
Ryder and Everleigh and made our way to the car. I was eager to get home,
knowing that I would be spending every night in his bed…our bed. Our little
girl would grow here, learn to walk here, ride her bike on this street. This
would be the house where all our wonderful memories would be made, and I
planned on filling our home with so many of them that they would be bursting
out of the walls.

October

“So,
did you have fun tonight, Danni?” Sadie asked me.

“Of
course I did, girl, it was a blast. It’s always been my dream to spend a small
fortune on sex toys at my bachelorette party,” I teased.

Everyone
smiled and laughed, including me. With Everleigh and me both being pregnant, we
had a hard time deciding what to do for the bachelorette party. Obviously neither
of us could drink and since it would look tacky as hell if two pregnant women
went to a club, Sadie took charge of the festivities. When she told me she
wanted to have a sex toy party, she thought I wouldn’t be up for it but I
totally was. This pregnancy had turned me into a hormonal monster. I was hornier
than I’d ever been in my life! I could literally have sex with Beau all day
long and never be fully satisfied.

“Well,
I’m always happy to help my brother get laid on a daily basis,” she said,
laughing.

“Seriously,
was it okay? I know these things usually don’t involve a bunch of pregnant
women and there are usually a few more people.”

“Sadie,
I had a blast. I bought a lot of awesome stuff and I even got Ev to buy some
things. Seeing her blush as she picked out a vibrator was the best gift I could
have ever gotten.”

Everleigh
rolled her eyes and smiled. “Oh shut up. Ryder and I won’t be using it for a
while anyway, so what’s the big deal? I’m too huge to do anything!”

Everleigh
was
heavily
pregnant with her son and even thought she wasn’t due for
another three weeks, her little monster-sized baby boy was making it difficult
for her to do much of anything. I almost suggested that we take bets on when he
would be born since she looked like she was already overdue, but I didn’t. At
thirty-seven weeks she was considered full term and could have him safely at
any time. As anxious as we all were to meet their baby, I selfishly hoped that
she could hold out until after our wedding to have him.

It
was the night before the wedding and as the minutes ticked by I was getting
more and more anxious. I wanted the day to be perfect but for more reasons than
the usual ones…Jake Riggins was coming to Cincinnati for the wedding. His
cousin, Jagger, was the lead singer of Eternal Down and Beau and the guys were
friends with all of them. It was going to be our first time seeing them since
“the incident” in New York, and I was nervous to see Jake again. Even though we
only shared a kiss, it was the kiss that started the whole downward spiral.

Beau
said he was cool with him coming, but I knew he was irritated by it. I thought
it was way past time that the two of them talked. It had all been a huge
misunderstanding that Beau had never given either of us the chance to explain
until recently. I didn’t want their entire friendship to suffer because of a
simple kiss.

“So,”
Jessie asked me, “you doing okay? Are you nervous yet?”

It
was like she could read my mind. “A little bit, but not about the wedding. I’m
nervous about Jake being here.”

“Danni,
you have nothing to worry about. Jake is a flirt and we all know it, even Beau.
That’s just his personality. He’s hit on me more times than I can remember but he’s
just that kind of guy. He flirts, but he never tries to take a girl from one of
his boys. He’s really a good guy once you get past his personality faults,” she
said, laughing.

“I
can see that. He told me as much when he kissed me and I backed away. I just
love Beau so much and I don’t want anything to ruin our wedding day.”

“It’ll
be fine, Danni, I promise,” she said, and suddenly she put her hand on her stomach
and grimaced.

“Jessie,
are you okay?”

“Yeah,
I’m just feeling a little queasy.”

“You
know, you’ve been looking pale all evening, Jess. Are you sure you’re all
right?” Everleigh asked, joining the conversation with Sadie and my mom in tow.

“It
is the middle of October and flu season is starting.”

“I’m
fine, really, and I’m positive it isn’t the flu. I didn’t know until now, but
morning sickness can hit you all damn day,” she answered, smiling at us.

Everyone
gasped. “Wait, what? Jess, you’re pregnant?” I squealed. “Why didn’t you tell
us?”

“I’m
telling you now. Kris and I just took the test, or should I say tests, this
morning. I took ten just to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me.”

Her
smile practically lit up the room. “I’m just so happy. We’ve wanted this for
so
long.”

I
could hear the emotion thick in her voice. Everyone knew how badly Kris and
Jessie wanted to be parents. But the way she said it told me there was more to
her desire to be a mother than we all knew.

I
pulled her into a hug. “That’s amazing, congratulations!”

Everyone
took turns hugging her but when it was Sadie’s turn, she broke away from her
quickly.

“I’m
happy for you Jess, but I need to step back for a second. There’s too much
pregnancy in this room and I’m afraid I’ll catch it.”

Everleigh
laughed. “Sadie, you can’t get pregnant unless you are sleeping with someone,
and Ryder told me you and Jude have some kind of ‘no sex’ pact going on so
relax.”

“It’s
not really a ‘no sex’ pact. I just didn’t want him to be celibate alone. I’m
kind of like a sponsor or something like that,” she explained and I giggled.

“Besides,
I bought a ton of things tonight that will keep my nether regions occupied
until I have the real thing.”

“Well,
you could have the real thing if you’d just tell Jude how you feel about him already,”
I pointed out.

Sadie
sighed, running her delicate fingers through her long blonde hair while glaring
at me. “Not happening, Danni. Just let it go.”

I
shook my head and rolled my eyes. “You two are impossible. He’s oblivious to
the fact that he has a gorgeous bad-ass girl right in front of his nose that
loves him, and you are too stubborn to tell him that. Kids, I tell ya’.”

“Okay,
can we not talk about my fucked up love life anymore and focus on the fact that
my big brother is marrying the hottest pregnant blonde I know?” Sadie clearly
needed a change of subject.

We
spent the rest of the evening talking, laughing and reveling in all the good
things that were happening within our family. I’d be marrying Beau in less than
twelve hours and Everleigh, Jessie, and I were all having babies and starting
families. The only thing that would make me happier would be if Sadie finally
confessed her feelings to Jude and they ended up together.

I
woke the next morning blissfully anxious and completely exhausted; I hadn’t
been able to sleep. To say last night was the longest night of my life was an
understatement. Beau and all of the guys (including Dad, Jake, and all of
Eternal Down) had stayed at Ryder and Everleigh’s house and Mom and all the
girls stayed with me. Ever since we’d gotten back together I rarely spent a
night away from Beau. The empty space where his hard, toned body usually slept
made it difficult for me to get any rest. The bed felt cold and empty, but I took
comfort in knowing it was the last night I’d ever be without him. In a few
hours Beau Cavanaugh would be my husband and knowing that warmed every part of
me.