Jana Leigh (4 page)

“
Uh…well, I don’t think you will know her.  I do have her phone number somewhere, my cell died a few hours ago, and I didn't bring the car charger.  Felt like a dumbass on that one,” Brin admitted. 

“
Jabo and Grant both have a cell, although I would use Grant's cause Jabo has his damn phone programmed with a porn site, the damn thing goes off every time I use it, makes it sound like I am calling from the bedroom having wacky sex every time,” Sassy said flippantly.

Grant looked at the man sitting next to him that had puffed his chest and smiled at the comment his wife made.  He wanted to slap him upside the head
.  The dumbass was making them look like backwards ass country fucks.  Damn it, he was trying to make an impression on her. 
Fuck
, he groaned.  Really?  He was thinking of getting a date with a pregnant woman—in labor no less.

Ice called back to the ranch during their trip to see what they had decided. “Alex, what’s up?” he said gruffly.  He ran his hands through his collar length brown hair, since being out of the military, Ice had let it grow, and the new wavy locks were something he was getting used to.  He was used to getting stares everywhere he went when he was in the military, his warm chocolate eyes, and six foot three buff frame made him a chick magnet.  At least that is what Sable told him. Now with the longer hair, his friend’s woman said that he really did remind her of the leading men in old western movies.

“
Thane and West are headed to Texas, as soon as you have the situation under control, we are going to send a plane for you.  The family thinks this is gonna heat up pretty quick and since we are going to be needed we have to make sure they are safe.  We are packing and leaving for the island tomorrow,” Alex said.

“
Wow, I bet Sable is pissed about that.”  He laughed as Drake was frowning at him and motioning with his hands.  “Hang on," he told Alex, then questioned Drake, "What the fuck is your problem?”

Drake snorted and then said, “
Put them on speaker, jackass.”

“
Oh the girl wants to talk on the phone while driving,” Jessie said into the phone and then hooked it to the dash and plugged it into the system so they were all on speaker.

“
Fuck you,” Drake said with a harsh laugh.  “Hey, Alex, I need you to do me a favor, if you are thinking about sending the families to the island like I think I just heard, you should check with the Commander to see if he can lend us a few men as back up.  I don’t like being so spread out. We are going to have to step it up.  I want this over with.”

Ice looked at his friend, there was a determined set in his jaw.  Drake was rarely serious, however when he was everyone listen.

“Okay,” Alex said slowly.  “Do you have one of your famous feelings?”

Ice worked with Drake for so long they had all become too wrapped up in their own troubles to get back to being a team.  Drake always had feelings when they were in the field and most of them came true.  Whe
never they ran into problems, Drake had always predicted them and made sure they were prepared. 

“
Yep, I think we need to plan on having all the families out on the island and we meet back at the ranch.  Something is brewing and I am feeling real uneasy,” Drake said and pushed the accelerator down.  “We are making good time.  We can be back to the ranch in a few days.  Get everyone ready.”

Gage came on the phone and said
, “Ice, what are you going to need?”

“
Shit, transportation for Brin and the baby, and maybe some back up.  We are really looking at a cluster fuck,” Jessie said.  How the hell was he going to explain this to a woman in labor?  Hey push, we gotta leave?

“
Uh…one more warning,” Gage said.  “Before Thane left he said the people of the town you are headed to are a little different.  Just try to not piss them off.” 

“
Will do,” Ice laughed and shook his head when they hung up the phone.  “How bad could it be?”

They were soon going to find out the peo
ple of Smith and Wesson Township were a force to be reckoned with when they take someone in as one of their own.

Brin finally was in the hospital and had some meds,
which at least took the edge off, while she was waiting for the epidural.  This sucked and she had handled this so badly.  When she first found out she was pregnant, Brin had been shocked.  Of course then she kicked her own ass.  She had just graduated from Med School, how in the hell had she forgotten protection.  Then of course, if anyone looked at the drop dead gorgeous Jessie James, they would know.  He had an air about him—dangerous, sexy.  What woman could have resisted.

For the last nine months, she had f
inished her residency and built a reputation for herself in the medical community.  Brin knew she wanted to practice family medicine and was ready to find a place for herself to hang out her sign.  She wanted a small community to serve, one where they could live comfortably.  So far, she hadn’t found it. Brin sent inquiries out to several small communities that were looking for a doctor, but had not made up her mind yet.  She had enough money to live on for now, thanks to her brother.  Once the baby was six weeks, she would re-evaluate, for now though, she needed to figure out how to contact Jessie.

The night had been magical for her.  He was an amazing lover, and even though she was drunk, her body remembered everything they did.
Each touch and each kiss.  Damn, he had been a good kisser.  It almost made up for the fact her family was in a shambles.

Growing up
, the Platers' children realized they were supposed to be seen and not heard, and perform on command when the parents wanted to impress someone.  If they failed to live up to their father’s expectation, there had been hell to pay in the form of beatings.  Of course, never where anyone could see, that would never do.  The appearance of a loving upper middle class family meant everything to their father.  Mark never was one to conform and bucked his father more often than not.  Brin asked him once why he did it, and Mark explained if he pissed off their father, he would leave her alone.  His last rebellion had been joining the military, but Brin had been proud of him anyways.

When he
r brother died her father went on a rampage, everyone was to blame for him losing his only son.  Granted, Mark had not been talking to them at the time, in fact Mark had gone so far as to tell his father he was no longer part of the family.  That didn’t change the relationship he had with his sisters.  Covert meetings and vacations were becoming the norm before he died.

The last
time she saw him was when he snuck into town for her graduation party.  She had been ecstatic, and when he brought Jessie with him, Brin had been excited.  Seeing Jessie over the years, and having a schoolgirl crush on him made it so much more important that she looked grown up.  He had only seen her as his best friend's sister, untouchable.  That night she proved to him just how grown up she really was.

From the first moment she saw him, teasing and flirting
with him, Jessie had not recognized her and she played on that, keeping an air of mystery.  But it had come back and bit her in the ass when the following morning she woke to an empty bed.  She had planned the whole thing so well too.  Get him into her bed and then tell him who she was.  He would be shocked but then calm down.  They would talk about how she had changed from the shy, mousy little girl to a confident woman.  Jessie would be shocked that she was under his nose the whole time and he ignored her.  Then it all went to hell when the rabbit died and she was left without her older brother to talk to.

She felt the tears gathering in her ey
es when she heard a shuffle of feet in the doorway.  Grant, the vet, stood their looking good enough to eat, she was a little freaked out about the attraction she was having for Grant as well as Jessie, and it was like her mind refused to forget Jessie, and her body was in tune with Grant.  She gave a hesitant smile.

“
Hey,” she said.

“
How are you doing, Brin?”  During the short ride to the hospital, they had bonded over listening to Jabo and Sassy argue.  It had been entertaining keeping her mind off the pain, but a little strange as well.

“
Fine, where did they end up putting Sassy?”  She laughed when she saw the pained expression on his face.

“
Lucky you, right across the hall.”  Grant laughed and looked behind him.

“
Hey, girl, how you doing? I am at a three!” Sassy yelled.

Brin rolled her eyes and responded
, “At a two.”  Yes, they were yelling their dilation numbers out for everyone to hear.

“
Cool, we can suffer together.  You know these men are gonna abandon us the first time they see anything funky.”  Sassy laughed loudly.  Then Jabo protested, which started them on another argument totally.

Grant shook his head and stepped in closer.  “
Nah, I won’t abandon you.”

“
What?!” she shrieked and then looked at the man who had walked all the way into her room and took a seat next to her bed.

He shrugged.  “
Hey, you need a coach and I so happen to know what I am doing.  I helped my brother-in-law with my sister.  I am an old hand at this.  Besides, you don’t know me well enough to call me those mean and nasty names yet.  I am safe.” 

Brin laughed as he continued to tease her and tell her stories about the gators around
there.  Sassy and Jabo yelled back and forth a few times.  I guess she couldn’t argue that she was alone, maybe with strangers, but they were better than being alone.

“
So what is your favorite color?” Grant teased.  “I mean if we are gonna be all intimate, I should at least know what your favorite color is.”

Brin shook her head and then gasped when she felt her stomach tighten.  Even with the drugs
, she could still feel the contractions.  She put a hand on her stomach and looked at Grant.  “I admit I am a little scared.  And I do need someone to yell at when the pain gets bad.  I don’t know you well enough to call you a dirty bastard, maybe that will keep me in line.”

“
Hey, women do this every day without insults,” Grant said.

“
Not me.” Brin laughed.

“
I would hope not.  How about we look and see what we can find to keep us distracted.”  Grant laughed.

“
Where in the fuck are we?” Jessie said, grabbing the GPS and shaking it.

“
Call the hospital again,” Drake said helpfully, hoping to distract his friend enough so he wouldn’t damage anything important in the truck. 

"
I did and they won’t tell me a damn thing,” Jessie said. 

“
Four more miles until you reach your destination
,” the woman’s voice said and Jessie relaxed a little.  They had been on the road all night and he had plenty of time to think.  That and Mark kept annoying him with updates.  Apparently you could go from place to place quickly when you were dead.  According to him, she was in her final stages of dilation and there was a stranger helping her.  That didn’t sit well with Jessie, but he held his tongue, he was the asshole who got her into this mess, and he would be the one to get her out.  During the drive, he promised all sorts of things to whoever was listening as long as Brin was safe, and the baby was fine.  One of the most important was to marry Brin and give their child a name.

He knew firsthand what it was like to be fatherless, and his child would not grow up without him.  His mother had done a great job raising him and Jessie would never say anything different.  However, growing up without a fathe
r was hard.  Jessie always felt like he had to help take care of his mother.  Watching her work her fingers to the bone just to put food on their table was hard.  His worthless father, who showed up only when he needed money, was Jessie’s idea of what
not
to do when you father a child.

He saw the small medical center ahead and gripped the
‘Oh shit’ handle as Drake whipped into the drive and braked fast, kicking up gravel.  His child was going to know his father loved and cared about them.