Marrying the Marine-epub (21 page)

“Braylon!” Willa screamed and Sandella could hear her shouting as if she was on the line herself. “Something has come up.  You need to come home as quickly as you can.”

“What is it, Grandma?”

“Just come see for yourself!” She hung up.

WITH SANDELLA ON HIS HEELS,
Braylon stormed through the back door of the estate into the kitchen. “Grandma! Grandma!” he yelled out, searching for her, going crazy out of his mind. What had been so important to the point that she’d demanded he come home immediately?

“I’m in the living room!” Willa shouted.

Braylon hastened toward the living room and when he got there, his heart twisted with rage. 
What the fuck!
Disbelieving his fucking eyes, he took a deep breath, then clenched his jaws. Madison Monroe stood next to his grandmother with a smug look on her face.

“Hello, Braylon,” she said, jutting her chin.

Braylon didn’t need a mirror to know his eyes had narrowed. “Madison? Why are you here?” His eyes roamed the area for Drayton. He mentally released his breath.
Thank God. He isn’t here. Sandella would have a fit. Damn, I should’ve told her about him before now. 

He turned his gaze to Sandella, then to his frowning grandmother, then back to Madison. His jaw flickered in anger. He crossed his arms over his chest and fought to keep his raging temper from exploding.  

Madison stuck out her hand toward Sandella. “Hi, I’m Madison, Braylon’s ex. And you are?”  Her voice was condescending. 

Sandella’s smile vanished and a more serious expression took over her features. “What’s going on here?”

Madison tossed her straight blond hair behind her shoulder, then crossed her arms over her ample cleavage spilling from her tight, red shirt. She licked her glossy red bottom lip and smiled. “I’m here because—”

The sound of a toy bleeping made Braylon’s eyes shift sideways. Coming off the room to his right, Little Drayton entered the living room.  The boy gave Braylon a serious once-over, and went and stood beside his mother. Madison ruffled the top of his blond hair.

Drayton was such an adorable little kid. He had fair skin and big, hazel eyes just like him. 
Jesus Christ.
I could never deny you if you’re mine. 

“What’s going on?” Sandella’s soft voice broke the uncomfortable silence.

“Dear God. You have no clue, do you?” Apparently Madison knew who Sandella was, perhaps from the news of him apprehending her mother’s killer.

“What is it that I need to know?”

Braylon’s head dropped. He gazed back up at Sandella. His heart ached as he sought the words to tell her. “Drayton may be my son.”

Uncertainty developed in her irises, then fury appeared. Braylon felt like someone was choking the hell out of him, and he couldn’t breathe.

“There’s no maybe in it, Braylon. Drayton is yours,” Madison said, pointedly. “Drayton,” she patted the little boy’s back, “Don’t be shy now. Go give your daddy a hug!”

With the tip of his finger between his lips, Drayton slowly walked over to Braylon and glanced up at him with innocent puppy dog eyes.
Dear Lord.
A tender feeling tugged at Braylon’s heart. He hefted the kid into his arms.

Grave disappointment settled on Sandella’s face.  The tear in her right eye was about to fall.  “I’ll give the three of you some time alone.” She briskly walked away.

Willa grabbed her chest, then threw her free hand up and twirled the air.  “Lordy Jesus! Have mercy on my soul if this is true.” Shaking her head, she quickened away. 

Braylon felt like the veins in his neck were about to pop.  “You had no right coming here without calling first,” Braylon snapped.

Madison strutted up to Braylon.  “Now. Now. Don’t go getting all mad at me.” She rubbed her son’s back as he sat perched in Braylon’s arms looking shy. She smiled but evil twisted inside her pupils.  “I just thought it was high time that Drayton spent some time with his father.”

“Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself?  The paternity results haven’t come back yet.”

She put her hand on her hip, shifting her weight.  “I know for a fact you’re the father, Braylon.”

“So all that time you and I were apart, you never slept with anyone else?”

She blinked her lashes pitifully.  “Do you think I’d actually lie about something like this?” He shrugged. “How insulting.”

He looked at Drayton’s sweet, baby face.
Maybe she’s telling the truth. I mean it’d take a cruel person to lie about the paternity of their child.
“Where are you staying?” he questioned, concerned about where Drayton was laying his head at night.

“I was hoping here.”

Oh hell no! Grandma would never go for that.
“Until the paternity results become available, I’ll put you and Drayton up at the Marriott.”

“The Marriott!” she huffed.

“I’ll get you a big suite, the best there is.”

She caressed his arm in a flirtatious way.  “Thanks, baby.”

He handed her Drayton. “I need to go speak with Sandella.  After I’m done, I’ll take you to the hotel.”

She bestowed him with a smile which looked phony. “Please don’t take long, Braylon. We miss you.” He went in search of the love of his life. 

Braylon glared out the kitchen window and spotted Sandella standing on the boat dock gazing out at the river.
I done fucked up! She’ll never forgive me for keeping this from her.
After he mustered up the courage to go speak with her, he hoofed it across the lawn.

As he made his way toward her the cool breeze bristled his cheeks while sailing over his scalp. A sudden roar of thunder echoed in his ears.
It’s about to pour.

He approached Sandella from behind and put a palm to her shoulder. “Sandella.” When she turned and captured his gaze, his heart shattered like glass. Her face was soaked from crying.  He felt his head spinning as he looked down at her. “I’m so sorry, baby,” he said.

“How old is he?” She wiped the tear falling from her left eye.

“Three.”

The thunderous sounds of the weather exploding around them caused her to jump.  She sniffed.  “He’s beautiful. How long have you known about him?”

God, it killed him to see her in this pain.
What a fool I am for hurting her like this. She deserves better.
A single drop of rain collided with his forehead.

When he went to pull her up against his chest, she slapped his hands away. “Don’t touch me,” she spat out. She blinked and another tear fell. “Just answer the question.”

Guilt knotted his gut. “I found out about Drayton right before I arrived here.”

Her hands flung upward.  “And you didn’t tell me?” She sighed. “Didn’t you think you should’ve told me this before I slept with you? Huh? Huh?” She gnawed her bottom lip. 

Regret filled him. “Yes. I should’ve told you, but I’m not sure if he’s even mine.”

Her eyes spread wide with confusion.  “What do you mean?” She ran a hand over her dripping nose.

“Madison didn’t tell me about Drayton until after I returned home. It was only a few weeks ago that she finally agreed to a paternity test.  I’m waiting as we speak for the results.”

She shook her head. “I can see it in your eyes.” She turned her gaze toward the river.

He curled his hands around her biceps. “Tell me...what do you see in my eyes?”

Shaking her head, she steadied those big sad eyes on him.  “I can see in your eyes that you’re going to leave me if he’s yours…aren’t you?”

He released the steely grip he had on her and let his arms fall to his sides. 
She knows me so well.
As light drizzles of rain pecked his scalp, his hands went to his hips and he briefly transferred his eyes to the river, then back to her sorrowful glare. How could he do this to her? he wondered, the sound of rain pounding inside his ears. 

“Oh God, you are! Why did you ask me to marry you if you knew this could happen?” she wailed.

Hard sheets of rain fell from the sky. 

“You should’ve never asked me to marry you, Braylon.  Never!”

He’d never said he was smart when it came to making decisions regarding love. “I guess I asked you to be my wife because I just love you so much.  And, truthfully, as awful as it may sound, I’m praying that little precious boy in there isn’t mine.”  It broke him down to admit such ugly thing. But that’s just how much he loved her.  Besides, his relationship with Sandella was much stronger than his was with Drayton. 

Thunder boomed.

Lightning cracked the sky.

Rain pounded down harder over their bodies.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what the outcome is…won’t we? Please…don’t call me until you know the results.” She slid the ring off her trembling finger. Giving him a brutal stare, she slapped it into his open hand, then took off running toward the estate.

Holding the ring in his fist, his heart wrenched as she fled.  “Sandella! Come back! Don’t leave like this!”
Damn.
  For the first time in his life, he felt like crying over a woman.  When he attempted to run after her, he slipped and fell on the dock. With his hands flattened on the wet wood, he lolled his head back and let the rain connect with his face, hoping it would wipe away the pain.

B
raylon stood on the deck of his home in Harbor Island gazing out at his backyard. The emerald grass was in need of a good mowing. And the big bushy hedges were in dire need of trimming.  With everything that had been going on, he hadn’t had time to tend to it.

When he looked out over the glistening water, the sweet remembrance of the night he and Sandella had taken a boat ride in Drake’s boat sailed inside his brain. They’d made love on the campgrounds that night. She’d sat in his lap and ridden him backward.

Missing her dearly, his chest tightened.  He turned, pulled open the sliding glass door, and stepped inside. Sandella should be here with him decorating this big house he’d purchased with her in mind, and the three or four kids he hoped they’d one day share. 
I need to hear her voice.
  He slid his cell from his clip, and dialed Sandella.

“Hello,” she answered, and the sweet sound of her soft voice melted his heart, made his dick threaten to swell.

He walked into the kitchen and sat down in the chair at the dinette table, the only piece of furniture he had. “I miss you,” he admitted, dying to see her, aching to make sweet love to her.

“Do you have the paternity results yet?” she asked pointedly.

“No. Not yet.”

“I can’t do this, Braylon.  I wish I could, but I can’t. I’m sorry.” She ended the call without saying goodbye. 

Damn!
He dropped his head in his hands. As he sat there moping, the doorbell rang.
Who could that be?
he wondered, trekking through the living room. When he pulled the door open to find Madison and Drayton on his porch, the knots in his shoulders deepened. Not because of innocent Drayton, but because of the scheming Madison.

Madison’s blond hair was curled in loose ringlets today. Wearing a purple, tight sweater dress and a pair of five-inch heels, she actually looked pretty. She’d always reminded him of Marilyn Monroe.  Too bad her outside didn’t match her inside. 

Holding Drayton’s hand, she held onto a long cylinder-shaped roll of something with the other. “Good morning.”

“Good morning. Come in.” He stepped to the side, and after she entered he shut the door. Last night she’d called him and said she had something important to tell him. With that being said, he’d given her his address, and told her she could stop by this morning. Perhaps she wanted to talk about Drayton and how they’d raise him.  Or perhaps she came to say that Drayton wasn’t his.
Perhaps.

“Come, this way.” He headed toward the kitchen.

Her eyes wandered over the spacious areas.  “My, my, my…this is some place you have.”

“Thanks.”

He came to a stop in front of the kitchen table.  “So what did you want to talk to me about that you couldn’t tell me over the phone?”

“I’d rather show you than tell you.” She removed the paper from beneath her armpit and rolled it out on the table. It was light blue wallpaper with white clouds as the background. “I thought this would look great in your guest bathroom.”

Jesus Christ. She’s got to be kidding me or fucking crazy. No, she’s both.
  “Excuse me?”

“Yeah. I went online and pulled up photos of your home. You know you can do that, right?”

“Yes, Madison. I’m fully aware.”

“Oh. Okay. As I was saying...after looking at your house online, I saw how bland it looked. So I went to Lowe’s and picked this up.” Her eyes drifted to the wallpaper then back up at him.  “You do want Drayton and me to move in here, right? Isn’t that the plan?” Silence. Silence. “I just assumed—” 

“Yes. Madison. Drayton can come live with me once I get the results and know he’s mine for sure.” A vivid picture of his father walking out on him flashed across his mind.

Her face split into a grin and she threw her arms around him. She nestled her cheek into the juncture of his chest like a kitten snuggling up against its mother.  “I knew you’d do the right thing by us.  I just knew you would.” The doorbell rang again. She pried her arms from him. “I need to go get my nails done. Can you please watch Drayton until I get back?”

“Sure. No problem.”
Sandella should be decorating this house, not her.
 

She stooped down in front of Drayton. “Daddy’s going to watch you until I get back. Okay?”

“But, I want to go with you,” he whined.

“Mommy has to run and do things that only girls can do. So be a big boy and stay here with your daddy.” She pinched his cheek causing it to turn apple red. “Okay?”

Braylon lifted Drayton in his arms. “How about you and I go fishing or to the park and play football later?”

Drayton’s eyes lit like shining stars. “Yeeeyyy! Football. I like football! But I don’t know how to fish.”

She kissed his forehead, and headed for the front door. Halfway there, the doorbell rang again. It was Willa and Drake. My, wasn’t he blessed to have so many visitors this morning? Willa, Drake, and Madison acknowledged one another. A few seconds later, Madison hopped in the car and backed out of the driveway.