Right Side Up ((MMG Novella)) (14 page)

Kurt

Dana Harkins is
dead.
My phone rang on the way to bed. It was Max telling me Ellie was on her way to pick up Mac, and Dana was responsible for the car wreck.
Will the crazy shit never end?
We took Mac with us while Max and Ellie went to check on Sarah after they learned about the accident. Quietly, I entered the bedroom. Joss and Mac were snuggled together in the middle of our king size bed. Both were sound asleep and looked so damn cute.
Maybe I’ll wait until Ellie arrives to wake them.

Ten minutes later, I heard her drive up. I waited for her to get out of Max’s truck, before opening the door. She looked beat.

“Thanks for watching him. I hope he wasn’t any trouble,” she quietly said.

“Joss wants to keep him,” I teased. She let out a tired laugh and followed me into the bedroom. When Ellie saw Joss and Mac asleep on the bed, she let out a whispered, “Awwww.”

“Is Max staying at the hospital?” I asked.

“Yeah, she has a concussion and a broken hand. They want to keep her for a few days.” Ellie stared longingly at the bed, and I felt bad about her having to go home to an empty house.

“Kick off your shoes and climb in. I’ll sleep in the guest room tonight,” I told her.

“Really?” The relief in her voice let me know I’d made the right call.

“If you want a clean t-shirt, there’s one in the top drawer.”

“Did Max tell you about Dana?”

“He did and I want details tomorrow. For now, we both need sleep,” I responded.

“Thanks Kurt.”

The next morning I woke to the sound of Mac’s squeals and Joss and Ellie laughing. I lay there for a minute soaking it all in. Last night was the first night in months the gang had all been together and happy. Max and Ellie weren’t ignoring each other or fighting anymore. Gage was relaxed and Piper no longer seemed to be a flight risk. Dillon and Isabella were finally together and Joss was cruising through her second trimester. Dooley Shane was dead, Jimmy was in jail and now Dana was gone too. I can’t say I was sorry about any of it. I felt the reverberation of the front door slamming and realized Ellie and Mac must have left. Before I could get up and see, the bedroom door cracked open and light from the hallway spilled across the foot of the bed. Joss slipped in and shut it behind her.

“You awake?” she whispered.

“Come find out,” I gruffly responded. With a laugh, she pounced on top of me. I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a good morning kiss. When we came up for air I asked about Ellie and Mac.

“Max called and wanted a change of clothes and decent food, so Ellie took off.”

“How’s Sarah?”

“Max said she’s really shaken up.”

“Did Dana know it was Isabella or did she think it was Dillon?”

“Sarah told Max that Dana knew exactly who it was. They are so lucky to be alive, Kurt. Sarah said Ibby lost control of the jeep for a second and when she jerked the wheel to get it back, Dana clipped the back bumper and barely missed taking them out, before going over the guardrail.”

“I’m confused. How did they end up in such bad shape then?”

“When Dana clipped them, they spun and ended up sideways across both lanes of traffic. Before they could straighten out, someone came around the curve and slammed into them.”

“Damn,” I whispered.

“Yeah, I can’t say I’m sad to see the end of that bitch. Anyway, I was coming up to ask if you wanted to go to the hospital with me this morning.”

I did, but first I needed to give my wife a proper good morning greeting….

*     *     *

One week later

Max, Ellie, Piper
and Gage were over for dinner. We’d invited Dillon, Ibby and Sarah as well, but they all had other plans. Max showed up in a foul mood. It took a few drinks for him to relax enough to talk about it.

“I think my sister and Cas have something going on…or at least, they did,” he finally admitted. As it was a million degrees outside, we were in watching Nascar, while the girls and Mac were upstairs talking about babies.

“What makes you thing that?” Gage asked, shooting me a worried look. I nodded in understanding. We’d both been wondering when Max would catch on.

“For starters, Cas went ape shit when he found out Sarah was in the accident. When I confronted him, he gave me some bull about how they couldn’t be together. Damn right they can’t be together! She’s twenty fucking years old and he’s what? Twenty-seven, eight…? Shit, if he’s thirty, I will lose my mind. What do we even know about this guy, other than he’s Garrett’s partner? Where did he come from? How did he end up in Charlotte?”

“Do you know for a fact they’re together?” I asked.

“When Sarah first got home from Scotland, she acted like she hated the guy. Ells and I were smack in the middle of our own shit, so I blew it off. I figured they probably met at our wedding and Cas was a dick to her, or something. The day Sarah interrupted our meeting and Cas jumped all over her was the first indication something was up. Instead of addressing it, though, I ignored it because I didn’t want to believe Cas was that stupid. You both know him. The guy’s a cold hearted fucker. There’s no way my sister would go for that. Anyway, Ellison forced me to let the two of them have some alone time while Sarah was in the hospital. I didn’t want to, but Ells was adamant. The next thing I knew, Cas was visiting every day. Two days ago, he came by and not fifteen minutes later, was storming out the door. My sister was a fucking mess.” He paused to look at us both. “I kid you not, I have never seen her like this. She was absolutely destroyed. Nothing…and I mean nothing would make her stop crying. Finally, when I threatened to get in my car and kick his ass to China and back, she chilled. Yesterday, Sally came by. They talked for hours and last night Sarah told us she and Sally were getting a place together.”

“That’s good, right?” Gage asked.

Max sighed. “Last week I became a silent partner in Lash Enterprises.”

“Lash?” I asked.

“Yeah, Lanier and Ashford shortened to Lash,” Max stated.

“You did it? Congrats man,” Gage said.

“I did, but if I find out that fucker hurt my baby sister…” Before he could finish his sentence, the girls rolled in with a crying Mac.

*     *     *

Two weeks later

“I think I
forgot toothpaste,” Joss announced. We were two hours into our three and a half hour drive to Kiawah.

“I’m sure they have a store on the island, babe.”

“I’m glad we are going a few days early. I need time to relax before the festivities begin.”

I had to agree. The past few weeks had been crazy busy. Before Dillon and I could take off this weekend for Piper and Gage’s wedding, we had to hire another bartender and two new waitresses. We both agreed, since we weren’t going to be there full time anymore, we needed to make Polly and Lena managers. This way, when Joss had the baby, I would have two people I trusted to help me with the bar. We also were thinking about adding an outdoor patio, as well as a covered beer garden in back. On the nights Isabella performed, we tripled our sales. Dillon suggested doing a Coffee House style evening with rotating performers every Wednesday night. Add this to Margarita Mondays and Saturday nights with Ibby and D performing, and we would be pulling it in hand over fist.
Who knows what will happen if we add a patio and beer garden
.

Joss’ chatter cut through my thoughts, “When we get to Kiawah, I have to shop for sundresses. I can’t fit in my shorts anymore.”

The second I set eyes on Josselyn Speilman my senior year in high school, I wanted her. With her white blonde hair and iridescent blue eyes, she reminded me of a fairy. I remember the first time I saw her. Wearing a short denim skirt, form fitting top and a pair of pink high top Chucks, this little pixie of a girl was telling off one of the biggest bitches in our school. I almost swallowed my tongue. Unlike the back stabbing, insecure girls that filled the halls of our high school, Joss was secure in her own skin. Not only was she gorgeous to look at, but she had her own sense of style. It took me a while to get up the nerve to talk to her. That was right before Max began pursuing Ellie. The night I decided to make my move, Piper almost ruined it for me. The best thing that ever happened was Joss deciding to give me a chance.
Now she is having my baby.

Josselyn’s body was changing with pregnancy. Her once tiny hips and ass were filling out nicely, and her perky little breasts now fit perfectly in my hands. Max once told me how he couldn’t get enough of pregnant Ellie. At the time I thought he was an idiot. Now, I completely understood. There is something about my child growing inside my wife that makes her irresistible. I have this unquenchable need to touch her, taste her…be deep inside her every second of every day.
She’s like fucking catnip.

“Are you listening or are you thinking about the bar again? Look, Polly and Lena won’t let you down. They have been bugging you about this for months. Just give them a chance,” Joss said.

“Actually, I was thinking about how glad I am we have a few days before the wedding,” I confessed.

“Oh yeah?” The lusty rasp in her voice made my dick perk up.

I smiled and gave her a quick wink. “Oh, yeah.”

“Do you think it’s finally over?” Her tone let me know she was no longer playing.

“Is what finally over?”

“The bad shit. Sometimes I get so scared, Kurt. I want to believe Dana dying is the grand finale, but what if it’s not?”

I reached over and took her hand in mine. “There will always be bad, baby doll, but just remember, with the bad comes the good, and the good has been pretty damn amazing.”

“Yeah, Piper got Gage,” she said.

“And Ellie delivered a healthy baby,” I added.

She smiled. “And Reyn and Piper both survived gunshot wounds.”

I squeezed her hand. “And Ibby, Sally and Sarah survived the car wreck.”

“And we’re having a baby,” she sighed.

My eyes shot to hers. “And we’re having a baby.”

Her eyes lit up and she gave me another happy smile. “You’re right. The good is amazing.”

It’s all that matters in the end.

Gage

‡

“K
ill me now,”
I muttered under my breath. Piper’s hand jerked beneath mine and I glanced over at her.

“What?” she whispered.

Pressing my lips to her ear, so no one could overhear, I said, “Your dad just hinted that he wanted to nail your mom later tonight.” She let out a full body shudder and I held back a roar of laughter.
Tomorrow this woman will be my wife.

“You just had to tell me, didn’t you?”

I gave her an innocent look. “I’m just sharing the love, Princess.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Piper’s mother, Marie, asked from across the table.

“Hopefully how they’re going to get lucky later,” Piper’s brother, RJ said, wiggling his eyebrows at us. I wanted to punch him.

“RJ!” Piper scolded.

Marie waggled her finger back and forth in the air. “There will be none of that tonight,” she warned.

“Kill me now,” I muttered, again. Piper kicked me under the table and I glared at her.