Redeemed Book 2: A Military Stepbrother Romance (10 page)

The boy yelped and started shouting that he didn’t have enough time to prepare, while the girl stood back and laughed before running away when he made chase.

I laughed, watching them run around the yard. Actually, run was a bit strong of a word given how deep the snow was. It was more of a slow gallop, and I knew in about a minute each would be tuckered out from all the exertion. Silently I commended their parents - what a great idea to let your kids tire themselves out in the yard full of snow, then come back in and eat or sleep it off.

Great way to get some peace around the house!

I shook my head, still smiling as I got in front of Maggie’s house. It was then that I realized that it had been years since I’d played in the snow. What Harrison and I did in the forest that day didn’t count; I meant really play around, like with a snowman and snowballs.

How come adults didn’t take the time to do stuff like that anymore? Why were we always so serious, so eager to get weighed down by the pressure of all the things we had to deal with every day? Why were we in such a rush? And even then, in such a rush, how Come we never really got anywhere new?

I didn’t have answers to any of these questions yet. I hadn’t even realized that I was thinking about them somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind. Seeing these kids playing outside, though, started the gears turning.

There really was no sense of being so busy, so hurried all the time. Maybe enjoying the moment wasn’t all that easy, but I really needed to make an effort to do so more often.

Shook my head to clear these thoughts out as I knocked on Maggie’s door. Time for that stuff later, now I was ready to shop. The door opened after the second knock, like Maggie had been waiting for me on the other side.

“There you are! Feels like I’ve been waiting forever!” Maggie stood in the doorway, all bundled up and ready to go. Her bright orange heavy jacket would not only keep her warm, but act as a swell homing beacon if we managed to get lost.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I got sidetracked watching those kids over there play.” I nodded my head in their direction, then noticed that they’d already disappeared, maybe around the back of the house, or maybe already back inside. No doubt with hot chocolate in their hands in front of the fire.

“No worries.” Maggie leaned against the doorway and put the back of her hand against her for head, closing her eyes and acting all dramatic. “I had ever despaired of your finally arriving. I felt that I would waste away in the time that it took for you to finally come.”

Same old Maggie. “Well, madame, I have finally arrived to take you away from this horrid place.” I bowed as low as I could with my own heavy coat on. “Will start now accompany me to the purveyor of fine things?”

She gave me her hand, as daintily as a heavily pregnant woman could, Her eyes fluttering way more than they should. “ My stars! Why, of course I shall. Lead the way!” She closed the door behind her and we both shivered without the heat coming from inside.

I dropped the act. “Y’all ready to go?”

“Yup, got everything I need, right here.” We walked down the steps and to the curb. I started to turn left to lead to my car, just assuming that I would drive, when Maggie put her hand on my elbow and stopped me. “Let’s take my car.”

I turned around to face her. “How come?”

Maggie rubbed her belly, looking down before focusing back on me. He’s been jumping a little bit lately, and I want to make sure the delivery kit isn’t too far from me, just in case.”

Of course that made sense. Maggie looked like she was ready to burst. If that was me, I’d already have moved into the hospital, but Maggie was the very definition of a trooper.

“Right, right, of course.” I nodded vigorously, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “We’ll take your car. Want me to drive?”

“Would you? Thanks, love.” She reached into her purse and shuffled around in there for her keys, finally dragging them out and handing them to me with a rueful smile on her face.

“Sure thing!” We got in the car and were off to the mall. I stole a glance back at Maggie’s neighbor’s house as we left, looking for those kids, but they were still nowhere to be found.

Maggie was oddly quiet on the drive to the mall. I didn’t push the point and try to make small talk once I realized she wasn’t responding with her usual pep. I figured she must be exhausted, both from the never-ending assault a large and close family around the holidays creates, coupled with the whole, you know, being super duper pregnant thing she had going on.

We pulled into the mall just outside Summitville and I began hunting for a parking spot. Apparently the rest of the surrounding area had the same idea for how to spend the afternoon, and there were slim pickings at first.

We drove around for a few minutes, hunting and darting around chasing down phantoms and mirages of free parking spaces. Maggie occasionally pointed me toward one, but by the time we got there, another car was just settling in. It was frustrating, and I could clearly see that Maggie had something on her mind.

Finally, we found a spot after some more searching and managed to slide in just as another car came a-calling. Maggie and I smiled at each other over our minor victory, and joined the crowd moving throughout the mall in waves.

“Did you bring a list?” Maggie asked me as we entered the mall and loosened our scarves after the first gust of warm air hit.

“A list of what?”

“Of gifts, dummy! People to buy things for and what to get them? Remember why we’re here?” Maggie sounded tired but of course she didn’t miss a chance to jump all over me.

I smiled, knowing I would give her just the same courtesy if our roles were reversed. “Oh,” I said. I hadn’t thought of that, duh. “No, no list here. I’ll just wing it. My list isn’t that big anyway.” I’d get a few gifts for people back in New York, and of course Maggie, whom I’d probably shop for a little later, my father, stepmother, and Harrison.

Oh boy, buying a gift for Harrison. That was kind of a minefield if I’d ever heard of one. He was doing that thing again, something that I had already begun to get used to, even though it has only been such a short time that we were, or had been… Involved.
 

I called it involved because I didn’t have any other word to use that made any sense. But the thing of his where he would get close to me, and then push me away for whatever reason, invented or not, was on the closing in cycle again. I didn’t know what he wanted, beyond what he’d said after the police station, but more importantly than that, I had to figure out what I wanted.

And that of course was super hard. I wanted Harrison; I want him more than I had ever wanted anyone or anything else in my life. But at the same time, I couldn’t stand to be on this roller coaster he had dragged me on to any longer. It was just too much to deal with. And soon I’d have to go back to New York anyway.

“Where are you?” Maggie was looking at me. I must’ve gotten stuck in my own head again, and I shook my head to try and clear those thoughts away.

“Sorry about that,” I whispered just above the throngs of people around us. “I was thinking about something else for a moment.”

“You sure were,” Maggie joked, smiling. “Was he a big soldier with nice tattoos?”

My cheeks got red. “Something like that,” I shrugged, trying to change the subject. “Which store should we get to first?”

Maggie looked around, her eyes wandering over all the storefronts arrayed out before us. “There are so many choices, I almost don’t know where to start. Why don’t we head in this direction and see what we find?”

“Good plan!” I agreed, glad that we were avoiding Harrison talk for even a little longer. I was sure Maggie was curious but I wasn’t in much of a mood to talk about him. I needed to figure myself out.

We started down the large wide corridor of the mall, all decked out in festive green and red wreaths, streamers, and lights. The people we passed by clutched bags of holiday shopping, some fresh-faced and ready to hit the stores, others tired from a day spent dragging nagging children from store to store, bored and waiting to finally stop shopping for clothes and get to the toys and video games.

Maggie stopped me all of a sudden, grabbing my hand with hers so suddenly, pulling me out of my shopping-related reveries and internal list-making, that I started to flinch before I realized it was her. “What’s up?” I turned toward her.

Maggie looked at my with her large soft brown eyes. “You know, Laurel,” she said in that motherly tone she was getting increasingly good at putting on at a moment’s notice, “you can talk to me about him, you know, if you want.”

Harrison again. “Th-thanks,” I quickly replied, suddenly feeling the need to admire my shoes in the wet tracked-in floor of the mall. “Am I being that obvious?”

“Yeah, honey, you are,” she said, “but it’s OK. This is a big deal, and I understand how it must be on your mind. I’m not sure how I could focus on anything else either.”

“Yeah,” I smiled, glad that someone understood even a little bit and was willing to hear about it even if I wasn’t willing to talk yet. “It’s been a whirlwind. I’m just not sure about him.”

“Boys are like that, dear. They bulldoze around like they know what they’re doing, but they’re just as confused as we are. And we have a tendency to worry about them a little too much.” Maggie nodded her head sagely as she spoke, dispensing wisdom no woman in her early twenties should even pretend to have.

“I know, and I know that I shouldn’t worry about it, but…” I trailed off.

“But it’s Harrison. It’s the guy you’ve hated for years and who you thought hated you. And now things are starting to change and you’re starting to change how you feel but there are roadblocks in the way. There always are.”

“Yeah, seems like it,” I monotoned, glumly.
 

“But you two will work it out, I have a good feeling.” That was an odd thing to say given how little she knew about the situation. I hadn’t told Maggie anything about the sex, the police, the interrogation, the I-guess-I-should-call-it breakup, or the possible attempt at rapprochement this morning.

“How do you figure?” I looked at Maggie and she was grinning, with that tell-tale look of ‘I’m about to drop a serious burn’ look on her face. I looked her up and down and decided it was a good idea to let her have this one.

“Because,” she smiled wide, “you two are family! And family always works things out!”
 

“Ugh, gross! You are the worst. We’re not family in the way you’re implying, Maggie!”

Maggie took a while to stop laughing, finally pulling herself together. It looked like she was on the verge of years. “I know, I know,” she said, wiping her eyes, “I just couldn’t resist. I’ve been waiting to use that one for days!”

“The worst.” I shook my head, cheeks on fire, but a smile on my face nonetheless. Maggie always knew how to brighten the situation. Even though in my heart of hearts, no matter what Maggie said, we weren’t going to reconcile.

I started walking forward, eyes on a particular small perfume store that carried the stuff I knew my stepmother liked. I personally wasn’t a fan, but she couldn’t get enough of the stuff, and I was eager to start crossing people off my imaginary gift list.

I got about 10 steps toward the store when I realized Maggie hadn’t kept up the pace. I slowed to a halt, making sure no one behind me in a rush collided with my back, before turning around.

Maggie hadn’t moved from the spot where we had our conversation just now. She had a stricken look on her face, like something had surprised her. I walked back to her as quickly as I could, ducking around people going in my direction, trying to stay out of other people’s way.

By the time I got to Maggie, it looked like she had collected herself a little bit. “Is everything okay?” I asked.

“I… I,” she trailed off, Then gulped. “I think my water just broke.”

I put my hand over my mouth. “Oh no, honey, are you sure?” I looked around helplessly, not knowing what to do.

Maggie nodded her head vigorously, her eyes closed. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I think the beach ball wants to go to the beach.”

Leave it to Maggie to try and find humor in a tough situation. “What we do?”

Maggie took my hand and grasp it tightly. She leaned in close. “That’s why we took my car,” she whispered, “because of the preparation kit.”

“Right, right. We got a get to the car.”

“Yeah, we do, and then you that a drive me to the hospital as fast as you can.” She grimaced. “But don’t break any laws, I don’t want to have to stop for a ticket.”

We started heading toward the entrance we had just come in from a few minutes earlier. “I think, Maggie,” I whispered to her, “that the police would forgive a little speeding under the circumstances.” I was moving a little faster than Maggie, and our arms were starting to stretch out.

“That may be the case, but I’ve seen your driving, and I don’t want to cause any accidents along the way.” Grim humor in a time like this!

The parking lot was still full, and just getting to the car took a couple minutes with all the people in the way. Cars still roved between the aisles of the parking lot, searching for a spot. One of them would get ours, in just a moment.

“Before we go,” Maggie piped up as we got to the car, “get the bag from the trunk and bring it up front with us.” I nodded, and popped the trunk, gathering the dark blue duffel bag from the trunk.

I ran over to Maggie’s side and opened her door. “Recline the seat,” Maggie moaned, clutching at her belly. I leaned the seat back, surprised to feel some remnants of the heat from the trip here still in the main cabin. I helped Maggie into the car and strapped her in before putting the duffel bag at her feet.

“All set?” I asked, wanting to make sure she was as comfortable as could be for the ride over. I wanted to feel like I was helping.

“All set,” Maggie replied. She gave me a half-hearted thumbs up, and I closed her door and hurried over to the driver’s side, and slid in. Maggie had her phone out, but wasn’t making a call. “I’m getting the directions to the hospital up for you,” she said, focusing intently on the screen.