more. She just doesn’t deserve that energy from me. She’s nothing. One of the most important things you’ve ever said to me was when you told me I needed to exorcise her ghost. I needed to hear that, because it just wasn’t clicking, and when you said that to me and told me that she was always jealous of the place that I held in your heart, it was like I finally saw this picture that was right in front of my eyes that I could just never see.” Smiling at him, “The only thing that annoys me is that she puts stress on you and that upsets me because I do want to kill anyone who hurts you.”
Schooner remained silent with eyes trained on Mia’s.
“What? What’s that look?” Mia broke the silence.
“We’re a team, Baby Girl. We’re finally handling things as a team. Together.”
Reaching out, she put a hand on his cheek and nodded, “And we’ll just keep getting better and better at it.” Then she chuckled and her devil grin took over, “Ok, so maybe I kind of do have a fantasy about a good old fashioned bitch fight and taking her down.”
Throwing his head back with laughter, “I’d pay good money to see that and my money would be on the scrappy babe from New York.”
Chapter Thirteen
Exiting the elevator on the cardiac care unit at Hoag Memorial Hospital, Mia could see the deep concern and fear in Schooner’s eyes.
“I’ll meet you at your dad’s room,” Mia’s nose was scrunched up. “I don’t want your parents to meet their grandson smelling like this.”
Ducking into a bathroom, Mia pulled out a changing pad and laid Nathaniel out on the plastic changing table. “So Poopy Boy, you are going to get to meet your grandma and grandpa for the first time. You were too little to travel and we didn’t want them to travel to New York in the dead of winter. And I’m going to tell you a secret, even though I talk to them on the phone all the time, I haven’t seen them since I was a munchkin.”
Tossing the offending diaper into the garbage, Mia dressed Nathaniel back up in his Baby Gap sweats.
“I’ll bet just seeing you will make Grandpa feel so much better. I know when he sees Daddy, he’s going to be very happy. And you are all smiles today, so we’re all really lucky.”
Picking him up and slinging the diaper bag onto her shoulder, Mia exited the bathroom, “Ok, let’s go find Daddy.”
As she stepped out into the corridor she nearly collided with a person walking down the hall.
“Mia?”
And they both stood there in shock, each as surprised as the other at their near collision. Mia’s hold on Nathaniel became tighter, as she went into protection mode, and Nathaniel turned his face from Mia’s shoulder to see why.
He gasped and choked out in a rough voice, “Oh my God, he looks like me.” The look on his face was the same perplexed look she had seen on Schooner’s face, so many years before, the first time he had laid eyes on her in front of Brewster Hall. And then she noticed the glaze as his eyes became wet.
“Yes. He does look like you. There’s some strong genes in the family.” Taking a deep breath, Mia attempted to outwardly regain her composure, before she went on. “Nathaniel, this is your big brother, Zac.”
As if on cue, Nathaniel hit Zac with a classic Moore smile and Zac reacted without thinking, returning Nathaniel’s smile with a real smile of his own.
Squirming in Mia’s arms, Nathaniel was making it known that he wanted to go to Zac. This immediate innate trust of his older brother caused panic in Mia’s gut. Would Zac hurt him? The incident at L9 could have been tragic for Nathaniel.
The tighter Mia held him, the more he squirmed, literally trying to throw his body at Zac as he began to fuss.
“He wants you to hold him,” Mia locked eyes with Zac. The last thing she wanted to do was hand him her baby. Fear gripped her tighter than she was gripping Nathaniel, but somewhere deep down she knew she couldn’t keep the brothers apart.
Zac
Schooner remained silent with eyes trained on Mia’s.
“What? What’s that look?” Mia broke the silence.
“We’re a team, Baby Girl. We’re finally handling things as a team. Together.”
Reaching out, she put a hand on his cheek and nodded, “And we’ll just keep getting better and better at it.” Then she chuckled and her devil grin took over, “Ok, so maybe I kind of do have a fantasy about a good old fashioned bitch fight and taking her down.”
Throwing his head back with laughter, “I’d pay good money to see that and my money would be on the scrappy babe from New York.”
Chapter Thirteen
Exiting the elevator on the cardiac care unit at Hoag Memorial Hospital, Mia could see the deep concern and fear in Schooner’s eyes.
“I’ll meet you at your dad’s room,” Mia’s nose was scrunched up. “I don’t want your parents to meet their grandson smelling like this.”
Ducking into a bathroom, Mia pulled out a changing pad and laid Nathaniel out on the plastic changing table. “So Poopy Boy, you are going to get to meet your grandma and grandpa for the first time. You were too little to travel and we didn’t want them to travel to New York in the dead of winter. And I’m going to tell you a secret, even though I talk to them on the phone all the time, I haven’t seen them since I was a munchkin.”
Tossing the offending diaper into the garbage, Mia dressed Nathaniel back up in his Baby Gap sweats.
“I’ll bet just seeing you will make Grandpa feel so much better. I know when he sees Daddy, he’s going to be very happy. And you are all smiles today, so we’re all really lucky.”
Picking him up and slinging the diaper bag onto her shoulder, Mia exited the bathroom, “Ok, let’s go find Daddy.”
As she stepped out into the corridor she nearly collided with a person walking down the hall.
“Mia?”
And they both stood there in shock, each as surprised as the other at their near collision. Mia’s hold on Nathaniel became tighter, as she went into protection mode, and Nathaniel turned his face from Mia’s shoulder to see why.
He gasped and choked out in a rough voice, “Oh my God, he looks like me.” The look on his face was the same perplexed look she had seen on Schooner’s face, so many years before, the first time he had laid eyes on her in front of Brewster Hall. And then she noticed the glaze as his eyes became wet.
“Yes. He does look like you. There’s some strong genes in the family.” Taking a deep breath, Mia attempted to outwardly regain her composure, before she went on. “Nathaniel, this is your big brother, Zac.”
As if on cue, Nathaniel hit Zac with a classic Moore smile and Zac reacted without thinking, returning Nathaniel’s smile with a real smile of his own.
Squirming in Mia’s arms, Nathaniel was making it known that he wanted to go to Zac. This immediate innate trust of his older brother caused panic in Mia’s gut. Would Zac hurt him? The incident at L9 could have been tragic for Nathaniel.
The tighter Mia held him, the more he squirmed, literally trying to throw his body at Zac as he began to fuss.
“He wants you to hold him,” Mia locked eyes with Zac. The last thing she wanted to do was hand him her baby. Fear gripped her tighter than she was gripping Nathaniel, but somewhere deep down she knew she couldn’t keep the brothers apart.
Zac
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