R.L. Mathewson's Blog, page 5

And So it Begins… Part VII

Dear Reader,

So, I was going to do a Valentine’s Day Chronicle with Aidan and Melanie after I left it up to the R.L. Mathewson Page on Facebook until I remembered one slight problem…

This feed is hooked up to Amazon and Goodreads.com, which means that it’s not a good idea to post something that has in it what we both know that I would have put in that Chronicle With that being said, when I feel the need to have a Chronicle that has those details that the censors at Amazon and Goodreads.com probably wouldn’t appreciate, I’m going to post it in the newsletter. I didn’t do it this time because it didn’t even occur to me until the last minute. 

For those of you who are not signed up for the R.L. Mathewson Newsletter and would like to see those particular Chronicles or keep up with new releases and giveaways, you can sign up here. 

Now, onto the Chronicle that I could write.

 

And So it Begins…

Part VII

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

“I’d really like to go home now,” came the softly whispered words that had Reese looking up from his food to find the bench across from him empty.

Frowning, he stood up only to find Mikey curled up in the fetal position on the other bench. When he opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong, she slowly raised a damning finger and pointed to his right. Curious, Reese followed the gesture to find Sebastian sitting on the other side of the restaurant, slowly rolling what looked like one of Mikey’s baseballs between his hands as he kept his gaze locked on Mikey.

Biting back a sigh, Reese grabbed the last chicken nugget off his plate, tossed it in his mouth and made his way across the busy restaurant, making sure to stay away from his brothers, cousins, and uncles as he went. As soon as he reached Jason’s booth, he held out his hand and caught the ball before he headed back to his booth, only stopping along the way to grab another plate of chicken.

“He’s going to kill me,” Mikey whispered as she took the ball from him and hugged it against her chest.

“No, he’s not,” Reese said, not bothering to look back at Sebastian because they both knew that the kid wasn’t going to do anything more than glare at her, which given the circumstances, was completely understandable.

They’d had the perfect setup before Reese managed to swoop in and persuade Mikey that it would be in her best interest to sit with him and now, he was free to enjoy his first buffet in years. Speaking of Mikey…

“Do I have to?” she asked when the alarm on his watch went off, letting them know that it had been thirty minutes since the last time that she went up to get food.

“That’s up to you,” Reese drawled, letting the implied threat hang in the air, knowing that Mikey would do anything to make sure that her mother didn’t find out what happened to the kitchen window.

There was a heavy sigh and then…

“Fine,” Mikey said as she sat up, shoving the baseball in her sweatshirt pocket before she got up and-

“Kitchen. Window,” came the cold words that had Reese looking to his right to find his incredibly beautiful wife standing next to their booth glaring, but she wasn’t glaring at Mikey.

No, his seriously pissed off wife was looking right at him.

He opened his mouth to answer, but she wasn’t done yet.

“You knew?” Kasey demanded, shaking her head in disgust as Reese heard the unmistakable sounds of a satisfied sigh as an arm a hell of a lot smaller than his reached past his wife, grabbed Mikey’s hand and with another satisfied sigh that had Reese’s eyes narrowing, stole her.

With a politely murmured, “If you’ll excuse us,” Sebastian proceeded to drag Mikey back across the restaurant. Unable to help himself, Reese followed the move only to feel his stomach drop when Sebastian shot him a wink over his shoulder as he mouthed the words, “She knows.”

Frowning, Reese glanced back at his wife as he tried to figure out what Sebastian was talking about only to realize that he was never leaving this restaurant alive when he saw the baseball ticket stubs in her hand.

“You let Mikey skip school to go to a baseball game?”

Copyright © 2021 

And So It Begins… Part VI An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

And So It Begins…

Part VI

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

“One hundred dollars,” came the quietly mumbled words that had Mikey frowning as she dropped another piece of fried chicken on her plate.

“Two hundred,” came the follow-up before she got a chance to look over her shoulder to find Uncle Jared standing behind her.

“For…” Mikey prompted since she’d learned her lesson in agreeing to anything before finding out the details to avoid situations like this one.

“Sit with me,” Uncle Jared said as he shifted a glare past her that had her glancing over her shoulder to find Uncle Jason glaring at his father.

“But I came with Uncle Jason,” Mikey mumbled only to bite back a sigh when Uncle Jason shifted his attention to her and mouthed, “We had a deal.”

That was followed by Sebastian mouthing, “I know where you live.”

Maybe it was time for her to make a run for it, Mikey debated when her Grandpa joined them and said, “Five hundred,” making it really difficult to remember what they were talking about as her mind focused on all the baseballs that she could buy with that kind of money.

She could even get a new glove…

When she opened her mouth to inquire about his kind offer, her father was there, leaning down to kiss her cheek and-

“It sure would be a shame if your mother found out that you were the one that broke the kitchen window last week when you were playing catch with Cole instead of taking the trash out,” Reese whispered in her ear as she found herself nodding, because that would definitely be a shame.

Clearing her throat, Mikey found herself forcing a smile as she added one more piece of fried chicken to the plate and-

“Another one,” Reese said when she went to put the tongs down.

With a murmured, “Right,” Mikey added another piece of chicken to her plate, tried not to wince when she felt every Bradford glare at her and headed to her father’s table on the other side of the restaurant. She placed the plate overflowing with food on the table and watched as her father, sighing with satisfaction and smiling hugely, joined her.

“Have I ever told you how much I love you, Mikey?” Reese asked as he dug in.

“It would probably help if you kept saying that,” Mikey found herself mumbling as she caught the murderous glare that her best friend was sending her.

She wasn’t going to make it out of here alive, Mikey realized as she swallowed hard as she reached inside her sweatshirt for her ball and-

“Oh, god…no,” Mikey found herself mumbling when she realized that she didn’t have her ball.

Trying not to panic, she quickly scanned the floor for her ball only to find herself looking across the restaurant to find Sebastian holding it. With a smile that she found somewhat disturbing, he made a show of placing her ball between his hands and began rolling it as her hands twitched, desperate to mimic the comforting move.

It was in that moment that she realized something very important.

Her best friend was going to make her pay for this.

Copyright © 2021 

And So It Begins… Part V: An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

And So It Begins…

Part V

An R.L. Mathewson

“It’s just that,” and this is where Mikey paused, “I feel like this isn’t going to end well,” she said, looking thoughtful as they watched Devin, who looked really pissed, as he was escorted to the front door.

“You’re not getting out of this,” Jason told her as he watched Trevor head back to get more fried chicken.

“That’s his third time,” Sebastian said, narrowing his eyes on his father as he watched his every move.

“Fourth,” Mikey said, sounding bored as she pulled a baseball out of the sweatshirt that he could have sworn was Sebastian’s and began rolling it between her hands only to sigh heavily when Jason plucked the ball out of her hands and gestured for her to get on with it.

“But I’m not hungry,” Mikey mumbled sadly only to sigh, mutter under her breath, and-

“God, you’re mean!”

-shoved Sebastian off the bench with a mumbled, “Fine,” making sure to sound put out as she headed back to the line while Jason looked around, taking in all the Bradfords trying to blend in as he tried to figure out the weak link.

There was Arik glowering in the corner, Reese sitting on the other side of restaurant, glaring at him over a plate of ribs, his father was a few tables away doing the same, while Lucifer, Aidan, and Darrin glared at each other as they all moved to get up only to stop and slowly sit back down when they realized that they were all trying to go back up to get more food at the same time, none of them willing to do anything that would put an end to this.

They were all amateurs, Jason thought as his secret weapon walked back to the table with two plates overflowing with so many delicious morsels. She placed the plates on the table, climbed over Sebastian and settled back in with her baseball while Jason grabbed his fork with a satisfied sigh and dug in.

This was a good plan, Jason had to admit as he glanced across the table at Sebastian as he dug into the huge pile of macaroni cheese that Mikey put on his plate. Jason couldn’t believe that he’d never thought of this before, but now that he knew that it worked, he couldn’t help but think of all the possibilities…

In the past, he’d brought his incredibly beautiful wife with him, but his little grasshopper had never been able to give him the kind of cover that Mikey did. Mikey was absolutely perfect. She was small, adorable, and didn’t get easily spooked, making her absolutely perfect for this. No one looked at her twice when she grabbed more food than she could handle. To them, she was just another adorable little girl grabbing too much food and they were the kind, considerate souls ensuring that none of that food went to waste by eating it for her.

Thanks to her, they only needed to go up once, maybe twice, an hour to grab food while the rest of the men in his family were forced to sit there, biding their time as they waited between plates, trying not to draw attention to themselves and risk anyone figuring out that they were Bradfords. It was a good strategy, but unfortunately, it had never worked in the past.

Sooner or later, one of them was going to break and when they did…

They’d better not take him down with them.

Copyright © 2021 

And So It Begins: Part IV

And So It Begins…

Part IV

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

“You do realize that I hate you, right?” the man that hadn’t stopped bitching since Devin dragged him out of his office said.

“You realize that I don’t care, right?” Devin asked his wife’s best friend as he glanced around the large parking lot, making sure that none of his cousins or uncles were around before he reached for the car door.

“Are you going to tell me why we had to take my car?” Ben asked, sighing heavily as he reluctantly climbed out.

“Because I couldn’t take my truck,” Devin murmured absently as he looked back and…

He just couldn’t help but shake the feeling that this was a trap.

“And the reason why I had to cancel all my meetings today and leave work early…” Ben prompted smoothing only to frown as he followed Devin’s gaze.

“It really does though,” Devin said even as he couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be before this all went to hell.

“I’m assuming that you’re not going to tell me why you brought me instead of your wife and kids,” Ben said, moving to head to the restaurant only to sigh when Devin reached over and stopped him.

“Something’s not right,” Devin said, unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong here.

“You mean besides the fact that you kidnapped me in the middle of the day so that I could drive you to a buffet?” Ben asked, blinking at him.

“You’re the decoy,” Devin said as he sent one last look at the cars surrounding him and decided that he was wasting precious time standing here.

“Wait. Why am I the decoy? Why couldn’t Charlie or those evil minions you call children do this?” Ben demanded as he followed him to the restaurant that had somehow managed to open without him finding out.

“Because I love them,” Devin said, deciding that it would probably be for the best if he didn’t mention that he didn’t think that his children were ready for this and his wife…

He couldn’t do this to her, not when he knew how this was going to end.

“Fair enough,” Ben murmured as they walked inside and-

Let his gaze run over the competition as he pulled his wallet out.

“Did you just hand that kid a hundred bucks?” Ben asked, frowning in confusion as Cole sighed with satisfaction as he slid the money in his pocket.

“Finder’s fee,” Devin murmured as he glanced around the busy restaurant, taking in all of his cousins and uncles torn between glaring at each other and glaring at him.

“I wonder if she had to pay that fee,” Ben said with a nod that had Devin glancing over his shoulder and-

“Thank you, mommy,” Dustin said while Devin was forced to stand there in line, waiting to pay so that he could go find out why his pregnant wife and children were at a buffet full of Bradfords.

“You’re welcome, sweetie,” Charlie said with a warm smile that quickly turned devious when she spotted him standing there.

That was followed by Dustin and Abbi glaring at him as they brought their plates overflowing with every delicious morsel available closer to their chests as they muttered, “Traitor.”

“They shouldn’t be here,” Devin said, trying not to panic as he looked from his wife and children to the Bradfords moving around the buffet, already back to glaring at each other and bit back a curse as he moved to get them out of there before it was too late only to throw the cashier a panicked look when his wife, the love of his life and the woman that was apparently pissed that he hadn’t told her about this place, sent him a syrupy sweet smile as she said, “Oh, my god, Devin Bradford? Is that you?” screwing him over.

As the manager and several busboys showed him out, Devin glared at the woman who’d betrayed him. She would pay for this.

Oh, god, would she pay…

 

To be continued…

www.Rlmathewson.com

 

Copyright © 2021 

And So It Begins Part III

And So It Begins…

Part III

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

“Do you know what to do?” Jason asked as he put his truck in park.

“Make a run for it as soon the opportunity arises?” Mikey asked, blinking at him.

“Keep Mikey from running off and ruining this?” Sebastian said, earning a glare from his best friend.

“Exactly,” Jason said as he slowly took in the busy parking lot, looking for any signs that this was a trap.

“I’d really like to go home now,” Mikey said, but since she’d been saying that for the past half hour, they decided to ignore her.

“How long do you think we have?” Sebastian asked as Jason glanced at the restaurant decked out with “Grand Opening” signs.

“Probably not long,” Jason murmured as he glanced back at the cars surrounding them, making sure that the coast was clear.

“Then we should probably just go back home and make a lovely sandwich,” Mikey suggested with a hopeful smile.

“Let’s go,” Sebastian said, reaching over to open his door and-

“Damn it,” Mikey mumbled sadly as Sebastian snaked his arm around her and pulled her out of the truck with him.

“Do you think they know about the list?” Sebastian asked as they headed to the restaurant.

“We’re about to find out,” Jason said, really hoping that none of the other restaurants had warned them since it had been a long time since he’d had a chance to enjoy an all-you-can-eat buffet.

“Why do you need me?” Mikey asked as she tried to veer off to the right only to sigh when Sebastian pulled her back and threw his arm around her to stop her from running off.

“Because you are our good luck charm,” Jason said, shooting her a wink that had her eyes narrowing.

“I’m the decoy, aren’t I?” she asked, sighing heavily as her small shoulders slumped.

“You really are,” Sebastian murmured absently as he glanced back over his shoulder to make sure that they weren’t being followed.

“Those baseballs better be worth it,” Mikey muttered as Jason opened the door for her.

With a heavy sigh, Mikey walked inside the restaurant with Sebastian right behind her. After sending one last glance at the parking lot to make sure that they were still good, Jason followed them inside and casually looked around, making sure that there weren’t any signs banning them.

“Hello, welcome to Benjamin’s. How many will be joining us today?” the cashier asked, sending them a warm smile.

“Three, please,” Mikey murmured with a defeated sigh as Jason glanced around the foyer one last time and when he didn’t see a notice banning them, he relaxed as he pulled out his wallet.

Once he paid, they turned around and-

“This isn’t going to end well,” Sebastian said when they spotted the competition walking in.

Copyright © 2021 

And So It Begins… Part II

And So It Begins…
Part II
An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

“Is there a reason why you felt the need to kidnap me?” Mikey asked, not really sounding all that concerned about it as she pulled a baseball out of her sweatshirt pocket and began rolling it between her hands.

“I need your help,” Jason said, knowing that it was better to just get to the point when dealing with his niece.

“That would explain the kidnapping,” Mikey murmured with a nod of understanding.

“Can you really call it kidnapping when all I did was promise you a new bucket of baseballs in you got in my truck?” Jason asked, still debating the odds of this plan actually working.

“Yes,” Sebastian murmured absently as he continued to read on his new iPad while Mikey shifted to get more comfortable on his lap only to give up and settle back against him as she gestured for Jason to get on with it.

“I’d like to point out that I don’t see this bucket of baseballs that was mentioned,” Mikey pointed out as Jason sat there, trying to figure out how he was going to pull this off with Sebastian tagging along.

“You get them after we do this,” Jason explained even as he debated grabbing Kasey and bringing her along only to quickly dismiss the idea since she would end up telling Reese where they were going and that wasn’t going to work for him.

“I want two buckets,” Mikey said, deciding to get right to the negotiation portion and reminding Jason why he adored her.

“One,” he countered.

Narrowing her eyes on him, Mikey said, “Two.”

“You should probably say no,” Sebastian said, sounding bored as he swiped to the next page.

“Probably,” Mikey murmured in agreement as she considered him.

“This isn’t going to end well,” Sebastian said with a sigh.

“It never does,” Mikey said, not really sounding all that concerned and that’s why she was perfect for what he had in mind.

“I just need your help for a few hours,” Jason told her.

“A bucket an hour,” Mikey said as she continued to roll that ball between her hands.

“Does the fact that I’m going to be your history teacher next year mean nothing to you?” Jason asked, narrowing his eyes on the little girl that was his ticket to an all-you-can-eat buffet.

“It would probably mean more to me if you were my baseball coach,” she pointed out, making his lips twitch.

Chuckling, Jason said, “Fine. A bucket an hour.”

“Then we have a deal,” Mikey said with a firm nod and a satisfied sigh.

“You might want to find out why he needs you before you agree,” Sebastian drawled, swiping to another page.

“Probably,” Mikey murmured, pursing her lips as she thought it over only to shrug it off and-

Pulled her phone out of her sweatshirt pocket when a chime drew her attention. She read the message and went still. Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, she looked from her phone, to him, and back again before clearing her throat, nodding and clearing her throat again as she reached back to open the door. “I, ummm, just remembered that I have something that I need to do first,” Mikey murmured as she popped the door open, cleared her throat, and-

“She never listens,” Sebastian said with a sad shake of his head and a heavy as his best friend tried to make a quick escape only fall out of the truck and land on ground with a sadly mumbled, “Ow.”

“Which one ratted me out?” Jason asked as Sebastian reached down and plucked the phone out of Mikey’s hand.

Sighing heavily as he sat back up, Sebastian swiped her phone open and nodded as he said, “Cole, Joshua, Elizabeth, and Aunt Haley warned her about the buffet.”

“I see,” Jason murmured as he sat there, debating his options only to frown when Sebastian said, “That leaves Plan B,” as he reached back down and-

“No! I want to live!”

-pulled back Mikey back up, and before she could make another run for it, he was dropping her on the bench between them and closing the truck door while Mikey sat there, whimpering.

“Shouldn’t have made that deal,” Sebastian said with a sad shake of his head as he pulled his iPad back out.

“But…I want to live,” Mikey mumbled sadly while Jason started the truck.

“I warned you,” Sebastian said, swiping to the next page.

“I don’t think that I can do this,” Mikey whispered as she blindly reached over and grabbed Sebastian’s hand.

“It will be over before you know it,” Sebastian said as he slid his iPad back in his sweatshirt pocket so that he could pull Mikey back onto his lap.

“You’re just making sure that I can’t make a run for it and ruin your chance of getting into a buffet, aren’t you?” Mikey asked with an accusing glare aimed at her best friend as he wrapped an arm around her.

“That just went without saying,” Sebastian said with a satisfied sigh as he pulled his iPad back out.

Nodding, Mikey said, “We are no longer speaking.”

“Totally worth it,” Sebastian said as he met Jason’s gaze in the rearview mirror as they came to an understanding.

It was every Bradford for himself.

Copyright © 2021 

And So It Begins…. Part I

And So It Begins…

Part I

“God, I don’t think that I could eat another bite,” Cole said with a satisfied sigh and a grin that turned into a wince as he curled up into the fetal position that had Jason narrowing his eyes on his son.

“You’re pathetic,” Chloe mumbled, shaking her head in disgust as she closed the notebook that she’d been reading and-

“Ow!”

-tossed it at Cole without bothering to look up as she grabbed the next notebook on the stack of neatly organized notebooks by her side. Jason glanced from the girl that Cole had started to drag, literally most of the time, over here, back to his son who kept sighing dreamily every few minutes, to the little girl who alternated between glaring at his son and watching the Pirates of the Caribbean, and back to Chloe as she closed the notebook and-

“Ow! Oh, my god, woman! Would you stop doing that?” Cole demanded as he rolled over onto his other side so that he could glare at the girl that was nothing like the girls that he normally brought home, which Jason truly appreciated since they annoyed the hell out of him.

“No,” Chloe mumbled absently as she paused to push her glasses back up her nose.

“I hate you,” Cole muttered with one last glare before he forced himself to roll over to face Jason.

Once he was settled, Cole closed his eyes, slowly exhaled, muttered, “God, I’m so full I think I’m gonna die,” before opening his eyes and…getting that same smug look on his face that he’d had since Jason walked into the living room a few minutes ago. Locking his eyes on Jason, Cole said, “It was everything that I’d ever dreamed it would be and so much more,” confirming Jason’s suspicions.

He’d found a buffet.

Which made Jason wonder, where did his son find a buffet that hadn’t banned them yet…

Jason glanced from his son, who was once again murmuring, “Worth it,” to the teenage girl that got an A in his AP World History class last year.

“He wouldn’t stop complaining until I told him where it was,” Chloe said, answering his unspoken question.

“He made us say that he was our brother so they’d let him in,” Katie said as she climbed off the loveseat, crossed the living room, stepped on top of Cole, and-

“Ow!”

-jumped on the couch next to her big sister and settled in with a satisfied sigh.

“Where?” Jason asked, focusing his attention back on his son.

Shaking his head, Cole reached back, grabbed a throw pillow off the couch, shoved it beneath his head and closed his eyes with another satisfied sigh and a mumbled, “I’m not sharing.”

“Not you…” Jason said, focusing his attention back on Chloe.

“He made me promise not to tell,” Chloe said, not bothering to look up from the notebook that she was reading.

“I see,” Jason murmured as he shifted his attention to Katie and-

“I can be bought,” the little girl that kept him well-supplied with Wilderness cookies said, making him smile.

That is, until Cole said, “Nintendo Switch,” making the little girl’s eyes light up as her mouth snapped shut and she pointedly looked away from Jason, clearly unwilling to do or say anything to risk a chance to use Cole’s Nintendo Switch.

With a nod, Jason glanced back at his son to find him settling in for a nap. “This is really what you want to do?” Jason drawled.

“Absolutely,” Cole murmured with a nod as Jason stood there, sighing heavily, because he was really going to miss him.

*-*-*-*

“Thank god,” Haley whispered as she glanced back to find Hunter fast asleep in his car seat, hugging the blankie that Mikey had given him with a little smile on his face.

“You are so much like your big brother,” Haley said, unable to help but smile as she watched Hunter for another minute before she opened her car door and-

“Save me, Mommy!” came the hysterical scream that had her quickly climbing out of her car, stumbling over her feet, and-

“Mommy!”

-finding herself looking up to find her husband holding their oldest son over the garage roof by his legs.

Pushing her glasses back up her nose, Haley looked from her son, who was still screaming hysterically as though this was the first time that a Bradford had done this to him, to her husband who was sending her an incredibly sexy smile and a wink and-

“Why?” she asked no one in particular as she gestured to her husband and son before letting her hand drop because she honestly didn’t know where to start.

 

Copyright © 2021 

The Letter

The Letter

by

R.L. Mathewson

“Damn it,” Jason said as he roughly rubbed his hands down his face only to sigh heavily as he sat back in his chair and found himself looking at that letter.

Goddamn it…

Telling himself that he needed to get through the rest of the applications tonight, Jason focused back on the application in front of him and…couldn’t stop thinking about Mikey’s letter. He’d been on the approval committee since he was promoted to Head of the History Department and this was the first time in ten years that he’d wished that he’d turned down that damn promotion.

He didn’t want to do this.

Sebastian had worked his ass off to get where he was and now…

He couldn’t do this, Jason thought, shoving his chair back. He couldn’t do this to Sebastian, he decided, crossing the small room so that he could shove the window open and take a deep breath of fresh air, hoping that it would be enough to make what he had to do easier.

“What’s wrong?” came the question that had him slowly exhaling.

“Did Sebastian tell you about Mikey’s submission essay?” Jason asked, leaning his shoulder against the windowsill as he glanced back to watch as his wife placed his dinner on the desk next to the stack of applications that he still needed to go through.

Shaking her head, Haley said, “As far as I know, Mikey won’t let him read it.”

Nodding, Jason glanced back out the window as he murmured, “That makes sense.”

“What’s going on?” she asked as she joined him by the window.

“Have you read Sebastian’s essay?” Jason asked as he thought about Sebastian’s application, wondering what the hell that kid had been thinking.

“It needs some work,” Haley said only to sigh before adding. “It needs a lot of work.”

“Yes, it does,” he said, pushing away from the wall and walked over to his desk to pick up the letter that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since he read it this morning.

“He’s up to something,” Jason murmured absently as he found himself reading Mikey’s letter again.

Although, this essay is supposed to demonstrate why I would make a wonderful addition to Latin Scribe High School, I can’t do that. Not when I know that there is someone else that should be there instead.

I want to tell you about my best friend, Sebastian Bradford with the hopes that you will read this letter before you have the chance to read his file because that will only tell you about the mistakes that he’s made and I want to tell you about the boy…

“What makes you say that?” Haley asked as he handed her the letter.

He watched as she worried her bottom lip while she read the letter and-

“Damn it, Mikey,” Haley said softly as she closed her eyes and handed the letter back to him. “This isn’t going to end well, is it?”

“No,” Jason murmured as he glanced down at the letter, “it’s not.”

©Rerum Carta Industries, Inc. 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Misunderstood

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Copyright © 2020 

A Bradford Christmas Eve

A Bradford Christmas Eve

by

R.L. Mathewson

“Oh, my god, you’re so sweet!” Charlie said with a watery smile as she pulled the little traitor in her arms and gave him the kiss that should have rightfully been his.

“I know how much you love Christmas, Mommy,” Dustin said with an adorable smile while Devin was forced to stand there, feeling his right eye twitch while he watched as his son grabbed the large cupcake with extra buttercream frosting and Christmas sprinkles and made a show of handing it to Charlie. “I picked this one out just for you, Mommy.”

Since his son had actually been busy licking the large spoonful of frosting that Necie had given him while Devin had taken his time selecting the perfect Christmas treats to surprise his wife, Devin felt completely justified in glaring at his son.

“So much fluffiness!” Abbi said with an excited squeal as she wrapped her arms around Bradford as the large German shepherd happily continued to devour the dog treat slathered with buttercream frosting that she’d given him after he told her not to.

Sighing, Devin said, “Abbi,” putting a world of meaning into that one word as he reached down and decided that Bradford could finish his treat when the large dog narrowed his eyes on him.

“Traitor,” Devin muttered as he shifted his attention back to his son, who was now happily nibbling on one of the large frosted sugar cookies that he’d been planning on eating later when he was stuck on Santa duty.

“I really love you, Mommy,” Dustin said while his eyes locked with Devin’s as his lips pulled up into a devilish little smile that had Devin grinding his jaw.

“Aw, you’re so sweet,” Charlie said with a warm smile, but it was the slight hitch in her voice that had Devin biting back a curse.

“Ben,” was all that Devin said as he leaned over and picked up his wife, careful not to jostle her, knowing just how badly it would end if he did.

“I’m on it,” Ben, who was spending Christmas with them, said, sighing as he picked Dustin up and pulled him out of the way so that Devin could carry Charlie upstairs and-

Okay, downstairs, Devin amended when she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head once, but that’s all that was needed to let him know that she probably wouldn’t make it that far. Pressing a kiss against her forehead, Devin quickly turned around and headed to the in-law apartment that had been turned into her office after they got married. Before he was done placing her down on the bathroom floor, Charlie was slapping one hand over her mouth and shoving him out of the bathroom with the other.

When the door slammed shut in his face seconds later and he heard the mumbled, “Sorry,” Devin bit back a sigh and dropped down on her desk chair. She was still in the first trimester and he wasn’t sure how much more of this she was going to be able to take.

She was sick morning, noon, and night and nothing was helping her. He’d been hoping the pills that Aidan gave her last week would be enough so that she could enjoy Christmas since it was her favorite holiday, but they weren’t doing anything to help her. He was going to have to call his cousin again or finally break down and call the asshole and risk pissing off his cousin, Kenzie.

Then again, he didn’t really have much of a choice, Devin decided as he pulled his phone out and texted Roger, hoping that he would be able to help. When he received the text a few minutes later, he sighed with relief and made his way back to the bathroom door.

“How are you doing, baby?” Devin asked, glancing down at his watch and realized that if he was going to make it to the pharmacy before it closed that he had to go now.

“Good?” came the weakly mumbled reply that had him reaching for the doorknob only to remember what happened the last time that he went in before she was ready.

It had taken him three hours to convince his wife that he loved her and another five to get her to look him in the eye again and he’d only managed that by lying to her and telling her that he hadn’t seen her hugging the toilet and mumbling incoherently before she’d lost the battle and-

Probably would be for the best if he didn’t think about what came next.

“I have to run to the pharmacy. Do you think you’ll be okay for a few minutes?” he asked, debating asking Ben to run to the pharmacy for him only to quickly dismiss the idea since that probably wouldn’t end well.

“Yes?” came the hesitant reply that had Devin biting back a groan, because he hated leaving her like this.

“Roger called in a prescription to help and if I don’t run out now and get it, then…” Devin said, letting his words trail off.

There was a sniffle and then, a softly mumbled, “Okay.”

“Do you want anything?” he asked, already deciding that it would probably be a good idea to grab more ginger ale while he was out.

“I’d really like this to stop now,” came the mumbled response that had his lips twitching despite the fact that he felt so goddamn helpless right now.

“I know, baby,” Devin said, glancing back down at his watch with a sigh. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Okay,” came the sniffled mumble.

He hated this, Devin thought as he reluctantly headed back to the living room and grabbed his keys. With one last look toward her office, Devin headed to his truck hoping that this didn’t take all night.

Four hours later, he was finally walking back through his front door, exhausted, and ready to call it a night, but that wasn’t an option. After checking on the kids to find them both passed out, sleeping with Ben on Abbi’s bedroom floor on a pile of blankets with Bradford curled up by Dustin’s side, he checked on his wife to find Charlie curled up in their bed, looking miserable.

Without a word, he got her pills for her along with a bottle of water and made sure that she took them. After he kissed her forehead and tucked her in, Devin headed back downstairs and set to work, putting out the presents they’d wrapped before he headed to the garage to get the present that he’d made for his wife.

Once he was in the garage, Devin found his attention on the crib that he was building for their baby. It was still early in the pregnancy to be doing this, but he hadn’t been able to help himself. When Dustin and Abbi were born, he’d been too damn scared out of his mind to allow himself to simply enjoy being a father. He’d been young, alone, and terrified that he was going to screw up, but now…

God, he couldn’t wait to hold their baby.

Unable to help himself, Devin grabbed a sheet of sandpaper and found himself spending the next two hours working on the crib, smoothing out the rough spots, making adjustments, and-

Found himself smiling when he spotted his wife standing in the doorway.

Without a word, Devin tossed the cloth in his hand on his bench and headed for the door, pausing along the way to shut the light off before he reached his wife.

“How are you feeling?” Devin asked, leaning down to kiss Charlie as he placed his hand on her soft belly.

“Much better,” Charlie promised him with a smile as she took his hand and gave it a gentle tug that had him following her back into the house.

“How much better?” he asked with a teasing smile as he followed her upstairs.

“Enough so that you can properly worship me,” she reassured him with a warm smile.

“Do you need to be worshipped?” Devin asked the woman that he couldn’t imagine his life without.

“Always.”

 

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Copyright © 2020 

Time to Change Things Up A Bit

Dear Reader,

With the Pregnancy Chronicles done and Misunderstood and Furious finally finished and published, I decided that perhaps we should change things up a bit with the Chronicles. 

I asked a question today on Facebook, which sent readers into a bit of a panic, lol. I asked about the Honeymoon from Hell books and where we left off. Several readers were understandably concerned about Unstoppable being pushed back because of this questions, which it will not be