Page 10 of Can’t Let You Go (Ivy Ridge #3)

JASON

May

“ L aila, what do you need from me?” I turn my gaze to my bartender and manager.

“Not a thing,” she says with a shrug, glancing out at the crowd of people.

The cocktail hour of our first wedding at Meadow Grove Winery has gone without a hitch, and I’m grateful.

It gives me hope that I made the right decision in partnering with the winery.

Not that Isaac ever does anything lightly, but still.

I put my trust in him, and it’s paying off.

In the last few months or so since that first meeting with Isaac and Fallon, things have moved quickly.

Work has been busy, and adding the contract with the winery has made things even busier, but that didn’t stop me from making time for my daughter and my family.

There have also been plenty of playdates with Fallon and Presley, and thankfully, Fallon hasn’t tried to apologize again.

However, that didn’t stop me from thinking about her, thinking of memories and analyzing every conversation we’ve ever had .

Speaking of Fallon, she practically skips by the bar, clipboard in hand.

Her blonde hair is twisted up in a curled ponytail, and she’s wearing a black fitted blouse tucked into a pair of burgundy high waisted pants.

I can’t help but imagine what it would be like to peel off those clothes and see what’s underneath.

Somehow, she’s nearly running in a pair of heels, and I have no idea how she’s doing it.

Like every other time I’ve seen her lately, my body reacts the same way it used to back in college.

It’s like an involuntary reaction at this point.

My pulse starts to thump heavily, and my thoughts narrow to only her, dreaming of what it would be like to have her in my arms, in my embrace.

“Slow down, Fallon!” Laila calls with a laugh, but Fallon doesn’t say anything, only smiles toward her and continues on her way. It reminds me of a younger version of herself, always on the move, always heading off to her next class.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I check it quickly to make sure it’s not from my mom. It is from her, but it's a photo of Lennie. They went to a craft festival today, so Lennie is having a fun day out.

A guest arrives at the bar, so I take their order, and Laila serves them. I won’t have to be at every wedding we serve at, but for this first one, I knew it was important for me to be here, not only to make sure things go smoothly, but to represent my company.

One of the other girls that offered to work today arrives in time for her shift. “Nora,” I greet with a head tilt. I’m not a talkative man, and my employees know that, but they also know I do whatever I can to be a good employer. I pay them well, and do my best to keep them happy.

I’m not totally naive, I know I do things some of my employees dislike, but that’s normal when you’re the boss, you’re not going to make everyone happy all the time.

And what can I say, I’m a grumpy guy. I’ve been told I’m intimidating as fuck until you get to know me.

Laila is giving Nora the rundown on how we’re doing things, which is slightly different than our normal operations, when I see a flash of red hair run through the waves of people.

“ What the fuck? ” I murmur under my breath at the sight of my sister-in-law Josie, nearly sprinting through the room. “Josie,” I call, catching her attention.

She breathes out a heavy sigh when she sees me, rushing over to the bar. “Oh thank god, I totally forgot you were here today. Marley was the photographer for the wedding today, and now she’s having contractions, and I was sent to get her water, but I’m not going to lie, I’m freaking out a little.”

Marley and Beau finally got together during Josie and Andrew’s wedding, and now, Marley’s about eight months pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl.

Watching them finally give into the feelings we knew were there all along over the last few months has been amazing.

Another one of my brothers is settling down and starting a family, and I’m happy for him.

“She’s having contractions?” I repeat.

Josie nods frantically.

“Shit,” I murmur. “Laila, Nora, can you handle this for a bit? I have to check on my sister-in-law.” Technically , she’s not my sister-in-law, but she will be someday.

“Go,” Laila waves me away.

I rush around the bar to Josie’s side, and she leads me down the hall. “Megan’s here somewhere, right? ”

“Yeah, I think she’s in the office, I’ll run and grab her. You grab the water. Where is Marley?”

“Front lobby,” Josie replies, already turning toward the kitchen.

I run down the hall to Isaac’s office, finding Megan sitting at his desk, with him standing behind her. He’s pointing to something on the screen, but I don’t care.

“Meg, we need you,” I tell her. “I guess Marley’s having contractions?” I say with a questioning tone, because I truly don’t know what the fuck is going on.

“Shit,” she stands immediately, and Isaac follows as we briskly walk down the hall. Marley’s like my little sister, and I’d do anything to protect her and those babies, regardless of the fact that they are my niece and nephew.

We meet Josie in the entry to the lobby, and she tells Megan what’s happening, and how she thinks Marley is having Braxton-Hicks contractions.

We all collectively sigh in relief when we see Marley sitting on the couch, feet up on the table.

She looks relaxed, and not at all stressed the way Josie is.

Josie cools it though, and is calm and collected as she strides up to Marley. Marley has her phone up to her ear, and she’s listening intently to whoever is on the other line.

She finishes her conversation with what I’m gathering is a nurse, and Josie immediately asks, “Well?”

“They want me to come in. Just for evaluation though. She doesn’t think I’m in active labor, but since things are a bit more risky with twins, she wants to be sure,” Marley replies, setting her phone down.

Megan nods. “After Josie told me what was happening, I figured that would be the case.”

She tilts her head back on the couch, taking a few shaky breaths. I sit down on the edge of the coffee table, resting my hand on her shin.

“Marley,” I say, my voice low. “Do you need anything? Hungry? Thirsty?”

“I’m okay, really. I’m tired, but otherwise, I think I’m okay.”

“You sure?” I ask. “I can always get Thomas to give you a police escort. You know he’d do it.” I raise my brow in a silent question, knowing full well Thomas would be here in a heartbeat.

She laughs softly. “No, I promise I’m okay. If things get worse, I’ll let you know.”

I still nod, and squeeze her leg. “I’m sticking around until Beau gets here.”

She starts to cry, and I panic internally, worrying I did something wrong. “Why are you even here?” she asks.

“It’s the first wedding we are serving Blue Ox at. I was over at the bar when I caught Josie running like a madwoman through the reception area.”

Josie peeks her head in, smacking my bicep and giving her own two cents. “Hey now, I was on a mission. As soon as I told you what was happening, you were running faster than I was.”

“I’m not denying it.” I shrug as I look at Marley. I’ll admit it, I was freaking out a bit. I care strongly for my family, and I’ll do anything for them.

Something catches my attention, and I turn my head in time to see Fallon rushing toward us. Her face is flushed, and I fight the urge to stand up and see what happened. Is she hurt?

“Josie!” she calls across the lobby. “We need you, one of the drunken cousins knocked over the flower arch.”

Josie sighs heavily and stands. Fallon is already long gone, and Josie says her goodbyes to Marley, making her promise to keep her updated. Isaac follows, leaving only Megan and I behind.

I move so I’m sitting next to Marley on the couch now. I’m reminded about the times when Talia had Braxton-Hicks contractions toward the end of her pregnancy. Something compels me to bring it up. It’s not something I would normally do, but I do it anyway.

“When Talia was pregnant with Lennie, she got those early ‘practice contractions’ all the time. She had a super low pain tolerance, so we were going into the hospital every other day, it seemed.”

Marley turns to face me a little more. Her eyes spark with remembrance. “Oh yeah. I remember that now. How did she do during her actual labor?”

I can’t keep myself from rolling my eyes. The memories flash behind my eyes as I think about the long and painful days. I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Lots of screaming. Lots of begging for drugs and lots of curse words.”

There was one particular contraction where Talia actually threatened the doctors if they didn’t give her more medication.

I spent a lot of time apologizing to the doctors and nurses, but they wouldn’t hear it.

I remember all the people who helped deliver Lennie though, so I try to give them free beer whenever they come into the brewery, as sort of a thank you.

“That’s usually the norm, though,” Megan tries to say.

I shake my head, wincing before I explain.

“Not like this. The doctors struggled with how to tell her no, that she was maxed out on her meds, and there was nothing else they could do. I knew she’d had a problem with drugs in the past, but never realized it was that bad.

She swore she was clean and ready to be done with that life.

I should have seen it coming. Shortly after Lennie was born, she fell off the deep end. ”

A subtle shiver rocks through me with the memories.

Marley reaches out her hand, squeezing the top of my arm in consolidation. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known, Jason.”