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6

Raven

“ H addy is our daughter.” Hendrix repeats my words, crossing his strong arms and putting one hand over his mouth like he’s trying to pull himself back together.

Haddy is hugged against my chest, and she watches him curiously. She’s never been a fussy baby, but she’s attuned to my moods. I can tell by the way she’s clutching me and sucking her fingers, she’s picking up on my nerves, so I try to stay calm.

“I had a ten-year no-vomit streak until this little lady showed up.” I laugh, doing my best to ease the tension.

I’ve outgrown Tasha in the last fifteen months. Now I’m simply Mama Bear, and I hope, if my instincts are correct, I can count on Hendrix Bradford to help me with my problem, even if he’s looking at me right now like I just nuked him.

“She’s… cute.”

“She looks a lot like her daddy.”

She really does. Haddy has my dark hair, but the rest of her is all Hendrix, from the bright blue eyes to the full lips to the stubborn streak, although I guess that could come from both of us.

“Do you think she’d let me hold her?” The touch of vulnerability in his tone melts my heart.

“Of course.” I step closer, hesitating as I give her a little bounce. “It’s okay, Haddy. He’s really, secretly sweet.”

Her blue eyes are fixed on him, but she lets me pass her over. Only he puts his arm across her stomach, holding her against his ribs like some kind of… football ?

“Oh, no…” I take a stuttering step, reaching out to lift her. “That’s… that’s not right…”

I don’t want to make him self-conscious on his first attempt, but she’s practically upside down.

Dylan’s head pops through the door at that moment, and her bright smile turns to a grimace. “Good grief, Hen! You’re holding her like a football!”

“So?” He’s defensive as she rushes to him, lifting her niece to more of a sitting position on his arm, which actually seems less stable. “I’ve never dropped a football in my life!”

“Give her to me.” Dylan scoops Haddy onto her shoulder. “Hey, pumpkin. Don’t worry about your silly daddy. He’ll learn.”

“I was getting her situated,” he protests, and I put my hand over my mouth to hide a smile.

It really was awful—and a bit terrifying.

“Let me have her. You need to talk to her mama.” Dylan skips to the door. “Y’all take your time. We’ll be right out here.”

My eyes are wide when he turns to face me again. It’s the first time the D-word has been used on him, and he stands for a moment, seeming winded.

I hate how abrupt all of this feels. I think I know Hendrix pretty well, and I wouldn’t have handled it this way if I’d had a choice.

While I didn’t want to have this conversation with him with my head in a trash can vomiting the whole time, I certainly didn’t want to ambush him .

I know this isn’t what he wants, and I would never want him to think I was trying to trap him or change his mind or make him do anything. I would never make him do anything.

It’s like the moment I got here with the baby, we got caught up in a hurricane of family love. It’s warm and welcoming, but it’s still a hurricane.

“I’m really sorry.” My voice is quiet. “I didn’t expect… all of this.” I wave my hand at the door his sister just disappeared through.

“All of this would be my family.” His tone is wry. “Now you know why I get a hotel room when I’m in town.”

“I think they mean well.”

“They do, and I love them. I also love my privacy and being able to decide my business without a committee.”

“I get that.”

“They’re really enjoying this, too.” Looking down, he exhales through a grimace. “I’ve been a shit for so long about babies and poop and… well, you know.”

He glances up at me from beneath his brow, and my breath disappears. It’s been that way since the first time I saw Hendrix Bradford.

He’s too good looking and he smells too damn delicious and his smile is absolutely sinful—and I know how good he is in bed.

Heat crawls up behind my ears, but I clear my throat. That is not the direction I’m headed. It’s not why I’m here.

“Damn, Rave, this is crazy.” He takes a step closer, studying my face. “How have you been otherwise? Are you a storm chaser yet? Is Jim Cantore watching his back?”

“No.” I exhale the word. “It’s been impossible to work with all the morning sickness, and then when she was a newborn, I had to be with her. I’ve kind of had to put all my career plans on hold.”

“Well, shit. I’m sorry.” He briefly pats my arm. “I won’t try to fight you on this or anything. I don’t have a leg to stand on. She’s clearly mine. ”

The way he says it is teasing, but I squint one eye. “Would you have done that?”

The teasing melts, and he almost seems wounded. “Is that what you think of me?

“No.” Dropping my eyes, I know he wouldn’t have.

It’s the whole reason I’m here preparing to ask him something completely terrifying.

“I guess I’m supposed to make this right. ” He says it in a mock-authoritative voice, and I chew my lip.

“I guess.”

“My brother Jack did that, and it was a total disaster.”

Nodding, I study my hands feeling my stomach twist as I think about what I’m going to say. I think about the Hendrix Bradford I spent a crazy twenty-four hours with almost two years ago.

The playful one, who fucked my brains out and made me feel confident and sexy. The one who liked to have fun and talk about adventures.

“Are you expecting me to do that?” His voice is quiet, and my eyes cut up to his.

“No—not exactly…” Standing straighter, I square my shoulders.

“I’m glad to help you. Tell me what you need, and I’m sure I can afford it.”

A knot is in my throat, and I do my best to swallow it away. “Actually, the thing is… I do have another reason for coming here… besides you needing to know your daughter.”

“Okay?”

“It’s funny. Growing up, I never really cared about money. You might say it’s because I’ve always had it, and that’s a privilege. It’s true. My family is wealthy, and I’ve never had to worry about my next meal. But I also think it’s my personality. I’m not afraid to work hard, and I’ll do pretty much any job… within reason, of course. ”

His brow furrows, and I know I’m rambling. “That’s good, I guess?”

“Yes, well…” I inhale a shaky breath. “Having Haddy sort-of changed all of that. You’d be surprised by how little money starting meteorologists at local news stations are paid, and well…”

“You need me to give you money?” He brightens.

With a wince, I shake my head. “I don’t want a handout. I want to support myself, and you didn’t ask for this…”

“You didn’t either.”

“Still, I could’ve…” My chest tightens as I consider the alternative. “I could’ve handled it as soon as I found out I was pregnant. Maybe that would’ve been smart, but I just couldn’t. I really wanted her.”

“Shit, Rave.” His tone gentles, and he takes a step closer. “I wouldn’t have asked you to do that. Just because I didn’t want a baby doesn’t mean I would’ve told you to end it.”

My lips part on my exhale, and I’m glad Dylan has Haddy because I am freaking out right now over what I’m about to say.

“I have a solution. It’s completely unorthodox, but I hope you’ll hear me out and at least consider it. I think it’ll work, because we get along so well…”

“What is it?” His head is tilted, and that look in his eye gives me the one, tiny push I need to say it.

“Hendrix Bradford, will you marry me?”

The room falls silent—except, the hum of the dishwasher, which is suddenly very loud.

He blinks twice, and I realize it might’ve been nicer to wait a day before hitting him with another life-changing tidal wave.

Oh, well. Too late now.

“Ahh…” He takes a step back. “Sounds like somebody forgot my two-date rule.”

He grins doing finger guns, and I have to give him credit. He’s pretty good at rolling with the punches.

“When my mother died, she left me a trust fund of six million dollars.” I inhale a fortifying breath as I try to explain. “The only problem is I can’t touch it until either my father dies or I get married. And while I really want to be financially independent, I’m not planning to knock off my dad.”

His brow lowers, and I force a strangled laugh. “That was a joke.”

He turns, walking to the large, stainless steel work table in the center of the room. His hand is still on his stomach when he looks back at me. “Fuck, Rave, is that even legal?”

“Knocking off my dad?”

“Putting rules like that on a trust fund. How can she say you can’t access it until your dad dies or you get married? Who does that?”

“My mother was an extremely controlling person, and as much as I love my dad, he never defended me.” My jaw tightens, and that old bitterness stings in my throat. “Believe me, I would never come here and ask you this if I had any other choice. I never even wanted her ‘control-Raven’ money… Until now.”

The way Haddy looks at me sometimes with so much faith. It hits me hard when I know how little I have to offer her. She’s so dependent, and it didn’t take long for me to realize I’d do anything to keep her safe and secure, including this.

Frowning, he rubs his stomach as he thinks. “Wouldn’t it be easier if I just paid you child support? Then you could hire a nanny or whatever until you got on your feet?”

My body is tense, my neck tight. “That could take years, whereas my trust fund would take care of everything now. You wouldn’t have to worry about us ever again.”

“I don’t want that.” He looks in the direction of the doors. “I want to know my daughter. Now that I’ve met her.”

Blinking up at him, I start slowly. “If you’d be willing to give me one year…”

“A year!”

“Six months?” I quickly shave it down. “Three months—and I’ll say it’s my fault. I don’t like football or I don’t like LA or I’m too far from home—whatever reason you prefer. Then we’ll get a quickie divorce, and it’ll all be over.”

His eyes hold mine, and he frowns. “I don’t like the sound of that either.”

“Which part?”

“The quickie divorce. It sounds so… shitty.”

“It wouldn’t be a real marriage, though. And it would really help me a lot. It would help Haddy, too. I’ll sign a prenup, whatever you need—” Taking a beat, I swallow the desperation in my throat. “I can’t let her win, Hendrix. She did this to control me, but if there’s a chance…” The truth burns my eyes. If there’s a chance I could come out on top for once. “I don’t want to give up my dream. But I love that little girl so much.”

It’s quiet again, and this time even the dishwasher has stopped, the timer ticking like it’s waiting as well.

At last, he speaks. “You’d have to move to LA.”

My stomach jumps to my throat at his words. “Does this mean you’re considering it?”

“I mean…” He shrugs. “I’d like to get to know my daughter. She’s cute, and I could get you a job at one of the local news stations, so… you know, you could work on your dream.”

“How in the world could you do that?”

A grin curls his lips. “Not to brag, but I’m kind of a big deal in football.”

“Oh, are you?” I attempt to tease, but relief is hitting me so hard, my muscles are weak.

He’s going to help me. This might actually work.

“Yeah.” His face relaxes, and I think he’s catching up to the craziness of what I’m suggesting. “My place is huge, so you could have half the house to yourself.”

Now I’m starting to get excited. “And I promise not to intrude in your life or interfere with your plans… It’ll go by so fast, and then everything will be back to how it was before.”

Except I’ll be six million dollars richer.

The dimple appears in his cheek, and he walks closer to where I’m standing. “One thing—we cannot tell my family about this. They’ll go nuts, throw a party, insist we move back here.”

“Trust me, I’ve seen enough in two days to know what they’re like. It’s sweet, but it would seriously complicate my plans.”

“We’ll be far enough away, so they’ll never know.”

“But my dad has to know—and his lawyer and the trustee.”

We’re talking fast, and he seems as eager to help me as I am to accept his help.

“They’re in Atlanta, so that’s a good buffer zone. We’ll let them know, but otherwise…”

“It’ll be our secret.”

Reaching out, he takes my hand, pulling me to him. “Yes, Raven Gale, I accept your proposal of marriage.”

“It’ll be so easy. We already have experience walking down the aisle.”

“We’re old pros.” His expression turns sly. “We’re even pretty good in bed.”

“We made a baby!” I love that he’s strategizing with me, making it fun and not terrifying.

“How soon would you like to get started, Miss Gale?”

“The sooner the better.”

“We’ll do it for Haddy.” His muscled arm is around my shoulders.

“For Haddy.”