Book 2: What Happens Here - Chicago (What Happens Here Series)

Chapter 37 - Mackenzie

It had been almost a week since Mackenzie had returned from Vegas, and true to his word, Shane Reyes had texted her once he'd landed in New England. But not only had he texted her when he'd arrived in New England, to her surprise, and if she were being honest, to her delight, Shane had also continued texting her daily once he'd returned to Miami as well. He'd even tossed in a few calls, which Mackenzie had to admit.... she liked, and even looked forward to. Now, Shane's calls were increasing, mainly at night it seemed, and for the first time in a long time, Mackenzie found herself looking forward to the nighttime. Since Nick's death, Mackenzie had begun to dread when the sun went down, because it reminded her of the fact that her bed was empty, and she was alone. During the day, she could forget about how lonely she was by throwing herself into work, and by doing things with NJ.

Looking back on the first year after Nick's death, Mackenzie had made NJ her entire life. She had been afraid of having him out of her sight for any length of time because she'd developed an irrational fear of something happening to her son. In her mind, if she'd lost NJ, she would not only lose her baby, but she'd also lose the last bond and connection that she had with Nickolas as well. Her motherly instinct to protect her child had been so intense, that she'd slept with NJ in her bed for the first two years of his life.

For months, both her parents and Nick's had begged her to allow them to take NJ home with them overnight, so that she could have some "alone time." Unfortunately, what they never understood was the last thing Mackenzie needed was alone time, but one afternoon, Jasmine had stopped by, and that visit had changed Mackenzie's life.

Being NJ's godmother, Jasmine was an integral part of her son's life, and the bond that the two had developed from the moment NJ was born confirmed that Mackenzie had made the right choice in choosing Jasmine to fill that role. Mackenzie and Jasmine had often crossed paths at the elementary school in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they both taught, but their friendship didn't fully develop until they'd attended a staff meeting, which resulted in them both attending the same teacher's conference a month later. After spending time together during the week of the conference, they'd become inseparable, but their friendship fully solidified and locked into place after Nick's death.

During that time, Mackenzie had been devastated, and being the blessing that she was, Jasmine stayed by her side as Mackenzie not only buried the love of her life, but Jasmine had also been there when Mackenzie had brought her and Nick's son into the world months later. Jasmine never allowed her to stay stuck in her grief. She'd done little things such as pushing Mackenzie to get out of the house, and to take daily walks with her during her pregnancy. But it wasn't until Jasmine had reminded her that she was a mom, and that she needed to think of the welfare of her baby, by being the best version of herself for him, that Mackenzie made the decision to pull herself out of the cage of grief that she had built for herself since Nick's death. Jasmine's constant and unwavering support, encouragement, and even her tough love had been exactly what Mackenzie had needed during that time, and for that, Mackenzie would forever be grateful to her best friend.

"Mommy, can we get McDonald's?" Pulled from her thoughts, Mackenzie stared down at her baby boy and smiled. Staring into her son's face often caused her heart to ache because NJ was an exact replica of Nick. The only difference were the color of his eyes, which matched her own, but the rest of NJ, was all Nick. Right down to the mass of curly blonde hair. NJ even had some of the same mannerisms as Nick. Hell, he was even left-handed like Nick had been.

Cupping his face, Mackenzie leaned down and placed a quick kiss to NJ's forehead, which made him giggle, before she pulled back and said, "Absolutely munchkin. And guess what else!" Smiling, Mackenzie scooped her giggling son up into her arms. "What else mommy?!" Placing a loud smacking kiss to his cheek, she said, "We're getting an Oreo McFlurry too!" When NJ threw his small arms up into the air, and yelled, "Yay!" Mackenzie smiled and shook her head at her son's enthusiasm.