Falling into Place - Forbidden Heart Series

27| Not our Fathers

Falling into place. That's how everything's been feeling lately. Like's its all starting to finally fall into place.

The past three-and-a-half weeks couldn't have been better. The baby shower was planned, invitations were sent out, and RSVPs confirmed. Aside from the normal, semi-occasional sleeping issues and back aches, Danielle seemed to be in that constant glow stage.

Even her spirits seemed to have lifted. I was worried when she started feeling self-conscious about her body. She was still the same, beautiful Danielle to me and I wanted to remind her of that. To help with that effort, I haven't been working as much either. I've been making sure I'm home for dinner and off on the weekends. It took little adjusting with the boys regarding the bar, but we all adjusted to a decent schedule.

The other surprise was my dad. I was dreading the phone call I made to let him know I was talking a little time off for Danielle. As the phone rang I could hear his voice in my head telling me that it was my duty to work and the company would be at risk. . . blah, blah, blah. Surprisingly, that wasn't the case.

I don't know if someone was putting something in the New York City water supply, but he really seemed to be turning over a new leaf. Not only was he understanding about me wanting to take time off, but he was proud that I put Danielle's well-being first. He even came by a few times to have dinner with Danielle and I.

Then there was my mom. Luckily there haven't been any sequels to Godzilla vs. Mothra, but I honestly think it's because the babysitting duties Dani assigned them kept them separated. And it took a week for me to get up the nerve to call her in hopes of scheduling a lunch with Jackson and myself. At first, she said no. She half-apologized and she said just wasn't ready.

Which was fine. I wasn't going to push her on that. Yes, I wanted to try to get the family back together, but I knew that if I pushed to hard mom would pull away. Or Jackson. I already knew what he thought about her, and I knew the only reason he agreed to this lunch thing -- whenever it happened -- was for me. He agreed to it because he knew how much it meant to me.

It didn't take a genius to guess what his answer would have been otherwise. And I didn't blame him.

"Hey, Ry! Guy at the end of the bar needs another Bud."

"Got it," I called back to Ayden as I opened the cooler and reached in for a long neck. I walked a few steps to where the guy was sitting and set it in front of him. "Here you go, sir."

"Thanks."

I went back to my seat and continued  checking off boxes for inventory. With a quick glance at my watch, I saw that I had three hours before I could head home to my wife. I couldn't wait. I was really starting to like being home with her almost every night. I was such a workaholic before we met that that's what I was used to.

When I sensed someone looking at me, I looked up from the clipboard. "What's up, Ayden?"

"Can I ask you something?"

I frowned. His tone wasn't as relaxed and laid-back as it usually was. "Of course. What's up? Everything okay? Little Nate. . ."

"He's fine. Everyone's fine." He reached for a shot glass and poured some Grey Goose for himself. "It's kind of a, you know, personal question."

Now I was even more worried.

"I swear this stays between us, Ayden."

He threw back the Goose then looked at me. Then poured some more. I waited until he was ready, not wanting to push him on this. The man never talked about the heavy shit. If he was having trouble getting the words out, it had to be important.