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Chapter Sixty-six
Rylee waited for Mari Rae to appear and show her the lace wedding dress she’d chosen after they’d exhausted the search in Miami. She’d called earlier, exclaiming that she’d ordered it online and all she wanted was for Rylee to give her opinion.
Rylee’s had been plain in comparison, body-fitting with little adornment other than the beadwork on the top and a swell of silken folds that trailed from the waist on the back to the floor.
Her and Jake’s day had been magical, with Miguel fitted into a tux to match the ones chosen by Leo and Jake, carrying Juan, who looked so cute in the tux they’d had specially made for him.
And Mari, in full regalia as the maid of honor, had carried Angelina in a purple creation made from matching material. They had looked so beautiful and had been the hit of the day until the bride herself had appeared.
In the gorgeous garden of their new home, she’d approached Jake and her boys. It had been a day of wonder, with all their friends, many from the rehab facility where Rylee now worked.
She’d taken a good long look at her career and soon came to realize she was putting in her hours without any of the same drive she used to feel about her job. She only experienced those feelings of challenge while being involved at the newest clinic that Jake, along with her and Leo’s help, had subsidized.
Finally, a month or so ago, after getting caught in a shootout during a bank robbery where four criminals had killed three people and took ten others hostage, she’d come to her senses. It had been Rylee’s job to breach the back entrance to get the drop on them before others were killed.
She’d been lucky, they hadn’t shot her, but two of her co-workers were still in the hospital. The reactions from Miguel and Jake, even Leo, had been the final straw. First hand, she’d witnessed the stress her job was putting them under.
Their suffering and how it was affecting them, helped her decide to call it a day and work on the other side of law enforcement… the place where people get help before they turn to a world of crime.
And she loved it, loved the way her family had blossomed, no more worries that she might not return at night, or that she’d be away for days at a time on an assignment that she couldn’t tell them about.
The person who’d benefited also was Mari. She no longer fussed, driving Rylee batty with questions she couldn’t answer.
Now, she watched her beautiful sister walk towards her, swaying, preening, the full-skirted, long white gown trailing behind.
“So?” Mari’s eyes pleaded. Rylee knew she had fallen in love and this was her choice. All she needed was Rylee’s approval. “Do you think Duke will like it?”
“Hell, Sis, you could show up in leather britches, spurs and a cowboy hat and that goofy besotted man would still marry you.”
Mari laughed. “Right, give me a minute to change, and I’ll heat up lunch. I prepared your favorite gourmet meal – mac and cheese.”
Rylee’s stomach growled from the thought of the food. “I might have to pass, seems I picked up a flu bug.” She quickly headed for the ladies’ room where she’d already spent the better part of an hour earlier that morning.
Once she joined Mari in the kitchen, she got the shock of her life when Mari held out a package. “What’s that?”
“It’s a pregnancy test. You just have to pee—”
“I know what to do, but why are you giving it to me?”
“Hell, Sis. ‘Cause I think you might be pregnant.”
“I can’t get pregnant.”
“Of course you can. You’re married, and no doubt, screwing like rabbits. You’re not on any birth control that you ever mentioned. Go, pee on the stick.”
Rather than go into details about why it was impossible, Rylee took the stick and went back into the bathroom to stop Mari’s nagging. Once there, she looked to find a place she could hide the package.
Until a voice inside urged her to just try it out, use it up, and then she could show the proof, and the subject would be finished.
Except, when she followed directions, it was her who got the shock of her life. Minutes later, Mari found her sitting on the side of the tub, holding the evidence.
“Let me see. Yesss!! I knew it. You’re going to have a baby.”
“But I can’t have babies.”
“Of course you can, you’re a woman aren’t you, with all the necessary equipment?”
She lowered herself to the floor by where Rylee still cowered.
