Blues Beach [Suncoast Society] Read online

  Her laughter lightened his soul.

  “What’s so funny, baby?” He nipped the back of her neck, making her squeal.

  “I guess we don’t need to worry about condoms.”

  He snorted. “No, I think that’s a moot point.”

  “One way to save money. And I’m officially off the pill as of today.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “When did you find out?”

  “Literally today.” She told him about her symptoms, getting the test kit, then the frantic visit to the doctor.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

  “Stop.” She rested her hands on his shoulders. “No apologies. None needed. Not by you. I was going to call you, and like you said, time got away from me. Our flight home was delayed during a layover, it was late that night, then…things just happened. I admit I defaulted to avoidance because I thought maybe you didn’t want me.”

  “I do want you, baby. I swear.”

  She smiled up at him. “You haven’t met Harley and Ivy yet.” Her smile faded. “You might rethink things after you do.”

  “Your daughter is my daughter.” He tried not to think about how her daughter would be his daughter, if he hadn’t let Tracey walk away from him all those years ago.

  “It’s not that easy. Like I said, my ex was an asshole to her. And I promised her she would get to sign off on anyone.”

  “Whatever I have to do, I’ll do it. Whatever it takes.”

  “Let’s start by spending the night together. How far is your hotel from here? I’ll pack a bag and we can go to your place so you can change. I’ll leave my car there and ride with you and Brandon, and you and I can ride together to his place for dinner from there. I’ll spend the night with you and leave for work from there in the morning.”

  He eagerly nodded. “When’s your next doctor appointment? I don’t want to miss any of them.”

  He wasn’t acting very Domly, but he was absolutely adorable. Already she knew he’d be a great father, because this was similar to how Brandon had acted when they’d found out she was pregnant.

  Now they had to convince Emma of that.

  * * * *

  They were just finishing their showers when Tracey heard Ruth come home. They both had towels wrapped around them when Tracey opened the bathroom door, and Ruth stopped in her tracks, eyes wide when she spotted Eric.

  “Um, hello?”

  “Yeah, this has been an eventful day,” Tracey said.

  “What happened?”

  “Well, for starters…I’m pregnant.”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, holy fuck!”

  “And this is Eric.”

  She blinked. “Wait…what? Eric hot weekend in California with your ex-boyfriend, Eric?”

  “Yeah. The baby’s father, Eric.”

  Ruth’s gaze narrowed. “Um, ooookaaay, did you master teleportation or something since this morning?”

  “No. Turns out he’s now the manager of Brandon’s newest store, the one they’re building in Bradenton.”

  Her gaze went wide again. “Your ex-husband, Brandon? He works for him?”

  Eric chuckled from behind her. “Yeah. Surprise! Small world, huh?”

  Ruth crossed her arms over her chest. “So…do I need to kick his ass for you?”

  “No. I already told Brandon he couldn’t, either.” Tracey looked up at him. “I got a test kit after work, it was positive, then went to my doctor to confirm it. From there, I went straight to Brandon, crying, because I didn’t know what to do next, and…” She held out a hand, indicating Eric.

  “Let me guess, Brandon was really ready to kick his ass.”

  “For a few seconds, yeah.” She hooked her arm through his. “But we’re good. Now we have to tell Em.”

  “Ooooh, boy. I do not envy you.”

  * * * *

  It seemed there was some context Eric was missing. Even Jeff had hinted in California that Emma was a handful, in some ways, but how could she not be happy for her mom? He’d prove to her he wasn’t a jerk like Tracey’s ex, and they could be an extended family. If she accepted her dad’s two husbands, surely she’d accept him once she got to know him.

  Right?

  “Is it okay if he starts living here with me? We’ll pay more in rent for his share. Until we figure out the next step. I mean, it won’t be immediately, because I need to convince Emma. I’ll stay with him a lot until then. But once I get her okay.”

  She smiled. “Sure. Guess I’ll be looking for a new roommate pretty soon, huh?”

  “Yeah, sorry. Unless you want a cranky baby underfoot.”

  “No, sweetie. I don’t mind babysitting for you if you need me, but I had my baby and paid my dues.” She hugged Tracey. “Congratulations.” She shook with Eric. “Watch out for Grace’s barbecue fork. And yes, I’ll keep this a secret from everyone at work. That’s your news to tell, in your own time.”

  “Thanks.”

  As Ruth headed down the hall to what Eric presumed was her bedroom, he had to ask. “Why are you all making it sound like they’re evil kids or something?”

  Tracey started for her bedroom. “Oh, they absolutely are evil, but they’re the good kind of evil.”

  After they dressed, Tracey packed, and then she texted Brandon that they were on their way to Eric’s. While he was changing into clean clothes—and he decided to dress up in khaki slacks and a button-up shirt to put on a good first impression—Tracey walked over to the dresser and studied the pictures and the urn.

  “I’m really sorry,” she softly said. “About them.”

  He blinked back tears. Now his emotions bounced all over the fricking map. “Thanks. I guess I’m the master of oopsie babies. We were going to wait another year before trying, let our financial situation stabilize after I’d lost my job then started my new one. She was on the pill, too.”

  A playful smirk crossed her face. “Now you tell me.”

  “But we’d wanted kids. At least two. We’d bought the house and did the renovations ourselves. We knew finances might be a little tight, but we were going to make it work. I wanted to work my way up as fast as possible to store manager, so I was putting in a lot of hours.” He finished buttoning his shirt as he walked over to stand next to her. “That’s why I was late getting out of there to her appointment. I was trying to finish up some reports that could have waited until the next day.”

  She grabbed his hands. “Still not your fault.”

  He knew she’d always see it like that and he loved her for it, even if he didn’t agree with her. “After that…I sort of gave up trying. I settled for what I had and did. I had to sell the house because I couldn’t bear to live there. I received insurance settlements, both from the accident and her life insurance, and I just stopped living. And that’s the way I lived my life—existing.”

  He sat on the bed, pulling Tracey into his lap. He couldn’t keep his hands off her, especially her tummy, even though it was far too soon to feel a baby bump.

  He couldn’t wait to spend nights with his cheek pressed against her, waiting to feel for a kick or a tiny hand thumping against him.

  Able to listen for his or her heartbeat.

  Her phone chirped with a text alert, and she dug it out of her back pocket. “Brandon’s on his way here now.” She texted him back and returned the phone to her pocket. Then she draped her arms around his neck. “Let me and the guys take the lead tonight with Em and Grace, please?”

  He nodded. “Okay.”

  She kissed him. “This will be okay. I hope. I’m…I’m still in shock. Double shock.”

  Once again, his hand settled on her tummy. “For once, it’s a shock I’m happy to have in my life.”

  She smiled. “Me, too.” Her smile faded. “I hope it doesn’t mess up my promotion.”

  “Even if it does, it’s okay. I’ll take care of us.”

  “But I want the promotion.” She stared into his eyes. “Ask Bran, he can tell you. I spent a lot of years terrified to try hard
er, thinking I wasn’t good enough. It was only after I was away from Pat I was able to straighten my head out and go for it. I really want to get a degree and a promotion.”

  “We’ll handle that. Maybe they’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out as it happens, and I’ll be there for you every step of the way. I swear.”

  A smile finally broke through. “Don’t wake me up if I’m dreaming…Sir.”

  He sighed, happy. “We really need to have a talk about that. But not tonight.”

  “Does it bother you if I call you Sir?”

  He nuzzled her nose with his. “No. I love it, baby girl. Just like I love you.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  They were ready to go when Brandon knocked. Tracey insisted on sitting in the back seat, needing a little time to herself to breathe and…process.

  A couple of times, she’d pinched the inside of her arm, wondering if she was dreaming or hallucinating.

  This couldn’t be real…could it?

  “Did you two exchange phone numbers yet?” Brandon teased.

  Tracey silently swore and pulled out her cell. “Sorry. Give me your number.”

  Eric recited it and she punched it in, saving it as a contact in her phone and sending him a text.

  “Seriously? What would you two do without me?” Brandon sounded amused. More than amused.

  “We got…distracted,” Tracey mumbled.

  “I’m sure.”

  “Does this mean you aren’t going to kill him?”

  “No, I’m on your side, hon. The problem will be convincing Em.”

  “I don’t get it,” Eric said. “Why is everyone convinced she’ll hate me?”

  “Pat,” Tracey and Brandon said together.

  Brandon continued. “Don’t know how much Trace told you, but he was a class-A asshole to Em, no matter how hard she tried to get along with him. My assessment—and Trace, correct me if I’m wrong—is he felt threatened by her for a number of reasons, including the fact that she was way smarter than him.”

  “That’s accurate,” she said.

  Brandon then proceeded to give Eric a quick run-down of the most heinous examples of Pat’s egregious behavior, including the infamous cruise they’d tricked Emma onto, where Emma deliberately puked two servings of red Jell-O all over Pat’s mother, the time Pat tried to forcibly keep Emma at their house by parking her car in, the pool incident, Corey trying to film Emma with the cell phone, Pat giving Corey preferential treatment and letting him slide on rules while holding Emma to a different standard—and others.

  To Brandon’s credit, he didn’t try to make Tracey look bad, even though she felt like shit over the recitation.

  When he finished, she spoke up. “Like I told you, I wasn’t the best mother. I was too afraid of not being able to make it on my own and I gave Pat too much control when I shouldn’t have. That’s why it’s important to me to make sure Emma likes you and signs off on this. Because I promised her. I’m damned lucky she even wants to have anything to do with me, much less forgives me for what I allowed to take place. I won’t jeopardize my relationship with her again.”

  Eric turned as much as his seat belt would allow and met her gaze. “Then it’s a good thing I’m a very patient man and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to work my way into her good graces.”

  “And there’s Grace,” Brandon said. “The good news is, if you win over Grace, you’ll win over Emma. If not…” He shrugged.

  * * * *

  Brandon dropped them off and waited until Eric had his car started and they were following him. Was Eric nervous?

  Fuck, yeah.

  But it was the good kind of nerves.

  After years of pain and grief, this was easy, and he knew they were all worried not about nothing, because it sounded like Emma had legitimate concerns, but they were likely blowing it out of proportion.

  He would take his time, not force himself on her, let her get to know him.

  This will be okay.

  He held Tracey’s hand for the drive and when they pulled into Brandon’s driveway and parked behind his car, he gave her a final squeeze before releasing her.

  Brandon slung his laptop case over his shoulder and waited for them to join him. “I texted Jeff we had an extra for dinner but didn’t elaborate.”

  “How do you want me to approach this?”

  “Head-on.”

  “Any tips you can give me? Because I’m all ears?”

  “Be honest. That’s the best I can tell you. They’ll sense bullshit a mile away and not trust you.”

  “I swear, Brandon, I’ll treat her like she was my own daughter, and I’m not going anywhere. I want this baby, and I want Tracey, and I’m not too proud to take any advice I can get.”

  Brandon nodded and patted him on the shoulder. “Hopefully we’re all overreacting. But if you’d met Pat, you’d understand.”

  “Sounds like a guy I’d like to punch.”

  Brandon smiled. “You’d have to get in line, but yeah, you’re not alone.” Brandon looked to Tracey. “Let me do the introducing before I turn it over to you guys, all right?”

  She nodded and reached for Eric’s hand.

  They followed Brandon up the drive and into the house. Whatever they were having for dinner filled the air with a mouth-watering aroma. It hit Eric for the first time that he hadn’t really cooked since losing Paige. Just enough to get by and survive.

  Not a family meal.

  He’d spent most holidays either working, if they were open, or home alone, not even wanting to go to a restaurant and watch other happy families together.

  It’d been too painful.

  Before Brandon introduced them, he could tell which girl was Emma. She had Brandon’s intense blue gaze but looked almost like Tracey had at that age.

  Jeff turned, did a double-take, and laughed. “Eric?”

  Eric heard Brandon softly swear as both Emma and Grace turned, now realizing the extra person was in the house.

  And Eric spotted how Emma saw him holding Tracey’s hand, her expression immediately going blank, her lips pressed into a tight, thin line.

  Shit.

  Brandon set his laptop case down and walked into the dining room area, where the girls were finishing setting the table. “Jeff’s already met him, but I’d like you to meet Eric Martin, the new store manager for my Bradenton store.”

  Emma’s gaze narrowed, her brow furrowing. “Why are you holding my mom’s hand? And how did Jeff already know who you are?”

  Oh, shit.

  Tracey didn’t pull her hand free, Eric was happy to see. Brandon plunged forward. “Well, it’s kind of a funny story, sweetheart. You see, Eric was your mom’s boyfriend back in high school, and—”

  Grace gasped and pointed at him. “You’re the one she broke up with!”

  Emma’s head swiveled to her, then back to Eric. “Is that true?”

  “Yes,” Brandon said. “It’s a funny coincidence, and—”

  “You said you didn’t want to talk about him.” Emma’s gaze was focused on Tracey and she folded her arms over her chest.

  “Emma,” Brandon said. “Please let me talk.”

  Her jaw set into a hard line, but she remained quiet.

  “They reconnected at Cara’s funeral. Eric was in her graduating class and a friend of Cara’s, too, plus a friend of Cara’s brother, JJ. Your mom didn’t know he worked for my company. When he returned home, he was offered the store manager position at my Bradenton store.”

  “So why is Mom here with him now?”

  Brandon glanced in Tracey’s direction before returning his focus to Emma. “This is where the story gets…interesting. You know how your mom was sick the past couple of days?”

  “Yeah?”

  “She’s not sick. She’s pregnant. She just found out today. She came to the store to talk to me, and that’s when she saw Eric, and all the puzzle pieces snapped into place. It’s definitely Eric’s baby.”

  Grace’s jaw dro
pped.

  Jeff and another man Eric assumed was Stuart had frozen in place, also looking shocked.

  Emma’s face contorted into rage. “You’re…pregnant?” Her voice barely rose above a whisper, but she might as well have screamed it.

  Tracey’s grip tightened on Eric’s hand. “We spent the weekend in California together, and—”

  “You’re pregnant?” That time, Emma did scream it.

  Tracey practically shrank against Eric’s side, and it took every ounce of will he had not to step in front of her, between mother and daughter.

  “Yes,” Tracey said. “I was on the pill, but we didn’t use a condom, and apparently—”

  “You are pregnant? What the hell is going to happen now with your job and your classes, huh?”

  “Emma,” Brandon cautioned.

  She whirled on her father. “No, Dad. You all lectured me and Grace about sneaking around behind your backs, so she does not get a pass on this.”

  “Totally different set of circumstances, sweetheart.”

  “No, it’s not!” Emma addressed her father while pointing and waving her arm at Tracey and Eric. “He got her pregnant? Just when she’s on the right track and getting her life together? What the hell?”

  “Emma. Calm down.”

  Grace covered her face with her hands. “Oh, boy,” she muttered.

  “Calm down? Did you just tell me to calm down when my mother shows up here pregnant by a guy she, what, had a weekend fling with?”

  “I need you to listen to us.”

  Eric kept his mouth shut despite knowing that never in the history of the world had anyone ever calmed down by being told to calm down.

  And Emma was obviously not an exception to that rule as she continued to rant.

  Sometimes, being a good Dom meant knowing when not to talk.

  “No, Dad, she does not get to claim the moral high ground here!”

  “No one’s claiming she does, either. But your mother is an adult, and—”

  “So you didn’t use a condom, huh?”