Her Betrothed Prince CHAPTER 13 - Jennifer Brunner (free ebook reader for android TXT) 📗

Chapter 13
Symphony’s P.O.V.
***
Landon, I was thinking.” I said as I finally slid into my real bed after the long ride with Kim, Xavier, and Landon in the car.
“When aren’t you?” He kissed my nose.
“No this is serious.” He shut off his lamp and crawled under the covers with me. “If we can’t have babies then I want Kim to really be our surrogate mother.”
“What makes you think she wants to?” He asked me.
“I-I don’t know. I was just thinking out loud. Damn Landon.” I pulled myself out of his arm as soon as he tried to pull me in them and I turned away.
“I’m sorry.”
“Whatever.” A tear fell from my eye onto my pillow and I heard a knock on the door. “Go get the door Landon.”
He stood and answered it. “Baby, it’s your mom.”
Great. The one person I was trying to avoid.
My head was still confused over my dream. It was so real, and even though Landon told me that I did die at one point, I still don’t see how that explains my mother being there. And her being dead too.
I got out and slid on my shorts. When I reached the door Landon kissed me on the cheek, even though I wanted to reject it, I just couldn’t.
“Sun-Ray can I talk to you darlin’?” My mom used my old nick-name that I hadn’t heard since forever ago.
“You already are.” I retorted icily.
“Why do you have and attitude?” My mom whispered softly, not even trying to be defensive. It was just going to be too easy to hurt her.
“Why?” I laughed and put a finger to my chin to emphasize my thoughtfulness, “Hmm, let’s see. You left me with a rapist. You never called or checked up on me. I have a possible tumor and some unknown form of cancer because you left me with Mick.”
“I don’t want you to be mad Sun-Ray.” She reached out to touch my shoulder.
“Stop calling me that Anna!”
She pulled back in instant hurt and rejection.
I heard Krystian’s words ring in my head from a long ago memory. The only memory that was truly mine.
He and my mom were in an argument about football and he called her Anna. After he got grounded and Mick started telling him it was wrong he was sent to his room.
Mom had told me to take him his food because she wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone and she was out on the back porch smoking like her twenty-something cigarette.
I walked into his room and sat on his bed while he tossed a ball in the air.
He looked at me and said, “Warning: Never use Mom’s real name. She hates it. And the one thing she hates worse is when her children call her that.”
I didn’t understand what he meant by “children”, since he was the only one to call her that out of us two.
But my mom didn’t say anything. All she did was look at her shoes and I saw her hand twitch.
“Sorry.” I whispered and I gave her a hug. The first hug we had in almost nine years. “I love you and I really missed you.” I held onto my tears for as long as I could until one rolled down and landed on her old trench coat. “You still have this old thing?”
“David bought me a new one.” She pulled back and looked me in the eye. “That is what I wanted ta talk to ya about actually. David is my new husband. Well not really new but—we have been married for six years now.”
I smiled. “You got married?! Mom I am so happy for you!”
She had a guilty look on her face. “You won’t be for long.”
“Did he hurt you?” I asked, ready to “lock and load”.
“No, no, he is perfect actually.” She pulled me into a hug before I knew what she was doing. “Don’t get mad.” My mom breathed in deeply. “I’m a mama to a set of twin girls n’ I just had another baby boy.” She mumbled under her breath something that I didn’t hear.
I smiled through the hurt. “How old are they?”
“The twins are seven. Um, me n’ Dave have only been married six years but have been together since the day that I… left.”
“So that’s where you went?” I asked with a tear, mindlessly slipping down to my chin.
“Don’t cry.” She whipped away another tear that was flowing down the same path as the first few.
“I’m not crying. These are happy tears. And besides, it’s probably only ‘cause I am really tired.” Lie. I wasn’t tired at all.
“Oh well, I guess I will let you go to sleep.” She turned to leave while pulling out her phone.
“Mama?” I called after her. When she turned I smiled, “What are their names?”
“Hannah, Leona, and Hunter.” She answered with her gaze locked on her phone screen. “Excuse me.” She answered it, “Hey honey.” After a pause, “I was just talking to her, she knows.” Some “uh-hums” and “yups”, “How are they. Can you put them on?
“Hey girls. Are you taking care of your daddy?” Then she looked up at me as they said something through the phone. “I don’t know. Let me ask her.” She pulled the phone away from her ear. “Symphony? Hannah and Leona want to know if you want to meet them? Everyone came with me. They are at a little inn about seven miles from here.”
I gave it some thought, “Mom, why don’t you just come stay with us? We have like ten extra rooms.”
“Would he mind?”
I smiled. “He needs practice with handling kids.” I responded as I saw Kim lightly close her door with a baby in her arms. “He won’t mind.”
She picked up her phone again and Kim came over to me.
“Isn’t he just the cutest thing?”
“Next to his daddy, yeah.” My mom said.
“Mom!” I hissed lowly.
“What about someone’s daddy?” Landon asked, stepping out of the room—shirtless (which caused my mother to stare. To be honest I think I saw Kim drooling too), with a smile on his face.
“I’m still mad at you.” I said as he pulled me into his arms from behind, so that his hands rested on my stomach. I was only joking and trying to hold onto something. It was too hard to stay mad at him though.
“Why are you mad at Landon?” Kim questioned, pecking Xavier on the forehead.
“When isn’t she mad at me?” He asked doing the same thing Kim did to Xavier, but instead of his newborn baby, he kissed me.
“Oh shut up. Kim it is nothing you need to worry about. He won the fight so it’s time to move on.” I smiled and kissed him back gently.
“I wouldn’t say it was a fight nor that I won. I do want babies with you it’s just I don’t think—”
I smacked his arm before he could say more. “My sisters, brother, stepdad and mom are going to stay in the rooms down the hall from your mom and dad’s guest room, okay?” I butted in, changing the subject.
“You have brothers and sisters besides Krystian?” I saw my mom flinch and so I smacked him again. “Ow!” He rubbed his arm.
“Yes. Now let’s all go to bed before Colin thinks we are all about to hop in bed with each other.” I pushed Landon towards the room.
“But there is only one guy.” My mom said.
“Mama you don’t know Colin.” I said with a smile.
“Is that the butler?” Kim interjected.
“Yep.” Landon and I said in union and I closed the door behind me.
***
As I smelled the crispy and intoxicating smell of bacon I knew I was around the one person who would forever be perfect for my mom.
She couldn’t cook and David could.
My mom opened the door and two blonde heads bobbing up and down, behind the couch. “Hey kiddos, I’m home!” She called out, her voice just as twangy as I had remembered it from a chapter that was now closed in my book.
“Mama!” The girls screeched together.
I saw a little boy, who looked about ten months, trying to make his way around the couch by holding on to the loosened fabric of the worn out material. She squeezed all three of them tightly in one swoop of her arms as they reached her.
Once the hug ended, she left the girls on the ground but picked up the baby.
The twins looked like David with their golden brown eyes, brown hair, and skinny nose that fit perfectly into their softly rounded faces.
The baby—Hunter—he looked like Krystian somehow.
Unlike my mom and me, he had dark brown hair that looked like a shade of black, which came from our Italian side of the family, and maybe even from David. He had creamy white baby skin and his eyes were the same as the ones both Krystian and I had inherited from our mom.
“Who’s that?” The light haired twin said.
“Yeah who’s that?” The other echoed as the baby pulled on a lock of my hair.
“That, my darlin’s, is your big sister, Symphony.” My mother whispered as she unlatched my little brother’s hand. “Symphony, this is Corey.” She pointed out the obvious first. “Hannah is the one with the lighter brown hair, Leona has the dark hair.”
They both smiled and ran to give me hugs.
For the first time I felt home.
***
“So Symphony,” David drew out as he threw the last paper plate into the trash bag. “When are you getting married?” My mom looked up at him and smiled.
“Um, well, I was supposed to get married like three days ago, but with being in the hospital, finding out about the cancer and tumor, and going to the police station to fill out a report, it got postponed for another two days. So, maybe the day after tomorrow?
“Did you have a engagement party?”
“Um, that is tomorrow.” I said.
“Why is it the day before the wedding?”
“Like I said, with all the cancer and stuff, it got postponed. To be honest I don’t know why that man wants to marry me.” I sighed, leaning back into my chair. “He had his break. He could have left, but did he? Nope. It’s not like I am complaining or anything, but I just have no clue why he loves me.” I pushed my hair back and I flinched because my scalp was still sore from Mick pulling some of it out.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I flipped it open.
It was a call from Landon.
“Hey.” I said sweetly.
“Hi baby. I just called to check up on you and see what time you would be home.” The connection was a little fuzzy so it went out a few times but I still got what he said.
“Well they are all packed and ready to go but I wanna stop by Lisa’s really quick, okay?” I smiled when he gave a small sigh. That meant he missed me and wanted me home faster than I would end up being.
“Fine. I miss you. Come home safely.” I imagined him rolling his eyes.
“Are you guys ready?” I asked after I hung up the phone.
My mom smiled and grabbed her keys. “Thank you