Ben (The Sherwood)

My Jenny laughed at me. “What if she doesn’t come back, Elijah?” Her voice was soft and sad. She caressed Asia’s cheek.

“More reason to call my brother give him his letter and let him take care of his own kid,” I informed my wife.

She sighed at me. “What if she comes back?”

I knew what she was thinking. She didn’t want Jasmine and Ben to battle over Asia. She was a sweetheart of a kid. “Then Jasmine and Ben work that out between them. We support them both.”

“Let’s read Ben’s letter too,” Jenny suggested.

Nope. Not happening. We had done that when we approached Jasmine without his knowledge. “We are not invading his privacy. She told us what she wanted us to know. Whatever in his letter belongs to him.”

She was clinging tightly to that envelope. “Jenny hand it over.” I held tight to Asia with one hand and held out my other hand to my wife.

“Oh, all right,” she snapped. She slapped the envelope into my hand. “Now what?”

“I’m calling Rachel and getting reinforcements in getting my brother’s ass over here. He’s about to become a father in every sense of the word.”

Jenny chuckled at me. “That’s not fair.”

“What’s not fair about it?” I asked giving her a look.

Our son began to cry. Jen got up and as she walked away, she smiled over her shoulder at me. “You know you are fighting dirty by bringing Rachel into this. Ben won’t stand a chance.”

Then she headed to our son’s room across the hall from ours. She returned a few minutes later as I was rereading the letter from Jasmine. I didn’t see any other way than forcing Ben to be a father to his daughter.

Jenny sat on the bed and laid Jeremiah between us. Then she handed me a diaper. “Asia needs changed.”

“She’s a girl. You should change her,” I declared trying to hand the baby girl in my arms to my wife.

Jenny frowned at me. “You are changing our niece’s diaper. Then, you are calling your brother and telling him to come over here.”

I laid the little girl down at my bent leg. I unsnapped her sleeper and slid it up to her chest. I grumbled to myself things I didn’t want Jenny to hear while I undid the diaper. My girl handed me a wipe from the package that we kept on the nightstand.

She caressed the baby’s cheek. I glanced at her. Then I looked at the baby lying beside our son. I cleaned her up and put on a fresh diaper. Then I snapped up her sleeper and lifted her in my arms.

“Time for Daddy to come over here, Asia.” I glanced at my wife and sighed. “Time to get Rachel involved and for all hell to break loose.” I just didn’t see any other way.

Chapter 3

My mother was in my t

railer. I had to be dreaming. She was shaking me hard. Why was my mother in my trailer? I had a rough night last night. I drank too much once again, and Seth had to drive me home from the pub. Truth be told, he practically carried me inside.

Other things I didn’t want to think of filtered through my hungover brain. Disa Riley was in the men’s room while I was taking a piss. I had kissed her sweet lips.

I pushed my mother’s hand away. Surely to God, Rachel wasn’t here to reprimand me already. We had left my truck at Ike’s, so I had no escape. I was stuck unless I managed to steal my brother’s truck.

The painful throbbing in my head might have something to do with me never getting out of bed again. Drinking had become a norm for me since Elijah had married Jenny.

Hell, since Jasmine had told me she was pregnant I was drinking more than I ever had. It had only gotten worse, since I had held my daughter in my arms at the hospital the first night of her life.

It was stupid, I know. It wasn’t accomplishing anything. All I had to do was breakdown and tell Jasmine that I wanted to be a part of Asia’s life. I guess what was holding me back was what expectations did Jasmine still have of me? Did she think she came with that package?

My head was a confused mess since I had dropped off Jasmine the morning after I slept with her. Her cousin’s image haunting me every single day since then. I realized that I had been with Jasmine because she reminded me of Disa.

It was a cold wake-up call in the early morning hours. Then to find out that she lied to me about her age only made me more suspicious that she had tricked me about the birth control pills too.

The alcohol wasn’t making it any better either. Rachel shook me harder shouting at me to get my ass out of bed now. “Mom, for Christ’s sake, what the fucking hell are you doing here?” I bellowed at her, bolting upright in my bed.