Chapter 21
The car came to a screeching halt. Everyone looked around. Alex yelled out over the roar of the storm. “Is everybody okay? Cecily? Braylee?” He couldn’t see in the darkness but knew that scream belonged to Cecily.
Braylee spoke first. “I…I’m fine.”
Cecily ran her fingers across her forehead. “I think I’m…I’m all right too.”
“Mr. Manchetti I can’t tell from inside the vehicle if we’ve sustained any damage, so I’ll need to get out to assess it and see if the other car is okay.” The driver responded.
Alex nodded to the driver. “I’ll get out with you.” When the men got out of the car, the single umbrella didn’t do them any good. Almost immediately, it blew up in the driver’s hands, and he and Alexandro were soaked through. The winds made it difficult to stand against the powerful force of the storm. The moment they were out of their car, their skin was pelted with rain that felt as if thousands of tiny bee stings were piercing them all over their body. Alexandro did his best to shield his eyes by covering them with his hands. While squinting, he was more than a relieved to see two of his men get out of the other car. As they came together and looked around, they noticed just a few yards behind the second car was a pile of mud, rocks, and boulders so large it was hard to make out where it ended. A mudslide. It was several feet tall and covered the entire street behind them. It blocked the road leading up the mountain from where they’d just come. Had they been even a moment or two later, there was no doubt in Alexandro’s mind that their cars would have been buried underneath all of that mud and rock. “There’s no need for Braylee and Cecily to know about this. If everyone is okay and the cars are good, let’s get to the plane.”
*****
It was several hours of sitting on the tarmac onboard the plane before the storm passed and they were able to take off and head home. Alex took advantage of the time by taking a long, hot shower and changing into clean clothes.
Braylee was exhausted, but she felt better knowing they were now in the air and on their way back to Chicago. Whatever plan they needed to devise, they could handle it better on their own turf. Cecily was in the chair next to Alex with her head leaning against his shoulder sleeping. Braylee couldn’t imagine what that little girl must be going through.
Crap. She was going to be sick. Braylee quickly got up from her chair praying she made it to the bathroom in time. She’d barely arrived before she started emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Immediately, she felt better. It sill amazed her how quickly she could feel ill and so much better after it was all over. Almost as if she’d never been sick in the first place. With closed eyes, Braylee lay her head against the bowl allowing the coolness of the metal to chill her hot skin. This day had gone from zero to one hundred without any recovery time. She just needed a minute to get herself together.
Alex had watched her hurried steps with a worried frown on his face as Braylee made her way to the bathroom. When she hadn’t returned after a few minutes, he got up to check on her. He knocked once, not really giving her enough time to recover, before opening the door. Braylee was sitting on the seat of the toilet with a cold towel on the back of her neck.
“Are you alright?”
She looked up into concerned eyes. There was no doubt that Braylee needed to tell him about the baby. However, so much had happened in the last twenty-four hours that the timing couldn’t have been worse. Instead, she lied. “It looks like my nerves just got the better of me.”
He kneeled down before her and gently touched her forehead with the tips of his fingers. “Is there anything I can do?”
Her voice was weak, and she sounded tired when she said, “Just you being here is enough.”
Gently, Alex pressed his lips against the side of her face. “You’ll never have to worry about that. I’ll always be here for you.”
*****
Somehow, Alex managed to convince Cecily and Braylee to lay down in his bed. He cracked the door and stood there for a moment as he peeked in on them. It took awhile before either of them fell asleep, but they finally had, and they looked peaceful. So peaceful, he hated to disturb them. It was, however, almost time to land. After another moment of feeling thankful neither of them had been hurt, Alex went over to Braylee and nudged her awake. She was in a deep sleep and didn’t move. He bent low and nuzzled her neck with his nose before whispering into her ear. “It’s time to wake up. We’re about to land.”
Braylee’s eyes fluttered open as she looked into his. A slow smile spread across her face. “Good morning.” She bolted upright. “Oh God.” She threw her legs over the side of the bed pushing Alex aside as she ran toward the bathroom.
By the time she came out, Cecily was awake and seat-belted into her chair. Alex was looking at her strangely. He didn’t say anything until Braylee sat down next to him. “Nerves again?” Running his hands across his face, his voice was tinted with a bit of distress. “I’m sorry
