The habit was there too, of course, and seeing it was painful even after all the time that had passed. Under her clothes, Lucien found a small box, and inside was a gold locket, the type a lover would give. There weren’t any pictures inside it, just a folded up note with one word on it: “Forever.”
“Who do you think that’s from?” Trace asked.
“I’ve no idea.” But it was definitely something Lucien planned on asking around about. He wanted to thank Ember, though, for bringing this to him. “Is Ember around?”
“She’s sleeping.”
“Everything okay with you two?”
“Things between us are great, but the pregnancy is another story. C’mon, I’ll get us some beers.” Lucien followed Trace to the kitchen and gladly accepted a cold one.
“I don’t understand. I thought you wanted the kid?”
“I do, but I can’t shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen.”
“I imagine most first-time parents go through that.”
Trace rubbed a hand over his head and took a drink from his beer before setting it on the counter next to him. “Maybe, but hers is a higher risk pregnancy.”
“I didn’t know. I’m sorry, man, but they deliver babies every minute of every day. And Ember’s tough; I mean, she reeled you in.”
The look Trace gave him was comical—both smug and disgusted with the idea of being reeled in, even though it was true and they both knew it.
Lucien took a pull from his own beer and heard the words coming out of his mouth before he realized he intended to say them. “I screwed up with Darcy. I almost lost her again.”
“Yeah? What happened?”
“When I heard about the baby, I immediately jumped to the conclusion that she had given him up. I don’t even know why, because I know Darcy would never do that. It was like I wanted to push her away.”
“You probably did.”
Lucien looked over at his friend, confused. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, but for me, I didn’t want to want Ember. I never needed anyone in my life, and I’m not talking about Chelsea because that’s different. And then along comes Ember and it was like I was hit over the fucking head and suddenly I did need someone. I needed her. I pushed her away every chance I got and yet she held on because she knew what I was refusing to see.”
“What?”
“She needed me as much as I needed her.”
“Such words of wisdom, I hardly recognize you,” said Lucien jokingly.
“Shut the fuck up or I’ll punch you cross-eyed.”
“And he’s back.”
“What are you going to do about the judge?”
Lucien couldn’t help his fury at the idea that the one person he truly hated was the one person who knew the secret of his birth parents.
“I don’t know. I want to nail him to the wall for meddling in my life and fucking it up so royally, but at the same time I want to know who my parents are. I’m not even sure why, since I made peace with the circumstances of my birth a long time ago. But he knows. How can I not ask?”
Trace nodded his head in agreement before he asked, “What do you think it was that Heidi had on them? It had to be something pretty significant, because the judge is not a pussy.”
“Maybe it wasn’t just the judge she was blackmailing. Maybe she was extorting all of them. I think I may need to pay a visit to the DA. He should at least know that his father is a dirty son of a bitch.”
“Dane thinks she was blackmailing his dad,” Ember said from the doorway.
Trace turned to her and when he spoke, his voice was deceptively soft. “Dane?”
“Yeah, he contacted me to give me a heads-up on Heidi and her activities with his family.”
“You’ve seen Dane?”
“Yes, but he was a perfect gentleman.”
“Do you not remember the last time you saw him?” Trace demanded.
Ember reached for his hand and stepped into him. “I do, but he’s different now. He’s clean and remorseful. He reached out to me to help. He’s terrified of you, so he’ll keep his hands to himself.”
“I don’t like it,” Trace growled.
“Okay, well if I see him again, I’ll be sure to bring you.”
“Fucking straight.”
“You have such a way with words.”
Lucien looked down at the floor so Trace wouldn’t see his smile, but it was funny watching his friend so easily outmaneuvered. Yep, Ember was tougher than she looked.
She turned her focus to Lucien. “Whose locket is that?”
“I’m guessing Sister Anne’s.”
“I