Shadows and Dreams (Dream Series Book 2) Read online

  Shadows & Dreams

  Book #2

  Dream Series

  by Braxton Hicks

  Shadows & Dreams

  Book 2 of “Dream Series”

  AUTHOR: Braxton Hicks

  MEATBALL TASTER PUBLISHING

  Text copyright © 2013 by Braxton Hicks. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under The U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior express, written consent of the author.

  All characters and events in this book are fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons or events, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  This book is intended for adult readers only.

  Editor: Janell Parque

  Cover Design: Kim Black, TOJ Publishing Services

  Formatting: Integrity Formatting

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in FEDERAL PRISON.

  Table of Contents

  Playlist

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Play List

  "Dreams" . . . . . . . . The Cranberries

  "You Are So Beautiful" . . . . . . . . Joe Cocker

  "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" . . . . . . . . AC/DC

  "Disco Inferno" . . . . . . . . The Trammps

  "I Melt With You" . . . . . . . . Modern English

  "Chasing Cars" . . . . . . . . Snow Patrol

  "How To Save a Life" . . . . . . . . The Fray

  Acknowledgements

  This book is dedicated to Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, who is a true humanitarian. Bezo's dedication to helping the "little people" realize their dreams of becoming published authors is unsurpassed. His total selflessness is to be admired, because he puts the "human factor" above all else.

  Chapter 1

  Preston turned one month old today. I marvelled at how much she looked like her father. I couldn’t have been more pleased. Trey tried to convince me that she had a lot of me in her. He usually brought the resemblance to my attention whenever she whined or cried.

  Preston had inherited Trey’s sapphire blue eyes and had also been blessed with his dimples. We'd recently discovered this because she was now smiling for us. Trey would absolutely not let her cry. It was heart-warming to see how he fussed over her when she became agitated or unhappy. I found it quite endearing and totally out of character for him.

  I had finally become a natural at breast-feeding; I loved the connection and bond that it provided. Her pediatrician said that she was thriving and instructed me to continue doing what I was doing.

  Susan and Clive had come to Atlanta after I was released from the hospital. Clive had stayed for a few days; Susan had stayed for two weeks, not allowing me to lift a finger at all. She cooked and cleaned; did laundry, basically giving Mrs. Harris nothing to do on her days at our apartment. Susan rocked Preston when I wasn’t. I think Trey felt a bit left out, but he'd been a pretty good sport about it.

  Susan had purchased Preston a full wardrobe that looked like it would accommodate her for the next couple of years. She bought sweaters, rompers, onesies and nightgowns. We had both ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ as we laid out the various ensembles across the living room sofa. Trey had rolled his eyes upon coming home from work seeing all of the clothing that his mother had purchased.

  “Mom,” he said, “It isn’t as if we haven’t bought things for the baby, already.”

  “Hush, Trey Michael,” she'd scolded in her lovely southern accent.

  “It's so much more fun picking out clothes for a baby girl, so please indulge me. Besides, boy or girl, this is my first grandbaby and I'll spoil her as much as I choose.”

  Trey mumbled something about having to get a second job in order to keep Preston outfitted in the style to which her grandmother had gotten her accustomed. Susan and I exchanged amused smiles as he sauntered off to his study.

  Gina had hosted a baby shower for me the week before I delivered. We were set on everything. Gina had decorated the nursery in very good taste. I had gone with mint green and pale yellow as the color scheme, and had selected the crib in dark mahogany, along with a matching dresser, changing table and rocker. The guest room had been transformed into a beautiful nursery. Trey had bought a large brown stuffed teddy bear with a light yellow bow tie the day he brought us home from the hospital. It was sitting in the corner of Preston’s crib, which hadn't been used yet.

  We kept her in the beautiful white bassinet in our room, for now. Since I was breast-feeding, I needed to have her close to me. I had been reading articles about the ‘family bed’ and ‘sleep sharing’ since coming home from the hospital.

  I discovered, through my research, that many pediatricians were staunch advocates of the practice. Studies had shown that babies, who had co-slept with their parents, grew to be more confident and independent because of the early nurturing it provided. I hadn’t approached Trey with the idea just yet.

  I had a few more baby pounds to lose to get back to my normal weight. I was taking a Pilates class with Gina on Tuesday evenings, the night Trey was assigned night to watch Preston. I'd only been to one class so far; tonight would be my second class.

  I was feeding Preston on our bed watching ‘Ellen’ on T.V. I was most comfortable lying on my side having her snuggled on her side in front of me.

  She was being a lazy eater this afternoon, dozing off for a while, and then she'd wake up and start nursing for a few minutes before she would drift off to sleep again. This was my favorite time of each day; I loved the feel and the smell of her. I'd never felt this kind of love before. It was a different kind of love than what I had for Trey. It had been so immediate and so strong from the beginning. It was so unconditional, this baby love.

  I thought about my mother and wondered why she'd never felt that ‘baby love’ for me. I banished the thought of her from my mind. It was only painful and, for now, I wanted to enjoy this bonding with my daughter.

  I looked down at her. She'd fal
len back to sleep again. I kissed the top of her head and inhaled her sweet baby scent.

  Ellen had that chick on her show from the Twilight saga movies, grilling her about her infidelities that had gone viral in the media. The poor girl kept twisting her hair and running her hands through it like she was uncomfortable having to talk without a script. My cell phone vibrated on the nightstand next to the bed. I scooted over to get it, trying to make sure that I didn’t wake Preston. It was Trey.

  “Hey,” I answered quietly.

  “Hey, you,” he said in his smooth and silky voice. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  “No, I’m just lying on the bed with Preston, watching television. How's your day going?”

  “Well sweetie, I’m going to be a little late this evening. I wanted to let you know in case you had dinner planned. We have a partners’ meeting at 6:00 p.m., so I probably won’t be home until close to 7:30 p.m. Is that going to screw anything up?”

  “I have Pilates at eight o'clock with Gina, remember?”

  “Shit, that’s right. What time does she pick you up?”

  “About a quarter till eight."

  “Okay baby. I'll do my best not to be any later than seven-thirty. I promise.”

  “You better not be,” I warned. “You want me back in shape, don’t you?”

  “I think you look great just the way you are, right now.”

  “You’re just horny, Trey,” I laughed.

  “Speaking of which,” he replied.

  “I see Dr. Addison next week and he'll check me to make sure I’m healed before he gives you the green light.”

  “Make sure he knows that my balls are blue, will you?”

  I giggled at this. He wasn't the martyr he was making himself out to be. “I’ve been taking care of you, Mr. Sinclair,” I replied, “Quite often, as a matter of fact.”

  “I know baby, and I love what your mouth does for me but I miss…Hold on…"

  Someone must've entered Trey’s office as he left the sentence hanging. I could hear a muffled conversation.

  “Sorry, Tylar,” he said. “Tonya needed me to sign something. Where were we?”

  “Something about blue balls?”

  “Oh, yeah, and you're telling me they're likely to get bluer?”

  “Honey, Dr. Addison initially said six weeks; it's only been four. He'll check my stitches when I go in next week and we'll take it from there.”

  “Will Preston be able to start sleeping in her room by then?” he asked.

  Oh God – not a good time to bring up the 'family bed.'

  “Well, Trey, I sort of thought it might be best if she stayed in our room as long as I’m breastfeeding.”

  “How long do you intend to breast feed?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, some mothers breast feed until the child reaches two years of age.”

  “You're not fucking serious, right?"

  “Why don’t we discuss this later? I really need to get her into her bassinet and start dinner okay?”

  “We'll definitely discuss this later,” he said, not hiding his irritation.

  “So, dinner will be waiting when you get in this evening. I love you, Trey.”

  “Love you, too.”

  I could tell he wasn't gonna be a happy camper when I approached him about the ‘family bed.’ I'd have to carefully plan my strategy on that one. I gently picked Preston up and kissed her cheeks softly. Her lashes were long and thick, like Trey’s. I placed her into the bassinet and pulled the blanket up to her waist. I gazed down as she stretched and put her hand to her face, her thumb finding its place in her mouth.

  She'd started sucking her thumb in the hospital. Trey was worried it would cause problems when her teeth came in. Her pediatrician wasn't. We'd encouraged a pacifier multiple times, which she'd promptly spit back out in favor of her thumb. Trey said that she was stubborn like me. It amused me that all of the negative qualities she'd exhibited so far were attributed to my genetic contribution.

  I went to the kitchen to start making my special meatloaf for dinner with scalloped potatoes. Thirty minutes later, both the meatloaf and potatoes were in the oven set to bake for one hour.

  Seeing that Preston was still sleeping, I took a quick shower. My long, leisurely bubble baths were history, for now. Ten minutes later, I dressed in Capri pants and a tank top to accommodate June’s warm and muggy weather. I packed my gym bag for Pilates so it would be ready when Gina arrived.

  When Trey walked through the door at five minutes to seven that evening I had Preston in her plastic tub bathing her on the kitchen counter. She'd learned to splash her bath water quite well with those little arms of hers. I was getting the bulk of it on my once-dry clothing.

  “Hi, honey, just in time,” I called out as he set his briefcase down.

  He came up behind and wrapped his arms around me nuzzling my neck. I still got goose bumps when his warm lips touched me anywhere. I was supporting the baby’s head; a clean towel was thrown over my shoulder.

  “Trey,” I said laughing, maneuvering myself around him, “could you hold the towel so that I can get her wrapped? I’m going to need to change my shirt before Gina gets here.”

  “Sure, baby,” he answered, pulling the towel from my shoulder and coming around next to me. I lifted Preston from the warm bath; her little legs were kicking water onto both of us. Trey placed the towel behind her, wrapping it over each side of her as I lifted one hand and then the other so we could properly swaddle her. He was becoming an expert at this. Bundled up, I drew the baby against me as I leaned into Trey in order to kiss him properly. Our lips met in a long, leisurely kiss. I missed him when he was at work all day. It had been different when I was working at the firm with him. Even though our relationship didn’t officially exist there, we would still see each other in passing and occasionally for lunch.

  Preston was squirming against me; I could feel her rooting for my breast. I pulled back from Trey, lifting my shirt up to give her access to what she wanted.

  Trey leaned down and kissed the top of her head, greeting her as 'Bobbin'. He'd nicknamed her that because of the way her head bobbed as a newborn. I glanced at the clock. I had ten minutes before Gina would be here. I asked Trey to warm up one of the bottles in the fridge I'd prepared so he could finish feeding her. In less than a minute, our daughter was safely ensconced in her father’s arms finishing her dinner while I went back to our room to change.

  Trey would have to dress her when she finished eating. He was still a bit nervous about that part, thinking she'd break. I'd assured him numerous times that she wouldn't. Once I'd pulled a clean tee shirt on, I gathered up my gym bag, along with a disposable diaper, cotton nightgown, booties and a light receiving blanket for Preston.

  Back in the living room, the doorman buzzed that Gina was on her way up. I placed the receiving blanket over Trey’s left shoulder, so that when he burped the baby, his Armani jacket would be protected. Her tiny little fingers were clutching and tugging at his long slender ones wrapped around the bottle. My heart swelled watching father and daughter bond.

  I let Gina in and she immediately wanted to hold Preston before we left for Pilates. Trey grudgingly pulled the bottle away from her, carefully cradling her head as Gina bent to take her from him. Gina rocked her within her arms, swaying her back and forth while talking to her.

  “Who's the prettiest baby in Atlanta, huh, Preston? Is it you? Is it you? Aunt Gina thinks it is. Aunt Gina thinks Preston's the most beautiful baby girl in the whole world.”

  It amused me how otherwise perfectly sane adults would babble like idiots when a baby was around. Not that I was immune to the same type of behavior. While Gina was busy rocking and cradling Preston, I decided to fill Trey in on my pre-departure instructions.

  “Trey, your dinner's warming in the oven. Please diaper and dress the baby as soon as Gina hands her back.”

  “Yes, Tylar,” he replied, acting like an exasperated husband, but smiling.

  �
�Now, her swing is in your study, so if you have work to do, keep her in there with you.”

  He nodded affirmatively. “I think I can handle that, babe; I mean we did just fine last week, remember?”

  “Well, except for the mustard explosion on our duvet, I guess so.”

  “The what?” Gina asked, rocking back and forth with Preston.

  Trey groaned knowing that I delighted in sharing this story with whoever cared to listen.

  “Well, Trey thought it'd be good for Preston to lay on our bed next to him while he channel surfed so that she could thoroughly dry from her bath. He hadn’t even diapered her yet. Unfortunately, he became so engrossed in watching something on ESPN, he forgot about her until he heard the sound of our daughter passing gas. When he looked down to check, he saw that she'd passed much more than gas on our lovely new duvet.”

  “Oh, no!” Gina laughed hysterically.

  “Oh, yes,” I said, nodding my head.

  “Breastfed baby poop is the color of mustard. You can imagine how that looked on our new wheat-colored duvet.”

  “Way to go, Counselor,” she teased.

  Trey rolled his eyes at her. I gave him a kiss as I grabbed my gym bag. “I should be back before nine-thirty,” I said. “You two have a good time.”

  Gina raised Preston up to her face, giving her a kiss on her dimpled cheek. “Look guys–she’s smiling at me!”

  Uh oh.

  Gina relinquished Preston to Trey, who lifted her and placed her gently against his right shoulder just as she projectile spit-up all over the lapel of his Armani suit jacket.

  “Oops,” Gina murmured, apologetically. “Maybe I jostled her a little too much just now.”

  Trey cocked an eyebrow at her. “You think, Gina?”

  Once out of earshot, Gina was still laughing. “Seriously Ty, he's adorable with her, I have to admit.”

  “I know,” I replied warmly. “He's surpassed my expectations as a father. I mean, I knew that he'd eventually get with the program, but right from the start, he's been a major help with the baby.”

  We were in Gina’s car on the way to the gym and she'd been quiet for the past few minutes. “Ian and I are off birth control,” she stated quietly.