Mackenzie (Heritage Bay Series Book 2) Read online

  Mackenzie

  Copyright © 2018 by M.A. Foster

  All rights reserved.

  Cover design: Ruben Carbonell

  Additional Graphics: Robin Harper, Wicked by Design

  Interior Design: Angela McLaurin, Fictional Formats

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy.

  PROLOGUE

  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

  EPILOGUE

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  This book is dedicated to my readers. Especially to the ladies in my readers group, who have been with me since the beginning. Without you, there would be no Mackenzie.

  “God doesn’t give you the people you want, he gives you the people you need. To help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you the person you were meant to be.”

  ~ Unknown

  THREE MINUTES FEELS like three hours when the tick of every second on the clock is counting down to the moment our lives could be changed forever. I’m perched on the edge of the bathtub, my thumbnail pinched between my teeth and my legs bouncing anxiously. The only sound in this tiny bathroom is the beat of my heart pounding in my ears.

  Across from me, Jade is leaning with her backside against the vanity, her phone clutched in one hand, the other gripping the countertop. My eyes drop to her fingers curled over the edge, knuckles white.

  “No matter what happens, Jade, we’ll get through this,” I say with a reassuring smile. “Just like we always do.”

  She looks over at me with a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes and lets out a shaky breath. “Yeah.”

  The ding of the timer on Jade’s phone causes her to jump and nearly drop it on the floor. I jerk upright, getting to my feet and rushing to her side. Jade blows out a deep breath as she turns to pick up the little white stick.

  Positive.

  “HEY, I’M COLE Mackenzie,” I announce, winking at the cute blonde receptionist through the small opening of the glass window. “I’m here to see Dr. Graham.”

  I don’t miss the way her eyes widen at the mention of my last name. Being a Mackenzie in Heritage Bay is like being a local celebrity. My grandfather, Dr. Max “Mac” Mackenzie, founded the Heritage Bay Medical Center over twenty-five years ago.

  My grandmother, Ella Mackenzie, everyone calls her “Mimi,” is a socialite and comes from old money. Her father owned quite a bit of land in Heritage Bay. Mimi recently retired from her occupation as an interior designer and turned over her business to my mom. Now all her free time is wrapped up in charity.

  “Oh yes, Cole, I spoke with your grandfather this morning. Go ahead and sign in.” She points to the sign-in sheet fastened to a clipboard.

  When I finish signing my name, she passes me another clipboard through the window. “Please fill these out and have a parent sign.”

  “Okay, thanks.” I shoot her another wink before heading over to the waiting room. Dropping down in the chair beside my mom, I pass her the clipboard.

  Mom fills out the paperwork, and we both sign on the necessary lines before I take the clipboard back up to the window.

  A few minutes later, a nurse appears in the doorway and calls my name.

  My mom looks up from the magazine she’s reading and asks, “Want me to come back with you?”

  As I stand up, I chuckle at the thought of my mom being in the room while the doctor cups my balls and tells me to cough. That would be a big fat hell no.

  “Nope.” I press a kiss to her cheek before following the nurse through the door.

  While the nurse records my height and weight into my patient file, the door to my left opens and a young woman with dark hair, pulled back into a ponytail, steps out. Her top is covered in colorful cartoon characters, but it does little to hide her very pregnant belly. My eyes move from her belly back up to her face. Damn. She’s beautiful.

  “Congratulations,” I say, gesturing to her belly.

  Her bright green gaze jerks up to meet mine and widens. “Oh.” She presses her hand over her heart. “You scared me.”

  “Sorry.” My lips instantly curl up on one side into my signature smirk before I mentally chastise myself. Apparently, my flirting knows no bounds. What the hell am I doing flirting with a pregnant chick?

  “It’s okay.” She smiles and waddles off toward the front office.

  “WHAT TIME ARE you picking me up?” Zach’s voice booms through the speakers of my new Chevy Silverado, a gift from Uncle Marcus and Aunt Emerson for my sixteenth birthday.

  “Give me an hour,” I reply as I pull into my driveway.

  “All right. Later,” he clips out before hanging up.

  Zach Easton is Heritage Bay’s resident ‘Golden Boy’ and has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. I consider him more like family since our grandmothers are longtime childhood friends.

  Climbing out of my truck, I reach across the cab and grab my bag from the passenger seat. The sound of a car door shutting in the distance prompts me to look over my shoulder to the small silver car parked at the curb and the pregnant chick from Dr. Graham’s office making her way up the driveway. She’s wearing scrubs again, and the top has little yellow Minions all over it.

  What is she doing here?

  “Uh….” is all I can say as I close my door because, if I’m being honest, I’m a little weirded out. Did I give her the wrong idea by flirting with her?

  “You don’t remember me, do you?” she asks as she stops in front of me and crosses her arms over her chest, resting them on top of her stomach.

&n
bsp; My brows draw inward, confused. “Of course I do. From Dr. Graham’s office.”

  “We’ve met before, Cole Mackenzie.” She spits out my last name like it’s a bad taste in her mouth. I’ll admit, that’s a first. “At a party back in November.” She shakes her head. “I can’t believe you’re only sixteen.”

  I frown. “I’m sorry, but what party are you talking about? I’ve been to a lot of parties, and I’ve met a lot of girls.” I gesture to her stomach. “I don’t remember any of them being pregnant.”

  “I wasn’t pregnant then.” She rolls her eyes and drops her hands on her hips. “Let me refresh your memory. It was a fraternity party.” She gestures to her car. “We hooked up.”

  Oh. Oooh. “I remember,” I say with a wince. Dylan had taken Zach and me to one of his college parties over Thanksgiving break. I don’t remember her name, but I do remember she straddled me in the back seat of her car. That was fun. A little cliché, losing my virginity in the back seat of a car, but I don’t think she knew I was a virgin. “So what are you doing here?”

  “I don’t know.” She sighs and rubs her temples. “I shouldn’t have come here. I could get in a lot of trouble. It’s just… I didn’t know you were only sixteen.” Actually, I was only fifteen then. But I won’t tell her that, since she seems pretty hell-bent on me being sixteen. “Dammit!” She turns and waddles back down the driveway toward her car.

  “So what!” I call out to her retreating back. “I’m sixteen. What’s the big deal?”

  She spins on her heels and looks at me like I’ve got three heads. “I’m twenty!” she yells. “You told me you were eighteen and that you were a freshman. You lied.”

  “I was a freshman.” In high school.

  She narrows her eyes and growls under her breath.

  “I’m sorry.” I can’t help but chuckle. She’s feisty, this girl. It’s kind of hot. “It’s not like I’m gonna turn you into the sex police or anything.”

  “That’s not the point,” she scoffs, tilting her head back to look up at the sky. “This is just great.” She throws her hands out to her sides, and I can’t tell if she’s talking to herself, to me or to God. She returns her deep green gaze to me.

  Damn, she really is beautiful.

  “I never expected to see you again,” she continues, making her way back to me. I want to tell her the feeling is mutual, but I don’t want to hurt her pregnant feelings. “Then you came in to Dr. Graham’s office, where I work, and not only are you Dr. Mackenzie’s grandson, but you’re only sixteen. I feel like somehow it was the universe’s way of forcing me to do the right thing. To tell you the truth.”

  I smirk. “Tell me what?”

  “This baby”—she points to her stomach—“is yours.”

  My smile slips and my heart plummets to the pit of my stomach. I instantly feel nauseous as a cold sheen of sweat coats my body. No fucking way. Deny. Deny. Deny. “Bullshit.” I choke out a disbelieving laugh. “I used a condom.”

  “Well, condoms aren’t 100 percent effective. Didn’t you learn that in your high school sex-ed class?” she says sarcastically, a sure jab at my age. “And do you really think I would come here and confront a sixteen-year-old kid if I was lying? I haven’t been with anyone else.”

  “But I’m sixteen,” I plead. My parents are going to kill me. “What do you expect me to do? Do you want money or something?”

  “No.” She grimaces, offended. “I don’t want your money.” She holds out her hand. “Give me your phone.”

  Reaching inside my gym bag, I pull out my phone and, after unlocking the screen, pass it to her. She enters her phone number and then hands it back to me. “My name is Jade, by the way.” She rubs her stomach. “This is Willow. She’s due in eight weeks.”

  My eyebrows skyrocket to my hairline. “You’re having a girl?”

  “Yeah.” She smiles proudly. “I have your number now, so I’ll be in touch. We can do a paternity test if you want. I’m not asking you for anything. I don’t need you or your money. I was planning on doing this without you, so it’s up to you if you want to be in her life. If you don’t, I’ll understand. You’re young and it’s a big responsibility.” She shrugs. “In the meantime, talk to your family, and contact me if you have any questions.” She turns and waddles back to her car. “I mean it. Talk to your parents, Cole. Tell them the truth.” She narrows her eyes before she eases back into her little silver car and drives off, leaving me standing in my driveway staring after her.

  I can already picture how the conversation with my parents will go down.

  “Hey, Mom and Dad, seven months ago I lost my virginity to a random college girl in the back seat of her car, and oh, by the way, I got her pregnant. Good talk.”

  AT SIXTEEN, THE only things I cared about were football and pussy. That was until three weeks ago, when Jade showed up at my house and dropped the baby bomb. Since then, I’ve had nightmares almost every night about girls showing up at my door, pregnant. Including Claire, my now ex-girlfriend, whom I broke up with today. We’d only been together for a couple of months and she was understandably upset. I basically dumped her for no reason. Well, in her opinion, anyway.

  A girlfriend is the last thing I need right now.

  Actually, a baby is the last thing I need, but I don’t really have a choice. A girlfriend will only complicate things.

  Will I ever be able to date with a kid?

  Am I allowed?

  Should I date Jade?

  I guess it doesn’t matter since I’m never having sex again.

  I still haven’t gathered the courage to face my parents and tell them the truth. In a way, I’d hoped if I just ignored the problem, it would go away.

  But this is a baby. A tiny human, not a rash.

  Maybe I should just text Jade and tell her I can’t do it. I mean, she was planning on raising the baby alone anyway, right?

  But my conscience is telling me to man up and do the right thing. Besides, there’s no way I could go on with my life knowing there’s a little girl out there who belongs to me.

  My daughter. Willow.

  It’s not how I was raised. The Mackenzies are all about putting family first and when one of us is in trouble, we come together and support each other. I grew up with two loving parents who have been together for more than twenty years. Hugs, kisses, and ‘I love yous’ were normal in our house.

  I make my way to the kitchen where my mom and my little brother, Aiden, are having a discussion.

  “Aiden, there’s no I in team,” Mom states firmly.

  “But Cody sucks, Mom,” he fires back.

  She sighs, crossing her arms. “Aiden, you can’t be part of a team with that kind of attitude. If Coach Rawlings put Cody on the team, then he deserves to be there.”

  “The kid sucks,” I chime in, rounding the island in the middle of the kitchen and heading for the refrigerator. “He’s only on the team because his mom is hot and Coach Rawlings wants to bone her. Who wouldn’t?” I shrug.

  “Cole,” my mom chides with wide eyes silently telling me to ‘shut the hell up’ but there’s a hint of a smile on her lips. She’s knows it’s true.

  I shrug again and lean against the island, my forearms on the countertop.

  “Exactly!” Aiden points to me.

  Mom shakes her head and turns to him. “Aiden, instead of calling him out, maybe you should set aside some time on the weekends or something and practice with him.”

  Sports are kind of a big deal in our family. My grandfather and my father played football in high school and college. My mom was on the college swim team. My aunt, Emerson, cheered competitively all through high school. My uncle, Liam, has lived and breathed baseball his entire life and is now in the MLB, a shortstop for the LA Heat.

  My older brother, Dylan, played baseball in high school and for a short time in college, but decided to dabble in music while earning his college degree in business.

  But Aiden is serious about baseball. He has dreams
of following in Uncle Liam’s footsteps all the way to the MLB. And I have no doubt that he will because the kid is a boss on the pitcher’s mound.

  Football is my sport. I’ve dreamed of playing for the NFL since my Pop Warner days. And I’d say my hard work and skills have brought me one step closer to my dream. I’m only a sophomore and I’ve already been bumped up to the varsity team as the starting wide receiver.

  My cell phone buzzes, and I reach into the pocket of my track pants to retrieve it. ‘Unknown’ flashes across the screen, which doesn’t surprise me because random girls are always blowing up my phone. Especially after I broke up with Claire.

  Tapping the green Answer button, I bring the phone to my ear. “Yo.”

  “Hello, may I speak with Cole Mackenzie,” a female voice says.

  My brows pinch in confusion. “Who’s this?”

  “My name is Stephanie. I’m a trauma nurse here at Heritage University Hospital. Am I speaking with Cole Mackenzie?”

  What the hell?

  “Yes.”

  “Mr. Mackenzie, do you know a Jaden Price?”

  Jaden? “Um—I don’t think so?”

  “Am I speaking to Cole Matthew Mackenzie?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Your name and number are listed here as the emergency contact concerning the child of Jaden Price.”

  I exhale a sharp, forceful breath, as if someone just punched a hole in my chest and ripped out my heart.

  I can’t breathe.

  “What’s wrong, Cole?” my mom asks as she moves to my side and places her hand on my back.

  I jerk myself to an upright position and the room suddenly spins. Oh my God.

  “Mr. Mackenzie, are you there?”

  “Yes,” I breathe.

  “We’re going to need you to come to the hospital to fill out some paperwork. Your daughter is in the ICU and she’s doing fine.”

  Relief washes over me, and a sob bursts past my lips as I drop to my knees. “Okay,” I choke out before my phone slips from my hand and falls to the floor.

  “Cole? Cole, what’s wrong?” My mom drops to her knees in front of me and cups my face in her hands. “Sweetie, what happened?”