Page 14 of Greater than the Heart
Jax smiled. “Don’t guilt her into it, okay? We’ll figure it out, and hell, we haven’t even discussed this with Kincade. I don’t know how he feels about having kids of our own. I know he loves kids, which is evident when you watch him with Carlotta. When you talk to Sela, ask if Carlotta can spend the weekend? I need a tea party.” Jax made Ford a cup of coffee, placing it in front of him with a soft kiss to the top of his head.
The gorgeous redhead leaned into his ear. “Last night was so fucking incredible, Branford. Thank you so much. I think you have enough toys in that box for us to have many enjoyable nights like that. When were you going to break that out?”
Ford chuckled. “I bought them for us two Christmases ago, but with our company at the time, I didn’t see anything good if I gave them to you then. I put them in the closet and then just forgot about them. Thank God Cade got nosy.”
They both had a good laugh at that one. Being with Cade had brought many new prospects for them, and the world of toy play had many possibilities Ford couldn’t wait to explore.
“Uncle Branny!” Carlotta greeted him as she jumped into his arms. He picked her up and held her tightly.
“How’s my girl?”
“Great! Momma’s still dressing, like usual. Auntie Winnie and I are just getting ready to make hand cookies,” Carlotta told him. Winnie Oakes walked out of the kitchen and smiled at him.
“Mr. Ford, how are ya, baby? It’s been too long since I’ve seen ya,” she chastised, just as he believed she would. He welcomed it.
“I’m doing great, Miss Winnie. How’s this brat?” He tussled Carlotta’s braid before he put her down on the floor and took Winnie into his arms to feel one of her fantastic hugs. Rina Hayes gave good hugs, as well, and he missed her. He made a mental note to suggest they take a weekend trip to visit her.
“She’s one of God’s children, even if she doesn’t pick up her dirty clothes and put ‘em in the hamper like her momma asks her,” Winnie teased the girl.
Without a word, Carlotta ran down the hallway, bringing a raucous laugh from Winnie and Ford. “I love that child. How’s Mr. Jax and Cade?”
“Stop calling us that! You’re one of our favorite people, Miss Winnie. We’re no misters to you,” Ford instructed, getting a lipstick-tinted kiss to his cheek. She always wiped it off, but he loved to feel her unconditional love. It was more like a mother’s love than he’d ever felt inhislife.
Just as he was about to sit her down and confess about the surgery, Sela came breezing in. “I’m sorry I’m running late, Branny, but I had to email some photos from a shoot. How are you, dear one? You look like you’ve lost weight,” Sela, always the astute one, observed.
Ford grinned. “We’ve been getting regular exercise since Jackson opened the Wellness Center. We’re all trying to shape up and lead a clean lifestyle, but I feel like getting a little dirty. How about the champagne brunch at the Regent?”
He’d made the reservation earlier that morning in hopes of buttering her up, so she didn’t have a fit that he hadn’t told her about his cancer and the surgery. He was afraid of her reaction.
Sela squealed and clapped her hands in a very Carlotta-like manner. “I love their brunch. Give me five to change,” his sister told him as she ran down the hallway to change from her jeans and sweater into something dressier, he was guessing.
He turned to see Winnie with her left eyebrow raised. “I happen to know you don’t care for that fancy kind of food. You went once when one of your suppliers at the club was havin’ a birthday party, but you made my Cleveland go with ya. What’s up, Branford?”
He sighed, having never learned how to lie to Winnie Oakes. “I had a slight cancer scare I didn’t tell my sister about, and I want to soften her up, so she doesn’t throw a fit. I’m fine, before you get worked up, Miss Winnie. Cade and Jax held my hand everystep of the way, and now I’m healthy as a horse,” he proclaimed with a bright smile, hoping like hell she didn’t ask for details.
The short, round, woman pulled him into a hug. “You shoulda told me, baby. I don’t like bein’ kept out of the loop with people I love. Shame on you!” She swatted his rear, bringing a terrific laugh of joy.
“I love you, Winnie, just as if you were my own mother. Cleve is lucky,” he told her without hesitance. It was part of his new resolution—make sure the people he loved knew it.
She chuckled as he pulled away, reaching for a dish towel to dry her eyes. Ford took that as a sign of success. A minute later, his sister breezed in wearing a pretty, flowered dress and a bright smile to boot.
“Are you ready, Miss Thomas?” he asked as he extended his arm to escort her.
“Miss Winnie, we’ll be back in a while. Don’t take any guff from Carlie,” Sela instructed.
“Have fun. We’ll be fine.” With Winnie’s assurance, the two of them were out the door.
They’d ordered their food and were enjoying Bellinis. “I love it here so much,” Sela gushed.
“I’d have thought you’d have wanted to stay in New York or go to the West Coast when you moved back to the States. We didn’t put too much pressure on you, did we?” Ford knew the three of them had given her the hard sell, but he didn’t want her to regret her decision to move to Chicago near them.
“New York is too close to Mom and Dad, and the West Coast is too damn strange. Those two weeks in Los Angeles drove me insane. Anyway, tell me what’s going on with you. We’re all too busy. We need to plan a weekend when Carlie and I can come camp at your place.”
Ford smiled and took her hand. “We’d love it anytime, Sela. Hell, we’d love to have the two of you move in, but I understand you want your independence. So, here’s the news. I had surgery six weeks ago for testicular cancer. It didn’t spread, and they removed the testicle, but I have a bright, shiny, new one,” he teased, hoping to lighten the news a bit… If that was possible at all.
Her face crumpled into a tearful mess, so Ford handed her the champagne flute. “No, we’re not doing that, okay? Take a drink and listen to me.”
She did as he asked and settled in to listen, shedding a few tears as he explained the hell the three Delacroixs had gone through with the news. He could tell she was upset he hadn’t shared his diagnosis with her previously, but he had one answer. “If it would have been worse, I’d have called you, but Sela? I had to work through the part where I was losing a part of myself I never thought I’d lose.
