Page 35 of Her Noble Protector
Almost four yearslater
The music blared as I entered Stone Manor. I drove past the mansion and headed toward the newly renovated Nash home. Peace consumed me as soon as I pulled into the four-car garage. Inside the garage were Sunni’s luxury mom-mobile, our SUV, and my sports car. There were also two children-sized electric cars lined up against the right wall.
Never in a million years would I have imagined my life to be anything remotely as it was now. Retired from the bodyguard business, I created a relaxed business model where I wasn’t needed in the office every day. Instead of doing dangerous security jobs, I opened a business where I trained men to be the best bodyguards they could be. Not only did I get paid to train,but I also got a cut of every job my bodyguards took on. The new job was perfect because I got to come home to my beautiful wife and our child.
After I took a moment to decompress, I turned off the car and closed the garage with the button on the visor. I emerged from the car, leaving my work life in the passenger seat.
The alarm beeped once as I entered the house through the garage door. The garage connected to the kitchen, so the smell of dinner greeted me immediately. Once my eyes adjusted to the bright lights, I took in the scene before me. Sunni stirred a pot of what I assumed was rice, while our three-year-old danced on the kitchen island.
Nova Nash was born November 2nd at 5:13 a.m. She was nine pounds and three ounces and had a head full of curls. Sunni gave birth to her on the porch on our way to a scheduled C-section. Her doctor said Nova was measuring larger than they felt was safe to deliver, but my wife pushed her out with minimal tearing. Seeing Sunni give birth to our daughter was a surreal experience, and it made me appreciate her even more. Hell, it scared me to touch her after watching her give her all during the birth.
“Daddy!” Nova exclaimed when she saw me.
“Why are you on the counter, Novie?” I asked as a deep frown spread across my face.
She jumped into my arms and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “I not on the counter!”
“You get that smart mouth from your mama,” I stated with a chuckle. Nova giggled as I tickled her sides and scattered kisses on her face.
“Watch it, Noble.” Sunni cut her eyes at me briefly before returning to the array of food on the counter.
Over the last few years, we’d cut back on our eating out. Instead, we made it our mission to cook two or three times aweek and enjoy leftovers twice a week as well. We also started a family tradition of learning a new recipe once a month. We loved trying new foods—although sometimes it ended up being a miss.
“Why you let my baby dance on the counter?” I asked as I set Nova on the barstool.
Nova might have had my skin tone, but everything else was her mother’s carbon copy. From the freckles to her clumsiness, Nova was Sunni’s twin and raised my blood pressure daily.
“You try arguing with a three-year-old while trying not to burn salmon and rice and stuffed jalapenos while being seven months pregnant, Noble.” Sunni fussed at me.
I closed the distance between us and snaked my arms under her belly and lifted it slightly. She leaned into my embrace and closed her eyes. We were expecting our second child—a baby boy who we would name Saint. We joked about a starting lineup before, but I believed Saint would be our last child.
The stress these pregnancies put on Sunni’s body wasn’t good. I hated seeing my wife in pain. I hated not being able to ease her aches or soothe her when the symptoms attacked her. It would be selfish of me to continue to fill her full of babies—even if it felt like heaven to me. My first job, even before I was her husband, was to be her protector and make sure she was safe. I took an oath as her husband to go the extra mile for my lady.
“I’m sorry, bae. Let me take over. Go rest your feet.” I kissed her neck and continued to relieve her of the weight my child carried in her womb.
“You’re the best.” She turned around and gave me a tender kiss. I licked her bottom lip, and she giggled.
“Alright, Nova. You want to help daddy finish dinner?” I asked my three-year-old as I watched Sunni waddle out of the kitchen.
“Yes!” Nova shouted.
“What’s the first thing we need to do before we cook?” I quizzed.
“Wash our hands!”
“Right. Get your stool. Let’s scrub our fingers.”
Nova and I washed our hands. After we finished, I told her to get the forks while I got the plates. Most of dinner was already done, so I turned off the stove and grabbed the oven mitten. I removed the bacon wrapped asparagus from the center rack and set it on a towel to cool. I added butter and salt to the rice and plated it. I used the spatula to scoop out the salmon, dividing the pieces appropriately.
“Can you take Mama a bottle of water, baby girl?” I asked Nova.
She nodded. “Water power!” Nova ran full speed to the refrigerator, opened it, grabbed a cold bottle of water, and sprinted out of the kitchen to the living room where Sunni waited. I added a fruit cup to Nova’s dinner, since she wasn’t a fan of asparagus, and walked with all three plates into the living room.
“Thank you, my love,” Sunni sang as she grabbed the plate out of my hands. I placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
“You’re welcome. Here you go, baby girl.” I set Nova’s plate on the table, and she sat on her knees.
“Thank you, Daddy.”
