Justice

"Well, I don't have a fancy car for you to drive to demonstrate my love for you, so I guess you'll have to settle for my undying concern for you and copious amounts of carnal pleasure. That's it! I can drive your Bentley and you get to drive me wild like you did last night."

Laughing, Hayden said, "That sounds like a win-win. We better get up and start getting ready if we intend to meet your parents on time."

Minerva didn't move her body from on top of Hayden as she reached over to the nightstand and retrieved her cell phone.

"What are you doing?" Hayden asked.

"I'm texting my mom to let her know to meet us an hour later than we had planned."

"Why? Traffic shouldn't be a problem for any of us on a Saturday morning."

Finishing her text and returning the cell phone to the table, Minerva smiled down and said, "You haven't taken any of my hints, so I'll just have to make my intentions perfectly clear, my love. I intend to verify a suspicion that I have had since waking next to you..."

"What suspicion is that?"

"I suspect that I am really going to enjoy making love to you first thing in the morning!"

~~~

"I'm not saying that they are going to love you like I do, but they certainly won't hate you anymore."

"Really?" Hayden scoffed. "So, they know that I shared a bed with their daughter last night?"

Minerva giggled, "No, but I'm sure that when my mom sees my radiant glow, she will suspect something like that."

She patted his left hand with her right as she drove the Bentley.

"Don't worry. Your willing acknowledgment that you are the father of their only grandchild and promising a future with him and I will keep the shotguns at bay. I did promise my mom that we would share the documents from Dr. Vinson with her and my dad. Explaining what we were told in our meeting yesterday was helpful, but they think that they need to read the documents to put everything into perspective and context, and I think that they're right."

"I'll ask Sierra to get copies made and sent to them on Monday," Hayden assured her. "Unless you want to do it at your office?"

"No, with Lana working with TJ in Greenville, I will be flying solo in Myrtle Beach while I search for a new paralegal and probably an assistant. We could get it done faster if you assigned it to someone at Coastline. Plus, I need to spend a couple of days getting Alex established in some sort of summer camp or daycare facility..."

Hayden interrupted, "I've got that covered if you're okay with my plan. I was thinking that I could take him to work with me each day and he could hang out in the employee family daycare facility until I get off work. It's not just for children since some employees have elderly parents with dementia or other needs that require them to have assistance available while the employee works. Alex would be able to either play with other kids or spend time keeping some of the elderly participants company. If he likes to play checkers, he will be an instant hit."

Minerva frowned, "I know that it's your company and all, but I don't want to take advantage of your position to get Alex free daycare."

"Uh," Hayden said, removing his hand from beneath Minerva's. "Did you miss the part where I said that the daycare facility was for employees' families? As my son, I'm pretty sure that Alexander would qualify."

Her now free hand slapped her forehead. "I blame my cognitive impairment on you. New rule; you can only ravage me on days when I don't require the ability to think afterward."

Hayden laughed and asked, "And what days might those be?"

Shrugging, Minerva said, "You're right. See, my brain is now mush. I guess I'll just have to live the rest of my life as a blathering idiot. A very well-sated blathering idiot though. I could live with that."

"Well, as a lawyer, you should be used to that lifestyle." Hayden teased.

"Not the 'well-sated' part," Minerva countered with a giggle. "That is a totally new aspect of this lawyer's life, thanks to you."

"Going back to Alex's situation," Hayden said, "The school bus picks up and drops off right in front of the facility so it will work for him even once the school year starts. On days when he doesn't have a sport or other after-school activity, I will set up a quiet space for him in my office where I can help him with his homework and stuff."

"You've given this some thought," Minerva said admiringly. "I'm impressed."

"I take care of those I love. You can count on that."

Minerva let his comments linger on her mind for a few minutes as she saw the next rest stop approaching. It wasn't the most romantic setting in the world, but it would provide her with a place to ask Hayden the question that she needed to be answered before they reached Columbia.

Hayden didn't question Minerva exiting the freeway into the rest area, assuming that she needed to use the facilities there. He wouldn't mind having an opportunity to stretch his legs for a few minutes before continuing their trip.

Pulling into a parking space away from the vehicles near the restrooms, Minerva quickly turned off the car, unlatched her seatbelt, and turned to face Hayden in the passenger seat.

She didn't waste any time as she locked her eyes onto his, "Hayden Justice, you are the love that I have waited my whole life to find. You complete me and I love you with every ounce of my being. Will you marry me?"

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Hey, Coach, where's the Judge? She isn't going to miss the final game of the season, is she?"

Hayden glanced up into the stands to see who had spoken to him and recognized their good friend, Patricia Yost sitting next to her husband, Jim.

Walking over to the chain link fence that protected spectators from foul balls, Hayden stood in front of the stands and replied, "She's with our daughter over at Savannah's Playground. Athena gets bored watching the teams warm up but Minerva will have them both here before the game starts."

Glancing over at the parking lot next to the Crabtree Gym, Hayden didn't yet see Minerva and his mother heading back from the playground with their four-year-old daughter, but he did see Minerva's parents pulling their car into the lot. Minerva must have told her parents where she and Athena were because as soon as their car had parked, Pandora Hart began walking toward the playground while Ulysses Hart headed in the opposite direction toward where Hayden stood at the ball fields.

Hayden and Minerva always parked in the Crabtree Gym lot because it was ideally situated between the athletic fields where Alex played one of his many sports and the playground where their rambunctious daughter could burn off some of her energy. It was also just a short walk from the parking lot, across the pedestrian bridge over Grand Lake to the Market Common District where they could eat at one of the several restaurants or shop at the seasonal farmers market.

Hayden watched the members of his team playing catch in the outfield while their opposing team for today warmed up on the infield.

This final game of the season would be Alex's last in Little League. He still had several "All-Star" games that he had been selected to play in before the playoffs began. With the team having had an undefeated season, they were expected to go far into the regional playoffs so Hayden hadn't lamented over his coaching career with his son ending. Alex would be starting at Hayden's alma mater, Myrtle Beach High School in the fall, and he would remain his son's biggest fan and supporter.

"Hi, Son," Ulysses Hart said as he walked up to Hayden. "How many innings do you think this game will go?"

Hayden shook his father-in-law's hand and said, "Well, it has to go at least three and a half for it to be an official game, and since the skies are clear with no chance of rain, I would guess that it will go long enough to be official."

Ulysses smirked and said, "Save your politically correct replies for the parents."

Hayden simply shrugged. He knew that his father-in-law wanted a prediction that their team would outscore their opponent by enough runs in the first three and a half innings that the coach of the other team would be forced by league rules to concede the game. The "run rule" had ended eight of his team's games this season with Alex consistently contributing the most RBIs in these blow-outs.

Seeing that the stands were filling as the start of the game approached, Ulysses headed toward them to grab and save seats for the rest of the family that would be watching the game while Hayden headed for the outfield to call his team into their dugout. At six feet, Alex stood a good head taller than any other player on the team. He looked like an adult being followed by children when the rest of the team fell in behind him as he led them to the dugout.

Alex's team would be the visiting team for today's game, so Hayden explained the planned batting order to the players before taking his lineup card out to the umpire at home plate. He saw that Minerva, Athena, his mother, and mother-in-law had all joined Ulysses in the stands. He heard his daughter squeal when she saw him and paused to wave to her. Athena looked as much like a junior version of her mother as Alex did his father.

There was never any question about what the name of their first child together would be if it was a girl. Hayden knew that he and Minerva had been fortunate that her refusal to use any birth control before they were married didn't result in Athena's conception before their wedding night. That event had waited until they had been married almost four months. The timing of Athena's conception ended up making her the perfect first anniversary present for her parents.

As had been the trend all season, Alex and his teammates batted around their first at-bat with Alex hitting a grand slam in his role as the clean-up hitter. The opposing team was down by a score of 6-0 before they even had a chance to pick up a bat. The score was 10-0 by the bottom of the second inning and it was becoming obvious to everyone watching the game that it was unlikely to go beyond four innings.

By the time the opposing coach conceded the game with the score 19-0, Alex had hit three home runs, two of which were grand slams, and personally accounted for more than half of the RBIs during the game.

The team had voted not to have an end-of-season celebration at the culmination of the regular season, deciding instead to wait until the playoffs were complete and their entire season was over. This decision now allowed Alex and Hayden to join the rest of their family in the Crabtree Gym parking lot to decide where everyone was going to go after the game.

"Go ahead and change out of your cleats, Son," Hayden suggested to Alex once they had reached his truck. "I'm going to discuss lunch plans with your mom while you do that."

Athena was tugging on Minerva's hand, trying to get free. Once Minerva was certain that there was no chance that a car could get to her daughter before Hayden could, she released her to run to him. She was sitting high and proud on her father's shoulders within seconds.

"I want to ride home with you and Alex," Athena announced to Hayden.

"I think that we can arrange that," he told her.

He reached Minerva at her car, the Bentley, just as Alex joined them with his tennis shoes still untied. He bent to tie them as his parents and grandparents chatted.

"Athena insists that she is riding home with Alex and me," Hayden told the group. "Mom, do you want to ride back to the house with Minerva?"

"Anything not to have to put up with your driving," Corrine Justice teased. "You drive like an old woman."

Minerva and her parents laughed. They knew that Hayden was a wonderful driver. He was just always especially attentive and cautious when he had any of his children in a vehicle with him. Then, there was also the fact that it probably wouldn't look good for the husband of the Magistrate Court's traffic court judge to get any citations while driving.

"We're going to walk through the farmers market before coming over," Pandora announced. "There is a vendor that is supposed to be there today who sells custom-designed kites and we want to see what they have. Don't hold lunch for us though."

Minerva stepped in front of Hayden and looked up at her daughter, "I'm going to kiss Daddy. You know what to do."

Athena giggled and placed her hands over both of Hayden's ears. She kept giggling as he leaned down to accept a passionate kiss from his wife. When Minerva stepped back, Athena quickly removed her hands and began clapping. Hayden wiggled his ears and emitted a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, baby. We never know when one of your mom's kisses is going to be so strong that it makes my ears fly right off my head, but that one felt close. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you to help hold them on for me."

Alex had finished moving Athena's car seat from the Bentley to the back seat of the truck and was laughing at his father's and mother's antics with his little sister. He walked up behind Hayden and plucked Athena off of his shoulders.

"Come on, Wonder Girl, let's get you buckled up."

"I'll see you at home," Minerva said as she planted a much more chaste kiss on Hayden's lips. "Don't dawdle. You're supervising Alex on the grill. Remember?"

"Yes, your Honor," Hayden teased. "I'll make certain that neither child arrives home before me."

Minerva laughed, "Okay, Smart ass. Just get you and your progeny home safely. I love you."

Minerva had recognized several benefits to being the wife of Hayden Justice. Their love life was certainly high on the top of that list, but close behind that was her taking his last name. Within weeks of their marriage and her updating of her name with the South Carolina Bar Association, interest was expressed by several state assembly members to nominate her for a judgeship. Minerva had turned down every position offered to her until a Magistrate Court position in Horry County became available that she felt would not conflict with either her family obligations or her private law practice.

Hayden waited for Minerva to pull out of her parking space before he pulled out to follow her. He knew that she would turn left on Farrow Parkway and head towards Highway 17 since the speed limit on that road would better suit the way that she liked to drive the Bentley. He, on the other hand, would turn right on Farrow Parkway and take it to where it became Ocean Boulevard. He would then take that road all the way home.

Corrine waited until Hayden was no longer behind them before asking Minerva, "When are you planning on making the announcement?"

Minerva glanced at her mother-in-law and instinctively knew which announcement she was referring to. She didn't know how Corrine had figured things out, but she wasn't surprised that she had.

"I'll tell Hayden tonight but I would like to hold off telling everyone else until I'm a little farther along. Can you keep it a secret until then?"

"Of course, and I completely understand," Corrine assured her. "I think you were wise to put a few years between Athena and another baby though. When do you think you'll be due?"

"I'll see the doctor next week to confirm everything, but I imagine that sometime around Valentine's Day would be about right."

"Wonderful, just don't go naming my next grandson 'Cupid', or 'Eros'."

~~~

"My God, that was intense," Minerva panted. "What were you trying to do, give us twins?"

Hayden laughed and pulled his wife down to lay flat against his body where he could whisper into her ears as he gently kissed around them.

"That's what you get for giving us a night alone after wearing your bikini around me all afternoon. You Vixens need to learn that you reap what you sew."

Moaning softly as Hayden continued to kiss around her neck and face while caressing her back with his hands, Minerva whispered back, "I happen to like that you sowing your wild oats reaped another child for us to raise and share. You are the most wonderful father imaginable."

"You made me the luckiest man alive simply by walking into my life."

"You didn't appear to feel lucky that first night that we met. And then the hell that I put you through with the trial. God, I can't believe you would want anything to do with me after that."

"I don't know," Hayden said. "Maybe it's like the stories you hear about a soldier being wounded. He spends so much time under the care of a particular nurse that he starts to depend on her for more than his physical care. I'm not certain exactly when it was, but it was clear to me before we ever started learning about Athena's problems that I needed you in my life. I loved you for how you healed my heart. I still love you for that and so much more. You are my everything. Well, you and the kids."

Minerva shifted enough to bring her lips to Hayden's. Her soft, tender, and loving kiss lasted for several minutes before it erupted into something more passionate and she could sense the growing arousal within both of them. As had been her ritual from the first time that they had made love, she responded to Hayden's verbal expressions of his love for her with all the physical affection that she could muster. When words failed her, desire had always come to her rescue.

She had told Hayden that she loved him with every ounce of her being. Minerva had never held an ounce of her being in reserve where demonstrating her love for this man was concerned. She wouldn't do so now.

~~~

"Excuse me, Madison," Sierra said when she opened the door to Hayden's office. "You wanted me to remind you about your meeting."

Being promoted to the Director of Finance for Coastline Multimedia hadn't dissuaded Madison Reese from continuing to personally provide the weekly financial reports to Hayden. Everyone knew that her true motivation for continuing to provide the reports herself was the weekly tea parties that she got to have with his daughter, Athena after the reports were complete.

"Would you be kind enough to finish my cookies for me, Wonder Girl?" Madison asked Athena. "I have to go to a meeting with some boring grown-ups."

Athena grabbed the two Oreo cookies off the napkin in front of Madison and stood. "My Daddy will finish them. I can't have them or they'll spoil my supper. Right, Daddy?"

Hayden sat behind his desk chuckling. He said, "Maybe Sierra should finish them. We don't want them to ruin my supper either."

Sierra and Madison passed each other coming and going within Hayden's office. "Is that okay with you, Wonder Girl? Can I join your tea party in place of Madison?"

In response, Athena held out her hand to Sierra, offering her the two cookies. As Sierra settled into the chair across the small table from his daughter, Hayden returned his attention to his computer. He glanced at the time displayed on the screen and saw that it was almost 4:00 pm.

Minerva's OB/GYN appointment that day had been at 2:30 and she had told Hayden that she would be heading home directly after that and she would call him while on the way. He remembered from her pregnancy with Athena that these appointments could sometimes get delayed due to the doctor needing to go tend to a delivery or other emergency so Minerva being late today in calling him wasn't that much of a concern for him.

When 4:30 rolled around, Hayden decided to call Minerva to get an update. If she was going to be delayed much longer, he would need to relieve her from preparing dinner for the family this evening. He dialed her cell phone from his and was surprised when she answered so quickly.

"Don't speak to me!" Minerva growled.

Hayden smiled. He knew his wife well enough to recognize that she wasn't truly mad at him, so he played along, "What did I do now?"

"We discussed this," Minerva exclaimed. "I was going to get my tubes tied after this baby and we would be a happy family with three kids."