Page 44 of Shattered Hearts

“Mum, are you all right?” I ask, moving to her side.

She nods. “I just need some tablets.”

Reid reaches into the cupboard to grab them for her so that she doesn’t need to use the small step. I grab her a glass of water.

“Another headache?” Reid asks warily.

I eye him as Mum downs her medication and smiles faintly. “Yeah, but it’s fine. I just need to lie down for a bit.”

“Where’s Aspen?” I ask, expecting my little niece to be trailing after her. She’s not at childcare today.

“She’s with your dad. He took her into town to grab some more stock. I think he knew I needed a break.” She lets out a small sigh, rubbing her forehead.

“Go rest. We’ll be out of your hair for a bit still,” Reid tells her, topping up her water before nudging her out of the kitchen.

“Thanks. I just need a nap,” Mum mumbles, returning to their bedroom upstairs.

The door closes, and I look at Reid, his eyes set like mine. “She’s been getting more headaches recently.”

“I know. So have I,” he murmurs, tone concerned.

“Do you think it could be something?”

Reid shrugs, grabbing the drink bottles. I get the sense that he doesn’t want to talk about it.

“Let’s go. She needs silence, and the others will be expecting us.”

“All right.” I nod, following him, my mind aching as well. Another thing to add to my list of quiet worries.

I finish brushing my teeth, rinsing out my mouth and brushing my fingers through my damp hair when I hear Mum calling me from downstairs. Slinking down in my flannel bottoms and crisp white tee, I round the bottom of the stairs to find Laynie standing in the living room.

Without saying anything, I have her in my arms, her face pressed against my warm chest as my parents give us the room. I can tell she’s been crying, which seems to be the norm these days. She’s shivering, too. I slip off her jacket and toss it on the edge of the couch before grabbing a blanket and draping it over her shoulders.

“Are you okay?” I ask, unsure of what else to say. She hasn’t said anything for two days.

My heart pounds through my temple as she shakes her head, eyes glistening with moisture as she licks her lips dry. Gosh, it looks so good. “He called me.”

That makes my pulse pause for a beat.

There’s only one person she could be referring to. I mentally prepare myself for her to tell me to back off. That she’s giving that moron a chance.

“He doesn’t want anything to do with us.”

Her voice shakes as I peer down at her. Throat working, I watch as tears form in the corners of her eyes. I pull her against me once again. Is it bad that I’m slightly relieved by that?

Trembling, Laynie holds herself together as my mind reels with all the excuses he could have come up with. Is she not good enough? Has he found someone else? Is his job too important?

That last one makes my blood boil because no job should be more important than a baby.

“I’ll kill him,” I hear myself breathe out. I know I’ve always been protective of her, but not even I thought I would say those words and mean it.

Her head flies up, almost hitting me square in the jaw as she blinks at me, trembling. “What?”

My jaw ticks as my fingers fist in the blanket. “I’ll kill him if you want me to.”

Her eyebrows twitch. “Gray—”

I cut her off, realising how bad this sounds. “Nobody hurts you and gets away with it, and he shouldn’t be suggesting that because he can’t get his own life together.”