Page 60 of The Broken Hearts Club

“Hell no. I’m in a tow truck, and Dwight Carver is behind the wheel. Remember him from high school? He was a sophomore when we were seniors. I took my minivan in for an oil change and went into labor while I was at his garage.”

I definitely remembered Dwight. He was a sweet, quiet Black guy who’d chosen the marching band over the football team in high school. Since he was six-five and built like Thor, people in our football-obsessed town had been less than thrilled about this choice, but I totally respected it.

“Okay, good. Dwight’s a nice guy, and I’m glad he’s with you.”

“He’s awesome.”

“Let’s switch to a video call. I want to see you.”

Jeannie appeared on my screen a few moments later. Her short hair looked wild, and she was flushed and sweaty. She pointed the camera at Dwight, who nodded to me and said, “Hey, Collin. I heard you had surgery on your heart. You doing okay?”

“Hey, Dwight. I’m fine. Thanks for helping my bestie.”

A second later, Jeannie let loose with a high-pitched scream and clutched Dwight’s arm. The poor guy was going to end up with bruises. It was about a minute before she collapsed against the seat, panting and sweating. I asked, “How far apart are your contractions?”

“I don’t know, but they’re close.”

We didn’t have a hospital in our small town, so if you needed one it meant driving to the county seat, which was thirty miles away on a two-lane country road. I exclaimed, “Step on it, Dwight!”

“Oh believe me, I’m flooring it,” he muttered.

“Why are you in a tow truck?”

“It was this or my motorcycle,” he said. “Jeannie’s van was up on the rack with all the oil drained out of it.”

I asked Jeannie, “Where are your kids right now?”

“It’s a school day. My mother-in-law is going to pick up Scotty and Allie after school and take them back to her house. She was already watching the baby, so I could run some errands.” At that, she started crying and exclaimed, “After today, she won’t be the baby anymore! My sweet little Maddy girl is growing up!” Those pregnancy hormones were really putting her through it.

“Who’s meeting you at the hospital?”

“Nobody.”

“I’m so sorry, Jeannie. I should be there with you! Why did I leave while you were pregnant?”

“We talked about this,” she said. “You couldn’t keep putting your life on hold for other people. And this is my fourth pregnancy! It was all supposed to be perfectly routine. Brad was supposed to be here, and the baby wasn’t supposed to be early. Now stop feeling guilty, damn it!”

“Okay.” I still felt guilty as hell, though.

She took a few deep breaths, but then she started crying again and wailed, “I think Brad is having an affair!”

“Holy shit! Why did you wait until now to tell me?”

“I’d been trying to ignore the signs, because I didn’t want it to be true. But he’s been up to all sorts of questionable shit lately, like this supposed training class in Seattle. Plus, he’s been going out on these alleged late-night service calls. Can’t a busted A/C wait until morning?”

I growled, “I swear, if he’s cheating on you I’m going to drive back to Idaho and run him over with my van. Then I’m going to throw it in reverse and run him over again.”

Jeannie wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and muttered, “He’s not worth the jail time.”

“Honey, what are you going to do?”

She straightened her posture and raised her chin. “First, I’m going to have this baby. Then I’m going to make Brad tell me the truth about what the hell he’s been up to. If he’s been cheating, I’m kicking him out on his ass.”

“You’re the strongest person I know, Jean-Jeannie,” I told her. “Whatever happens, you’re going to be okay.”

“I know I am.”

A few moments later she screamed again, and the camera flailed wildly as she doubled over. I briefly caught a glimpse of Dwight, who looked more than a little concerned.