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I leaned close, but she pushed me away. Balling my fists, I tried to keep my temper in line. I knew Scarlett was tired and stressed, and she was certainly due for a breakdown, but I was feeling the same exact way she was. I just took it out on the punching bag in the workout room of the complex each time I went back to the condo.
Before I said something I would regret, I walked toward the NICU.
I hadn’t made it to the door when my phone rang. Pulling it out of my pocket, I saw my father’s name.
“Hey, what’s going on? Everything okay at the ranch?”
“Everything is fine. How is Aurora?”
“Precious as ever. It’s Scarlett I’m worried about. She just lashed out at me, and I have no fucking clue why. I mean, I know why, but I don’t know why. Christ, I’m not making any sense.”
“I’m sorry, son. I know it’s hard on both of you.”
“It’s okay, what’s up?”
“Listen, I have double news for you.”
“Okay, tell me it’s good news because I sure could use some.”
“It is. First one, Cord and Maebh eloped and got hitched in Ireland on their own.”
“What?”
He laughed. “Yep. It killed Maebh that y’all weren’t going to be able to make it to the wedding, so they decided to go over, get married, then have another wedding ceremony here for family.”
Raking my fingers through my hair, I said, “Wow. I can’t believe they would do that. Are they sure? I mean, Maebh has been talking about this wedding for months.”
“And she’s getting married over there. Vi went with them.”
That made me laugh. “Oh, holy hell. Aunt Vi’s got a thing for Maebh’s dad.”
My father chuckled. “Ready for the best news, though?”
“Hit me.”
“Amelia went into labor last night.”
“No shit!” I said, excitement washing over me for my baby sister.
“Has she delivered yet?”
“We’re at the hospital now waiting to hear.”
“Damn, Dad, that’s amazing news. Is everything okay? No complications?”
“Dr. Buten said she was measuring about a week-and-a-half farther along than they first calculated, so she’s really only a little over a week early.”
Relief hit me. “That’s great. Tell Wade and Amelia we wish we were there to welcome John Michael into the world.”
“I will, son. I’m sorry no one called you earlier. I wasn’t sure if y’all stayed at the hospital late last night or not. I didn’t want to call too early.”
I rubbed the tightness out of my neck and turned to head back to the hallway chair but found Scarlett standing there.
“Nah, Dad. No worries at all. You can call me anytime. Give Amelia my love.”
“I will, son. Do the same for Scarlett and kiss Aurora Belle for me.”
“Will do. Bye.”
Hitting End, I looked at Scarlett. She looked white as a ghost.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her.
“Amelia had the baby?”
I looked down at my phone and then back to her. “No, not yet. She went into labor late last night, I guess. Dad said everything is going good.”
She gave a curt nod.
“Why don’t you go be with her.”
As she walked by, I reached for her arm. “Why are you pushing me away, Scarlett? What did I do?”
Her chin trembled, and she looked away from me. “You didn’t do anything, Trevor.”
“Then can you explain why you are acting like you can’t stand the thought of being near me? I don’t want to be anywhere but here with you and Aurora.”
Jerking her head up, she looked stunned. Like she couldn’t believe what I had just said.
“What?”
“Well, hell, I don’t know. You keep telling me to leave. Seems to me you don’t want me around.”
Her mouth opened then quickly shut before she pulled her arm from my grip and headed toward the NICU. With a frustrated sigh, I followed her. The rest of the day was spent with Scarlett acting like I wasn’t there. I was pretty sure even the nurses noticed. One of the moms even told me to not let it bother me, that it was normal. How in the fuck was that normal?
I wanted to call my dad, but by the time I left the hospital, without Scarlett, I was too exhausted to even talk. Wade had called me earlier this afternoon to tell me Amelia had delivered an eight-pound-one-ounce, healthy baby boy. I was so happy for them, but Scarlett seemed to shut into herself even more when I told her.
Taking a shower, I grabbed a blanket from the hall closet and my pillow and headed to the sofa. I had no idea if Scarlett was coming home tonight but the last place I wanted to be was alone in bed. A feeling of absolute dread moved over me as I tried to understand why the woman I loved, the mother of my child, was pulling away from me.
When I could no longer keep my eyes open, I fell asleep.
