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“Asshole,” I mumbled as I dropped my phone to the table.
“Everything okay?” Winnie asked with a small smile on her face.
“Yeah, baby, it’s all good. How are you feeling?”
“Much better now, it’s the weirdest feeling in the world to go from puking your guts out one minute to being absolutely starving the next.”
“I bet. Why don’t you go get ready and I’ll clean up out here?” I kissed her on the temple as I took her plate and carried it to the sink. I couldn’t believe I was about to take my pregnant woman to the doctor to check up on our baby. Gray was right, I had no idea what I was in for but I couldn’t wait to find out.
33
Winnie
“It was a tiny condom, Jo. Like for a doll if dolls had penises. Oh god, I hope that doesn’t exist. Anyway, the doctor pulled it out of the drawer and Kane says, ‘I think it’s a little late for that, Doc, and that sure as fuck isn’t going to fit me.’”
Jo cackled as I lowered my voice to imitate the man. “What was it for? And did you bring me one because I would love to whip that out on my next terrible date.”
“I’m pretty sure they frown on stealing medical supplies but I can ask when I go back. So, she rolls this tiny condom down this wand and sticks it in my hoo ha to ultrasound the baby. No one prepared me for this. On TV they always just rub it on the mom’s belly. I thought Kane was going to pass out when I laid down and put my feet in the stirrups. I have serious doubts as to whether he will make it through the birth.”
“That’s great, I wish I could have seen the look on his face. Men have no idea what we go through just because we were born with a vagina. If they had to be the ones to carry and pop out babies the human race would have died out long ago.”
“Amen to that.” I turned on all the switches for the coffee makers and then went to make sure the cash register was set up before the breakfast crowd came in.
Kane had dropped me off that morning to open the diner before going to work out at the Falls Security gym. He spent the whole weekend at my house making up for the time we had been apart. The poor man fretted over me anytime I felt sick or tired and I was worried this pregnancy might take years off his life.
The appointment on Friday had been perfect, aside from the giant stick up my lady business. The baby looked healthy and had a strong heartbeat. It was the most bizarre moment of my life watching this little bean on a black and white monitor, knowing that it would grow into a tiny human.
“I can’t wait to throw you a baby shower, unless there’s a different kind of shower I should be planning first?”
I sighed knowing she was asking if Kane and I would be getting married. Obviously, I wanted to marry him, I think I have loved him since the day he moved into the house next door. When he looked at me and spoke about our future it made me believe he wanted this forever. Hell, he was already asking me to look at houses with land where ‘our kids’ could play and grow up.
“If that’s your subtle way of asking if I’m engaged, then the answer is no. Up until four days ago I thought we were broken up and I was going to be a single mother, give me a little more time before you hire the strippers for my bachelorette party.”
The door chimes rang out and I glanced up expecting to see Harold sneaking in early to get his caffeine fix. I never could have imagined it would be my worst nightmare.
* * *
Kane
My phone rang with an unknown number just as I was finishing my last set of squats.
“Rodriguez,” I answered out of breath, annoyed that I was getting a spam call this early in the morning.
“Winnie’s in trouble, you need to get to the diner now!” Jo shouted down the line, making my heart stop.
“What do you mean she’s in trouble? I just saw her.” Gray and Sam were in the gym with me and immediately came over, sensing my distress. I put the phone on speaker so they could hear what she said.
“We were on the phone and she was telling me about the baby appointment, when I heard a man’s voice telling her to hang up. She sounded scared, Kane.” I could tell that Jo was about two seconds away from losing it. Gray’s face had drained of color and I was sure mirrored the fear on my own.
Roe came running into the gym and stopped where we were gathered. “Someone hit the panic button at the diner.”
I shut my mind down and let my training kick in. If I thought about Winnie and the baby, there was no way I could do what needed to be done. I ran to my office, grabbing my gun and my gear before sprinting for my truck. Roe, Sam and Gray all jumped in with me, checking their own weapons as I drove.Please, God, don’t let me be too late.
34
Winnie
Islowly let my hand drop back to my side, hoping he didn’t notice. There was no way of knowing if the panic button had sent a signal or not, but I had to trust that someone would come help me.
