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“I just… everything’s going to be okay,” I say, needing to somehow promise him, even though I truly have no idea. But I’m not going to panic about any of it… at least not yet. Not unless there’s a reason to panic.
Which I refuse to believe.
I refuse.
Long minutes that feel like hours pass by, then the door opens, and I watch as a machine is wheeled in. The nurse and doctor move toward me while Lance stands and makes his way to my other side as I lie down on the bed and pillow.
My shirt is lifted, a cool gel is squirted onto my belly, then something metal touches me there, but I can’t focus on that. All I can do is stare at the grainy black-and-white screen until the sound of a heartbeat fills the air and the image of a small human fills the screen.
Oh. My. God.
The last time I saw the baby, it was a blob I couldn’t really make out. This is a real baby with arms, legs, and a head.
It’s real.
It’s really real.
I have no idea what Lance’s reaction is because I can’t look away. My baby’s image stares back at me. It consumes me.
This is mine. My life. My baby. My world.
AGONY
Baby.
It’s not just a protruding part of Reese’s stomach anymore. It’s a real, living thing. The profile of the baby, the sound of the heart beating. It’s almost too much to watch, and yet, I can’t take my eyes off it.
Sucking in a breath, I turn to Reese. She’s got her attention focused on the screen, too, which makes me smile.
“Everything looks good from what I can tell, but you want to be sure to follow up with an OB,” the doctor says, reminding us again that we fucked up by not already having one of those doctors.
It’s not like we’ve been sitting on our asses doing nothing for weeks.Fucker. The doctor tells the nurse we can go, but there’s some paperwork to do. I’m glad I brought Reese here, even if the whole goddamn staff is looking at me sideways.
Keeping my mouth shut, I press my lips together in a thin line as I stare at my boots. Reese doesn’t speak either. We’re lost in our heads. I don’t know what she’s thinking about, but I’m ready to get the fuck out of here and celebrate.
She’s healthy, the baby’s healthy, and I never have to worry about those assholes coming after her again. She can go back to work, be in her salon, and just live her goddamn life.Freedom. It’s something I know she’s craved, and she has it. Yet she doesn’t.
She’s mine—forever.
Once we’re released, I wrap my hand around hers, and together we walk out of the hospital. I stop us in the parking lot and turn to her. Opening my mouth, I start to ask her if she’s ready to go home when she faces me completely.
I can tell she has something to say, so I close my lips and wait for her.
“I want to go home. Not back to the clubhouse, but home.”
My lips twitch into a small smile. “Do you like that house we were staying in?” I ask.
She blinks a couple of times, her eyes wide as she looks up at me. I wait for her words, and she slides her tongue across her bottom lip before she answers. She’s thinking about my question. She had her own place, so I’m sure she’s comparing them in her head.
“Is it our home?” she asks.
“Got all your shit in a storage I’ve been paying on since you left. You want a new house, we can do that, too.”
Reese cups my cheek as her eyes search mine. “Why are you so good to me?”
Her voice is barely above a whisper, her eyes stay on mine, and I shake my head once. “Buttercup, I ain’t good to nobody or nothin’. Just love you, that’s all, and I want you to be happy.”
“Being with you makes me happy,” she breathes.
