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Hayden is untying my hands, as Brody falls to his knees in front of me and unties my ankles. When he’s done, he grabs my face and wipes my tears. He has tears in his own eyes. “Are you okay?” I nod. “Are you hurt?” I shake my head. “Did he…” Brody can’t bring himself to finish that sentence, as more tears stream down his cheeks.
“No, you got here just in time.” I’m fully sobbing now. “You saved me. You all saved me. Thank you.” My hands are free now. I wrap them around Brody and squeeze hard. We’re both crying.
I see Trevor with his knee in Greg’s back, pinning him down. Hayden walks over to help him. The police sound like they’re right out front now. Brody takes off his shirt. He places it over my head, pulling it down to cover my body.
He picks me up and cradles me into his arms. He walks out the front door as the police come in. He motions inside with his head. “I’ve got her. She’s okay. He’s on the floor inside. He’s been subdued.”
Brody walks toward the sidewalk, still holding me in his arms. I wrap my arms around his neck, still sobbing at what could have happened.
I see Mom and Jackson pull up. I think Mom gets out of the car while it’s still moving. She screams my name and runs to me. Brody sets me on my feet. Mom grabs me and hugs me hard. “Thank God you’re okay. Thank you, Brody. Thank you for saving her.”
Just then I hear Trevor. “What about me? I’m the real hero here.” I stop crying long enough to laugh. Leave it to Trevor to make me laugh under these circumstances.
I look at my brothers, Trevor and Hayden. “All three of them saved me, Mom.” She too has tears streaming down her cheeks.
A moment later, Skylar and Reagan arrive. They run up and hug me, along with Mom, who can’t seem to let go of me.
An EMT worker approaches me. “Ma’am, we need to check you out.”
I wave him off. “I’m fine.” I motion towards Brody. “Please check his lip. He was hit and may require a stitch or two.” He waves them off too.
Mom unwraps her arms, looks up at Brody, and notices his swollen lip. “Brody, you’re injured. Let them look at you.”
He shakes his head. “Not until they examine Harley. They need to make sure she’s okay. She may be in shock.”
She goes up to him and hugs him. “Thank you for what you did. Thank you for saving my baby. I willneverforget this.” He looks at me and hugs her back. This is the first time Mom has shown him any warmth or affection.
“Of course. I couldn’t have done it without Trevor and Hayden. They were very brave.” She moves to hug them too.
Jackson leaves Trevor and Hayden to come embrace me. “You gave us quite a scare.”
I squeeze him back. “I was pretty scared myself.”
The EMT hasn’t left. “Ma’am, we really have to examine you. We can’t let you leave unless we do.”
I roll my eyes. “Fine. Let’s get it over with.” He leads me to the back of the ambulance, and I climb in. Of course, my mother and sisters climb in with me, leaving no room for Brody.
He smiles at me. “I’ll be right out here waiting.” The EMT closes the door.
He asks me the routine questions. I let him know that no real physical harm came to me, much to the relief of my mother and sisters.
He indicates that he’d like to get me on a series of antibiotics just in case anything happened to me when I was passed out. “Any condition I should know about before I administer the drugs?”
I look around at Mom and my sisters, and take a deep breath. “I’m pregnant.”
CHAPTERNINETEEN
THE PRESENT
HARLEY
My mom and sisters are in shock. Mom has tears in her eyes and takes my hand. “Does Brody know?”
I shake my head. “No. I just found out this morning. I took a home test. I wanted to give myself an ultrasound at the hospital today, to be sure, before I told him.”
She rubs my arm. “How did this happen?”
Skylar smiles at her. “Mom, do you need a lesson on the birds on the bees? I’m happy to take you in another room and explain it to you.”
