Smoke Signals

by Catherine Gayle

  “She’s not much for parties.” I supposed I could invite Hunter, Tallie, and Dima. Maybe a few of the other guys, if it came down to that. But it would make her uncomfortable.

  “Well, she’s going to have to suffer through it. You don’t have to make it a huge blowout. Just something to show that you’re celebrating things together. But however you look at it, you two need to be selfie central for a while. Everywhere you go, everything you do, take pictures of the two of you together. And be sure you’re both smiling,” he added, almost as an afterthought. “Maybe even try to get some where you’re kissing her.”

  I filed it all away as a mental note as I tried to figure out where to take her for a honeymoon and calculated just how many people—and who—to invite for a birthday party. “Got it. What else do we need to be doing?”

  I hoped this time he’d go ahead and tell me enough that I wouldn’t have to talk to him again any time soon. I liked my agent, and I was thrilled that he was helping me out with Tori’s immigration status because I sure as hell didn’t have the first clue how to go about it on my own, but I didn’t like him enough that I wanted to hear his voice every single day. There were better things to do with my time. Instead, it seemed as though we were having conversations almost exactly like this one at least several days a week, if not every day. Yes, I’d opened this can of worms myself, but I wanted to have it all settled.

  I got behind the wheel, fastened my seat belt, and started heading for home.

  “Just keep getting to know each other as well as possible,” Greg said. “Your first interview with USCIS isn’t likely to happen for another month or more, but you need to be sure you’re both on the same page about everything. It’s probably best to be as honest as possible when they do interview you. Don’t try to convince them that you met months before you tied the knot and were having a secret affair. That’s impossible to prove, easy to disprove, and it’ll make everything look even more suspicious than it already is. Just tell them that you met in Vegas, got a crazy hair, got hitched right away, and haven’t looked back. Don’t even lie about the fact that she was doing porn. They’ll be able to find that much if they do any digging at all. However much you decide to tell them, though, make sure you’re both in complete agreement about all the details.”

  “We’ll have everything straight,” I grumbled.

  “And it’s not just about how you met. They might ask what size your bed is, what color your sheets are, what type of curtains are hanging in the bedroom…”

  “Those details won’t be a problem.” At least I didn’t think they would be. Was Tori the sort of person who would notice those things? I wasn’t positive. One more thing to go on the mental to-do list.

  Greg and I spent a few more minutes talking about the upcoming season and my preparation—things I was far more on board with talking about. But while we shot the shit, an idea hit me.

  As soon as I disconnected the call with my agent, I called Babs.

  “Hey, asshole,” he said when he answered, laughing.

  “Hey yourself, fuckwad.”

  “I haven’t heard a word from you since you took off with your bride after my wedding.”

  “Figured you’d be too busy honeymooning,” I hedged. The truth was, I’d been so busy trying to get to know Tori and make sure we could get her green card that I hadn’t thought much about him since then. Further proof that I was a crappy friend.

  “You ever going to tell me what that was all about?”

  “Just needed to beat you at something,” I said, trying to make a joke of it. That was what he’d expect of me, anyway. I was never very serious around Babs or any of the guys. They wouldn’t know what to do with me if I were. “I got married first by a half day.”

  “For some reason, I’m not buying what you’re selling.”

  I never thought he would. “I’ll explain it as well as I can next time I see you. Actually, speaking of that…I’ve got a favor to ask,” I said. I felt like shit for even asking. The guy was constantly doing things for me, and I never seemed to pay him back for it.

  “What’s that?”

  “Any chance I can bring Tori up to Portland for a visit with you and Katie sometime before the season starts? I could fill you in. You could get to know her…”

  “You want to bring her to Portland,” he repeated, sounding confused.

  I was almost as confused as he was, but I didn’t know what else to do. “Yeah. If it’s all right.”

  “Of all the places you could take her, why the hell would you choose Portland? I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love it here. But…Portland? Not exactly at the top of the list of romantic hot spots to take your new bride for a getaway.”

  “I need to take her on a honeymoon.”

  “To Portland.” I could picture the dumbfounded look on his face based on the way he said it.

  “Yes, to Portland. I know it doesn’t make much sense, but I can’t take her out of the fucking country until her green card issues are sorted out, can I?”

  “So why not take her to New York? Or at least somewhere more exciting than Portland?”

  “Because my best bud’s not in New York.” And the Russian Mafia might be. Tori had mentioned they had bases in Montreal and Toronto, but it’d be stupid to think they didn’t have groups stationed in various places in the States, too. Any way I looked at it, telling him the visit had something to do with him was the best excuse I could come up with. Getting into everything to do with Tori’s family and the reasons she was here to begin with would probably best be done in person. “So can we come, or what?”

  “Yeah. Let me run it by Katie, but I don’t see why not.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Is she really a porn star?” he asked.

  “She was.” Full emphasis on it being fully in the past. The more people asked me about her former profession, the more it set my teeth on edge.

  “Fuck. Don’t let Webs know. He’ll shit himself if he thinks you really brought a porn star to his daughter’s wedding like Koz has been telling everyone.”

  “Got it. Keep Webs in the dark.” Not that I had any intention of flaunting her history to Katie’s father or anyone else. “And be sure Koz isn’t around, okay? And tell him to mind his own fucking business while you’re at it,” I added. I still wanted to bust his nose in, but doing it off the ice might lead to criminal charges. Better to wait and pick my spot.

  “Yeah, sure,” Babs said.

  We hung up as I turned into my driveway, with him promising to run everything past Katie and get back to me within a day or two. With training camp right around the corner, I needed to figure something else out if we weren’t going to Portland for whatever reason.

  When I walked through the garage door, it was to find Tori and Tallie in the kitchen, each wearing an apron. Not surprising. But Tallie was holding her stomach with a panicked look in her eyes, and Tori was rubbing her friend’s back.

  “Razor,” Tori said, sounding relieved. “Need help.”

  It stroked my ego to no end to discover Tori was relieved to see me, that she would turn to me for help. So far, we’d only been to a single counseling session, and it had been more of the get-to-know-you variety than anything, but I’d been worried she might try to shut me out emotionally after I’d given her my conditions for taking our relationship to the physical level she wanted. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Contractions,” Tallie ground out.

  That was the only word I needed to hear. “Tori, get her purse. And yours, too. We’ve got to get her to the hospital. Where’s Hunter?” I shook my head, as if that would clear it. I knew where Hunter was, since I’d just been with him before leaving the gym. He’d said he was going to meet up with his brother for some outpatient thing at the loony bin Kade had spent some time in last year. I hadn’t paid too much attention at the time because it wasn’t any of my business. Tori nodded and took off to get their purses, so I put a hand on Tallie’s back, where Tori’s had be
en, and guided her out to my car. At the same time, I pulled up Hunter’s number on my phone with my other hand.

  “What?” he said in lieu of a normal greeting.

  “Tallie’s at my house. She’s in labor. I’m taking her to the hospital.”

  “Shit.”

  “Remind him to get my overnight bag,” Tallie said, panting. “It’s in the hall closet.”

  “Get her bag and meet us there,” I barked into the phone, closing Tallie’s door once she had all her limbs inside.

  “Shit.”

  Hunter was a fucking mess. I couldn’t blame him. I would be, too, if it were Tori in labor—a thought that both freaked me out and made a strange warmth spread from my belly to my limbs. Tori raced out with both of their purses when I made it around to the driver’s side. She got in the back and I started the car.

  Tallie hissed in pain, biting her lip.

  “Hunter, did you fucking hear me?” I practically shouted.

  “She’s not due for a few more weeks.”

  “Well, apparently your little bundle of joy had other plans. Get your ass up to the hospital.”

  “Shit.”

  “Yeah. I heard you the first time.”

  “Shit.”

  I spun my head over to Tallie, since this time she was the one to have said it. She was looking down at her legs…where a wet spot was darkening her pants.

  “My water just broke.”

  “So I noticed,” I muttered. I put the car in reverse and started backing out of the garage. “Hunter, did you hear that? Your wife’s water just broke.”

  “But we’re…” The guy sounded completely lost.

  “She’s having contractions,” I said. “Whether it’s good timing or not, this kid is coming. Now. I’m taking her to the fucking hospital so she doesn’t give birth in my car, so you’d better fucking meet us there.” Then I hung up so I could focus on driving.

  He pulled in at Labor and Delivery about two seconds after I stopped in the circle drive. I’d barely put the car in park before he was ripping my passenger door open and trying to lift Tallie out without even bothering to release her seat belt.

  I pressed the button to release her and attempted to avoid glaring at Hunter while I helped untangle the belt from around the pair of them.

  “Hunter, you’re actin’ nuttier than a five-pound fruitcake,” Tallie said. “I’m having a baby, not dying.”

  She had a point, as far as I was concerned. But he lifted her out of the car and carried her to a waiting wheelchair without response.

  Kade was with him, which was probably for the best, even if he maybe should have been at whatever thing was going on at the mental hospital. Someone needed to keep Hunter calm, and Tallie was likely to be too busy for that responsibility. Kade was a better option than me, in my opinion. He took Hunter’s keys and moved their car to an actual parking spot. I should probably do the same, unless we were going to leave. And since we were already here, I supposed maybe we should stick around for a while.

  I looked back at Tori. Her eyes were wide and alert, and she had both her purse and Tallie’s clutched to her chest.

  “You should probably take her purse to her,” I said. “She might need something from it. I’ll go park the car and then I’ll come in, too.”

  “She’s all right?” Tori asked. “And baby is all right?”

  “Most likely, they’ll both be fine. And even if something goes wrong, they’re in the right place for it. The doctors will take good care of them.”

  She nodded and climbed out of the car, draping the straps of each purse across either shoulder. It was only then that I could make out what her apron said: My Milkshake Brings My Hubby to the Yard. I stifled a laugh. No doubt Tallie had brought it over for Tori to wear, and I doubted Tori even understood the reference.

  “What’s funny?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “I’ll tell you later. Let me go park the car. I’ll be right in.”

  And I got the feeling that we’d be staying until the baby was born, however long that might take. Tori didn’t have many friends in this world, and there was no chance I was going to ask her to walk away from the best one she had at a time like this.

  I checked the battery life on my phone. Decent, considering how much I’d been using it today. That was good, since it was about to be selfie central. This was exactly the sort of event Greg had been talking about.

  TORI AND I ended up staying at the hospital all night, waiting for the baby’s arrival. She was exhausted and kept falling asleep with her head resting on my shoulders in the waiting room, but every time I suggested going home to bed, she dug in her heels and insisted she was perfectly fine.

  Tallie’s father had joined us. He and Kade spent some of their time in the room with Hunter and Tallie and some of it out in the waiting room with us. Every now and then, Tallie would kick all the guys out and ask for Tori to come and sit with her. I was the only one not going into the room, other than to deliver food or coffee to Hunter. It didn’t seem like something I needed to be part of, and I doubted I’d be welcome. Apparently, Hunter’s parents were planning to take the first flight out in the morning. They’d intended to come down in a couple of weeks so they’d be here in time for the big day, but then the baby had moved the schedule up.

  I went out a couple of times for food and coffee to keep the troops operational and in peak form. Every time I came back with something for Hunter, Tallie glared at us until he left the room to partake of whatever I’d brought him. Once he finished, he headed right back in, though, and then I returned to the waiting room to stay with Tori.

  When I came back from a three a.m. run to the nearest twenty-four-hour Starbucks, Kade met me at the entry on his way out.

  “Is the baby here, then?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “I just can’t stay all night without something to do. Going crazy in there. I don’t want to fuck up and do something stupid.”

  I didn’t know the guy well, but I did know he had drug issues. I hoped this meant he was being smart and going home to bed instead of trying to find someone to hook him up. He’d been doing well lately, and he seemed to be aware of the choices he was making at the moment, so I decided not to worry. He wasn’t my problem, no matter how I looked at it, and I had my hands full enough already with Tori.

  “Get some sleep,” I said. “We’ll let you know when the baby comes.” Then he headed out to his car, and I took the coffee in.

  “Took you long enough,” Hunter grumbled. He was a grumpy ass in the best of circumstances, but lack of sleep and worry about his wife and baby wasn’t helping.

  “Do you realize how busy Starbucks is at three in the morning?” I passed him his coffee—black with a single packet of sugar. “Apparently it’s the place to be around here. Any change?”

  He shook his head and sipped. “Not really. Her contractions are strong and steady, but she’s still not fully dilated. And the longer it goes on, the more talkative she gets. And I don’t understand a lot of it. We’ve been married for over a year now, but I have no clue what half the things she says mean. What the fuck does squalling like a mashed cat mean?”

  I chuckled. “No idea, but I feel your pain. Tori and I have a few communication issues of our own.”

  “Yeah, but at least you have an actual language barrier as an excuse. English is supposedly Tallie’s first language.”

  “Pretty sure Southern is an entirely different language than Canadian, eh? I think one year playing in this state is enough to realize just how much we all still have to learn about people down here.”

  “True.” He laughed and finished off his coffee, then tossed the cup in a garbage can across the hall. “I guess I’d better get back in there, or she’ll be screaming something about pitching a fit.”

  I took the rest of the coffee back to the waiting room, passing Tallie’s father on the way and handing a cup over to him.

  Tori took one as I sat next to her. “Still no baby?”<
br />
  “Still no baby.”

  “It’s long time.”

  “The guys tell me the first baby usually takes the longest.” Unless I was confusing myself, which was entirely possible.

  She nodded and sipped.

  I put my arm around her shoulders, and she rested her head on my shoulder again. It’d be a good selfie opportunity, but that would mean digging my phone out and disrupting the moment. Even though I knew I should probably take a pic anyway, I decided to ignore Greg’s advice for the time being.

  “Tallie’s not scared of stirrups,” Tori said after a long, comfortable silence.

  I looked down at her, questioning with my eyes since I had no earthly idea where she was heading with this line of conversation.

  “I asked her. Bed has stirrups. I almost panicked, but Tallie said nothing to be scared of. Said it’s just a tool for Dr. Rodriguez.”

  “But it’s not just a tool for you?” There was a part of me that knew as much, even if I didn’t understand exactly what caused her fear.

  She shook her head.

  “What are those stirrups to you?”

  “Nightmare. Used them in porn. They tied me down. Couldn’t move.”

  “When Dr. Rodriguez uses them, you’re not tied down,” I said. “You can get out of them.”

  “I know. Still nightmare, though.”

  I kissed her because there wasn’t anything I could possibly say to that. It made sense. No amount of reasoning could combat fears like hers.

  But it made me wonder just what kinds of shit she’d been put through in the couple of years she’d worked in that industry. A bit at a time, she was revealing things to me. I hoped that I’d learn more through the counseling she’d started, but I wasn’t sure how much she’d ever tell me. And I needed to know. What if she encountered something else that, for most people, was nothing to worry about, and she went into a full-blown freak out? It could happen. It nearly had during that doctor’s visit.

  As much as the thought of it left me nauseated, I knew I needed to see for myself the kinds of things she’d been forced to endure.