by Eden Connor
“Then who owns it?” Mack snapped a shiny bracelet around the wrist he twisted behind Kolby’s back. “I can hold you for seventy-two hours while I find out.”
“It’s hers! That old lady sittin’ beside England.”
“Ah, hell.” Marley muttered in my ear. “Ain’t she with your mama?”
I raised my eyes to the spot where my friends and family sat. Francine’s cheeks glowed, but she sat tall and raised a hand, waggling her fingers at Mack.
“Mack, don’t you dare put cuffs on her!” I cried. “She’s my friend. And a school teacher, for heaven’s sake!”
Phillip leaned in for a hasty, whispered conversation. Nodding, he got to his feet and jogged down the stairs.
“Now’s the time to bail.” Marley tugged my arm. “Before Caine fights his way through this crowd.”
“We got to stop meetin’ like this, honey. Folks gonna start to talk.” The bespectacled ambulance attendant offered me a hand up into the back of the bus. White-hot pain ripped through my belly. I tripped over the threshold, dropping to my knees on the metal flooring. The row of lights down either side of the ambulance roof exploded into stars. Someone lifted me. Someone with strong arms and a scent that wasn’t Caine’s.
The rear doors slammed. I flew in slow motion through the air, landing on a miserably thin pad. The bright overhead lights burned my eyes, so I closed them.
Chapter Fifty
I stared at the acoustical ceiling, hot with embarrassment. At last, Dr. Lewis, the dark-skinned obstetrician peering between my thighs, removed the steel blades impaling me.
“You’ve definitely miscarried.” Her gloved hand came down on my bare knee. When she stood, sympathy swam in her brown eyes. “Let’s discuss your options.” She placed a sanitary pad at my entrance. “Lift.”
Sure. No problem. Need me to tap dance, too? I managed to get my butt a couple of inches off the exam table. She tugged the hospital gown down and helped me out of the stirrups. I studied the ceiling, unable to meet the doctor’s gaze.
“Option one. Do nothing. Mother Nature is the biggest abortionist of them all, and she knows her stuff. I’ll give you a prescription for the pain. The heavy flow should slow over the next four days, but expect several more incidents of passing tissue, like you described.”
Didn’t sound like much of an option.
“Option two. I can give you a pill to speed the body’s normal shedding. Things will move along faster, say two days before the heavy bleeding ends. Expect extreme cramping, but like I said, I’ll give you medication for the pain. With either of those options, you can go home as soon as that IV bag empties.”
“But that’s my baby!” Mom’s wail pierced the thin walls of the exam room. “I want in there, right this minute!” She banged on the door.
“Macy. Caine’s with her.” Exasperation tinged Colt’s voice. “For God’s sake, you think he ain’t lookin’ out for her?”
“I don’t understand why Shelby’s in there.” The knob rattled, but the lock held fast. “Shelby? Are you hurt? What’s wrong? Let me in! I’m her mother and her next of kin.”
Lovely. Cramps gripped me and another scalding shot of humiliation swept over my skin, leaving me coated in sweat.
I rolled my head to the side, meeting dark, intent eyes. Caine’s chin rested on his folded hands. His Ridenhour uniform glowed, painfully scarlet against the white walls.
“Hey.”
I dragged my tongue across sandpaper lips. “Hey.”
Tears sparkled along his lower lids. “Babe, I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you love me,” I whispered. “Say we’re okay.”
I winced as the needle in my arm twisted, but when I reached for him, he pulled away.
“I can’t fuckin’ believe what you done. It was insane and brave and stupid and.... What am I thinkin’? You don’t need a man.” He jerked upright and raked his fingers through his hair.
My heart lurched. “Don’t do this.”
His blue irises churned. The five o’clock shadow gave him the look of a renegade.
“You need a warrior, just to carry your goddamn shield.”
Relief loosened the talons in my gut. “Made the right choice, then.” Why couldn’t I talk above a whisper?
Dr. Lewis cleared her throat. “Option three. I can perform a D and C. It’s a simple procedure. I’ll scrape out the uterus to be sure you don’t retain any tissue that might lead to an infection. Two days from now, you’ll feel like you’re winding up any other period. No matter which route you choose, no tampons, intercourse, or tub baths for three weeks.”
Caine’s eyes left mine, but they held an unspoken question. The doctor gave him a smile. “The female reproductive system is complex machinery that needs a few practice runs sometimes. You two are going to have plenty of beautiful babies, if you want them.”
“Doc, can we have a minute?” Caine croaked.
“Of course.” The physician stripped off blue gloves. “I’ll be back to hear what you’ve decided. Shall I call security to deal with your mother?”
Caine glanced at the bag of clear liquid hanging from a pole above my head. “I can’t tell you what to do about her.”
“Does Mom—”
“Far as she knows, it’s the flu,” Caine muttered.
“Macy, for heaven’s sake, quit clawin’ my damn arm!” Colt’s rough bark made me wince. “You’re nuts if you think Caine’s gonna let ‘em do a damn thing to hurt her or his baby.”
I tensed, counting my heartbeats in the silence. The pity in the gynecologist’s eyes made me want to puke.
“How the hell does he know?”
Caine’s expression remained unapologetic. “He mighta peeled me off the bumper of the ambulance and drove me here. I brought Caroline and Marley along for a little chat.”
In Dale’s shoes, Macy would’ve thrown a fit because she couldn’t have parked that ‘Cuda on the front porch and ridden it like a goddamn rocking chair, no matter whose toes got mashed.
“I need to hold you.” Caine got to his feet. “But, I don’t want to hurt you.”
“If you don’t hug that woman, young man, I will. Just lift her gently.” Dr. Lewis opened the door.
Mom’s twisted, beet-red face was all I could see. Her open mouth and wide eyes made me look down. Blood stained the paper covering on the exam table.
“How could you let this happen? And you said I was the stupid one! I raised you to be smarter than this.”
Tears stung my eyes, but despite the blur, I couldn’t mistake the white, shorn head that leaped into view. Yowling like an angry cat, Marley whipped her hand through the air, striking my mother’s cheek with enough force that spittle flew.
Maybe enough force to smite two mothers at once.
Sorry, Dr. Jamison. When you’ve had your head pushed under water one too many times, you gotta fight back.
The pain meds Marley had given me were really kicking in now. I couldn’t feel my lips.
“You selfish cunt,” Marley yelled as Colt wrested her out of view. “Don’t you know what she did tonight?”
“I’m texting Security,” Dr. Lewis said.
“Good. I want her arrested.” Mom covered her flaming cheek with a palm, eyes narrowed, I presumed, in Marley’s direction. Behind her, Caroline’s eyes were as round as they could be. With a leap, Mom tried to knock Dr. Lewis aside, but Caine spun off the stool and bounded to the door. Looming over the shorter physician, he barked.
“Let me tell you somethin’, Macy. We lost a baby tonight. That’s all the fuck that matters. I know she’s your kid, but things are different now. That house I’m takin’ her home to has my name on the fuckin’ title. So, here’s your notice. You come there to fill her head with your down-talkin’ bullshit and I’ll have your ass put in jail for trespassin’.”
“Indeed.” Dr. Lewis’s tone had the warmth of permafrost. “Unless you want to go to jail for assaulting me, I recommend you leave now. I rarely advoca
te the use of the C-word, but, if the shoe fits—” The physician slammed the door. Caine wrenched the lock.
Turning, he held out his hands. “If I’m totin’ the damn shield, I gotta lift it when I know you won’t.”
He helped me sit up. “I’m going to bleed all over your pants.”
“Who gives a fuck? You already bled all over my heart, woman.” Easing onto the table, he scooped me onto his lap. Pressing his cheek to mine, he wrapped those strong arms around me. The scent of Hugo Boss, Dial soap, and Caine soothed me, and at the same time, made me cry.
Before long, tremors shook him. I pulled back, stunned by the grief swimming in his eyes.
I raked my fingers through his hair, then wiped his tears with my thumb. “We’ll have a bunch of little Hannah babies. But first, let’s make baby race cars together,” I whispered. “Paint every one purple and watch them race the wind.”
“Whatever you want.” He brushed his lips across my forehead. “For the rest of your life, I’m gonna give you whatever you want, or die tryin’. More than that, I’m gonna give you everything you deserve, ‘cause you’d never think to ask for that.”
When the doctor returned, I’d made up my mind. “The pill. I need a prescription for my birth control, too, please. And I want to go home.”
The physician nodded, pulling a prescription pad from the pocket of her lab coat. “Use alternate birth control for the first month. I’ll get the other brought up from the pharmacy and we’ll have you out of here in no time.”
She ripped the top page off the pad. I could almost taste the bitterness in her eyes. “By the power vested in me from thousands of hours spent talking to young women in your situation, I give you permission not to love people who only see you as an extension of themselves. They love you, honey, but theirs is the cruelest kind of love.”
Caine took the script she extended. “You can trust me, I’m a doctor. My superpower is seeing invisible scars.”
Caine scrubbed his tears away with the base of his palm and squinted at her name tag. “Rebecca,” he croaked. “We’re naming our first little girl Rebecca. I swear, doc.”
Squeezing me tighter, he vowed, “God can’t help Macy if she shows up at our house. You wanna see her? See her in the street. I’m fuckin’ done watchin’ you protect everyone but your damn self.”
He pressed my head to his chest. I inhaled the fumes of gas and burnt rubber that clung to his uniform and listened to his heartbeat until mine skipped a beat to fall in step with his. Then, the sound of two hearts beating together became the only sound in the world.
Chapter Fifty-One
Two days later, I opened my eyes, meeting intent black ones.
“Rick sent the biggest box of crab legs you ever saw. All the fixing’s and a bottle of Cristal champagne. Francine and Harry are doing the heavy lifting in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Marley managed to burn the toast. That’s the stench.” Jonny wrinkled his nose. “Caine’s just pulled the steaks off the grill. My job’s to carry you to the table.”
I knew from the way his jaw worked, Jonny was digging up the courage to say something I didn’t want to hear. My head felt stuffed with cotton, but I tried to head him off.
“So, you live to smell burning rubber, but can’t handle burnt bread? What a pussy.”
Moving with the grace of a panther, he crossed the tiny back bedroom and went down on his knees beside the bed. Taking my hand, he studied my face.
“I know it was mine. I bitched at you for breaking the faith, when I did worse. You were trying to protect yourself by marrying that jerk, but I couldn’t even think to protect you from being in the middle of a hell of a mess.”
I couldn’t handle Jonny’s grief, if that’s what this was. “Not just you. I was with Robert earlier that day. My head was all fucked up, so I forgot I’d let my birth control prescription run out.”
“Why didn’t you come to me? I hate that you carried this burden alone.”
“I didn’t carry it alone. I told Caroline. I told Caine. I planned to go to the clinic yesterday, anyhow. You might think we could just be friends who happened to have a baby together, but I’d die before I risked what you and Caroline have over one foolish moment, Mr. Responsible.”
He leaned in, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “The thing this town’s missing is a goddamn Krispy Kreme. Doesn’t matter where I am. Whenever you want doughnuts, I’m your bitch.”
I tried to lighten the mood. “Good. I feel like shit every time that app on my phone goes off, telling me the hot sign’s on. And, I’m collecting minions. New topic.”
Clearing his throat, Jonny nodded. “Phillip’s a hell of a dude. We invited him and Harry over for the big celebration. He kept that video of the fight online, like we needed. And now, he’s kept Francine out of jail. And he—”
“What?” I’d done nothing but pee, change pads, swallow another pain pill, and sleep for the last thirty-six hours. Caine begged me to eat, but sleep was all I craved.
Until now. The smell of burning bread dissipated. I detected the aroma of fresh boiled crab. My tummy howled.
Jonny raked a hand through his wild mane. “Let’s get going before Marley brains me with that wrench she’s polishing. She’s been foaming at the mouth ever since she saw those crab legs. I got a whole new respect for her, after seeing her throw a hard right.”
Leave it to Jonny to reveal he’d seen the ugly scene in the hospital, and yet, take the sting out of that hideous moment.
He stood. I turned the covers back, thankful that Caroline had been waiting in the driveway with a bag filled with sanitary pads, disposable panties, and extremely un-sexy new pajamas, when Caine brought me home from the hospital. The gesture only another woman would think to make had saved me from trying to dig up clothes from the bags still scattered in the basement.
“Drooling. There’s a difference.”
Jonny slid an arm under my knees. Bracing one behind my back, he lifted me with ease. “’Foaming’ is the one I meant.”
“I can walk, you know.”
He grinned. “Just roll with it. You don’t know how torn up Caine’s been. And by ‘Caine’, I mean him, me, and Colt. Whoever said women were the weaker sex was a dumbass.”
On our way down the hall, he returned to the topic of the confiscated ‘Cuda.
“Greedy Italian motherfuckers. See, Plymouth was part of Chrysler Corporation. Chrysler’s changed hands a couple times, but now, they’ve merged with Fiat as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Despite knowing that damn car should, by rights, be rusting away in some landfill outside of Detroit, the board of directors at FCA decided the ‘Cuda’s their property. They had the sheriff seize it. Rumor has it that Sheriff Brown had the paperwork by Wednesday, but he ordered his secretary to lose it so the car would be on hand for the race.”
I’d have to thank Mack. Racing for cash didn’t have the same thrill.
Jonny strode down the hall. When he stepped into the den, Harry stuffed the rag he was running across the TV screen into the back pocket of his jeans. “Cute jammies.”
Jonny paused so I could hug Harry. “Caroline picked them.” He would like the green toy Army soldiers, despite the hot pink background.
Phillip raised a glass of tea from his spot on the couch. “There she is! A world record holder! Your time and record have been certified, by the way. I have three hot rod mags lined up to interview you. They want your pretty face on their covers, babe. And that persistent bastard at ESPN.”
Colt, Caroline, Caine, and Marley filled the opening to the breakfast nook, blocking my view of the table. Little Shelby danced at their feet, ringlets bouncing.
The child shrieked. “My fairy godmomma! My fairy godmomma!”
A deeper voice rumbled from behind them. “Shoulda known Ernie had the 6k ‘Cuda all along.”
Caine and Caroline moved one way, Marley and Colt the other. Shelby shook off her mother’s hand and dashed to throw her arms around Jonny’s leg. Caroline darted forward to grab the chil
d.
I gaped at the devilish goatee on the man seated at the far end of the table.
“Dale! You’re home.”
After the first ripple of shock wore off, I’d realized, I should’ve known the whereabouts of the ‘Cuda, too. Hadn’t Ernie said that he’d been all set to go with Dale to Michigan to pick the up when the season ended? Ernie would never let a once-in-a-lifetime deal slip through his hands. The thing that pissed me off was that Barnes figured out where the damn car was and I hadn’t.
Francine leaned across the bar, waving. “Ernie intended to give it to you for graduation. Then, last week, Kolby showed up asking to buy it. I decided you’d rather win it, but set up the deal so I’d still own the car if you lost. And, thanks for vouching for me, kiddo.” She patted her hair. “Steel bars are not my best look.”
“Vouched for you?” Dale frowned. “With who?”
“Mack Brown.” Caroline supplied the name, tugging her daughter’s curls. “Who ain’t Santa Claus, by the way. But it gets harder every day to tell the difference.”
Dale’s brows disappeared beneath the brim of his Hannah-Built cap. Caine stepped to the table and jerked out a chair, shaking his head.
“Yeah, me neither. Don’t get how that come about, but her and Mack’s practically sorority sisters these days.”
A ragtag assortment of chairs—four looked like they’d come from Robyn’s set—surrounded a four-by-eight sheet of something that’d been laid on top of the table. The plastic drape sported little purple cars and the word ‘congratulations!’ My brothers hadn’t bothered with balloons or streamers. Caine pulled out the chair at the head of the table. Jonny lowered me into the seat.
“Gather ‘round. I got to say a word ‘fore we eat.” Colt’s eyes went wide when Dale extended both hands. One after another, my friends and family moved to their seats. Colt linked hands with his father and Phillip, who also held Harry’s hand. Harry reached for Caroline’s hand, and Caine’s. Caine held his palm open for mine. Marley took my other hand and then clasped Jonny’s. Jonny gripped little Shelby’s hand. The child held a chubby palm out for Francine. Francine reached across the vacant seat to clasp Dale’s outstretched palm. Dale gripped her fingers and bowed his head.