“Does this have anything to do with the call from the server?” Reagan asked.
“Jenna,” I corrected him.
“Okay, Jenna. This have anything to do with her?”
I didn’t know if I was ready to tell anyone what was going on, but I had a feeling these two weren’t going to let me go anywhere without an explanation.
“Heath, what the hell happened?” Sawyer demanded.
“She didn’t call to say thank you or talk about her grandmother.”
Reagan tilted his head in a way that said he was trying to read between the lines. “Then what did she call for?”
I rested my elbows on my knees and dropped my head into my hands. “She’s pregnant.”
CHAPTER 10
Heath
Silence filled the room.
I lifted my head to see both of them staring at me, mouths agape. It was Sawyer who recovered first. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me. Jenna’s pregnant.”
“And what does that have to do with you? Not like you slept with her. Do I need to file an injunction to keep her from talking to the tabloids until after the baby is born and a paternity test proves you’re not the father?”
Reagan had gone right into lawyer mode. Not that I could blame him. Besides keeping Sawyer happy and the press off their backs, the studio sent him on the road with us to keep us out of trouble. Mainly Monty. And I hadn’t told them I’d slept with Jenna. I hadn’t told anyone. By the time she kicked me out in the morning, I’d been able to sneak back on my bus without anyone being the wiser.
The two of them were still talking as my brain continued to spin. A kid. My kid. The words kept dancing around in my head. I didn’t even know how to start processing it all. Never did I imagine myself a dad at twenty-seven. When Reagan pulled his phone out, I forced my attention back to them.
“Put the phone away.”
Reagan shook his head. “We can’t let her smear your name all over the press. We have to get ahead of this.”
I reached out and snatched the phone from his hand, the time flashing in front of my eyes. I had to leave soon if I was going to catch my flight.
“Heath,” Sawyer snapped, trying to take back Reagan’s phone.
“Stop! Both of you stop and listen. I slept with her the night I took her to the hospital.” They both froze. “Not one of my shining moments. She’s beautiful and one thing led to another. I know I should have kept my hands to myself. But I didn’t. The condom broke. She was one the pill and I got tested a few weeks later. I thought everything was fine.” I sighed. “There’s no doubt that I’m the kid’s father. Jenna didn’t have time to have a different man in her bed every night.”
Sawyer threw his hands up in the air. “How the hell do you know the kid’s yours without a paternity test?”
I took a step toward him. If Jenna was going to be the mother of my child, I was putting an end to the shit now. No way would I let them start in on her.
“She’s already offered to take one. Think she’d do that if she didn’t truly believe the baby was mine?”
That took the wind out of Sawyer’s sails. He reached and rubbed the back of his neck.
Reagan took a seat again. He was quiet. I’d seen him do this many times at home when he was deep in thought. Finally, he looked up. “Okay, that still doesn’t explain why you have to fly home. We can handle all the legal paperwork from here.”
“Because she thinks I wouldn’t want to be involved in my child’s life. She thinks being a rock star means I want to fuck whatever walks by and get drunk every night.”
Sawyer scoffed. “Maybe if she was talking about Monty I’d understand. What does she want?”
“She wants to set up child support and that’s it.”
Reagan narrowed his eyes. “Does she really believe you wouldn’t be willing to support the baby financially?”
“She believes that. She doesn’t believe I want to be there for everything else. So I’m flying home to prove I won’t just be a paycheck to my kid. I grew up in a house with only one parent. I’ve no doubt my dad loved me and he worked his ass off to get me where I am. Didn’t mean I wouldn’t have rather had more time to spend with him growing up.”
Sawyer laid a hand on my shoulder. “When’s your flight?”
He knew me. As college roommates, we talked a lot about the things we would have done different growing up if we had the chance. Not that I would’ve given up a minute with my grandmother, but I would have told my dad how him always working hurt. How all I wanted from him was more time.
“In an hour and a half.”
Sawyer looked at Reagan and nodded. Reagan took his phone from my hand. “I’ll call a car to take you to the airport. We’ll make sure your bus gets to the next venue in one piece. Make sure your ass is on a flight to us in one week.”
“I will.” I sighed. If shit wasn’t falling on me in spades, I’d marvel at how well Reagan had stepped into his role of keeping the band on track and out of trouble. It was like he’d been with us from the beginning.
Sawyer gestured to the door. “Let’s go get you packed.”
“I got it. I’ve already interrupted your time together.”
He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “Yeah, but we have all night.”
“The car will be here ten minutes.”
Sawyer and I looked at each other. “Shit,” we said at the same time and bolted for the door.
If we weren’t staying on the fourteenth floor, I would’ve taken the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. Once the doors opened into the lobby, I practically sprinted to the parking lot and my tour bus, Sawyer’s feet slamming against the pavement behind me.
I unlocked the door and ran up the steps, back to my bedroom. I dumped out the duffel onto the bed. Sawyer and I ran around throwing the things I needed back into the bag. Luckily, Jenna’s house was a little over a ninety-minute drive from ours if I missed anything. The car waited for me the moment Sawyer and I left the bus.
He grabbed my shoulder, spinning me, and pulled me into a hug. “I won’t say anything to the others. We’ll tell them you had a family emergency.”
I patted his back. “Thank you.”
He stepped away and nodded to the car. “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
I opened the back door. “I will. I’ll call you when I land.”
“Okay.”
I slammed the door shut and the driver took off in the direction of the airport. I grabbed the baseball cap and hair tie from my bag. I pulled my hair into a low ponytail and tucked it in under the hat. No reason to draw any more attention to myself if I could avoid it.
Reagan had gotten a good one. The guy weaved in and out of traffic, getting to the airport in no time. I ran to the check-in desk, and from there all the way to the terminal. The plane was already loading by the time I got there. After throwing my bag in the overhead, I dropped into the seat and let loose all the thoughts and emotions I’d been holding at bay.
What the hell had I gotten myself into?
I was going to be a father. The only thing I knew. I scrubbed a hand over my face. It still hadn’t quite registered yet, but that didn’t stop it from being true. She’d hung up on me before I could ask how she was feeling. She should be about two months along, which probably meant a fall baby. The tour was supposed to end around the end of summer.
Jenna did have one good point. How was I supposed to help her take care of a baby when we were on the road? Was I supposed to ask the band to hold off on touring for a few years? I really doubted the studio would go for that.
“Would you like a drink?” There was a light tap on my arm.
I glanced up at the flight attendant and the woman next to me. I’d been so lost in my thoughts, I hadn’t noticed someone had sat down next to me or the plane taking off.
“Sorry, I was distracted.”
The flight attendant smiled. “We could see. Did you want something?”
> “I’ll take a Crown and Coke.” I handed over my card, hoping she didn’t pay too much attention to the name at the bottom.
She smiled, handing back my card and the drink. Growing up, my family never had the money to fly anywhere. The first time I’d ever been on a plane was when I left for college. Since I hadn’t been allowed to take my car freshman year, my dad decided it would be cheaper to fly me to school than for him to take off work to drive me halfway across the country. I’d gotten a window seat and spent the entire flight mesmerized by the view.
Right now, that view meant nothing.
As I sipped my drink, I tried to wrap my head around it all. This was the first opportunity to really think about Jenna’s words. I’m pregnant. I’d defended it to Sawyer and Reagan, but hadn’t really stopped to focus on how I felt about it all. I could ask myself over and over again if I was ready to be a father, but we’d passed that point.
I was going to be a father.
Reality came slamming in. I tipped the glass back, letting the warm liquid slide down my throat, hoping the heat would chase away the sudden chill. Life wasn’t just about me anymore. Whether or not I was ready, I had a whole other life to worry about. One Jenna thought I wouldn’t want to be bothered with. Somehow I had to prove to her that I wanted to be a part of my child’s life and not just a paycheck.
It would be stupid for me to go to her and claim we could work as a couple. Honestly, I had no idea if that was true. From the first moment I met her, she called to me, but to hear our lives had taken such similar paths made me want to get to know her better. For now, I needed to prove I’d be there for our child and see where things went.
I knew I couldn’t promise to be there for every moment. We still had four months left on the tour and I wasn’t naïve enough to believe it wouldn’t be the last. There was no way the studio would want to stop recording new music. New music meant touring whether that was concerts or a PR tour like we’d done when “Midnight Dream” released. At least we had time before we released another album. And we still needed to write new songs for that to happen. Monty only had one that I knew of.
By the time the plane landed, I hadn’t gotten an ounce of sleep or had a plan on how to convince Jenna. The only thing I knew was that I would do whatever it took to show her the real me.
Exhausted, I checked into a hotel. I’d head to Jenna’s house in the morning. After the front desk handed me the key, I dragged myself to the elevator and through the door of the suite. Every part of my body felt weighed down as I dropped onto the mattress. I barely remembered to text Sawyer that I landed before I finally passed out.
***
The next morning I left the hotel with a purpose. Track Jenna down. The rental I ordered was delivered while I got ready. I’d made sure to hide my hair under the baseball cap again. It made me a jerk, but I didn’t have time to deal with autographs and pictures. I wanted to get to Jenna’s house. How I managed to remember where to go was beyond me. Yet, there I sat parked in front of the little house where the direction of my life had completely changed. Many nights I dreamed about my time with Jenna in that house.
Steeling myself, I climbed from the car and went right for the front door. I knocked and when no one answered knocked again. When she still didn’t answer, I sent her a text.
Me: Answer the door, we need to talk.
I sat there for another fifteen minutes and not a sound came from inside the house. When no one answered, I wondered we she could be. I thought back to our conversation that night in the hospital. She had no idea I’d hopped a flight last night, which gave her no reason to hide from me. Then I recalled her mentioning a second job at a diner. Hoping there was only one in the area, I searched it on my phone and found six different places with the word diner in their name.
I got back into the car and tried to figure out my next move. There were three options. The first was to go to every diner on the list and hope I didn’t miss her. I could wait in the car outside her place, but that would draw a ton of attention to me that I really wanted to avoid. It looked like option number three would be the best choice.
Head back to the club tonight and make sure she worked the VIP section again.
I sent a text to Reagan, asking if he’d call Marcus and make that happen. With hours until the club opened, I drove around town. Even with a little over an hour drive to my place, it seemed far to travel to see my son or daughter. I considered finding an apartment near Jenna’s so I could be close when she needed me.
After finding a few different buildings worth looking at, I went back to the hotel to check in with Sawyer and Reagan before grabbing a late dinner. I finished and glanced at the time on my phone. After ten. Time for me to go and talk to Jenna.
The music pulsed, making my chest vibrated, when I walked through the door of the club. This time I didn’t bother to hide who I was. I needed to use it to my advantage. The manager from the first night practically met me at the door, like he’d been watching and waiting for me.
He held out a hand to me. “Heath, so good to see you again.”
“Hey, man,” I said, returning his handshake.
“Marcus said you’d be in town tonight. I’ve got you all set up in the VIP section if that’s okay.”
I nodded. “That’s perfect. I had somethings to take care of over the next couple of days.”
He smiled and walked me to the roped off section. “I hope you enjoy your night. If you need anything please let me know.”
I laid my hand on his shoulder to stop him from walking away. “Is Jenna working tonight?”
“Yep and working this section. She’s on her break right now, but she’ll be up soon.”
“Thank you.”
“I can grab you a drink if you’d like.”
I followed him into the section and took a seat on one of the large couches. I wasn’t a fan of using the fame from Jaded Ivory to get shit, but this time I’d use any advantage I could get. And right then, a drink might help settle my nerves.
“That’d be great. I’ll take a Crown and Coke.”
“I’ll be right back.”
It didn’t take long for the guy to come back with my drink in hand. Thankfully, he was quickly pulled in another direction, giving me all the time to watch for the woman I was there to see. I noticed her head of long strawberry blond hair before she saw me. She walked past the roped off area and to the group seated to my left.
Her laughter filled my ears as I watched her interact with the people. She still hadn’t looked up when she reached me, her eyes on the empty glass on the table in front of me.
“Can I get you another drink?”
“You can give me five minutes to talk.”
CHAPTER 11
Jenna
My head snapped up at the sound of a voice I’d recognize anywhere. Even after only one night, I still heard Heath’s voice in my dreams. I never thought he’d really fly out here especially after the way I’d hung up on him the night before. The last I knew, they were playing halfway across the country. At first look, he seemed so relaxed, leaning back on the couch, his arm lying across the back, his ankle resting on his knee. The furrow in his brow and the dark circles around his eyes told me he was anything but.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, deciding it was better to face him than hide.
One of his brows lifted. “You can’t imagine a single reason I would have flown across the country to see you?”
My eyes darted around the section to check that no one else was listening.
“Jenna, look at me.”
The calm, baritone of his voice pulled my attention back to him. “Heath—”
“Why are you so nervous?”
I moved in closer, holding out our signature drinks menu to cover what I wanted to say.
“No one knows and I’m certainly not ready to tell them. I promise when my shift is over we can go somewhere and talk,” I whispered just loud enough for him to hear me.
He g
lanced up at me as his hand came to rest over mine. The gesture was simple, but to anyone else it would have looked like he was pointing at something on the menu.
“I can wait.”
I moved to step away, but he tightened his grip slightly, holding me there.
“But we are going to talk about this.”
I nodded. “We will. Let me finish my shift first.”
“I’ll have another Crown and Coke then.”
The second he let me go, I hustled my ass out of there and to the bar. My hands shook and my stomach rolled. Whether it was what I dubbed all day sickness, since it didn’t stop once morning ended or nerves at what the hell I would say to Heath later, I had no idea. There were still hours until the club closed, giving me some time to think about it. Obviously he’d been serious when he said he wanted to talk about it in person. Him flying all the way here said a lot about how much he wanted to be involved in the baby’s life.
A hand landed on my shoulder while I waited for the drinks and I almost jumped out of my skin.
“Relax, Jenna. It’s just me.”
I glanced around to see Doug standing there with a smile on his face. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. Did you see Heath Marshall is here?”
My eyes darted in the direction of the private section. A small wave of dizziness hit when I thought about why Heath was really here. “I actually just talked to him.”
“When Marcus called to let me know he’d be here and to ask for you to be in VIP section, I figured it would be the perfect opportunity for you to talk to him.”
My heart slammed against my ribs. “Talk to him?” My voice went up a few octaves. How would Doug know?
His brows drew together. “I thought you wanted to thank him for helping the night your grandmother went into the hospital.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding and plastered a fake-ass smile on my face. “Yes. Sorry. Don’t mind me. I think that stomach virus messed with my head.”
Cover Me (Jaded Ivory Book 3) Page 8