“I’m not just worried about the baby, I’m worried about you too.”
“You worry about me?” His words made my pulse race.
“Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?”
I stood and walked out into the living room, flopping on the couch. “I don’t know. I guess I thought you were worried about the number of hours because of the baby.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I worry about that too, but no one should work as many hours as you do. It can’t be healthy.”
I shrugged even though he couldn’t see me. “Probably not. Not like I have much of a choice.”
“I’d offer to help, but I have a pretty good feeling you wouldn’t go for that.”
“So you did learn a lot about me this week.”
“I pay attention,” he said and I could hear the pride in his voice.
In the end it didn’t matter what we talked about. The most important thing was that he called. I hadn’t been sure if I should expect it. Hell, I still wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to the man on the other line.
“How did your show go?”
“Um…okay, I guess.”
“Okay? I thought you loved performing.”
“I did. I do. But like I said, I was worried about you.”
My pulse went crazy.
So much for rebuilding my defenses. With just a few words Heath began smashing them back down all over again.
I was positively screwed.
CHAPTER 23
Heath
Life on the road became a test of patience. I had a job to do. No doubt about that. People wanted to see the best of Jaded Ivory while we were on tour and I made sure to give it to them. When I was on stage, I put everything I had out there. Everything and left nothing on the table. The moment I stepped off stage things changed. It became a balancing act. If we were done playing too late to call Jenna, I spent time with the band or helping to keep Monty out of trouble. On the other hand, if we got off earlier enough, I locked myself away in the bus to talk to her.
Things with Monty seemed to be getting better. Hopefully they stayed that way. We still had four months left on the tour. When I thought about it that way, I couldn’t believe it had been a month since I’d seen Jenna in person. She hadn’t had Wi-Fi in the house, which pretty much made video calling impossible without wiping out her data. Somehow, I’d managed to convince her to let me upgrade her phone and connect the Wi-Fi router in her house. It might have seemed ridiculous to some, but if I couldn’t be there to see my child grow inside Jenna, then at least I wanted to see on a screen, even if we were hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles away.
Tonight would be the first night I got to see her and to say I was excited was a complete understatement. We didn’t have a show, just a pre-venue check that had finished up about an hour ago. I wanted to give her enough time to get home and comfortable before I called. Which meant I hightailed it out of the venue and back to my bus the minute the sound check ended. I had the band bring dinner back for me while I set my laptop up on the table and waited for the right time to call.
About an hour had passed when I set my beer bottle to the side and dialed Jenna’s number into the program on the screen. One ring. Two rings. The third ring began as the call connected.
Before a word even left her mouth, her lips curved up in a beautiful smile. “Heath,” she breathed.
“Well, hello there, gorgeous.”
She rolled her eyes and I had to admit it was nice to see the expressions play out over her face again.
“I don’t know about that. Girls don’t like when their clothes don’t fit and they can’t find anything to wear.”
“Did you open the box I sent?”
She shook her head. “I knew you’d be calling tonight and I wanted to open it up with you on the line.”
I shooed her away with my hand. “Go and grab it then.”
She held up a finger and stood, moving around the back of the couch toward where the front door was. Apparently, we were in her living room. She came back on screen a few seconds later, lugging a pretty big cardboard box.
“That looks heavy.”
“It is. What’s in here anyway?”
“I don’t know, you’ll have to open it to find out. But remember if you don’t like it, we’ll blame Mari. She helped me pick stuff out.”
Her eyes widened. “Stuff? How many things are in this box?”
“A few different things you’ll need.” I gestured with my hand. “Now open it.”
She pulled the tape across the top and pulled back the flaps of the box. “Holy shit. You didn’t need to do this.”
“Yes, I did.”
She shook her head and pulled out the shirt sitting in the top of the box. “No, this is way too many things. I could have gotten by with a couple of shirts and pants. You practically bought me an entire maternity wardrobe.”
“I want you to be happy with the things you wear, not just getting by. And no, I didn’t have to do it. But I wanted to. You and the baby deserve to have nice things and I want to give them to you.”
Moisture pooled in the corner of her eye. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything, unless you don’t plan to tell me about your doctor’s appointment, but then I’ll fly there and find a way to make you tell me.”
A teary laugh escaped her lips exactly like I hoped. She brushed away a small tear and brought her eyes to mine. “Well, then I may have to keep the secret so I can see you.”
I could see the moment her words registered in her head. A pink tint stained her cheeks. Seeing her in these unguarded moments made me wonder if there would be a chance for us someday. I knew she wasn’t ready to admit to anything yet, so I let her off the hook and changed the subject back to the clothes. “Exchange anything you don’t want. Mari tried to help me pick out trendy things.”
Jenna continued to pull clothes out of the box. “She has fantastic taste. I’ll try it all on later.” She pushed the empty box to the side.
“How did your appointment go yesterday?”
“Good. The baby’s heartbeat is strong and besides a little more rest, Dr. Sheridan says things are going great.”
“I wish I could’ve been there.” Regret ate at me over leaving her to face it alone.
“I know you do. I knew you’d be here if you could.” She was silent for a while, but I noticed her eyes kept moving to where the beginning of the hall might be. At the same time her hands twisted around themselves.
“Want to tell me why you look nervous?”
She sighed and picked up the laptop. “How about I show you?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Okay.”
She carried the laptop down the dark hall, making it hard to see anything but the shadows on her face. “Where are we going?”
“Have some patience, I’m going to show you.”
A light reflected on her face and she slowly turned the monitor. A white crib sat in pieces on the floor. “Where did that come from?”
She turned the video back onto her face, which was wreathed in a smile. “In the attic. It was mine when I was a baby. I’ve seen it in pictures from when I was growing up.”
The pure joy on her face erased my concern over her climbing into the attic. “It’s perfect. Why were you nervous to show me that?”
She shrugged. “I wasn’t sure if you’d want the baby to have a new crib.”
God, if I could have reached out and run my fingers over her cheek, I would have. “I want the baby to have whatever makes you happy.”
She glanced away, but I could still see the small smile lift the corner of her lips. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. If you’re happy, I’m happy.”
“Lately, I’ve been happier than I’ve been my whole life.”
“I’m glad. How about you tell me what else makes you happy? What was your favorite thing to do as a kid?”
She walked back down the hall and set
the laptop on the table once again. “That’s easy. Every summer a carnival would come to the town over from here. My grandmother made sure to take me at least one night. We’d ride the rides and eat funnel cake for dinner.”
“We had a fair like that where I grew up.”
“Yeah, but the best part was playing the games. Nana never seemed to win, but I usually walked away with at least one prize.”
“What was your favorite game?”
“There was one where you got two big dice. They each had a ton of sides, one with months and another with dates. You’d write your birthday down on a piece of paper and rolled the two dice. You won a small prize if you got either the date or month right and a large prize if you rolled both.”
“Did you ever win the large prize?”
“Just once. I still have the teddy bear.”
“Is that the one in the corner of your room?”
“You have a good memory.”
I wasn’t sure how she would take it if I admitted that I remembered everything she told me.
A yawn slipped from her lips. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be sorry. You’re exhausted. Why don’t you get some sleep, and I’ll call you tomorrow?”
“Okay. I have off from both jobs so you don’t need to wait until I get done.”
“We’ll be on the road, so I’ll call early so we have more time to talk.”
“I’d like that. I have to say I like this video call.”
“Me too. I like being able to see you when we talk.”
Another yawn.
“Get some sleep and we’ll talk more tomorrow.”
“’Night, Heath.”
“Night, you two.”
She smiled at my choice of words as she slowly shut the computer and disconnected the call.
It felt good to actually see her and to know if she was completely over working herself. There were dark circles under her eyes, but nothing worse than the last time I saw her. Watching her excitement over the clothes made me feel like I could climb Mt. Everest. Getting her new clothes seemed so simple in the grand scheme of things, but she appreciated them more than I expected her to. How the hell had I been lucky enough to find her?
I punched Mari’s number in my phone to shoot her a quick thank you text. Only seconds later did it ding in my hand.
Mari: Have a few drinks with Jackson and Monty on my bus. Want to join us?
I glanced at the time. Little after nine and we didn’t go on until at least nine tomorrow. Why the hell not. I’d been so worried and focused on Jenna that I hadn’t had as much time to spend with my friends. I walked over to the counter and grabbed the bottle of Crown and a couple of Cokes from the fridge. Knowing Jenna was safely tucked into bed, getting the rest she needed, it was time to catch up with my other family.
CHAPTER 24
Jenna
My phone vibrated on the little glass coffee table, sending a twinkling sound through the room. I picked it up, knowing exactly who would be on the other end. A sense of relief hit me every time I saw his name on the screen, almost as if I was still waiting for him to disappear. The last few weeks had flown by as I spent my days working and nights talking to Heath. Today I’d had the day off to go in for my next appointment.
I didn’t waste any time answering it.
“Hey,” I said, hitting mute on the TV and holding the phone up so I could see Heath’s face.
“Hey. How was your appointment today?”
He looked gorgeous as ever, just like he did every time I saw him when he called me with video. His dark shoulder-length hair hung down around his face, and his gray eyes twinkled in the light of his bedroom.
“What, no small talk?” I teased.
“Ha-ha. Very funny. Small talk only works when we haven’t spoken in a while and since I just talked to you last night I figured I could skip it.”
I flicked my hand in the air. “Fine. My appointment went really well. Dr. Sheridan says everything looks good. The baby’s heartbeat is perfect and so is the baby’s growth. She scheduled me for an ultrasound in three weeks.”
My stomach was still tied in knots about that one. The first few appointments alone were hard enough. I couldn’t imagine actually seeing the baby for the first time all by myself. No one there to help me decide whether or not to find out the sex of the baby. But Heath hadn’t yet had a chance to fly home since that first week. He sent small gifts for me or the baby all the time, but his schedule hand not given him more than one day off here and there and usually they used the time to travel to the next city.
“Man, I really wish I could hear it again.” His shoulders dropped and his mouth turned down.
None of this was either of our faults. He had a job to do and so did I. And I hated seeing him upset over it. So I changed the subject.
“Where are you again?” And it really wasn’t a question I could answer. Some cities they played one night, others they played two, all depending on the size of the crowd. “Denver.”
“Oh, I’ve heard it’s beautiful there.”
The corner of his mouth lifted, but the smile never reached his eyes. “Thank you for trying to distract me.”
“It’s not working, is it?”
He shook his head. “No, but I was going to try and distract you. “
“Why would I need distracting?” I asked even though I had no doubt he knew the answer.
“Because you’re worried about going to the ultrasound alone. The nerves were written all over your face when you mentioned it.”
“Not fair you can read me so easily.”
He rolled his eyes. “Not that you can’t read me just as easily.”
I paused for a moment, really considering my next question. “Has friendship ever been this easy with anyone else?”
His gaze moved up to the ceiling while he thought about it.
“No.” He brought his eyes back down to mine. “I don’t actually think it has been.”
“What do you think that means?”
“I think that means we’re going to be prefect parents together, but I also think it means you’re trying to change the subject so you won’t have to admit that I’m right.”
I sighed. “You’re right. I’m nervous as hell to go to the ultrasound alone.”
“What are you nervous about?”
“Oh, I don’t know, seeing the baby for the first time or deciding whether or not to find out the baby’s sex.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Do you want to know?”
I shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not sure. Part of me does and part of me wants to make it a surprise. Do you want to know?”
“Yes and no. I was going to let you decide on that one.”
“Real helpful.” I narrowed my eyes at him, which only made him laugh. He knew well enough by now that when I was really pissed about something I didn’t waste time with fake facial expressions. I went straight to yelling and cursing.
“I try.” His mirth subsided and he looked at me again. “When is your appointment?”
“July 28th.”
“Hold on.” The screen when blank, but I could still hear him breathing on the other end. “Damn it,” he cursed a few moments later.
Heath’s face reappeared on the screen.
“What’s wrong?”
He grimaced. “We have a show the night before and a show the night after.”
My heart sank. I wasn’t dumb enough to actually think he’d be able to be there. It didn’t mean I hadn’t been hoping that he could. “It’s okay. I’ll be all right.”
“It’s not okay. I’m missing everything and you try to console me even though I don’t deserve it.”
“You do deserve. It’s not like you’re missing it ’cause you don’t feel like going. You have a job to do and sometimes that means you’re thousands of miles away. You only have two months left and then you’ll be here for everything.”
He ran a hand through his hair, which usually meant he was frus
trated, but it was still one of my favorite gestures. I loved the way his hair fell back around his face as his hand moved farther back. “I know, but I’m still going to talk to Reagan and see if there’s something I can do.”
“Okay. Let me know what he says.” I didn’t plan on getting my hopes up again. I knew there was no way he’d have time to fly here and back between shows. I’d just have to pull on my big girl panties and go by myself.
Time for a subject change.
“How was the show last night?”
He quirked a brow at me but dove into the conversation anyway. “Actually pretty amazing. Sold out crowd.”
“Aren’t most of your show sold out?”
“Yeah, but there was something about hearing this group sing along as we played each song. The longer the tour goes on the more they sing.”
“That’s got to be a really good feeling.”
He smiled and this time I could see the sparkle in his eyes. “The best. It’s part of why I went into music. I loved seeing the joy music gives people. Or the way it can help someone express what they are feeling. I love being able to see that on people’s faces.”
“The music I listen to usually reflects the mood I’m in.”
“That’s good to know.”
I smacked myself on the forehead. I always gave away too much about myself when talking to Heath. He was just so easy to talk to.
“How’s work been? Marcus and Doug gave you the VIP bar to work, didn’t they?”
“They did. And actually it’s a hell of a lot easier than dragging all those trays around.”
“I’m glad.”
I could hear pounding through the phone. “Heath, get your ass out here.”
“Hold on for a second.”
I nodded and suddenly I was looking at the ceiling of the tour bus.
“Why are you beating the shit out of my door?”
“’Cause I’m fucking hungry and you’re still on the phone.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Monty. If you’re hungry, go eat. I’ll catch up with you guys in a few minutes.”
Then I heard grumbling, but I couldn’t make out what was being said. A door slammed and I was being moved again.
Cover Me (Jaded Ivory Book 3) Page 18