by Hadley Quinn
“Okay, you win!” She threw a roll across the room at him but he swatted it away before it hit his face. “And I love you,” she huffed, trying not to laugh.
“Then get your ass over here and hug me. I’ve missed you today, beautiful.”
With a smile, Anna walked across the kitchen and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tight. “I missed you so bad, I had to go roll around in your clothes for a while.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Hmm, did you somehow slide into one of my shirts, then?” He rubbed his hand against her back, feeling her body through the soft cotton t-shirt.
“Yeah, get used to it. This one’s my favorite.”
“I thought the blue one was.”
“Then this one’s my second favorite.”
“Hmm, okay,” he laughed. “As you wish.”
She held him for a little bit longer until she couldn’t refrain from kissing him anymore. And as soon as their mini make-out session was done, Anna pulled him into the kitchen to eat.
“This looks amazing,” he said, sitting down when she set another plate on the table. “Thank you, sweetheart. You’re too good to me.”
“I know,” she shrugged casually as she sat. “But I like to be awesome like that.”
“And it’s a good thing I’m an active guy, have a gym to use anywhere I go, and have a high metabolism.”
“Don’t remind me,” she pointed a fork at him. “My metabolism is going to shit. I think it’s preparing for baby making mode—
She stopped herself abruptly, but the words were already out. But instead of any kind of weird, uncomfortable reaction from Max, he smiled and raised an eyebrow at her.
“Hmm, why does that sound so hot? Baby making mode? Mmm, yes please.”
Anna could feel her cheeks warm up, but she pondered Max’s response for a moment. “One of these days,” she added with a wink.
Max was studying her carefully for a second, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, his phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out but paused at either the name or number on the screen.
“Gonna take this, babe. It’s Kellie.”
“It’s fine, go ahead,” Anna motioned. She forked a piece of chicken as proof that she was going to be busy eating.
Max stood from the table as he answered, “Yeah, Kell, what’s up? ... Oh, Tate. Wait, what’s wrong?”
Anna set her fork down and paused. Max was silent for almost a minute, but his back was to her and she couldn’t read his face. She did, however, witness him run a hand through his hair and then his shoulders dropped—that motion alone made Anna’s heart plummet into her stomach.
“Just tell me what you need me to do.” He listened for another minute. “Alright. Take care, man. They’ll be okay.”
Max hung up the phone and faced Anna. His entire forehead was creased with worry and it was obvious by the call itself that something wasn’t right.
“What’s wrong with the baby?” Anna asked softly. It was the first thing that popped into her mind when Max said ‘they.’
He returned to the table and sat down. Maybe he was trying to find the right words, or maybe he was still processing Tate’s call, but it took him half a minute to respond.
“Kellie went into labor while they were out to dinner. Tate took her to the birthing center.”
“She’s not even…” Anna counted in her head. “Oh my gosh, Max, she’s only thirty-two weeks along.”
“Yeah, I know,” he nodded. “He said they were checking the baby to see if she’s okay…” He paused and smiled at Anna. “Ha, he slipped and said ‘she’. They’re having a girl.”
Just the thought of a little girl made Anna’s heart so full. Kellie and Tate with a baby was just adorable anyway, but a little girl…
“Anyway,” Max continued with a sigh. “Baby seemed to be a bit distressed, so instead of stopping the contractions, they may have to deliver early.”
“Oh no. Did he say if Kellie was okay?”
“Yeah, she’s doing fine physically. They’re both just a bit freaked about the premature delivery if it comes to that.”
“Understandably. Do they need anything? Can we help?”
“Yeah, finish eating and then get dressed. We’re gonna stop by their house and grab her hospital bag since they’ll be there for a few days regardless.”
“I’m not hungry anymore.” Anna stood and headed for the bedroom. “Do you want me to drive?” she hollered behind her as she stepped into the closet.
“No, I just messaged Jake. He’s on his way up.”
Twenty minutes later, they headed out in the Escalade.
Max was completely silent on the ride there. He held no expression on his face, nor did he speak. Anna felt he was trying to process everything without showing any emotions. He was pretty good at that. She allowed him that for the time being, and used the time to pray in silence.
When Jake escorted them into the birthing center, Max was on his phone, trying to get a hold of Tate. He wasn’t picking up, and as they stopped at the nurse’s desk to ask about Kellie, the woman barely looked up when she told them no one was being admitted for a visit.
“I need to at least talk to Tate,” Max said calmly. “He called me, and I want them to know I’m here.”
“I’m sorry, but no one is allowed back there at this time—”
“Carol?” Max asked with a forced smile. Anna glanced at the woman’s nametag and read the same thing. “Will you tell them—or somebody—that Max McCallan is here to see his cousin? Please?”
She finally looked up and blinked at him for several seconds. Anna wasn’t sure if the lady actually knew who she was looking at or was just trying to process it, but the nurse didn’t answer him right away. It took another nurse coming around the corner to gasp and stare at him for a few seconds before Carol cleared her throat and spoke.
“I’m- I’m so sorry, Mr. McCallan, but… No one is being allowed in the room at this time.”
“I’ll show you somewhere comfortable you can wait until we can tell you more,” the other nurse said, stepping in front of them with a ginormous smile on her face.
Anna could sense the adoration immediately, but Max no longer appeared so pleasant. He just walked away, even leaving her behind with the nurses.
Anna gave him some space, but gradually made her way down the hall to where Jake was standing guard at a doorway to the right. Max was in a waiting room with his back to the door, staring out a window. She imagined he’d needed to retreat, but she entered the room cautiously until she gently placed her hand on his back.
“I’m here if you need me. Talk to me please?”
His shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath, but he finally turned to face her. He gave her a bit of a smile and kissed her forehead. “I’m fine. Just worried.”
“No, you’re not fine. And I respect the fact that you might need to be alone right now, but you’re allowing yourself to be human and feel what you feel. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
His expression was completely neutral right now, which she expected. She wondered what personality he was going to give her right now, too. It seemed like he was prepping himself for an act.
She pointed her finger into his chest and growled, “Don’t you dare bullshit me right now.”
His eyebrows rose slightly, but their eyes remained locked on one another for a good ten seconds. Finally the intensity in his face seemed to relax, but it also meant his eyebrows furrowed and his forehead creased with worry.
Max looked down at the floor and took another steady breath. Finally he replied, “It’s hard to let down my guard.”
“I know it is.”
“They don’t deserve this,” he spoke softly. “They’ve both been through enough. Seriously, why do bad things happen to good people?”
Anna wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his shoulder. “It’s said that the strongest people are the ones who can handle the most. Both Kellie and Tate a
re amazing people. You’re right, they deserve some happiness. But if that little girl isn’t meant to stay on earth…they’re going to need a lot of support. They have you, and they have Teague and the rest of the family to support them. They’ll need it.”
His arms wrapped around her and held tight, pressing his cheek against her head. “Please, God. Give them this miracle.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Waiting was the worst. When you have nothing else to do but wait for someone else to make a move, it’s a helpless feeling. Max wasn’t used to life not moving and shaking, so to speak. He was busy from sun up to sun down, always with something to do next.
He took a call from his grandfather, who was checking for an update on Kellie. There wasn’t much to tell him, whether that was a good thing or bad thing. It seemed like hours had passed, but when Max checked the clock, it’d only been twenty minutes.
After he heard a familiar voice at the doorway, he recognized that long dark hair instantly. Max quickly introduced Jake to his mother before motioning her into the room to meet Anna. He hadn’t expected his mom to drop by, but apparently she’d heard from his father that Kellie was in labor. Kellie’s own mother wouldn’t bother with the hassle, and Max felt pleased that his mom would actually be so considerate.
“She’s a fighter,” Elaine assured them both. “That girl can overcome anything.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Max nodded. “Still doesn’t make it easy.”
“No, it doesn’t. But we can pray for her and be here to help her through it. Waiting is tiresome, I know. But in the meantime, so we can pass some time until we hear news, I’d really like to get to know Anna.”
It was actually nice to be a third wheel as Anna and Elaine talked to each other. He could tell his mom really liked her, and since Anna was so easygoing, she flowed through conversation with his mom easily. Eventually they’d dragged him into the conversation, but the timing was actually nice. He’d been sitting by the window, checking the clock every thirty seconds, and beginning to let negative thoughts take over.
Finally he stood. They’d been trying to guess what theme Tate had used for the baby room to kill time, but he was getting way too restless. “Let’s go see whose ass needs to get fired in order to see my cousin, okay?”
Anna playfully shoved his shoulder, but smiled along with him. “Maybe I need to do the talking this time, huh?”
As they left the little waiting area they’d been in, Max noticed there were several people milling about in the hallway. When they saw him, most of them pretended to be doing other things, but a couple of people continued to stare. There weren’t just hospital employees present, but also a few family members of other patients. A young woman was standing at the nurse’s station with whom Max assumed to be either her husband or boyfriend, and she couldn’t stop gawking at him.
He and his mom stayed with Jake while Anna went to the desk again. This was a private facility with exceptional care and security—he could now see a couple of security officers in the vicinity. But it didn’t exactly put him at ease and he was extremely glad he had his own personal attendant.
“Mr. McCallan,” the original nurse, Carol, said as she came down the hall with Anna. “I’m, um, I’m so sorry about earlier. I’m just not allowed to give out information to people who haven’t been preapproved by the family. I know who you are, but, um…”
It wasn’t that he expected her to grant him entry based on who he was. His initial frustration had more to do with how stupid both nurses had reacted. This was an elite facility and their professionalism should reflect that. No one should give a fuck what celebrity walked in here. She was now staring at his mom, obviously recognizing who she was as well.
“Can you please give me information about Kellie McCallan? Sullivan,” he added as a correction.
Her eyes returned to him again. “Ahem, yes. She’s been taken to surgery for emergency caesarean.”
Max felt panic rush through his chest but calmly asked, “What’s happening?”
“It’s all I know so far. My apologies. As soon as someone is available to answer your questions, I promise I will let you know.”
A disturbance at the end of the hall caught everyone’s attention. Rayne Sullivan, Tate’s sister, was almost running down the hallway but Jake stepped between her and Max and blocked her way.
“Oh my God, what’s going on? Let me through, you big asshole!”
“Jake, she’s family,” Max told him.
Jake stepped aside, but not before Rayne cast him the nastiest glare she could give him. Her blue hair, piercings and tattoos huffed past him and stopped in front of Max, frantic with eyes full of fear. Security had also come closer, so Max took her by the elbow and led her back to the private waiting room.
“Kellie went into premature labor.”
“I know that,” she growled at him. “Tate said the baby wasn’t breathing so they were doing an emergency c-section! Or maybe I have that mixed around. Jesus, I have no idea! I’m freaking out!”
Again Max’s heart dropped into his stomach. She must have received more recent information from Tate than he had.
“That’s all I know as well,” he told her evenly. “They said they’ll let us know as soon as they can.”
She hit him in the chest with both hands as a sob came out of her mouth. “You’re Mr. Big Shot! Can’t you go strut your high society ass in there and find them!? You don’t even care!”
Jake had moved to intercede, but Max gave him the silent signal not to. He didn’t know what else to do or say because right now he felt exactly how Rayne did. He wanted to yell and cry, and he wanted to punch something extremely hard. But no, he remained emotionless just to keep himself composed.
“I’m sorry, Rayne,” was all he could say.
She scoffed at him but turned away. Anna was there to talk to her though, so Max headed for the window to stare outside. It was a beautiful evening in southern California, but definitely not one to enjoy right now.
She was right. High society nothing. Money or status couldn’t help what was going on with Kellie and Tate right now. Just like how he couldn’t make Olivia love him six years ago.
Olivia. He scowled to himself. He still couldn’t wrap his head around that disaster. And since she’d been spotted in L.A., there were tabloid stories about her everywhere. Some stated she was making a comeback, others stated she’d come back for Max. He never saw any of that crap, but word gets around. His former PR rep had even contacted him with the news, most likely hoping he cared and would give her her job back for her dutiful service.
He heard voices behind him—a mixture of tones, male and female. His brother had arrived with Camryn; Jay and Melanie were getting an update from Rayne. Tyse and Sarah showed up a couple minutes later and were speaking with Elaine.
Max kept his distance, letting everyone go through the exchange of information all over again. He was sort of used to maintaining that distance, hanging out away from the family clique. It wasn’t that he preferred it; just that he felt he belonged on the outside. And now that Sarah was in the same room as him, Max couldn’t help but stare at her as discreetly as he could. Yes she did look a lot like Olivia, but who was his ex anymore? Last week in the car pretty much rocked his entire outlook on that situation. And there was his mom, talking to her sister like she didn’t have a care in the world.
The murmuring shushed almost instantly as a doctor in his late thirties entered the room and the bodies parted to give him space. “Friends and family of the Sullivans?”
Max hated the indifference painted on the doctor’s face and his heart sank into his stomach again.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The doctor’s presence had silenced everyone for only a brief moment.
“I’m his sister,” Rayne blurted out, practically pushing Camryn out of the way.
“I’m Kellie’s brother,” Jay spoke. “And her other brother,” he pointed to Tyse. “Cousins, whatever the fuck. But yes, w
e’re all family here.”
“I’m Dr. Richie. You can all take a deep breath, mom and baby are good, and dad is finally on his way to recovering.”
A few people appreciated the light humor and chuckled. But it was like a huge cloud had been lifted off the room and there was a physical change in aura. Max could feel it, and he could tell everyone else felt it too.
“However, we did come across some scary moments,” the doctor continued. “Baby was struggling, ready to exit a few weeks early, but had a slight tangling up with the umbilical cord. We performed an emergency caesarean because of the baby’s position—forcing vaginal labor would have made it worse. Baby Sullivan wasn’t breathing for a bit, and it took a bit of time to fix that, but you’ve all got yourselves a little fighter added to the family.”
Everyone ensued with hugs, moving from one family member to another. Max remained off to the side, thanking God that his cousin was granted a miracle. He forced himself to be emotionless and asked what was in store for the baby’s recovery.
“Good question,” Dr. Richie nodded as everyone went silent again. “A preemie needs a little extra time, so of course we aren’t out of the dark just yet. Those five pounds and four ounces needs some time here with us for monitoring. We’ll know more in the next twenty-four hours.”
“Well what did they have?” Melanie asked, holding her own stomach. “A boy or a girl?”
Excited chatter ensued, everyone eager to hear the answer or reminding others what they had their money on. It was pretty apparent that at least Teague and Jay had some sort of bet going on. Max felt somewhat privileged to have been the first one to know, even though the information hadn’t been intentional. He thought maybe Rayne might know too, but she was impatiently waiting for an answer also. And Anna hid her knowledge pretty well when she slid her arms around Max and gave him a big hug. He could feel her relief and genuine gratitude in just that moment of affection.