“Haha, yeah... let’s just say it’s been a day,” I respond, pulling out my bowls.
“You going to tell us about it over dinner?” she wants to know.
“Yep.” I step away from my counter to grab the ingredients I’ll need for the New York-style cheesecake, pudding for the fruit tart, and chocolate cake.
“Alright y’all, dinner is ready. Let’s go eat!” Trey calls out.
Fuck! I’m already in the fucking weeds.
“I’ll be there in twenty. Let me start the batter,” I call back.
“Let’s eat dinner while it’s hot. I’ll help with the batter later,” Wes offers as he steps up next to my station.
“Thanks, Wes.” I follow everyone out into the dining room to a grouping of tables in the center of the room.
Per usual, a few tables have been pushed together for our family-style meal. We all take a seat, and Adam sits next to me, placing a highball glass and a bottle in front of me. I glance around, noticing a few raised eyebrows. Drinking before shift is highly abnormal for me. It’s abnormal for everyone here. Sure we let loose, have fun, and give each other shit, but drinks don’t happen until after shift. However, even when we go out, I usually only have one drink.
Pour the whiskey and blurt it out.
I listen to my inner self, pouring a double. Instead of blurting out to my friends... my family... I have a seven-year-old daughter, I pick up the glass and toss back the whiskey. Then I speak.
“I have a daughter,” I confess as I place the empty glass on the table.
Drinks and a bit of food spew across the table. Guess I should’ve seen that coming.
“You what? I didn’t know you were even dating anyone seriously. Ness is going to have a field day,” Adam spits out as he fills his glass with whiskey as well.
Yeah, she will since they’d been trying to get pregnant for a year with no luck. My twin is amazingly strong. I don't know if I’d keep trying.
“Yeah, I just found out this morning. And to add fuel to that fire, she's seven years old, and her name is Isabella. Her mom calls her Ella for short.” More drinks spew across the table, and this time I have to dry myself off with a towel.
“You have a what?” Calla’s ire is in full swing. “I couldn’t have heard you right… a seven-year-old? Where the fuck did she come from?”
“Well, it seems the one-night stand I had with Piper’s friend, Hallie, all those years ago ended up with her getting pregnant. She’s been sick with cancer since then, so she wanted to spend as much time as she could with Ella before she dies. The doctors give her six months.”
“You’re getting a DNA test before you agree to this. And this is just shitty of her, by the way,” Calla states. The look on her face tells me that if I don’t agree to the test, she’ll drag my ass to a doctor’s office.
“Hold up! Piper’s friend? You mean the one that lives with her and works with her? That friend?” Adam chimes in.
I nod.
“Oh hell. Ness’s going to kill Piper. I really don’t want to have conjugal visits with your sister in jail. That just doesn’t work for me,” Adam states, only half joking.
“Dude, I really don’t need you even remotely telling me about having sex with my twin,” I respond, shaking my head, trying to rid myself of the images now in my brain. “Now that I need to scrub that picture from my mind, yes Calla, I plan on getting a DNA test. In fact, Hallie even suggested it. And no, Piper never told me, either.”
“Well damn. How are you doing with the news?” Trey makes a grab for the whiskey bottle. “I think I need one of these, too.”
“Pour all of us one. We definitely need it,” Calla encourages, holding out a glass for the amber liquid.
Trey does Calla's bidding. When we all have our drinks, my family toasts me as they would if I was dating someone and found out she was pregnant.
“Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel. I’m pissed for missing out on seven years of her life. And for not being given an opportunity to have a family. I’m scared shitless that Ella’ll think I didn't want her, or that she won't like me. On the flip side, I want to know what she looks like, what she does for fun, what music she listens to, and what movies she watches. And most importantly, what desserts she loves, and will she want to learn to cook?”
The table falls silent after I respond to Trey’s question. I sip my drink and take a few bites of the meal my friends prepared. All the fears I’ve just spoken out loud run through my mind. I wonder if all fathers have these fears when they find out they’re going to be a dad?
I’m still pondering my last thought as a buzzing intrudes on my musings. We all glance at our phones. Mine's flashing a number I don't recognize.
“It’s me.” I hit accept. “Hello?”
“Mr. Jenson?” an unfamiliar voice questions.
“Yeah, that’s me.” It comes out as more of a question than a statement.
“Mr. Jenson, I’m Officer Brown. There was an accident, and your name is the emergency contact for a Hallie Hartley,” the man tells me.
I push back from the table and hold up a finger as I walk away.
“What kind of accident, officer? Was there a little girl with her?” I quiz him.
“It was a motor vehicle accident. Ms. Hartley was hit in the driver's side door. She’s being taken to St. David’s North Hospital. She was alone in the vehicle.”
“Shit! I need to find Ella. Thank you for calling. I’ll be at the hospital as soon as I can,” I respond before disconnecting the call.
I jog back to the table. “Hallie was in an accident, and I don't have a fucking clue what school my daughter attends.”
“Call Piper. I bet she knows what school Ella goes to,” Adam says pulling his phone out as I run a hand through my hair.
My hands shake as I take the phone from Adam. It rings three times before Piper picks up.
“Adam, is Nessa okay?” my baby sister begins without even saying hello.
“Piper,” I start, but before I can say more, she interrupts me.
“Forest, why are you calling from Adam’s phone? What happened?” Her voice shakes as she speaks.
“Nessa and Adam are fine. Hallie was in an accident. She’s been taken to St. David’s. Ella wasn’t in the car with Hallie, so I need to find her.”
“Oh fuck! No, no, no!” Piper mutters, not answering my question. I want to scream my frustration out at my sister. My little girl is at school, and I have to meet her for the first time and tell her that her mom is hurt all at once.
“Piper, damnit! My daughter is at school, and I don’t know which one!” I growl into the phone.
“Shit… Ella! I’ll get her. Meet me at the hospital. Which one did you say they are taking Hallie to?”
“How the fuck will you get Ella?” I demand, pacing.
“I’m already in town. Hallie wanted me here when you met Ella. I’m on the highway about to take the next exit to Hallie’s house. Now which hospital?”
I let out a long breath, grateful Piper is here and able to help me meet my daughter for the very first time. Thankfully, Hallie had already thought to call her in.
“She’s at St. David’s North. I’m at Belladonna, and it’s going to take me a hot minute to get there, even on my bike.”
“Get out of the damn way fucker!” Piper yells at another driver, I assume. “Forest, just get to the hospital. This could be bad for Hallie.”
That stops me dead in my tracks. “What do you mean?”
“Let’s just see how she is when we get to the hospital. I gotta go. I’m pulling into the school parking lot now.” She disconnects.
With my keys in hand, I realize my friends have gathered around me, and Calla also has her things with her.
“Come on, let’s go. I’m driving,” Calla directs, nodding toward the door.
Adam has his hand out for his phone, and I drop it in his palm. “Calla, I’m fine.”
“No, you’re really not, so I’m driving. Your d
aughter needs her father now more than ever. Besides, we all know my cooking has been shit lately. Trey and Wes can handle the kitchen just fine without me, and Adam and Nessa, when she gets in, will handle the front of the house. Now get in my fucking Jeep,” she growls at me.
I can’t argue with her, and the fact that she realizes her cooking has been shit is just one of the reasons she’s one of my favorite people. It takes a strong person to see their issues, and an even stronger one to admit something is flawed. Calla is doing both, as I know she’s been trying to work out her issues and get her cooking mojo back.
“Fine, you win. I’ll let you drive.” I head for the front door.
“Calla, take my car. It’s faster than yours.” I turn back around to see Trey giving his keys to Calla.
“Good point. I don’t need him bitching at me to go faster,” she mutters. Everyone chuckles as she jogs in my direction.
“Thanks y’all.” I reach the door and push it open for Calla to exit first. We step into the heat of the late afternoon and scramble to Trey’s sports car.
Chapter 4
Forest
Calla pulls into the parking lot of St. David’s North Hospital within fifteen minutes. The fact that she didn’t get a ticket while driving here is shocking. Granted, she did get pulled over, but when she explained to the officer why she’d been speeding, he immediately escorted us here.
“Thank you, officer,” I throw over my shoulder as I dart through the Emergency Room doors.
I’m in line at the counter before Calla and the officer make it inside. Is he going to check our story? The officer walks past me and over to a door to my right as Calla comes to stand next to me.
“I’m going to find us seats while we wait,” she announces and strolls off.
The line to speak to the intake nurse is slow as fuck, and the wait is killing me. Pulling out my phone, I check to see if I have any messages from Piper. I have none, and the fact that I’m not getting service in here could be the cause of it. Motherfucker. I slide my phone back in to my pocket.
“Next,” another nurse says from my left as that intake window opens.
“Mr. Jenson,” I hear my name being called from my right, and I glance over to see who's calling me.
The police officer is gesturing me over to him. I step out of line, losing my place in the hopes he’ll have information for me.
“Sir?” I question him.
“Grab Speedy Gonzales over there and follow nurse Kristin here. She’ll make sure you get where you need to be for your friend. I hope she makes it through, for you and your daughter's sake. Take care of yourself, and tell your friend to slow her ass down from now on.”
“Thank you sir, I will.” I walk over and grab Calla. When we make it back to the nurse, the officer is gone.
There’s a clicking sound and the heavy wooden door opens right in front of us.
“This way. I’m about to go on break, so I’ll take you where you need to go from this direction. Stay close,” nurse Kristin instructs as she leads us through the main door and weaves us around the ER into the main hospital. “Your friend is in surgery, so I can’t take you directly to her. But I can take you to the surgical waiting room.”
“Thank you. Would it also be possible to give me directions to the waiting room so I can text them to my sister? She’s bringing my daughter,” I inquire as we head down a new corridor.
“No problem. Though it might be easier if you let me type them in. That is, if you don’t mind.” I pull my phone back out of my pocket and pass it to her once I open my messages with Piper. “I don’t mind.”
We pass a few other nurses along the way, but for the most part we don’t run into many people. I find that a little strange, but we are taking the “authorized personnel only” hallways right now.
“Excuse me, nurse Kristin? Can you also tell us where we might be able to get a DNA test done?” Calla asks, stopping the nurse in her tracks.
She turns to stare at us. “DNA testing? Why do you want to know where to get one of those?” nurse Kristen questions.
“My friend here wants me to verify that the little girl my sister is bringing to the hospital is actually my daughter like Ms. Hartley says she is,” I quickly explain.
“Are you two together?” She motions her finger back and forth between me and Calla.
“No!” Calla shakes her head.
“Not in the slightest,” I reply at the same time, and we both chuckle. “We’re really good friends, and we work together.”
“Ah, got ya. More like family, I take it.” Nurse Kristen voices that more as a statement than actually asking us a question.
“Yes,” we agree.
“Once I get you to the surgical waiting room, I’ll give you the directions to the lab. They might be able to get you in while you wait. But don’t hold me to that,” nurse Kristin adds then resumes walking.
Our trek around the hospital feels like it takes hours when, in reality, it's only minutes. My nerves are shot, and my body is so tense that not even a massage, or sex for that matter, could release the tightness in my muscles. Out of nowhere, Calla grabs my hand, squeezes it, and starts to pull away. Her fingers are barely in my grasp when I glance over at her. Whatever she sees in my face makes her wiggle her fingers until she’s holding my hand again. That small act gives me the reassurance I need, and my frayed nerves ease a tiny bit, even if the tension in my muscles doesn’t.
Nurse Kristin leads us into a large waiting room. Only a few people are sitting in chairs off to the far side of the room.
“Have a seat, and I’ll let the nurses know you’re out here,” she directs. Calla and I do as she says and take seats close to one of the windows.
My focus goes to my phone. I have a small signal, so I hit ‘send’ on the message with directions nurse Kristin gave me for Piper.
Within minutes, my phone is ringing. “Hey. Ella and I are just walking into the hospital. I’ll double check which entrance I just entered, but I think we’re in the right area from these directions you sent. Thanks, by the way.”
“Thank God! I was getting worried. See you shortly,” I tell her, and we disconnect.
“Piper’s here with Ella I take it?” Calla inquires, sitting back in her chair.
“She is. Do you want to head back to Belladonna?” I’m trying to gauge what her thoughts are.
Calla scrunches her nose. “Fuck no! I’m staying here with you. I get that Piper is your sister, but she’s going to help your daughter with this meeting. You need someone here for you, even if it’s me just going to get food or something.”
“You are fucking amazing you know that? Torrance was a damn idiot for cheating on you. I hope one of these days you find a man that will treat you the way you deserve to be treated. And if I didn’t love you like a sister, I’d try to be that man.” I lean in and kiss the side of her head. “Thank you for being here and for staying.”
Calla shoulder-bumps me, and a little more tension abates.
“Mr. Jenson?” A lady behind the glass partition calls my name.
I push off the chair and make my way over to her.
“Yes ma’am?”
“I’ll make sure the doctor and surgical nurse know you’re here. As soon as they can let you know how Ms. Hartley is doing, they will. There’s one slight issue. Since you’re not family, they might not give you an update,” the lady informs me.
“I understand. Our daughter is on her way up now, but she’s only seven. I can’t let her be alone when she’s being told news about her mother,” I respond.
“Agreed. We’ll get it all worked out.”
“Thank you.” I turn to head back to my seat when my sister and the most beautiful little girl walk into the waiting room.
My breath catches as I get my first look at my daughter. Her long hair is the same butter pecan shade as Piper’s and Hallie’s. Piper isn’t paying attention, as she’s speaking with Ella, so I have a moment to study Ella even though I can�
�t see her whole face.
“Aunt Piper what happened? What’s wrong with Mom?” my little girl asks, and my heart just about breaks.
This is not how I fucking wanted to meet my daughter.
Chapter 5
Ella
My day has been really, really bad. Earlier, all I wanted was to meet my dad. Now I’m in a hospital waiting room wondering what happened to my mom. And if Aunt Piper is here, when I know she should be in Houston for practice, I know this is going to be bad.
This is going to be really, really bad.
“Piper,” a man’s deep voice says from behind us.
Aunt Piper drops my hand and runs to the man. I’ve only ever see the man in pictures Aunt Piper has shown me. My dad is in the same room as me. I can touch him. Holy crap! It feels like my feet are stuck in place, and my tummy is doing somersaults. Maybe I should have eaten one of the donuts before we came in, after all.
“Ella, Sweetheart, can you come over here please?” Aunt Piper asks. I shake my head no. “I’m scared,” I tell her softly.
My dad slowly walks to me with Aunt Piper by his side. “It’s okay Ella,” he comforts me as he lowers to his knees. “I’m scared, too.”
“Ella, this is your father, Forest. Forest, this is your beautiful daughter, Isabella,” Aunt Piper introduces us.
My dad holds his hand out to me. “It’s very nice to meet you Ella. I’m sorry we haven’t had the chance to meet before now. I was planning on setting up a meeting this week with you and your mom.”
“Mom told me she was going to meet with you today. I’d wanted to skip school so I could meet you,” I squeak out.
He chuckles. “Well, that would have been an even bigger shock. I’m glad you were at school, though. I wasn’t very diplomatic with your mom this morning.”
“Aunt Piper warned Mom you’d be pissed off.” I quickly cover my mouth.
“Ella!” Aunt Piper bites out.
This time he full-out laughs. “Yes, Piper was right. I’ll let you in on a secret. She’s not off the hook, either.” He gestures at Aunt Piper. “Why don’t we go sit with my friend over there and wait for news? Sound like a plan?”
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