Zeke was clearly confused that I had just come out of Darby’s room, knew they were going out together, and seemed to be fine with it. I smiled, happy to keep him in the dark.
Darby began to walk down the hall, and Zeke followed. He glanced back at me one last time before they rounded the corner and were out of sight.
I decided to take the stairwell, feeling my phone buzzed in my pocket before I was halfway to my room. It was Hailey, and I picked up before the second alert.
“Hey, Bells. How’s things?”
“Sitting around being bored.”
“No plans? It’s Friday.”
“I got asked out. He wasn’t my type.”
“Doesn’t go to your church, does he?”
“Catholic.”
“Hailey. Just because he has a different set of beliefs than you…”
“Dad won’t allow it, and you know it.”
“Why can’t you be like all the other teenagers and do exactly the opposite of what you’re told?”
“I like Rob Major, anyway.”
“That half-pint from church camp?”
“You haven’t been home in a long time, Scottie. He looks a lot different. And his mom is the praise and worship leader at our church now.”
“Oh, goody. Making sure you don’t date outside of your faith is a surefire way to keep you in the same mindset.”
“Scottie…” she warned.
“Sorry. So, why doesn’t Rob ask you out?”
“I don’t know,” she said in a breathy voice. I imagined her lying on her baby-pink bed, her legs crossed and resting against the wall, her blond hair cascading off the side of the mattress and skimming the floor. Rob Major was probably a skinnier version of my dad. I thought about him losing his temper and yelling at my sister, all while spouting scripture for her to submit and obey her husband—or worse, him laying a hand on her. I’d murder him.
“He better be nice to you, Bells. That’s all I’m gonna say.”
“Rob? He is the sweetest thing. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. That’s why I like him. He’s so different from Daddy in all the right ways.”
“That’s a relief,” I said.
“How about you? Do you have any plans tonight? How’s Colorado? Have you found a place yet? When can I visit?”
“You know all of those answers.” She sighed, so I went ahead and made her happy. “I don’t have plans. Colorado is beautiful. It’s almost July and it still gets chilly at night. Have not found a place yet, but I’m not looking too hard, either. You can visit when I find something. You can’t come here. It’s crawling with firefighters, and they’ve all been away from their girlfriends and wives for a few months now. Not a good idea.”
“Have you met anyone yet?”
“I’ve met a lot of people.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I uh…not really.”
Hailey sucked in the tiniest gasp, and I heard her shuffle. “You did. You met someone. What does she look like? Where’s she from? What does she do?”
“Hold on, Hailey, Jesus.”
“Scott Solomon Trexler!”
I cringed. “Don’t use my middle name, Bells. You know I hate it.”
“And don’t you dare take the Lord’s name in vain! You might not care about your soul, but I do.”
“Sorry.”
“So?” she demanded.
“She works here at the hotel.”
“Oh?”
“She’s…” I sighed. “She’s beautiful, Bells. Not just your ordinary beauty, either. Like exotic, modelesque, breathtakingly beautiful. And she has no idea. I’ve never seen anyone like her in person. She could start the battle of Troy.”
“Wow.”
“She’s from Texas. She has this cute little country drawl, too.”
“Why aren’t you taking her on a date?”
“She’s at the movies with a hotshot named Zeke.”
“No! If you like her so much, go steal her!”
I chuckled. “She’s not dating Zeke. Her wedding was a few weeks ago.”
“She’s married?” Hailey wailed.
“No, no…she didn’t go through with it. He was mean and she bailed. She’s not looking to date anyone.”
“Oh,” Hailey said, deflated. “I’ve never heard you talk about someone like this. Not even Laura. You called her breathtaking. You should definitely tell her that.”
“No. She needs time, and I’m going to give it to her. She’s been through a lot. And…” I started to say I thought she was sick, but decided Hailey didn’t need to know everything.
“And?”
“I’m not in a hurry, Bells, you know that.”
“I just wish…I want you to be happy, that’s all.”
“Who says I’m not?”
“Good. I miss you.”
“Miss you, too. Make sure Rob lives a long life by warning him about your brother.”
She giggled. “He doesn’t like me like that. Yet.”
“I doubt that. Love you.”
“Love you, too! Night!”
I pushed through the door to my room, and immediately fell on my back onto the mattress. With my fingers laced behind my head, I took a deep breath and blew it out as I stared at the ceiling. If Darby was ill, that was something I couldn’t save her from. What if she needed treatment and couldn’t afford it because she’d run from that cocksucker in Texas? I could make a few calls to California. Val could find out for me in forty-eight hours, but that was if I wanted to seriously violate Darby’s privacy. Nope. No matter how badly I wanted to know, that was out of the question. It was her decision to tell me or not. It was just driving me nuts not knowing, even if she was likely perfectly capable of saving herself. I just wanted to help.
I’d just found her. Losing her made a sick feeling swirl in my stomach.
My cell chimed, and I picked it up, reading a text from Naomi.
I’m at a dive bar downtown. Save me, T-Rex.
From boredom? Because it’s not that you can’t handle yourself.
Yes. Two drinks in and it’s still not fun. And the men here are annoying af.
I sighed, hearing Matt telling me to get off my ass and go to his wife. I tapped out a reply.
K. Be there in 15.
Make it 10.
I jumped off the bed, hopped in the shower for a couple minutes, then rushed around the room to get dressed before grabbing my wallet, keys, and phone and jogging down the stairs and out the door to my truck. The only woman I’d rush like that for besides my sister was Naomi…and now Darby.
Naomi texted me her location, and I tested my luck by driving eighty mph all the way to the destination. The truck skidded to a stop in a small parking lot across the street and halfway down an alley from McCormack’s Pub, and I jogged to the entrance, yanking open the door and looking around for Naomi.
She was staring at me with a smile, her fist against her chin, her other hand outstretched, her fist and middle finger the only thing between her and a hotshot I recognized from the hotel lobby. He was smiling, too, trying to hide the embarrassment of a very public rejection. I’d seen him talking to Darby, too. He looked more like an Abercrombie & Fitch model than a wildfire fighter. He was too pretty to like to get dirty, even with his scraggly beard. His hair was gelled and his black button-down was starched.
“Hey,” I said, huffing. “This is it? This is why I risked a reckless driving ticket?”
“Is she uh…?” Watts asked me.
Naomi answered for me. “Of course! I must belong to him because I’m not interested in you.”
“Who said you weren’t interested in me?” Watts said.
“Me,” Naomi said. “Twice.”
“Watts,” I said, shaking my head. “You don’t wanna rock this boat.”
“Is she your sister?” he asked.
Naomi and I looked at each other. She was exotic and wild; I was a plain-Jane white boy from Kansas. We couldn’t have looked more different.
Watts sat down. “I’m just trying to figure you guys out. Maybe you’re adopted, I dunno.”
“We work together,” I said.
“Trex,” she scolded. She didn’t want Watts knowing anything about her.
“Didn’t you notice the wedding band? She’s married, man, beat it.”
Watts looked down. “It’s on her middle finger.”
“Does she look like a conformist?” I asked.
Watts shrugged and stood. “She’s fucking beautiful. If she doesn’t want guys thinking she’s single, maybe wear it on the correct finger.”
Naomi glared at him. “Or believe me when you walk up and the first thing I say is go away.”
“You’re right. I apologize,” he said. He nodded to me once and then walked away.
“Why do you wear it on your middle finger?” I asked.
“I lost weight after Matt died. It doesn’t fit on that finger anymore.”
“Get it sized?” I suggested.
“No. Matt picked out this ring. It stays the same as he remembers it.”
“Must have been hard for you to move here.”
She shook her head. “That part was easy. I couldn’t look at that apartment one more day. I didn’t realize it until I got the letter. Then I couldn’t pack fast enough.”
“You hanging in there?” I asked.
She crossed her arms over the table and shrugged. “Some days are easier than others.”
I nodded. “I was wondering why you were here if you’re not in the mood to socialize.”
“I’m allowed to go out and not be presumed to want male attention.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
She took a swig of her beer. “Damn it. I’m sorry, Trex.”
“Talk to me.”
“His mom’s birthday is today. It’s weird what bothers me and what doesn’t.”
I reached across the table and encircled my fingers around her wrist. “You can call me to come over and hang out if you don’t want to subject yourself to dive bars. Then you’re not alone, and you’re not flipping off total strangers.”
She glanced over at Watts, who was talking to his buddies but happened to look over at Naomi at the same time. That’s when I saw Zeke and then Darby. She was midstep on her way to my table, staring at my hand on Naomi’s. She turned on her heels and returned to Zeke, standing with her back to me.
“Shit,” I said, standing.
“What?” Naomi asked.
“That’s the um…That’s her.”
“The girl? Darby?”
I nodded.
“You know what she’s thinking, go—”
Before Naomi could finish her sentence, I was already on my way over to the small crowd of hotshots gathered with Darby and a few other women I didn’t recognize.
“Hey,” I said, putting a gentle hand on Darby’s back. She turned with one of her pageant smiles painted on her face.
“Hi, Trex.”
“Can I…” I glanced at Zeke. “Can I talk to you for a sec? There’s someone I want you to meet.”
Darby looked past me to Naomi, then back to Zeke.
“I told you, that’s his coworker,” Watts said.
Darby closed her eyes, unhappy about Watts revealing they’d been talking about Naomi. “Uh, sure. Yeah. Let’s go meet…your coworker.”
The walk over to Naomi’s table had my stomach in knots. I had no idea how to explain Naomi, but I couldn’t let Darby think I was out on a date, either.
“Nomes, this is Darby.”
Naomi smiled brightly, something I hadn’t seen her do since Matt was alive. “It’s Naomi, actually. So, you’re the famous Darby. Nice to finally meet you.”
Oh my fuck, Naomi, you’re brilliant.
“Hi,” Darby said, holding out her hand to shake Naomi’s. Naomi took it, and I could tell she was skipping the typical tight grip she normally used. Men usually looked shocked at the strength Naomi applied, but Darby let go without reaction. “So, you work in the Forestry Department?”
“No,” Naomi said, still smiling. “You work at the hotel?”
Darby glanced at me. “Yes.”
“You’re as beautiful as he said you were. Wow.”
“Thank you.” She said the words as if she’d heard them a million times—because she had. “So…what do you do?”
“I’m an independent contractor,” Naomi said.
“Oh, okay. Well, it was nice to meet you.”
“Would you like to join us?” Naomi said before Darby could walk away. “I know Trex would love it.”
“I’m here with friends. But thank you. I know Watts would appreciate it if I offered to have you join us.”
“We were just here trying to distract me from my dead husband, but thank you.”
“Oh. Oh, goodness, I’m so sorry,” Darby said, stunned. Her eyebrows shot up.
“Nomes,” I said, closing my eyes. “I’m sorry,” I said to Darby.
“I can see why you’re friends,” Darby said with a smile. “You do prefer bluntness.”
“Naomi is certainly that,” I said. “But that’s not it. Her husband, Matt, was a good friend.”
“No wonder,” Darby said, then seemed to realize she’d said it out loud. “That…that um…”
“We’re sitting here together and he had his hand on my arm? Yes. That’s why. Trust me, he’s talked about you eighty-five percent of the day.”
“That’s not true,” I corrected.
“No?” Darby asked.
“At least ninety,” I said.
Darby and I smiled at each other for several seconds, until Naomi cleared her throat.
“I should um…I should probably get…” Darby’s expression changed, and she sat down in my chair, placing one palm flat on the table.
“You okay?” I asked, grabbing her arm. The color drained from her face, and she stared at the table.
“Yeah, just dizzy,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” Naomi said. “You look like you’re about to—”
Darby leaned over and heaved, the water she expelled splashing on the floor. Naomi and I watched in shock and confusion.
Zeke and Watts rushed over.
“Darby?” Zeke said, taking her arm.
Watts saw the puddle on the floor and held the back of his wrist to his nose.
“Don’t be such a pussy. Go get a towel from the bartender,” Naomi said.
Watts jogged off, and my mouth opened before my brain could catch up. “What the fuck, Zeke? You bring her to a bar when she’s sick?”
“She’s sick?” Zeke asked. “I…I didn’t know.”
“You knew she was puking in the hotel lobby earlier.”
Darby heaved again.
“Was it something she ate?” Naomi asked, mostly unaffected.
Zeke shook his head. “She hasn’t eaten anything. She hasn’t felt great all night.”
“So you bring her here instead of taking her home?” I growled, grabbing his shirt.
“Stop. Stop! I’m okay,” Darby said, her head still down.
“I…She said she was okay,” Zeke said. He clearly felt bad. I didn’t need to make him feel worse. I knew Darby was a chronic fibber when it came to admitting her health. I released him and looked to my friend.
“Nomes…” I said.
“Yeah, go…” she said.
Watts brought a towel, and Darby took it.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, dabbing her mouth as I helped her to stand upright.
I lifted her into my arms. “C’mon. Let’s get you home.” I glanced at Zeke, who nodded. He knew I didn’t need permission, but it was decent of him not to argue.
Darby held the towel against her mouth and rested her head against my shoulder. Once she did that, my pace picked up, and I barely noticed that I was carrying her. Holding her so close created a strange conflicting feeling between wanting to walk
slowly to make it last and running to get her somewhere comfortable. I settled for walking quickly across the street and down the alley, pressing the unlock button on my key fob at fifteen feet out. The lights blinked once, highlighting the alley for a moment before we were bathed in darkness again.
My feet crunched against the dry gravel as I struggled to hold her, keep my balance, and pull open the door.
“I can walk,” Darby said.
“We’re here,” I said, opening the door and setting her in the passenger seat.
“I just waited too long to eat…again. I’ll get the hang of it.”
“Get the hang of what?” I asked. “Darby, tell me. How sick are you? How serious is it?”
She dabbed her mouth again and looked down. “Please don’t tell Stavros. Or anyone. I don’t want him to fire me.”
I swallowed. “What is it? Cancer?” My stomach sank. I wanted her back in my arms.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m, um…” She winced. “I didn’t realize how hard it would be to say it.”
It’s not cancer. Once that was out of the way, my mind was clear enough for the answer to dawn on me. The puking when she hadn’t eaten in a while, the dizziness, her drinking ice water in a bar, the exhaustion, the fact that she’d left her fiancé at the altar—her being so adamant on not starting any kind of relationship. I was a fucking idiot. She had someone else to protect. “Are you pregnant?”
She stared at me for a moment, deciding if she could trust me, then she nodded slowly.
I walked away, interlacing my fingers on my head. “Thank fuck!” I yelled. I grabbed my knees, feeling an overwhelming urge to cry. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever felt that way, even as a child. I breathed out and then stood, turning to face Darby.
She watched me, her eyes wary.
I went over to her and wrapped her in my arms, laughing once, rocking back and forth. “I thought you were dying.” She didn’t hug me back, so I let her go, scanning her eyes for a clue. “I’m sorry. I should’ve asked before I hugged you. I’m just so goddamn relieved.” She watched me like she was waiting for me to burst into flames. “What?”
“Don’t you understand?” she asked.
“That you’re pregnant?”
She nodded. “I’m pregnant.”
“Yeah…but…” I looked down at her stomach, “are you sure it’s mine?”
From Here to You Page 13