“You’re right. I have to take care of this just like anyone else in my predicament would have to do. I’ll talk to my battalion chief.”
“The same one whose position you want?”
“Kelly’s retiring. I’m supposed to call his secretary this afternoon to make an appointment to meet with him.”
“See, you’re already on the right track.” He clears his throat. “I’m proud of you. I haven’t said it as often as I should have, but I am.”
“Thanks, Dad.” My voice cracks just a little. How can it not? For years, I’ve yearned for his approval for the choices I’ve made. “And…I don’t say it often enough, either, but you’re a good guy. Your opponents might not think so, but where it counts, you have heart.”
“Yes. Well, your mother and I would love for you and Saylor to come stay with us, as soon as it fits into your schedule. We’d like to get to know her better without the public in the way.”
And that’s as close to an apology and thank-you from him that I’ll get.
“I’m sure Saylor would love that.”
Another awkward moment of silence, then I say, “Okay. I’ll let you go. Need to make some calls and go home to my wife.”
I end our call when my landline’s intercom beeps.
“Hayden?” Lara says.
“Yes?”
“Patrick Kelly on line three.”
“I’ll take it.”
My gut clenches as I reach over my desk and punch the line while simultaneously picking up the phone from its cradle.
“Walker.”
“I’ve just gotten some rather disturbing news. I need you to come down to Station One. Immediately.”
“Yes, sir.” Looks like I’ll be having that meeting with him a lot sooner than I thought.
Chapter 22
Saylor
I’ve been worrying over Hayden ever since he had to leave last night, and no matter how busy I stay, my thoughts constantly return to him. My stomach is in knots. My heart slams against my chest with every beep, ding, or notification that my phone makes. I can’t concentrate on anything else.
Honestly, I don’t know how other men and women do it. How they can survive being totally helpless while their loved one is fighting fires or bad guys. Hayden and I have been married for only three months now, and it’s not getting easier.
Keeping more truths from him doesn’t help, either.
No matter what, as soon as Hayden comes home, I will tell him the truth. Doesn’t matter how many alarms or alerts go off.
I have to tell him.
Besides feeling physically awful, I’m mentally in anguish over my decision to wait for so long, especially after how sweet he was to me last night when he apologized.
And I hate that Tripp’s put it in my head that Hayden is running for office without telling me. Hate how he thinks I’m so easily manipulated with his lies about being concerned for me.
Where was his concern when I was born? Where was his concern when I was five years old, fifteen, or even twenty-five, for that matter?
Evangeline lightly touches my leg, bringing me out of my head and straight into the shelter’s cat playroom, where the two of us are sitting on the floor. “Anything you want to talk about?”
“Yes,” I admit. “But it won’t help unless I tell the right person.”
“I might not be the right person, but you can get whatever it is off your chest that’s making you so un-Saylor-like today. Four dogs and six cats were adopted into forever families and you barely noticed.”
“Oh, I noticed all right,” I disagree. “I just fell asleep in my office before I could congratulate them.”
“Are you sure you’re not sick?” She places her palm against my forehead. “You do feel a little warm.”
“It’s probably guilt,” I mutter.
“Over what?”
I bite my lip. “Over not telling Hayden that my dad is his dad’s mortal enemy. It’s like Khan versus Kirk. Sorta.”
Her blue eyes round. “Oh wow. That is a big deal.”
“Not to mention that Hayden admitted he used to be engaged to my half sister.”
“Oh sweet Lord,” Evangeline whispers. “That’s…gross.”
Shaking my head, I say, “They never slept together. He said that while he was attempting to respect her decision to wait until they were married, she was busy getting it on with his cousin Vance.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah, so he pretty much thinks all Sterling women are lying Cheaty McCheatersons.” I exhale a shuddering breath. “Meanwhile he has no idea he’s with the biggest liar of them all.”
“Did you know that when you two got married?”
“No, I didn’t even know he was in politics. Y’all never told me. As for my half sister, I didn’t find out about the engagement until after we decided to stay married.” I bite my lip, trying not to cry. “I thought since my dad wanted nothing to do with me, even after meeting me, that it wouldn’t matter. But now I know it does.”
“Just talk to him. Hayden will understand.”
“I tried to tell him last night, but he got called in, so…I have to wait even longer, and I keep thinking that at any moment, someone will put two and two together about my parents, and he’ll find out before I get the chance.”
Evangeline squeezes my hand reassuringly. “Even if that does happen, I still think Hayden is a reasonable man.”
“But reasonable men don’t stay with liars…or Sterling girls.”
My phone buzzes and my heart leaps into my throat. “Finally,” I say breathlessly, reading Hayden’s text and responding with one of my own. My frantically beating heart starts to slow to a normal pace.
“Hayden?”
I nod, dangling a long strand of yarn at a tabby. He bats at it playfully before performing a full-on attack. “He said he’s too tired to drive, so he’s sleeping at the firehouse while I’m at work.”
“Smart decision. Hunter’s slept in his truck before when he’s had one of those nights and days and nights again.”
“I know, but I can’t help but want to go home to him. Put him to bed and climb right in there with him.”
Evangeline strokes a white ball of fluff in her lap. “You look like you feel awful.”
“I do feel awful, but I have a doctor’s appointment with my gynecologist anyway. Maybe she can diagnose me.” And give me my biannual shot of birth control.
“The crud is going around, zaps people of energy, but no fever. Sometimes upset stomach, sometimes vomiting,” Evangeline says. “Last week Hunter had it and it was awful. The poor man was puking every five minutes. For once he was really sick and not man sick, so I actually stuck around to take care of him.”
“I threw up this morning, but my stomach was fine, and I haven’t felt sick again. Just really tired.”
“Exactly how it started with Hunter. It was brutal. Get some meds for the puking, just in case, and be prepared to take off. We can hold down the fort for you.”
“Thank you,” I say to her.
She smiles at me, then gives me a little shove. “Go on.”
I stand up, brushing the cat hair off my shorts. “I’m going, I’m going.”
—
I arrive twenty minutes before my appointment, but when I check in, the receptionist doesn’t have me down.
“But I have an appointment with Dr. Glyn today. It’s on my phone and everything.”
“I understand, but your appointment was two months ago and you were listed as a no-show.” She scans the screen. “We called to reschedule but got no answer.”
“What number did you call?”
She gives it to me and a tingly feeling slides over me. “That’s not my number. Wrong area code.”
“Oh, that would explain it. I’m so sorry. Let me see if another doctor can squeeze you in.” She slides the glass closed and I’m forced to stand there and wait. And wait some more.
After what seems like an eternity, she opens the gl
ass partition.
“You’re in luck. Dr. Moore has time to see you right now. So go in, do your thing, and then head straight back to the nurse’s area to drop off the cup.”
Quickly, I do all the prep work in order to be seen by Dr. Moore and am escorted to a room, where I change into a paper gown.
As soon as the doctor walks through the door, a nurse by her side, I immediately ask, “So I have the crud, I think, and wondered if you could help me with it?”
“You don’t have the crud, Saylor.”
“I don’t?” I lower my chin. “What do I have?”
“In about seven months, you’ll have a baby.”
I blink at her, then blood drains from my face and I simply pass out.
A bright light shines in my face and I try to swat it away. “Sit up, dear.” Dr. Moore places her arm on my back and helps me up. “Drink this and then we’ll talk.”
I drink the liquid down, surprised that it’s orange juice, but maybe that’s what is good for me right now.
“How did I get pregnant—I mean I know how I got pregnant, but seriously, how did I—I’m on birth control!”
Dr. Moore pats my arm reassuringly. “Unfortunately, through a series of regrettable events, you didn’t get our call due to a clerical error, and apparently you thought today was your appointment. Because of that, we weren’t able to warn you about the recall or tell you that you should use a backup method until we could decide on a replacement medication.”
I furrow my brows together. “So the recall was because…?”
“The batch of BC-12 contained little to no estrogen or progestin, for that matter, both of which are what prevent pregnancy.” She glances at her chart, pulling up my records and examining them. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t realized until months after the fact. Your last shot was from that batch. I’m really sorry.”
“Oh,” I say weakly. “It’s not your fault.”
She smiles grimly. “There is already a class action against the pharmaceutical company and you’re already listed as one of the plaintiffs in the suit. We’ll make sure you get the proper information so you can decide if you want to opt out or not.”
“Thank you.” My mind whirls, barely processing all that she’s shared with me. I want to curl into a ball in bed and not come out until the next decade.
How could I be so careless with Hayden? It’s not even his fault. He asked. God, he asked me over and over again, and I said yes.
Tears pool in my eyes and I swipe them away.
“I take it this pregnancy isn’t what you wanted,” she says gently.
I shrug. “I don’t know. It’s…unexpected to say the least.”
“Do you need resources for other options? Based on the information you’ve given me, you’re only eight to nine weeks along.”
I think about my mother, at only seventeen, choosing to have me, despite the fact that she had no support and would have to leave her only way to make money in order to keep me.
Yet she made it work.
She modeled while she was pregnant, helped redesign maternity lines so that they were formfitting and sassy, instead of, as she described it, downright hideous.
Meanwhile I’m a twenty-seven-year-old woman who runs a business, who has consensual sex, and is married to a man who wants to take care of me, protect me.
Only, I have no idea what he’ll say. If he’ll want a baby or not. While I…I—I think of all the things I can do instead of having or even keeping this baby.
Adoption.
Abortion.
None of those “A” words work for me, I suddenly realize.
I have to keep this baby. I mean, I rescue animals for a living, no matter how ugly or smelly, or scary-looking.
I can do this. I want to do this.
“I plan to have the baby.” A fierce kind of love wells inside me, as if my mind finally told my heart the plan. “He or she will be loved and raised by me.”
The doctor smiles. “Wonderful. If you’ll allow me to examine you, then we’ll go over what to expect next.”
I take a deep, sustaining breath, mentally telling myself that everything will work out for the best, while Dr. Moore performs her examination and lets me know how great my uterus looks. As well as how tightly it’s sealed—something that you need for a healthy pregnancy, apparently.
Since she’s the expert, I’ll take her word on that one.
At the end of my appointment, I’m given a gift bag full of pregnancy goodies—books, vitamins, suckers for morning sickness, and a soft green blanket.
For a moment, I sit in my Jeep, wondering if I should go home and simply tell Hayden everything…who my dad is, the pregnancy, and—
What am I thinking?
There is no if. Hayden deserves to know the truth.
All of it.
Even if it makes him leave me.
I rub my stomach. “At least we’ll have each other.”
—
I’m on pins and needles as I wait for Hayden to come home. He’s running late, and his latest text to me, after I called the fire station, is for me not to expect him home until close to nine p.m.
I glance at the clock. The hands are on Princess Leia and Han Solo, which means it’s only eight ten.
Trying to get my mind off everything, I attempt to watch Star Trek Into Darkness, but not even Chris Pine and the dude who plays Bones is enough to distract me. Although, I’ll have to admit that it might have something to do with Chris Pine’s blue eyes, which are almost the same shade of blue as Hayden’s.
A knock on my door makes me jump to my feet for some weird reason. Padme, obviously ticked off that I moved, swipes at my ankle, then bolts out of the room.
I have no idea who it could be because of the time and the fact that Evangeline is working until closing at the shelter.
Limping just a little to the door, I open it slightly, then narrow my eyes.
“What do you want?”
Tripp stands there, all casually dressed with his rolled-up shirtsleeves and khaki pants. “To talk to you about your husband.”
Heart crashing to my toes, I yank open the door. “Is he hurt? Why hasn’t anyone called me?”
“Calm down, Saylor.” Tripp puts his hands on my shoulders. “Hayden is okay, physically, at least.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
He gestures inside. “If you’ll allow me a moment of your time, then I’ll tell you.”
I don’t trust him any further than I can beam him aboard the Enterprise, which is to say, not at all. But I am curious as to what he has to say.
Wrapping my arms around me, I march back to the living room. “You have ten minutes and then you have to leave.”
“Your husband has found himself in a bit of a pickle and the only way he can get out of it is if you help me help him.”
“I don’t understand.”
“To put it bluntly, he’s being investigated as an accomplice to arson and has been put on temporary suspension until the investigation finds him not guilty. Or he goes to jail.”
“Jail? For arson?” I all but whisper. “Hayden wouldn’t set fire to anything, except the grill. I love steak, so he cooks it for me a lot.”
Tripp gives me an annoyed look, then continues. “Right now, he’s sitting with his boss while answering questions about his involvement with Walker Enterprises.”
“His family’s company?”
He nods. “Exactly.”
“They all have an involvement with that company. It’s a family tradition. That’s not news.”
“All the more reason he’s a suspect. The building was left structurally sound yet the entire thing needs to be gutted. And wouldn’t you know it, Walker Enterprises had fire insurance.”
“I have fire insurance for my business,” I counter.
Tripp steps up to me and grabs me again. This time he isn’t gentle and he isn’t trying to console me. “Listen to me, stupid girl. Your husband will lose his job. He will
never be able to work again as a firefighter.”
“Not when they find out he’s innocent,” I say firmly, even as his grip gets so tight that I wince in pain.
“I’ll excuse your ignorance since you weren’t raised to know the ins and outs of our family.” His jaw works. “In exchange for your husband being found not guilty of any wrongdoing, I want you to share with me all that you learn from the Walkers.”
“You want me to spy on them?” I should have known, but this is something I’ve seen only on TMZ or Scandal.
“That’s such a nasty way of putting things. I prefer working together for the common good.”
“I won’t betray Hayden.”
“You’d rather he lose his job?”
I swallow. “No.”
“Then it’s solved. You give me what I want, and in return, I make everything go away.”
Hot tears prick my eyes and roll down my cheeks. “You’re a monster.”
He smiles, his face handsome beyond belief, while his soul is darker than the pits of Mordor. “And you’re the monster’s daughter.”
“Get your fucking hands off my wife.”
Chapter 23
Hayden
I watch with barely restrained fury as Sterling releases Saylor, holding his hands up as if in surrender while mine are clenched into fists.
“Step away from her.” I gentle my voice. “Are you okay, sunshine?”
Saylor won’t look at me. She just stares at the floor, her dark hair sliding forward to hide her face as she nods.
“I wasn’t hurting her,” he says, all smiles. “Just trying to get my point across to my daughter.”
“Daughter or not, you’ll keep your hands to yourself.” I go to Saylor, taking her in my arms, even as she stiffens in them. There are red marks on her shoulders shaped like the tips of his fingers. “Fucking manhandling bastard.”
“Do you want to press charges, honey?” Hunter asks from the doorway.
“Who the hell are you?” Sterling cuts in before Saylor can reply.
I glance over at Sterling. “He’s with Charlotte PD.”
As soon as I pulled in the parking lot and spotted Kennedy’s old BMW, I texted Hunter to ask him for backup. I wasn’t sure what I’d find, but I never expected this…
Hard to Fall Page 17