by C. A. Harms
“Knock, knock.” I looked up to find my sister standing in the doorway. “Can I come in?” she asked.
I nodded my head as she closed the distance between us and took the empty spot next to me on the bed.
She brushed the fallen hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear, her gaze shifting to the photo I still held in my hands.
“Is that him?” she asked.
“Yes,” I choked, as I turned it so she could get a better view, and a smile spread across her lips.
“Well, hello, hunky cowboy.” She pulled it from my hands and held it closer. “He is yummy, Alex.”
I laughed lightly because she was right; he was extremely yummy. When she handed the photo back, I lightly traced my fingertip over it.
I know I made the choice, but damn it, it was the wrong one. I only wish I could go back and change it. I was scared, and I pushed him away when I should have grabbed on tightly.
“Do you miss him?” Harper asked and, without hesitation, I nodded my head yes. “Have you talked to him?”
“No, not since the day after our date. I tried calling a couple of times, but I think he was avoiding me.” I shrugged my shoulders and looked over at her. “One minute I was clinging to him for security and holding on to his thigh. The next I was avoiding the fact that he said he wanted to kiss me. If I was him, I would have run for the hills, too. I’m a mess, Harp, and he deserved better.”
She twisted around on the bed to face me. “Alexis, you have had some shitty luck with love.”
“Gee, thanks, Harper. Just lay it all out there.” She rolled her eyes and took my hand into hers.
“Listen to me,” she continued. “You know it’s true. You need to talk to him, tell him how you feel.”
“I wrote him a letter before I left. I gave it to his sister, I’m sure he has it by now.” I looked back down at his picture and closed my eyes tightly. “I’m just scared of the outcome. It could go either way.”
“Call him, or at least turn on your phone and see if he called you? You owe yourself that; you owe him that.” She leaned down and connected her stare with mine. “After everything he did for you, his kindness and his family’s, you owe him that much.”
She was right. I did.
Chapter Eleven
Colt
I have read over the letter at least ten times, her words hitting me deep.
You gave me hope when it had all been taken from me. You didn’t owe me a thing, yet you attempted to give me all you could. I will forever be grateful to you and your family. In the short time that we have known you, all of you accepted us and gave us a home.
There will not be a day that passes when I won’t think of you.
I was wrong to push you away, but I was terrified of what you could do to me if I let you in. Now I just regret the fact that I should have told you to kiss me. I should have said I wanted that too.
I’m sorry if I hurt you, Colt. I never meant to. You deserve happiness, and I hope more than anything that you get that someday.
Thank you for giving me hope that there are still good men out there, in places you least expect to find them.
Alexis
Why the hell she didn’t call me and tell me how she felt was eating at me. Had I appeared so cold that she couldn’t come to me?
Then the thought hit me. She had tried to call me, more than once. I chose to hide from the rejection and ignore the hurt it brought on. I made her feel as if I no longer cared.
I grabbed for a shirt and quickly pulled it on over my head, searching for my keys. I had to know if my mom knew how to find Alex. It was the only chance I had to find her.
What I needed to say to her couldn’t be said over the phone. I had just made it to my truck when my phone began to ring.
Maria’s number lighted up the screen and made me smile. Swiping my finger across it, I climbed up into my truck. “What’s wrong now, another meltdown?”
The sound of Mikey’s panicked voice had my heart racing. “Hey, buddy, slow down. I can’t understand what you’re saying.” He tried to speak again, but he was crying so hard. “Deep breath, bud, come on.”
“Blood, and she wo…won’t wake up,” he sobbed.
“Where are you?” I asked, throwing my truck into drive.
“Home, we’re…” he cried.
“I’m coming, do you hear me?” I assured him, and he whispered a pained yes.
I told him I was going to hang up so I could focus on driving. “I’m only a few minutes away, buddy. You stay calm.”
I never took the time to turn my truck off or even shut the door when I pulled into the driveway. Maria’s car was there, but Gavin’s was nowhere to be found. I rushed through the door, only to find Mikey kneeling on the floor next to Maria. He held her hand in his, and there was a look of terror in his eyes.
There was blood, and the sight of it made my stomach lurch. She wore a pair of pink stretch pants, which were soaked completely through. I had no idea what to do. On pure adrenaline, I scooped her up from the floor and turned toward the door. Hollering back, I told Mikey to get to my truck.
I didn’t want to waste any more time waiting on an ambulance. I placed her in the extended cab of my truck, not caring that the blood was soaking through everything.
“Mikey, buckle up, bud,” I directed him as I slammed the truck into reverse.
Once we were on the road, I looked over at him and patted his shoulder. “You did well, little man, calling for help. I’m proud of you.”
He turned his head to look up at me, and my heart shattered with his words. I fought back the emotional overload within me.
“Is she gonna die?” His tears fell heavily and his lip trembled. “Am I gonna lose my mom all over again?”
“No,” I firmly stated. “She is not gonna die.”
He had been through that once, and I prayed that I was right. He couldn’t lose her. Fuck it, I couldn’t lose her. And Gavin. Oh shit.
“Mikey, where is Gavin?” I hadn’t even thought about calling him. The fear of the moment took over when I saw them on the floor.
“Working,” he replied. “I tried to call him, but it just rang and rang.”
He started looking around like he was searching for something. “I forgot the phone at home.” He looked up at me in a panic.
“I’ll try again, after we get her there. That is our first priority,” I explained, and he nodded his head in understanding.
Pulling up to the emergency doors, I left my truck running as I grabbed Maria and carried her toward the entrance. The moment the nurse at the front desk saw me, her eyes grew wide. “We need help over here,” she yelled as she approached me.
After Maria was placed on a gurney and rushed off, I took the time to take in a few deep breaths. My heart was racing, and my entire body shook from fear. I grabbed my phone from my back pocket and made the call.
Calling Gavin should have been the first option, but I feared that he would drive after hearing the news. So I called Reed instead.
“Hey, Wood.” He chuckled at the nickname he had given me.
“Listen, Reed, I need you to get over to Bud’s. Find Gavin and get him to the hospital, now.” I was trying to maintain my composure, but with each passing second it was harder to control.
“I’m here, man. What the hell is going on?” I could hear the fear in his voice.
“It’s Maria. Mikey called me after he couldn’t reach Gavin. Just get him here, please. I don’t have any answers. I just know it’s bad.” He hung up quickly, assuring me that they were on their way. I took a seat next to Mikey in the waiting area and let my head rest back against the wall behind me.
I knew that, at any moment, the area would be flooded with those closest to my sister. Word spread quickly, and only one call was needed to get the message out.
***
The sound of the entrance doors sliding open caused me to look up. Gavin rushed in, followed by Reed and Bud close behind. I stood up from the ch
air and walked in their direction. The fact that I still had blood all down the front of me had slipped my mind.
Gavin took one look at me, and his knees buckled as he crumpled to the floor. He began fiercely shaking his head back and forth, saying no repeatedly.
Bud and Reed gripped his arms as they helped him up. I firmly placed my hands on his shoulders and forced him to look at me.
“Listen to me, look at me.” My eyes locked with his. “They’re working on her. You need to hold it together, do you hear me? They need you, Gavin; they need you to stay strong.”
The moment he registered what I had said, the scene before me shattered me all over again. A grown man was sobbing heavily as two others supported his weight.
“Mikey saved them both. He got the help they both needed.” Gavin’s eyes locked with Mikey’s, and he pulled free from Reed and Bud.
We all witnessed him rush for Mikey and pick him up from the floor. He held on to him tightly and whispered thank you over and over.
We gave them a few moments alone and stepped just outside the entrance doors.
Within minutes, Gemma pulled up and out climbed Kori, Gemma, and my mom. I watched as my mom’s eyes began to look me over. Her reaction was pretty damn close to Gavin’s.
“We really need to get you a change of clothes,” Reed said as he held Kori close, assuring her that everything would be okay.
I couldn’t have agreed more. I was sure the sight of me would make anyone think the worst. I was a walking horror flick.
Over the next hour, we all sat in a worried state. Each time the door opened, we all turned our heads in its direction. It was a natural reaction to our worry. We needed answers.
“I suspect you’re all family of Mrs. Tennison?” an older man asked as he approached us, with scrubs still covering his body and a surgical mask hanging around his neck.
“Yes,” Gavin whispered. “Please tell me they’re okay. Both of them, my wife and my son.” He pleaded with the doctor. I closed my eyes tightly as I prepared myself for the worst.
“Your son is healthy and being looked over by the pediatrician now.” He paused and knelt down to look into Gavin’s broken, fearful gaze. “Your wife lost a lot of blood. We had to perform an emergency caesarean. She had what we refer to as placenta abruption. The placenta detaches from the uterine wall, causing bleeding. In Maria’s case, it was a complete detachment, which caused very heavy bleeding. We didn’t take any chances, because she was close enough to her due date.”
The doctor paused, taking us all in as we waited for him to continue. We were on the edge of our seats, waiting for the ball to drop.
“It was a good thing she had a brave boy who got the help they both needed. He saved their lives,” the doctor said as he looked over toward Mikey and smiled. “You’re a hero, little man, and your momma and little brother are here because of you.”
Chapter Twelve
Alexis
My finger hovered over send as I stared at my message on my cell phone.
I miss you.
I wanted him to know so badly that he was on my mind. He was all I could think about. I had deleted the message and retyped it three different times. Yet I still had not gathered the courage I needed to hit send.
A knock on the door startled me, and I dropped my phone to the floor. Maddison was down for her nap, and I had told everyone I was going to do the same.
The truth was I just couldn’t shake the funk I was in. I regretted leaving Brooklet. I should have told Jett no. I should have explained to him that I found happiness in the small town and the kind people who lived there. They accepted Maddi and me, even though they had no idea where I had come from.
I quickly grabbed for my phone and made my way over to the door. Jett’s captivating green eyes looked back at me as a small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.
“Hey,” I said.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
I stepped back from the door and allowed him to enter, before closing it behind him.
“Harper told me about the guy. The one you met in Georgia.” I sat down on the bed and refused to look at him. It was the infamous brother speech. He would tell me the man didn’t deserve me and I was where I needed to be.
“She also told me about what he and his family had done, how they took you in.” Here we go, I thought. “That’s pretty damn amazing.”
His words confused me and I looked up at him. “What?”
“Why didn’t you just tell me about him? I could tell over the last couple of days that you’ve hidden away. I know something has been on your mind; I just figured you needed some alone time. I wish you would have talked to me,” he stated.
“You didn’t really give me a chance, Jett. You bought our tickets while you were telling me I was coming home¸” I replied, shaking my head and kneading my hands nervously in my lap.
“I know I messed things up after Troy. I should have just come home then, but I tried to maintain the life I had with him, the best I could. I couldn’t let go of the way things were because, if I did, I felt like I was letting him go too. When Maddison was born and you all came out to California, I regretted letting you all leave without me. But I pushed forward and pretended everything was great.”
I swallowed past the impending emotions. “Things did get better, and I finally was able to move on. Seth was a friend, someone I thought I could trust.”
At the mention of Seth’s name, Jett’s jaw tensed in anger. “He was good to me at first. He treated both me and Maddi perfectly. But after a while, he changed, and in turn it changed me.”
He stared back at me, and I could tell that this was all affecting him so much more than he was letting on. I knew that facial expression of his, the one that meant he was fighting against his anger.
“He made me second-guess every single person I’ve come into contact with since him. I don’t trust easily. I don’t give into what I want, because I fear it will only lead me down the same path I took with him.”
“Not everyone is like him, Alex. Not every man wants to make a woman feel fear. He isn’t a man; no man would place his hands on a women to instill fear in her,” he assured me.
“I know, but it didn’t stop me from pushing Colton away,” I whispered.
“Colton, huh?” He smiled.
“Colt, Colton, whatever.” Just the mention of his name made me smile. “He is a good man. I knew it the moment I saw him with his mom. He’s older, but the love in him is written all over his face. He has a kind heart, and I ran from it.” A single tear ran down my cheek at the thought of what I had thrown away.
“Older, how much older?” Jett asked.
I laughed lightly and looked up at him. “Ten years.”
He only nodded his head, accepting the information. He never said anything further, so I assumed he was okay with it.
“Have you talked to him?” he asked. I shook my head no, worrying my lower lip. “You should call him.”
He was right. I should, but for the life of me, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I hadn’t heard from him, and I know he had to have gotten my letter by now. Maybe it was his way of telling me we never would have gone any further, a way to avoid the awkward goodbyes.
***
I spent the rest of my day entertaining Maddison. June in Palm Beach meant weather warm enough to swim. So my little girl and I stayed out so long our skin got wrinkly from the water.
She was tired but determined to keep going. Bribing her with a popsicle was about the only way I could convince her it was time to go in.
After she was nice and sticky, I carried her upstairs to give her a bath. My dad sat in the recliner watching the news and smiled at us as we walked past him.
Once she was clean and dressed in her pajamas, I placed her in bed and combed my fingers through her blonde curls.
“Mommy, when are we going back to Ann? I miss her.” Tears pooled within my eyes as I looked at my sweet girl.
“Would you lik
e to call her? Tell her goodnight?” Her face lit up and she sat up, smiling and nodding her head. “Okay.”
I grabbed for my phone and noticed I had a missed call from Kori. It was my first call from anyone in Brooklet. It made me smile, and I made a mental note to call her after Maddison spoke with Ann.
I dialed the number, and when it rang, I quickly passed the phone to Maddi.
I could tell the moment she answered, because Maddison became overly excited. “Nana,” she said.
Nana was what Mikey called Ann, and Maddison had picked up on it right away. They talked for about five minutes as Maddison told her all about our day. I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face, watching her excitement.
The moment she handed the phone to me, my stomach dropped. Nauseous feelings took over, and I held the phone tightly as I raised it up to my ear.
Ann had cried when I left. She told me I was like another daughter to her. She gripped my face tightly in hers hands and looked me directly in the eyes, as hers filled with tears when she spoke.
You two made me fall in love with you. Don’t you ever think you don’t have a place to call home. My home will ways be yours too.
“Hello, sweetheart. How’s Florida?” she asked.
“It’s warm.” I didn’t know what else to say. I missed her horribly, and the sound of her voice made it harder to handle.
“I have news,” she stated.
“What news?”
I could hear the happiness in her voice when she answered. “Garrett Michael was born the day after you left. Maria scared the hell out of us all, but they’re both healthy and happy. Thanks to Mikey, they’ll get to come home tomorrow.”
“Oh wow,” I whispered.
She proceeded to tell me about Maria and how Colt rushed her to the hospital after Mikey’s phone call. My chest tightened as I thought about what they had all gone through.
“I’m so glad they’re okay. That must have been so scary, for all of you.” I had fallen in love with all of them, as well, and hearing what the last few days had held for them broke my heart.