She turned off the kitchen light and held the back door open for him.
“I’ll take care of the truck.”
“You don’t have to do that. I wasn’t looking for a handout. My idea, my sister.”
“My friend.”
A small sigh escaped her lips. “Fine. Let’s split it then.”
“Okay.”
She followed him back to his condo. She didn’t stop at her apartment and he didn’t think she kept a bag of clothes in her car. He’d have to find a way to get her to spend the night.
He wanted her in his bed come morning. Griffin pulled into the garage and got a parking pass for Indy’s car, but she hadn’t followed him in. He dialed her number. “Where are you?”
“Looking for a spot to park.”
His sigh came out harsher than he wanted. “Pull into the garage. There are visitor spots.”
“How would I know? I’m not a regular visitor in places like this.” He shook his head. “Just pull in. I’m waiting for you.” Moments later she pulled in and he waved to the security guard. He climbed into the passenger seat and clipped the cardboard pass to her mirror. “Drive down and around the corner. There’s a bank of visitor slots.”
She followed his directions, parked, and looked around.
“What are you looking for?” he asked, climbing out of her car.
“Some kind of sign or something. I’ll never find my car otherwise.”
“I’ll get you back to your car.” Pulling her close, he added, “At least I know you won’t be sneaking out.”
Chapter 10
Indy sat in the exam room nervously tapping her feet. A paper sheet covered her lower half. She sagged with exhaustion, but Quinn’s house was done. By tomorrow afternoon, Indy would have Quinn’s stuff moved. She imagined how to arrange the furniture and where to place the dishes. Anything to avoid thinking about the doctor.
She’d already peed in a cup for the official pregnancy test. Goose bumps pimpled her bare legs. You’d think they’d turn the heat up knowing I’m waiting in here half naked.
A light rap on the door and then it swung open. Dr. Rollins entered, holding a thick file. She’d been Indy’s doctor for more than ten years.
“Hi, Indy. How are you doing?”
“Why don’t you tell me?”
“Well, you’re definitely pregnant.” She waited, letting the words sink in.
Indy scrubbed a hand over her eyes. “Can you tell me how far along I am?”
“Without knowing the start of your last period, no. You seem vague on that.”
Indy inched straighter on the exam table, hating the rustle of the paper on her lap. “It’s stress. My period hasn’t been normal in months. I’ve missed one, maybe two periods.”
Dr. Rollins made notes in the file and pushed her glasses farther up on the bridge of her nose. “We’ll schedule an ultrasound. It’ll give us more accurate information. Then you’ll know what your options are.”
Options. She still had choices. She’d told Griffin she wanted this baby, but could she, should she have it?
The doctor patted her knee, and Indy lay on the crinkly papered exam table. With her feet up in stirrups, she tried to imagine herself pregnant. Or holding a screaming baby. She couldn’t develop the picture.
She wasn’t mother material. She knew that. But the possibility curled deep inside her with a flutter. This might be her only chance.
“Indy?”
The doctor’s voice pulled her back. “I’m sorry. I zoned out.”
“Everything looks fine. Are you experiencing any problems?”
“I’m tired. All the time.”
“That’s normal. No morning sickness?”
Indy shook her head.
“Stop at the reception desk on your way out. They’ll set you up with an ultrasound appointment, an information packet, and prenatal vitamins.”
She threw exam gloves into the trashcan and turned back. “You know, how far along you are will limit how much time you have to decide whether or not to terminate the pregnancy.”
Indy nodded. Terminate. Such a clinical word.
Her doctor stood near the door, not yet opening it. “I can recommend someone if you need to talk.”
Indy shook her head and swallowed past the lump in her throat. “No, thanks. My sister will be back from her honeymoon on Sunday. I have people to talk to.”
She dressed, made an appointment for the following week for the ultrasound, and accepted a folder of information. On the drive home, the folder glared at her. She didn’t want to read about being pregnant.
Indy drove to Quinn’s loft to make sure Quinn had everything packed. Her sister was the only person she knew who could work full-time, plan a wedding, and pack for a move simultaneously. Indy started in the bedroom. It would be one thing to need the movers to pack books, but Quinn would be mortified if strangers rifled through her panties.
In her usual preparedness, Quinn had only the barest essentials still out. Boxes clearly marked stood open and waiting for the remaining contents of the room. Indy emptied drawers and tried to be as methodical as Quinn would’ve been.
Hours after signing and initialing and finalizing the contract, Griffin sat in his car outside his house.
His run-down, falling-apart, decrepit house. What the fuck had he done?
After dragging the six-pack from the passenger seat, he walked across the overgrown lawn. He sat on the sagging steps and appreciated the hideous view of his property. Indy hadn’t returned his calls. He even went to End Zone to see if he had gotten the days mixed up.
As he popped the top on his first beer he remembered the day. Friday. He chucked the bottle cap into the bushes and pulled out his phone.
Indy’d had her doctor’s appointment. She shrugged off his offer to go. She acted like it was no big deal, but he knew she was nervous or anxious. Now he couldn’t reach her.
Did something happen? Had the tests been wrong?
He dialed her number again. “Hey, Indy, I wanted to see how things went with the doctor.” He paused, searching for the right words. “Call me if you want to talk or get together. If not, I guess I’ll see you at Quinn’s in the morning for moving day.”
Griffin disconnected and chugged his beer. He held the phone, hoping it would ring. Being in a holding pattern with Indy until she figured things out didn’t sit well. It was time to change the rules. He’d make her an offer she couldn’t refuse.
Moving day went better than expected. Griffin had arrived early in the morning with Ryan’s brothers and a rented truck. The O’Leary men were as smooth as they were hardworking. They joked and talked with Indy and wouldn’t let her carry anything heavy. She wondered if Griffin had warned them. Before she knew it, they had the truck empty at Quinn’s house and it was only three-thirty. She’d get her nap in after all.
She thanked the O’Learys for all of their help and hard work. They climbed into the truck and rumbled down the street, leaving her with Griffin. “Can you take me back to Quinn’s to get my car? I’d like to lie down for a nap before I go into work tonight.”
He sighed. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”
“I need my car.”
“It’ll be faster if you go straight home. I’ll take you to your car before work.”
“Fine. Thanks.” Indy propped her elbow on the window frame and laid the side of her head against her fist.
“What happened at the doctor yesterday? I called, but you didn’t answer.”
“There’s nothing to tell. I’m pregnant. Because my period has been messed up, they can’t give me a due date. I have to have an ultrasound to see how far along I am.”
“Okay.” He started the car but waited before pulling into traffic.
“I can’t make any decisions until I find out how far along I am.”
“Decisions?”
“Whether I want to keep it or . . . terminate.”
“Oh. I thought you’d already decided.”
“I don’t know. I can’t think right now.”
He reached out and placed his right hand on her thigh. She covered his hand with hers, squeezed, and closed her eyes. Having the baby meant losing whatever they had going. She wasn’t ready to face that either.
Her muscles sang with strain and exhaustion. She had done too much this week. The painting would’ve been enough of a gift for Quinn, but Indy was glad they had the moving done. Now Quinn could focus on unpacking before going back to work.
Before Indy knew it, Griffin parked near her apartment.
“You’re coming in?”
He held his door open. “Is that a problem?”
“When I said I wanted a nap before I went to work, it wasn’t code for sex.”
His playful grin shot straight to her stomach. She calculated whether she’d have time for a nap and sex.
“I know. I’ll find a game to watch on TV while you nap and then I’ll take you to your car.”
“Okay, but I hope you like sitting on the floor. You got rid of my living room furniture, remember?”
“I forgot.” He locked up his car and put an arm around her shoulder as they walked up the front steps. “I’ll make do.”
She didn’t have it in her to play the good hostess. She dropped her purse near the front door and called over her shoulder, “Wake me in an hour. I don’t want to be late for work.”
“Why don’t you call in sick and take the night off? You look beat.”
“We’ve been over this. I need the job.”
“Fine, have a good nap.”
She slithered straight into her bed, not moving covers or disrobing.
Indy sat up, startled to find her room shadowed in black. She looked at the clock. “Shit.”
She bolted from the bed and scrambled to flip on the light. Griffin rolled over on her bed with a groan.
“Hey.” She nudged him in the ribs. “You were supposed to wake me in an hour.”
“Tried. You wouldn’t budge.” His words were little more than a murmur, and he kept his eyes closed against the glare of the overhead light.
Indy yanked her uniform from her dresser and quickly stripped. He must have been exhausted; he didn’t even peek. “You have to get up and take me to my car. I’m going to be late for work.”
“Call in sick.” He reached out and caught her wrist. “Come back to bed.”
She pulled away. “No. Get up or I’m taking your car.”
He huffed, but sat up. “Fine.” He scrubbed his hands over his face and then stood.
She watched him in her mirror while she pulled her hair into a high ponytail. He was definitely a fine hunk of man. His offer to return to bed tempted her, but her empty bank account called louder. He eased behind her and softly kissed her neck. How bad would it be to call in sick? The adult part of her brain overruled the hormonal part, and she stepped away from Griffin, even though she really wanted to lean into him. “Let’s go.”
Inside the car, Indy applied makeup. Dark shadows marked her eyes and she touched them with powder.
“Covering it up doesn’t change the fact that you’re exhausted. You’re working too much.”
She closed the mirror on the visor. “I’m doing what I need to do.”
He pulled into Quinn’s lot beside Indy’s car. “Come to my place when you get off.”
He pressed a parking pass and key into her hand. Her heart thumped uncomfortably. The pass was one thing, but the key . . . maybe for convenience. She got off work late. If she had a key, he didn’t have to wait up for her.
“What time do you get off?”
“One.”
“I’ll wait up.”
She eyed the key in her palm. Not just a convenience. She held the key out. “Why don’t I call you when I get to the garage?”
“Keep it.”
Her breathing wobbled unevenly. No one handed out keys. Certainly no man she’d ever known. Definitely not one with no expectations. She tucked the key into her pocket and opened the car door. “Thanks for the ride.”
When she leaned over to give him a quick kiss good-bye, he cupped the back of her head and drew her in. The slow, wet kiss made her nerves tingle.
His hand released her head, but his breath still mingled with hers when he pulled back. “We’ll talk later. Come straight to my house.”
She blinked to clear her vision and her thoughts. “One in the morning isn’t prime conversation time. There are better things we can do. Talking can wait.”
“I have to go out of town again on Monday.”
“See you later, then.” Indy forced her feet nervously from his car. Confusion struck her. Griffin’s behavior was far from casual.
What had she gotten herself into? She stuck her key in the ignition and watched Griffin pull back out onto the street. Her phone rang. Quinn. “Hey. Shouldn’t you be enjoying the end of your honeymoon?”
“Indy . . .” Quinn’s voice shook.
“What? What happened?”
“It’s Dad. Lydia called.”
Anger replaced fear. “What’d he do now?”
“It’s serious, Indy. He smashed the car. Totaled it.”
“How’d he get the keys? I thought we took them all.”
“He took Lydia’s.”
Indy swallowed the disgust rising in her throat. “So he stole keys, drove drunk, and smashed the car.”
“He’s in the hospital,” Quinn choked out.
Indy laid her forehead against the steering wheel. She could fight a lot of things, but not Quinn’s tears.
“I tried to get an earlier flight. I can’t. Please drive down there. I don’t want him to be alone.”
“Lydia’s there.”
“It’s not the same.”
Indy bumped her head against the steering wheel a couple of times, looking for an answer. None came. Did Quinn have any idea what she was asking? She sighed. Of course Quinn understood.
“Please. You know I’d go if I could.”
Quinn always ran to their father’s rescue. “Fine. But if he’s an asshole and tells me to leave, I will.”
“Thank you. Call me as soon as you know anything.” Quinn’s relief washed over the phone line.
Indy looked at the clock. “I probably won’t know anything until morning, so don’t panic if you don’t hear from me until then.”
“Thanks, love you.”
They disconnected, and Indy’s brain scrambled to formulate a plan. Call work. Pack clothes. Map route. It had been so long since she’d gone home, she’d need to MapQuest the fastest way to the hospital.
The key in her pocket poked her. She’d have to call Griffin. Their rendezvous/talk would have to wait. Part of her felt relieved, but she’d trade a talk with Griffin over one with her father any day.
Griffin paced in his living room. This decision felt right. He had plenty of space and Indy owned little. If she moved in with him, she could quit working at the bar.
And quit singing for men who only wanted to see her naked.
He hadn’t lived with anyone since college. Sweaty palms reminded him this was a huge step. They hadn’t known each other long. Neither had Quinn and Ryan, and they were happy. Married, but happy.
He enjoyed spending time with Indy. They were comfortable. More time together would give them a chance to figure things out. They’d enter this new territory together.
One-thirty and she still hadn’t arrived. He called her cell, but it went to voice mail. She must’ve gotten hung up at work.
After another twenty minutes of pacing, he called the bar.
“End Zone, Nick speaking.”
“Hi. May I speak with Indy?”
“She’s not here.”
“When did she leave?”
“She didn’t come in tonight. She called saying she had a family emergency.”
Griffin hung up and called Indy’s cell again, and it still went to voice mail. He rummaged through his desk drawer to find her house number. He never called her
there, but he had it written down.
Before he could find it, his cell rang. “Hello.”
“Hey, it’s me,” Indy said.
“Where the hell are you?”
“The middle of nowhere.”
“What?”
“Right after you left, Quinn called. My dad was in an accident, if that’s what you can call it. I’m driving home to check on him.”
“It’s the middle of the night. Why didn’t you call me?”
“I’m sorry. I packed and planned my route and . . . I’m stressed and I forgot to call.” Her voice was strained, like she couldn’t possibly take one more hit.
“I would’ve gone with you.”
Her laugh was quiet and tired. “I wouldn’t subject you to this torture.”
“But you’ll do it alone.”
“Not much of a choice. Quinn tried unsuccessfully to get an earlier flight. But she’s always taken care of Dad. She doesn’t need this crap now. She’s pregnant.”
Silence settled on the line and he spoke quietly. “So are you.”
She didn’t respond, but she didn’t hang up either. Her quiet breathing whispered in his ear.
“How long will it take you to get there?”
“About another hour,” she answered.
“Going straight to the hospital?”
“God, no. Those places are creepy at night. I already called. He’s stable but out for the night. I’ll go first thing in the morning.”
“Good. Get some sleep. Take care of yourself first.”
“I’ve always excelled at that.”
“I’m serious. I’m here if you need to talk.”
“Thanks. I’m sorry about our evening. Believe me, I’d much rather be sprawled on your couch than on my way to Hooperville.”
“Yeah, me too.” The admission was more than either of them had ever offered. He wanted her in his bed all the time. They didn’t have to be Ryan and Quinn. They could figure out what would work for them.
Indy interrupted his thoughts. “How long will you be on your trip?”
“I’m not sure. It could be awhile.” He’d been counting on having Indy to come home to, in his house.
A Good Time Page 16