“Gabby?” The familiar voice is definitely male, but it’s not the one I expect. My heart actually stops beating in my chest and my lungs seize.
“Harrison?”
“Gabby, I need you to listen to me and not freak out, okay? Can you do that?”
My hand starts to shake as my blood runs cold. My ass hits the couch, my legs too numb to hold my weight. “Yes,” I whisper, the words barely audible.
“I just got a call from Gavin at the gym. There was an accident,” he says, his voice firm, yet calm.
“Accident?” I murmur. Colton comes to sit beside me and takes the phone from my trembling hand.
“Harrison, this is Colton. What’s happened?” The only sound is the occasional “okay” as Colton listens to whatever my brother-in-law says. My mind keeps going to the worst place possible, which is the unthinkable.
Please let him be okay.
Please.
“Sounds good,” he says, hanging up my phone and slipping it into his pocket. Colton drops to his knees in front of me and grabs my face with his big hands. “Listen to me, Gabs. Your sister is on her way here to hang with Milo. We’re going to head to the hospital in Dalton. There was an accident at the gym, but he’s going to be okay.”
I hear his words, but for some reason, they don’t compute. “Accident?”
“Yep,” he says, standing up and pulling me with him. “Let’s get our shoes on. I’ll drive, okay? You’re not in any condition to drive.”
Before I can turn and find shoes, Colton pulls me against his chest and hugs me tight. I feel the relief and tension slip from my body as I return the gesture. “He’s going to be okay?” I whisper against his shirt. Colton’s hard like his brother, but so very different.
“He’s going to be okay, Gabs. I promise. Though, he may be in surgery when we get there,” he says, nodding in confirmation.
“Surgery?” The panic starts to creep in.
“Let’s get our shoes on and grab your purse. Your sister will be here any minute.”
Numbly, I do as instructed and slip on a pair of shoes. When I make my way to the door, I find Colton in the doorway, holding it open for my sister. She runs up the sidewalk. “Go. I’ve got Milo,” she commands, slipping around Chase’s brother and pulling me into her arms. “Call me when you get there.”
I nod before Colton takes me by the hand and leads me to the garage where my car is parked. “Thank you!” he hollers to my sister before climbing behind the wheel. Gwen stands at the doorway, watching us leave, her phone pressed to her ear. She’s probably talking to her husband, letting him know she made it here safely.
Husband.
My mind flashes to Chase. What the hell happened to him? Is he really okay? Obviously, something is wrong if he’s in surgery, but what? I start to pray for him, for his survival. My hand goes to my abdomen, where our child grows. I don’t want to do this alone. I want Chase by my side, always. We have plans. A wedding, a baby to prepare for. There’s too much to prepare for, too much to do.
I can’t lose him.
We are just getting started.
Chapter 20
Chase
My eyes flutter open, and I survey the room. I’m in the hospital. I remember the nurse waking me in recovery; she said everything went fine. Looking down at my left leg, it’s bandaged, and right now, I’m not feeling any pain. I glance at my IV and I’m sure they’re giving me the good stuff. I do have a broken ankle, after all.
Gabby is sleeping in the chair, her head cocked to the side in an unnatural state, and I know she’s going to be sore from sleeping like that. “Gabs,” I say, trying to get her attention. My voice is hoarse. I hate to wake her, but the longer she stays that way, the worse it’s going to be on her.
Her eyes fly open and she sits up straight. When she sees me awake, her mouth tilts up just a bit. “Hey.” She stands and comes to the bed. “How are you feeling? You need me to get the nurse?”
“I need you to come closer,” I rasp. She does as I ask, and I press a kiss to her lips. Just what the doctor ordered.
“I was so scared. They said possible surgery, but nothing else. My mind went crazy wondering what happened.” She glances down at my ankle. “How did this happen, Chase?”
“Someone left a barbell in the middle of the floor. We were coming out of the breakroom and I was talking to a few of the guys. I wasn’t looking where I was going and tripped over it. Landed wrong.”
“I’m just glad you’re going to be okay. They had to put a pin in your ankle, but they said you should make a full recovery. You’re going to be off that leg for several weeks. Like six to eight, if not longer.”
“We’ll figure it out,” I tell her. I’m pissed off that I wasn’t watching where I was going, but then again, the damn thing shouldn’t have been sitting in the middle of the walkway either. “What time is it?”
She glances at her phone. “Just after four.”
“Why don’t you go home and get some rest? I’m fine.” The pregnancy has been draining her energy; she needs her rest.
“No. If you’re here, I’m here. Harrison knows I’m not leaving you.”
“Then get in here with me.” I manage to scoot over to give her some room with minimal movement to my leg. Not that I can feel it anyway.
“They’re releasing you in the morning. The only reason they kept you was because you were brought into the emergency room and it was late when the surgery was over. I’ll be fine, just rest. I need you better.”
“Gabby, get your cute ass in this bed. You’re exhausted, and so am I. I’ll be able to sleep with you in my arms.” I know I’ve got her. She wants me to rest, I can see it. I watch her as she toes off her shoes and sits on the edge of the bed. She lies down facing me, and she looks as though she’s about to fall off the bed.
“Come here, baby,” I whisper. Holding my arm in the air, she slowly moves to align her body with mine. I wrap my arm around her and reach for her, but the IV limits my movement. Instead, I use the arm that’s around her to pull her as close as I can get her.
“I was so scared, Chase.” Her voice is soft and I feel her words down to my soul.
“It was just a freak accident. I’m going to be fine.” My fingers run through her hair. It’s so damn soft.
“I know, but you were late, and you’re never late, and you didn’t reply to my messages or my calls, then Colton tried and you didn’t answer him. I knew… I could feel it that there was something wrong.”
“I’m sorry. I left my phone at the gym. It was in my hand when I tripped, and honestly, I’m not exactly sure where it went.”
“I just had all these things running through my mind. I just got you, and now the baby, I can’t do this without you.”
“Hey.” I wait for her to look up at me from where her head is resting against my chest. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” Her mouth tilts up at the corner and her head settles back into what I like to call her spot. I continue to run my fingers through her hair. Eventually, her breathing evens out and I know she’s asleep. Only then do I let myself succumb to exhaustion.
A few hours later, I wake to find Colton and Milo sitting in the chair next to my bed. Gabby is still curled up to my side, my arm holding her close.
“Gave us a scare, brother,” Colton says, keeping his voice low. He nods toward Gabby. “She was pretty torn up.”
I nod. “Yeah, I can’t imagine how I would have been if the roles were reversed.” Honestly, I don’t want to think about it. I want to put her and our baby in a bubble and protect them from life, but I know that’s not feasible.
Milo whines and Gabby stirs. Turning her head, she looks up at me. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
I don’t tell her my ankle hurts like hell. “I’m good. You get rested?”
She nods and sits up. “Hey, sweet boy,” she coos to Milo. Before I can stop her, not ready to let her go yet, she’s out of bed and disappears into the small bathroom. A few minutes la
ter, she comes back out, looking more awake and has her eyes set on our nephew. “Did you sleep good for Daddy?” she asks him, taking him from Colton’s arms.
“Tell Aunt Gabby you slept six whole hours.” Colton smiles at his son.
She freezes. “Aunt Gabby,” she whispers. She looks to me, and her eyes are welling with tears. “All this time, I thought he was your son, and I was prepared to raise him with you, and then we found out he was your nephew, and I was glad he was going to remain close to you, close to us.” She snuggles him close. “Aunt Gabby loves you,” she whispers softly.
My mind flashes forward to a few months from now. Gabby standing in our kitchen, holding our son or daughter. She’s going to be an amazing mother and I can’t wait to live this life with her. I can’t wait to watch her grow as our baby develops, the late nights, the early feedings, all of it. I want all of it, with her.
My future wife.
My Gabby.
“So when are you getting out of here?” Colton asks.
“Sometime today, right, babe?”
“That’s what the nurses told me last night.” She comes to sit next to me on the bed, Milo still in her arms. She leans into me and I rest my hand on the small of her back. If Gabby is near, I need to touch her. It’s not sexual. I mean… it is—nothing compares to making love to her, to having that intimate connection. However, it’s more than that. I just want to be close to her, as close as I can always.
“Knock, knock,” Harrison announces and peeks his head around the door. “Good, you’re awake.” He steps back and lets Gwen step through and he follows her into the room with Sophia on his hip. She immediately points to Milo and grins.
“How you feeling, champ?” Gwen asks, stopping at the foot of my bed.
“Not bad.”
“Looks like you have a full house,” the nurse says, entering the room. She goes through the motions of checking my vitals and then tells me that as soon as the doctor makes his rounds, he’ll sign off on my discharge papers and I’m free to go.
“I’m ready to get out of here.”
Harrison chuckles. “It’s not even been twenty-four hours.”
“I know, but I’m antsy.”
“I hope you don’t think you’re going to go home and try to be Superman?” Gabby gives me a stern look.
“No, but I was hoping you could be my nurse.” I wag my eyebrows and she rolls her eyes, all while smiling at me.
“Not in front of the children.” Harrison laughs. He hands Soph to Gwen and takes Milo from Gabby. “I’m sorry, little man. Uncle Chase is inappropriate. You’ll get used to it,” he tells my nephew.
“Corrupting my son already?” Colton chimes in. “I tell you, you just don’t know who you can trust these days.”
“Ha ha,” I say, deadpan. They’re not funny.
“Oh, before I forget.” Harrison reaches into his back pocket and pulls out my cell phone and hands it to me. “I charged it last night. I went by the gym to check things out, make sure everything was a go to open this morning. This was on your desk. I assume the cleaning crew found it and left it there.”
Scrolling through my phone, I see a missed text message from Gabby. As I read it, I can feel her worry, and I hate that she was worried about me. I would have been going out of my mind if the roles were reversed. There are a few messages from the staff checking in on me and one from my mom. Colton told her and she wants me to call her when I get home and get settled. Apparently, he told her not to come to the hospital since I was getting discharged. I like having my big brother home.
I have two voice mails. Hitting Play, I place my phone on speaker and listen to them. I know they’re from Colton and Gabby. Gabby’s is short and sweet, and the worry is evident in her voice. Colton… his has me seeing red. I’m squeezing my phone in my hand as my asshole brother chuckles.
“I told you, Gabs. If anything would have brought him home, it would have been that.”
“Don’t forget where you lay your head at night.” I stare him down and he throws his head back and laughs.
“He’s just getting you worked up.”
“I leave you alone with him. In our house,” I counter. It’s ridiculous. I know for certain Colt would never do that to me, but history shows I’m not rational when it comes to Gabby. Never have been and never will be.
“Chill, Daddy,” she says, taking my hand and resting it on her still flat belly.
My anger at my brother dissipates. The only emotions I feel are love and excitement for what’s to come. I can’t believe she’s finally mine. Years, we went back and forth, snide comments, and jabs. It led us here. It led us to being engaged and a baby of our own on the way.
“Yo, Chase.” Colton chuckles, waving his hands in the air. “There he is,” he says when I pull my attention from my beautiful fiancée to look at him. “I’m heading home. It’s time for Milo’s nap. I’ll call Mom. You need anything?”
“No. We’ll be behind you as soon as we can.”
“Gabby?” he asks.
“I think we’re good. I might need help getting him into the house. I’m not sure how he’s going to do on crutches.”
“Oh, you need one of those wheel things, you know you rest your knee on it and drive and push with the other foot.” Harrison’s grinning. “I think my grandma used to have one.”
“Fuck off,” I grumble good-naturedly.
“We’re leaving,” Gwen says, trying like hell to hide her amusement. “Call us later. I’ll bring dinner over so you don’t have to cook.”
“You don’t have to do that.” Gabby is quick to shut down the idea.
“Nope. It’s done. We’re stopping at the store on the way home. I’ll just throw some lasagna in the crockpot or something. You have your hands full with three Callahan boys.”
“Hey,” Colt and I protest at the same time.
“Who are you calling boys? I’m all man, right, Gabs?” I smirk.
“And we’re out,” Harrison says. He hands Milo to Colton and takes Sophia from Gwen before taking her hand and disappearing behind the door.
“Call me when you’re close and I’ll come to the garage and help you get him into the house,” Colton tells Gabby.
“Thanks, Colt.” She kisses Milo on his little head and hugs my brother.
Instead of jealousy, okay, maybe a little jealousy, I feel relief. I’m so glad they get along. Gabby fits so well into my life, it’s as if she’s always been there. Like she was meant to be there.
“I think we should start planning our wedding,” I say as soon as the door closes behind Colton.
“Oh, yeah?” She smiles.
“I don’t want to wait. So, you tell me what you want, and I’ll make it happen.”
“What if I said I want a long engagement?”
I shake my head. “I can’t give you that, Gabs. I want to give you the world, but I can’t give you that. I feel like we’ve lost all these years, bickering and hiding behind what we were feeling. I want you and this baby to have my last name. No, I’m not doing this because of the baby,” I say before she can ask. “I want this. I want you, and I want it sooner rather than later.”
“Okay.”
“I— Okay?” I was prepared to plead my case.
She nods. “Let’s do it.”
Grabbing my phone that’s lying beside me on the bed, I pull up the notes app. “Tell me what you want. Big? Small? Destination? Tell me and I’ll make it happen.”
“The cabin.”
“What about the cabin?”
“I want to get married at the cabin. That’s where we met. That’s where you proposed for real.” She grins. “I just want a small intimate ceremony at the cabin.”
“What else?”
“That’s it. All I need is you.”
“Is a month long enough? I mean, you have to find a dress and stuff, right?”
“I’m sure I can find something.”
“Don’t settle.”
“It’s not about w
hat I’ll be wearing, or where we say our vows. It’s not about who’s in attendance or what kind of food we serve. It’s about us, Chase. It’s about the love that we’re going to pledge to one another. It’s about the miracle that is this baby we created together. Nothing else really matters. We can wear jeans for all I care. I just want the day to be a celebration of love.”
“Fuck.” I reach out, slide my hand behind her neck, and pull her into a kiss. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Wow,” the doctor says, laughing. “Sorry to interrupt. I have your discharge papers here. Do you have any questions?”
“No.” I’m ready to get the hell out of here.
“This is Jackie, your nurse. She’ll go through your discharge and follow-up instructions. Once she’s done, you’re free to go.”
“Thank you,” Gabby and I say at the same time. Thirty minutes later, Jackie is wheeling me outside in a wheelchair.
“Why do you have Gwen’s car?”
“Because Colt drove me last night, and I wasn’t leaving you. I asked them to drop it off to me today. Colt can’t drive two cars. When they come over later, they’ll pick it up.” With that, she opens the door and Jackie helps me into the passenger seat.
All the way home, I keep my hand on her knee as we discuss our wedding. There is a lightness to her, and excitement fills her voice. I’m glad. I want this day to be her dream wedding. For me, I couldn’t care less where we marry, what we wear, or who’s there. I just want to give her my last name. Tie her world with mine permanently. It’s fast, but really when you think about it, it’s not. We’ve been dancing around our attraction for years. That’s one long stint of foreplay. I’m ready for the real deal. Anything life wants to throw at us, I’m all in, as long as she’s by my side.
Chapter 21
Gabby
They say men make the worst patients, and I’d have to agree one thousand percent. Chase has been stationed on the couch for the last two weeks, and to say I’m a little unnerved would be an understatement. The fact remains that he can’t sit, hates to sit for any period of time longer than four seconds, and refuses to follow doctor’s orders and stay put. It took me getting his brother involved to finally win the war over his utter stubbornness.
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