by Linda Kage
"Not to mention that's where her asshole baby daddy hit her, sending her into premature labor," Noel added, his tone just as sharp and angry.
Pick pressed his cheek to my temple. "Eva? Talk to me. Say something, baby."
My knuckles were still white from holding onto his shirt so hard. But I managed to gasp, "I'm okay."
"Is she okay?" Reese asked, her voice coming closer.
I held my thumb up with my free hand but couldn't unclench my eyelids. "Where's Skylar?"
"Quinn's holding her," Pick said.
"Wasn't he sitting all the way across the driveway?"
"Yep. Kid moves fast when he needs to." Lifting his face away from mine, he asked, "Where's her room? I'm going to lay her down."
"It's this way. Follow me," Reese instructed just as someone else asked, "Should we take her to the hospital?"
Pick took charge as he carried me inside. "Let's see if she broke anything open first."
Though my stomach felt as if it had been cut apart without anesthesia, I was glad to be back in his arms and inhaling his intoxicating coconut scent. He was laying me down on my mattress way too soon for my liking. Without him right there against me, I curled into a ball and tucked my knees up toward my chest as I cradled my inflamed stomach.
I heard enough voices to realize just about everyone at the picnic was cramming into my room, trying to get a peek at me.
"Is she okay?" Ten asked, right before Pick growled. "Get the fuck out of here."
"Okay, that's enough," Aspen instructed, her voice brooking no room for argument. "Why doesn't every guy get out? We need to make sure she didn't re-open her incision."
"Wait," I gasped at the last second, reaching out my hand blindly. "Pick."
He was there immediately, kneeling next to me. "I'm here, Tink."
I pulled him closer and he came without any kind of resistance, his brown eyes swirling with anger and concern. The anger was what worried me.
"Promise me you won't kill Ten. It's my fault he—"
"It was not your fucking fault."
"I was egging him on and elbowed him first."
"Well, he should've used his damn brain. And even if you were perfectly healthy, no way in hell should he have elbowed back that hard. Fucking idiot."
I grasped his chin in my hand. "Patrick."
He growled out his irritation but gave a terse nod. "Fine." Then he leaned in and pressed his lips to my forehead for a long twenty seconds. Just before he moved away, he brushed his tongue out and tasted my skin. Then he smoothed my hair with his fingers. "You better be okay."
"I'll be fine." The pain was already subsiding. Everyone had made a much bigger deal about my injury than they'd needed to.
Once Pick was gone, Reese shut the door after him. She, Aspen, and Caroline remained.
"Let's see what we have here." As Aspen neared the bed, I tried to sit up.
"Dr. Kav . . . " Crap, forgot I was supposed to use her first name.
"It's just Aspen," she said, smiling slightly. "And I'm not really a doctor, doctor."
I nodded, a move that made me wince. "Sorry."
"Quite all right. Do you feel comfortable with letting us see your . . . ?" She motioned vaguely toward my lap.
I gave a small laugh. "A room full of complete strangers got up close and personal with my hoo-ha when I gave birth. I think I'm okay with it."
"E.'s not exactly shy. Or modest." Reese sat on the mattress next to me and took my hand.
"Geez. Streak topless across a beach once and you suddenly get labeled indecent." I rolled my eyes and squeezed her hand back.
"Actually," Reese argued with a grin. "I think it was you laughing and screaming 'Look at my titties' that cinched the whole indecent label for you."
When Aspen and Caroline exchanged scandalized glances, I sighed. "In my defense, I was really drunk at the time."
"Oh." They seemed to understand that, which made me wonder what both of them had done in drunken episodes.
I sank back on my pillow as Aspen slowly peeled down my yoga pants to reveal my stomach. Caroline inched in closer, biting her lip. Reese leaned in to look too. I closed my eyes, hoping for the best but fearing the worst.
Aspen's surprised "Oh!" had my lashes flying open.
"Oh, God. What?"
She smiled up at me with complete reassurance. "I didn't realize your staples were already out."
I nodded. "They took them out last week."
"I guess I haven't updated Mason recently with all of Eva's medical issues," Reese added. "He was just a little behind on the times when he said they were still there."
"Well, it seems to be healing . . . okay. I mean, I'm not a doctor-doctor, but nothing's broken open and there's no blood or redness or puffiness. Just some greenish looking bruises that look a few weeks old."
That would be where Alec had punched me.
Aspen bit her lip. "Want me to poke on it to see if there's any extra tenderness?" Her fingers were slowly inching toward my abdomen, but she was cringing as if she'd rather have her wisdom teeth removed.
I smiled. "I'll do it." After reaching down, I prodded my bikini line. Aside from the usual, I felt okay. I pulled my pants back up to where they usually rested. "I think I'm good."
When I went to sit up, all three girls reached out to keep me down.
"Maybe you should just rest for a while," Reese suggested.
I opened my mouth to tell them I was fine, but a commotion outside the door caught our attention.
I'd barely sat up and slid my feet to the floor by the time Aspen, Caroline, and Reese had thrown open the door and rushed from my room. Pick was shouting something, Ten was shouting back, and both Mason and Noel were shouting for them to calm down. I huffed out a breath and rolled my eyes.
Boys.
"Pick," I scolded before I'd even reached the doorway. I found Mason holding him back by the arms while Noel was setting his hand against Ten's chest to keep him away. Ten had a very distinct red mark on his cheek.
"What?" Pick said, shrugging off Mason so he could come to me. "He's still breathing."
I sighed. "You seriously just couldn't help yourself, could you?"
"If someone hurts you, I'm going to hurt them back. That's all there is to it."
The sincerity and emotion in his eyes made me gulp with longing.
If only.
I shook my head. "Well, I'm fine, so you can leave him alone. And just where is my baby while all you guys feel the need to brawl?"
"Right here," Quinn spoke up. He stepped from the corner where he'd been shielding the bundle in his arms from all the testosterone surging through the room. He looked extra huge with a preemie in his arms, but he carried her with the upmost care as he brought her to me and handed her over.
"She's been asleep the whole time." His voice was hushed as if he were afraid to wake her, even after the yelling match that had ensued between the other guys.
I smiled up at him. "Thank you, Quinn."
"It was my pleasure." He blushed and stepped back, sending a worried glance Pick's way, as if afraid he'd get into trouble for standing too close to me.
Pick ignored him as he set his hand lightly on my back and steered me back into my room. "Let's get you two ladies settled into bed."
I tried to tell him I was fine, but he wouldn't hear anything of it. The frustrated man wasn't satisfied until he had me reclining on my mattress with Skylar cradled to my chest. And even then, he sat on the edge of the bed next to me, looking forlorn as he watched us.
When he drew in a deep breath as he slowly reached out and ran his hand lightly over Skylar's dark hair, my heart broke for him, even though I had no idea why he was so sad.
"Hey." I set my hand on his thigh. "What's wrong?"
He grabbed my fingers and squeezed. "Nothing. I . . . " He shook his head and blew out another breath. "I really need to get going. Tris still isn't answering her phone. I can't believe she'd have Julian out this long. She's not
. . . " He shook his head again. "It's just not like her."
I nodded as if I understood, even though I understood nothing. "Why didn't you ever tell me about you and her?" I blurted out.
He hesitated and refused to meet my gaze. "What do you mean?"
"You don't have a real marriage."
He lifted his face and cringed, looking apologetic. "Trust me, it's real. I have a license signed by a judge to prove it."
"But it's not real, real. You don't love her. You don't have sex with her. You've never had sex with her. And Julian's not yours."
"How . . . ?" He cocked his head to the side, suddenly suspicious. "How'd you learn all that?"
I let out an exaggerated sigh. "It doesn't matter how. It matters that you never bothered to tell me any of it yourself. Why didn't you think I deserved to know? I thought we were at least friends. And you knew I always felt guilty about the way we . . . interacted."
"Eva . . . " He glanced away, torment creasing his face as he ran his fingers through his hair. When he came back to face me, he gave a heavy sigh. "We are friends."
"Then . . . " I shook my head, confused and hurt. "Why?"
He opened his mouth. "I . . . I like you," he admitted as if it were some kind of great confession.
"Okay," I said slowly. "Wouldn't that mean you should feel more comfortable sharing those kinds of facts with me, then?"
He lifted his hand, as if to tell me he was having trouble explaining. "I . . . I mean, if I wasn't tied down to her right now . . . if I wasn't . . . " He groaned and shoved his fingers through his hair again. "I would want to be more than just your friend."
"Oh." I gulped. Oh, wow.
He watched me intently, regret in his dark brown eyes. "I can't annul the marriage. She's an awful mother. I feel sick about even admitting that out loud, but it's true, and I feel even worse every time I have to leave Julian alone with her. I never know if she's going to skip feeding him or not change his diaper or just leave him in his swing all day. That's why I'm itching to get home right now. What if . . . anything could be happening. If I stop this marriage, I will have no rights to him whatsoever. I basically don't now, but it's better than nothing." His eyes reddened around the edges as he pushed off the bed and cleared his throat. "I need to get home."
He was at the door before I collected my scattered thoughts enough to say, "Pick."
He stopped but kept his back to me, his head bowed.
"I understand," I said softly.
He glanced at me, looking almost sick with regret. Then his gaze flickered longingly over Skylar. "Take care of yourself, Tinker Bell."
And then he was gone.
Chapter 17
EVA
On Sunday evening, Reese and I gave Skylar her first sponge bath at the kitchen table. We were oohing and ahhing over every tiny finger and toe when Mason got a call on his cell phone.
"Shit," he muttered to the caller. "Yeah, I can take on tomorrow night. I'm already working Wednesday and Thursday. Can you handle Friday? Good. I promised Reese a date night."
When he hung up and rubbed his tired face, Reese straightened to shoot him a curious glance. "What's going on?"
Mason glanced uneasily at me before saying, "That was Noel. Pick's babysitter has chicken pox, or her kids do or . . . someone. I don't know. They're all contagious for the next two weeks, so he has to stay home with his boy until he finds someone he can trust to watch him."
I frowned. "What about his wife?"
It was her son. Why was he looking for babysitters? And why wasn't she taking off from her own job to watch him?
"She, uh, she left," Mason mumbled, ducking his chin as he answered.
"What?" I plopped down into at chair at the table and gaped.
He blew out a breath. "Yeah. He came home from the picnic at our house to find her gone."
"Oh my God," Reese gasped. "And she left her baby there? Alone?"
I felt sick to my stomach. Pick had tried more than once to call home that day with no answer. Julian had probably been alone the entire time. "I wonder how long he was there by himself. Jesus, he's only four months old."
Mason shook his head. "I have no idea how long he was alone. And I'm pretty sure Pick doesn't even want to think about it. Gamble said he sounded pretty upset."
"I bet." I set my hand over my heart, and checked on my own kid, still wrapped up in her towel as she tried to kick it off.
I felt like crap. Pick had been here, talking to me, caring for me, while his stepson was being abandoned by his own mother. He probably never wanted to see me again.
Even as I had that thought, though, I blurted, "I'll babysit."
I'd make this up to him. Somehow.
PICK
I was still in a state of shock, anger, and heartbreak when someone knocked on my door early Monday morning. Even though Tris could definitely improve on her mothering skills, I hadn't thought she would actually do this. It still haunted me to remember how I'd found Fighter screaming in his swing, beating his fists in the air, his face red with anguish as I'd come through the doorway and found him home alone.
So many things could've happened to him. Just thinking about them made me physically sick to my stomach. My hands were shaking from fear. If I ever saw Tristy again, I was honestly afraid of what I might do to her. But how could she do this to him? Her own child.
With my fingers curled into fists as I strode to the door, I half-hoped it wasn't Tris because I was scared of what I'd say, and I half-hoped it was her so I could say exactly what I wanted to. I'd been loath to put Fighter down these past few days, so he was slung over my shoulder as he napped.
I opened the door and jerked back in surprise when Reese grinned up at me. She held out her hand. "Cell phone please."
"Wha . . . ?" Confused, I wrinkled my brow and dug my phone out of my back pocket, without thought. "What're you doing here?" I was so dumbstruck, I handed the phone over, not even asking her what she planned to do with it.
"Pass-code," she ordered.
With a sigh, I took it from her and got her into the phone before handing it back.
"Thank you." Focusing her attention on the screen, she punched some numbers into the phonebook. "Here's my cell. Call me when you're done with her, and I'll come pick her up immediately. Oh, and please take care of my girl. She's not only my favorite cousin, she's my best friend, too."
I took the phone when she handed it back to me. Shaking my head and not catching on at all, I said, "Huh?"
That's when a panting Eva came up behind her, lugging Skylar in a huge-ass car seat with a diaper bag thrown over her shoulder.
Reese was instantly forgotten. I blinked repeatedly to make sure I was seeing what I was seeing. "Tink?"
She smiled, and my entire chest lit up with warmth.
"Mason said you needed a babysitter." She gave a breathless explanation. "So . . . here I am."
"You . . . ?" I shook my head in confusion, even though she'd just made it perfectly clear why she was here. "What?"
This couldn't happen, because if she stepped into my home, I'd never want to leave. Eva used the car seat as a cattle prod, plowing forward and forcing me to shift aside. Yep, I was going to have to call in and quit my job. Both jobs. I could become a professional couch potato and just drool every time she walked past. This was my new life goal.
"Okay, bye, E. Love ya." From behind me, someone in the hallway made kissy sounds. I have no idea who it was. No one else in my universe currently existed, except maybe Julian and Skylar.
But Eva leaned past me to smile at that other, annoying person, and blow her a kiss. "Love you, too. Thanks for the ride."
Her ride must've departed soon thereafter because Eva arched me an amused glance. "Are you going to shut the door?"
"Huh?"
"Go take a shower and get ready for work, Patrick." Her voice was dry, yet amused. "You don't want to be late."
"Work?" I echoed. I thought we'd already decided my new job was to ogle h
er.
Turning away, she set Skylar's carrier on the floor and slung this fancy looking purse thing with Skylar's name stitched across the side next to it. Then she went to unbuckle her baby. The entire time she was bent over, my gaze was fixated on her ass. And the only reason I could believe she'd been pregnant not quite a month ago was because I'd seen it with my own eyes.
Instead of taking her baby from the seat, she straightened and caught me staring. "Goodness gracious. You can check out my ass later. It's not going anywhere. Now scoot." She reached forward and began to ease Fighter out of my arms.
It was a testament of how crazy I was about her that I didn't snap her fingers off for trying to touch him. But after Saturday, I had some major attachment issues, yet another reason I couldn't go to work today. Leaving Julian just felt wrong. I really needed to sit there and hold him while I ogled the babysitter.
And then Tinker Bell made it even worse by immediately cooing as soon as she got him in her arms. "Oh my God. He's so cute. Look at those perfect cheekbones. He's going to be a model someday."
Julian stirred and opened his eyes. I tensed, ready to snag him back, because Eva was a stranger and would probably scare him. But he merely blinked at her a few times.
She grinned and kissed him on the nose. "Hey there, handsome. You're even more adorable when you open those big chocolate brown eyes. Yes, you are. My name is Eva. Some people call me E." She slid a grin my way. "Or Tinker Bell." Turning her attention back to my boy, she kept talking to him, explaining how he was going to hang out with her and Skylar today and they were going to have loads of fun.
I just kept staring. Tinker Bell was talking to him; Tristy would claim he couldn't respond, except that's exactly what he did. He responded by breaking out one his famous grins and making her melt.
"Aww." Glancing up at me, she said, "I think I just fell in love."
I was very nearly tempted to say, "So did I," but that was just stupid.
Wasn't it? Shit, having her here, watching my kid, was too dangerous for my peace of mind.
Eva sent me an odd frown as if she knew exactly what I was thinking. I shifted uncomfortably.
"What are you still doing, gawking at us?" she said. "Go! I'm on the clock and getting paid for this. You might want to do the same so you can afford me."