Page 18 of Brokered Betrayals
“Busted,” Royce whispered.
Sawyer showed Trinity the text they’d received from Kelsey.
“Aww, bless her heart,” the nurse said.
“Andrew acted as the diversion so we could sneak into Kelsey’s room,” Royce confessed.
Trinity snorted. “I knew something had to be up. No one is that bad with directions.” She waved for them to follow her. “Kelsey’s needs come first, and right now, that’s her people.” She moved with a general’s confidence as she led them down the corridor. She knocked lightly on Kelsey’s door and poked her head inside. “There are a few handsome fellas just dying to see you.”
“Yes!” Kelsey hissed. “Send them in.”
Trinity stepped aside so they could enter the room. “I’ll go rescue your husband from Aggie.”
“Did she put him in lockup?” Kelsey asked once Trinity left.
“She’s just very protective of everyone’s sleep and their need for quiet,” Royce said. “The way she enforces her consideration could use some work.”
Sawyer took the empty chair on the far side of the bed, and Royce wheeled a stool to the closest side. Andrew walked in a moment later, and the trio raised their hands and showered him with a whispered chorus of “Yay!”
Andrew pressed his hands to his face and struck a demure pose. “Who, me?”
“My hero,” Kelsey said, clasping her hands to her heart.
Royce rolled the stool out of the way so Andrew could approach the bed.
Brushing the curls away from her face, Andrew searched her eyes. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I am now that my people are here.” She puckered her lips, and Andrew kissed her softly. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
“Let’s turn these lights up a little and play cards,” Kelsey said.
Andrew removed a deck from her bag, but the only remaining chair was a recliner in the corner. They couldn’t easily pull that up to her hospital bed, so they were figuring out logistics when Trinity returned with a rolling desk chair.
“You won’t have to worry about Aggie bothering you unless you get too rowdy in here,” the nurse said.
“We won’t be a problem,” Kelsey assured her. She turned on the television and set the volume low for background noise. “Rummy? Poker?”
“Go Fish is more my speed,” Andrew said. “It’s less cutthroat if everyone is honest.”
“Rummy is cutthroat?” Sawyer asked.
Kelsey giggled. “It is in my family.”
Andrew shuddered. “I still have the scars to prove it.”
They played a few rounds of Go Fish before Kelsey suggested they switch to Uno. Andrew moaned softly but retrieved the deck from the bag.
“I can’t wait to teach Ella the finer points of playing card games,” Kelsey said.
“She’ll be savage,” Andrew replied. “No mercy for anyone.”
“Not even us,” Kelsey agreed.
Royce looked across the bed at Sawyer, who wore the dreamiest expression on his face. He knew his husband was picturing their future card game nights with their little family. Old Maid had been Royce’s favorite as a kid because he’d learned how to read his opponents and use their weaknesses against them to rig the outcome in his favor, skills that still came in handy. Sawyer was just as analytical when playing cards, but he focused more on probabilities and statistics than human behavior. None of their prowess mattered because Kelsey trounced them all in four rounds.
Mild, sporadic contractions started around four in the morning, and Kels transitioned into active labor by six. Trinity and Aggie both came by just before seven to say they were leaving and to introduce the day shift nurses, Megan and Shannon. The contractions were consistent and looked extremely painful, but Kelsey breathed through them with Sawyer’s help. Andrew massaged her feet, and Royce talked her through the peaks and valleys. At times, Royce’s pulse matched the trajectory of each contraction on the graph, spiking at the little mountain peak and slowing as Kelsey’s pain ebbed. Darla’s precious heartbeat was the soothing soundtrack that kept him sane through it all.