Page 23

23

K night paced the emergency room hall as the doctors and nurses went in and out of the cubicle. No one said a word as Bryanna brushed past him, and he caught a glimpse of her holding Gabby’s hand and murmuring encouraging words. He should’ve been the one at her side. Yet, he lost the privilege when he tore her to shreds.

His phone rang and he distractedly picked it up. “Knight,” he answered.

“Hello. Marcus, this is Elsie Graham from Coastal Realty. I wanted to call you to review an offer on your home. Do you have a few minutes?”

Knight glanced back to the room where Gabby lay, most likely frightened, but after this evening, he knew she’d refuse any comfort from him. Kassie called in an OBGYN and now he waited for any news.

“Yes. What do you have?” he asked while he watched for any indication he might see her.

“Two couples placed a bid and ended up in a bidding war. You have an offer twenty-five percent higher than your asking price. The couple wants to take immediate possession. They’re paying in cash. The upgrades done on your home proved a great investment. I can have the inspection done tomorrow and start the paperwork immediately,” she announced happily.

“Yeah, it sounds great. Thank you. Please let me know when I need to fly to California for the signing,” Knight requested.

“I’ll email you the contracts, which need your signature. I’ll call you tomorrow after the inspection to let you know what date we can set forthe closing.”

“Perfect, thank you.” He disconnected the call. Knight put the house on the market and Gabby’s little touches to make it a home sold it. Kassie exited the cubicle and approached him.

“Gabrielle asked me to share her medical condition with you. She’s spotting. I’m keeping her here to ensure she stays stress free. The OBGYN performed an examination, and the baby appears fine. We must keep her calm. Do you understand?” Kassie gazed at him with a mixture of compassion and an imaginary sign flashed ‘stupid idiot’ across her forehead, showing her true feelings.

He nodded. “May I see her? I won’t upset her, I promise.”

Kassie shook her head. “Gabrielle has requested no visitors. Why don’t you go home with Bryanna and Saint? I received permission to keep you posted and will call you with any news. Things always appear brighter in the morning. Why don’t you get some rest?”

He raked his hands over his faceas if he could rest when she lay in bed, hurting from his actions.

Saint clutched his shoulder. “Come on, man. It’s time to let Gabby rest. She’s in great hands here,” he assured Knight.

He stared at the curtain, willing Gabby to call for him. He wanted to see her for himself. Knowing he lost the right, the fight drained from him as he slowly nodded. He turned to Kassie. “Will you call me if she needs anything?”

Kassie smiled. “Yes. I’ll call immediately. She’ll most likely rest all evening. You can call the hospital for an update every couple of hours if it’ll ease your fears,” she informed him.

He glanced at the curtain separating him from his wife and nodded. “Thank you.” Saint led him away.

Gabby held her breath while the doctor completed the exam. “I’m keeping you on the fetal monitor. The baby appears fine for now. You need to avoid stress right now and lower your BP. I don’t want to put you on bed rest, but I will if you continue down this path. If you want a healthy baby, I need you to follow my instructions,” the doctor informed her.

Gabby nodded. “I will. I promise,” she hastily replied.

Dr. Beecham smiled and patted her arm before leaving.

Gabby caressed her stomach. “I’m sorry, little one. I didn’t mean to get angry and wouldn’t risk you for the world. I hope you know how much I love you. You’re the best part of me and your daddy. You’ll always remind me of how much love can overcome. Hey. Let’s make a deal. You stay all nestled inside my tummy and let me worry about the outside world. I’ll promise not to stress myself out if you agree to stay put.” As if the baby agreed, she felt it kick, making her smile.

Kassie entered the room. “I’m heading home for the evening. I have two little girls waiting for me to tuck them into bed. Annabelle is in charge of your care.”

“Oh, I thought this was your first.” Gabby nodded to Kassie’s protruding belly.

Kassie smoothed the scrubs over her stomach. “No. I have Emma, who’s a precocious seven-year-old and Tori’s turning six months old.”

Gabby peered at her quizzically. “May I ask how far along you are?”

Kassie beamed. “I’m twenty-seven weeks.”

“Wow, you didn’t waste any time,” Gabby laughed. “I can’t imagine how I’ll manage caring for one and you’ll have two under a year.”

Kassie laughed. “Actually, I’ll have three under the age of one. I’m expecting twins.”

“There’s a word for people like you. It’s called overachiever,” Gabby giggled. “Maybe you need to pull up a gurney and store up on sleep.”

Kassie shook her head. “I’m not worried. My family will help out. Chase and I signed up to take Lamaze classes with Bryanna and Samantha, and another friend of ours. It’s something you might want to think about. Usually, people bring a partner, a sister, or a friend. I know things seem pretty tense between you and Knight right now. How do you plan on handling custody? My friend, Claire, works as a psychologist here. She might have some advice if you plan on co-parenting or sharing custody.”

“Honestly, I haven’t given it much thought. I tried telling Marcus. He sent me to his lawyer. After the divorce proceedings, I didn’t reach out again. I’m not forcing him if he doesn’t want to participate in this baby’s life.”

Kassie neared the bed. “Did he say that? He seemed torn up when they brought you in here and Saint practically dragged him out of here. He kept watching the cubicle for you.”

Gabby lay back against the pillow and sighed. “No. He mentioned he wanted to stay involved.”

“I understand your anger. But if you want this child to grow up knowing its father, you’ll have to figure out how to get along with Marcus for the next eighteen years. Do you want it handled peacefully for the child or full of resentment? I’m not taking sides. I’m only giving you something to mull over. This baby will arrive sooner than you know. If you can find some common ground now, will it make things easier for you later?”

“I’ve stayed caught up in figuring out how to raise this baby on my own, the move, and now running for my life. I’m not sure how to proceed with Marcus,” Gabby admitted.

“How about I ask Claire to stop by? If anything, she may show you some breathing exercises to help you remain calm. This can’t be easy for you, but don’t forget how far you’ve come,” Kassie reminded her before leaving the cubicle.

She remembered bits and pieces of when she felt the sharp pain in her abdomen as she yelled at him. The hurt, resentment and pain bubbled to the surface. Especially when she saw him crying. Marcus never showed emotion. Gabby turned on her side and punched the pillow. Did she want to spend eighteen years raising a child in hatred when they conceived it in love?

Marcus betrayed her in the worst way. Could she set aside her feelings for the greater good? She listened to the low sound of the baby’s heartbeat. Regardless of how Marcus treated her, nothing changed the fact he remained the father.

Letting the rhythm of her baby’s heart lull her to sleep, Gabby pondered over her options. If she fought him on custody, it might drag out their divorce. With the date rapidly approaching, she didn’t want anything to hamper it. Maybe it was for the best if she compromised with him. It’d allow him to remain part of their child’s life and she’d find a way to continue on with hers.

Knight sat on the couch, listening to Bryanna and Nugget giggle as she readied her daughter for bed. Saint returned from the kitchen, holding two beers in his hand. He offered one to Knight before sitting in the recliner opposite him.

“Thanks,” he murmured as he gazed into the bottle of amber liquid.

“I’ve only met you over a handful of times. Bryanna makes us family. I’m not sure where to begin, but in this house, when someone screws up, we don’t abandon them. We help them back up. My team’s decided you’re an asshole and I can’t say it’s far from my mind. I’m willing to listen if you want to talk about it,” Saint offered.

Marcus swiped along his jaw and hung his head. “A little over two years ago, things felt off. My team and I got along for the most part. Zepher and I butted heads more than once. The more time that passed, the more I felt separated from them. I did my job, checked off another deployment and waited for my contract to end. I can’t tell you my missions, but as a sniper, I felt the weight of my job more and more. I don’t even know what caused the intense arguments with Zepher, but it got back to my commander. When I went in for my review, he gave me another option with a black ops mission. I took it. In exchange, my contract terminated once I finished the job. With two years left, I leapt at the chance. I felt like an outsider with my teammates. Gabby and I seemed happy enough. She worked as a waitress in a diner and took classes in the evening.”

“Then why do I hear a ‘but’ in there?” Saint asked.

Knight groaned. “I don’t know. The past year, we spun up nonstop. I rarely saw Gabby between school and work. We made the most of our time together. Then, it felt like she pulled away from me. Then I returned and found her in bed and another man in our bedroom.”

“So you acted like a butthead?” Saint raised his brow.

“Yeah. I did. I didn’t stop there,” Knight admitted sheepishly.

His brother-in-law chuckled. “Of course, you didn’t.”

“I made sure she didn’t walk away without feeling the pain I felt.”

Saint leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “When I met your sister, she struggled with trusting a military man. When my ex showed up and I got shot, your sister jumped to some conclusions too. I don’t know Gabby, but it takes two to make a marriage work. Did you ever talk to her about how you felt?”

“No,” Knight admitted. “I didn’t want her to see me as some weak sap. Things grew worse after I went black ops. The things I saw…”

“It’s not weak to lean on your partner. It’s like your team. You trust them to have your back,” Saint emphasized.

Knight met his gaze. “I don’t know what to do.”

“I can’t tell you what to do. I know trust is something you and Bryanna struggle with. If your sister can learn to trust me, I’ve no doubt you can overcome it, too.”

“I think I’ll call the hospital and check on my wi-Gabby,” he stuttered.

Saint leaned back and stared at him. “You do what you think is best. If my wife and child lay in a hospital bed. I sure as hell wouldn’t be calling to check on her.”

“She doesn’t want to see me,” he defended himself.

Saint shook his head. “I guess that’s where we differ. My wife and I work as a team. If she doesn’t want to see me because I fucked up, I’d respect her decision. I, however, would stay close by so she knew if she needed me, she only needed to call my name. It’s how you earn trust, brother.”

“What if it’s too late?”

“There are no guarantees in life, but there’s a thing called forgiveness. You may have an uphill battle after what I’ve witnessed. Only you can decide if you want to fight for the life you want.” Saint rose from his chair and picked up the empty beer bottles, taking them into the kitchen.

Knight stood in indecision. He didn’t want to cause her more stress, yet he wanted to sit with her. Finally, he pulled out the keys to his truck and silently closed the front door to his sister’s home. Wondering how Bryanna conquered her trust issues, he slid into the driver’s seat and drove up the mountain.

When he arrived, he walked slowly into the emergency entrance, unsure if they moved his wife.

Two nurses were behind the nursing station. One charted while the other wrote assignments on a whiteboard. At hearing the doors slide open and close, she turned to greet him. “Hello, Knight. I’m Annabelle, Gabrielle’s nurse for this evening.”

“I wanted to check on my wi…Gabby. How’s she doing?” he asked quietly.

“I went in to take her vitals a while ago. She struggles to sleep, but her vitalsare staying stable.” Annabelle reported. “Do you want me to ask if she feels up to visitors?”

“Uh, yeah. I mean, yes, please. Tell her I won’t stay long,” he added.

The nurse nodded as she capped her marker and walked toward the cubicle from earlier. A minute later she reappeared.

“Go on back. She’s waiting for you. I must remind you, I’m watching her vitals at the desk. If they climb, I will ask you to leave,” Annabelle warned him sternly.

“I understand.” Knight walked toward the room, feeling his heart race knowing she agreed to see him.

Parting the curtain, he slid inside the area. The lights remained off, but the ones on the side cast a warm glow around her bed. She lay on her side facing him. The pillow bunched under her head and she gripped it tightly.

“Hey,” he whispered. “It’s late. You need to rest.”

“Why did you return?” she asked warily.

“I’m worried about you,” he confessed. “Why can’t you sleep?”

She met his gaze. “I don’t want you to contest the divorce. It’ll take months if we go through the legal process to establish custody. I want us to work something out. It appears we’ll be connected for at least eighteen years. We need to make the best of it for the baby. I don’t want us to fight nonstop,” she whispered quietly.

Knight sat beside her bed, refusing to disagree with her, afraid her vitals might spike and the feisty nurse outside promised to haul his ass out at the first indication of them rising.

“Is this what’s bothering you? You can’t relax because you’re worried about us getting along?” he asked.

“What happened between us can’t affect the baby,” she demanded.

“I agree. How about you close your eyes and rest? I can sit here with you or I can go to the waiting room. I’m not here to argue with you.”

“I can’t sleep,” she confessed. “I close my eyes and I worry about the baby.”

Knight leaned over the railing and soothed her brow. “Close your eyes. I’ll watch over the baby,” he whispered. “No more talk about custody or divorce. We’ll agree to figure everything out. It doesn’t need to happen tonight.”

Reluctantly, Gabby lowered her eyelids and relaxed as he stroked her head softly. Within minutes, he heard her slight sigh, giving in to sleep. Her left hand loosened its grip on the pillow and her right lay over her stomach as if to protect her unborn child.

When he knew she fell deeper into slumber, he leaned back in the chair and watched over her. Saint’s words echoed in his head. Did he have trust issues? Thinking back to his team, he wondered if they stopped relying on him to have their backs. When did he stop being trustworthy? The guilt gnawed at his gut. He hadn’t only let Gabrielle down, hefailed his team. Maybe Zepher felt Knight’s distance. He spent long periods alone as a sniperto cover his team. He did his job when he stayed in position to ensure their hasty retreats. When they finished the assignment, he always kept himself back. As if seeing himself through a magnifying glass, Knight caught a good, hard look at the man he’d become. It didn’t reassure him at all. He hardly recognized himself.

Gabby stirred and he pulled the blanket over her shoulder. He hung his head in sorrow at a loss about how to proceed. His actions put his wife in a hospital bed and left Gabby to defend herself while she carried his child.

When did he lose faith in the woman he loved with all his heart? Gabby didn’t deserve it. She turned his run-of-the-mill house into a real home. Whenever he returned, she painted a wall, added flowers, and made him a man’s den with comforting colors, a cozy couch and a big screen TV.

He smiled when he realized she probably purchased the television to keep from hearing the football and basketball games. It didn’t matter. She added little comforts, helping him to de-stress after weeks on assignment. Little things, like his favorite beer stocked in the fridge, she cooked his favorite meal the day he returned and left him notes in his go bag. He frowned when he recalled the first time he opened his bag last yearto discover she didn’t leave one.

Raking his hand through his hair, he closed his eyes, wishing he knew what happened to the man who freely laughed and nearly jumped out of his skin to return to her. Love never came into question. She held his heart more than she ever knew. Then why did he crush hers with his fist and leave her to pick up the pieces?

Knight didn’t understand. His and Gabby’s divorce would befinalized in a few weeks. If he didn’t make some drastic changes, Gabby might walk away forever and never look back.