“This shit stops today,” he barked out. Oh good, we were on the same page, I thought to myself despite his harsh tone.

“Thanks for last night. I didn’t mean to come on to you like that, but I’m glad you didn’t get the wrong idea about us.” I told him, a mixture of relief and a little sad, that I was going back to my special toy drawer; the real thing was always better.

If at all possible, his expression turned even more murderous. “I’m not even touching that comment right now.” Huh? I was thoroughly confused. What was he—

Cutting off my thoughts, his ground out words completely threw me, “You need to cut back on work. You shouldn’t be working while you’re this sick.”

“Excuse me?” I asked completely dumbfounded. My confusion fell away, replaced immediately by annoyance. Like hell he was telling me what I could or couldn’t do.

“You’re too fucking sick. You need money, you come to me and don't even get me started on that shit-box car. What if you have an accident or it breaks down?” Pushing off the bench, he took a step toward me filling the room with his fury.

“I suggest you shut the fuck up before I really lose my shit, asshole.”

“I’m buying you a new car today. It’ll be here before you leave for work.” Oh hell no! I felt the last of my restraint snap like a rubber band. The need to defend my piece-of-shit car kicked in. He might be right, but it was about all I had left.

“The fuck you will! I don’t need your charity. My car will do just fine, thank you very much,” I snarled at his alpha attitude.

“How you gonna get to work if it blows up? It’s my kid which makes it my responsibility,” he barked out. I was heading quickly toward furious when he pushed me right over the edge. “You need to get out of this piss-ant apartment. It’s no place to raise a kid, especially not my kid.”

“You think I don’t know my life isn’t ideal for a baby? You think I don’t see this! I’m not a fucking idiot. Getting to work doesn’t matter because I don’t have a damn job anymore. The apartment will do until I find something else, which is none of your business. I don’t need the added stress of you and your crap, so take your concern and shove it far up your ass!” I screamed, the blood roaring in my ears and my breath coming fast. I’d gotten so mad I’d let slip that I’d been fired. I didn’t want him to know. I wanted to find a new job and just pretend it hadn’t happened.

“You lost your job? Were you even going to tell me?” he growled in a truly menacing voice. I had no idea if it was meant to intimidate, but not this woman. Fuck no.

Clenching my fists around my towel, I glared at him daring him to challenge me some more. “Like I said, it isn’t your business. Now get the fuck out!” I snapped pointing at the door.

Moving past me, he stopped suddenly leaning into my face and sneered, “We aren’t done here. I have plenty more to say when I’m not late for work.”

Before I could curse him out or punch him in the jaw, he turned and stormed out the front door slamming it hard behind him. Quickly snapping back to reality, I paced the living room. I was so angry I couldn’t think straight.

I stomped down the short hallway determined to calm down and start my day over again. Grabbing my clothes, I quickly dressed myself and padded into the bathroom forgetting about the tiny tear in the linoleum. My foot caught and I ripped forward. Before I could right myself or even throw my hands out to break my fall, my stomach slammed into the corner of the vanity. My body rigid and my mouth forming an O, I cried out as a sharp pain ripped through my belly.

Attempting to right myself, I waited for the pain to subside.

But it didn’t.

After a full minute it became very clear I was in trouble.

My very first thought as I reached for my cell was on my baby. Oh God! God, no. Please! Not the baby.

Chapter Seven

Trip

After a quick stop at home to shower, change and swap the truck over for my Harley, I pulled into work spying Scarlett’s Cobra in its usual parking spot. Hopefully, she’d not give me shit about being late. I was in no mood to deal with it this morning. Why couldn’t she see I was just trying to do what was right? I was helping her. She had lost her job; she lived in a rundown apartment and her car should have been set fire to years ago. She was so damn stubborn. I had not meant to get so angry, but seeing her sick like that and dealing with it quietly on her own with nobody to take care of her, just pissed me right off. She should have asked me for help, or at least told me she’d been having a hard time.

Walking quickly through the parlor with my head down, I made my way to my station and set up for the day. My first appointment was already in the waiting room so I had to get my shit together.

I was still stewing on the shit-storm that had gone down hours later, cleaning up after the client who’d just left. I snapped off my gloves throwing them in the trash when Scar came running in the room looking panicked. “You have to go.” She rushed out clutching her cell to her chest.

“What? What are you on about?” I asked, confused by her words.

“It’s Teeny!” She took a deep shuddering breath “You have to go, now.” My stomach dropped and my ears pricked.

“Slow down. What’s going on?” A cold sweat broke out across my face.

“It’s the baby. Teeny and the baby. She’s hurt,” Scar cried.

Jumping up, I knocked over the tray of instruments and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Hurt, how? Scar, tell me what you know?” I begged giving her a small shake.

Snapping out of her panic, she locked her teary eyes with mine. “She fell. You need to get to St Joseph’s hospital. Now.”

Without a second thought, I was out the door and driving way over the speed limit rushing to get to the emergency room. I just had no idea what I would find when I got there.

“Which room?” I yelled toward the group of nurses. My nerves were shot and I was out of breath. I’d almost been carted off by security trying to get into the ward. I actually had to tell them I was her husband just to get past the big white doors. A woman in a white coat approached me carefully. “I might be able to help you. Who are you looking for?” she asked in a placating voice.

“My—my wi—my Teeny. She fell and…the baby. My baby. She has my baby.” I stuttered. My stomach in knots, I looked around feeling completely useless and utterly terrified.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Please follow me,” she said quietly turning and walking ahead of me. Sorry? She was sorry… My mind immediately went into overdrive thinking the worst had happened as we approached a room toward the end of the hall. “She’s just resting now. I’ll be back in about ten minutes to check on her and answer any questions you might have.”

Nodding, I pushed into the darkened room; the only light was streaming in through a crack in the curtains. With quick purposeful strides, I made it to her bed. Teeny glanced up at me and did a double take. “What—what are you doing here?” she asked honestly confused. “Scarlett,” she snapped accusingly as the pieces clicked together. My heart was still pounding behind my ribs as I ran my eyes over her.

Looking between her stomach and face, I seemed to have lost all ability to speak. Ice-cold fear gripped me; the thought that we might have lost our unborn baby had me feeling like I was standing on broken glass. It must have been written clear across my face because Teeny grabbed my large inked hand in her tiny soft one and whispered, “The baby’s fine. Everything is fine. It’s okay, Trip.” The breath I didn’t know I’d been holding rushed from my burning lungs and my shoulders lost most of their tension.

Something snapped inside me. I had been so damn scared she was hurt. I hadn’t stopped to think about the fact it wasn’t just the baby I was scared for. A squeak left her lips as mine unexpectedly crashed down on her mouth. Cupping her pretty face in my hands, I put everything I was, everything I had, and everything I wanted to be into that one kiss.

Pulling back, I stared into her surprised eyes and spoke thickly, “You scared the shit outta me. Don’t ever do that again. Never.” Taking a deep breath, I tried steadying my frayed nerves. “Damn, Princess. What the hell happened?”

She gave me a quick rundown of how things had gone after I left, up to the point I’d arrived. The sick feeling in the pit of my stomach still hadn’t lessened any at the thought of how badly the whole thing could have ended. I couldn’t even take pride in the fact my point had been proven; she needed somebody to take care of her.

“What happens now?” I asked. “They’ve checked you out properly, right?”

“Yeah. I just have to wait for the doctor to look me over once more before I can go home.” Home? I glared down at her wondering how I was going to make sure she wasn’t left on her own. Maybe I could call on the girls and Ma to help me out, drop in and make sure she was okay when I couldn’t.

The sound of the door opening interrupted my moment. In walked the lady doctor who’d helped me in the hall, pushing an ultrasound machine.

“Okay, we’ll just have a little look at bub to see everything is okay, and then I’ll do a quick exam”

Once again, I was completely blown away by the grainy images on the screen. The tiny flicker of a beating heart absolutely absorbed me.

“Everything looks perfect. There’s no problems there. Do we want to know the sex of your baby while you’re here?” The doctor looked at us waiting on an answer. “You’re eighteen weeks now and we usually like to wait until twenty weeks, but seeing as this is the last opportunity to see, I figured I’d ask.”

“Oh, can we?” Teeny piped up looking from me to the doctor asking for clarification from her and permission from me. She was including me, unknowingly so, but the gesture was more than a little wanted.

“Have at it,” I smiled looking back up at the screen in awe; unlike last time, the baby wasn’t a jellybean. Our kid had hands and feet, a nose and ears. It was amazing and completely breathtaking. A lump rose up in my throat as I stared in wonder at its tiny form.

“Ohh, damn. Stubborn little thing.” Teeny’s laughing voice drew me back to the present.

“What?” I asked shaking the fog from my head.

“Your little one has its legs crossed. No chance of finding the sex out before birth. Sorry guys.” The doctor turned the machine off as she spoke and cleaned the goop off Teeny’s belly.

“I’ll be back in a few moments, and if everything is okay with the last lot of blood tests, you can go home,” Doctor Wood explained once she had finished poking and prodding Teen’s belly.

“You’re sure?” I pressed, still not quite convinced.

“With a small smile, the doctor turned to me. “Teeny and the baby are fine. They were both very lucky.” She patted me on the shoulder with a small laugh on her way out the door leaving us alone in the quiet room.

Rather than standing around fidgeting, I busied myself trying to be useful. “Here, drink some more of this.” I pushed the cup toward her face again.