People came in and out, their various issues less important than what lay behind the metal doors still closed against me. I jumped to my feet, intent on getting answers from the triage nurse.
A hand landed on my shoulder, and I spun to face Chance. He handed me a large to-go cup of coffee.
“Settle down, mate,” he said. “I reckon they’ll come out and tell you when they know something.”
“Where’s your goat?”
“Home with Aubrey and CJ.” He led me to a seat and pushed me into it, then sat next to me.
“Go home. I don’t need anyone here.”
“I’m staying anyway. The good thing about me is that you can be a jackass all you want and I won’t get offended. Aubrey wanted to come, but I wasn’t going to let you hurt her feelings.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I didn’t chew everyone’s head off like you’re doing, but I remember what it was like when she wouldn’t talk to me.”
“Have you…” I pressed my lips together and shook my head. “Never mind.”
“Leonard is doing very well. Carli talked to the vet and got him on some new medication for his joints. The furry bloke is jumping around like a kitten now.”
“Good. That’s really good.” I shut my mouth before I said anything else.
“Antonio started classes a couple of weeks ago and likes it. He got his learner’s permit, and Carli and Mr. Dennison are teaching him how to drive.”
Damn. I’d missed so much. Antonio must be thrilled and I wasn’t able to share his success with him. That hurt almost as much as losing Carli. I was jealous, too. Why hadn’t I considered the possibility of him driving? I could have given him that independence, but I’d been too complacent to bother.
“Do you want to know how she’s doing?” Chance asked.
Yes. “No, I—”
The door opened, revealing a doctor. His eyes met mine, and he frowned, then said, “Mr. Acardi, if you’ll come with me, you can see your new son.”
“How is Sara doing?” I asked, barely able to get the words out. I was going to be holding my baby boy in just a few minutes, and the immediate surge of joy almost wiped out my sadness at losing Carli.
He shook his head and laid a hand on my shoulder. “I’m very sorry. She didn’t make it.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Carlina
“You’re getting good at this.”
Antonio grunted, his eyes fixed on the trailer in his side mirror. “I still can’t do it in one try,” he muttered. “I need to get better.”
I laughed softly. “Honey, taking more than one try to back a trailer into a spot happens more often than getting it right the first time. I jackknifed and broke a tow chain once when I was learning. I think you’re doing very well.”
He eased the trailer backward, carefully correcting to straighten it. Letting out a sigh, he put my truck into park and rubbed his eyes. “Can we have supper now? I’ll try again after class tomorrow.”
“Sure. I’ll cook tonight. Veggie pizza sound good?”
“Yes, but no mushrooms. They get all slimy when they’re cooked.”
We climbed out of the truck and made our way to the house. Leonard met us at the door, rubbing against our legs like a housecat. Scratching his jaw, I said, “You got it. Why don’t you get cleaned up while I make supper?”
“I still need to ride Max, and feed everyone, and—”
“I already took care of it. Max can wait another day.”
“But that’s my job!” His eyes welled with tears and he leaned against the door. “I should stop taking the mechanic classes. I’m not getting everything done.”
“Absolutely not.” I opened the door and ushered him inside. “You do more than enough around here and I’m not going to let you work yourself sick.”
“No, I—”
“For right now, and until you finish your training, going to school is your job. Didn’t Mr. Hollis say he already had a few people wanting to hire you when you finish?”
His brow wrinkled and he nodded. “Yeah, but who’s going to help you?”
“Nobody. I did it all by myself for years.” Taking his arm, I gave him a gentle nudge toward the stairs. “Besides, once you start earning money, you can buy our groceries. I still haven’t found a job and we can’t live off my savings forever.”
To be truthful, I hadn’t looked. I’d taken a few catering gigs here and there, mostly referred to me by Aubrey. It had been enough to keep us going, but I couldn’t count on it. Having an extra income would be helpful.
“That’s right!” He rocked on his heels and grinned. “I get to take care of you now, just like a real brother should. We don’t need Giorgio or his money.”
He kissed my cheek and trotted up the steps, leaving me shaking my head. While I would have liked to convince Antonio to forgive his brother for what happened, he wouldn’t discuss it. He also refused to take money from Giorgio, aside from paying for Leonard’s frozen food.
I wasn’t in any hurry to forgive Giorgio either. Despite that, I missed him and the possibility of what might have been, if not for his awful relatives. It didn’t even bother me so much that he had a child with another woman. I mean, they’d dated before we met. I couldn’t exactly hold that against him.
Between the gut punch of learning about their baby, and Proserpina’s cruelty, I couldn’t deal with it. Things might have been different if I’d had a little time to get used to the idea.
Walking into the kitchen, I texted Sara to see how she was doing. Her pregnancy was hard on her, and I worried. I still wasn’t sure how it happened, but we’d gotten close over the last month. The only thing we didn’t discuss was Giorgio, except for one time. I opened the drawer of the kitchen desk, lifting the sealed envelope from its hiding place. She’d asked me to give it to Giorgio, but I had no idea what was inside. As much as I wanted to steam it open and peek, I’d respect their privacy.
When she didn’t answer, I shrugged and got started on supper. Antonio joined me as I was sliding the pizza stone into the oven, wearing his Leonard the Lion shirt and a pair of sweats. Thankfully, he no longer smelled like motor oil and grime.
“I’ll put the salad together,” he said, reaching into the fridge.
My phone chirped and I looked down, frowning when I saw Aubrey’s name. Crossing my fingers in the hope that she wasn’t calling with another foster animal, I answered.
“Hey, Aubrey, what’s up?”
I heard sniffing, then a short cough before Aubrey spoke. “Carli, you need to take Antonio to the hospital now. Sara went into labor, and—”
“No! It’s too early! Are they okay? Has she delivered the baby?”
“Nothing is okay,” Aubrey replied, still crying. “Sara passed away, and the baby is in intensive care.”
“Oh, damn.” I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to hold it together. “We’ll be right there.” Ending the call, I turned off the oven.
“What happened?” Antonio asked, tossing lettuce into a bowl.
“Get dressed, please. We’re going to the hospital. You have a new nephew, but he’s in intensive care.”
“No. Giorgio doesn’t need anyone. He has Sara.”
I calmed my breathing, trying desperately not to bite his head off. “Sara died, and your nephew came too early. I know you’re still mad at Gio, but he needs you.”
He frowned, still playing with the lettuce. “It’s bad that she died. We should let Proserpina deal with it.”
“Honey, Gio doesn’t speak to her or your uncle. He told them to stay away forever and your aunt is probably going to spend some time in jail for trying to take you.”
I had to admire Sara for what she’d done. It took lady balls to stand up to a rich family like that and I was proud of her for protecting her son’s interests. I wouldn’t have had the nerve to deny Giorgio’s parental rights if he didn’t promise to keep Tomas and Proserpina away from his son.
Looking up from the bowl
of lettuce, he asked, “That means he doesn’t have anyone, right? We should leave him there.”
“No.” I jerked the bowl out of his hands. “You have a nephew, Antonio Acardi. A little boy who hasn’t done anything wrong and needs the love of his uncle. You’re going to march upstairs and put on pants and then we’re going to the hospital.”
He blinked at me in surprise, then turned and disappeared up the stairs. I sighed and rubbed my face. I’d never yelled at him before and felt guilty for it, but I wasn’t going to stand around and watch him ignore an innocent child just because he was angry at Giorgio.
Reaching into the desk drawer, I retrieved the letter Sara had given me. She’d told me I’d know when to give it to Giorgio and I wondered if she suspected something might happen. Tears welled in my eyes and I brushed them away when I heard Antonio’s footsteps on the stairs.
“I’m ready,” he said, his voice soft. “I’m sorry I was yucky. I’ll try to be nice to Giorgio.”
“I’m not asking you to forgive him,” I said, grabbing my keys. “You can be mad at Giorgio as long as you don’t start a fight with him. All you need to do is love your new nephew.”
Giorgio
There were too many tubes and wires attached to my son. I had the sudden urge to take them all away and hold him, but they were helping him breathe. I counted his rapid breaths, dividing my attention between his swollen face and the monitors. God, he was tiny, barely five pounds.
My throat closed. Sara would never have a chance to change her mind about keeping him. My carelessness had killed her. If I hadn’t driven to Carli’s first, Sara might still be alive.
I stretched out my fingers and touched my son’s foot. That one glancing contact was all I’d allow myself.
“Mr. Acardi, your son has some visitors.” The burly nurse who had denied me access when they took Sara away squeezed my arm, the gesture comforting. The man still looked like he’d be delighted to fold me into a pretzel, but kindness shone in his hazel eyes.
“Who is it?”
“Your brother, and a woman named Carlina Pérez. We can let them in one at a time with your permission.”
“Both of them.” I looked into his face and added, “Please.” I didn’t know how or why they’d come, but a weight fell from my shoulders. I needed my brother back and Carli would know what to do. She always did.
“All right,” the nurse said after a moment. “They can visit for a few minutes, but after that, you need to sit down to hold your baby. He needs skin to skin contact to get healthy.”
“No!” Panic surged and I backed away. “I can’t do that.”
“Gio. It’s okay.”
I spun around, hardly believing she was here.
“Carli,” I whispered, pulling her into my arms. Inhaling her lemony perfume, I buried my face in her hair. “No. I’ll hurt him.”
My brother refused to look at me, his eyes fixed on my son. “He’s so little,” he murmured. “I’m afraid to touch him.”
Carli pulled away and cupped my cheeks. “You need to do this for your son.”
I jerked away from her touch. “No. One of the nurses can do it.”
She looked down into the incubator, then scowled at both me and Antonio. “Get me a blanket.”
The nurse blinked and hustled away, returning a few seconds later with a folded white hospital blanket.
“Thanks.” She stripped out of her shirt, then went to the sink and washed her chest and hands. Using paper towels, she dried off then parked herself in the recliner, seeming not to care that she was exposing herself to everyone in the room. “Baby, now,” she said, holding out her arms. “And someone get me a mask.”
My knees sagged and I leaned against the sink before I fell.
The nurse, who was so threatening to me, jumped to obey her. “I knew you’d know what to do,” I whispered. “Thank you.”
She ignored me, accepting the baby as a second nurse hooked a blue surgical mask around her ears. “Hola, niño pequeño.”
Singing softly in Spanish, her clear alto eased the pressure in my throat. The beeps from the monitors attached to my son slowed and became more regular and his little body relaxed when she tugged the blanket up to cover him.
“Carli always knows what to do,” Antonio said, moving to stand next to me. “He looks like an old man.”
I choked out a laugh. “I think all newborns look like Winston Churchill.”
“What are you going to name him?”
“I have no idea.”
“His name is Gabriel,” Carli said. “Because he’s an angel and very strong.” She hummed softly, rocking my son, then added, “It was the name Sara wanted.”
How had I not known she’d talked to Sara? I turned away before she saw my scowl, but I wasn’t about to deny Sara’s wishes, not when the only thing she’d ever asked of me was ceasing my association with Tomas and Proserpina.
“I like that name,” I finally said. In all honesty, it was perfect for the little boy resting against Carli’s heart.
Sad brown eyes meeting mine, she said, “There’s a letter from her in my jacket pocket. She asked me to give it to you.”
I glanced around and spotted her coat next to her discarded shirt. I opened it and retrieved a white, legal-sized envelope. It was thin, telling me whatever was inside was no more than a single page. I tore it open and unfolded the letter.
Giorgio,
If you’re reading this letter, then something happened to me. Although I’d like to think you’ll never see it, I’m a little more pragmatic than that. Finding out I was carrying a little boy made me so happy, but things aren’t going so well and I might not live long enough to meet him.
Also, I lied when I told you I didn’t want to be a mother. I really do. Sadly, it probably isn’t going to be in the cards for me and I wanted you to be ready to be a single parent. Speaking of which, get off your ass and have his nursery done. I’m thinking he’ll like dinosaurs.
I wanted to tell you a few things without having our lawyers lean over our shoulders. I know we’ve become sort-of friends, but I’m never quite sure where I stand with you. You probably see me as the woman who ruined your relationship with both Carli and your brother and I doubt I’ll ever overcome that. It wasn’t intentional, and I am very sorry.
I have a few pieces of advice for you.
First off, whether I’m there or not, keep our son away from the toxicity of your extended family. You distanced yourself from them for a reason and you need to keep that in mind. The world doesn’t need another overly-entitled asshole. Yes, that’s a dig at you. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. If you expose my son to those appalling people, I will haunt your ass forever.
Second, make peace with your brother. He’s a good guy from what Carli tells me. I wish I had the chance to know him. Also, I adore Leonard. Get yourself together so you can enjoy whatever time the oversized furball has left. Nothing lasts forever.
Third, and the last, I promise. Work things out with Carli. She’s an amazing woman I’m blessed to call friend. Who knew fresh fried eggs with black beans and tomatoes were a cure for morning sickness? This part is actually for both of you. Carli, forgive him. Giorgio is trying. Sometimes, he’s very trying, but I think he genuinely loves you. Gio, I can’t imagine a better mother for my son than her. You need to make this right.
Now for the bullshit part the lawyers will drool over. You’re the executor for my will, but don’t stress over it. I’ve already made arrangements for all the crap that comes after someone kicks off this mortal coil, slips the surly bonds of earth, or whatever your euphemism is for dying. I’ve also set up a trust for Gabriel, which will come to maturity on his twenty-first birthday. Keep your sticky fingers off it. It’s his legacy from a mother who will never know the remarkable man I hope he’ll become.
Okay, that’s it for me. Good luck, Gio.
Best wishes, S
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Carlina
Sara’s letter fl
uttered to the floor and Giorgio walked out, his shoulders stiff.
“Get that paper for me, please.”
Aside from not wanting anyone else to see what Sara had written, I couldn’t help my curiosity. The nurse handed it to me, his eyes carefully averted from her sprawling handwriting.
Choking back my tears, I read her words. “Ay coño, Sara,” I whispered. I petted Gabriel’s back, marveling at his wealth of black hair just like his father’s. “Antonio, take off your shirt and wash your chest and hands.”
“What for?”
“I need you to sit with Gabriel while I go talk to your brother.”
His eyes widened and he backed away. “No, he’s too little and I’ll mess up.”
“Can you sit still?” I asked, adjusting Gabriel in my arms.
“Well, yeah, I guess.”
“That’s all you have to do. Gabriel doesn’t need you to entertain him, he just needs someone to hold him. Katie needed this when she was born, so I already know you’ll be perfect at holding your nephew.”
I waited for Antonio to make up his mind, resisting the urge to snap at him. The little one dozing on my chest didn’t need my irritation. Finally, he nodded and cleaned himself up.
“Thank you,” I said, getting to my feet. “Have a seat and I’ll help you with him.”
Gabriel fussed softly and I soothed him with a few bars of the lullaby my mother used to sing to Katie while Antonio took my place in the recliner.
His hands shaking, he reached for Gabriel. I laid the infant on his chest and covered him with the blanket. “There. You’re doing great.”
“What do I do now?” he whispered, staring down at Gabriel while I put my shirt on.
“Anything you want. Sing, talk to him, or stay quiet if you feel like it. Just stay calm and keep him warm. All he really needs is to be against your skin.”
“Can I tell him a story?”
“Sure. That sounds wonderful.”
“Okay.” He drew in a breath and released it. “You can go now.”
Sexy Scoundrel: A Cocky Hero Club Novel Page 24
