A Kiss Beneath the Stars

by Sterling, S. L.

  “Great! Bryce and Chase are in taping and covering the new carpet. We should get started right away.” With the four of us working on it, the room had three coats of paint by the early afternoon.

  “When does the furniture arrive?” Bryce asked, shoving the last of his food in his face.

  “Tomorrow night after work. I think they said they’d be here by seven.” I placed my empty container down on the table. We had just finished eating the Thai food I had ordered and were now all relaxing in the living room.

  “Anyone want a beer?” I asked, gathering up the now empty food cartons and beer bottles that were scattered all over the table.

  “No, man, I got to get back home to Hope and the girls.” Carter stretched. “Dinner with the in-laws tonight.”

  “Yeah, we got to bolt too. We have a couple big appointments tomorrow and want to get prepped.”

  “All right, guys, well, I can’t thank you enough.”

  “No problem. Glad we could help.”

  Chase and Bryce were the first ones gone. Carter turned to me before he left. “This is going to work, Hunter. No doubt in my mind. Things will be fine. She is going to love it.”

  “Thanks. I sure as hell hope so. I can’t have her living in one of those apartments we saw, I just can’t.”

  “All right, I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Have fun tonight,” I called as he headed down the hall toward the elevator. Just as the door closed, my cell phone rang. I ran to grab it off the table, glancing at the screen, and noticed Autumn’s number.

  “Hello, beautiful.”

  The other end of the line was empty. I could faintly hear crying. “Autumn?”

  “Hunter, I need your help. Please tell me you can help me.”

  My heart was in my throat. “What’s wrong?” I didn’t like the panic in her voice, so I got up and headed to the door, throwing on my shoes and grabbing my keys while waiting for a response.

  “Derek and Evelyn are both out; I can’t get a hold of either of them. I don’t know what to do.”

  “It’s okay. Calm down and take a deep breath. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I woke up feeling really crampy. I just stayed in bed, but when I went to get up, there was blood all over. I’m bleeding really bad, and I am in pain. Please, Hunter, hurry.” She sobbed.

  “Sit tight, I’m on my way.”

  I bolted out the door, with my heart in my throat, and raced to get to her.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Autumn

  As soon as we had gone through the registration at the hospital, they sent me up to Labor & Delivery. Hunter had quickly run back down to the car to pick up my bag that I had brought. I wasn’t sure what was going on and didn’t want to be without some of my own stuff.

  I was resting in bed, waiting for the nurse to come do an ultrasound, when Hunter came back into the room. He placed my bag on the bench seat and sat down beside me on the edge of the bed.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked, taking my hand in his.

  “Okay, just a little crampy. The nurse was in just a couple minutes before you came back. They are going to do an ultrasound to make sure everything is okay. I’m scared, Hunter.” I had been fighting back tears and couldn’t hold them back any longer.

  He squeezed my hand in his, letting me know he was there. “Just relax. You’re safe and in good hands here.” Just as he got comfortable, the nurse wheeled in the portable ultrasound machine, followed by a doctor.

  “Autumn, we’re going to do an ultrasound to make sure everything is all right. Sir, if you wouldn’t mind leaving the room until we are finished?” The doctor asked as the nurse went about getting everything ready.

  Hunter stood and walked to the door. He was just about to step outside when I looked up. His head was down, and his shoulders were hunched over. I couldn’t bear to see him look so down. “No, doctor, that’s not necessary. I want him to stay.”

  He turned and looked at me, a small smile coming to his lips, as I waved at him to come back.

  “He should be here; after all, he is the father.”

  He walked back over, sat on the edge of the bed, and took hold of my hand. As soon as the wand was on my stomach, we heard a heartbeat. Relief washed over me. I looked at Hunter and our eyes met, his eyes dancing with happiness.

  “Well, everything looks good.” The doctor put the wand down. “I’d like to keep you overnight for observation, that way we can keep an eye on the baby’s heartbeat and you—make sure you’re not having any contractions.”

  “Is everything going to be okay?” I asked, tears in my eyes.

  “I can’t see any reason why not right now, but I want to be sure. Have you been under any stress?”

  “Some. I lost my first baby. I’ve been very worried about this pregnancy.”

  “Yes, I saw that in the nurse’s report. I don’t want you to worry. You’re in good hands. Now, tonight, I want you to get some rest.”

  After the doctor left the room to carry on with his rounds, the nurse stayed and hooked me up to the cardiotocograph to monitor the baby’s heartbeat and any contractions I might be having. Hunter had headed down to the food court for a bite to eat while I took the time to get some rest.

  * * *

  Hunter

  I walked from the food court, stopping into the gift shop just before I got to the elevator. I grabbed a vase of roses from the flower fridge and a purple teddy bear off the shelf. I paid for my purchases, adding in a TV card and a bottle of juice, and made my way back up to the fourth floor. If she was going to be here overnight, I wanted to make sure she had something to do in case she couldn’t sleep.

  The elevator ride gave me time alone with my thoughts. I had never been so worried about anything before as I was tonight when I drove to her place. My heart had been in my throat the entire time. I didn’t quite understand how much something I couldn’t even hold yet could mean so much to me. I wanted to be a part of this relationship. I wanted to see my baby born, and I wanted to be a part of their lives. I just wished she would let me get closer to her.

  I walked down the hall and peeked into her room. She lay there with her eyes closed, her head resting against the pillow. The gentle beeping sound of the monitors she was hooked up to was soothing. I placed the small vase of roses on her bedside table and sat at the end of her bed. Her eyes opened, and a slight smile formed on her lips.

  “I think I’m going to get going, let you get some rest.”

  “Please don’t leave just yet. I don’t want to be alone.”

  I got up, leaned down, and gave her a kiss as she shuffled over and made room for me. I crawled up beside her, being careful of all the wires she was hooked up to, and put the TV on. Finally, we found a movie and started watching that while she relaxed in my arms.

  * * *

  Autumn

  He whispered in my ear as we watched the credits for the movie: “Did you want me to stay with you, beautiful?”

  It was so nice having him here with me. Just knowing that he wanted to be here had taken away a lot of the stress I had been feeling. When I had been in the hospital last time, Jason wouldn’t even stay with me to eat a meal; it was as if he was afraid he would catch something being here. I took a deep breath. I didn’t want Hunter to leave, but I knew he must be tired. I grabbed his arm, wrapping it around my body, and I buried my face into his strong chest, breathing in his scent.

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For being here and staying with me. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

  “Don’t be silly.”

  “No, Hunter, you don’t understand. I didn’t want to bring it up but, before, Jason never stayed. He would come see me, but that was it. He never stayed. You came, and you stayed. It means the world to me.”

  “Autumn, please don’t think about him anymore. That’s so over.”

  “It still hurts, Hunter, knowing that someone could be that careles
s.”

  “I know, baby, but he’s gone. It’s time to focus on what’s in front of you.”

  Just as he said that, a nurse came into the room. “What’s going on in here? Are you feeling okay, Autumn?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “Your heart alarm was going off. I told you there was to be no unnecessary stress. Now, love, you need to calm down.” She came over and grabbed my wrist, quickly checking my pulse.

  “I’m sorry, nurse, that would be my fault.”

  “You should probably consider heading home, sir. She needs her rest.”

  “I can assure you I was just getting ready to leave.”

  “Good idea.” She pressed a couple buttons on a couple of the machines and headed out the door.

  I looked at Hunter. Tears were building in my eyes. “I know you work tomorrow, and I really want you to get some rest, but do you think you could stay with me a bit longer? I really don’t want to be alone right now.”

  “I can go in late. Remember, I’m one of the owners of the company.” He smiled and cupped my cheek. “And remember, you’re more important to me than anything. So, if you want me to stay with you, I’m here. As long as Nurse Ratched doesn’t come back in and force me out.” I smiled and laid the bed back. Hunter climbed in beside me, adjusting his arm so it was under my neck, pulling me into him. I curled my body into his and closed my eyes. Hunter reached up and shut the light off over the bed. Then he pulled up the blanket around us and held me until I drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Autumn

  Breakfast was delivered bright and early the next morning. Hunter had stayed well into the middle of the night, leaving around four to get showered and dressed for work. He had already been back to check on me before heading to the office for the day. I had promised him that once I saw the doctor, I would call him right away.

  I had just finished my breakfast when Evelyn walked into the room at a frantic pace. “My God, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, Evelyn, just waiting for the doctor to see if I can go home.”

  “I was so worried when I got your note. What happened?”

  “I woke up, not feeling very well, to cramps. I wasn’t too worried until I got out of bed and saw that I had started bleeding.”

  “Why didn’t you call us? How did you get here? Your car was still at home. Did you call an ambulance?” She was frantic and rambling, pacing around the room.

  “Calm down. I called Hunter. He came, picked me up, and brought me here.”

  Evelyn finally started to calm down once she found out everything was all right. She sat on the end of the bed, talking with me, when the doctor came flying in. “Well, how are you feeling today, Autumn?”

  “Better, thanks.”

  “I see you had a bit of an elevated heart rate last night.” Evelyn squinted at me. The last thing I wanted was for her to think I was lying to her.

  “Yes, I just got a little upset at something.”

  “I hope everything is okay?”

  “It is now.” I smiled.

  “Well, the good news is everything looks to be normal,” he said while glancing through my chart. “I’m glad to say you can head home today if you like. I’ll be sending over a copy of my report for your doctor. I would like you to take it easy for the next few days—lots of bed rest and no stress either. I will include a note for your employer as well. I want you to take a few days off. It will be up to your doctor if he wants you off for good. Do you have any questions?”

  “Time off? But I just started this job, and I need the money.”

  “What you need is rest. It’s extremely important to look after yourself right now. Like I said, it will be up to your doctor if he wants you off any longer than a few days. Now, are there any other questions?”

  I felt like I had just been scolded. Evelyn sat there with an I told you so face. She had been on me to take care of myself for the last couple months. “I don’t think so.”

  “All right then, I’ll send the nurse in to unhook you from all the monitors, and you can be on your way.” He smiled and headed out of the room.

  “So what was wrong last night?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your heart rate? What got you upset?”

  I told Evelyn everything that Hunter had told me back on Christmas Eve. The fact Jason had cheated on me from the start, the way he used the loss of the baby to divorce me. When he had first told me, it upset me, but now it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I had wasted so much time not living my life and believing something that wasn’t true. That belief almost had me throwing away the best thing that had happened in my life.

  Just as I wiped a tear from my cheek, a nurse came into the room and went directly to the monitors. “Are you having any pain, Autumn?”

  “No, why?”

  “Your heart rate monitor is going off again. I told you last night before I left that you needed to stay calm.”

  “I’m sorry. It was my fault. She’s okay, really,” Evelyn spoke up.

  The nurse looked at us both. We could tell she was annoyed. “Well, she’s allowed to go home today, and we really don’t want to see her back here until it’s time for that baby to be born.” She scribbled down something on my chart and headed out the door.

  “I’m just glad you are okay. Now we won’t talk about all that until we are on our way home, okay?” Evelyn winked at me. I smiled back, and we sat watching TV while we waited for the nurses to come in and unhook me from all the machines.

  * * *

  Hunter

  My watch read eleven-thirty. I was tired, and work was proving to be impossible today. No matter how much I tried to concentrate, my mind just swung back around to Autumn, the baby, and what could possibly be taking her so long to call me with an update. It had been like that for months now, and I felt that my work was starting to suffer because of it.

  Carter strolled by my office. “Hey! I noticed you came in later than normal this morning. Everything okay with Autumn?”

  I had called Carter on my way to her place last night. I was so panicked, I didn’t know what to do.

  “I wasn’t going to come in today. I spent the night at the hospital with her. As far as I know, all is good. She was waiting to see the doctor this morning when I left.”

  “It was probably stress. Same thing happened to Hope when she was pregnant with Haley. Have you told her what you did with your condo yet?”

  “I hope you’re right. No, I haven’t told her yet. I was planning to show her on Friday, but I think I may do it sooner—all things considered. I called to see if I could bump up the delivery of the furniture today. They said it shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Good idea. When does it arrive?”

  “Hopefully in an hour or two, which means I have to be on my way. I’ve rescheduled all my appointments for next week. I’m going to work from home the rest of this week. What are you up to?”

  “I was just going to see if you wanted to head out for lunch. I guess I’ll go see what those other two jackasses are doing.” We both laughed, and Carter walked away in search of Bryce and Chase.

  Just as I got up from my desk and was heading out the door my cell phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “I’m finally back home. Everything is fine.” My heartbeat accelerated at the sound of her voice.

  “Great, what did the doctor say?” I shut my door and sat back down behind my desk, glancing at my watch. I had forty-five minutes to get back to my condo.

  “It was a threatened miscarriage. The doctor took me off work for a few days and wants me to rest and stress less. I’m supposed to make an appointment with my own doctor this week. He will be the one to take over and advise on further instruction.”

  “Okay, love. I’m glad everything is okay. Listen, I wish I had time to talk with you, but I have an appointment, and I have to get going. What are you doing Wednesday night and for the rest of the w
eek?”

  “Well, Evelyn has locked me in my room and is waiting on me hand and foot. She is already driving me bananas and I’ve only been home for twenty minutes. By then I’ll be ready to get out of here.” She laughed into the phone.

  It was good to hear her laugh. “All right, well, I’ll come pick you up. I’m taking some time off this week, so if you need out of there before then, just call, okay sweetie?”

  “Okay. Thank you.”

  “Okay, beautiful, I gotta run. I’ll talk to you soon. Take it easy and look after yourself and our baby.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Autumn

  I was feeling better with each day that passed. It was already six, and I was patiently sitting in the living room, waiting for Hunter to arrive. He had called and said he was running a bit late because he had to grab some groceries and stop by the office, and now traffic was bad. I had packed my bag and was waiting for Evelyn to bring it down. She hadn’t let me lift a finger all week; I was getting restless. I picked up the paper and started flipping through ads for apartments.

  “I don’t know if it’s a good idea that you go away already. The doctor did say bed rest,” Evelyn stated as she threw my bag down by the front door.

  “I know, Evelyn, but I will either rest here or there. What’s the difference?” Evelyn shrugged her shoulders.

  “Exactly. There isn’t one, except you can watch over every move I make if I’m here.” I stopped at the classifieds and began reading over apartment listings.

  “What are you doing?” Evelyn asked, looking over my shoulder at the newspaper.

  “I’m looking for apartments while I wait for Hunter to pick me up. I already searched the web for a few in an area nearby. Just thought I’d see what I could find in the paper as well.”