The Bad Baller Collection

by Kiss, Tabatha

  Never again.

  Chapter 31

  Daisy

  Is there any word in the English language less pleasant than placenta?

  I mean, I’m sure I can flip open a dictionary and find one that’s worse if I skimmed long enough, but right now, sitting in a hospital bed, yet again, I can’t quite think of any other word that grates my senses as much as placenta.

  Placental abruption. There’s no real way to be sure until after the birth, but that’s what the doc said it might be. Partially detached placenta.

  Ugh…

  “I’ll take some extra time off from work,” my mother says, walking back and forth at the foot of the bed.

  “Mom, you can’t do that,” I say, “your name is on the sign.”

  “Exactly. My name is on the sign, so I can do what I want,” she argues. “I’ll shut down the firm for a while, recommend my clients to colleagues, and move in with you until the baby is born.”

  Oh, god. No.

  “Mom…” I close my eyes. “Please stop pacing. You’re making me dizzy.”

  She stops and lays her hands along the bottom edge of the bed frame. “Someone has to stay here and take care of you, honey. Bed rest isn’t something you fuck around with.”

  “Uh-oh…” I chuckle at her phrasing. “Whipping out the F-word now.”

  “There are very few situations I let it slip,” she says. “This is one of them. I’m staying here with you and that’s that.”

  “Well… fuck.”

  She points a finger at me. “Watch your mouth.”

  I laugh and shake my head, glancing at the open doorway in the hopes that Rose will come back and help me talk some sense into her.

  “Rose, where is she?”

  My ears twitch. Was that—?

  Hunter.

  “She’s in there,” I hear Rose say, “but—”

  “Daisy—!” He barges into the room like a damn superhero, halting in his tracks the second he sees my face.

  Rose lingers behind him in the doorway with wide eyes, biting her lip and wincing at the mistake he made long before he realizes he even made one.

  My mother takes a long stride to stand in front of him and block his path to me. She stares at him with a knowing glare, folding her arms across her chest and standing there like a damn wall.

  “Mom…” I say. “This is—”

  “Oh, I know who this is,” she says, still leering up at him.

  Hunter gulps. “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am,” he says, throwing every bit of sincerity he can into it.

  She doesn’t budge from her spot. “Uh-huh,” she mutters from the corner of her mouth.

  “Mom, it’s okay…” I tell her. “He can come in.”

  She glances over her shoulder at me and I nod, motioning for her to step out of the way.

  “Hey, Mom,” Rose says. “Let’s go see if we can find some decent coffee around here…”

  Mom squints with hesitation before slowly shifting around Hunter to join her.

  I mouth a silent thank you to Rose on their way out and she closes the door behind them.

  “Daisy…” Hunter rushes toward me and falls to his knees by the bed. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay,” I say, chuckling slightly. His face is pure white, except for the thick shadow of hair growing on his cheeks and chin. “How did you know I was here?”

  “I just knew.”

  “You just knew?”

  “John Kirby was on the television and a blonde girl ordered a whiskey sour,” he mutters with shifting eyes.

  I pause. “Okay...”

  He twitches with excitement. “And Devin showed up at the bar and gave me Trisha’s article—”

  “Oh, god,” I exhale. “I forgot about that thing—”

  “And I saw Alien!”

  “You saw an alien?”

  “And that drunk girl handed me a daisy and I just knew there was something wrong…”

  “Okay…” I rub my eyes. “Now you’ve lost me, Hunter.”

  He reaches for my hands. “They were signs, Daisy; pulling me back here to you. So, I got in my car and I drove to your apartment.”

  My fingers tingle with warmth. “You drove all the way out here from New Jersey?”

  “You weren’t there but your neighbor told me an ambulance picked you up and I got so scared, Daisy. I’ve never been that scared before…”

  I smile. “Hunter, calm down. We’re okay.”

  “No, none of this is okay,” he says. “I should have been there. I know that now. I should have… I never should have let you out of my sight and I won’t let you go again. Ever again.”

  I squeeze his hands. “Okay, Hunter, come on… Just relax and get off the floor. Sit down — in a chair.”

  Hunter pushes off his knees and pulls up the nearest chair to sit on, never once dropping his grip on my hand. “Daisy, this—”

  “Shhh,” I stop him. “Take a deep breath, Hunter.”

  “But I—”

  “Shhhhh.” I inhale and hold my breath, waiting for him to do the same.

  Finally, he takes a long breath and we both exhale together.

  “Good?” I ask. “Feel better?”

  “Yeah.” He nods, dropping his eyes to my stomach. “Rose told me you almost…”

  “I almost.”

  “How? What happened?”

  I roll my eyes with annoyance. “Can’t say for sure, but it’s most likely a partially detached placenta.”

  He winces. “That sounds unpleasant.”

  “That’s what I thought, too. Anyway, the assholes have put me on bed rest for the next few weeks — or for however long it takes for her to come out. If it gets any worse, I’ll have to induce early. I can’t do my own cooking or cleaning. I can’t work either, so I don’t know how I’m going to pay my rent or break it to Trisha—” I look up to see tears in Hunter’s eyes. “What?”

  “Her?” he asks.

  I smile at his ecstatic expression. “Yeah, it’s a girl.”

  Hunter takes another breath, this one short and shallow, before bringing my hand to his lips. “We’re having a girl?”

  “Well, yeah, but—”

  He rushes forward out of his chair and kisses me. I think to stop him but the feel of his lips on mine again is far too comforting to break out of. I’ve forgotten how good it feels; how right.

  He pulls away and looks at me, still holding my face. “We’re having a little girl,” he says again.

  “Hunter…” I sigh as the feeling fades from my lips. “We agreed that we weren’t.”

  “Well, I’m un-agreeing to that.”

  “You can’t just—”

  “Yes, I can.” He releases me and sits back. “Daisy, I was wrong before. We were wrong. There’s nothing out there stopping us from making this work except you and me.”

  “Exactly,” I say. “You and me. You have your life, I have mine. Neither of which make raising a baby together easy.”

  “So, it’ll be hard. We can do hard.”

  “Hunter, we’ve already been through this once.”

  “I want to go through it again,” he says.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  I close my eyes. I flex my jaw. I do everything I can to keep that sob from exploding out of me. “You should go.”

  “I’m not leaving you again, Daisy.”

  “Hunter, please,” I beg, “don’t make this harder than it already is. Just go.”

  His face falls and he sits there in silent frustration. Finally, he stands up and walks toward the door, halting to linger with his hand on the doorknob.

  “No,” he says, dropping it.

  “No?”

  “No.” He turns around to look at me. “I have something to say to you.”

  “Hunter—”

  “Just give me three minutes,” he says, his voice calm and steady. “A lot can happen in three minutes.”

  I furrow my brow. Three minutes
? I should just kick him out. Nothing he can say in three minutes is going to change the facts and I don’t want to keep putting us through this over and over again.

  And yet…

  “Fine,” I say. “You have three minutes.”

  Hunter comes back to the bed, his face hard and full of purpose as he sits down. “Daisy…” he says, “you’re a selfish, rotten brat, you know that?”

  “Wow.” I blink. “You’re off to a good start here, Hunter.”

  “And I’m a massive fucking jerk,” he continues, shaking his head. “I didn’t want this. You didn’t want this. We…” he chuckles, “we have no business starting a family together and this baby will probably be better off with people that wanted her from the start.”

  “A logical statement of facts, yes.”

  “Giving her up makes perfect sense,” he says. “It’s what I would tell anyone else in our situation to do. But then, I look at you and… the logical thing isn’t always the best thing, ya know?”

  “So, what are you saying, Hunter?” I ask.

  “I’m saying…” he smiles, “that I think we should get married.”

  I sit back. “Get married?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because my heart doesn’t care about what’s logical. I can’t sleep without feeling you next to me. I can’t close my eyes without knowing you’re safe and warm; without…” He lays his hand on my belly. “Without whispering goodnight to your stomach after you fall asleep.”

  I stare back at him. “You did that?”

  He nods. “I don’t want you to give up our baby, Daisy. I want you, I want this kid, and I want our family. I don’t care if I never hit another ball again. At least, I’ll have you.”

  My heart races but not fast enough. “And what are we supposed to do when you’re on the road next season?” I ask. “What am I supposed to do then?”

  He shrugs. “Come with me.”

  “Come with you?”

  “Yes.” He takes my hand and grins. “Pack up the kid, grab your camera, and come with me. We’ll live in little hotel rooms just like before. I’ll take you to every game, every practice. Hell, I’ll even hire a nanny to travel with us to make it easier.” I laugh at how ridiculous it sounds. “You can build up your portfolio — you already have your foot in the door and being the Home Run Mommy isn’t going to hold you back, either.”

  I resist the images flashing in my head, pushing the unobtainable fantasy out of reach. “That’s not what you want, Hunter.”

  “It wasn’t before. But it is now.” He slides onto the floor again and balances on one knee by the bed. “Now, I realize that the wacky, crazy, irresponsible life you and I can share together is far better than what I can do alone.”

  He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out an old, discolored baseball. I stare at it and furrow my brow as he presents it to me on his fingertips.

  “I think the universe really did smack you in the head with that ball and I’m happy it did. Life is a team sport, Daisy Hawthorne. I want you and this baby on my team for the rest of my life.”

  I take the ball from his outstretched fingers, gripping it tightly in my palm. “Hunter…”

  “Yeah?”

  “Did you seriously just propose to me with a baseball?”

  “It was all I had in my car,” he says. “It’s not nearly as impressive as four home runs and a double play but I can redo it later with a ring, if you want.”

  I smile. “No, I think you’re good.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  I stare back at him, nearly bursting with every emotion. He’s right. I never wanted this kind of life at all, but this is Hunter Novak. For him, I’ll make the exception. For him, I’ll go wherever life wants to take us and whatever it wants to give us. It won’t matter because I won’t have to do it alone anymore.

  “It’s a shut the hell up and kiss me already,” I say.

  He grins at me and leans forward, gently sliding over me until our lips touch.

  I pull back an inch. “But, yeah — I’m still gonna need a ring.”

  “You can pick it out tomorrow,” he says.

  “God, you’re perfect.”

  He laughs and kisses me again, crushing his lips on mine and I can’t stop the giggles from taking over me.

  The door opens and we split apart as Mom and Rose step inside with paper cups of coffee in their hands. My sister instantly smiles with wide, doe eyes behind her glasses but my mother looks just as stern and protective as before.

  Hunter clears his throat and sits back in his chair, but he holds my hand a little tighter; keeping his promise to never let go of me again, I suppose.

  “So…” I look between them all. “Hunter and I have some news…”

  Rose can barely stop the squeal from shooting out of her throat. She’s been our greatest cheerleader since the beginning, after all.

  Mom stands still with her empty hand on her hip and a smirk on her lips. “Yeah, I figured…” She gestures at Hunter. “Come with me.”

  She walks back out into the hallway and Hunter tenses up.

  “Well, you heard her,” I say. “Go on.”

  He doesn’t move. “So, that’s your mother.”

  “That’s our mother.”

  “She’s a little scary.”

  I laugh. “I think you can take her, Hunter.”

  A shiver trails his spine. “I don’t.”

  I let go of his hand and shove his shoulder. “Go. Don’t worry. She won’t kill you here. Not in front of all these witnesses…”

  He smiles and kisses my forehead before climbing to his feet.

  Rose stays behind with me and offers Hunter a comforting pat on his shoulder as he passes by her. “Good luck,” she says.

  “Thanks, Rose,” he says on his way out.

  Once he’s gone, she rushes to my side. “Tell me tell me tell me—” I lay the baseball in her hand and she stops. “Okay, what is this?”

  “He proposed to me with a baseball,” I say.

  “He proposed to you with a baseball?”

  I nod. “It was perfect.”

  “With a baseball?” she repeats, turning it over in her fingers. “It’s used.”

  “So?” I snatch it away from her, clenching it like a precious artifact.

  “Aren’t baseballs like a dollar each?” she quips. “He couldn’t pick up a new one to propose to the mother of his child with?”

  “It was unique! And personal.” I stare at the ball. “I’m going to cherish this memory for the rest of my life.”

  Rose sticks her nose up. “John’s proposal was unique.”

  I raise a brow. “He banged you on a desk and you two got chased down the block by campus security.”

  “How is that not unique?”

  I laugh. “Okay, fine. But Hunter is letting me pick out my ring.”

  “And John knew me well-enough to pick out one I’d adore forever.” She stares at her finger, sighing with love in her eyes. “I bet Hunter doesn’t even know your middle name.”

  “Oh, please. Don’t tell me you’re not a little jealous.”

  She scoffs. “Of what? You and your obviously last-minute, on-a-whim, proposal? Be still, my heart.”

  “That Hunter is hotter than John.”

  Her jaw drops. “Oh, hell no.”

  “Stronger, too.”

  “He is not!”

  “Have you seen Hunter’s biceps? They’re larger than my giant thighs.”

  Rose shakes her head. “John Kirby is a professional football player, Daisy. He’s as ripped as an old sheet.”

  “He’s a running back,” I argue. “His job is to run away from the larger players.”

  “Oh, it’s on now,” she says, leaning forward.

  “Is it?”

  “Anyone can jog around a diamond in predetermined straight lines,” she says. “It takes a real man to rush one-hundred yards with over two-hundred pounds of pure muscle lunging at
him from all sides.”

  I hold up the baseball. “I’m pretty sure if halfback saw this thing flying at his face at ninety miles-per-hour, he’d piss himself.”

  “He would not! He’d catch it.”

  “With his bare hands?”

  “Yes!”

  “I’d like to see him try.”

  “You will! John Kirby could kick Hunter Novak’s ass any day.”

  “It sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself more than me, Rose.”

  She sits back and huffs. “You know what this means, right?” she asks, her brow rising slowly.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Double wedding.”

  I deflate. “Ugh, no.”

  “Yes!” She bounces in her chair at the idea. “Oh, my god. Yes. Let’s have a twin double wedding!”

  “No.”

  “Yes?”

  “No.”

  “Please?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?” she whines. “Remember when we were kids and we used to pretend we were the Brady Brides? We always wanted to have a double wedding.”

  I wrinkle my face. “I have no recollection of this.”

  “Oh, come on. I was Jan, you were Marsha.”

  “Why were you Jan in your own fantasy dream wedding?” I tease.

  “Only hoes wanted to be Marsha, Daisy.”

  “Ahh, I see.”

  “You don’t remember this?”

  “Not at all.”

  She exhales loudly. “Fine. But I still think we should do it. Small, double ceremony. Close friends and family. Big cake. Eh? Ehh?”

  “Cake sounds pretty good right now…” I chew on my lip, feeling Rose’s expectant eyes on me. “I’ll think about it.”

  She grins and sits back with victory on her face.

  I can already see the plans forming in her head, meaning that I’m basically committed to this travesty-in-progress whether I like it or not. It actually doesn’t sound too bad, to be honest, but I’ll let her squirm for a few weeks before caving.

  I glance at the door, growing nervous. “They’ve been gone a long time.”

  “Want me to go check on them?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Rose hops out of her chair, still smiling wide. “I’ll swing by the morgue first.”

  “Good thinking.” I nod. “And also the cafeteria.”

  “For cake?”