Pulled

by A. F. Crowell

  “Hey, Brody.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Did you put my toiletries in here?” I opened drawers and cabinets finding things in there that I had not taken to the hospital.

  “Uh.” He stood in the doorway. “So, don’t freak out or anything, but I never got rid of any of it.”

  Say what?

  “You didn’t get rid of it? But I came by and picked stuff up and Jane brought me the rest. I thought. Are you saying you kept all this?”

  “Some of it, yeah. The other stuff I had Jane pick up yesterday before I got you home. I knew you wouldn’t remember everything since you had packed in a rush and Jane remembered everything you used and liked.” He walked over to me. “Don’t be angry Lei. I was just trying to make this as easy as possible.”

  He dipped his head. “I probably should’ve gotten rid of the other stuff, but I couldn’t bear to. Throwing it away would have made everything so final.” He lifted his eyes to mine. “And even though I was a total asshole and walked away from you, deep in my heart I knew it wasn’t over. That it would never be over.”

  God, why was he saying this to me now? He couldn’t have figured this shit out seven months ago? It was everything I wanted to hear back then. I looked down at my unpainted toes as the tears cascaded down my cheeks and dripped on the limestone tile floor. “Brody, you can’t say things like that to me.”

  He slipped his hand under my chin and raised it so I was looking into his cool blue eyes. “Baby.”

  It’s all he said aloud, but his eyes said it all. They were filled with love and compassion and maybe an icy glimmer of desire. His hand was still holding my face when a contraction surprised me.

  I hunched over, holding onto the vanity and whimpered. “Owww, damn.”

  Brody came around behind me and started massaging my lower back and hips. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, gimme a minute.” I turned toward the vanity and rested my head on my forearm. Brody dragged his fingertips gently up and down my spine as it eased off. I blew out one last breath before I righted myself. “I need to lie down. That one hurt.”

  “Should I call Dr. Rogers?” he asked, following me to the bed.

  “No.” I spun around quickly and gave him a vicious look. “No way. She’ll make me come back and keep me locked up in that stupid hospital room. Let’s just wait and see when the next one comes. It’s been”—I looked over to the bedside table to the clock—“seven hours since the last one.”

  “Okay. We’ll wait. It’s probably nothing. You might just need to get hydrated and get some food in you.” He walked into the massive closet. Massive, as in you could probably start a third world country in there. “Lie down and I will get dressed and get your breakfast.”

  For a change I did what he asked without arguing or griping. I was still exhausted and my body felt like it had been through a ringer. I lay down and quickly fell back to sleep.

  Five hours later I stared at the clock as my stomach bubbled.

  “Hey, you’re awake,” Brody said as he walked into the bedroom and handed me a bottle of water. “You hungry?”

  “Nah, thanks for the water though. I had the worst dry mouth, it felt like my tongue was wearin’ a fuzzy sweater.” I pulled the down comforter up around me and was about to ask for the remote when I heard voices yelling in the hallway.

  “You cannot go in there. You should have called first.” I heard Jane admonish. It was followed by a shrill, evil voice. A voice I hoped I would never hear again.

  “I don’t need to call. Brody will always see me. You’d best remember that,” Jenifer, Brody’s bitch ex-girlfriend from hell, snarled.

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” He went to the door as it flew open. Standing there was the wicked bitch of the west. Ugh, I hated her. Bitch was too nice a word. I didn’t think there was a word in any language that would do her nastiness justice.

  “What are you doing here Jenifer?” Brody gritted out. “I told you last week I was busy and I didn’t have time for a visit while you were in town. And, I’ve told you on plenty of occasions, I’m done. We’re done.”

  I didn’t think she noticed me quite yet.

  “Oh, Brody love, I just wanted to come by for a few minutes and…catch up. I haven’t seen you since last month…” And then she took notice of me. “Oh…what is she doing here? I thought you got rid of her?”

  I grabbed the remote and thought about cranking up the volume. Then I had a better thought. “Brody, honey, can you please have her leave? Remember the doctor said to avoid any unneeded stress. Her face is giving me arrgghh. Son of a bitch!”

  And cue an immense contraction.

  “Ugh, what is her problem?” Her ugly face made an even uglier face.

  “Lei, breathe baby. Slow, deep breaths, stop holding your breath, honey. You gotta breathe. Is this one worse than the last one?” Brody climbed onto the bed next to me.

  I couldn’t speak, moaning in pain, I nodded my head.

  “Brody, why is she here?” Jenifer demanded coming toward the bed.

  “Jenifer, I asked nicely once, the next time won’t be.” Brody turned to her briefly, then was back to me. “You should be almost done. Getting better?”

  I took a few more deep cleansing breaths before I spoke. “Yeah, it’s easing up now.”

  Jenifer stood there for a second. “I’ll wait downstairs for you.” She turned on her stilettos and left.

  “Seriously Brody? You’re fuckin’ her again?” I said, disgusted and, surprisingly, feeling a twinge of jealously. Where did that come from?

  He looked at me for a minute, studying my expression. “Why Leila? Would it bother you if I were? Does she make you jealous?”

  I bit the inside of my cheek. “No, I just think you can do better than that silicone enhanced troll. And frankly, if she’s in your life I’d like to know. I do not want my daughter around her.”

  He sat there with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Nah, I think you’re a tad jealous.”

  “I’m serious, Brody, I don’t like her. She’s a bitch and you know it. You can do so much better than her.”

  He finally stopped grinning. “To answer your question, no, I am not sleeping with her. I ran into her and her parents when I was in New York in January. She told me she’d be coming down to her parents’ beach house and asked to have dinner. I told her I’d be busy. I should’ve known she’d just drop by.”

  I just rolled my eyes. I couldn’t be upset with him, even if he did choose Jenifer. He’s not mine to be jealous over anymore.

  “I’m going to go deal with her and see if Jane has lunch ready. She’s making sandwiches, unless you’d rather something else?” He rose and started for the door.

  “No, sandwiches are fine. And Brody”—he turned to face me—“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did. Who you decide to sleep with isn’t my business. I just would appreciate in the future, when you have our daughter, that you not have women traipsing in and out of the house. And before you say anything, I’ve heard plenty of stories, so don’t try to deny it.”

  He came back over to me. “I did have a reputation. Operative word, did. I promise, Lei, that’s in the past. I have a daughter to think about. Things have changed and I’m not the same guy I was a year ago. You changed me.”

  With that, he turned and left before I could say anything else.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  ~Leila~

  We settled into a routine. I slept. A lot. Walked the grounds, a little. Ate Jane’s fabulous meals. And she and I watched General Hospital religiously. Brody went to work and was gone a good part of the day.

  After that first night, he slept in the guest bedroom. He would stay with me in his room until I went to sleep. When I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom he was gone. The contractions had eased up significantly. I was only having a few a day.

  On Thursday Brody took me to the doctor for a check-up and Dr. Rogers was pleased with how I was
progressing. Drew came over and hung out with me for the rest of that afternoon. We finally had some time to sit and talk. He tried to give me advice, but, as he put it, he was at a loss.

  On Saturday, Brody dropped me off at the condo on his way to work with the expectation that if anything should happen, Drew would call him immediately.

  Drew and I spent most of the day just hanging out watching TV. It felt almost normal, which was more than I could say for my jack-in-the-box emotions. Brody’s behavior was perfect. Jaxon was absent. And I was a mess.

  Saturday evening, when Brody returned from work, Jane and I were watching TV in the family room. He came in and told me to get ready to go out. He wouldn’t tell me where we were going, just that I needed to wear comfy shoes.

  Ha! What pregnant women in their thirty-fourth week didn’t wear comfy shoes?

  “You wanna take the Henney?” I asked as I grabbed my purse and followed him out to the garage.

  “No way, that thing’s not safe for you to ride in, we’ll take the Mercedes. Besides, we’ll need all of the room in the backseat for what I have in mind.” He cut his eyes to me with a pants-dropping grin that stopped me dead in my tracks.

  “What in the hell do you have planned?” I asked. He just kept grinning. “You’re up to something, aren’t you?”

  “Who me? Never.” He opened my door and helped me in.

  “Who me? Never,” I mocked, scrunching my face.

  We drove toward Charleston. The sun had just started to set as we passed the outlets. My text message alert went off as we turned onto Rivers Avenue.

  Jaxon. My stomach dropped and my pulse rate doubled. He was home and asked if we could get together and talk. I just stared at the screen.

  “Who’s that? You okay?” Brody glanced over as we were waiting at a red light.

  “Huh…oh…uh, yeah. I’m fine. It’s Jaxon, he wants to meet and talk. I’ll text him and tell him I’ll meet him tomorrow,” I said as I was typing out the message.

  He replied.

  2moro works, if ur busy tonite. meet @ the condo around 12?

  Was that his way of asking if I was out? Or did he go by the condo and knew I wasn’t home? Did Drew tell him I was staying with Brody? Shit, I should probably tell him. This should go over about as well as a cat getting a bath.

  2moro@12 works. I’m stayin @ Brody’s so I’ll have Jane bring me. & b4 u freak out, I had to stay there. I had no other choice. Barb & Drew are workin & u were busy with ur own things. And just so u know, we R stayin in separate rooms

  I sat and worried about the text that would come in response to mine. I didn’t have to wait long.

  We can talk about everything 2moro. How r u feelin?

  Okay, that was not what I was expecting. I softened.

  I’m doing ok. I miss you tho. How r u?

  “Lei, we’re here.” Brody’s soft voice startled me. I looked up and saw we were parked in front of a mega baby superstore. I smiled. Brody always knew how to surprise me. My cell vibrated again.

  I’m fine. I miss u2 but we’ll talk 2moro. love u

  I love u too Jaxon

  I locked the phone, slipped into my purse and took off my seat belt as Brody opened my door. “Thanks B. This is just what I needed.”

  He slipped his hand in mine and pulled me toward the store. “Let’s go get our girl some furniture and clothes.”

  Two hours later we left with a solid wood convertible crib, matching dresser with changing table top and night stand. Brody insisted on getting the gray oversized double rocker. Thankfully, that wasn’t in stock and had to be delivered to the house, along with the dresser and nightstand. He also bought me a breast pump to keep at his place and a stockpile of storage bags.

  As we walked around the store I couldn’t help but think about Jaxon and the nursery we had created together, just like Brody and I were doing now. He would need all of his own stuff for when the baby was with him. After he spent a shit-ton of money on furniture, a bassinet, bedding, blankets, bottles, pacifiers, breastfeeding accessories, a stroller and car seat, he took me to dinner at a little Mexican restaurant.

  I was quiet during dinner. My mind, however, wouldn’t shut up. One second I was trying to figure out how to share a child with a demanding Brody, then I was worried about where I was going to put a crib in the condo. Then I would bounce to Jaxon. How was tomorrow’s conversation going to go? Was he going to tell me he was done, beg for forgiveness or just pull more of the “it’s Brody’s fault” bullshit? Then I was back to Brody and what I was feeling for him. Which, of course, made me feel guilty and I would think about Jaxon again.

  I was torturing myself and doing a damn good job of it.

  Once we were back at Brody’s house, he sent me up to rest while he and Jane unloaded the car. He brought the crib upstairs to the bedroom across the hall from his room, which he had emptied in preparation of the baby. It was a large room with a big walk-in closet and two beautiful bay windows. It was the smaller of the rooms in his house, but still about the size of the living room in my condo. This little girl would be as spoiled as a true princess.

  Drifting asleep, I was startled by a loud curse and thud. I quickly—okay, maybe not your quickly, but my new quickly—scurried to the door and opened it. The baby’s room door was open and there was Brody, sitting bare-chested and cross-legged with a half put together crib and several pages of directions scattered about.

  “Stupid fucking directions, this shit doesn’t even make sense,” he cursed and muttered, until he looked up and saw me. “Don’t Lei, I swear to God.”

  I tried not to laugh, covering my mouth with my hand to hide the smile that stretched across my face. “Can I help you with anything?”

  “No. I am perfectly capable of putting my daughter’s crib together. Just these damn directions are ass backward. They don’t make any fucking sense, but I’ll figure it out. Go back to sleep. I’m sorry I woke you.” He picked up the directions and flipped it over studying it.

  I turned and went back to his bedroom. Once safely on the other side of the closed door, I finally released the giggle I was holding in.

  Sunday morning, I woke up later than I had planned, which left only an hour before I had to meet Jaxon. Scrambling as quickly as I could, I showered, got dressed and made my way downstairs.

  “Jane, do you think you could drive me to my place? I’m supposed to meet Jaxon in thirty minutes,” I asked as I opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water.

  “Absolutely, let me grab my purse and I’ll meet you out front.”

  Brody came strolling into the kitchen. “Jane, please take the Mercedes.”

  “Whatever you want my boy.” She smiled sweetly and patted his shoulder as she passed by.

  “See, that’s his problem,” I said to Jane. “You can’t tell him ‘whatever he wants.’ He now expects me to say that too and that’s not happening.” I cocked my head and grinned.

  “You know I always get my way…eventually.”

  I knew what he was implying. He still thought he would be able to win me back. I shook my head as he looked at me with his sinfully gorgeous, hooded blue eyes. That look did things to me still. A shiver rippled through my soul. That look made me think about what could have been if he had not walked away from me that September night in New York City. That look made me forget that I was going to be late.

  Shit!

  “I gotta run. I’ll drive myself back, that way I have my car here. If I need to go anywhere I won’t have to bother you or Jane.” I walked past him at the large granite island. As I did, he grabbed my hand.

  “No, call me. Either Jane or I will come get you. I don’t want you driving in case you have a contraction.”

  “I will be fine. There’s no sense in either of you having to come all the way back to town. I won’t be a burden while I am staying here. I’m perfectly capable of driving myself around.” I dropped his hand and walked to the garage.

  “Leila, stop. You’re not
a burden or a bother. You’re the mother of my child for Christ’s sake. I’m going to make sure you are taken care of, whether you like it or not,” he insisted. “Besides, Jane was just talking about going to King Street to do some shopping, so she can swing back by on her way home. No big deal.”

  Jane chimed in, “It’s true, I did want to go to the Open Market. I’ll probably be there for a couple of hours, so you may have to wait a little while for me.”

  “Are you sure?” I felt bad asking her to take me, let alone pick me back up.

  “Of course, my sweet girl.” She tilted her head.

  “Okay, that’ll give me some time to pack more clothes.”

  With that settled, we got in the SUV and drove downtown. I texted Jax to let him know I might be a minute or two late.

  We pulled up in front of the condo at noon. I didn’t see Jaxon’s bike. I unlocked the front door and just as I pushed the door open I heard the rumble of the Shadow Rocket. The sound gave me butterflies in my stomach and set my nerves aflame. I knew I missed him, but seeing him pull up hit me like a Mack truck. Immediately, like the wuss I was, I teared up.

  Jaxon turned the key, killing the engine and swung his large jean-clad leg over the bike. He looked so mouth wateringly delicious I wanted to maul him right there on the sidewalk. Then the memories of the past month flooded my mind. My smile fell slightly.

  As he walked over to me, I stared, taking him in, all of him. He was truly magnificent. His wide shoulders tapered to his trim waist and in his tight black T-shirt I could almost make out his tightly cut abs. He ran his hands through his unruly blond hair. It had gotten longer in the last month and it looked like he hadn’t shaved in a week; he was sporting a sexy, blond scruffy beard.

  “Hey,” was all I managed and that was barely audible.

  “Hey baby.” He pulled me to him and wrapped me up in his arms and whispered in my ear. “God, I’ve missed you so much Leila.”

  He almost never called me by my first name. I mean, sure he called me Lei or baby girl, princess or babe, but the only time he called me Leila was when shit got serious. Hearing it now caused my stomach to churn.