Those Texas Nights

by Delores Fossen

  “Not as much. My OB’s on his way to check me out. Deer season,” she added in a grumble. “It shouldn’t be long now. The other doctor examined me, drew some blood and said he’d be back in here soon to let me know what’s going on. God, I wish Brantley was here.”

  “He will be soon.” At least he’d better be. After the things she’d heard him say to Clay, Sophie hoped Brantley had found the pair that she’d told him to grow.

  “And Clay,” April said. “I want my brother here, too.” She stopped, clamped her teeth over her bottom lip for a moment. “I’m sorry. You probably don’t want to see him.”

  Wrong. Sophie would love to see him for no other reason than because April needed him. If she had been going through something like this, she would have wanted Garrett and Roman by her bedside.

  April’s gaze dropped to Sophie’s stomach. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”

  “No.” She was certain April wouldn’t believe her since no one else had, but the woman nodded. That gesture was like some kind of green light to Sophie because she just continued with the confession. “But I am sneaking around and having sex with your brother. Well, I was. As you probably already figured out, he broke up with me.”

  April nodded. “Because of Delaney?”

  Sophie’s gaze stayed connected with April’s for a few seconds before she answered, “You knew her?”

  “Oh, yes. I’m pretty sure if Delaney had lived, they would have gotten married. But she was wrong for him. An adrenaline junkie, always taking risks. Clay’s not much of a risk taker.”

  “I noticed.”

  “Funny, considering he’s a cop.” April gave her a short-lived smile. “Plus, there’s the problem with your eyes. How did Clay get past that?”

  Sophie was certain she’d missed something in this conversation. “My eyes?”

  “Yes, they’re almost identical in color to Delaney’s. I’m betting that gave him a jolt when he first saw you.”

  Sophie didn’t have to think hard to remember that meeting with Clay and the ones that had followed shortly thereafter. He’d always looked away from her. And when he’d kissed her in her car, he’d asked her to close her eyes first. Now, she knew why. God, it’s a wonder he hadn’t just avoided her altogether.

  “You think seeing my eyes triggered bad memories of Delaney?” Sophie asked.

  “Probably. But he’d never fess up to anything like that on his own. Not Clay. He’d just learn to live with it. Which it seems he must have done.” She paused. “He really hurt you, didn’t he?”

  Best not to admit that whole cattle stampede feeling in her chest. “I cared a lot for him. Still do,” Sophie corrected. Obviously, she was still in confession mode, and she hoped that Wanda Kay wasn’t outside the door listening to this.

  April slid her hand over Sophie’s. “I’m sorry. For everything.” But April’s touch was like her smile. It didn’t last long, and she quickly jerked it away and returned it to her stomach. “Oh my God.”

  And that’s how Brantley found them when he came storming into the room. His attention volleyed from Sophie to April and then back to Sophie again.

  “What are you doing in here?” Brantley howled, glaring at Sophie. “Did you upset April?”

  Sophie was so stunned by the accusation that she could only shake her head. April couldn’t clear it up, either, because she was moaning in pain.

  “Wanda Kay?” Sophie called out. As expected, the nurse was right there, just behind Brantley.

  “I already paged the doctor,” Wanda Kay assured her. “He’ll be here in a few seconds.”

  Brantley hurried to April, easing down next to her, but he shifted his glare to Wanda Kay. “How could you let Sophie in here? You know what’s gone on between April and her.”

  All right. Enough of this. Sophie was still stunned but no longer to the point of not being able to defend herself. “April asked to see me.”

  “I did,” April muttered through the groans. “Sophie had some things to tell me. I know she was with Clay last night when you went to pick up the boys.”

  The glare Brantley had given Wanda Kay was a drop in the bucket compared to the one he now gave Sophie. He stood and walked toward Sophie. “Did you tell April what I said to Clay? Did you?”

  “What did you tell Clay?” April asked. And it was obvious she wanted an answer now because she repeated the “What?”

  And that’s how Clay found them when he came into the room.

  * * *

  CLAY HADN’T EXPECTED this to be a pleasant visit, what with Sophie’s frantic messages to get to the hospital, but he hadn’t counted on walking into both a firestorm and a hornets’ nest.

  First things first, he went to his sister, glancing at the monitor that was next to the table. He had no idea what the device was, but it appeared to be monitoring the baby’s heartbeat. The good news was there was a heartbeat. The bad news was obviously something had gone wrong if his sister was here.

  Since April looked ready to repeat her question for a third time, Clay stopped her with a question of his own. “How are you?”

  That caused some tears to spill down April’s cheeks. Not her first tears, either, and since it was obvious that Sophie had been crying, too, he wanted to know what had happened.

  “I started having pains, and Sophie drove me to the hospital,” April said, and she looked at Brantley. “And she didn’t upset me. You have, though. Because you took so long to get here and now you won’t tell me what you said to Clay.”

  “I was in court,” Brantley explained. He didn’t offer anything else, though, on the second part of April’s beef.

  “I want to know,” April insisted.

  She clearly wouldn’t let this go. But she was going to have to do just that because while Sophie might not have upset her, hearing what Brantley had said surely would. Brantley and Sophie knew that as well, and they weren’t jumping to provide April with an answer. Thankfully, they got a reprieve when Dr. Alan Sanchez came into the room and went to April, checking both her and the monitor.

  “I need you two to leave while I examine April again,” the doctor said to Sophie and Clay. He glanced at Brantley. “You can stay.”

  Clay had to hand it to Brantley. He didn’t look as if he wanted to be sent out of the room, too, though it would have been a way to stall April. Brantley stayed right by April’s side and took her hand.

  Sophie and Clay stepped out into the hall just as Wanda Kay entered the examining room, and she shut the door in their faces. It didn’t take long for the uncomfortable silence to start.

  “I was out at Arlo’s cabin, looking for Billy Lee,” he explained, though he’d repeat this to April once they had a chance to talk. “No cell service out there so I didn’t get your message until I was back in my truck. I got here as fast as I could.”

  Sophie lifted her shoulder. Didn’t look at him. In fact, she looked everywhere but at him. She also didn’t ask him if he’d found Billy Lee. Of course, he hadn’t expected her to be in a friendly or chatty mood after the conversation they’d had in his office. And after what she’d just been through with April.

  “Thank you for driving April here,” he continued. “And for arranging for Mila to be with the boys. They really seem to like her.”

  Another shoulder lift from Sophie, and the uncomfortable silence went up a notch. Clay didn’t know how long it would take the doctor to examine April, but it was already starting to feel as if it were taking a week.

  “I really didn’t say anything to April to upset her,” Sophie finally muttered.

  “I didn’t think you had. You’re too nice to do something like that.”

  A third shoulder lift and zero eye contact. Though it would have been smart just to let this be, Clay wasn’t usually in smart mode when he was around Sophie. He took h
old of her arm and turned her to face him. Even then she didn’t look at him so he lifted her chin.

  And she closed her eyes.

  “April told me about Delaney,” she said. “About her eyes being the same color as mine.”

  Hell. He hated to curse his sister when she was in the hospital, but he silently did it anyway. “She shouldn’t have brought that up.”

  “No, but you should have. You should have told me that it triggered bad memories for you.”

  He wasn’t sure how to answer that so Clay went with, “I don’t like to talk about it.”

  “Obviously, but if you’d told me, I could have worn colored contacts or put on sunglasses whenever I was around you.”

  Now Clay silently cursed himself. Yes, Sophie would have gone to the extreme like that, but it hadn’t been necessary.

  “At first, your eyes did bother me,” he admitted. “But then...they didn’t. Delaney’s and your eyes aren’t identical. They’re just similar. And I just started focusing on the parts that were different.”

  Now they weren’t Delaney’s eyes. They were Sophie’s. That didn’t mean it made everything better. This wasn’t a boo-boo that could be kissed away.

  She finally looked at him, no doubt examining him to see his reaction. Clay tried not to have one. He especially tried not to have one that would give Sophie any hope of this relationship working out.

  “Sneaky sex has its consequences,” she said, looking away again. This time, though, he didn’t think it had anything to do with triggering bad memories.

  “Yes, and I’m sorry. I knew it was a mistake to get involved with you, and I did it anyway.”

  “A mistake,” she repeated. It didn’t sound as if she agreed with that.

  Nope, she didn’t.

  And when she looked at him again, there was some fire in her eyes. Uh-oh. She was about to blast him for what he’d just said, but whatever she was about to say was put on hold when they heard the voices in the examining room. Specifically, April’s voice, and he heard it because it was at a volume slightly louder than the normal conversational level.

  “Why would you say something like that to Clay?” April snarled. “Do you really feel that way?”

  That was another uh-oh.

  Clay couldn’t hear Brantley’s response, but he hoped his brother-in-law was doing some serious groveling coupled with some huge apologies.

  The door opened, and judging from the doctor’s expression, he wasn’t pleased about the chat he’d almost certainly overheard between April and Brantley.

  “Get out!” April snapped. And she aimed that snap at her husband.

  “Yes, get out,” the doctor concurred.

  Brantley looked as if someone had drained him of any hope, but he walked out into the hall with Clay and Sophie. Both gave him a frosty glare.

  “You should have lied,” Sophie whispered. “You shouldn’t have upset your pregnant wife, especially when she might be on the verge of miscarrying.”

  Clay and the doctor made sounds of agreement, but Clay wished he could add to that by punching Brantley in the face. The man’s timing absolutely sucked.

  “I’m fairly sure April’s not miscarrying,” the doctor said. “The contractions are what we call Braxton Hicks. They’re painful, but since she’s not spotting, I believe the baby and she will be okay. I am going to admit her to the hospital, though. Just for an overnight stay so I can keep an eye on her and run some more tests.”

  “Thank God,” Sophie mumbled. Clay thanked him, too. Even though the pregnancy wasn’t planned, he knew how much April wanted this baby.

  The doctor gave each of them a glance. “I think it’s for the best if you all leave.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Brantley insisted. “I’ll wait here in case April wants to talk.”

  “Suit yourself,” the doctor said, “but you won’t go within ten feet of her unless she agrees, understand?” He waited until Brantley agreed before turning back to Clay. “You’ll take care of the twins?”

  Clay nodded. “I just have to let my deputies know what’s going on.”

  The doctor told April that he’d be right back after he got those tests ordered, and he headed up the hall.

  “I have April’s car,” Sophie said, “and I can drive the boys to your house if you want to say goodbye to your sister.”

  Everything considered, it was generous of her. He took his house key from his key chain and handed it to her. However, Sophie didn’t leave. She caught onto Wanda Kay’s arm as the nurse was walking out, and she got right in Wanda Kay’s face.

  “If you’re not nice to April...” Sophie whispered. It was a mean whisper, too. “I’ll tell everyone you gave blow jobs to the entire football team...and you did it before they’d even showered.”

  Wanda Kay’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. “You wouldn’t.”

  Sophie let go of the woman’s arm, and her index finger landed against Wanda Kay’s chest. “Yes, I would. And guess what? Everyone will believe me because I’m Sophie Granger.”

  Clay had no idea what had gone on before he’d gotten there, but he wanted to give Sophie an atta girl. He didn’t get a chance to say anything, though, because Sophie stormed off.

  “I didn’t do that to the football team,” Wanda Kay said to him. “And I wasn’t nice to April because she stole another woman’s fella.”

  Clay gave her the coldest stare he could manage, which wasn’t hard to do since right now he was feeling pretty damn cold. “If you’re not nice to my sister, I’ll not only confirm what Sophie said, I’ll tell everyone you swallowed.”

  Wanda Kay gasped, and the color in her face turned an unflattering shade of red before she turned tail and headed up the hall. Clay made a mental note to request another nurse after he talked with his sister.

  “Please tell April I’m sorry and that I didn’t mean what I said to you,” Brantley begged. At least he was following the doctor’s rules and didn’t go near the door to the examining room.

  Clay considered several ways to respond. Most would include some profanity. But one look at his sister’s tear-streaked face, and he only nodded. For reasons he didn’t understand April seemed to love Brantley, and he needed to help them work this out. Not just for their sakes but for this baby.

  “I’ll tell her,” Clay settled for saying, and he went into the examining room, closing the door behind him.

  “I heard him,” April mumbled the moment Clay sat down beside her. Fresh tears sprang to her eyes, and since Clay wanted to put a stop to them, he said something that he hoped would help.

  “Brantley really is sorry. He wants to make this marriage work.” If that wasn’t true, then Clay would help April pick up the pieces. Again. Hell, he’d do it a thousand times because she was his sister and even though she drove him crazy, he loved her.

  “Are you really okay?” Clay asked her.

  “I’m better now. The pain isn’t so bad. I just wish I could see the boys, but the doctor said not until tomorrow. Are they all right? Did you see them?”

  “I saw them when I came through the waiting room. They were making bunny sounds while Mila read them a book.”

  “Bunnies make sounds?”

  “According to Hunter they do. They sound like a motorcycle.” One that “Roaming” rode.

  She nodded, seemed relieved. Clay was a little relieved, too, but it might take a while for his heart rate to settle down.

  “You scared me,” he admitted. “When I heard Sophie’s message that you were in the hospital, I forgot about some of your hardheadedness and ass-wipe mistakes and remembered that I love you.”

  That got the reaction he wanted. She punched him on the arm. Acceptable violence between siblings. “I learned my hardheadedness from you,” she fired back. “And I’m no
t the only one who makes ass-wipe mistakes.”

  He suspected they were talking about Sophie now. He wanted to ask exactly what had gone on between the two women to bring on this change of heart, but there were other things on his want-to-know list.

  “You told her about Delaney’s eyes. Why?” he asked. Clay made sure he didn’t sound angry. Easy to do because he wasn’t. However, he was frustrated, not just about April’s situation with Brantley but also because he’d hurt Sophie. Definitely an ass-wipe mistake.

  “I thought Sophie already knew. I just figured you came clean with her before you had sex with her.”

  Clay figured he shouldn’t be surprised that April knew he’d been sleeping with Sophie. Probably everyone within a hundred miles knew. But, no. He hadn’t told Sophie about Delaney’s eyes. In fact, Sophie and he had had sex several times before he’d given her that file to read. That seemed like a lifetime ago, but it had only been hours in this hellishly long day.

  “I broke things off with Sophie,” he went on. “Did she mention anything about it to you?”

  April nodded, touched her fingers to the tight muscles in his forehead. “She mentioned a lot of things. Want me to tell you what she told me?”

  Clay didn’t like that look in his sister’s eyes and was about to decline, but she caught onto the front of his shirt, pulled him closer.

  And April told him all right.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  THE CHICKENS WERE there when Clay got home. Right by the front porch steps. It was as if fate wanted to punctuate the day from hell with yet one more hellish obstacle.

  Sophie was there, as well. At least he thought she was when he spotted April’s car parked by the side of the house. She was no doubt inside with the boys. Because it’d been three hours since she’d left the hospital with them, she would probably be ready to run the moment he stepped inside. The boys could be a handful. Of course, Hayden and Hunter might not be the only reason she wanted to run.