by Lori Ryan
“Oh, God, Max,” Maggie shook her head, “what did you say?”
“You mean before or after I accused her of doing this on purpose?”
“You what?” Maggie shrieked.
He waved her quiet. “I know, I know. Not my finest hour.”
“Why in the world would you think she’d done this on purpose?” Maggie asked.
“She wouldn’t be the first girl to claim she was pregnant with my baby. Chicks do it all the time, trying to get money from me.”
Maggie shook her head as it fell into her hands. “This is not good.”
“I know,” Max agreed.
She lifted her head as if sensing more. “What else did you say?”
Max cleared his throat, ashamed to answer.
“Max?” Maggie’s eyes narrowed as she glared at him.
“I may have asked if it was mine.”
“Oh, Jeez.” Maggie’s gaze darted around the room. “We have to find her.”
“I asked her the same thing,” his mother said quietly.
“What did you say?” Max asked, surprised by his defensive tone. He had no right to judge his mother, not after the things he’d said to Devlin.
“I asked if she knew who the father was.” His mother clamped a hand over her mouth. “God she must think we’re awful. We have to find her.”
“What’s wrong?” Ben asked, sliding up next to Maggie.
“Apparently, I’m a bigger fuck-up than even I realized,” Max answered.
Ben laughed. “No surprise there.” His brother’s eyes darted between the three of them before settling on Maggie’s. “Seriously, what’s going on, Maggie?”
She shook her head. “We just need to find Devlin.”
“What’s wrong?” Ben asked. “Is she sick?”
“No,” Maggie answered, the nervousness ringing in her voice.
“She’s pregnant,” Max blurted out.
“What?” Ben’s head snapped back. “Who’s the father?”
The three remained silent.
“Fuck me, it’s yours, Max?” he said.
“What’s Max’s?” Grant said, slipping an arm over his shoulder.
“Nothing,” all four of them answered in unison.
“Where was the last place you saw her?” Maggie asked, ignoring Grant.
Max raked a hand through his hair. “I left her on the trail, about thirty yards west of the barn.”
Maggie glanced around the group. “And none of you have seen her since then?”
They shook their heads.
Maggie stepped closer. “Max, I need to know exactly what you said.”
“I…I, can’t remember it all.” He didn’t feel comfortable sharing their entire conversation.
Maggie gave him a look.
He lowered his voice. “She said something about not knowing what she wanted to do and I told her it’s my baby and I would raise it. I think I might have said something about taking it from her.”
“Baby!” Grant yelled.
“Shhh,” his mother slapped Grant on the shoulder.
“Who’s having a baby?” he whispered.
They all ignored him.
“So, in summary,” Maggie raised a brow, holding out her fingers as she ticked off his offenses. “You accused her of getting pregnant on purpose to steal your money, of her being promiscuous, and then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, you threatened to take the baby away from her?”
“Maggie, that’s not fair.” Max tried to explain. “She’d just told me she was pregnant. With my baby. I don’t know what the fuck I said.”
”You’re having a baby?” Grant yelled. “Seriously? With who?”
“Devlin,” they all yelled back.
“Holy shit.” Grant blew out.
“What else?” Maggie said, sensing his despair.
“She may have said something about my spots coming out and me trying to control her…I don’t know it all kind of blurred together after she slapped me.”
“She slapped you?” his mother asked.
Max hung his head in shame.
“Good for her.”
Max snapped his gaze up, not surprised to find his mother glaring. “You weren’t any better.” He reminded her.
She raised a brow, wearing an expression he saw often as a child. It was her warning glare. Her first, and only. He needed to get his shit together.
“This is bad,” Maggie said, shaking her head. “We have to find her.” Maggie lifted the skirt of her dress as if readying to run.
“Where do you think she could be?” Max asked.
“I’m hoping back at my house maybe,” Maggie said, moving toward the door of the barn.
Max grabbed her arm. “Stay, it’s your wedding. I’ll go.”
She jerked her arm away. “The hell you will,” she all but seethed. “You’ve screwed this up enough, Max. She’s my best friend. Trust me, you’re the last person on earth she wants to see right now.”
Maggie was right. But it didn’t mean she was going without him.
Maggie began walking. “I’ll grab my keys from the cabin and we can drive back to my house.”
“I’m going,” Max said.
Maggie studied him from head to toe.
“Please, Maggie.”
“All right,” she said, still scrutinizing him. She waggled a finger in his face. “But you say nothing when we find her. Got it?”
Max nodded, knowing Maggie was right. He’d already said too much, acted like a jerk. Devlin was probably as worried and scared as he was.
“I’m coming,” his mother said.
No one argued.
“Me, too,” Ben said.
“No, honey,” Maggie turned and pressed her hand to his chest. “You stay. I’ll be back as soon as I make sure she’s okay.”
Ben took her hand in his and kissed her palm. “Have you already forgotten our vows, my beautiful wife? Where you go, I go.” He leaned down and kissed Maggie softly. When he drew back, Maggie smiled and nodded once.
Without even realizing it, his brother was showing Max just what he wanted. Someone to love him, unconditionally, like Maggie did.
Maggie’s eyes darted around the small group. “Let’s go,” she said but stopped when she got to Grant. “You. Stay here. And keep your big mouth shut.”
“But—”
“I’ve found it best to follow her directions,” Ben said.
“Fine,” Grant said with a huff.
“If a word of this leaks, I will find you and cut your tongue out, you got it?” Maggie raised a brow.
Grant stepped back, hands in the air as if affronted. “Jeez, you married a little hellion.” He looked at Ben as he pointed to Maggie.
“No, she married me.” Ben smiled, wrapping an arm around Maggie. “And I’m the luckiest asshole on God’s green earth because of it.” He stared down at his wife. “Let’s go.”
And without another word, Ben, Maggie, their mother and Max all quickly but quietly left the reception.
They wound their way down the path and stopped at the cabin where Maggie and Devlin had dressed.
“Let me run inside and grab my keys.” She said.
They waited anxiously at the bottom of the steps as Maggie slipped inside.
Max’s palms broke out in a sweat and his throat went dry. He wondered if he would be able to get any words out when he saw Devlin. Yeah, he’d promised Maggie he wouldn’t say anything when they found her but that was a lie.
Maggie stepped out, holding a note, her face crestfallen.
“What happened? What is it?” Max asked, bounding up the steps.
“She’s gone.”
His eyes knit together. “What do you mean. She went to your house, right?”
Maggie held out the note and Max took it from her hand, reading it.
I borrowed your car. I’m sorry. It will be at the Denver airport. I’ll text you when I get back to New York.
Love you, D
“She ran,” Mag
gie said quietly. “Like always.”
Max had screwed up. He’d handled this all wrong and now Devlin was gone. He needed to get to her, to tell her what an idiot he’d been and beg for her forgiveness. He had to fix this.
“I’m going after her.” Max turned to head to the lodge.
“Me, too,” Maggie said, bounding down the steps. “Valerie, I need your car.”
“I’m going too,” his mother said.
Ben stepped in front of Maggie. “Maggie, it’s our wedding. We can’t just leave.”
“Ben, she’s my best friend. She’s hurting, and she’s all alone.”
Ben studied Maggie then glanced up at Max, nodding. “Let’s go.”
And wasn’t that the definition of family, Max thought. Always there for you no matter how stupid you were. Devlin had never had that. But if Max was lucky enough to catch her, that’s exactly what he’d give her.
Chapter Thirty-One
Devlin stuck her hand in the family-sized bag of potato chips and pulled out a wad, shoving the crunchy goodness into her mouth like she hadn’t eaten in days. She glanced down at the clock on the dashboard and realized it had only been a few hours since the wedding meal. For a pregnant woman, that was a long time between meals. Devlin had quickly discovered if she didn’t eat every hour she became quite the bitch. Okay, so maybe she was a bitch even when she ate.
Her headlights skimmed across the pavement as she fiddled with the stereo in Maggie’s car. It was hard to receive signals in the valleys between the Colorado mountains. The only station coming through was the local animal report from public radio. Small towns sucked. New York had never looked so good. Devlin could hardly wait to get back. To what, though?
A job she loved? Some days.
Friends? She had no close friends really, only acquaintances thanks to her hectic travel schedule.
Family? That was a definite no.
She talked to her mom, but there was always tension between them. Her mother had allowed her father to emotionally abuse not only herself but Devlin too. She had never once stood up for either of them. Devlin couldn’t help but hold some animosity toward her mom.
“You will not feel sorry for yourself,” she said out loud. “You have a great life. You don’t need anything.”
Devlin didn’t believe the statements any more now that she’d spoken them out loud than she did the entire time she’d been packing to leave Canyon Creek. Her life needed to change, but she wouldn’t think about that right now. Everything was a mess. She’d just stranded Maggie and Ben at their own wedding. Someone would get them to the airport and she knew her best friend would understand.
When she’d told Max they were going to be parents, he’d been overbearing, presumptuous, and authoritative, just like her father. Memories of her childhood had flashed through her mind as Max stood there and berated her, insults flying like swords.
She’d done what she hadn’t been able to do as a child. She’d walked away.
Well, first she’d lashed back. Devlin knew it had been cruel to infer she might have an abortion. She had no support system, no experience, no anything. But she would make it. She and the baby could do this, would do this. As much as she knew she would inevitably screw this baby up—hey, she’d pay for psychotherapy when the kid got older—it was hers, and she’d never abort her baby.
Leaving Canyon Creek now was for the best. Max might say he wanted to be a part of the baby’s life but he didn’t realize how difficult it would be, raising a child by yourself. Devlin had witnessed the struggles her mother went through. Even though her parents were married, her father was usually gone to war, or gone off to play house with some other woman-of-the-month.
Devlin always considered her mother weak for putting up with her father’s affairs. He didn’t respect her mother. And in turn, her mother didn’t respect herself.
That would never happen to Devlin. She would never be that weak. She could find a way to co-parent with Max, she was almost sure. But she would never co-exist with him, baby or no baby.
Devlin’s phone rang and she glanced down. It was her mother. Again. It was the third call since she’d left the wedding. Devlin had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach as she dusted her hands off on her jeans and reached for the phone and pushed the speaker to answer.
“Hello?”
“Oh, Devlin. Finally.” Her mother’s voice sounded frantic.
“Mom, are you all right?”
“Yes…no…I don’t know.” Her mother sounded excited and nervous all at the same time.
“Tell me what happened.”
“I left your father,” she blurted out.
“You what?” Devlin gripped the wheel and slowed going into the next turn.
“I left him, Dev.”
“When?”
“This morning. I just, I don’t know, I woke up and I, I just realized I’d had enough.”
“This morning? Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
Devlin was about to ask her mother why she hadn’t called sooner but remembered the missed calls from earlier.
“Are you driving?” she asked her mother, wondering if she’d really left or was sitting out in the car fantasizing about leaving.
“Yes,” her mother said triumphantly.
“Where are you?”
“I’m almost to Baltimore. I’m going to stay with your Aunt Karen for a few days. She just had shoulder surgery and isn’t doing well. That’s really how all this started.”
“How what started?”
“I told your father I wanted to go and stay with my sister while she recovered, and he said no. As soon as the word ‘no’ flew out of his mouth, I just…snapped.”
Devlin leaned back in her seat, unable to visualize a scenario where her mother snapped.
“Devlin?”
“Yeah, I’m here mom, I’m just…wow.”
“I know. I’m quite proud of myself.”
“Me, too.” She meant it. She might not have thought this day would ever come, but she would support her mom in this, one hundred percent.
“I thought maybe after I spend a few days with Aunt Karen, I could drive up to New York, come see you. I know we haven’t spent much time together in the last few years. I want to make up for that.”
Her father rarely let her mother leave the Marine base in Quantico, Virginia, let alone fly all the way to New York City.
“That would be great, Mom. I’d love to see you.”
“I’m sorry to call during the wedding, I just didn’t want you to worry if your father called.”
“No,” Devlin said, “I’m not at the wedding.”
“Isn’t it today?”
“Yeah,” Devlin said, trying to shake off her guilt. “I left early.”
“Why?”
“I needed to get back to New York, for work.” It wasn’t a complete lie. She did need to arrange her work schedule. And plan doctors’ appointments. And figure out where she could set up a crib in her tiny apartment.
“How was the wedding?” her mother asked. “I’m sure Maggie made a beautiful bride.”
“She was gorgeous.” Devlin smiled at the memory of Maggie walking down the aisle in her wedding dress.
“Oh, that’s wonderful.”
Devlin could hear the disappointment in her mother’s voice. Since Devlin could remember, she’d always told her mother she would never marry.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Yeah, sweetie.”
Devlin blinked several times, fighting back tears. She needed her mom, now more than ever. “I just, I need to tell you something.”
“Of course, you can tell me anything.”
Devlin blinked away tears. “We can talk about it when you get to New York.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” Devlin said as a lone tear rolled down her cheek. “Listen I probably need to let you go. I need to keep driving if I’m going to make my flight, and these Colorado roads are really treacherous.
”
“Okay, sweetie. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“That sounds good.” Devlin swallowed hard. “I’m proud of you, mom.”
“I’m proud of me, too.” She could hear the excitement in her mother’s voice. “And you. You gave me courage, Devlin. It took a while, probably much too long, but you helped me get here even if you weren’t with me when I made the decision to leave.”
Devlin smiled. “I’m glad, mom.” She choked back a sob. “I really need to go,” she said as she gripped the wheel, knowing she wouldn’t be able to stop the tears once they started. She needed to get off the phone and focus on getting herself home. She could break down then.
“Call me when you get home,” she said.
Before Devlin could answer, her headlights lit on a huge mass in the highway. She jerked the steering wheel, trying to avoid the animal, as she pressed hard on the brake, but just as she did, the massive beast moved.
“Oh, shit!” she screamed, as she jerked the steering wheel back the other way.
“Devlin, what’s wrong?” her mother asked.
Devlin dropped the phone, gripping the wheel, bracing for impact. There was no way to avoid the collision. No way to stop what was happening, even as time slowed and she felt her chest clench and her gut go tight, instinctively protecting her baby.
She blinked once just before something hard hit her face and her world went black. The deafening sound of tearing metal and the crumpling of safety glass breaking filled the car. The impact felt like she’d hit a brick wall. A stabbing pain shot across her chest and down her abdomen. Oh God, the baby.
“Devlin!” She could barely make out her mother’s voice from somewhere in the darkness. “Devlin!”
She tried to speak but no words came out. The only thought in her head was that of her unborn baby.
Stay safe, little one, she prayed. Stay safe.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“What if we don’t get to her in time?” Max asked from the back seat of Ben’s SUV.
“I’ve checked all the departing flights out of Denver to New York City,” Maggie said. “She wouldn’t be able to make the 10:15pm flight, she didn’t have enough time.”
“What time is the next one?” Ben asked.
“There’s one at 10:45pm and then one at 11:20pm.”
