by Evan Grace
It’s very clear that the team all love and respect my girl. It’s quiet upstairs, and I can guarantee she’s already asleep. Sure enough, in our room I find her wrapped around the body pillow I bought her the other day. Her snores fill the room. I quickly change into some basketball shorts and a t-shirt.
Downstairs in the mudroom, I hop on the treadmill and start running. I’d rather be outside, but I can’t leave her alone. By the time Erik shows up, my legs are wobbly, but I feel fucking great. I towel off, let Erik in, and help him grab the rest of the stuff.
“How the hell did Del get mono?” he asks with a laugh.
“Fuck if I know, but she’s already passed out and snoring. I appreciate you getting this stuff.” Erik follows me into the kitchen.
“Not a problem. Del’s my girl—I love her like she was my own flesh and blood. What are you going to do during the day while you’re working? I’m assuming you still aren’t leaving her alone. Jack’s got a case he was planning on giving us tomorrow that’s going to keep us busy.”
“I’m going to call my mom and see if she’ll come, which I’m sure she will.” I grab a beer for both of us. “Are you making any headway with Shayla?”
Shayla is giving him the cold shoulder. I’m actually surprised she hasn’t quit yet, because Erik’s always in her business.
“Nope, and just when I think she’s letting me in, she does an about-face. Then I get the freeze out. I’m thinking I might as well cut my losses. Plus, why would I want to be tied down when I can get all the pussy I want?”
We sound like a couple of girls talking, but I don’t believe him when he says he wants all the pussy. I’ll be really surprised if he lets her go, and if he does, he’ll be making a huge mistake.
My gaze drifts to the ceiling, knowing that the girl who undoubtedly owns my heart is sleeping right upstairs. What if I’d said no to Jack about the job after already sleeping with her? She’d be going through this alone, but prepared to do it that way.
That girl is an old soul, and more grown up than adults a lot older than her. Hell, just from the sound of things she’s more mature than her mom.
I turn to the guy who, in the short time I’ve been here, has become like a brother to me. “If you say so.”
“I do. I’m not going to keep chasing after a woman who clearly doesn’t want me. It’s whatever. We had a night of amazing sex, and connected more than I have with anyone.”
I lean against the counter and cross my arms over my chest. “Maybe there’s a reason she keeps pushing you away. She’s probably had other relationships, and maybe she’s gun shy. If Delilah kept pushing me away, I’d keep pushing back, especially if I could feel it down in my soul that we were meant to be together. I can’t tell you what to do, but I will tell you this—if you give up, some other guy is going to snatch her up. Is that what you want—to watch her fall in love with someone else?”
“No,” Erik grumbles. “Fuck, when did we turn into chicks, talking about our feelings and shit? I’ll come by later this week to check on mono girl. See you at the office tomorrow.”
He heads out, and I call my mom quick. She immediately agrees, and says she’ll be there in the morning. Luckily my hometown is only three hours away. I wouldn’t put it past my mom to be here by eight. She’s a natural caretaker, and I know she wants to make it up to Delilah because of how their first meeting went. She’s supposed to text me when she’s on the road.
I grab my phone and call Jack. He answers right away. “How’s my daughter?”
“She’s sleeping, and I mean sleeping hard. I’ve got to wake her soon to give her some medicine for her fever, and get her to at least drink something.” I grab the water with electrolytes out of the fridge and set it on the counter.
“What are we going to do about her safety? She can’t come to the office, and I really need you with Erik on this new case.”
“I know, I’ve talked to Erik already. My mom is coming in the morning to help take care of her. I’ll go through the security system with her, and I figure if any of the guys are out running around, they could stop by and check on things.” I hope he doesn’t think I’m overstepping. I don’t really know what Del and I are, but he’s her dad.
“Fuck, thank you for handling things. I hate this is happening when there’s some sick fuck messing with her. I’ll set up a rotation with the boys and get in on it too. If you need anything from me let me know.”
“I will.” We hang up, and I start hunting for recipes to make for my girl. Google said to keep her away from breads and pasta—it can make her fatigue worse and cause inflammation. I grab the Tylenol and a bottle of water. In our bedroom, I find her in the same position as I left her. I lie down next to her and reach out, stroking her cheek.
Her lips are all smooshed, and she looks like my nieces would when they’d fall asleep on someone’s shoulder. “Baby, wake up.” I shake her shoulder a little, and nothing. “Del, wake up. You have to take medicine, baby.”
She pushes up and looks around. Delilah has no fucking clue where she’s at right now. “Was happening?” she slurs. “Why we here? I go sleep sleep.” Delilah buries her face in her pillow and I chuckle.
“Baby, come on, you need to take these pills.”
She lifts her head. “My throat hurts.” All the laughter I felt moments ago disappears quickly.
“I know, baby—they said that could happen. Take these pills, they’ll help you feel better.” She lets me place the pills between her lips, and then drinks some of the water. “Good job. Do you need anything?”
She shakes her head and begins to cry. “I’m sorry I’m s-sick.” I scoot back until I’m against my headboard, hugging her to my chest.
“Shh…baby, it’s okay. You’ll feel better soon, I promise. My mom’s going to come and help out until you’ve got more strength, okay?”
“Okay.” I help her stand up so she can go use the bathroom. I watch her walk out of the bedroom, but then jump out of bed because she bumps into the wall.
After helping her in the bathroom, I tuck her back in and she immediately falls asleep.
***
“Hey Mom, thanks for coming.”
She cups my cheek. “Of course. Is she still sleeping?”
I nod. “Yeah, I got her up and force fed her breakfast. She’s taken Tylenol, and I made her drink a bottle of water. Her throat’s starting to hurt, so one of the guys is going to bring throat lozenges and popsicles. Check her temperature in an hour, and make sure it stays low. She can’t have ibuprofen—”
“Honey, I’ve been pregnant. I’ll keep an eye on her, and maybe it’ll be a good idea for her to come down here and lie down. I’ll change your bedding, and maybe get her to change her clothes. Sometimes getting cleaned up does wonders. We’ll be fine, and I’ll call if there are any problems.”
“I appreciate you dropping everything and coming.”
“It’s the least I could do.”
I go over the alarm system and ask her to keep it armed at all times. She knows to ask to see IDs before opening the door to anyone. I’ve told her just enough for her to know to be watchful. She’s a tough cookie, and my dad was adamant about her and my sister knowing how to protect themselves.
Upstairs I check on Delilah, and she’s again wrapped around her body pillow. I lean down and kiss her forehead. “Bye, baby.”
From her I get nothing. Her doctor said it could last a few weeks, or a couple months. I hope it’s the former. This isn’t the way she should be ending her pregnancy. Back downstairs, I kiss my mom’s cheek and take off to work.
Chapter Fifteen
Delilah
Earlier I had been surprised to find Reece’s mom here, but she’s been amazingly sweet. She helped me downstairs and fed me this homemade vegetable soup that smelled so delicious I had two huge bowls. The baby liked it too, because it felt like he was doing a happy dance. Elizabeth was upstairs changing the sheets on our bed, and then she was wanting me to take a shower. She s
aid I would feel better after taking one.
She made a little bed for me on the sofa to rest while she takes care of things upstairs, and I fight my eyes closing so hard, but an unknown time later I’m gently nudged until I look up into Reece’s green eyes. I’m not sure why, but I began to cry. Maybe it’s because the exhaustion that has taken over my body hurts.
It feels like my body is covered in teeny tiny pins. I know it’s in my head, but every time I’m up I can’t wait to go to sleep. Reece’s large hand gently strokes my hair, and he whispers quietly in my ear. “It’s okay, baby. Let it out. I wish I could take this from you.”
He helps me upstairs, and then gets in the shower with me. It’s totally nonsexual, but the intimacy makes me want to cry again. With a gentle touch, he washes and conditions my hair. I moan as he kneads my scalp.
After that he scrubs me from top to bottom. Paying extra attention to my belly, he places gentle kisses and talks quietly to it. I can’t hear over the water, but I don’t care because it’s probably something sweet and amazing and I’ll probably cry…again.
Once I’m rinsed off he helps me out, wraps a towel around his waist, and then gently towels me off. After getting dressed, he surprises me by blow drying my hair for me. Again, he does something so simple, but it means so much.
Since I slept so much earlier, he wants me to try and stay up to get some drinks in me. Downstairs, his mom is folding laundry at the table. “Dear, you look so refreshed. Do you feel better now that you’ve had a shower?”
“I do. Don’t get me wrong—I’m still so tired and sore, but I don’t feel grimy anymore.” I check my temperature and it’s 99.6. We decide to wait and see if it goes up.
I’m just ready to be done with this stupid infection.
***
It takes two-and-a-half weeks until I’m finally back to normal, or as normal as I can get being almost eight months pregnant. The past two and half weeks have solidified so many things; I wish Elizabeth had been my mother, or someone like her. Reece and his sister Rachel are very lucky, and I’m so green with envy.
She cooked for me, held me when I was so exhausted and tired of being tired. She was free with her affection, and never used it as a ploy to get my defenses down or give me a false sense of hope. By the age of ten, I’d already learned that hard lesson: be wary when mom wants a hug.
We Facetimed Rachel a couple of times, and I’m looking forward to meeting her, and soon. Because I’m contagious, or I was, we didn’t think it was smart for her to come and possibly bring it back to her daughters. Speaking of daughters, hers are incredibly cute and look just like Rachel. Of course she looks just like Reece too, just feminine and beautiful. They all have dark hair and those mossy green eyes. Their skin has just a hint of an olive tone. They’re going to be heartbreakers when they’re older.
Second, Elizabeth had taken it upon herself to add some feminine touches to Reece’s place, maybe to make me feel more at home. Pictures are now hanging up on the wall and lining the entertainment center. The ones on the wall are one of Reece and his Special Forces team, including my dad, who stood front and center; another is Rachel’s family, and God, they’re a pretty family; and the rest are more family photos, military photos, and then one that I can’t stop myself from picking up and examining.
It was taken by his mom when they were here last time. We were at Luciano’s Italian Bistro, and I’d worn a red, form-fitting dress that hugged the abundant curves I was carrying—especially in my breasts and ass, but I didn’t care. The dress made me feel beautiful and not like a whale, which was how I felt most days. I’d worn my hair down in its natural wavy state. I kept my makeup light and wore a nude gloss on my lips.
Reece wore a blue button-down shirt open at the collar, black dress slacks that molded to his gorgeous ass, and black dress shoes. I remember posing for the picture, his arm wrapped around my waist, as his woodsy, spicy scent wrapped around me. I had my head resting on his shoulder, and my hand against his abs. We weren’t looking at her—we were both glancing down because he’d made me laugh, and then he started to laugh. That’s when the picture was taken.
Lastly, this whole mono situation just proved to me what an amazing man Reece is, and that he is going to be an amazing dad like mine is. Even when he was at work he’d call or text, checking on me and making sure I didn’t need anything. Of course since I was asleep most of the time, this was conveyed by his mom.
Last week something happened, though. I’d woken up and come downstairs to see Reece, Elizabeth, my dad, and most of the team in the living room. They said they just wanted to come visit me, but I knew they were lying. The air had been supercharged, and they were all quick to say hello and then get me the hell out of there.
Trying to seduce the man you love into sex is no easy task when you were just sick, but I can’t help it that the first thing to come roaring back is my damn libido. Last night in bed, I’d tried rubbing against his dick only for him to chuckle, kiss my forehead, and roll over.
I grab my laptop and set up my workstation—which is Reece’s bed with a mountain of pillows that smell like fabric softener and make me sleepy immediately—but I shake it off because I have billing to do.
Luckily in my absence I was able to talk Shayla through sending me all of the info I needed to bill our clients. When Carrie comes back, I’m going to talk to my dad about keeping Shayla on. She can be our backup, and I’m sure I can find something for her to do—if not full time, then at least part time for now.
By the time Reece is home, I’m finally caught up. His mom brought me some soup earlier, but otherwise she left me alone so I could work. She goes home at the end of the week, and to be honest, I’m really going to miss her. Of course during these last few weeks she’d go home on Friday and come back Sunday night.
Anytime she does something sweet for me, I’m hit with a wave of sadness because this woman has cared more for me in the short time we’ve known each other than my own mother. I made the mistake of calling my mom last week to let her know I was sick, and she didn’t answer or call me back.
I hate to say it, and it breaks my heart, but I’m done with her. As far as I’m concerned, my dad birthed me himself.
In the bathroom I brush my teeth and wash my face. I’m putting moisturizer on when Reece comes in. He was out in his mudroom, running on his treadmill. Now he’s slick with sweat, and I want to lick him all over, but a yawn slips from my mouth. He steps behind me, wrapping his arm around my bulging waist. “Sleepy?”
Ugh…I don’t want to admit that I am, in fact, exhausted. I nod solemnly, because this just sucks. He turns me around. “You’re getting better every day.” He kisses my nose. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
I pull away from him. “I don’t want to go to bed. I’m tired of sleeping or lying down. I’m tired of being tired, and everyone treating me like I’m an invalid.” I know I’m being irrational but I’m fucking tired of being tired. I want to get back to my normal routine.
“Hey, hey, hey, what brought this on?” He strokes a hand over my hair.
“Sorry, I’m just crabby. I’m okay.” I lean my forehead against his chest, and sigh. The baby kicks me in the ribs, and I rub at the spot. “Your son has discovered my rib cage and is determined to get his foot jammed in there.”
Reece places his hand on my belly and rubs the spot where our son’s been kicking me. He grabs my hand. “Come with me.”
I let him lead me into the bedroom, and he has me climb up on the bed. He climbs on and gets behind me. At the first contact of his fingers on my back, a moan rips from my lips. Reece’s fingers are magical as they knead my shoulders and neck.
His touch is firm yet soft, and I’m putty in his hands. He doesn’t say anything—he just works out every knot in my shoulders and loosens every stiff muscle from spending ninety percent of my day in bed. After he gets me all loose, he moves off the bed but settles me on the pile of pillows. Reece grabs my foot and begins kneading my inste
p. My eyes flutter shut and I moan.
It isn’t long before I fall asleep.
***
Reece
The moment she falls asleep, her body goes loose. Her snores fill the room—I read in one of the pregnancy books that the snoring can sometimes get worse toward the end. Even though she’s still a little pale and a little thinner than I’d like, she’s still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I climb off the bed and head into the bathroom to shower.
After finishing, I throw on some gray cotton shorts and a plain white t-shirt. I find my mom curled up on the back deck, reading. She smiles as I sit down across from her. “Where’s Delilah?”
“I massaged her shoulders, and then her feet. She fell asleep once I started on her feet. She seems to be doing a lot better these past couple of days.”
Mom sets her book down. “She’s been up most of the day, but if she overdoes it, she usually needs a nap. Her doctor the other day said he was happy to see she was doing better, and wasn’t concerned about her weight loss. They’re going to do another ultrasound at her next OB appointment.” She shakes her head. “I hate that you’re not going to tell her about the box.”
Last week we’d been having a debriefing when my mom called me over and over until I answered. She was panicked, and I couldn’t understand what she was saying. Jack had taken my phone, talked to her, and then called the team to meet at my place.
She was standing in the front door when we got there. I’ll never forget the way she trembled when I hugged her to me. She had us all go into the mudroom where a box sat open. A part of me didn’t want to look, but I knew I needed to see what was inside.
I stepped toward it, and when I peered inside I felt my body stiffen to the point that the air around the room felt wired. Inside the box was a baby doll with an ultrasound picture of my son attached…and a knife through it.
