by Gina Azzi
"Really? You're not helping my case. At all." Den narrows his eyes at Carter.
I pull out the card attached to flowers and read aloud, "It says here, 'love Denver.'"
Denver grumbles, shaking his head. "Thanks."
Carter and Daisy laugh, easing some of the tension. Carter presses a quick kiss to the top of my head and settles into a chair at my bedside. "So, what's going on? What happened?"
Denver and Daisy also take seat, Denver's hand finds its way to mine, and I don't pull away when he laces our fingers together. If this is going to work, I need to be open about forgiving him. I'll never forget what happened, but for the sake of our peanut, I'm willing to give him one more chance. Slowly. He’ll need to earn back the trust he dashed. But the fact that he’s here is a good starting point.
Turning my attention to Daisy and Carter, I fill them in on the situation and most of what transpired between Denver and I, leaving out the parts about his dad.
"So, you're moving back?" Daisy asks Denver when I finish, a hesitant smile on her mouth.
He never takes his eyes off of me as he nods. "For good." But it's the smile on his face that convinces me he wants to be here.
And that's another step in the right direction.
The morning surrounded by Denver, Daisy, and Carter passes quickly, mainly because they keep my mind off of everything happening. In some ways, it’s easy, especially the sisterhood between Daisy and I and the friendship between Carter and me. In other ways, it's comfortable yet unnerving, like how Denver can't keep his eyes from wandering to mine, the way he reaches over from time to time to squeeze my knee or brush the hair out of my eyes. His gestures are sweet and thoughtful, and I desperately want to lean into his touch, get lost in his searing kisses, and for things to go back to the way they were just two weeks ago. But I can’t help the hesitation I feel and instead of leaning into his touch, I don’t react, keeping my expressions neutral.
In the early afternoon, after I sweep another game of Texas Hold 'Em, Daisy and Carter offer to grab some lunch, so we can have a decent meal and so Den and I can spend some one-on-one time together. After they leave, Den leans forward and tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear.
"I'm just going to use the bathroom really quick, and then there's some things I think we should talk about."
"All right," I agree, settling back against my pillows, both nervous and excited for whatever new ground Denver wants to cover. It's like now that he told me the truth about his dad and I agreed to stay in New York and see where things between us go, he's desperate to hammer out all the details. As if he's nervous that if we don't, I'll disappear and head to Scotland. I can understand his fear since it's the same way I felt when he gave me the cold shoulder, but now that I've made up mind, I know in my heart of hearts that I'd never forgive myself if I didn't give Denver one more chance. For the sake of my peanut. And for myself.
The bathroom door locks just as the door to my room swings open, Lachlan and Callum shadowing the doorway, their faces a mixture of anger and pain, their eyes wide with worry.
"What are you guys doing here?" I ask, bolting straight up in my bed.
The bathroom door slams open and Denver strides out, a scowl on his face as he takes in my expression. He immediately positions himself between my brothers and me, which is probably not a great move, considering that my brothers' eyes narrow, their faces both taking on aggressive expressions.
"Who the hell are you?" Denver asks them, placing his outstretched hand behind him, warning me to stay back.
As if I could go somewhere.
"This the guy?" Callum bites out, his Scottish brogue stronger than I’ve ever heard it, his voice injected with venom.
Before I can respond one way or the other, Lach swings at Denver, catching him off guard, his fist glancing off Den's cheek.
Den falters but catches himself. Swiping the back of his hand against his cheek, he stares at Lachlan and chuckles, the sound low and dangerous. He widens his stance and tilts his head, studying my brothers. And while I can't read the expression on his face because his back is to me, the way Lachlan shuffles tells me everything I need to know. Denver Kane is fierce as hell. And no one, really no one, should cross him.
"Come at me again," Den says finally, his voice low and slow, as if he's bored. "Come at me again and I promise you, you’ll be laid up in the room next door. Now, who the hell are you, and why are you bothering my girl?"
Both of my brothers open their mouths, but Den raises his hand, cutting them off. Turning to me, Denver asks, "You okay?"
I nod.
"You want them here, or you want me to make them leave?"
Callum mutters a string of profanities under his breath that Denver ignores.
"They can stay. They're my brothers," I say, my voice smaller than I’d like it to be. I'm trembling and not at all from fear, but from the overwhelming feeling of everything that has happened in the past twenty-four hours. Why are my brothers here? How did they know where to find me? I never even told them I'm pregnant. Did Mom finally spill the beans?
"Brothers, huh?" Denver turns back around, his posture casual and his voice flat. "You're her brothers? Why the hell are you stressing her out? She's on goddamn bed rest; she doesn't need this."
I roll my eyes at that. Like Denver should be talking about my stress levels. Still, it's good to see that he has my back, especially after everything that's happened recently.
Callum's eyes widen as Lach strides to my side, his shoulder brushing against Denver's in a way to check him without actually checking him. A male pissing contest. How ridiculous.
"What happened, Sisi?" Lachlan asks quietly, sitting on the edge of my bed. His eyes are wide with concern, swimming with worry and sadness and hurt. How could you not tell me? His eyes accuse me, but his words are kind.
"I'm fifteen weeks pregnant," I admit aloud for the first time to my brothers.
Callum draws in a sharp breath as Lachlan's eyes close as if in pain.
"Last night, I started bleeding and came here, to the ER. I have placenta previa, which means that the placenta is partially blocking my cervix. While nothing is wrong with the baby, my doctor has recommended moderate bed rest."
"Are you okay? Is…is the baby all right?" Callum asks, his brogue thick, his voice shakier than I've ever heard it. He's standing behind Lachlan now, his eyes glued to my abdomen.
"Yes. We're fine."
"You scared the shit out of us," Lachlan admits, his eyes studying me. "We flew in this morning. I don't know; I knew something was off. You sent me that email about taking the job and then radio silence. Mom tried to talk us out of it, saying you’re just busy and stressed with work but you’ve been weird for weeks now. We got to James's and shit, there's blood all over your sheets, in your bathroom," he pauses, steadying the shake in his voice. "I thought you were, I don't know what the fuck I thought. Taken? Attacked? I—God, we called every freaking hospital."
"That's why we came in here so aggressively. We were relieved we found you and that you're relatively okay," Callum continues.
"I'm fine. I didn't know you were coming. I didn't know."
"We know, Sisi. We didn't even know we were coming." Callum smiles at me gently. "We're just glad you're all right."
"Y'all really didn't know that Sierra's pregnant?" Den's voice interrupts from behind my brothers, and they both turn to glare at him.
"Had no idea." Lachlan's voice is sharp, partially out of concern for me and partially because his punch barely caused Denver to wince.
Den nods, as if processing this new information. "I'm Denver," he says finally, holding out a hand to Lachlan and Callum. "Denver Kane."
Callum shakes his hand first, smoothing the way for Lachlan. They both introduce themselves.
"Wait a minute," Lachlan says after a moment. "Kane? Are you related to Daisy Kane?"
"She's my sister."
Lach regards Denver curiously, his head tilted to the side. "Sorry
I hit you, man. But then again, not really because I didn't even know you and my sister were dating."
Denver nods, “Understandable.” He says as if being punched in the face is water under the bridge.
At that moment, the door to my room swings open. And, God, I've never been more relieved to see Daisy and Carter in my life.
Or the bags of food in their hands.
"Hey y'all," Daisy greets my brothers brightly.
I settle back against my pillows, knowing she's about to handle this...and all the boys present.
26
Denver
I could kiss my sister for choosing this moment in time to walk back into Sierra's hospital room and crack the tension with her easy smile and drawl.
"I didn't know y'all were coming, or we would have grabbed more lunch. But there should be plenty." She holds up the brown paper bags with a sandwich shop emblazoned across the side.
Callum steps forward to take the bags from my sister and shakes Carter's hand, introducing himself. He smiles down at Daisy with an easy affection and presses a kiss to her cheek. "It's good to see you, Dais."
"You too, Cal. Hey Lach." Daisy steps around Callum, kissing Lachlan.
It's weird to see my sister controlling the situation, making sense of a scenario that is straight up crazy at this moment.
"Hey," Lachlan says back, his eyes accusing as they pierce Daisy with the same hurt they looked at Sierra with.
Daisy shrugs, offering him a gentle smile, as though interpreting the look.
"Why don't we sit down, have some lunch, and talk?" she says to the room at large.
Everyone glances to Sierra, who has been extremely quiet since Daisy and Carter entered the room.
"I'd like that," Sierra announces, smiling at my sister with such warmth and gratitude that I want to hug the both of them.
"Great," Daisy says as if it's settled, even though no one else has spoken.
But within seconds, we all spring into action, rearranging chairs, unpacking lunch bags, and passing out sodas.
Once we're all settled and seated around Sierra's bed, the steady beeps of her monitors serving as background noise, Daisy whispers something to Sierra, who nods and looks at each of us. Addressing the room, she says, "So, Denver and I are having a baby."
Carter chuckles, Lachlan shoots me a glare, and Callum mumbles a "congratulations." I take Sierra's hand in mine and look at her brothers.
"So, I know y'all don't know me. Or what you do know about me is probably crap. But Sierra and I are in this together, all of it. And while we didn't expect this to happen, it did. And we’re really happy about it. We’re together, we're having a baby, and we're going to be parents. Understand?" I say this with a confidence and bravado I don't feel, given my shitty behavior toward Sierra this past week. Still, I need her brothers to know I'm serious about my role as a dad, about taking care of their sister, even as Sierra and I work through our own issues.
Lachlan's jaw tightens and Callum's eyes narrow, as they both look me over. Their eyes catch on my long hair, several days worth of scruff, and bright ink. They take in my appearance, and I know what they're thinking—he's trash, he's beneath you, what were you thinking? But when I turn to Sierra, her eyes are wide and shimmering, dark orbs of black diamonds. Her lips curl upwards at the ends, and she offers me the first true smile since I screwed everything up between us. And right now, that's all that matters.
I don't need approval or permission from Sierra's brothers to watch out for this girl, to love my baby. I don't need them at all. I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice to be on good terms, but it's not a necessity.
"All right, so let me get this straight," Lachlan finally speaks, his accent a strange American-British hybrid. It’s weird because Sierra doesn’t have an accent at all and sounds completely American. "You and my sister are together and having a baby that you plan to raise together?”
"Yes," Sierra and I say in unison, our voices unwavering.
"Then why have we never heard about you?” Lachlan asks, his voice hard. He stares at me, but I don't see any hate in his eyes, just concern for his sister.
"It’s still new.” Sierra offers. “I didn’t anticipate getting pregnant and things with Denver and I sort of developed from there. I wasn’t ready to tell you, Lach. I’m sorry.” Sierra’s voice shakes at the end and I can tell she and her brother are really close. Crap. That means I have to make more of an effort to be on good terms with him.
"But you’re for real?” He asks again, directing his question to me.
"One-hundred percent." I say, feeling Sierra's gaze swing to my profile. "I'm for real. I’m in love with Sierra. Even though I have a stupid way of showing it, and I nearly messed the whole thing up." I look at her. "It's us. Me and you and our baby and that's the end of it."
Daisy turns to me, her eyes wide with excitement, before her gaze darts back to Sierra.
I squeeze Sierra's fingers and look right into her wide, chocolate eyes. "I love you, Sierra Grace Begay. I'm in love with you. And I'm not letting you go. I'm not letting our baby go. We're in this together, and I mean for all of it. Feel me?"
She nods, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears and her skin glowing. She laughs, the sound sweet and feminine, before tilting forward and catching my lips with hers. She tastes like cherry Chapstick and hope. She tastes like home, and I know now that all the stupid shit of my past doesn't even matter because it led me to right now; it brought me to her. And I'm never letting go.
Because let's be honest, guys like me don't get chances like this too often. And this girl is willing to give me a do-over after I messed it all up once.
Carter slow claps from behind me, and I flip him the bird. He chuckles in his easygoing manner. I pull away from Sierra, our noses touching for a brief moment before I press one last kiss to her forehead.
Daisy is practically squealing. "Now, we're going to be sisters for real!" She jumps way ahead, clasping her hands together in front of her face, dreamlike. Carter's chuckle turns into a full-blown laugh as a brief moment of panic flickers through me. And it's not because I can't imagine or don't want to be married to the beautiful girl sitting next to me, it’s because I can’t remember what I did with Mom’s gemstone. Carter gives me a knowing look and I relax instantly.
"All right then." Lachlan nods, holding out a hand to me. "It's good to meet you, Denver."
Huh? I shake his hand, eyeing him skeptically. What the hell caused this change in behavior? My suspicions rise as I study his relaxed posture and almost smile.
"It's going to take us some time to find our footing," he says finally. "But if you love my sister and are really going to be here for her and the baby, then who the hell am I to judge you for being a man who takes care of your family? I wanted to make sure you were for real."
Carter snorts again behind my back, and I can picture him texting a play-by-play to Taylor to fill her in on all that's going down in this hospital room. I swear the two of them together are worse than a gaggle of old ladies at a hair salon.
"I understand," I say instead to Lachlan because I do get it. If Daisy were Sierra, I'd be pinning the guy down with my nastiest glare until I figured out his intentions. No one wants their sister to make a life mistake. And good guys look out for their girls. Sisters included.
"Congratulations, man," Callum says, his grip not quite as hard as Lachlan's, his expression less severe, his accent full blown Scottish. "We'll have to grab beers sometime and get to know each other."
"That'd be cool," I agree, knowing that while I don't care one way or the other if Sierra's brothers like me, she does. And man, I also know I'd do pretty much anything for this girl.
It's funny, really, how one moment, one situation, one blink, can change everything. I knew I had feelings for Sierra. Hell, I've had them for years. But from the moment she called me to tell me she was expecting, I knew my feelings for her were more serious than I ever admitted to myself. I wanted to be here for the baby, m
y baby, no doubt. But I also wanted to be here, to show up, for her.
My conversation with Darren made me question myself, made me question everything. I hate that I let him have some control. His threat, whether it's for real or not, rattled me. It made me react the way he wanted without thinking things through logically. That, right there, is another indication that my feelings for Sierra are for real. I've never been really rattled by Darren, not the way Carter has. And yet, I was willing to throw my whole relationship, my whole future, with Sierra away because of some bullshit Darren Kane spewed?
And then last night, Jesus, was it just last night? Having Daisy shake me awake and tell me that Sierra was bleeding and on the way to the hospital literally made my world stop. It stopped, and the only thing I could think about was getting to her. She became my everything. And while I've known it for a while, I'm ready to admit it to the whole freaking world. I'm in love with Sierra Begay. And we're having a baby.
Now I just need for her to agree to marry me. But I need to take that slow, earn back her trust, show her she can’t count on me. That I’m one-hundred-percent in. Forever.
Daisy's arms wrap around me, and she presses a kiss to my cheek. "I'm proud of you," she says it quietly, so only I can hear her, and it warms me from the inside out. Because I've never been much to be proud of, not for a long, long time. And now, I'm having a baby. And I want to be worthy of him or her. I want to be worthy for my family.
I want to be enough.
And I will be.
27
Sierra
It's late when I'm dismissed from the hospital. My brothers and Daisy and Carter went to dinner about an hour ago, so Denver could help me get discharged from the hospital and settled in at home without a bunch of people hovering around.
It's quiet between the two of us, but it's comfortable, natural. He speaks to all my doctors, asks a string of relative questions, and even taps some notes out on his phone. Once he has a bag filled with prenatal vitamins, pamphlets on bed rest, and books with Sudoku and crossword puzzles, he hails a taxi to take me home.
