Unworthy

by Evans, A. K.

  “Yeah, but they’re calling for a lot of snow. I just want to make sure we get all moved in before the snow really hits so everyone can get home safely.”

  “It’ll be fine,” he insisted. “It’s not supposed to start until later today, and we’re starting early. We’ll get it all done with some time to spare.”

  I took in a deep breath and blew it out. “My priority this morning is the bedrooms, specifically Tate’s. I want to have that all set up and ready to go for him. I’ll work on ours afterward. I just need the muscle moving all the furniture in.”

  “You’ve got that,” Trent started. “We’ll load everything up from here this morning and then we’ll meet you right at the house. The boys and I will unload everything and get Tate’s furniture in his room so you can work on that before we go back and pack up my condo.”

  “That’ll be perfect.”

  Trent, Tate, and I finished breakfast. Then, Trent cleaned up the dishes while I cleaned up Tate. Just as I got myself and Tate ready, there was a knock at the door.

  The boys were right on time. Trent opened the door and in walked Levi, Cruz, and Pierce.

  “De Luca just pulled up,” Cruz noted.

  Trent gave him a nod.

  “Thanks for helping out today, guys,” I stated as I moved close to Trent while holding Tate on my hip.

  “No problem, Delaney,” Pierce insisted.

  “Hey, bud,” Levi addressed Tate, reaching out a hand to my little boy. “You’re going to have a new house today.”

  A bunch of gibberish flew out of Tate’s mouth as a reply causing everyone to laugh.

  Trent gave my hip a squeeze. When I looked up at him, he suggested, “You should probably head over to Gloria’s right now so you can meet us at the house by the time we get there.”

  “Okay. Though I’m pretty sure I’ll be the one there waiting for you guys.”

  He cocked an eyebrow at me. “I’m telling you to go now because I know you’re going to start chatting with Gloria. I figure if you leave now, the likelihood is you’ll get to the house around the same time we do.”

  He wasn’t wrong, so I rolled my eyes at him.

  Trent grabbed Tate’s bag while I bundled up my boy. “Be right back,” he called out to the guys as we moved to the door.

  “I can manage, Trent. Why don’t you get to work?”

  “I will,” he assured me. “As soon as I walk you and Tate out to the car.”

  Figuring it was best not to argue about it and waste any more time, I acquiesced. Just as Trent opened the door to my apartment, Lorenzo’s frame filled the doorway. He greeted us and took a step back to let us through.

  Fifteen minutes later, I was walking through the doorway into Gloria’s house. As always, she scooped Tate up in her arms and smothered him with kisses as she trotted off with him, leaving me right where I stood.

  “I’m doing great. Thanks,” I mumbled.

  “I heard that!” she shouted back.

  Shaking my head through my laughter, I moved into the house after the two of them. Once I reached the living room, I found Gloria and her kids were already giving all their attention to Tate.

  “It’s moving day, girl. What are you still doing here?” she asked, not lifting her attention from my son.

  I shrugged even though she couldn’t see me. “I don’t know. I thought I’d visit with my friend for a minute.”

  Hearing that, she looked up at me and questioned, “Do you have something you want to talk about?”

  I sighed and flopped down on the couch. “Maybe.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “Maybe?”

  “I gave my job my notice this week,” I blurted.

  “Excuse me?”

  Nodding, I semi-repeated, “I went into work on Monday and gave them my two weeks’ notice.”

  She blinked in surprise. “You did this on a whim, or you have another job lined up?”

  “Neither,” I answered. “You remember how I told you about the position that opened up within the company for the interior designer?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, they hired someone else within the company to fill the position. I was really bummed about it that day. The next morning, Trent and I were working at the house and he asked me if I ever considered opening my own business doing what I loved. When I explained that I had responsibilities to tend to, most important of which is a child to provide for, he practically begged me to let him take care of us.”

  Her eyes widened before they lit with delight. “Is this guy even real? Wow, Dee.”

  “I know,” I started. “He’s the most incredible man I’ve ever known. But I’m worried that I shouldn’t have done it. It’s scary. I don’t want him to feel like I’m taking advantage of him, but he’s given me the means to pursue my dream while I am able to stay home with my baby.”

  “What are you worried about?”

  A million thoughts flooded my mind. I worried, “What if I screw up? What if my business venture doesn’t work and I can’t produce an income to contribute? What if…what if something happens to Trent and me?”

  Gloria held her hand up in front of her face, signaling me to stop. When I did, she asked, “Have you spoken to Trent about your fears?”

  Nodding, I replied, “Yes.”

  “And what does he say?”

  “That it’s me. That it’s always been me. And that even if for some ridiculous reason things didn’t work out between us, he’d never just throw me and Tate out without a safe place to go. In fact, once my divorce is final, he’s adding my name to the deed for the house.”

  Happiness swept over Gloria’s features. “I knew it,” she whispered. “I knew it the day he rescued Tate. Then, I knew it when he stood in front of you that day in the office when you went to thank him. When you told me the story about everything between the two of you, I realized what I saw in that office. That man was in love with you. Even when he didn’t know the truth about why you ended things between the two of you, he was still in so deep with you. That man, Delaney, is not a man who’s going to let things go sour between the two of you. That man is a man that’s going to work himself into the ground if he must just to make sure the two of you have everything you need. And I’m not talking about money…though, I have no doubts he’ll take care of that, too.”

  I stared at her, unable to speak.

  “Just go with it, girl. If there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that you always put this little boy first. If something isn’t right for him, you won’t even consider it. Knowing that, you have to know on some level that you believe everything is going to work out between you and Trent. If you didn’t, you never would have given that notice.”

  I swallowed hard.

  She was right.

  My priority was always Tate. If I doubted for one second that this might not be good for him, I never would have done it. I guess I simply needed to hear some reassurance from someone I trusted.

  Apparently, Gloria wasn’t finished. “And you’ve told me everything that happened with your father. If he was so intent on finding you so he could tell you that you belonged with Trent, you’ve got to know that counts for something.”

  She was right about that, too.

  I smiled at her and said, “Thanks, Gloria.”

  “There’s no need to thank me, Dee. You already know all of this,” she insisted. “You’re just scared when you have no reason to be.”

  “I don’t want to screw this up,” I admitted.

  Her voice was gentle when she assured me, “That man who’s loved you all these years won’t let you. Trust that.”

  At those words, I stood from my seat, walked over to my baby, and crouched down to kiss him. Then, I gave my friend a hug. “I love you, Glo. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  She didn’t let it get too sappy. “Go, girl. Move yourself and your little boy in with your man and build the life you deserve.”

  I straightened and smiled at her. “I’ll be ba
ck to get him soon.”

  Then, I saw myself out and drove to the place that I was going to start building the life Tate and I deserved with the man that I loved.

  When I got to the house, I found that Trent was right. He and the guys had pulled up about two minutes before I did. He gave me a knowing look when his eyes met mine. I glared at him. His response was to walk over and kiss me.

  “We’ll get Tate’s crib, changing table, dresser, and clothes upstairs first,” he started. “That way you can get started on his room immediately.”

  Before I had a chance to respond, a truck pulled up the driveway. “Whose truck is that?” I asked.

  “Cruz’s.”

  I turned my head to the side and saw Cruz was already standing there. “But Cruz is already here,” I noted.

  “I’m guessing it’s Lexi.”

  Sure enough, the truck stopped at the top of the driveway and I saw that there wasn’t just one person inside. I watched as Cruz, Levi, and Pierce all walked over to Cruz’s truck. Each of them went to a separate door and opened it. Three women stepped out, kissed their respective guy, and walked toward me.

  I recognized Zara from the flower shop and assumed Lexi was the woman who had driven but hadn’t officially met her or the blonde woman who was currently wrapped up in Levi’s arms.

  “Delaney, you remember Zara?” Trent started. Once I nodded, he went on, “This is Lexi, and this is Elle.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” I said.

  “We’re here to help,” Zara declared. “The boys can do all the heavy lifting, but you don’t want them helping you with getting your kitchen sorted or your clothes put away.”

  “That’s for sure,” Lexi chimed in. “Thankfully, they know it’s useless for them to try, so they don’t even bother.”

  It was so sweet of them to come up and help. “Thank you so much for taking the time to help us.”

  “It’s not a problem,” Elle piped up. “Besides, we heard you have a baby. Levi and I are expecting our first, so I’d love any useful tips you can offer.”

  My eyes widened. Before I could congratulate her, Lexi shrieked, “What?! I’m going to be an aunt?”

  Elle’s face lit up and she nodded.

  Lexi threw her arms around Elle’s shoulders as Cruz moved to his brother and pulled him into a hug. When Lexi stepped back, Zara and I both congratulated Elle before doing the same for Levi. Trent and the rest of the boys followed extending well wishes and congratulatory words to the expectant parents.

  “Inside, out of the cold, sunshine,” Levi ordered.

  “You too, princess,” Cruz told Lexi.

  Zara looked up at Pierce. “Go with the girls, beautiful.”

  Trent didn’t waste any time before adding, “Take the girls up to Tate’s room, sweet cheeks. We’ll be right up with everything.”

  “Okay.”

  I walked into the house and had the girls follow me to Tate’s room. Within minutes, the guys were carrying in the furniture and boxes of clothes. While I gave out orders of where I wanted the furniture, the girls got to work on getting Tate’s clothes put away.

  I jumped in and started arranging picture frames and other decorative pieces I had for his room. The guys unloaded all of the furniture but left it all just inside the front door. Trent’s priority was getting the moving truck unloaded and leaving again so the guys could go load up everything from his condo.

  While the boys were gone, I got to know the girls a little bit better. Obviously, I already knew that Zara had her flower shop, but I also learned that Lexi was a publicist who owned her own public relations firm and that Elle was a singer. Having lived in Windsor all my life, I was surprised I hadn’t heard of her, but I guess it just goes to show just how distracted I’d been the last few years.

  “So you’ve known Trent since you two were in high school?” Elle asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah. We dated for just under a year back then, but I ended things with him. That’s a long, horrible story I’d rather not get into now. I’m just happy we found each other and got past it.”

  “We’re so excited for him,” Lexi shared. “When Cruz told me that he and a couple of the other guys were going to be coming up here to help with the move, I rallied Elle and Zara. We wanted to meet the girl who’s stolen the heart of the guy who saved so many of us.”

  “Saved you?” I wondered.

  “We all have a bit of a different story,” Elle started. “I was dealing with a stalker issue a little while back and Trent played a crucial role in not only figuring out who was stalking me but also making sure I stayed safe while on tour.”

  “There was a massive case not long after Elle’s stalker situation ended that involved a sex slave ring here in Windsor. A friend of mine and I were kidnapped and transported to a location where girls were being held before they were moved to another location. Trent is a genius on the computer and tracked my friend’s phone for as long as he could until the battery died. The guys saved eleven girls that night.”

  After a beat of silence, I whispered, “Wow. I never knew any of that.”

  “Did you hear about the fires?” Zara asked.

  “Yes! I did know about those,” I answered. Realization dawned and I wondered, “Wait…you weren’t affected by those, were you?”

  Shaking her head, she replied, “No. But a good friend of mine was. It was horrible. I didn’t get to see Trent in action on the computer, which is what I’ve heard is his thing, but I got to see him in the field. And he also stepped in to help me out in a situation when my cheating ex-fiancé decided to show up at my shop unannounced. Trent and Cruz refused to let him get anywhere near me.”

  I smiled, proud to hear what Trent had done. “That sounds just like him. I’ve always thought he was a hero, but now I have proof beyond the things he’s done for me.”

  The girls and I completely finished Tate’s room and got a good portion of the clothes hung up and put away in the bedroom I’d share with Trent. Not long after, the boys were back with the stuff from Trent’s condo and food. After everyone ate, the guys moved the bedroom furniture for us.

  “Sweet cheeks?” Trent called.

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s started flurrying. They said once it starts it won’t be long before it really comes down. I think it might be a wise idea to head out and get Tate. By the time you get back, we should have the moving truck all unloaded.”

  I looked outside and saw that it had, in fact, started flurrying. “Okay, that’s probably a good idea.”

  “We’ll take care of the kitchen in the meantime for you,” Elle assured me.

  “Thank you.”

  Trent walked me out, kissed me, and said, “Be careful.”

  “I will.”

  It took me a bit longer than usual to get to Gloria’s because five minutes into my drive, the wind picked up and the snow started coming down a bit heavier. Once I arrived, Gloria had Tate settled on her hip.

  “I didn’t expect you this early,” she stated. “He hasn’t eaten yet, so if he gets fussy, that’s why.”

  Nodding, I advised, “The roads are getting pretty bad, so I just want to get him home first. I’ll feed him as soon as I’m back. Thanks again for watching him, Glo.”

  “Drive safe, Dee.”

  I took Tate and his diaper bag and got him strapped in his seat as quickly as I could. No sooner did I get back on the road when Tate started getting fussy in the back seat.

  “I know you’re hungry, baby,” I called out to him. “Mommy just wants to get you home safely first.”

  Tate didn’t care. He was hungry.

  The driving conditions had deteriorated so quickly, but I managed to do all right on the main roads. That all changed once I got closer to the house and was driving on the back roads. Visibility had been reduced to almost nothing, so I was crawling along barely doing twenty miles per hour. It would take me longer to get there, but I knew if I kept this pace we’d be alright.

  My phone
was ringing in my purse on the passenger’s seat, but I refused to take my attention from the road. I had a feeling it was Trent. As much as I didn’t want him worrying, I wanted Tate and me to arrive in one piece.

  Tate’s crying was getting louder with each minute that passed. I felt awful for him, but I didn’t want to stop on the side of the road. I was worried that if I did, someone might come by a little too quickly and not see us. And since so much snow had fallen over the last couple weeks, there were huge snow banks lining the road, leaving virtually no spot for anyone to pull over anyway.

  I wasn’t more than two miles from the driveway to the house when it happened. A red pickup truck was traveling in the opposite direction, headed toward me when it started sliding. My hands gripped the steering wheel tighter as the truck fishtailed.

  “Oh no,” I murmured. “Please don’t hit us.”

  Tate was screaming now, my phone was ringing again, and I had a truck barreling right toward me. Once I realized the driver wasn’t going to regain control, I tried to swerve out of the way, but it was too late. He hit the front end of my car.

  I held on tight, the car skidding and sliding as it spun around several times. It happened quickly, but it felt like we were moving in slow motion as I watched the white snow surround us. Suddenly, the car stopped, my head flew forward, and everything went black.

  Something was wrong.

  There was not a single doubt in my mind that something was very, very wrong.

  “Michaels?” Pierce called. When I turned to face him, he asked, “What’s going on?”

  I lifted the phone in my hand, pressed my thumb to her name, and held it up to my ear. It rang six times before it went to voicemail.

  Four calls.

  No answer.

  I pulled the phone away, disconnected, and deadpanned, “I think Delaney’s in trouble.”

  He blinked at me in confusion. “What?”

  “She should have been back by now,” I started. “Even adding in extra time considering the weather and her probably driving slow, it’s been too long. And she’s not answering her phone.”