Unworthy

by Evans, A. K.

  “She’s got the baby with her, though,” Pierce reasoned. “It’s pretty nasty out right now. She probably just doesn’t want to be on the phone and is concentrating on the road.”

  Shaking my head, I insisted, “No, something is wrong. I need to go out and look for her.”

  “I’ll drive you,” he immediately offered.

  We started walking to the front door and passed by Lorenzo. “Is there more stuff in the truck?” he asked.

  “Delaney’s not answering her phone. She should have been back by now. I need to go look for her.”

  “Cruz and I will let the girls know and follow behind you,” Levi advised.

  I gave him a nod. Pierce and I took off.

  Just the short journey down the driveway was brutal. I had no doubts the back roads leading to the house were going to be horrific.

  “We’ve got to go faster, Reynolds,” I pleaded when he pulled out onto the road and didn’t take off speeding.

  “If she needs our help, we won’t do her any good if we’re in a ditch,” he warned.

  I knew he was right, but all I could think about was getting to Delaney as quickly as possible.

  We hadn’t been in Pierce’s truck more than five minutes—hadn’t traveled more than a mile and a half from the house—when I saw the tire tracks. Someone had been traveling in the same direction as us and lost control.

  “Look,” I exclaimed, pointing out the windshield.

  “They’re going away from the house,” Pierce noted. “Where do they end?”

  I was looking ahead, trying to see if there was a disabled vehicle on the road, but saw nothing.

  Pierce suddenly slammed on the brakes and muttered, “Fuck.”

  My head snapped to the side where I saw Pierce looking out his window. That’s when I saw the rear end of Delaney’s car sticking out from a snow bank. The entire car, from behind the back door forward, was completely covered in snow.

  We immediately bolted out of the truck and over to the snow-covered vehicle. Once we were at the back of the car, I banged on the back of it.

  “Delaney!” I called out.

  I tried opening the back hatch door, but it was locked.

  “Michaels,” Pierce called. “You hear that?”

  I stopped and listened. Tate was in there and he was screaming. My eyes widened.

  I looked at Delaney’s car and back at Pierce’s truck. “Do you have anything in there we can pull this out with?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

  “Go back to the house,” I ordered. “Find whatever you can that we can use to get them out of here. I’m digging until you get back.”

  I turned and started working to remove the snow from around the car with my bare hands, completely unfazed by the cold.

  Just then, I heard Levi pull up. The minute the guys hopped out, I yelled out, “We need to pull her out of here.”

  “Back your truck up, Reynolds!” Levi ordered as I watched him run back to his.

  When I turned my attention back to the snow, I heard Cruz calling for police and an ambulance.

  I looked up and saw Lorenzo in the same spot as me on the opposite side of the car. He was going at the snow with his bare hands, too.

  “Fuck, listen to him,” he bit out.

  Shaking my head, feeling a pit grow in my stomach at Tate’s screams, I maintained, “It’s good he’s crying, right? I think that’s better than hearing nothing.”

  I felt like I’d been digging at the snow for hours and getting nowhere.

  Suddenly, Levi yelled out, “De Luca! Michaels! Back up, he’s going to pull them out.”

  That’s when I saw they’d attached one end of a tow strap to the back of Delaney’s car and the other to Pierce’s truck.

  Slowly, Pierce drove his truck forward in the opposite direction of Delaney’s car. The strap went taut. Almost effortlessly, the truck hauled Delaney’s car backward out of the snow bank.

  Levi called out to Pierce, letting him know to stop.

  My hand immediately went to Tate’s door.

  Locked.

  I looked in Delaney’s window. She was sitting there crying, looking up at me.

  Relief consumed me, seeing her awake.

  “Unlock the doors, Delaney.”

  She winced as she reached her right arm across her body to press the lock. I opened her door, but before I could say anything and confirm she was okay, she ordered, “Get him out.”

  I moved to the back door, opened it up, and was assaulted by Tate’s harsh, desperate cries. “Alright, little man. We’re here. I’ve got you,” I assured him as I worked to unfasten his belt.

  Once I had him in my arms, I moved back to check on Delaney. Lorenzo was there already crouched down. That’s when I noticed that Delaney hadn’t moved to the back to get Tate because two pieces of the car’s frame had collapsed around her foot and she was stuck.

  Tate continued to scream.

  “He needs to eat,” Delaney explained.

  “Alright. We’ll get you out and get him taken care of,” I stated.

  “Trent, please. I’ve been listening to him scream like that for at least the last half hour. He was fussy five minutes after I left Gloria’s. Please, let me feed him while you figure out how to get me out of here.”

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  “You have to help me, though,” she instructed. “Something is wrong with my left arm and I can’t move it. I can nurse him on my right side, but I can’t free myself quick enough with one working arm.”

  Lorenzo stood, took Tate from my arms, and urged, “Help her.”

  I leaned in, unbuckled Delaney’s seatbelt, and unzipped her jacket. I freed her right arm pretty easily before carefully sliding it down her left arm. She winced in pain as I did it.

  “Sorry, sweet cheeks,” I muttered.

  Delaney was wearing a sweatshirt, so I held on to the sleeve while she pulled her right arm through. Lifting it up, I situated it over her shoulder. It was still extremely cold out and I didn’t want her out in nothing. Under her sweatshirt, Delaney had on a camisole.

  “Just slide the straps down my arm,” she implored.

  Doing as she asked, I slid the strap of her shirt and her bra down her arm. Once her arm was free, I turned to get the still-screaming Tate from Lorenzo. Bending back into the car, I pulled the fabric from her breast, freeing it, and positioned Tate. He latched on in seconds and ate fanatically. After I settled Tate in her arm, Delaney dropped her head back to the headrest and closed her eyes.

  “Baby, tell me what hurts,” I begged.

  “My foot and my left arm.”

  “Your airbag deployed,” I noted.

  “It knocked me out,” she stated. “I don’t know how long I was out, but I don’t think it was that long.”

  “What happened?” I asked.

  She opened her eyes and looked up at me. “I was driving so carefully because the roads were so bad. But this guy in a red pickup truck was coming from the opposite direction. He lost control. I did what I could to try to avoid being hit, but he smashed right into me. My car spun—I’m not sure how many times—until it eventually stopped in the snow bank.”

  She paused a moment.

  “Wait. Is that guy okay?”

  I shrugged. “We weren’t looking for anyone else. We saw you and stopped. I’ll tell the guys to drive down the road a bit and check.”

  I stood up and assessed the situation.

  “What are you thinking?” Cruz asked.

  “I’m thinking we need to figure out how we’re going to free her foot, so we can get the two of them out of the cold.”

  “I’ve got a blanket in my truck,” Levi declared. “I’ll grab it for them.”

  “Even if we could figure out a way to get all five of us on that, I’m not sure we’d be able to pull it. Her foot is wedged deep in there,” Lorenzo noted.

  Levi returned with a blanket. I took it from him and covered Delaney and Tate w
ith it.

  Seconds later, we heard the sirens. Thankfully, Cruz had given enough detail when he made the call that not only did the police and an ambulance arrive, but they also sent a fire truck.

  It wasn’t long after they showed up on the scene with tools when they managed to free Delaney’s foot. During that time, I relayed the information to the officers of what Delaney told me about the accident and another vehicle being involved. Sure enough, quite a way down the road, the officers found the truck with the injured driver still inside.

  Apparently, Tate wore himself out with all his crying because after he’d gotten some food in his belly, he fell asleep. I took him from his mom, fixed Delaney’s clothes, and stepped back so the paramedics could get her loaded onto the stretcher.

  Turning to the guys, I stated, “I’m riding with him and her to the hospital. Can someone get my truck and bring it over?”

  “We’ll take care of it,” Pierce assured me.

  “Thanks.”

  It didn’t take long for the medics to get Delaney out and on the stretcher. Once they had her in the ambulance, I climbed in with Tate.

  It wasn’t until the three of us were together in the back of the ambulance when I finally started to breathe a sigh of relief.

  “Did he give you a problem going down?” I asked from my spot on one end of the couch in our new great room.

  Trent sat down beside me and lifted my legs to drape them over his. He shook his head and answered, “Not at all. He was exhausted.”

  It bothered me, after what happened earlier in the day, that I couldn’t be the one to put Tate down for the night. It was our first night in our new home, and I missed out on putting him in his crib. Unfortunately, I had no choice but to let Trent help me because my arm was currently in a sling.

  Hours had passed since Tate and I were taken to the hospital by ambulance. We had been there for a long time being evaluated but were finally released and sent home. Thankfully, I was the only one with minor injuries. And other than his fussiness over not being on his schedule, Tate was perfect.

  “How do you feel?” Trent asked.

  “Tired,” I admitted. “It’s been a long day. And it’s not helping that I’m not sure how I’m going to manage for the next several weeks.”

  “Baby,” Trent started. “I told you not to worry. I already talked to Levi. There’s nothing too crazy happening at the office right now. Everything I need to do there can be done here. I’ll be here to help you out until you’ve had some time to heal.”

  I felt my eyes drifting shut, but a smile spread across my face. “I’m so lucky to have you.”

  “Scared the shit out of me today, Delaney.”

  My eyes shot open. Once Trent had my gaze, he went on, “Never in my life have I ever been so scared. It made me even more grateful everyone was here helping out today.”

  “I’m so happy you have them,” I began. “You have these amazing friends who, for weeks now, have stepped up to the plate to help us with getting this house renovated. And with what happened today, they didn’t hesitate to help finish up with everything here. To top it off, despite the weather, they still took the time to bring your truck to the hospital so we could get home.”

  Trent’s hand, which was resting on my thigh just above my knee, gave me a squeeze.

  I continued, “We came back here, and everything was taken care of. The girls even took care of preparing food for us. Considering there wasn’t anything in the house to make dinner with, that means they went out in this storm and stocked up for us. I couldn’t be happier knowing you have people like that in your life.”

  Trent offered me a grin before he said, “They’re in your life now, too. And Tate’s.”

  I sighed, dropping my head back on the cushion. He was right. They were in my life now, and I wasn’t sure what I’d done to deserve them. Even still, I knew I wouldn’t take them for granted.

  “I can’t believe this is our first night together in our home. This feels so surreal.”

  “It feels like I’ve waited a lifetime for this,” he retorted.

  “Yeah,” I agreed.

  My exhaustion from the day started to take over, and my eyelids drooped. Within seconds, Trent had me in his arms and was carrying me upstairs to our bedroom where he helped me get ready for bed.

  And minutes later, when the lights were out and we were cuddled together, I lamented, “I’m sorry we can’t celebrate our first night.”

  Trent gave me a kiss on the cheek and insisted, “No apology needed, sweet cheeks. You’re here with me, and you and Tate are both safe. That’s all that matters. We’ll celebrate when you’ve had some time to recover.”

  God.

  He was the best man ever.

  “I love you,” I whispered.

  “I love you, too,” he returned.

  Minutes later, I fell asleep. But it wasn’t before I silently thanked my lucky stars that I’d been given a second chance with Trent.

  One Month Later

  “I’m going to go put him down,” I whispered to Trent.

  “I can take him up for you,” he offered quietly.

  Shaking my head, I insisted, “I want to do it.”

  “Okay,” he started. “Are you coming back or are you heading to bed?”

  I offered him a small smile. “I’ll be back.”

  At that, I stood and carried my sleeping boy from the great room upstairs to his bedroom. After giving him a kiss on his cheek, I placed him in his crib. Once I stepped out of his room, I walked into the master bedroom and grabbed Tate’s monitor. Then, I made my way back downstairs.

  It was the middle of January and things were finally settling down for us. Following the accident, I’d been worried about how I was going to manage with Tate and my dislocated shoulder. Of course, as he always does, Trent stepped up big time to help me. Luckily, things were steady for him at the office and all of the cases he was working on were pretty standard, run-of-the-mill PI cases. As a result, he was able to do a lot of work from home while I recovered.

  I was officially unemployed. I had already planned to leave and had given my notice, but I was unable to complete the last week with my injury. When I began to fret, Trent assured me that he had us covered. I quickly let go of any worries I had and did as I promised I’d try to do. I let him fulfill his dream of being able to take care of me. Deep down, I knew I’d heal and be back to working again, so I tried not to let it bother me.

  And the truth was, I knew how much pride and happiness it filled Trent with to be able to provide for us. After everything we’d been through, he deserved to feel that way. Being able to be home with my baby was icing on the cake.

  Christmas came and went. We had the best first Christmas in our new house and Trent went out of his way to make it extra special for all of us.

  Keith had been staying true to his word. Trent still refused to let me drop Tate off on my own, which I didn’t mind. Even though I believed Keith had fully understood just how big of a mistake he’d made to the point I didn’t think he’d ever try to hurt me again, knowing that Trent would be at drop off helped ease any lingering concerns I had. When Christmas time rolled around, I told Keith that I was really hoping to have Tate with us on Christmas morning since it was not only his first Christmas but our first one in the new house. He honored that but asked to have Tate with him on Christmas Eve. I thought that was fair and agreed. Keith surprised me further when he offered to drop Tate off so we wouldn’t need to come back out.

  My father and I were continuing to rebuild our relationship while he developed one with Tate. He was devastated when he heard about the accident Tate and I had been in. It wasn’t until Trent took us over to my dad’s house and he could see with his own eyes that we were okay when he finally began to believe it.

  Since neither my dad nor I could drive for those first couple weeks, Trent picked my dad up from his house a few times a week and brought him over to visit with me and Tate. I loved Trent even more for
his willingness to do that. The more that it happened, the more I saw the respect my father had for Trent grow.

  Now, the lacerations on my foot had finally completely healed. My shoulder was still on the mend, but I was no longer in a sling and feeling stronger every day.

  When I entered the great room, Trent was still sitting on the couch where I’d left him. He glanced over at me and smiled. I walked over, set the monitor down on the coffee table, and sat sideways on the couch, facing him.

  Then, I gave Trent the biggest smile I could muster up.

  He turned off the television, and his brows pulled together before he asked, “What’s that all about?”

  “I got a phone call today,” I shared.

  Trent waited for me to elaborate.

  “I’m officially divorced.”

  His body locked as he silently stared at me. He was quiet so long I began to worry. That worry turned to utter terror when he stood from the couch and walked out of the room.

  I was too stunned by his reaction to move. Apparently, news of my divorce was not the good news I thought it would have been…should have been.

  Moments later, Trent returned. He sat down in front of me and held out a folder.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  “Open it,” he urged me.

  I opened the folder and looked down at the papers inside. Most of what was there was tiny print, but I saw the most important part and knew instantly what this was. When I looked back at Trent, he held a pen out to me.

  “Are you sure?” I confirmed.

  He simply gave me a nod.

  I took the pen from him and signed the papers which made me an owner of the home we’d been living in for the last month. The minute I closed the folder, Trent took it from me, set it on the coffee table, and said, “Welcome home, sweet cheeks.”

  I launched myself forward and threw my arms around his neck. Trent caught me around the waist and turned so his back was against the back of the couch and I was straddling his lap. He let me kiss him but eventually brought his hands up to frame my face.

  “Baby,” he whispered.

  “What?”