by Jamie Begley
At a curse behind Train, Ginny poked her head around him to see Dalton.
“I mean, I was getting them for Sex Piston.”
“Where are they?” Dalton exploded.
Ginny jumped. Trudy had never mentioned Dalton had anger issues. “In the back seat.”
Gavin sent him a scorching glare. “Don’t yell at her.”
Dalton lowered his voice to a reasonable tone. “I meant the girls.”
“In the dining room.”
Dalton stalked off.
“Don’t forget to take the pot stickers,” she reminded him.
Both Train and Gavin placed themselves in front of Ginny.
Ginny rolled her eyes at them, stretching her neck so she could look between the two men to make sure Dalton retrieved the pot stickers.
The slam of the car door answered the question for her.
“Dalton,” Ginny called out when she saw him heading toward the house with the large carton of Chinese takeout. “At least let her have a couple before you throw them out.”
“Be quiet,” Gavin hissed.
Ginny was about to take exception to Gavin’s rudeness when Viper and Knox placed themselves beside Train and Gavin. From their fierce expressions aimed at Dalton, Ginny had to think twice about saying anything more to her brother-in-law.
The slam of the front door had the men around her relaxing.
“I’m going to call Zoey and get her to call Dalton. Trudy didn’t tell me Dalton had such a bad temper.”
Gavin gave her a narrowed-eyed stare that had her scooting away from him.
“Train, what distracted you that Ginny was able to slip out?”
“She told me that Killy is pregnant.”
Ginny hastily ducked her head, trying to divert Gavin’s attention. “How’s my arm?”
“Seems to be a strain.” Train opened his bag and took out a box. Pulling out a sling, he put it on her. “You need an X-ray to make sure.”
“Congratulations, brother.” Viper and Knox both slapped Train when he was done adjusting the sling.
“Thanks.” Train grinned. “I was giving Killy hell for not being the first one in the garage when the shots went off. Sorry, brother, I fucked up.”
While Gavin didn’t give Train good wishes on the pregnancy, he did say, “Not your fault. I should have given you and the others the heads-up that Ginny has a tendency to get her ass in trouble.”
Ginny gaped at him. “You’re blaming this on me?”
“You wouldn’t have been hurt if you stayed inside the house. I told you to stay in there before I left the house. You promised me you would stay out of trouble for a month. I asked for two days and got less than two hours.” He turned to the other man. “She good to go, Train?”
“Yes.”
Gavin lifted her into his arms as Train took his bag and went back into the house.
Walking by Greer, Gavin stopped. “Forget the Escalade. Go to the car dealership and pick out any vehicle you want.”
“Can’t do that. I was just doing my duty, wasn’t I, Knox?” Greer shoved his hands in his back pockets as he rocked back and forth on the heels of his boots.
Knox remained silent.
“Wasn’t I?” Greer yelled out as if Knox was ten feet away instead of a couple inches.
Knox stomped over to Greer. “Ginny’s damn lucky you didn’t kill her. The gun could have gone off when you shot him.”
“No, it couldn’t have. He was out of bullets.” Greer smirked.
“How in the fuck do you know that? He had his back to you; you couldn’t see his gun, much less know how many bullets he had left.”
“I just knew.” Greer shrugged.
Knox was so angry that his eyes nearly bulged out of his eyes. “You just knew?”
“Yeah.”
Knox walked over to the dead gunman, picked up the gun, opened the chamber, and then clicked it closed. “You can have your job back. And take your pick of the Escalades. I’ll write it off as overtime.” Knox sounded like he wanted to have a good cry.
Ginny buried her face in Gavin’s shoulder to keep from laughing as Gavin moved to carry her toward the sheriff’s Bronco.
Ginny raised her head when she realized Gavin wanted to leave. “I need to go in to say good-bye to everyone.”
“I’ll text Dalton when we get to the hospital. You’re not going into that house for a while.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not safe.”
“I don’t see why not.”
“Then look around.”
“They were here to kill me?”
Dalton’s lawn had a line of men handcuffed and on their knees. She had counted four bodies being loaded into the coroner vans, as a white sheet was placed on the one on the ground.
“Yes.”
“Dalton’s never going to let me visit Trudy again, is he?”
“Not in this lifetime.”
“Gavin, I can walk.” Ginny stopped Gavin when he would have lifted her from Knox’s vehicle.
Remaining close, he watched every move she made as she got out and they walked toward the hospital entrance. “I’ll register you in. Go ahead and have a seat.”
“I left my purse at Trudy’s. You need my insurance information.”
“I’ll have one of the brothers bring it over. Go sit.”
Mumbling to herself about arrogant men, she found two empty seats in the waiting room. There were only a couple of people waiting to be seen.
Gavin carried the clipboard over to her, and Ginny answered the questions as Gavin filled out the paperwork. They were finishing when Knox came in, carrying her purse and another clipboard. Taking a seat next to Gavin, Knox handed Ginny her purse. “I need to get a statement about what happened.”
Reaching into her purse for her insurance card, she handed it to Gavin. Jolting down the information, he then carried the clipboard back to the desk before returning.
Gavin wrote out a statement for her, describing what had taken place, when her name was called. As she stood, Gavin started to as well. “Stay and finish your statement. They’re not going to let you in the X-ray room,” she told him.
“I’ll find you when I’m done,” he agreed.
“No one is allowed back with the patients,” the nurse interjected. “I’ll keep you appraised of your wife’s status.”
Ginny gave Gavin a dirty look for telling the nurse that they were married, before she followed the nurse through a side door.
Escorted into a small curtained-off room with a hospital bed, the nurse nodded toward a hospital gown that was laying on the bedside table. “Go ahead and change into the gown. The doctor will be with you shortly.”
“Thank you.”
Ginny one-handedly managed to remove her clothes, and just as she sat on the bed the doctor came through the curtain.
“Mrs. James. I’m Dr. Griffin.”
“Ms. Bellamy,” Ginny corrected the female doctor coming to her side.
The doctor looked down at her clipboard in confusion. “Excuse me. I must have the wrong room. Let me check—”
“You have the right room but wrong last name,” Ginny verified. “My boyfriend filled out my paperwork. I’m afraid he put the cart before the horse. I’m sorry for the confusion.”
The attractive doctor maintained her professional behavior, yet Ginny could see curiosity glinting in her eyes. Placing the clipboard on the bedside table, the doctor began examining her arm. “Your chart shows your arm was hurt. How did the injury occur?”
“My arm was twisted behind my back when he fell, and I landed on top of him with my arm under me,” Ginny explained.
“Was the one who hurt you the same one who listed your name wrong?” The doctor’s tone grew serious. “I can put you in touch with a someone who can help if you’re in danger from your partner.”
“Gavin would never hurt me. If anything, he’s overprotective. If you can recommend someone to help me with that problem, that would be useful.
”
The doctor’s professionalism broke as she laughed.
Ginny had taken an immediate liking to the doctor. She had the same gentle, caring attitude that Willa had. She placed her at Winter’s age, yet the woman didn’t look like either woman. The doctor was barely over five feet, Ginny guessed, with her brown hair pulled back. The most prominent feature on her face were the large glasses she wore.
“Then who hurt your arm?”
“A car thief.” Ginny left out the intent behind the crime. “He was trying to steal a friend’s car.”
“This happened in Treepoint?”
“A few miles from here.”
“First one I’ve heard about here since I’ve been here. Nothing goes on here other than the deputy who’s made it his life’s mission to catch every speeder in town, and one of the nurses told me there is a motorcycle club, but I haven’t seen anyone I would consider a biker in the two weeks I’ve been here. My brother used to ride a motorcycle. I’ll have to ask if he still does.”
“Oh … they’re around.” Ginny hid her amusement. “You’ll probably run into one of them sooner or later.”
The doctor picked up her clipboard. “We’ll have to get an X-ray of your arm. I’ll come back when I receive the results. Is there any chance you are pregnant?”
“No. I thought it may be possible, but I got my period this morning.”
“I’ll order a pregnancy test, just to be certain, before you go to X-ray. Many women experience a light period during the early stages of their pregnancies.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll send the nurse in with the test.”
“Thanks.”
“It was nice meeting you, Ginny. We’ll have you on your way soon. Have you made a report to the sheriff’s office about your injury and attempted car theft?”
“My boyfriend is making the report to the sheriff in the waiting room.”
“Good. I hope the carjacker didn’t get away?”
“No, he didn’t. The deputy you were talking about took care of him.”
“That’s good to know. Greer caught him?”
“Yes.”
“He’s given me three tickets. I’m sad to say I underestimated his ability. I thought he was just being a pain to fill his quota.”
Ginny couldn’t let the doctor leave without giving her the full truth. Treepoint was a small town. It was only a matter of time before someone told the doctor about him.
“Greer doesn’t have quotas to fill. He just enjoys being a jerk.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ginny studied the hand-drawn map in her good hand as she walked along the stakes and strings that Gavin had used to mark where their house would be built. Shamelessly playing the sympathy card a day after having a gun pointed at her head and having her arm sprained, she took full advantage of the men trying to please her.
“Well? Is this how you want it?” Gavin asked.
Ginny lowered the map, biting her lip in indecision. “I’m thinking. Are you happy with the layout?”
“I’ve been happy with the last three of your plans. That didn’t stop you from changing your mind.”
“There’re too many plans to choose from.” She pulled out her phone. “How do you think this one would look?”
Silas, Isaac, and Matthew all groaned when she showed them the next plan she was considering.
Stepping over one of the strings, Gavin gave her brothers a quelling look before taking the phone and studying the plans. “You said you wanted a one story. This plan has two.”
Ginny settled her sling more comfortably on her shoulder. “This would give us a larger master bedroom.”
“You can have a larger master bedroom with the plan we’ve already staked out. We won’t need four bedrooms, anyway. Three spare bedrooms are more than enough. You have enough family living nearby, and any extra guests can stay with them or at the club.”
Ginny took her phone back from Gavin and walked around the area that had been marked off as the four men watched her.
“You could half the size of the laundry room,” Silas suggested. “It would be the size of the one in my house, and it would be next to the master bedroom, which would be convenient when you have children.”
“I’ve always wanted a big laundry room, with a folding table that can be used as a craft table,” she said wistfully.
“Then I agree with Gavin. Three spare bedrooms should be enough … depending on how many children you’re planning on having.”
“Two,” Gavin said firmly.
Ginny looked at her phone again. She really didn’t want a two-story home.
“Ginny … how many children are you wanting to have?”
“Depends on the man I marry. The man I might marry could be so old that he might want two. On the other hand, I might marry a younger man who wants to give me as many as I want,” Ginny said unconcernedly, ignoring Gavin’s heated expression.
“I want a house that can grow with however many I’m blessed with.”
“I can tell you one fucking thing. You won’t be blessed with a younger husband,” Gavin snarled.
“Then it’s a good thing whomever I marry isn’t your decision,” she said sagely.
“The hell it isn’t, since I’m the one you’re married to.”
“Silas, did you give me away at my wedding?”
Her brother gave Gavin a sympathetic grimace. “No.”
Ginny glared at her brothers, daring them to lie. “Isaac, Matthew, were you at my wedding?”
“No,” they mumbled.
Ginny scrolled down the list of plans. “I want to keep the big trees, but if we get rid of this big oak”—Ginny placed her hand on the oak tree—“would it give me enough room for another bedroom?”
“Yes,” Silas answered, placing a staying hand on Gavin’s shoulder when he would have reached for her as she breezed past him to walk toward where the laundry room had been staked off.
Placing her phone in her pocket, she twirled. “I love it! I can hardly wait until it’s built!” She stopped twirling. “How long do you think it will take to build?”
“Two to four months, depending on the weather.” His eyes latched on to what she was doing with her sling. “Is your arm hurting?”
“No. I wouldn’t even know it was sprained if I didn’t accidentally try to do something with it. The sling is what is bothering me. The material on my shoulder is cutting into me.”
“Let me adjust it and see if it helps.” Gavin solicitously began adjusting the length so it sat easier on her shoulder. “When we get back to the club, I’ll find something to pad it with.”
“Thank you.” Ginny put her good arm through Gavin’s, then leaned against him and gave him an appreciative smile.
“That twirl make you dizzy?”
“Nope, just appreciating I have a big, strong man to lean on.”
Matthew made gagging noises. “I’m out. I have work to do.” He stepped over the string to stand next to her. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt worse than a sprained arm yesterday.” Ruffling her hair, he smoothed it back down before dropping his hand. “How long did the doctor say until it’s healed?”
“Three to eight weeks. The doctor said it was just a mild strain, so she estimated about three to four, but not to pick up anything heavy for over eight weeks.”
Matthew closed one eye, pinning her with a suspicious look. “You sure?”
“I am.” Ginny straightened off Gavin. “Why?”
“When we were kids and went to bring in firewood, you would only bring in one or two logs, leaving us to haul the majority.”
“One of the few perks of having so many strong brothers is to get them to do the heavy lifting.”
Matthew gave her a side hug, making sure not to jar her arm. “When I was younger, you told me it was to take out the trash.”
Isaac moved closer. “She told me it was to cut bugs.”
“All valid reasons.” Ginny grinned.
Is
aac gave her a half hug before letting her go. “Let us know when you want to get started, and we’ll order the lumber and have it ready to go.”
“I can handle all of that,” Gavin said. “After I leave here, I’m going to order what we’ll need. I’ll text Silas when the materials will be delivered. I’ll also order a metal shed where we can store the lumber and tools.”
“What kind of shed?” Matthew’s interest piqued. Ginny could tell that Silas and Isaac were just as interested.
“Fairly good size. Why?”
“You need any help picking one out, I can go with you,” Matthew offered.
“Me, too,” Isaac chimed in.
Ginny rolled her eyes at her brothers’ eagerness.
“You’ve stepped into it now,” Ginny warned Gavin. “Sheds are porn candy to my brothers.”
Silas shook his head at her. “She’s exaggerating.” He nudged her out of the way to place himself between Gavin and her. Placing a companionly arm around Gavin, he began edging him away from her as Isaac and Matthew flanked his other sides. “What size are you thinking about getting? Plastic, wood, or metal?”
“Does it matter?”
Ginny knew Gavin was done for at his inquiry.
“For sure.” Matthew nodded authoritatively. “The size is important, too. You don’t want it too small, or you’ll have to buy another one. Size is important.”
Yes, it was. Ginny had to concur with that one.
Restless, she moved away, trying to keep her impatient gaze away from Gavin. Was it her imagination, or was he getting better-looking every day? Today, he was wearing worn-out grey jeans that snugly accentuated his body, and the long-sleeved black thermal was as soft as butter. She should know, since she’d been using every opportunity to rub against it since they dressed this morning.
Ginny went around the staked-out area again, imagining the home for years she’d longed for. A home centered with her brothers around her, with a man she loved more than life itself. She wanted to pinch herself she was so happy. With the happiness came fear it could be taken away just as easily. Each time in her life that she had found happiness, it had been callously ripped away. Her hand unconsciously went to her belly, fear rising that she’d be faced with losing her family again, and this time the loss would be unrecoverable.
