16. Naomi
SIXTEEN
Naomi
I was an emotional wreck, but I was desperately trying to hide it. Fiona came over and helped me get ready, which I appreciated. For a moment there, she helped me forget what I was getting ready for. But that only lasted a moment before I was right back to worrying about Walker and when he was going to show up.
It was currently nine at night, and Walker had yet to materialize.
I felt like an idiot, sitting outside on Jackson’s deck with Fiona, Colten, Jackson, and the rest of the Red Stiletto Book Club. Jackson had invited them over for a bonfire—which meant he was pushing me yet again to make friends.
Any other day, I would have appreciated it—er, tolerated it—but tonight this was just an inconvenience. The last thing I wanted was for all of these people to be privy to my reunion with Walker…
If he ever showed up .
I sighed as I glanced toward the road, wondering if he was on it. I pulled out my phone and checked my messages for the millionth time today.
“You okay?” Maggie’s voice drew my attention up.
I hurriedly turned off my phone and stuck it next to my leg as I sat in my chair. “I’m okay,” I said as I offered her a smile.
Her expression told me that she didn’t believe me. Then she glanced in the direction that I’d been staring earlier. “You sure? ’Cause you look like you are waiting for someone.” She shifted a bit as if she, too, was trying to see who might be coming.
I shrugged. There was no way I wanted to get into the nuances of my relationship with Walker. Plus, what would she say if I even suggested he was coming only to have him not show up? I would feel like an idiot.
Maggie’s attention was back on me. She frowned for a moment, but that quickly slipped away. She smiled. “Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here for you. You know that, right?”
I nodded. “Yes, thanks.”
The women of Magnolia were so welcoming, and I wished I was in a place where I could accept their warmth into my life. But right now, I was so distracted by what was happening around me that I couldn’t focus on new relationships.
Especially when I was failing at my old ones.
I shifted on my seat as the need to go to the bathroom got worse. I’d been ignoring the pains for a half an hour now, and they were becoming hard to ignore. I always thought that when movies and TV shows talked about pregnant women needing to pee all the time, they were just joking…until now.
Now, I knew how accurate it was.
“Excuse me,” I said to Maggie as I unlocked my wheels and headed toward the house. If I didn’t go now, I was going to pee my pants.
Just when I reached the door, it opened. Colten was on the other side. He was holding a Coke in one hand and a cupcake in the other. He startled when he saw me, halting in place. I gave him a quick smile, hating the fact that my cheeks heated from his presence.
“Can you hold the door for me?” I asked, sidestepping anything to do with what had happened between us earlier.
He nodded and stepped around me so he could hold the door from the other side. I didn’t wait for him to say anything. Instead, I wheeled as quickly as I could into the house and over to the bathroom.
Thankfully, I got there in time. After I finished, I fixed my hair as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I checked my phone once more and then wheeled from the bathroom.
Jackson’s house was quiet, and I could hear the muffled voices coming from outside. I wanted to wheel back into my room and cover myself up with my covers and pillows, but I knew people would ask what was wrong.
I wasn’t sure I was ready to tell them that I had a broken heart .
So, I took in a deep breath and pulled open the door.
“I don’t care. How did you find my sister?”
I paused in the doorway as my gaze jumped to Jackson. He was facing me and was yelling at a tall man, whom I couldn’t quite see but had a sinking suspicion was Walker.
“She called me and told me to come get her.” Walker’s voice filled the air.
Walker—he was here.
As if he suddenly realized that I was there, Jackson moved his gaze over to me. “Naomi, why is he here?” he asked, jutting his finger in Walker’s direction.
Walker whipped around, and my stomach flipped. It was nerve-wracking, having all of these people looking on. They all looked confused, and Walker’s expression was hard to read with the shadows crossing his face.
“It’s Walker,” I said as I wheeled up next to him.
“Oh, Naomi. I’m so sorry,” Walker said as he dropped down to my level. We hugged, and he planted a kiss on my lips.
I knew I should have been fine with the kiss. We were basically engaged, after all. But there was something about PDA that made me squirm. Especially when my brother was in the crowd.
“Again, why is Walker here?” Jackson asked. His anger seemed to intensify after our embrace.
“Walker is my fiancé,” I said as he stood, and I threaded my fingers through his.
Jackson sputtered. “Your what? ”
I swallowed, but my throat felt as dry as the Sahara. “My fiancé.”
Jackson glared at Walker and then back down to me. “What do you mean, fiancé? Since when? Where has he been?”
I wasn’t sure how to say this. I doubted my brother would accept the excuse that he’d lost his phone for the last month. Jackson was fiercely loyal, and I knew the first words from his lips would be that Walker should have tried harder to get ahold of me.
“I was out in the field and couldn’t contact her,” Walker said as he stepped closer to me.
I was fairly certain he could feel the wrath of my brother, who was quickly backed up by Colten. He stood about a foot off, behind my brother. His gaze drifted from Walker down to me. His expression was hard to read, and yet I felt as if I were melting under his scrutiny.
“Couldn’t contact her? She was in a damn accident, and you weren’t there to protect her.” Jackson’s hands clenched as he took a step closer.
This was quickly going off the rails. I needed to intervene. Thankfully, Fiona seemed to sense that as well. She put herself in front of Jackson and pressed her hands to his chest.
“Give them a moment to talk,” she whispered as she glanced down at me.
I mouthed a thank you as she guided Jackson away. She smiled at me and gave me a supportive nod.
I pulled on Walker’s hand, and he didn’t miss a beat. He grabbed the handles and pushed me across the deck and around the corner so that we could have some privacy.
Once we were alone, he blew out his breath.
“Wow.” He sat down on the bench that was built into the deck and leaned forward. “I didn’t think your brother hated me…now I do.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. Jackson’s reaction had startled me as well. “I’m sorry,” I said as I reached out to grasp his hand in mine. “I’m glad you’re here, though.” The last thing I needed was for my big brother to scare off the father of my child.
Walker was a jumpy man, and I had this fear in the back of my mind that someday he’d run away for good. It wasn’t healthy, but when he’d refused to set a date or to even formally propose, it was an inevitable fear.
One that I couldn’t quell even as Walker was sitting next to me. He’d come for me. I needed to have faith in our relationship and his love for me.
Maybe, at the end of this conversation, he could say the words which would only calm me more.
Walker paused. I watched as his gaze drifted to our hands. A moment later, he brought his other hand to mine and covered it. He gave my hand a squeeze. “I’m glad to be here as well.”
My smile only grew as he validated what I hoped he felt. “Was it a long trip?”
Walker drew circles around the edge of my hand. It sent shivers up my arm that exploded in my chest. I bit my lower lip, loving the feeling of being touched .
It had been so long.
“I managed.” He glanced up and met my gaze for a moment before he looked down at my chair. I could see his physical reaction to my circumstance, and I wanted to stop it.
“I’m fine,” I said as I slipped my hand from his and brought it up to cradle his cheek.
“I should have been there,” he whispered, his voice breaking with each word.
I shook my head. “You were at work. You didn’t know.” I was going to push away all of my assumptions and just focus on Walker and me. We were going to be parents. Whatever happened with that woman calling me didn’t matter.
I loved Walker, and he loved me. Now that he was back, I was going to lean on that.
He shrugged. “Still. You shouldn’t have had to go through this alone.”
“I wasn’t alone.”
“Jackson hardly seems like good company.”
I winced at Walker’s words. Despite how my brother treated him, Jackson had been there for me. He took me to physical therapy sessions. He helped me navigate my world when I was confined to this chair. Walker could be upset with how Jackson treated him, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about him badmouthing my brother.
It left a sour taste in my mouth.
“You just need to see the softer side of Jackson. He’s really a teddy bear once you get to know him. ”
Walker scoffed as he dropped my hand and leaned back against the railing. “I don’t think he’s interested in getting to know me.”
“That was my fault. I should have warned him that you were coming. He was blindsided.”
Walker didn’t look convinced as he folded his arms and glanced around. I could tell that he was building up a wall, and I wanted to stop it. Changing the subject seemed like a good idea. I just wasn’t sure what I should change it to.
I had questions. I had concerns. I was pregnant with his child.
But none of those things seemed appropriate right now. Walker was shutting down because of Jackson, and the last thing I wanted to tell him was that we were having a baby. I doubted his reaction would be what I wanted it to be.
He didn’t seem in the mood to answer the questions I had for him. In fact, I wondered for a moment if our conversation was completely stagnant. Where did I go from here?
“How was your time on the rig? Are you going out again?” I thought I’d keep our conversation nonthreatening. Walker liked his job, so it felt like neutral territory.
He glanced over at me and shrugged. “It was work.” Then he sighed and rubbed his thighs. “If I’d only known that you were here like this, I would have come back sooner.” He glanced around. “Now you’re stuck here.”
I shrugged. “I wouldn’t say that I’m stuck here.” I knew what Walker was doing, but I couldn’t figure out why. He was trying to paint Magnolia, and in essence Jackson, as something terrible. I wasn’t sure why, but it irritated me.
While he was at work, the entire town of Magnolia had been helping to take care of me. Jackson had given me a place to live while the others had helped take me places and kept me company.
Sure, it wasn’t home, but they were actively trying to make me feel as welcome as they possibly could. Five minutes after getting here, Walker was making me feel like a loner.
I wasn’t sure I liked it.
I took in a deep breath. He was just crabby. After all, he’d been attacked as soon as he walked up to the house. If someone had talked to me like Jackson had talked to him, it would have bothered me as well.
Plus, he’d been traveling for hours and had no doubt been worrying about me. I could give him some slack. It was the least I could do.
“Let’s get you inside and get you some food. You’ll feel better with a full stomach and a shower.”
Walker kept his gaze focused just above my head, and for a moment, I wondered if he was going to reject me. Then he sighed and nodded. “That sounds great.”
I smiled as he stood. He grabbed the handles of my chair and pushed me across the deck. Everyone was sitting and talking, and when we approached, they quieted. Jackson looked like he had just swallowed a lemon. And Colten? Well, he turned his back to us as soon as we approached. I studied him for a moment, wondering what was wrong with him but then pushed it from my mind. If he was going to act like this, that was his problem.
“I’m going to take Walker inside to get some food.” I grabbed the rims of my wheels and started moving toward the front door.
“He’s not staying here.”
Jackson’s words stopped me in my tracks. I turned so I could face him. “What?” I could feel Walker’s presence next to me, giving me strength to face my brother.
Jackson didn’t seem swayed by either of us. “Walker isn’t staying here.” He was standing now. I knew this move. This was his what I say goes stance.
“Yes, he is.” I hated that Jackson was acting like this. He was my older brother, not my parent. And even if he were my parent, I was a full-grown woman. I didn’t need him to set rules for me.
Jackson shook his head. “He was gone for the accident and suddenly shows up when you’re getting better.” He folded his arms. “He doesn’t deserve to be here.”
I reached out and wrapped my hand around Walker’s. “I want him to be here, so he’s going to be here.”
“Jackson, come on.” Fiona approached him, resting her hand on his arm. “He’s come such a long way, and like he said, he didn’t know that she’d been hurt. He came right away when he heard.” She gave him a soft smile, which seemed to melt Jackson’s icy demeanor.
He glowered at Walker but then slowly moved his gaze to me. “Couch only.”
I wanted to fight him. After all, I was engaged to Walker. But this was my brother’s house, and I cared about him. I could compromise on this. I didn’t want to create a rift between us. “Fine,” I said.
That seemed to appease Jackson, and he turned to reengage everyone in conversation. I motioned for Walker to push me into the house, and as soon as the door was shut, I let out my breath. Frustration boiled up inside of me, but I knew it was fruitless. Jackson didn’t care if he upset me.
Being angry at my brother was definitely a losing strategy for me.
“Wow,” Walker said once we were inside. “What’s got his panties in a bunch?”
I didn’t want to go through this again. We’d just had this conversation on the deck, and I knew no matter what Walker said about Jackson, I was going to feel defensive. I was too tired to continue this cycle.
“Let’s just eat and get to bed.” My entire body relaxed at the mention of sleep. I was exhausted.
Walker didn’t fight me. Instead, he moved into the kitchen and grabbed the fixings to make a sandwich. I stayed by the table, forcing my eyes to stay open. If I allowed them to fall shut, I was fairly certain I would pass out here in my chair.
The sound of a crinkling bag pulled my eyes open. Walker was opening a bag of chips, and the pace he was moving at irritated me. I was ready for him to be done. I shifted in my seat in hopes that I would wake up.
It didn’t help .
Thankfully, as soon as Walker was sitting, he moved much faster. His sandwich was gone in record time, and after he picked the last few broken chips off his plate and plopped them into his mouth, he leaned back, rubbing his stomach.
“Finished?” I asked, dispelling the urge to stand up and do a happy jig.
He nodded and yawned. “Yep.”
“Perfect.”
“Couch?” He nodded toward the living room.
“Yep.”
He glanced over at it and then back to me. “See you in the morning?”
I nodded again.
Walker stood and declared that he was going to head to his rental car to grab his backpack. It was killing me to keep my eyes open, so I just nodded and tipped my face up toward his in anticipation of a kiss.
It took him a moment to respond, and when he did, he gave me just a peck before he pulled back and said good night.
I tried not to read into it, but it frustrated me that he hadn’t seen me in over a month and that was all I got from him. Plus, he didn’t seem to have any desire to help me get ready for bed, which I wasn’t sure I could fully blame him for. After all, he didn’t know the state I was in after the accident. I’d been such an independent woman while we were together.
Still, as I got ready for bed, I couldn’t help but think about Colten and everything he’d done for me that day. He’d taken care of me when he didn’t need to.
As I lay in bed that night, I sighed. Sleep was evading me now that I was ready to sleep.
Walker was back, and I’d thought that he was what I wanted.
Now that I was here and I’d seen what a different life could look like, it got me thinking.
My old life was sleeping on the couch just feet away. But I wasn’t so sure I wanted that old life anymore.
I wasn’t sure what life I wanted.