Chapter 28 Dean
DEAN
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Henry Connor: I don’t usually do this, but I can’t be the only one who heard Marjorie arguing with herself in the library, right? Should someone check on her?
Comments:
Jade Clark: Nah, I’m sure one side of her won the argument.
Mollie Wilson: Yeah, but that means she lost an argument with herself.
Henrietta Brown: She’s just like that, guys.
Henry Connor: Does she have a family history of dementia or anything?
Henrietta Brown: Probably. Or she’s just weird. I’d try to dig, but I realized a long time ago that you can’t help a woman who doesn’t want to be helped.
Marjorie Brown: Or I wanted Henry to be concerned about me. It’s nice to be appreciated.
Henrietta Brown: Oh, for the love of GOD. We have full-time jobs and you’re still a menace!
“I’m so sorry,” Grace said from the toilet bowl. “I hate that I—”
She retched again, cutting off whatever she was about to say. I’d already cleaned up what had happened on the stairs while she ran to the bathroom, and now I needed to know she was okay.
Grace had looked pale when she’d gotten up from her nap. I’d told myself that it was because of what happened the day before.
I needed to trust my gut more often.
“It’s okay,” I said. “It really is.”
“I must look so gross.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I replied. “How are you feeling?”
“Terrible,” she said. “Awful.”
“Here, I can—”
“No, I’m fine. You don’t need to come in here and see this.”
My jaw clenched. “But—”
“Seriously, please don’t.”
That was the last thing she said before she went back to throwing up, but there was nothing to throw up. She was paler than I’d ever seen her and her skin looked clammy. And now she wouldn’t let me get close enough to see anything else.
Grace seemed determined to handle this on her own, but I didn’t know if I could take it. I wasn’t the one going through it, but it felt like a part of me was. I’d been like this with Mom many times, and I knew I would need to ask for forgiveness, not permission, once again.
Grace was getting taken care of, whether she liked it or not.
“Be right back,” I said. She only gave me a thumbs-up from the toilet bowl, but she was visibly shaking.
Hey, is your boyfriend working today?
I regretted the text as soon as I sent it. But Wren didn’t waste time before answering.
Wren
Do I even wanna know?
Grace is sick.
Shit. Yeah, take her in like right now.
She attached Henry’s number.
I’ll keep you updated. Thanks.
Grace had made it clear she wanted to handle this on her own. I was going to make it clear that I wasn’t that kind of man.
When I called the clinic, I expected a phone tree like most other doctors’ offices I had been to. Instead, it was picked up on the third ring.
“This is Dr. Henry Connor.”
The doctor answered the phone here? Well, that helped me not waste time.
“Uh, hi. I’m sure you’ve heard the news, so I’ll get right to it. Grace is throwing up. A lot.”
“How far along is she?”
“She’s almost eighteen weeks.”
“And how long has she been sick?”
“She’s been feeling off all day, and she’s been clutching her stomach. I don’t think she’s even had water. She never had morning sickness either, so this isn’t normal.”
“Bring her in,” he said. “Are you in town, Mister . . .”
“I’m at her house.”
There was silence on the line, and I wondered if one more secret was about to come out. How good was this doctor at keeping quiet?
“I’ll have an IV ready,” he said in lieu of anything else. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
I took a shaky breath and went back to the bathroom.
“Grace,” I said gently. “We need to go.”
“I don’t know what is happening right now, I’m not leaving this toilet. This is my emotional support toilet.”
I would have laughed if she had been able to lift her head and look at me.
“I’m taking you to the clinic.”
She finally met my gaze. “What? You’re taking me to Henry?”
“He’s the closest doctor.”
“But I’m—”
“If you say fine, I’m carrying you to the doctor and letting him tell you you’re not.” I didn’t let myself get this firm with her, but I was worried. More worried than I’d ever been.
And I needed her to let go and let me in.
“I’ll drive.”
“Grace.” This woman. She would be the death of me.
“You don’t need to deal with this. You had a long day at work and you had stuff you were in the middle of. I’ll handle this on my own.”
Oh, fuck everything. There was no way I was letting this happen.
“Let’s get one thing straight. You’re not handling anything on your own, not as long as I’m here.
This isn’t a situation where you’re left to fend for yourself when you need someone.
When you need me, I am here. And when you think you don’t need me, I’ll be here anyway.
You and me, we’re a team. And you don’t carry stuff on your own anymore. ”
In the back of my mind, I wondered if I would regret those words. This was getting very close to something I thought I would never say. But the words were true, and I needed her to understand that she was not going to handle this on her own.
Thankfully, it seemed to work. Her eyes grew wide as she stared at me and she finally nodded. “O-okay. Message received.”
Dr. Henry Connor, in only one word, was professional.
Whatever questions he had for me, he kept to himself. He hooked Grace up to an IV and asked about what she ate. He also had an ancient fetal heartbeat monitor, and was able to pick up the baby’s heartbeat.
I almost passed out when I heard it.
He also added pregnancy-safe anti-nausea medicine to Grace’s IV, and her throwing up finally seemed to calm down. He was possibly the one person cooler than Wren was in an emergency, and I was sure both of us needed it.
After she finally seemed stable, I could see how exhausted Grace was. She wasn’t as pale, but she nearly dozed off as Henry was talking to her, something she would never do in her right mind.
I could only stare at her. I was being as brave as possible, but seeing her like this was terrifying.
It would have been like that even if she hadn’t been pregnant, but her carrying our baby made that even scarier.
This wasn’t the most severe thing that could happen in pregnancy, but it was one of many things that could go wrong.
So far, a lot of it was smooth sailing. Hell, half the time we didn’t even know she was pregnant.
Henry also saw that she was tired, and he gave me a look and gestured for me to follow him. I did so reluctantly. I thought it wrong to leave her.
“Can we make this quick?” I asked.
“I’m just letting you know that I’ll be typing up all the instructions so both of you can refer back to them.”
“Is there anything else you wanna ask me?”
“Not really. Should there be?”
“I’m the man that everyone’s going to with questions about what’s happened. It’s been a big shock to everyone, but I don’t want her to deal with it, especially not now.”
Henry slowly nodded. “I thought I’d heard something about that, but I don’t have any questions for you. You seem like you’ve been through enough.”
“What? The curiosity isn’t gonna kill you?”
“I’m a little better than that. And I have a feeling that you’re only half listening to me anyway. You’d rather be with her.”
The discomfort hit me again, just like when I’d told her we were a team. “I’m just making sure she’s okay.”
“I would do the same for someone I cared about.”
I’d spent my entire life trying to avoid caring about anyone but Mom. I told myself that it wasn’t worth it, that I would get myself hurt, that I could live without caring.
And yet here I was, agreeing with a man who barely knew me.
I cared about Grace. I cared about her a lot.
It was one of the most terrifying realizations I’d ever had. Not because I didn’t want to. I needed to care about her. I needed to care about her and her child. Our child. But usually, caring didn’t involve me.
“I’m sorry. Did I step on some toes here?” Henry’s cheeks colored.
“No, it’s just been a long day.”
He hummed and I wondered if he knew that I was lying to him. But I glanced toward the room that Grace was in, eager to get going, and that spurred him into action.
“Will you also let me pay her balance?”
Henry paused in his typing, but nodded.
I was doing a terrible job of hiding that I cared about her. That was the worst part of this all. I was better at staying away so I didn’t get myself in this situation.
And yet here I was.
Henry finished up the notes and let me pay for Grace’s treatment.
“You’re gonna wanna keep that between us,” I told him. “She hates it when I do things like this.”
Henry chuckled. “I’ve known Grace since I moved here, and that tracks. She’s always had her hands full with Brooke. And it seems like she still does, even though Brooke’s moved out. It’s a good thing she has someone now.”
“It’s not romantic or anything. You know that, right?” I had to say it, though every time I reminded someone of it, the words came out with less bite.
Henry smiled. “Sure, definitely not.”
“Don’t start. I’ll tell you the same thing I’ve told everyone else. I don’t date women.”
“I didn’t date either until I met Wren.”
“The town was okay with that?”
“The town doesn’t get to say what I do or don’t do. Sure, they were excited for me when I finally showed interest in someone, but my life is my life, and the same goes for you.”
“I don’t think the town would respond well to me sleeping around.”
“Have you been?”
The words hit me like a train. “Not here, of course. Or . . . anywhere, really.”
“I’m not gonna pry because we barely know each other, but if it’s not been here and it’s not been anywhere else, then what’s going on?”
“I . . . I’m not sure I wanna know.”
Henry’s eyebrows rose. “The world doesn’t end when you fall for someone, you know, especially not someone like Grace. In fact, it’s when it begins.”
“I’m not falling for anyone. Grace is amazing, but that side of me is dead.”
Henry only raised one eyebrow this time.
“It really is. Trust me, there’s no chance.”
“Sure, whatever you say.”
I didn’t know why the need to convince Henry was so strong. Normally, I wouldn’t want anyone to be in my business because they would talk, but Henry had already told me that wasn’t his style.
So, I wasn’t sure if I needed to convince him or myself.