22. Tripp
Chapter 22
Tripp
My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I pulled it out to discover an incoming call from my favorite person. Swiping my finger across the screen, I brought it to my ear and teased, “Lucky, you’re late.”
“Lucky, is that her name?”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end when the male voice spoke on the other end of the line.
“Who is this, and why do you have my wife’s phone?”
There was a beat of silence. “Um . . .”
Alarm bells went off in my head. Something was wrong. “Tell me what happened. Now.”
“I was just passing by when I saw her fall and—”
“She fell?!” Fear cast a shadow over my heart, terrified not only for my wife but the baby she carried.
“More like collapsed,” he clarified. “She didn’t trip or anything.”
Collapsed. Jesus, it got worse every time this guy opened his mouth.
“Is she conscious?”
“Yes, sir. She’s shaking like a leaf. Won’t lift her head, but I’m pretty sure she’s cryin’.”
That sure as hell didn’t make me feel any better. What the fuck happened?
Covering the receiver, I shouted, “Ricky!” His head whipped up, and I frantically motioned for him to get his ass over here. I either needed a ride or his keys. Didn’t care which. I only knew I needed to get to Penny.
“Where are you?”
“Outside of Rosie’s Sweet Treats on Main.”
My chest felt like it was caving in, and I couldn’t draw in a full breath. “Okay. I need you to stay there with her. Can you do that?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Mighty grateful. Now, what I need you to do next is call an ambulance. Her name is Penny Sullivan, and you need to let them know that she’s pregnant.”
He sucked in a sharp breath, likely realizing for the first time the seriousness of the situation he’d gotten himself caught up in. There was so much at stake, and I was counting on the kindness of a good Samaritan.
“You make that call, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.” My voice grew gruff as emotion began to choke me. “Please tell her that for me. Tell her I’m coming.”
The young man on the opposite side of the connection promised he would, and the line went dead.
A hand clamped down on my shoulder, and I spun around to find Ricky. Words weren’t needed; he could tell by the look on my face that time was of the essence.
We hightailed it to his truck and were in motion before either of us had our seatbelts buckled. “Where to, Boss?”
“Main Street. Some sweet shop. ”
Ricky gave a firm nod. “I know the place.”
Hold on, Lucky. I’m on my way.
The crowd gathered outside the bakery had my heart dropping to my stomach, and I hopped out of the truck before it came to a complete stop.
Boots pounding the pavement, I hopped the curb and shoved my way through the lookie-loos, barking, “Out of my way!”
There were a few indignant huffs, but I didn’t give a damn about being rude. All I could focus on was getting to Penny.
As I cleared the last of the onlookers, my girl came into view, surrounded by a mess of frosting and the contents of her upended purse. The sight of her curled onto her side and hugging her knees was enough to bring me to mine. Hand pressed over my racing heart, I sucked in a shaky breath, reminding myself that I couldn’t fall apart. She needed me to be strong right now.
Stepping forward, I gave a nod of acknowledgment to the guy standing watch over her, who couldn’t be more than twenty. He offered me a sad smile in return, and that was all the attention I could give him before focusing on my wife.
I crouched down before her, failing miserably to keep the tremble from my voice. “I’m here, baby.”
Penny’s red-rimmed eyes snapped up to meet mine, and she lurched off the ground and into my arms so forcefully it knocked me on my ass. With my arms wrapped around her, I was able to breathe for the first time since I’d gotten that call .
Sobbing into my neck, she practically wailed, “I’m so sorry.”
I stroked her hair. “Nothing to be sorry about, darlin’. Are you hurt?”
Almost as if on cue, sirens sounded, growing louder on approach.
Glassy eyes wide, she pulled back. “That’s not for me, is it?”
Using my thumbs, I wiped the tears from her face. “Your friend here—” I looked up at him, hoping he would provide his name.
“Jeremy.” He ducked his head.
“Right. Jeremy here said you collapsed. We need to get you checked out.”
Penny shook her head. “No, I’m fine. It’s nothing like that.”
My brows drew down. I didn’t like her brushing off the idea of medical attention. If she weren’t pregnant, I might’ve let her off the hook, but we weren’t leaving here until she agreed to at least a basic evaluation.
“Talk to me, Lucky. Tell me what happened.”
Fresh tears filled her eyes before spilling over, and she choked out, “Papers.”
“Papers?” What the hell was she talking about?
Instead of Penny explaining, Jeremy spoke. “Um, I picked these up earlier.” He offered me a handful of loose papers along with a manilla envelope.
Frowning, I read the contents and saw fucking red.
Goddammit, that son of a bitch!
As much as I wanted to tear Jake limb from limb, I was more angry at myself.
I should have seen it coming. I fucking would have if I hadn’t been so hell-bent on putting my blinders on the minute we left Rust Canyon.
There was no hiding from this. I was a fool to think that was even an option.
“EMTs coming through!” A shout accompanied heavy footfalls as medics raced to the scene .
The sea of bodies parted to let them through, and when Penny saw them, she shook her head violently. “I-I said I’m f-fine!”
It would have been a hell of a lot more convincing if she hadn’t hiccupped her way through the four-word sentence.
Sensing her agitation, the two uniformed men slowed their approach.
“Hey, there.” One of them knelt beside us and placed a hand on his chest. “I’m Thomas. What’s your name?”
Penny glared daggers up at me. I knew she hated the fuss, but I wasn’t budging on this.
“Penny,” I answered for her.
Thomas’s eyes lifted to meet mine. “And you are?”
“Tripp. Her husband.”
He gave a firm nod. “Got it.” Assessing Penny visually, he elected to continue speaking to me since it would seem my wife wasn’t in the mood to cooperate. “Call we got through dispatch said something about a collapse? And that she’s pregnant?”
I swallowed roughly. “Yes. She’s a little shy of twelve weeks. I wasn’t here when it happened, but from what I gather, this was more of an emotionally induced collapse, but I still want her checked out.”
“Of course,” he agreed. “I’d feel the same way if it were my wife.”
Penny sniffled. “You have kids?”
A genuine smile split his face. “Yes, ma’am. Three of ’em under five with another on the way this fall.”
“Sounds hectic,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood in hopes it would soften Penny up enough to consent to a medical exam.
Thomas chuckled. “We have our hands full, that’s for sure. But our house is bursting with love, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.” Pausing, he shifted his attention to Penny. “It would set my mind at ease if you’d at least let us take your vitals. We can do it right here if you want. You wouldn’t even need to set foot inside the ambulance.”
Penny twisted her neck around to peek at me before answering, “Okay.”
Blowing out an exaggerated breath, Thomas pretended to wipe sweat from his forehead before flashing her a relieved grin. “Whew. You had me worried there for a minute.”
When he extended a hand, his partner passed over a black bag that served as their portable medical kit. Rifling through it, he pulled out a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff.
Placing the earbuds of the stethoscope into position, he asked, “Mind if I take a quick listen to your heart, Penny?”
Face partially buried in my chest, she hummed in the affirmative.
Thomas’s face took on a look of pure concentration as he focused on counting her individual heartbeats. Eventually, he gave Penny a reassuring smile. “Sounds good. You’re doing great, Penny.”
I gave her hip a squeeze of encouragement as he moved on to wrap the blood pressure cuff around her bicep. Moving the chest piece of the stethoscope to the inside of her elbow, Thomas began pumping the bulb of the cuff, listening intently as it released.
“A touch on the high end,” he remarked. “But within the normal range.”
He put his equipment away before asking one final question. “Have you experienced any cramping?”
I held my breath, terrified out of my fucking mind, while I awaited her answer.
After a beat of silence, she shook her head. “No. Not that I can tell.”
“Good.” Thomas rose to his feet, offering her a hand up.
Once she was steady, I stood myself and looped an arm around her waist, just in case. Pretty sure the past half hour took ten years off my life .
I extended my free hand to Thomas, and we shook. “You don’t know how much I appreciate it.”
“My pleasure. Have her take it easy for a few days if you can. Just as a precaution.”
“Hear that, Lucky?” I said against her hair. “Feet up ’til we head up to Nebraska on Monday.” She opened her mouth to protest, but I cut her off before she could utter a single word. “No arguments.”
I had to bite back a smile at her cute little scowl. She was used to getting her way, especially with me.
She was going to learn fast that when it came to her and our baby, I wasn’t budging. I would do whatever it took to ensure their safety and well-being. Even if she gave me hell for it.
Nothing was more important than our little family. Nothing.
My girl was drained.
She’d passed out in the passenger seat in the ten minutes it took to drive back to the motel, and a part of me was glad. She needed the reset. Badly.
Carrying Penny into the room, I eased her unconscious form onto the bed. I wouldn’t be surprised if she slept straight through the night after the emotional toll the day had taken.
A buzzing from her handbag caught my attention. Pulling her cell out, I frowned when the Caller ID listed a local Kansas exchange.
Who would be calling her from around these parts?
Slipping out of the room, keeping the door cracked in case she woke and needed me, I answered, “Hello? ”
A feminine voice replied, “Hi. I was hoping to reach Penny Sullivan?”
“This is her husband. Can I help you?”
“Yes, would you happen to know if she’s still planning to make it in for her appointment today? I called earlier to confirm but never heard back.”
“Appointment?” My voice rose in question.
“Mm-hmm. She was booked in for an ultrasound at two-thirty.”
This was the first I was hearing of it.
“Um.” I peeked through the crack in the door. Penny hadn’t moved an inch. “My apologies, miss, but I think we’re going to have to cancel.”
“Oh. Of course. I appreciate you letting me know. If you need to reschedule, feel free to give us a call.”
“Will do.”
“Have a nice day, sir,” she chirped before hanging up.
Yeah, that flew out the window an hour ago.
Closing my eyes, I let my head fall back against the exterior of the motel.
This whole thing was bigger than us, and we needed help. Shoving Penny’s phone in my back pocket, I pulled out my own, dialing the only person I knew who could shed some light on our options.
The line didn’t ring more than once before Bex answered with a, “Happy Birthday!”
I tugged on the back of my neck. “Uh, thanks.”
“Why don’t you sound more excited? Did you not get the birthday special this morning from Penny?”
“Christ, Bex. Can we not?”
“I’ll take that as a no,” she teased.
In the background, I heard Tucker call out, “Is that Tripp?”
“Yeah,” Bex replied.
“Give me the phone,” he commanded.
Her voice rose in pitch. “What? Why? ”
“Just give it to me.” There was a slight rustling before his voice came clear down the line. “Hey, everything okay?”
Outside of Jake—and now Ricky, who had witnessed the drama on the sidewalk—only Tucker, as her physician, knew Penny was pregnant.
A heavy sigh rattled my chest. “Not really, man.”
“What’s going on?”
“Appreciate the concern, but I’m gonna need you to put your wife back on. I need the legal mind right now, not the medical one.”
“Um, okay?” I couldn’t blame him for being confused. Penny and I were the last people you’d expect to wind up in legal trouble. Unless you counted that one time my wild girl convinced me to steal the keys to the school from my mom because she’d left a book in her locker that she needed to complete a term paper due the next day.
“Why are you guys acting weird?” Bex’s voice was filled with suspicion when she took the phone back from Tucker.
Rubbing a hand over my face, I blurted, “Penny’s pregnant.”
A thick swallow sounded on the other end of the line before a dazed, “Oh, wow.” She paused, and even without being able to see her, I could tell the gears were turning in her mind. “Tucker knows, I’m assuming?”
“Yeah,” I breathed out. “But it’s complicated.”
“Complicated,” she repeated the word slowly. “Complicated how?”
“With the timeline being a little muddy, Jake thinks it could be his baby.”
Bex sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh God.”
“He had her served today with a paternity test order. I know you’re not practicing anymore, but I called to see if you could shed some light on our legal rights.”
“Yeah, of course. Feel free to tell me it’s none of my business, but is there any possibility that he is the father? ”
I’d convinced myself that the answer to that question was a resounding hell no, but only because the alternative scared the living shit out of me.
“If there is, it’s slight. They, um—” My voice broke as it hit me in full force what it would mean for me and Penny if this baby turned out not to be mine. Would we be strong enough to survive this?
Bex seemed to understand what I was implying. “They always used protection?”
I cleared my throat. “That’s right.”
“And you two . . .”
“Not once,” I confirmed.
“Got it. Can you do me a favor and text me pictures of the court order? Until I get a good look at it, I can’t offer much advice.”
“Sure. Hold on a sec.”
I pushed the door open, cringing when the squeaky hinges sounded. Thankfully, Penny didn’t stir, and I padded toward her purse and pulled out the manilla envelope before venturing back outside.
Arranging the papers on the hood of my truck, I snapped a picture of each one before sending them over to Bex.
“Hold on. I’m gonna put you on speaker so I can read over them with you still on the line. Tucker’s still here. Is that okay?”
“Sure.” Didn’t really matter. None of this was bound to stay a secret for very long.
Bex hummed as she read over the documents. “I didn’t specialize in family law, but from what I do know, this seems pretty standard. Penny has thirty days to comply, or else she’ll end up in contempt. It’s in your best interest to get this over with as quickly as possible to put it behind you. I can ask around with some of my old law school contacts and see if anyone can recommend a good family lawyer to represent you.”
“That would be great. Thanks, Bex. ”
Tucker’s voice sounded. “If I can weigh in?”
“Go ahead,” I prompted.
“I get that this situation is upsetting, and you might want to procrastinate until the last minute to maintain your peace of mind, but she’s right up against that thirteen-week mark where the testing would become more invasive and present more risks to the baby. The sooner you get back here and get this handled, the safer it’ll be for Penny and the baby.”
This was a fucking mess. One that could have been avoided.
I could have pulled out that first night when I learned Penny wasn’t on birth control and hit up a pharmacy the next morning for a box of condoms—or ten the way we’d been going at it. But something inside of me liked the idea of putting a baby inside of her. It was a primal instinct I couldn’t explain. And look where it had gotten us.
“You okay, buddy?” Tucker asked when I remained silent too long.
There was no point in sugarcoating it. “Not even a little bit.”
“Do me a favor, will you?”
“What is it?” My energy levels were dropping fast. It wouldn’t be long before I conked out right alongside my wife.
“Keep your focus on Penny. She’s what’s most important right now. If this has been rough on you, it has to be ten times worse for her.”
I swallowed thickly, the image of her lying on the concrete, utterly broken, flashing before my eyes. For as long as I lived, I would never be able to erase that memory from my mind.
“I will,” I rasped out the promise.
“We’re here for anything you need, Tripp,” Bex chimed in. “Give Penny our love and take care of each other, okay?”
“Yeah. Talk to you guys soon.” I hung up before they could say their own goodbyes .
Squeezing my eyes shut, I allowed myself a single moment to feel all the emotions before locking them down tight, determined to take Tucker’s advice and be strong for Penny. She needed me, and I would rather die than let her down.