Chapter 14 Dove #3
“I’m so sorry. It was me on the plane. I went into labor,” I tell them.
“Oh god, Dove. What happened?” Mom asks.
“Luckily, there was a doctor on the plane. Remember the man from Costa Rica? The father of your grandson?” I sneak in the fact that I’ve had the baby, hoping they catch on. “You won’t believe it. He was the doctor.”
Winston takes the opportunity to pan the phone to baby Winston who is currently asleep.
“Oh my god! That’s amazing, Dove. The universe always has a way of bringing people together. You had him! It’s a boy! Oh, it’s a boy! He is beautiful.” Mom sobs, gripping onto my dad’s arm.
Dad smiles, wrapping my mom in a tight embrace as they stare at their grandson. “What’s his name?”
“Winston,” I say, looking up at the man who not only birthed his son, but saved me. “Same as his father who saved my life on that plane.”
Their smiles fade. “What you mean? What happened?”
Winston tilts his head so he’s in the screen more. “She had a postpartum hemorrhage—”
“Oh my god.” My mom holds a hand over her mouth.
“I wasn’t able to stop it in the plane. Luckily, we were already close to landing, but she was bleeding out.
I was able to slow it down and she did need surgery, but she’s okay now.
The reason she didn’t call is because she couldn’t.
She was sleeping most of the day yesterday and today, that’s my fault.
I wanted her to focus on her recovery while we figured out how to take care of our son while being very unprepared.
” He chuckles. “He’s healthy too. Even though he was a month early. ”
“I’m so happy you were there,” Mom says tearfully. “She would have probably died if it hadn’t been for you.”
I lean against Winston’s shoulder and he wraps an arm around me, bringing me in tight against his body. “I’ll always do my best to save the woman who changed my life for the better, Mr. and Mrs. Blair.”
“Oh, please. Call me Diane. This is Dave.” She points with her thumb to Dad.
“Nice to meet you both. I look forward to meeting you when we get back.”
“You’ve been in the city the entire time?” Dad asks.
We both laugh, Winston’s fingers slipping up and down my arm.
“Yeah, we felt the same when we found out. I’d been looking for her ever since meeting her. I’m glad I have her now. I’m never going to let her go.”
“Good. That’s what I like to hear,” Dad states, taking a swig of water. “When you’re up for it, we’ll come visit you and have dinner.”
“Sounds great.” I smile. “I’ll send you guys a ton of photos of baby Winston. He’s perfect. He sleeps so much.”
“Enjoy it now.” Dad laughs and Mom snickers as if they know something I don’t.
“Okay, rest, honey. We’ll be here for you when you get home.
Winston, it was lovely meeting you. Take care of our grandson, please.
We can’t wait to meet him. Oh, I’m so happy,” Mom says as she begins to cry again and Dad chuckles, wrapping his arms around her to pull her close. “When will you be home?”
“In about five days,” Winston says. “I promise when we land and get home, I’ll give you my address so you can come see her.”
I wave goodbye. “I have one more call to make before I can take a nap. I have to call Hanson.”
“Okay, sweetie. Tell Hanson we said hello,” Dad says. “We love you and we are so glad you’re okay. Please, keep us up-to-date.”
“I will,” I say with a smile. “Promise.”
I stare at my phone, nervous to call Hanson. My stomach twists with anxiety.
“You’re worried about calling Hanson?” Winston asks, running his fingers through my hair. “Can I ask if you two have a past?”
I shake my head, my thumb hovering over the video call button next to Hanson’s name.
“No. He’s been my best friend since high school.
We’re very close, but we got into a fight before I left to come here.
He didn’t want me to fly. He said I was being selfish and all I heard was that I was being a bad mother.
He didn’t understand, because he comes from a very wealthy family.
He has no idea what it’s like to work paycheck to paycheck to survive.
He offered me the five thousand that Landon offered me to come here.
It made me so angry because that’s what Hanson does.
He throws money at all of his problems. He ended up being right, though. He had every reason to be worried.”
Winston takes my phone from me, pressing the video call button.
“He did, but tell him I’m always going to protect you.
You’re safe. I truly believe the world would have brought us together even if you weren’t on the plane.
You’re meant to be mine, Dove, and I’ll never make you choose between me and your best friend, but I want to be crystal clear that I won’t tolerate him being disrespectful to you. Ever.”
“Hello?” Hanson’s voice comes through the speaker. “Dove? You there?”
Winston hands me the phone and I stare down at Hanson’s face on the screen.
“Hey, Hanson,” I smile. “I just wanted to call to let you know I’m okay. I know you saw the news and yes, you were right, I did go into labor.”
“Oh my god, Dove! Are you okay? Is the baby okay?” he asks, standing from his couch. “Where are you? Are you safe? Is the baby safe? Is someone with you? You aren’t alone, are you? Do you need me there? I’ll come—”
“No, no. I’m okay. I promise. It’s been a rough few days, which is why I haven’t been able to message you back.
I had to have surgery to stop the bleeding, but I’m okay,” I rush to say when I see him open his mouth to speak.
“Really. I’m okay and no, I’m not alone.
When I went into labor, a doctor was there and—”
“Oh, good,” he groans in relief, hanging his head. “I’m so happy there was a medical professional there.”
“Me too. He saved my life and now I’m at the hotel. Resting. I’ll be home in a few days.”
“Did your mom fly out or something?” He tilts his head, confused.
“No, actually…” I clear my throat and peek at Winston who’s across the room talking on the phone to his parents.
“The doctor who saved me was the man from Costa Rica, Hanson. Can you believe that? He ended up delivering his own son, and now he’s taking care of me.
Us. Taking care of us. We’re together now, and I’m not working for Landon anymore.
Isn’t that great? And look.” I turn the phone to baby Winston, showing Hanson how cute my son is.
“Isn’t he beautiful? Even though he was a month early, he’s healthy. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”
“He’s amazing, Dove. Congratulations.” The relief and happiness fall from his face. “Listen, Dove. I’m so glad you’re okay and not alone. I can’t wait to see you two when you get back, but I need to go. I’ll text you later.”
“Hanson, please, I hate it when we fight. Can we talk?”
“I got to go, Dove. Stay safe.” The screen goes blank before I can say another word.
I drop my phone in my lap, pressing the heels of my palms against my eyes to do my best not to cry. I hate being on the outs with Hanson. It’s as if my entire world shifts on its axis.
“You want to meet her?” Winston cuts his eyes to me from the other side of the room. “I don’t know, Wyatt. She’s tired. She’s been through a lot.” He pauses and smiles. “I know, Waylon. I know I’ve never talked about any other women before. She is special. I would have to agree.”
Hearing him talk to his brothers eases the turmoil in my heart. While my sadness isn’t gone, it does help that Winston is here.
“I don’t know if now is a good time, guys.”
I wave him over. “Don’t be ridiculous. Let me meet them!”
He saunters over to me, his phone held out in front of him, and he flips the camera to point it to me. “Here. There she is. Isn’t she fucking beautiful,” Winston says with no hint of playfulness.
He’s serious.
“She is. What the hell is she doing with you!” Both brothers laugh on the other end of the call, which causes my lips to twitch with a small smile.
“Hi.” I wave. “I’m Dove. It’s so nice to meet you both.”
“I’m Wyatt.” He has bright blue eyes and long, wavy light brown hair that’s combed back and he has a giant, happy grin on his face. Wyatt seems like the type that never lets anything get him down no matter what life throws at him. I like that.
“I’m Waylon.” This brother doesn’t seem as playful as the other one.
He’s a little more subdued, which reminds me of Winston.
Waylon’s eyes are a deeper shade of blue and his hair is more cropped and professional, not as strategically messy like Wyatt’s.
“I hope my brother has been good to you, Dove.”
“Considering he saved my life, I would say he has.” I wink at Winston. “He’s been amazing to me and our son.”
“Can we see our nephew again?” Wyatt asks, and if I’m not mistaken, he has emotion in his eyes, as if he’s about to cry.
“Of course,” Winston and I say at the same time, and Winston points the phone down to show our beautiful son.
“He’s perfect, man,” Waylon says. “And he’s okay, right? No health conditions with being a month early? If you want, I can look him over again when you’re home.”
“That would be great, Waylon. Thank you.” Winston lifts his gaze to mine to find a concerned look on my face. “It’s okay, Dove. We’re a family of doctors. Waylon is actually one of the best pediatricians and neonatal doctors.”
“Oh, wow. Yes, thank you, Waylon. That would be amazing.”
“And Wyatt is a hotshot brain surgeon.”
“Don’t be jealous, Winston,” Wyatt teases. “I know we seem unserious—”
“Nope. That’s just you, Wyatt,” Winston adds.
“Anyway,” Wyatt continues. “I’m happy everyone is safe.
We were so worried about you, and if you need anything, we’re always here for you guys.
Winston, you deserve this, big brother. I know I always teased you about not dating or settling down, but it was because I never wanted you to be alone.
You’re too good of a person to be alone.
And I know you struggle with feeling like you deserve good things to happen to you, but you do.
I’m glad Dove came into your life. You have a beautiful family, big brother.
I’m glad Waylon and I can finally witness Winston being happy.
Thanks, Dove. For bringing happiness to a man who never thought he deserved it. ”
“I couldn’t agree more with that,” Waylon adds.
“He did the same for me,” I say, doing my best not to cry in front of them. “He saved me the night I met him.”
“That’s not the only thing—”
“Okay, that’s it. Goodbye, Wyatt. Waylon. Love you both.” Winston hangs up the phone just in time for me to burst out laughing, holding my sides as each chuckle brings a wave of pain.
“Ow. Ow. Ow. Oh my god, Wyatt is—”
“A teenager trapped in a thirty-five-year-old’s body? Yeah, he is.” Winston dries his eyes. “But I wouldn’t have him any other way. My brothers are good people.”
“I love his energy. I can’t wait to meet them. Why won’t they be here?”
“One of us always comes to the conference every year to represent the family. This year was my year.”
“Another way I got lucky with you,” I say.
He crawls into bed, wrapping an arm around me, and I place my head on his chest. “What happened with Hanson? I can tell it didn’t end well.”
“He’s upset still. He’s worried. I told him about us and he hung up.”
Winston kisses the top of my head. “He’s in love you with, Dove. I can’t say I blame him. You’re very easy to love.”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so. I really don’t think that’s it. It has to be something else. We’ve been friends for far too long. He just won’t talk to me.”
I also just don’t want to believe he has feelings for me, because then that means our friendship is over.
And I’m not ready for that.