Chapter 26
“ I really can walk,” she told Spencer as he wheeled her through the hospital.
“Not happening,” he replied cheerfully.
Monica had wanted to call for an orderly, but the guys didn’t want her waiting around.
And she wasn’t really keen on spending any more time in the hospital than she had to. So she’d let Spencer lift her into the wheelchair. Rock had produced a blanket out of somewhere and tucked it around her legs.
Quaid was carrying most of her things. Which wasn’t much. It was scary how little had survived Billy’s rampage. Maggie had found her backpack which he obviously hadn’t found. She’d tucked it away in a cupboard since she hadn’t wanted to look at it after they’d kicked her out of the penthouse.
She didn’t remember him trashing the place, but apparently he’d gone through like a hurricane. Maybe she’d blacked out at some stage.
That was a terrifying thought.
Slade carried it over his shoulder and she had to resist the urge to grab it from him. What if he looked inside it ?
Relax.
Slade wouldn’t do that to you.
He wouldn’t invade your privacy like that.
Right?
“I can take the backpack,” she said to him.
Slade raised his eyebrows. “No.”
She huffed out a sigh. “You guys can’t boss me around all the time.”
Quaid frowned down at her. “You need to do as we say and let them take care of you.”
Them? Not him?
And did he really get to tell her what she had to do?
“I don’t need to obey you, Quaid Ashworth!”
His frown deepened and he opened his mouth. But Slade cleared his throat and shot both of them a look, silently telling them to behave.
She frowned at Quaid and he raised an eyebrow, his gaze promising all sorts of things that she didn’t want to think about right now.
“It’s not about being bossy,” Slade told her. “It’s about looking after you.”
“I haven’t had anyone other than Maggie look after me in a while,” she said, deflating.
Rock made a sound like he was in pain and she shot him a worried look.
“You’ll get used to being ours again,” Spencer said cheerfully, waving at an orderly going the other way. He wore bright pink trainers, yellow shorts and a pink shirt.
It was an outfit that wouldn’t work on someone else, but on Spencer it looked amazing.
Theirs again?
Things couldn’t be like they once had been. Not anymore.
Indie was silent as they headed to the car.
It wasn’t a vehicle she’d seen before. As Quaid placed her stuff in the boot, , Rock picked her up and carried her to the middle row of seats and set her down.
There was an aisle down the middle of the car between all of the seats.
It was surprisingly roomy and comfortable.
It also looked brand new.
“Did you guys just buy this?” she asked as Rock fussed with her blanket and then carefully drew the seatbelt over her.
Indie bit back her objection, letting him take care of her.
Rock nodded.
“Why? I mean, it doesn’t seem like your sort of vehicle.”
“The back has a lot of room and there are six seats. All our other vehicles are four or five,” Spencer explained as he took the seat behind her. Quaid got into the front passenger seat, Slade got in next to her while Rock headed to the driver’s seat.
“You wanted six seats?” she asked.
“We’ll need it when the baby comes,” Slade told her. “Are you comfortable? No pain?”
“You bought this because of the baby?” she whispered.
“Yep,” Spencer said cheerfully.
“It has an excellent safety rating. The seats are easily able to accommodate baby seats and the boot can fit shopping and a pram,” Quaid said as though he was reciting a list of facts.
She guessed he was. But she had no clue how he felt about all of this.
“That’s . . . that’s nuts! You can’t buy a vehicle for the baby.”
“You didn’t answer me,” Slade said. “Are you comfortable?”
“What? Yes, of course. Let’s go back to the fact that you bought a car to fit the baby. My baby.”
Slade reached across and placed his hand over her belly. “No. Not yours.”
“Huh?”
Urgh. She sounded ridiculously breathless. Why did their touch do this to her?
“Our baby.”
Her heart raced.
“Uncle Slade, huh?” she said as Rock pulled out of the hospital car park .
Slade grunted. “I was thinking a different title. But we can start with that.”
What the heck did that mean?
She opened her mouth to ask him before deciding that maybe it was best she didn’t know. The doctor had warned her to keep her stress levels low. That she needed rest and relaxation.
She had to start putting her baby first. Which meant avoiding conversations which might upset her.
They arrived at the penthouse, pulling into the underground parking lot. After they’d come to a stop, she unbuckled her seatbelt.
“Wait there,” Slade warned. “I will come and get you.”
She shook her head at their overprotectiveness. Did they really think she’d hurt herself getting in and out of the car?
That they’d bought for her baby.
Yep. It would take a while to wrap her head around that. She fully expected Slade to help her down and that she’d walk to the elevator.
Instead, he collected her up in his arms and carried her to the elevator doors.
“Slade. I’m meant to move around.”
“Not after you just leave the hospital. The nurse said you’re supposed to take things easy for the next few weeks. Nothing strenuous, no stress, plenty of rest, water and good food.
Drat. She knew she shouldn’t have let them stay while Monica went through the discharge papers.
Idiot.
They stepped out of the elevator into the small foyer that led to their penthouse apartment.
And she couldn’t help but remember the last two times that she’d been here.
She grew tense, her breathing becoming more rapid. Nausea bubbled in her stomach.
“Stop guys,” Slade ordered.
“What is it?” Quaid asked. He’d already opened the door and stepped in to quickly turn off the alarm .
She remembered doing that. Then Billy had . . . he’d . . . hell.
And as if the memory of Billy forcing her to let him into the apartment wasn’t bad enough, the memory of when she’d been hurt by them started swirling through her mind.
No, no.
She needed to forget all of this or she wouldn’t be able to step through that door.
“It’s being here, isn’t it?” Spencer said worriedly. “We’re going to have to leave. We should sell up and find somewhere which doesn’t have terrible memories associated with it.”
Wait. What?
He hadn’t just said that, had he?
That nonsense broke through her panic like nothing else.
“You can’t do that.” She gaped at Spencer in shock.
“He’s right,” Slade said decisively. “Quaid, look for a new place for us to live. And get this place listed. Although that could take some time. Maybe we’ll go to a hotel until then.” Slade turned toward the elevator doors.
She waited for the others to tell him that he’d lost his mind. But none of them said anything, not even Quaid.
“Whoa. Wait! Slade, stop!” she cried.
He came to a stop and stared down at her, one eyebrow raised. “Yes?”
“You are not selling your penthouse and moving us into a hotel,” she told him.
“Why not?” Slade asked. “This place obviously brings up bad memories for you.”
“Yes, but just because it holds bad memories for me doesn’t mean you should get rid of it. It’s your home.”
“It’s only our home if you’re happy there. And you’re not,” Slade told her seriously.
“I don’t . . . you can’t . . . that’s crazy!”
“Why?” Spencer asked. “You’re going to be living there. We want you to live somewhere that you’re comfortable. ”
“You do know that this is a temporary thing, right?” she asked, glancing around them all.
Once more, Rock wasn’t looking at her, and Quaid seemed to have removed himself from the conversation. So she focused on Slade and Spencer.
“I’m not living here forever.”
Slade frowned slightly. “We’ll see.”
What was there to see? She’d cramp his style with his girlfriend if she moved in with them. They’d all get girlfriends eventually, right?
So she didn’t get what Slade meant. But it didn’t really matter, either. Because she was growing more and more tired.
And sore.
She just wanted to go to bed and rest.
“Slade, I don’t want to go to a hotel. I’m okay. Really. I don’t want you to sell this place or do anything rash. I just had a . . . moment.”
He stared down at her. “You’re probably just saying that to make us feel better.”
“I’m really not. I will be fine here. Better than fine. I just want to get into bed. I’m tired and sore.”
“You won’t be able to take care of her as well in a hospital,” Quaid pointed out.
She noticed he didn’t include himself in that statement. He didn’t want to take care of her?
Well, cool.
That wasn’t hurt she felt. Why would she be hurt by that? She didn’t want Quaid to take care of her. She’d never want him to do something he didn’t want to do.
Thankfully, Slade saw reason and carried her into the penthouse. She’d been here a few times before the incident with Billy. She just needed to think about those times.
Rather than set her down on the sofa in the living room, Slade carried her down the hallway.
Toward their bedrooms.
She’d never actually been down here before .
Spencer moved ahead and opened a door. “Ta-da!”
She gaped in surprise at the gorgeous room as Slade carried her into it.
The walls were a pale gray and there were splashes of pastel pink, gray, and cream everywhere.
From the cream bed cover to the pink throw and gray cushions.
There was a large bed with so many cushions on it that she immediately wanted to sink into them.
Two cream night stands were on either side of the bed and a large cream-colored rocking chair in the corner.
“There’s a bathroom through here,” Spencer said, pointing to one door. “And the other door over there has a walk-in closet. My bedroom is on the left, Slade’s is to the right and Rock’s is across from yours while Quaid’s is next to Rock’s.
“This bedroom is enormous. Are they all this size?” she asked.
“This is the main suite,” Slade told her as Spencer quickly drew back the covers and Slade set her down.
“The main suite is your guest suite?” she asked.
“No,” Slade said. “The main suite is your room. You’re not a guest.”
She wasn’t?
Was that a good thing or a bad thing? She really wasn’t sure.
Slade tucked her in and she sunk back into the cushions with a sigh.
“I’ll go get you some water and a snack,” Spencer said. “You’ll need painkillers soon. I’ll need to write up a schedule . . .” He was muttering to himself about her care as he left the room.
Rock stepped silently out after running his gaze over her. Quaid had disappeared.
Which didn’t hurt at all.
Nope.
“He’s taking this nurse thing seriously,” she attempted to joke with Slade.
“As he should. We’re taking everything serious when it comes to you, Boo.”
Right.
Good to know.