38. He’ll Know What It Is
THIRTY-EIGHT
HE’LL KNOW WHAT IT IS
Rylee
As soon as I agreed to move in with Trey, he didn’t hesitate on arranging a moving company. He wanted us moved in and settled with plenty of time before the baby came. His strict instructions were to pack everything I wanted to keep, set aside the donate or throw away items, and the moving company would take care of the rest.
After Acorn finishes using my bladder as a punching bag, I use the bathroom and wash my hands. In my bedroom, I set a packing box on the floor. I pull open a drawer in my jewelry box and the paper ring Trey made for me sticks out like my belly. I pluck it out and run my finger over the folded edge. Slowly, I slide it down my ring finger. My lips tip up into a smile. It fits a little better now. A drop of water from my hand soaks into the paper. The black ink bleeds around the center, but something about it is off. I delicately drag it off my finger and carefully open a fold. Then I do another and another until it’s a strip of paper. Written in smudged ink are the words: One day this will be a real ring. One you can wear forever. You are my forever. I love you.
Tears spring to my eyes. He wrote this when I told him I was pregnant. These were his feelings all those months ago. I shove the piece of paper into my pocket. Scanning the room, I find my phone and wallet laying on the bed. I scoop them up and waddle down the hallway as fast as I can. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure a turtle left me in a cloud of dust. “Oh my god! Why do I have to be growing a baby elephant?”
I shuffle past the movers. “You guys are doing great! Keep packing things. Label the boxes.” The front door slams behind me. I waddle down the flight of stairs one at a time. I’ll miss these stairs as much as the acid reflux I got from this pregnancy.
I race across town, almost running three stoplights until I’m parking in front of The Blue Stone Group. I throw on my flashers, praying they don’t tow my car and instead take pity on the woman growing an adult linebacker inside her. I push through the double doors. The sun shines through the atrium. I stop at the reception desk and ask if Trey’s in his office.
The young woman with black swooping bangs types away on the keyboard, but I don’t wait. This can’t wait. By the time she answers me, I’m a quarter of the way to the elevator.
“Do you want me to buzz him down?” she yells to my back.
I throw a hand up, waving her off. “No worries. I know which office is his.”
I waddle to the elevators and press the button for the third floor. Exhaling a breath, I’m thankful I don’t have to deal with stairs. When I reach his door, I half ass knock before I’m pushing through.
Trey jumps to his feet and steps out from behind his desk, concern etched on his forehead. “Rye, what are you doing here? Is everything okay? Is it our acorn?”
I pull out the piece of paper and slam it on his desk. “What is this?”
He glances down and his fingers run along the worn paper. Slowly, he lifts his head, his gaze meeting mine. “That’s the paper ring I gave you.”
“No. The words. Did you mean them? Even all those months ago?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “I’m pretty sure I’ve known that’s how I felt since I watched you man handle the guy at Porter’s.”
I step close and grip his tie and yank him to me, crashing my lips to his in a searing kiss. He clasps my cheeks, holding me to him as our lips press and move against each other’s. I pull away but keep my lips centimeters from his. “I want to be your forever. You’re my forever. You’re Abby’s forever. Acorn’s forever.” I kiss him. “You’re my absolute favorite.” Another kiss. “I want to be struck by lightning. Metaphorically, not literally, and you do that. With you it’s like I’m stranded in the middle of a lightning storm.”
He pulls me to his chest and places a chaste kiss on my lips. “You’re my absolute favorite. That’s four words.” He winks.
A laugh bursts out of me. “Fine. How about this? I love you.”
His eyes crinkle at the corners as a grin splits his face. “I love you. And Abby. And our little Acorn.” He kisses me again. “I can take the afternoon off and show you exactly how much I love you.” His lips brush over my cheek and down my jaw line.
I can’t help the moan that escapes me. “As much as I want to do that. I can’t. I left the movers alone at my apartment and my car might get towed.”
“Where did you park?”
“On the street. But I put my flashers on. The parking lot is way too far away for me to waddle across. They really should have pregnant parking.”
A laugh drifts from his throat. “I’ll be sure to mention that at our next board meeting.” His thumb brushes over my cheek. “But tonight. In our home. In our bed. You’re all mine.”
When he says things like that, I have the urge to say to hell with it. The movers can manage. I can collect my car from the impound lot. But I digress. “Promise?”
“Only if you don’t fall asleep mid lick.” His eyebrows lift.
Laughter erupts from me. “That was one time, and I was exhausted.”
“You’re always good at keeping my ego in check.” He spins me around and playfully smacks my ass. “Go finish bossing around the movers so you can officially be moved in.”
I flash him a flirty smile over my shoulder as I leave his office.
* * *
The next day, I wake up to a buzzing from my phone with another ominous message from Jake requesting to meet him at Porter’s a little early, if possible. Today is my last day at work until I start my maternity leave and two weeks until the baby is due. And I am ready. After a six-year break, I forgot how different life is when you’re the size of a hot-air balloon.
When I pull in, the parking lot is empty except for Jake’s truck. I park next to it and weeble-wobble my way inside. The outside light from the door draws Jake’s attention from behind the bar. He sets the glass bottle down in the empty row behind the others.
“Hey Rylee. Take a seat.” He points to a smaller table against the wall. He steps out from behind the bar and takes a seat across from me. “First off, you’re not working today.”
My eyebrows knit together. “Why?”
“I’m giving you the day off. You can start your maternity leave early. But I called you in to let you know they caught the person who broke in.”
“Who was it?”
“Chad.”
I’m stunned silent. Chad turned into an asshole in the past six months, but I never expected him to steal from Jake. “Wow. I wasn’t expecting that. But at the same time, I can see it.”
He folds his hands on the table. “That’s not all. They caught him because of the fight Kyle had with Trey.”
My jaw drops. “At my apartment?”
“Yeah. Your neighbors who called the police about the fight caught the license plate of the truck that sped away. They concluded that the truck was the same truck I caught on camera the night of the break in. The owner is Henry Wilcox.”
All the puzzle pieces magically fit into place, except one. “That’s the same name Trey told me.” I purse my lips. “But how does he fit into the picture? I don’t know him.”
“Apparently, it’s Chad’s step-uncle.”
My head draws back. “I never would have guessed that. I wonder how those two connected.”
“I have no idea. I just wanted to call you down here and let you know. I’ll be telling everyone about Chad later.”
“Thanks.” All the news about Chad, Kyle, and uncles ping pong through my mind. It must have been the truck that followed me. Shit. It could have been Chad who gave me a flat. Jake’s voice pulls me from my thoughts.
“Now, you go do whatever you need to do.” He rises to his feet, and I do the same, only slower. “But before you go, I have something for Trey.” He strolls across the bar and down the hallway. A minute later he emerges, a hammer in his hand. “Give this to your boyfriend.”
“He’s not—” My boyfriend sits on the tip of my tongue. I swallow it down. Boyfriend doesn’t sound so bad. I kind of like it, actually. It beats baby daddy.
He holds his hand out and drops a wooden gavel in mine. “He’ll know what it is.”