6. Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Joker
We hurriedly throw all of our stuff into the back of the truck and rush to town. I can’t help but notice how quiet Ginny is on the drive, and I keep looking at her. She looks both incredibly happy and terribly sad at the same time. Knowing her situation, I can understand the duality. I should have told her that I already knew about her past, but is there really a point now? It wouldn’t change that she told me on her own, something that really surprised me. I know she doesn’t talk about it, and I also have a theory it’s why she’s never moved away from home, or left for long periods of time. I would say it’s also why her dad is so protective of her.
As we pass the site of the car accident, Ginny is looking out the window in the opposite direction while my focus is on the tire marks in the median and on the road. I’m still pissed that Smith was too far behind him to see anything, since we have a tracker on him and don’t need to ride his ass. Logically I know the protocol, but irrationally? I want to punch the asshole for not having the answers I want. All we know is that he was heading back from Diamond Cove. He was going to be late, but he was heading back. According to Smith, he spent the night in two or three different clubs before getting a hotel room. He didn’t emerge until morning when he started heading this way.
We pull into the parking lot of the hospital, and I look over and smile at her. “Ready?”
“Yes!” She bounces in her seat and I tell her to stay there. I’m a gentleman most of the time, and I’ll open her fucking door.
“Have they let it slip yet if it’s a boy or girl?” I ask as we walk to the front doors.
“No, they wanted to keep it a surprise.”
“Crazy people and their surprises.”
“Right. It makes it really hard to shop for the perfect things.”
“Exactly.”
“Wait.” She pauses outside the doors and turns to me. “You shopped?”
“Of course. I think we both know that baby will want for nothing.”
She nods her head and looks inside but doesn’t make a move to go in.
“What’s on your mind?”
“I don’t know if I’m ready,” she admits quietly.
“You are.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you’re strong.”
“No, I’m not.” I can see her eyes watering, but I can also see the determination not to let them fall.
“You survived, Ginny. You found the courage to walk away before it was too late.”
“I was in that relationship for two years. That doesn’t make me strong. Just stupid.”
“Fuck that noise.”
“You realize he could absolutely ruin my life, right? He could get me fired.”
“You’re right,” I tell her. She snaps her head up, the glare on her face making it really hard not to smile. “But no matter what is happening right now, that would take some massive balls, and he doesn’t have those. Everyone in this town knows how much you give back. How you selflessly offer your time, your talents, and your love for those kids.”
“I don’t do that much.”
“Bullshit. It’s so much more than others. You give free lessons to kids who wouldn’t be able to afford it. You rent instruments with your own money. You provide a safe place and an outlet for those kids. And one day, everyone in this town will know what kind of a shithead that guy really is.”
“You already know people are talking, don’t you?”
“I don’t know anything, but it doesn’t matter. Not a single one of them has lived in your shoes. They haven’t been through what you’ve been through. No matter what anyone says, they weren’t there. They are unreliable.”
“Thanks.” She gives me a small smile and looks at the front doors again.
“Anytime. And if you hear any of those gossiping bitches saying anything, you come get me, and I’ll give them that look that you say terrifies you.”
She shivers, laughing. “It is so terrifying.”
I reach out and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. This shiver is a real one, and it takes everything in me not to cup her cheek. Pull her in and kiss her. Run my nose up the column of her neck. Down, boy!
“I’m scared,” she tells me, staring into my eyes.
“Fear is natural, Beautiful. It means you feel things.”
“I didn’t know you were this loquacious, Joker.”
“Oh, look at you with your big fifty-cent words.”
“That one’s at least seventy-five!” She smiles, the tension in her shoulders easing.
“Maybe you should have been an English teacher with those big words.”
“Not a chance.” She fully laughs. “I suck at English. Commas hate me. Or love me. Too much. Usually in the wrong places.”
I laugh with her, her eyes gleaming, much like they do anytime I let my walls down. One day she’ll learn those walls only come that far down with her. But not today. It’s time to go meet the newest member of our rag-tag family.
“Ready now?”
“Ready.”
As soon as we walk through the door, though, it starts.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe she’s showing her face around here.”
“The nerve. Where was she last week when she was needed?”
“Heard her brother’s having a baby today.”
“Well, maybe she’ll get a clue and leave.”
“According to what I heard, she’s been sleeping around on him for a year.”
“I heard that she’s been stealing all his money to buy shit.”
“I bet she’s been eating it. Doesn’t she look like she’s put on some weight?”
“What if she’s pregnant, too?”
And my personal favorite—so far, considering we haven’t even made it to the elevators yet—has to be, “Are you serious? She’s going to come in here parading around with another man? What a whore.”
I clench my fists to keep from punching someone. How dare they judge her? Assholes, the lot of them. To her credit, Ginny keeps her head high just like I knew she would and acts like she hasn’t heard a word. She blows out a breath when we step on the elevator, and I can see her jaw clenching, but she doesn’t say anything and her spine stays straight. See, the woman is fucking strong.
We step into the waiting room full of people. Mostly our people. Mr. and Mrs. Mills, Tiny and Lottie with Nat, Ranger and Elle, and Trish’s younger siblings Lucas, Harper, and Owen. Trish's dad, Zach, is here, watching everyone. Harper gets up and runs to hug me with Nat hot on her heels. What can I say? They love me. And after I made sure that Nat knows she can always call me, I’m her favorite, much to her ‘Tiny Big Guy’s’ dismay. He’s got Owen stuck to his side like glue, though. That’s his little buddy. We all sit down after being passed around for hugs.
“Do we know anything? How’s Trish?” Ginny asks Lottie and her mom.
“She’s okay. Davis just texted and they’re getting ready to push,” Lottie tells us.
“Already?” Ginny asks. “Isn’t that fast?”
“Yes,” Mrs. Mills and Lottie say, laughing with each other.
I sit next to Ranger who leans over and quietly asks, “How bad was it when you came in?”
“Pretty bad,” I admit, frowning.
“I thought her dad might lose his shit when we got here. They started whispering then.”
“How is she?” Elle leans over to ask.
“She’ll be alright. She’s strong.”
“Maybe she’ll realize that one day.” Elle purses her lips like she has more to say, but holds her tongue. “But the shit they were saying was fucked up.”
“How?” Ginny asks, and we realize we weren’t being as quiet as we thought. “What were they saying when you got here?”
“We don’t need to rehash that,” Mr. Mills quickly says, patting her knee.
“I want to know. Better to arm myself with the truth than hide and pretend it’s not happening.”
“They were wondering if you’d show your face, if you’d still be in your wedding dress no one got to see you in—”
“Please tell me you destroyed that dress,” Lottie interrupts Elle to the chuckles of everyone who had the pleasure of seeing said dress.
“He cut it off me,” Ginny responds, pointing at me. I smirk back at her.
“I’m sorry, what?” Elle blinks. “Why?”
“Something you want to tell us?” Tiny asks, waggling his brows, causing me to snort.
“Well, I now know what it feels like to have a panic attack with shapewear on under a dress that weighs over forty pounds that’s trying to choke you and rub your skin off at the same time.” This she says loud enough to ensure everyone else in the waiting room that has already been listening hears her. Badass.
“Honey,” Mrs. Mills gasps. “Are you alright?”
“I’m okay, Mom.”
“But why did you have a panic attack?” her mom persists. “And why didn’t you tell me before now?”
“I figure if there was ever a good time, it was then. I did just leave my wedding and open my life up for judgement and the scrutiny of the town, did I not?”
“Fuck,” Ranger mutters beside me, his eyes sliding over the room, both of us watching as everyone pulls their phones out to start sending messages.
“I’m so sorry.” Her mom puts her head onto her shoulder and pats her face.
“Not your fault, Mom,” Ginny assures her. “It’s mine. I did it to myself. I put myself in that situation and imploded my life.”
“You didn’t implode shit,” Mr. Mills’s gruff voice booms. “He did by treating you the way he has for two very long years. And I hear ‘red flag’ is a term you kids are using these days? That dress was one fucking big red flag.”
“I didn’t get to see the dress. What was it like?” Ranger asks.
I make eye contact with Ginny, who smirks at me before nodding her head for me to explain.
“If you created a torture chamber out of fabric, that was the dress. High neck, suffocating and making her chest break out in hives. It was heavier than Nat.”
“Don’t forget about the feathers!” Lottie throws in with a grin.
I shiver. “So many feathers.”
Ginny bites her lower lip to hide a smile, which makes me perk up immediately, but before we can go on, the door opens and Davis comes in, a grin as wide as his face, beaming at us.
“It’s a boy!” he screams.
All of us jump to our feet and pass him around for hugs and backslaps. When he gets to Ginny, he pauses, his eyes misting up, same as hers. He pulls her in for a tight hug, and when he pulls away, her tears run unchecked down her cheeks. Mrs. Mills, Lottie, and Elle are also crying. The kids are dancing and celebrating. Owen is the happiest of all.
“Oh, gosh. A boy? Do you have a name yet?” his mom asks when she’s gotten her emotions to a place she can speak.
Davis cuffs the back of his neck. He’s nervous. “Yeah. It’s umm, Aaron Matthew.”
Mr. Mills’s head snaps up so fast I worry he pulled something. Ginny’s doing the same. It’s almost comical how alike the two are in their mannerisms. Mrs. Mills is full on sobbing again.
“It’s a beautiful name,” Ginny tells him, a soft smile on her face.
“It’s—” Mr. Mills starts but has to stop and compose himself. “It’s a good name, son.” Before anyone can say anything else, he turns and leaves the room.
“Didn’t take long for him to run away, did it?” Davis asks, a hint of bitterness in his tone.
Ginny smacks his chest. “Be nice. You just had a baby and named him after your dad. And I think you overwhelmed the man, Davis.”
“Sure.” He gives his sister his own small smile, but his eyes are gleaming again with his emotion.
“When can we see them?” Mrs. Mills asks.
“In a few minutes. The lactation lady was in there helping Trish nurse. They kicked me out to come see you.”
“Like we’ve never seen boobs before,” Mrs. Mills scoffs, making us all chuckle.
“Just give her a few, okay?”
“Fine. Oh, my first grandbaby boy!”
“Mom, what if he had been a she?” Ginny grins at her mom.
“Then it would be my first grandbaby girl, duh!”
Mr. Mills returns and pulls Mrs. Mills into his arms. He looks like a man who has had a breakdown and is on a tenuous ledge. Davis looks like he wants to say something, but he sighs in relief when his phone dings with a text.
“Hey, Gin, want to go meet your nephew?”
“Me first? That can’t be.”
“That’s the plan. You, then Mom and Dad, and then everyone else.”
“Mom, are you okay with this?” she asks, her eyes filling with fresh tears.
“I’m just fine, sweetheart. You deserve this.”
Ginny nods and quietly follows Davis out of the waiting room. Mrs. Mills watches her children leave before burying her head into Mr. Mills’s chest and sobbing. Lottie has a sad smile on her face, Elle a knowing look on hers.
And I realize Trish and Davis have just given Ginny the closest thing they can to letting her experience the first few moments of a new baby.
Fuck. I’m getting emotional, too.