Chapter 48
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
L arissa wiggled her toes in the warm water, wondering if there was any better feeling in the entire world. Her life would be perfect if she had a sack of burgers and fries from Marty’s. She should have stopped and got herself one before coming home. She glumly contemplated why the owner had to be the meanest ass in the universe; she knew she wouldn’t be getting a sack of the delicious burgers anytime soon.
For a brief couple of months, the town had enjoyed a delivery service until the driver fell in love and left. Several of the town locals had tried their hand at the delivery service and failed miserably. It wasn’t worth taking the snide comments the owner handed out, never mind the fee for napkins or ketchup packets.
“One good thing, if our clinic fails, I could always start delivering hamburgers,” she consoled herself out loud.
A knock at the front door had her reaching for her phone. She pulled up the Ring app and saw Moon at the front door.
“Come in!” she yelled, setting her phone back down on the end table.
Her smile of greeting was met with an annoyed frown plastered on Moon’s face as he walked down the entrance hall toward her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Did you forget to lock the front door?”
She thought about using “pregnancy brain” as a convenient excuse, but it would be a lie.
“I knew you were coming.”
“I don’t care if you knew I was two minutes away. You lock the fucking door,” he snapped.
Her shoulders tensed at the tone he used with her until she read the worry evident in his eyes.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I’ll be more careful.”
Moon looked as if she had just taken the wind out of his sails. “You are?”
Larissa nodded. “Yes.”
“Why aren’t you arguing with me?”
She shrugged. “Because you’re right.” Looking down at her feet, she started wiggling her toes again. “And … I heard about Pace.” She looked up through her lashes to catch his reaction.
Moon sighed loudly. “I was going to tell you.”
“You’ve had several opportunities, so why haven’t you?”
“To be honest …” He sat down and picked up the towel beside her, placing it on his lap, then lifted her foot closest to him and rested it on the towel. He used the ends of towel to gently dry her foot before he started massaging her sole. “I wasn’t ready to discuss it. Maybe in a couple of days.”
Resting back on the arm of the couch, she luxuriated in being cared for, as if her comfort really mattered to him. She didn’t want to spoil the moment by pressuring Moon before he was clearly ready. She decided to wait and give him more time to process losing his friend to suicide.
Being a midwife, she had witnessed fathers doing little things for the mothers many times. Propping them up on pillows, rubbing their backs, foot massages, getting them the food they’re craving …
Regarding him as his fingers moved to rub the side of her foot, she decided to go for it. Nothing was ever gained unless you did it yourself … or asked someone else to do it for you.
“Um … you hungry?” she ventured slowly.
“You?” Moon’s fingers went to her toes.
Larissa nearly lost track of what she was about to say. Lord … oh my … his fingers were magical. She had to swallow hard before answering.
“Starved. I would offer you something, but I was too tired to make it to the grocery store. I planned to get take-out on the way home.”
Sliding his hand down her foot, Moon cupped the heel in the palm of his hand then started rubbing the back, near her ankle.
Every drop of blood turned into molten silver at the speed of light.
“Why didn’t you?”
“Huh?”
“Why didn’t you stop and get take-out?”
“I wanted hamburgers.”
Moon’s eye narrowed on her. “I’ll call and order a couple of burgers from King’s.”
“Those aren’t the hamburgers I was craving.” Pouting, she tried to keep a straight face.
“Is there something wrong with your lip?”
She sucked her bottom lip back in. “Papercut,” she mumbled.
“That’s painful,” he commiserated.
She gave him sad eyes and took another shot. “Not as much as wanting the hamburgers from Marty’s.”
Moon ran his hand up the back of her calf to knead the taut muscles. How she kept her eyes from rolling back into her head, she’d never know.
“No.”
“Please …”
“I’m not dealing with that asshole.”
“He’s not that bad.”
Moon arched a brow at her. “Then why didn’t you stop and pick them up?”
“My feet hurt too badly.”
“Yeah, right,” he snorted. “How about I run to the grocery store and buy some hamburgers and buns—”
She started crying. “Because I don’t have his grill for you to cook them on. The pickles won’t taste the same, either. He marinates them in something and won’t tell anyone in what.”
Moon seemed bewildered at her behavior.
Larissa was at the point she didn’t care she was coming across as a loon. She wanted those freaking hamburgers.
“Have I asked you to do one thing for me since I’ve been pregnant?”
His hand on her calf stopped moving. “No …”
“The least you could do is get me those damn burgers!” she shouted at him. “I would go get them for you if you wanted them!” She wouldn’t, but he didn’t need to know that. “It’s your fault I’m pregnant, anyway!”
“How is it my fault? You snuck into my room.” Moon stared at her disbelievingly.
Larissa cried even harder when he raised his voice at her. “You’re the one who doesn’t know how to use a condom! Not me! Next time, buy a better quality! Did you buy the cheapest, thinnest ones you could?” she berated his choices.
From his expression, she could tell she had hit it on the nail.
“I didn’t buy the condoms. Wizard buys them in bulk, and I—”
“Who is Wizard?” Larissa looked at Moon wildly.
“The president of The Last Riders in the Ohio branch—”
She grabbed one of the throw pillows within reach and started pounding him with it. “I’m pregnant because you used a condom bought in bulk!” she screeched at him. “Who does that?”
Moon jerked to his feet. “They’re good condoms—”
She threw the pillow at him then flung her hand out toward him. “You got one on you now?”
She could tell from the big jerk’s face that he did.
“Let me see it.”
When he didn’t move, it sent her off into another level of fury.
“Don’t make me get up.” She stopped crying to warn him in a deathly quiet voice, “Let. Me. See. Them. Now .”
Moon looked like a deer caught in a headlight, frozen in place.
Infuriated, she lifted her foot out of the water in preparation to get off the couch.
“Dammit.” Moon reached into his back pocket for the condom and held it out to her.
Larissa stared at the packet, reading it through puffy eyes. “You son of a bitch!” she screeched. “You used an ultra-thin condom!” Throwing the condom at his face, she picked up the towel that Moon had used on his lap to cry into. “I hate men!” she sobbed. “I bet if you could get pregnant, you would have bought a name brand so thick it couldn’t be cut without a pair of scissors.”
“Larissa, calm down … let’s go get the rest of your things. I’ll stop and get—”
“Go back to the clubhouse. I’m not going anywhere with you!” She continued to sob into the towel.
“You’re going to get sick if you keep crying that way.”
“What do you care?” she hiccupped between sobs. “You want me to believe we’re in a relationship—”
“We are,” he tried to soothe her.
She lowered the towel to glare at him. “Then why are you still carrying around condoms?”
Moon stared at her speechlessly, his mouth hanging open like a damn fish.
She picked up the towel to continue crying. “Leave!”
He sighed loudly. “I’ll go get you hamburgers from Marty’s.”
“You mean it?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.” She lowered the towel to start fanning her face with her hand. “You don’t know how much that means to me.”
“I’m getting the idea. I do,” he replied, turning toward the hallway.
“When you order the food, tell Marty it’s is for me. He gives me extra pickles.”
“Okay.”
Putting her foot back in the water, she saw Moon was almost out the door. “Don’t come back unless you get enough for my sisters and yourself. I’m not sharing mine!”
She grabbed the pillow from the floor and put it behind her back. Then she opened the drawer of the side table and took out a box of Girl Scout s’more cookies.
She heard the door close behind Moon.
She had learned one thing by being a midwife: the only time you have control over people to get them to do anything you want was when you were within a few months of giving birth. You had to use that power wisely … and not take any prisoners.