Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
BLAKE
Putting the box with the crib on the floor inside the room Savannah left open for me, I dust my hands just when my phone rings inside my pocket. I pull it out, the corner of my mouth lifting when I notice the name on the screen.
“Andrew Hill, to what do I owe this pleasure?”
The low rumble of my agent’s chuckle—my ex -agent, I suppose—greets me from the other side of the line. “Hello to you too, old man. What? Can’t a guy check in on his friend?”
“I would assume you have your hands full with your much younger clients. Working clients.”
Andrew groans. “Don’t remind me. Between some of those little fuckers and my own kids at home, I do have my hands full. That’s why I’m calling. I need somebody normal and grounded to remind me why I’m doing this in the first place because I’ll tell you some of the shit I deal with… It definitely tests my sanity.”
I burst out into laughter. “Wait until they reach their teenage years, and then you get to talk. The idea that I have to go through the teenage years two more times after Daniel…” A legit shudder goes through me. “At least I don’t have to do it at the same time.”
Andrew and his wife, Jeanette, had twins. Not just that, twin girls . How he was staying sane, I had no idea.
“Don’t even remind me. I love those girls, but damn, they’ll take me to an early grave.” There is a short pause. “Wait, scroll back, did you say two more times?”
“Shit,” I pinch the bridge of my nose.
“What the hell, Walker?” The chair screeches in the background. “I thought we were better than that.”
“We are, it’s…” I let out a long sigh. “There has just been a lot going on.”
“Clearly. Spill.”
I tell him about Savannah and everything else that has happened since we moved here, including the whole mess with Daniel.
“Holy shit, man. I don’t envy you one bit. And you’ve just made me feel way better about my situation; at least I don’t have to worry about how I’ll spin this to the press. Give me blurry images of drunk players any day of the week.”
“You’re welcome,” I mutter dryly.
“It’s a tough situation to be in, that’s for sure.” There is a short pause, and I can hear a clicking of a pen. It was Andrew’s tick, a sign that he was mulling things over. “You need legal advice?”
Legal advice? Why would I ? —
“God, no. Blondie and I… Well, I’m not gonna lie and say we’re perfect, but we’re working things out. No need to involve lawyers.”
“Okay. I figured I’d put it out there. If you need help, you let me know.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it, man.”
I doubted I’d need it, but it was good to know I had my long-time friend guarding my back.
“Good. Now, there was actually a reason why I called you. I talked to one of your sponsors, and they want you to come up for a photoshoot. I’ll forward you the e-mail with the details.”
I groan loudly. “I knew you didn’t call just for kicks and giggles.”
“Yeah, well, we can’t all be retired by thirty-five. Some of us have to work.”
“Oh, please, what would you do otherwise? You’d get bored within the first twenty-four hours.”
I was pretty sure that if Andrew wanted, he could easily retire. But the jackass liked bossing people around too much to do that. That being said, he did expand the business, taking in a few other agents in the last few years to help lighten his case load so he could spend more time with his family. These days, he was extremely picky when it came to selecting his new clients.
“Probably, and then my wife would kick me out of the house, and I love my wife, so… Anyway, there is also another thing. I’ve been getting calls about your plans now that you’re retired.”
“Okay, so? You know my plans.”
Andrew grunts. “Stay in your perfect little town and be a rancher? Those plans?”
“Now, I wouldn’t take it that far…”
My words trail off as I hear loud shouting.
“Walker?”
“Wait…”
I listen intently as the yelling continues—a voice that sounds a lot like Daniel’s.
What the ? —
“I have to go, Hill. Send me the details, and we’ll talk later.”
“Fine. This isn’t o?—”
I hit the end button before he can finish. Sliding the phone in my pocket, I leave the room and run down the stairs, just in time to hear Daniel shout, “Just because Dad fucked you doesn’t make you anything to us, so don’t you dare act like you are our mother. Because you’re not. If I were you, I wouldn’t get cozy because he’ll get sick of you and dump you before you know it. He’s?—”
My heart is beating wildly inside my chest as I get to the front door. The color drains from Savannah’s face, and she sways on her feet.
From the corner of my eye, I see the look of surprise and shock on my sons’ faces, but right now, all my attention is on the woman in front of me. Her hands are on her belly as if she’s trying to protect our baby even now as her body is swaying.
“Savannah!” I yell as I start running like my life depends on it. In a way, it does. Only a few steps separate us, but it feels like she’s miles away.
My heart is stuck in my throat until my arms finally wrap around her at the very last second. As gently as possible, I lower her body to the ground and push her hair out of her face. Her skin is impossibly pale, and sweat coats her face, making her hair stick to it.
“Blondie, open your eyes,” I urge, my thumb skimming over her cheek. Her chest is rising and falling slowly. Wrapping my palms around her wrist, I press the tips of my fingers against her pulse, only to be greeted with an erratic heartbeat. Fuck. “C’mon, baby, don’t do this to me. Open those pretty blue eyes for me, Blondie.”
This can’t be happening.
She has to be okay.
They both have to.
“D-daddy, wh-what is going on?” Levi’s stuttering voice breaks through the ringing in my ears. I look up and find him standing next to me, his face pale, eyes wide. “Is Sav okay? Why is she not waking up?”
“I don’t know, buddy,” I admit honestly, returning my attention to Savannah, who’s still not moving. I scan her body, looking for any obvious injury or bleeding, but there is none. That has to be good, right?
“It’s all your fault!” Levi yells at Daniel.
“I didn’t do anything!” Daniel defends.
“She was worried about you, and you pushed her away!”
“I-I…” I turn around just to see fear creep on my older son’s face as he glances at the woman on the floor. His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows, those gray eyes turning to me. “I didn’t mean to. I just wanted her to leave us alone. I never wanted for any of this to happen. Dad, I…” With each word, the panic in his voice becomes more evident.
“Hey, it’s fine. It was an accident. She’s going to be fine.”
She has to be fine.
Sliding my hands under Savannah’s body, I lift her into my arms as I start for my truck.
“Open the door. I’m taking her to the hospital.”
Daniel runs in front of me and opens the passenger’s side door before giving me space to put Savannah onto the seat. I slide her body down as gently as possible, doing my best to strap her in place as I adjust the seat so she’s lying down. Once secure, I skim my palm over her cheek, the knot in my throat growing tighter with each second her eyes stay firmly shut. “You’re going to be okay. You hear me? You’re going to be okay.”
I didn’t accept anything else as an option.
Savannah and our baby had to be fine.
Reluctantly, I pull back. Closing the door, I jog to the driver’s side and slip inside.
The boys are already sitting in the back, neither of them saying anything as we drive to the hospital. My fingers clench around the steering wheel as my gaze darts to Savannah every few seconds.
We’re almost there when Savannah stirs next to me. I all but jump out of my seat.
“Blondie?” I glance at her, feeling my heartbeat speed up as I shift my attention between the road and her. The last thing I needed was to get us all killed.
She groans softly.
“C’mon baby, open those pretty blue eyes for me,” I urge, my palm falling to her knee and giving her a gentle squeeze.
“B-Blake?” she croaks out, and it’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.
She blinks a few times, her eyes slowly opening.
“Savannah!” Levi cries out from the back, the relief I’m feeling evident in his voice. “You’re awake. I was so scared.”
Savannah tries to push up, but the seat belt holds her in place. “What happened?”
I tighten my hold on her. “Don’t try to move, we’re almost there.”
“Where? What’s going on?”
“You fainted.”
Her eyes widen, making her skin seem even paler as she places her hand against her stomach. “B-baby?”
“There was no bleeding.” I rub my thumb over the inside of her knee. I could feel her anxiety, and I knew it wasn’t helping at all. “At least not from what I could see, but I want the doctors to check you out. Just so we’re sure.”
Savannah swallows audibly and nods. “Okay.” Those big blue eyes meet mine. “Blake, what if?—”
“No.” I shake my head before she can even finish. “You’re okay. You both are okay.”
Nothing else is an option.
SAVANNAH
“The heartbeat is nice and strong.” The young technician smiles. With a press of a few buttons, a strong whooshing sound fills the room.
A soft whimper escapes me. I cover my mouth and tilt my head back to find the same relief I’m feeling written all over Blake’s face. His shoulders relax visibly, and he closes his eyes for a second as his fingers grip mine tightly.
Our baby is fine.
That one thought echoes inside my head. I didn’t care about anything else except for that.
She nods absentmindedly as she continues looking at the screen. “Everything seems to be in perfect order and progressing as it should based on how far along you are.”
“You’re fine,” Blake echoes as if he needed to reassure himself. “After she fell… I just needed to make sure they were okay.”
“It’s completely understandable.” The technician removes the wand from my stomach and hands me a paper towel which I gratefully take. Or I would if Blake wasn’t faster. He gently pushes my hand away and cleans all the goo from my stomach. “Based on the scan, the baby looks fine. We’re still waiting for the lab results to see what might have caused this.” She takes off her gloves and tosses them to the garbage. “The doctor should be with you shortly with more info.”
We thank her as she leaves the room. Blake tosses the tissues away and tugs my shirt in place.
“You know, I could have done that, right?” I try to force out a smile, but it falls flat.
Blake just stares at me silently, his hand cupping my cheek. And then his eyes meet mine, and I can see all the emotions that he’s been pushing back until now reflected in his irises.
“I was so fucking scared, Savannah,” he croaks out. “I heard the commotion, so I rushed downstairs. Daniel was yelling, and you were pale as a ghost, and then you fell…” He shakes his head. “I was so fucking scared that something had happened to you or the baby.”
“Hey,” I cover his hand with mine. Turning my head, I brush my lips against his palm. “We’re fine. The baby is fine.”
“You fainted, ” he points out. “You fainted, and there is nothing that I could have done to help you.”
“Blake…”
He seemed so calm and collected this whole time, my rock through the whole admission’s process. He was holding my hand while they drew my blood and while we waited for the technician to make sure the baby was okay, not once moving an inch from my side. And up until now, I didn’t even realize how much this whole thing upset him.
He leans down, his forehead pressing against mine. “After we’re done here, I’m taking you home, and you’re not leaving my sight.”
My heart does a little flip inside my chest at his words, the wild intensity in his gaze. There would be no negotiating with him. Not on this. Not now.
Before I can say anything, the door opens. Blake’s lips press against my forehead before he pulls back, and I can see the older woman standing in the doorway.
“Dr. Gonzales, hi!” I sit upright quickly, which is a mistake. The sudden movement makes the IV dig deeper into my hand. I wince softly, falling back against the pillow.
Blake turns to me immediately. “What’s wrong?”
“Moved too fast.” I look at the doctor. “What are you doing here?”
“I just came in for my shift when I heard somebody mention you were admitted. How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling like I’m ready to go home,” I answer without missing a beat. I was so done with staying in the hospital. “Please? I’m not below begging.”
The woman chuckles softly. “As soon as you finish your IV. But first, I wanted to talk to you about your blood work. We just got it back.”
I knew that look. The tone of that voice. And it meant nothing good. My throat bobs as I swallow.
“What’s wrong with her blood work?” Blake asks, his hand taking mine and rubbing gently over my knuckles.
Dr. Gonzales glances between the two of us until her gaze finally settles on me. “The blood work showed that your blood sugar was through the roof.”
Her words echo in my head as I try to wrap my head around it.
“Wh-what…”
“What does that mean?” Blake asks, and I’ve never been more grateful to have somebody by my side.
“How have you been feeling lately?” Dr. Gonzales asks instead.
“Okay, I guess?” My tongue darts out to slide over my dry lips. “A little bit tired, but I figured that’s normal since the last few weeks have been crazy between moving and the beginning of the school year.”
Add to it everything that happened with Blake, and yeah…
“Nothing else?” The doctor persists. “No blurred eyesight, dizziness, thirst, dry mouth, sweating, increased need to go to the bathroom?”
“I…” I glance at Blake, feeling the bile rise in my throat. “Some. But it’s still pretty hot, so I thought…” I swallow hard. “Did I do something wrong?”
Were there signs that something was going on, and I completely ignored them? Put my baby at risk? Should I have taken this more seriously and mentioned it during my last visit?
So many questions swirl inside my head, my lungs closing up.
“No.” Dr. Gonzales shakes her head. “There is no way you’d have known. The testing for gestational diabetes isn’t usually done for another few weeks. However, in some women, it appears before that.”
My brows pull together as her words register in my mind. “Gestational diabetes? What is that?”
“Gestational diabetes occurs when your body can’t make enough insulin during your pregnancy, which can be dangerous for mom and the baby, but it usually goes away after the birth.”
I have diabetes?
Blake’s hold on me tightens.
My lifeline.
“But… I’m trying my best to eat healthy, and to avoid everything you’ve said. Maybe I sho?—”
“You did nothing wrong, Savannah,” Dr. Gonzales says gently. “This is something that’s completely out of your control. Gestational diabetes isn’t like regular diabetes. I’ve treated many women who were top athletes, made sure they ate healthy, and still, they had gestational diabetes. The good thing is, we caught it early, so we can treat it accordingly.”
“What can we do to help her?” Blake asks. “Will she have to start taking medication, or what’s the process here?”
“To begin with, I would like you to try managing your blood sugar levels with a diet. This basically means that you’ll keep a diary of your blood sugar levels after every meal and jot down what you ate. It’s also important to drink a lot of fluids and move as much as possible. Ideally, your fasting blood sugar will be under 100 mg/dL, and just after a meal, it shouldn’t go higher than 200 mg/dL. If that doesn’t work, and your levels stay up, we’ll have to put you on insulin.”
My mind spins as I try to process all of this information and not freak out. “I can do that.”
At least, I think I could.
“I’ll prepare you a few brochures to look at when you get home, and I’d like to see you in my office in a couple of days so I can check you out and you can ask any additional questions you might have.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Blake says. “We appreciate that.”
Dr. Gonzales glances at the IV. “Your IV is almost done. I’ll tell the nurse to prepare your discharge papers and to come and unhook you.” She starts for the door, only to look over her shoulder. “Also? Try to keep your stress to a minimum, Savannah.”
I let out a strangled laugh. “I think that’s easier said than done, doctor.”
Dr. Gonzales nods in understanding and leaves the room, the silence settling over the two of us.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, feeling the weight of this revelation settle over me.
Gestational diabetes.
I have gestational diabetes.
It was still hard to wrap my head around it.
I’ve heard the term before, but I never looked into it much. I never thought I’d need it. What a freaking joke that was. But what if Dr. Gonzales was wrong? What if I did something that caused all of this? Maybe if I were more careful, none of this would have happened. Maybe…
“Hey.” Blake crouches down so we’re at the same level. Determination shines in his gray eyes as he forces me to look at him. That calloused hand cups my cheek, sending shivers through my body. I bite into my lower lip, tears blurring my vision. “I know this is scary, but you’re not alone in this, okay? You heard the doctor, this shit happens, and there is nothing that you could have done to stop it. The most important thing is that we caught it in time, and that you both are doing well. We’ll figure out the rest together. I’ve gotcha, Blondie.”
A lump forms in my throat, and I force it down, my voice coming out raspy, “Blake, I…”
My words are cut off when the door bursts open, and Levi appears in the doorway. “Sav! Are you okay?”
Blake stands, his shadow falling over me, so I use this moment to look away and brush my cheeks, wiping the tears away.
Blake wraps his hand around Levi before he can jump onto me. “Easy there, buddy. Savannah isn’t feeling well.”
“You’re not going to faint, are you? That was scary.”
“I’m not going to faint.” I shake my head, forcing out a smile. “I’m sorry I scared you. I’ll be better soon.”
“Good.” Levi nods. He slips out of Blake’s grasp, and before either of us can react, he comes to me. He hugs my legs and presses a kiss against my belly. “There, all better.”
He flashes that toothless grin at me, proud of himself, and my heart melts.
This little boy will be my undoing.
“What was that for?” I ask, trying to keep my cool, which isn’t easy when he’s being so freaking sweet.
“Daddy usually kisses me when I’m sick, and it makes me feel better, so maybe you and my baby brother will feel better too.”
Tears threaten to come out once again. God, I was such a mess. I squeeze my fingers into a fist, my nails digging into my skin to stop the tears from coming. “Thank you, Levi,” I rasp out, cupping his cheek. “You are right, I already feel better.”
If possible, his smile grows even bigger, and a lock of hair falls into his eyes. “See? I told you it helps!”
“It sure does.” Reaching out, I push the lock of hair out of his face. He leans his head into my touch, his smile falling a little.
“You’re really going to be okay?”
“Savannah and the baby had a health scare, buddy, but we’ll take care of her, and she’ll be better in no time,” Blake explains.
The movement over Levi’s shoulder catches my attention, and when I look up, I find Daniel standing in the doorway. He narrows his eyes on my hand, and my fingers itch to pull back. I can still hear the loud slap as he pushed my hand away earlier today, and see those angry eyes zeroed in on me.
But there was no anger on his face now. No, he’s pale, which only makes the bruises on his face stand out more.
He opens his mouth as if he wants to say something, but just then, the nurse appears from behind him, so he lets her through. The next time I look at the door, he’s already gone.