Chapter 17
Cici
I take a few moments to freshen up before we head over to Cord’s house. I doubt Covey wants anyone to know we’ve decided to give this dating thing a try, but I’d like to look cute still.
We climb inside my car so there are no questions and drive over to Cord’s.
“I'm so jealous. I wish I owned your house,” I murmur as we drive past Covey’s home.
“Why?”
“Because you live next to Cord. I always wanted to live next to him when we lived on our own.”
“Really? I’d think you’d want space from your twin.”
“Nah, I have the best brother in the world. He doesn’t always understand boundaries, but I'm used to that thanks to my dad.”
“Yeah, that man doesn’t understand boundaries. Like at all.” Covey chuckles.
“No, he understands them, he just doesn’t care. He’s always been like that. The way Uncle Parker and Uncle Luke talk, he’s been this way since he was a kid. Aunt Avery is about the same too. It’s a Powell thing apparently.” I roll my eyes.
“I don’t see you leaping over boundaries.” Covey squeezes my hand as I park in Cord’s driveway.
“I fight the urge as much as I can. I think I take after my mom a little more than my dad.”
“I can definitely see that. You’ve got her grace and beauty. Her gentle nature and her strong ability to put up with anything thrown her way.”
“Thank you. That’s really sweet of you to say.”
Before I can say anything else, Covey hops out of the car and runs around to my side. He opens the door and holds out his hand to help me out.
I expect us to go straight to the backyard like we always do, but Covey leads me over to the side of the house and kisses me for a long moment.
“Sorry, I didn’t think I’d be able to make it the rest of the night without another kiss,” he murmurs. “I might have to sneak off with you and steal another kiss later on.”
“You’re going to get us caught,” I chuckle.
“I'm not scared of Cord or your dad, Cici. I don’t care if they find out about us.” He stares deep into my eyes and I can tell he’s being truthful with me. There isn’t a hint of hesitation staring back at me.
“I don’t want them to find out yet. Let’s give it a few weeks.”
“Why? I thought you’d want to tell them right away.” His brows furrow and he tightens his hold around my waist.
“I'm not running or regretting this or anything along those lines, so stop worrying. I just want to make sure this is what we both want. I know my dad and Cord. If we don’t stay together and they think you’re even a little bit at fault for it, they’ll make your life miserable. I don’t want that to happen.”
“Ok. You can decide when they find out. I don’t think we can keep my living arrangements a secret though. Wyatt knows about my house and I live next to Cord. He’s going to notice if my lights are never on and I'm never home.”
“Then we tell them I offered you a place to live until your home is done.”
My phone rings with Cord’s ringtone and I chuckle.
“We’re taking too long. My brother is looking for me. I'm sure if we don’t show our faces soon, someone will be going to knock on your door too.”
Covey steals one more kiss before he places his hand on my lower back and leads me to Cord’s backyard.
“I just called you to see where you were,” Cord says as soon as his gaze lands on me.
“I know. I was already in your driveway.” I roll my eyes and accept a hug from my brother. “You’re like a nagging mom.”
“See! She agrees! I told you.” Macy moves to his side, holding her stomach like she’s in pain.
“Are you ok?” I motion to her body.
“Yeah, fine. It’s just a little Braxton Hicks.” Macy waves me off as her features pinch in pain.
“Apparently me nagging her that maybe we should go to the hospital is getting on her nerves,” Cord growls and rolls his eyes. “You’ll end up having our baby in the back of an ambulance like Kendra did and then you’ll be angry, but the only person you’ll have to blame is yourself.”
“Hey, Cici? Will you be in the delivery room with me? I don’t think I want this twin with me.” She points towards Cord.
“Just because we’re twins doesn’t mean we can just switch places when you’re annoyed with me, Mace. This is my baby and I want to be there when he’s born. Stop fighting me every chance you get!”
Macy’s eyes fill with tears and I can’t help but chuckle. She’s a mess on a normal day. Always sassy and willing to fight over anything, but this pregnancy has made it so much worse. Cord has the patience of a saint with her and I love that about him.
“Don’t cry, baby.” Cord pulls her into his arms and presses a soft kiss to the top of her head. “I don’t want to see you in pain and I don’t want to risk something bad happening. I think it’s better if we go to the hospital and make sure these aren’t real contractions.”
“Yeah… I don’t think you need to wonder anymore,” Charlie says with a wince. “She’s in labor.”
“What do you mean?” Cord scowls at her.
“Well, unless she just peed herself, her water broke. It’s time to go to the hospital, Mace. It’s not your decision anymore.”
Charlie hands her baby over to Wyatt and takes Macy’s arm in hers. She motions for me to help her and we get Macy into the house and to the master bedroom.
“Take a quick shower while we grab something for you to wear,” Charlie instructs.
“I thought I had to go to the hospital!”
“You do, but you won't want to feel gross the entire time. You might not be able to shower until tomorrow and you’ll freak out over having amniotic fluid on your legs.” Charlie rolls her eyes, clearly knowing our best friend all too well.
“Fine!” Macy snatches the towel out of my hands and stomps towards the bathroom.
The door cracks open and Cord peeks inside. The concern etched into his features makes me love my brother a little more.
“Is it safe to come in or will the dragon bite my head off?”
“Well, if you call her a dragon to her face, she’ll murder you. Luckily for you, she’s in the shower getting cleaned up.” Charlie pats him on the back as she grabs Macy’s labor bag and places it on the end of the bed.
“I'm scared,” Cord whispers. “I don’t like seeing her in pain.”
“It will be ok. This is normal. You’re taking her to the hospital where they can give her all the good drugs.” I grin.
“Crap, I still need to clean up dinner.” Cord runs a rough hand through his hair.
“Don’t worry about that. There are enough people here to deal with the food.” Charlie rolls her eyes. “You just need to worry about your wife and the beautiful little baby who will be arriving soon.”
“Will you come to the hospital?” Cord stares down at me.
“I’ll do whatever you need me to do.” I wrap my arms around Cord’s waist and give him a hug. I know he needs support right now and I’ll do anything to help my brother through this. I pat him on the back as I let go, silently letting him know I'm here for him.
Macy exits the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body. Her eyes lock with Cord’s and she rushes over to him. She collapses into his arms and holds on tighter than I’ve ever seen someone do.
“It really hurts,” she whispers.
“I know, babe. Let me help you get dressed and then we’ll get you to the hospital.”
Charlie and I make our exit and head into the kitchen to clean up everything. Though when we get there, all of the food is already put away. Covey’s placing the last bowl in the fridge and drying his hands on a towel.
“You put it all away already?”
“Yeah, we figured it was the least we could do.” Covey watches me carefully.
“Plus, we thought packing up food was much easier than dealing with Macy,” Wheeler mumbles with wide eyes. I swear this massive man is terrified of little tiny Macy. It’s humorous to see.
I’ve seen Macy stomp into the room and bark orders to the guys. Wheeler’s face goes pale and he jumps in his seat. He definitely doesn’t know how to handle someone with as strong of a personality as my sister-in-law. I swear Cord was made for her though.
“What are you doing?” Covey appears at my side and places his hand on my hip. I swear whenever he’s close, he tries to touch me in some way.
“Cord wants me to come to the hospital. Macy said something about being in the delivery room, but I don’t think she actually wants me in there.”
“Ok. How about I drive you in your car, then I’ll get you something to eat?”
“Oh, you don’t need to do that. I’ll be fine.”
“Nah, sweetheart. You need to eat.” He leans in closer, moving so he’s slightly behind me, and his warm breath fans over my skin. “I’m going to take care of my girlfriend. You just need to let me know what you want. Did you get to have Mexican yet? I know you’ve been craving that.”
“No,” I groan. “And now I’ll never be able to go back there.” I lean my head back against his chest so I'm staring up at him.