Chapter 15
Fifteen
Blayne
I wake up in my own bed and it feels wrong as hell. Too big, too cold, and it doesn’t smell like Reggie. I’ve been staying at her place so much lately that my house feels like a hotel room.
That should probably worry me more than it does.
My phone buzzes with a text as I’m making coffee.
Reggie: Heading to Monterey for fabric shopping. Back tonight.
Me: Want company?
Reggie: Sweet, but no. I need to focus.
Me: I wouldn’t distract you.
Reggie: Right…
I grin at my phone like an idiot. Three weeks of this arrangement and I’m still acting like a teenager with his first crush.
Me: Drive safe.
Reggie: Always, handsome. See you tonight. ??
At work, I keep checking my phone even though I know she’s just shopping. Something about my woman being two hours away makes me antsy.
Around noon, Tommy calls me over to look at a foundation issue, and I’m elbow-deep in concrete problems when my phone rings.
“Hi, baby.”
“Blayne?” Reggie’s voice is filled with panic. “I’m so sorry to bother you, but…”
“What’s wrong?” I step away to give her my full attention.
“The school just called. Nia fell at volleyball practice. They think she sprained her ankle.” Shit.
“Where are you?”
“Monterey with my mom. We’re already turning around, but it’s going to be an hour before we get there, and she’s hurt and scared and…”
“I’m already on my way,” I say, opening my truck door.
“Are you sure? I know you’re working, and I hate to ask, but Daddy isn’t…”
“Reggie. Stop. I’m going.”
“Thank you. God, thank you. She knows you, and I just… I couldn’t stand the thought of her sitting there alone with strangers.”
“She won’t be alone. I got her.”
“I know. I know you do.”
The relief in her voice does something to my chest. She trusts me with her injured kid. Completely, without question.
“Text me when you get there?” she asks.
“Of course. Drive safe.”
“I will. And Blayne? Thank you. I owe you everything.”
“You don’t owe me anything, baby.”
I’m buckled up and driving before I even hang up. Tommy shouts something behind me, but I’m already gone.
The school is only ten minutes away, but it feels like an hour. I keep thinking about Nia lying there hurt, probably scared and in pain, waiting for someone to show up.
I park haphazardly in the visitor lot and jog toward the main entrance. The secretary recognizes me - small town, everyone knows everyone.
“I’m here for Nia Scott,” I tell her.
“Oh good! Right through there.”
I find Nia sitting on a cot with an ice pack on her ankle, looking pale but trying to act tough. When she sees me, relief floods her face.
“Thank God,” she says. “I was afraid they were going to make me wait alone.”
“Not happening, kiddo. How you feeling?”
“Like an idiot. I went up for a spike and came down wrong.”
The nurse fills me in. Definitely sprained, possibly strained. Needs an X-ray to be sure.
“Your mom and grandma are on their way,” I tell Nia. “But they’re going to be a while. You want to get this checked out now, or wait for her?”
“Now. Please. It really hurts.”
“Then let’s go.”
The paperwork is a fucking nightmare since I’m not family, but I call Reggie and she talks to the nurse, giving permission for me to handle everything. Twenty minutes later, I’m carrying Nia to my truck because she can’t put weight on her ankle.
“This is embarrassing,” she mutters.
I chuckle, my mood lighter now that I’ve seen she’s fine. “Why?”
“Because I’m fourteen and you’re carrying me like I’m Annalise.”
“You weigh about as much as Annalise. When’s the last time you ate a real meal, smart lady?”
She rolls her eyes, confirming she’s definitely feeling like herself. “I eat plenty.”
“Boba doesn’t count.”
She huffs out a laugh.
* * *
At urgent care, I’m filling out forms with information I’m surprised to realize I know: Nia’s birthday, allergies. When did I even memorize this stuff?
“You’re really good at this,” she observes.
I raise my gaze from the clipboard in my hand. “Good at what?”
She lifts her chin toward the forms. “The dad thing.”
The comment hits me square in the chest, and I feel my eyes bug out. “I’m not…”
“Yeah, you are. You dropped everything to come get me. You know all my information. You’re sitting here reading parenting magazines.”
I look down at the empty chair next to mine, where I left a magazine open. Sure enough, there’s a “Family Circle” with an article about teenage nutrition…
“Shut up,” I tell her, but I’m grinning huge. Like a fool.
Nia bumps my shoulder with hers, grinning back. “It’s okay.” Her expression sobers when she adds, “you’re better at it than my dad…”
“Nia…”
She shrugs again, this time with her head bowed. “He never came to any of our school stuff. Didn’t know any of our friends or teachers’ names. Definitely didn’t take me to the doctor when I was hurt.”
“That’s his loss, sweetheart.”
She straightens in her chair, looking me straight in the eye with a serious nod. “His loss, your gain.”
This girl… I wrap an arm around her shoulder and give her an affectionate squeeze.
* * *
The X-ray shows it’s just a sprain, thank God. The doctor gives Nia a brace and crutches and orders no volleyball for a week.
“But we have a tournament on Friday,” she protests.
“Not happening, missy. You need to let this heal.”
She grumbles a reluctant “thank you” on our way out of the exam room.
“There’ll be other tournaments,” I tell her as we leave.
“I guess.”
“You hungry?” I’m hoping food will cheer her up.
“I could eat.”
I take her to the diner because the food’s amazing but also because Rosie will fuss over her. And sure enough, as soon as we walk in, Rosie comes over.
“What happened, honey?”
“Volleyball injury. Nothing too bad,” Nia replies with a small smile.
“Well, you just sit right there. What can I get you?”
I order a burger. Nia, a salad.
“A salad?” Rosie looks offended. “Child, you’re injured. You need real food. Bring her the chicken dumplings and a milkshake.”
“I don’t really,” Nia starts.
“Chicken dumplings,” Rosie tells her waitress, ignoring the interruption. “Chocolate milkshake.”
“I don’t like chocolate,” Nia says.
“Vanilla,” I add my two cents.
Nia glares at me, grumbling, “Fine.” I chuckle.
As we’re finishing up our hearty meal, my phone rings. Reggie’s name pops up on the screen.
“Hey,” I answer. “How’s the drive?”
“Terrible. Traffic. I’m going crazy here. How is Nia? Is she okay? Are we sure it’s just a sprain?”
I can hear the worry in her voice, the kind of panic only a mom can have when her kid’s hurt and she’s not there.
“She’s fine,” I tell her, watching Nia roll her eyes at her mom’s obvious freak-out. “X-ray showed just a sprain. Doctor says she’ll be good as new in a week.”
“Oh, thank God. Can I talk to her?”
I hand the phone to Nia. “Your mom wants to hear your voice.”
“Hi, Mama… Yes, I’m fine… No, it doesn’t hurt that much… Blayne’s been great… We’re at the diner… Him and Ms. Rosie made me eat real food.”
She grins at whatever Reggie says next.
“Yeah, he’s totally spoiling me… milkshake and everything… No, Mama, you don’t need to speed… We’re good.”
I can hear Reggie’s voice through the phone, asking rapid-fire questions mixed with rising relief.
“Mom, breathe,” Nia says, rolling her eyes. “I’m okay. Blayne’s being awesome as usual… What? Oh.” She looks at me with a weird expression. “She wants to talk to you again.”
I take the phone back. “Yeah?”
“Blayne, I…” Her voice cracks a little. “I can’t even tell you what it means that you were there for her. That she had someone who cares about her.”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
“I know, but… God, when the school called and said she was hurt, and I was hours away, I just… I panicked. And then I thought of you, and I knew she’d be okay.”
“She is okay. Tough as nails, this one.”
“She gets that from her grandma… Listen, we’re close now. Are you okay to stay with her until we get there?”
“Not going anywhere.”
She lets out a relieved sigh. “Thank you. Seriously. I owe you everything.”
“You don’t owe me shit, baby.”
“Yes, I do. You dropped everything for my daughter. That’s… that’s not nothing.”
“She’s a good kid.” I look up at Nia, and she’s grinning huge, watching me with big eyes. Fuck, I’m gonna get it. “I’ll see you when you get here,” I tell Reggie.
“See you soon, cowboy.”
She hangs up, and I’m left staring at my phone, trying to process what just happened.
“And now she’s crying,” Nia says.
“How’d you know?”
“She always cries when she’s relieved. Happy tears.”
“She was really scared for you.”
We share a serious gaze.
“Yeah, that’s what moms do. They worry about everything.” She takes a sip of her milkshake. “But she knew she could trust you with me.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because she called you. No one else in town. That means a lot coming from my mom.”
It means everything. It means Reggie trusts me with the most important thing in her world. Her children. And she’s done it twice now. It means I’ve become the person she turns to when she needs help with real shit.
That’s a hell of a responsibility. And it’s one I want.
“Can I ask you something?” Nia questions.
“Shoot.”
“Are you going to marry my mom?”
I nearly choke on my coffee. “Jesus, kid. Where’d that come from?”
“Annalise keeps talking about it. And you basically live at our house now.”
“Your mom and I are figuring things out.”
“That’s what she said too.”
“You talked to her about this?”
“Yeah, I told her I’m not blind. You’re there every night. You came running when I got hurt.”
“Because I care about you guys.”
“I know. We like you, Blayne.”
The simple statement hits me harder than it should.
She looks out the glass panel, her expression way too serious for her age. “I hope you two get married. Mama’s happier than she’s been in years.”
“Yeah?” I ask in a raspy voice, my throat contracted with emotion.
She nods, her eyes coming back to mine. “And you’re good with us.” Her face relaxes into a teasing smile. “Even when we’re being brats.”
“Smartass.”
We both laugh.