Chapter 10
CASSANDRA
“The doctor’s appointment was good,” I told Mom. “No concerns.”
“I should have gone with you.”
“Actually, Leo came.” I smiled as I spoke the words. “He was there when I got to the hospital. And he asked me not to move out.”
“You’re kidding.” Mom’s shock rang loud through the phone.
“Nope.”
“What are you going to do?”
I sat down on the couch and stared out the window. “Well, it’s not like I found an apartment today, so I guess I’ll stay.”
“Cassie, I . . . oh, never mind.”
“What?”
“Your dad and I were talking. Even if the place today hadn’t been a total bust, we would really like it if you’d come home.”
“Mom, we’ve talked about this.”
“I know you want your independence. Moving home doesn’t make you a failure, honey.
And it’s not forever. You said staying with Leo was temporary.
So why not be temporarily here, where you have two people who go to bed by nine o’clock, have no desire to set foot in The Betsy and can be here to help with the baby? ”
I sighed, wishing that very thought hadn’t crossed my mind as I’d driven to the hospital earlier, before Leo had asked me to stay. Life at home would be easier and Mom would certainly be more help with the baby than Leo.
Unless he had a magical personality change in the upcoming weeks, there was no sign of him embracing fatherhood.
But what if he stepped up? What if he stopped partying every night and was here? Something had clicked today at the doctor’s office. There’d been a change in Leo, maybe the beginning of a bond. If not with the baby, at least with me.
Deep in my heart, I knew Leo could be a good father. Maybe it was my imagination, but today when he’d heard the baby’s heartbeat, I’d seen reverence in his face. He’d come around. He would. We needed more time.
“Let me give it another week,” I told Mom. “I’ve still got time and if it doesn’t work out, then yes, I’ll move home.”
“Okay.” She blew out a long breath.
“Thank you. For always being there.”
“I’m your mama. Where else would I be? You’ll understand that soon enough.”
I was beginning to already.
Leo was getting yet another chance, but those chances would run out. The minute this little girl was born, she was my priority.
“I’d better get back to work,” Mom said. “Give me a call later.”
“I will. Bye.” I ended the call and set my phone aside, then ran my hands over my belly. “What do you think? Was he telling the truth earlier?”
The baby kicked my ribs and I laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
I’d had a string of sleepless nights since moving in. I’d toss and turn, knowing Leo was out and wondering if he was with another woman. Last night I’d barely slept an hour because unlike the other nights when he’d gone to The Betsy, he hadn’t come home.
My mind had run away with itself and I’d pictured him in another bed.
I’d convinced myself he was actually dating someone, and I was his dirty little secret.
The first thing I’d done this morning was search the classifieds for open rentals.
I wouldn’t be the woman he’d already used and left behind while he sowed more of his oats.
But if what he’d said was true, if there hadn’t been anyone since me, then that changed everything, didn’t it?
Did he want to get together? Did I? Falling for Leo would be as reckless as the Greeks opening their gates to the Trojan horse.
Yet the attraction between us was as obvious as my swollen ankles.
Touching him today had been precious, sweet relief.
The hormones were pumping and God, I would kill for a decent orgasm.
A Leo orgasm, because that man knew how to deliver.
My phone rang and I picked it up, Presley’s name on the screen. “Hey.”
“Hey. I need you to come to the hospital.”
“What?” I shot off the couch as fast as a pregnant woman could shoot out of any seat. “Are you okay?”
“It’s Leo.”
My heart dropped. Was it the Warriors? Had they finally come for their revenge? “What happened?”
“He was in an accident.”
His brakes. My stomach plummeted. “Is he all right?”
“They won’t let us see him. I’m here with Emmett and Luke. The doctor hasn’t told us anything, but Luke said his truck is in bad shape. We’re at the emergency room.”
“I’m on my way.” I moved for the door, hanging up the phone before grabbing my keys and purse. I slung my coat on, then hustled outside, careful not to slip on the sidewalk. The roads were slow and though I wanted to rush, I forced myself to drive under the speed limit across town.
Emmett was standing outside of the emergency room entrance when I pulled into the parking lot. I found the closest spot and before I’d even shut off the car, he was there, opening my door and offering an arm to help me inside.
“Did the doctor come and talk to you?”
“No. When we get in there, tell them you’re family. Then they’ll let you go back or at least get you an update.”
I nodded. I was losing control of my body. My heart was beating too hard. My limbs were shaking. I dragged in a breath, then squared my shoulders as we walked through the ER’s sliding glass doors.
“Leo Winter,” I said, planting my arms on the nurses’ station counter. “He was in an accident.”
“And you are?”
“His fiancée.” The lie rolled smoothly off my tongue—a miracle for a woman who’d had few reasons to lie.
The nurse looked me up and down, probably wondering why someone so young was claiming to be Leo’s fiancée. If not for my belly, I think she would have called me on my lie. “Have a seat. I’ll let his doctor know you’re here.”
“Thanks,” I breathed, then let Emmett escort me to the chairs where Luke and Presley were waiting.
“Hi,” Presley said as I sat beside her.
“Any word?”
“No.” Luke took the chair across from ours, leaning forward to speak quietly. Emmett stayed standing, hovering behind my seat.
“What happened?”
“Best I can tell, he slid through an intersection and got T-boned by a semi.”
My knees started bouncing. “Did you see him?”
Luke shook his head. “I got there just as the ambulance was leaving. But the officers on the scene said it wasn’t that bad.”
Presley’s hand found mine and I clutched it tight. “He was having trouble with his brakes. I offered him my car but he was going to check out his truck at the garage. That’s where he was going.”
“The truck’s not in great shape, but I talked to the driver who hit him.
Leo must have thrown it in reverse or hit the e-brake at the last second because the trucker said he was sure he was going to hit straight on.
Whatever Leo did, it put his truck at enough of an angle that when the semi hit, it spun him.
Plus the ice. From the witness reports, sounds like it could have been a lot worse. ”
“He’ll be okay.” I swallowed hard, not believing my own words. “Is there anyone else we should call? I don’t know about his family.”
“We’re his family,” Emmett said. “Dash is on his way. Isaiah is covering the garage and as soon as the last job is done, he’ll lock it up and come down too.”
How long did they think we were going to be here?
A door opened behind Luke and a man wearing a pair of teal scrubs and a white lab coat came out. “Leo Winter.”
“That’s me.” I raised my hand and stood, leaving everyone behind as I followed the doctor deeper into the emergency room. The sterile smell burned my nostrils. My tennis shoes squeaked on the waxy floor. They wouldn’t let me back here if it was bad, right? “Is he okay?”
“Considering what the EMTs told me his truck looked like? Yes. He’ll be fine. Bumps, scrapes and bruises.” The doctor stopped beside a curtain. “See for yourself. I’ll give you a minute.”
“Thanks.” I gulped and pulled back the curtain, the air rushing from my lungs.
Leo rested on the narrow bed with his eyes closed. Two legs. Two arms. And that handsome face, as perfect as it had been hours ago except for the butterfly bandage above his left eyebrow.
He cracked his eyes open. “Hi, babe.”
“Hi.” My entire frame sagged as I rushed to the bed. “Are you all right?”
“I’m good. Doc gave me some pain meds.”
I lifted a hand, my fingertips hovering above the bandage on his forehead. There was a smaller cut at his hairline covered with a glossy ointment. “What happened?”
“Those fucking brakes.” He sighed. “And my tires. I thought they’d hold till I got to the shop. Turns out, they didn’t.”
I closed my eyes and rested my hand on his shoulder. “You could have been killed.”
“Nah. Just a wreck. At least I wasn’t on my bike.”
“Then you would have been killed.”
“My bike’s in a lot better shape than my truck.”
“Especially now.”
He chuckled and winced. “Ow. Damn.”
“What? What is it?”
“Just a tender rib, according to the doctor. Couple of cuts from when the window shattered. Nothing that won’t heal fast. Hell, I’ve had worse at bar fights and they sure as hell didn’t bring me here when the cops showed up.”
“You don’t have to downplay this.”
He took my hand in his. “You look worried.”
“I am worried.”
“Don’t be.” He brought my hand to his heart. “I got lucky. I hit the e-brake and managed to spin myself mostly out of the way when the semi hit.”
If not for Leo’s fast thinking, this might have ended differently. The surge of relief made me dizzy and I twisted to sit on the edge of Leo’s bed just as the doctor came into the room.
“How are you feeling?” the doctor asked him.
“Fine. Wouldn’t mind getting out of here though.”
“Now that your fiancée is here, I’m sure we can get you discharged and on your way home.”
“My wha—”
“That would be great,” I interrupted and squeezed Leo’s hand. I’d explain our fake engagement later.
“How’s your pain?” the doctor asked him.
“Not that bad.”
“I think you’ll be fine alternating Tylenol and ibuprofen. If it gets worse, call me and I’ll write you a prescription. Want me to wrap your ribs?”
“No, I can do it if I need to.”
“Rest,” the doctor said with a pointed look. “Don’t let him drive. Or ride.”
“Of course.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Leo said.