Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jo
Four days of being locked up in the house and I was going stir-crazy. Ever since I came home from the hospital, Maverick had wrapped me in a bubble and wasn't letting me out. It was damn frustrating to say the least.
I was tempted to tell him he could pound sand, but then I would look at the ultrasound picture and remember the reason it had to be taken so early in the pregnancy. That alone would calm me down for a little bit before the boredom took over again.
It was an endless and frustrating cycle.
I needed to do something before I acted irrationally and caused more harm to my life.
I decided calling my grandmother was my best bet.
"Crazy Fox. What can I getcha?" I chuckled at the way Grams answered the phone.
"Hey, Grams. It's me."
"Well, it's about damn time you called me. I was beginnin' to wonder if you forgot I existed."
Always the drama queen.
"I could never forget you. And I spoke to you when I came home from the hospital to let you know I wasn't coming back to work for a bit."
"Yeah, but that was four days ago. A lot can happen in four days. I could've fallen over dead, and you never would've known."
I rolled my eyes even though I knew she couldn't see me.
"I'm sure someone would've told me. Actually, I'm positive they would have, and it's not like the guys aren't coming in every day to check on you."
"Damn right, they are. They love me."
Everyone loved Grams. She was the town grandmother. "How's it going there? Have you found someone to work in my absence?"
"Of course I did. Teenagers love having their own money. I had to hire three since they are new, but at least I don't have to worry about them getting knocked up and then causing trouble around town."
I choked on my spit. "Grams!"
"What, dear? It's the truth."
Okay, it certainly was, but she didn't have to put it like that. "It wasn't like I purposely got pregnant."
"No, but you purposely posted an article that put your life in danger."
I groaned. Now she sounded like Maverick, and damn if that wasn't annoying. "It needed to come out sooner or later. Speaking of. How mad is everyone?"
I could only imagine the gossip that was running rampant through the town now that people knew it was me who was writing all those articles. I never really planned for what would happen when they found out. I guess I had always just hoped they wouldn't.
"You're certainly the talk of the town, but I wouldn't say people are mad. Just surprised is all."
Well, that was a plus.
"And people want to know how you managed to keep it a secret for so long. A few people suspected you, but for the most part, it was a well-kept secret."
I sure as hell hoped it was because I went well out of my way to keep people from finding out. It would've been a tad embarrassing if everyone had known from the beginning and just wasn’t saying anything.
"It wasn't easy. That's for sure."
"Are you going to tell me how you managed to get all those secrets from people?" Grams attempted to whisper, but it certainly came out louder than she probably wanted.
"Working at the diner certainly helped. You'd be surprised what people say around a server because they don't think we're paying attention."
"Don't I know it."
"It also helped that I had an anonymous drop box on the newspaper website that people could send in topics they wanted discussed. I got plenty of material from there."
I usually had to wade through the bullshit to find the hidden gems, but it was well worth it when I did.
"How did I not know that was a thing?"
I chuckled at my grams. "Because you hate technology. You curse every time you have to use it."
Grams clucked at me. "It's taking over the damn world. People hide behind their devices and no one actually talks to each other anymore. It's a sad world we're living in."
I had to agree with her. People relied too heavily on technology. If it were to crash tomorrow, most people wouldn't know how to survive.
"Oh, shoot. Someone else is trying to call in. I got to go, dear, but call me again later so I know you're okay."
"Okay, Grams. Love you."
"Love you too, dear."
I hung up the phone, and sadness consumed me once again. For a short time, I felt like I wasn't trapped in these four walls.
"How's Bee?"
I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Maverick's voice behind me. Spinning on my heels, I glared at him. "It's not nice to scare a pregnant woman to death like that."
"Sorry. I thought you heard me come in."
I most certainly hadn't. The man moved too quietly for someone so large.
"So how's Bee? Is she surviving at the diner without you?"
"Like you don't already know the answer to that. I know for a fact the guys are rotating in."
Maverick didn't even bother to look guilty. "We just want to make sure no one is going to go over Bee in order to get to you."
I hadn't even thought of that. Shit. Did that make me a crappy granddaughter that it never crossed my mind?
"Do you think they would?"
"I honestly don't know what to think anymore. Despite your theory, we aren't finding anything to back it up."
"So why don't you just go confront him about it?"
It seemed like an obvious answer. These guys were like human lie detectors. I was sure if they wanted to get answers, they certainly would.
"That sounds appealing, but remember big-time lawyer? We can't exactly kidnap him and demand answers."
I would, but we already established I didn't exactly have the best moral compass, considering I willingly shared other people's secrets.
"So what's the next step?"
If he said it was waiting, I was probably going to scream.
"We wait until we have more evidence."
Yup. I was going to scream. Waiting wasn't something I did very well.
"Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?" I was slightly curious to see how he perceived the look on my face.
"Like you want to murder me just for saying we need to wait."
Huh. I guess it was safe to say I didn't hide my facial expressions very well. Which made me wonder how no one discovered what I was doing all these years.
"I'm contemplating it."
"I appreciate your honesty."
I snickered at him. "You said you liked honesty, so I might as well give it to you even if you're not going to like what I have to say."
"I never should've told you that. Now you're just going to use it against me."
A huge smile took over my face. "Damn right, I'm going to."
"Why do I get the feeling you have something up your sleeve?"
Well, I hadn't, but now I did.
"Because I do."
Maverick groaned. Smart man. I was always causing trouble in some way, shape, or form.
"As you know, I've been locked up in this house for four days now."
"I'm aware," he said slowly. Obviously waiting for me to drop the other shoe.
"With absolutely nothing to do."
"I wouldn't say you've had nothing to do, since I've seen you on your computer several times."
I waved him off. "That was just to check in with the drop box and see what people are saying."
"And what are people saying?"
"They certainly aren't as mad at me as I expected them to be. A few snide comments but, for the most part, everyone's been supportive."
I liked the smile that formed on Maverick's face. "I'm happy for you."
"Well, thank you, but now’s not the time to change the subject."
"I didn't realize we were on a particular topic."
I rolled my eyes. "That's because you keep trying to change it."
Maverick laughed. "Okay, you caught me. What would you like to discuss?"
"Sex. More specifically us having it since we are here together anyway, and it's not like I can get any more pregnant than I already am."
Maverick blanched at my words, and it caused me to laugh hysterically.
"You're joking, right?"
"Not in the slightest."
"You were just in an accident and probably still have the bruising from where the seat belt tightened against you. How can you possibly be thinking about sex?"
I scoffed at his question. "I'm pregnant and horny. And even if I wasn't, we both know how much I like your cock."
"Okay, but …" Maverick audibly swallowed. "I don't want to hurt the baby."
"Seriously?" I huffed. "Now you're just making excuses. If you don't want to fuck me, that's fine. I'm sure I can find someone else to do the job instead."
I barely turned all the way around before Maverick wrapped me around the waist and hauled me into his chest.