Chapter 27 Michael
MICHAEL
“Have you told her yet?” I asked Sam as I handed him a beer.
Glancing over at his sister, he shook his head. “No. Haven’t even told the rest of them.”
His eyes drifted in the distance, and I knew all too well what he was doing.
Contemplating his future. With the latest blow he’d taken in the ring, it was get out and still have a life or continue in the life he was living and risk losing the use of his arm. He’d injured himself one too many times, and the last time was the end of his career.
Even if he continued in the ring, he’d never be at full strength, which put him in an even more dangerous position.
“Hey, you’ll like it out here.”
“Yeah,” he nodded, but I could tell his heart wasn’t in it yet. He needed time to recover, and there was no better place than out in the middle of nowhere.
“Any idea what you’re gonna do?”
He shrugged, the dispassionate look on his face all too revealing. “I have my winnings to fall back on for a while, at least until I figure out what’s next.”
“You could always join me at the sheriff’s department,” I grinned.
Huffing out a laugh, it was the first time I’d seen anything close to a smile on his face. “Yeah, that’s not exactly my line of work.”
“Well, we’ll be moved out in a few days, and then you get the tiny house, but I have to warn you, people around here tend to move the damn thing wherever they want.”
“I’ll just bolt it down.”
I chuckled, raising the beer bottle to my lips. “Good luck with that. We bolted it down at Mav’s. Ten bucks it’s gone when we get back.”
“Michael,” Ma said, bustling over to me with a crockpot in her hands that I instantly grabbed, taking the burden from her. “Thank you. Has Blake eaten today?”
I snorted in amusement. “What hasn’t she eaten? Why?”
“Well, it’s just that she’s looking a little pale. Is she okay?”
Glancing over at her, I nearly dropped the crockpot and rushed over to her the instant I saw that glazed look in her eyes. But this was different. This wasn’t a panic attack.
“Blake!” I shouted, reaching out just as she started to collapse.
Her weight dropped into my arms, and I swung her up, cradling her head against my arm as I shifted her legs into my other arm. “Baby, wake up!”
Chaos erupted around me as I stared down at my wife, praying nothing was wrong.
“What happened?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Is she okay?”
“Quiet!” I shouted above them all, carrying her over to the couch where I sat down with her still in my arms. She blinked rapidly, shaking her head as she pushed against my arms.
“What—”
“Are you okay? What the hell happened?”
“I’m fine,” she murmured, but her eyes were still slightly unfocused, sending panic racing through me.
“Baby, you are not fine. I’m taking you to the hospital.”
“No, I don’t—”
But I was already on my feet, rushing for the door. Sam was ahead of me, holding the door open.
“We’ll take my truck,” he said, running out the door.
“Parker, I’m fine,” Blake insisted, still pushing at me to let her down.
“Don’t,” I snapped. “Don’t even tell me you’re fine when you just passed out.”
“I didn’t pass out,” she argued.
A sarcastic laugh ripped from my throat as I climbed into the truck with her still in my arms, shifting her onto my lap so she was more comfortable before pulling the strap over both of us.
“This is ridiculous! What are you doing?”
“I’m taking care of my wife.”
“Where’s the hospital?” Sam asked.
“Take a right out of the drive.”
“Do not take a right!” Blake argued. “I’m not going to the hospital!”
“How long has this been going on?” Sam asked.
“First time. That I know of,” I said accusingly, staring down at my wife, waiting for her to admit that she was hiding something from me.
“It’s the first time,” Blake snapped.
“Really?”
“Yes! I mean, I’ve been a little dizzy, but only when I stand up and stuff, which is completely normal!”
“Nothing is completely normal,” I huffed, trying to rein in my anger. “You’re carrying a baby. You need to assume that any and all symptoms could potentially lead to your death.”
“Really? My death?” Blake laughed. “Don’t you think you’re being a tad ridiculous?”
“Not at all,” I muttered. “At the end of the road, take another right,” I directed Sam. “Imagine if I hadn’t been there, or if Ma hadn’t noticed you were looking pale. Just think of what could have happened.”
“Yes, I might have fallen—”
“You did fall!”
“Once! One fucking time, Michael Benjamin Parker! There is absolutely nothing wrong with me!”
“You almost died right before my eyes!”
“You are insane! If we were by a window, I would shove you through it!”
“If I thought you were strong enough to handle it, I might let you,” I argued.
“I swear to God, if you take me into that hospital, I will divorce you.”
I snorted at the threat. “I’d like to see you try.”
“I will. I swear to God, I will.”
“Yeah, except you’ve got just one problem,” I said, finally turning to look down at her, afraid of what I might find. Surprisingly, she looked just fine, but that didn’t mean she was. Looks could be deceiving.
“What’s that?”
“If you divorce me, do you really think they’d let you keep Wes?”
Her jaw snapped shut at the threat. She knew I had her. Foster situations were difficult at the best of times, but if we were going through a divorce, they would question whether we were the best guardians for him, and they’d probably take him away.
And I knew she’d never let that happen.
“I really hate you right now.”
“That’s fine. Once they tell me you’re fine, you have my permission to find the largest window in the vicinity and take your revenge on me.”
The most perfect scowl formed on her lips, making me smile and my heart thump just a little slower than the rapid-fire pace it had set the moment I saw her eyes glaze over.
The fact that she was so snappy with me could only mean good things, and I would gladly battle her every step of the way to the hospital if it meant keeping her in fighting form as long as possible.
By the time her brother pulled up to the hospital and I got out, the rest of the parking lot behind us was filled with vehicles from everyone at the house, along with a few people from town who had obviously heard the news and followed us.
“I can’t believe this. They’re all staring at me,” Blake hissed.
“Don’t pay attention to them. Let’s just get you inside.”
I tried to pick her up, but she shoved me away. “I am perfectly capable of walking.”
My heart squeezed at the anger in her eyes, but I wasn’t backing down. Leaning in, I dropped my voice so only she could hear. “You passed out, baby. I barely got to you before you hit the ground. Humor me and let me do this for you.” And when she didn’t yield, I added on, “Please.”
With a sigh, she held up her hands, waiting for me to move in so she could wrap them around my neck. I had her for now, but I knew if she got the all-clear, that fierceness would be back in a heartbeat.
And I wouldn’t stand a chance of ever protecting her like this again.
Picking her up, I carried her inside, making sure I held her gently instead of crushing my fingers against her body from all the anxiety building inside me.
I wouldn’t even put her down when the nurse chastised me.
Hell, I couldn’t even let her sit on the bed until I was sure I could release her without losing my shit.
I’d never felt so wound up before.
But I also never felt like I was on the verge of losing my forever.
And I wasn’t about to let it go easily.
“You heard the doctor,” Blake sighed. “I’m fine.”
“Anemic, Blake. That’s what I heard.”
“Yes, and he told you how I needed to fix it. I’m not in danger. The baby is not in danger. This whole rush to the hospital was all for nothing.”
I snorted in amusement. “If you thought that was turning out any other way, you’d better think again.”
Bending over, I slid her sock on her foot, thankful she wasn’t fighting me about helping her get dressed.
Sighing, she laid back on the bed while I continued to dress her. “You know, you can’t keep doing this. I’m not an invalid.”
“I’m well aware.”
“I’m serious, Parker. You know I can take care of myself.”
Slowly, I got to my feet and walked around the side of the bed until I could bend over and see into her eyes.
“I know you can, baby. But when I saw you going down…You and this baby are my whole world.” Resting my hand on her belly, it took everything inside me not to let my emotions rise to the surface.
“The two of you mean everything to me, and I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe. I almost lost you once. There’s no fucking way I’d let that happen again. ”
I knew I had her by the slight sheen in her eyes, though she would never admit that I was getting to her. I knew it was the hormones. She was on overload, and if I pointed out how emotional she was getting, she’d definitely find a window to throw me through.
“So, let’s finish getting your shoes on so we can get out of here.”
Pressing a kiss to her lips, I turned back, only to see Wes quickly leaving.
“Shit,” Blake sighed. “Go after him.”
“Why?”
“Because, you dimwit. Do you know what you just said to me?”
“Yes, I’m aware,” I said, quirking an eyebrow at her. “Remember? I said it.”
“Right, and if you remember, you said the baby and I mean everything to you.”
“Because you do.”
“And where does that leave him?”
Fuck.
“Go. I can finish getting dressed.”
“Are you sure?”
The lethal look she shot me was all I needed to get my ass moving. I was out of the room and chasing him down, but by the time I got to the waiting room, he was nowhere in sight.
“Hey, how is she?” Sam asked.
“Fine,” I said distractedly, trying to find Wes.
“But the tests—”
“Have you seen Wes?”
“Who?”
“The kid staying with us,” I said in frustration, shoving past him.
“Whoa, my sister is in the hospital—”
“She’s fine!” I snapped. “She’s anemic. I overreacted, okay? Now, where the hell is the kid?”
I looked at everyone in the waiting room, but they all looked at me as if they didn’t even know the kid existed.
“Well? Someone had to have seen him!”
Again, everyone was silent.
“We’ll find him,” Ma said, stepping forward. “He must be around here somewhere. It’s not like he could just leave.”
But he could, and he most definitely would. Blake and I were the only people this kid had, and after what he heard me say, I wouldn’t be surprised if he walked out.
“Sam, make sure Blake gets home alright.”
“You’re leaving?” he asked, grabbing me by the arm as I strode past him. “Your wife is—”
“My wife wants me to find Wes,” I hissed, “and she’ll be pissed as hell if I don’t find him.”
I jerked my arm out of his grasp and stormed toward the front door. “Jeff! I need a ride.”
“On it!”
I looked in every direction before storming toward the parking lot. He couldn’t have gone that far, and yet, I was sure he was already long gone.
“Where are we going?”
I shook my head, trying to figure that out. “Where would you go if you felt you weren’t wanted?”
“Home.”
But that wasn’t the right answer. The kid didn’t feel like he had a home. “Maybe, but only to grab his things.”
“Bus station.”
My eyes drifted from the shadows to my younger brother. “The bus station?”
Shrugging, he cocked a grin at me. “I thought about running away a time or two. Even made it as far as Kalispell before I realized I didn’t have enough money to get me any further. Some old man took pity on me and drove me home.”
“That’s dangerous as fuck.”
“I was young and stupid. Hence, why I thought running away would solve all my problems.”
“He doesn’t have anyone he would go to around here.”
“Maybe old man Callahan?”
It was a possibility, but I doubted the old man would lift a finger to help anyone. “We’ll start there, but I highly doubt he would go to him.”
Striding for the truck, I was still kicking myself over the words I had spoken.
They weren’t wrong in any way, but I had to realize that when we invited Wes into our home, it was for more than a temporary solution.
That kid was vulnerable, and if I wanted to get through to him, I had to start thinking of him as part of the family.
“I parked it right here,” Jeff frowned, staring at the empty space.
“Clearly, you didn’t or it would be here.”
“No, I swear…it was right next to a white SUV.”
I glanced around the parking lot and noted the dozen or so other SUVs in the area. “Jeff, you have the wrong fucking spot. There are white SUVs everywhere.”
“No, I could have sworn—”
But I didn’t bother to listen. Storming away, I searched the entire fucking lot, coming to the only conclusion left. The truck was gone.
And there was only one person who would steal it.
“Fucking Wes,” I muttered under my breath.
“He stole it, didn’t he?”
“Looks that way. It wouldn’t have taken much. I told you that old truck was too easy to steal.”
“Right, because I could have foreseen a kid stealing my truck. Is he even old enough to drive?”
“No, but obviously, he has the skills to hotwire a truck. Maybe now you’ll upgrade.”
He shook his head. “I fucking love that truck. No way am I trading that baby in.”
“You won’t have anything to trade in if we don’t find Wes. He might sell it and use the cash to disappear.”
My chest tightened painfully at the thought of failing him so greatly that he would choose to disappear instead of living with me. I hardly knew this kid—had barely been around him for more than a month—and yet, I felt in some way that we were very much the same.
He had no one and was fighting to survive, much like when I was running from my past, refusing to get close to anyone for fear they would judge me on my dishonorable discharge.
It was a lonely world, but in some ways, it was easier knowing you were on your own than to trust anyone to have your back.
It was why I ran.
And I had a feeling he was running for the same reasons.
Whipping out my phone, I called Mav, even though he was just inside the hospital.
“Did you find him?”
“He has Jeff’s truck.”
“I’m on it. What do you want me to do when I find him?”
Coming down hard on him was necessary, but it also risked pushing him even further away.
“Just hold him.”
“Got it.”
Sighing, I headed back into the hospital. Bypassing all the concerned faces, I walked straight back to Blake, and the moment she saw my face, she knew.
“Where is he?”
“Gone.”