Chapter 17 #2
Tiny lifts his brows at the officer. “Which animal control location you headed to?” He looks at me. “Cool your jets, kid. I’ll handle it.”
I climb into the ambulance, and the paramedics start checking all my vitals. They give me a little juice plus something to calm me down.
At the hospital, they draw blood, ask me a million questions, and examine me, and Leo stays by my side through the whole entire thing.
I’m exhausted, and I want to get home to my dogs.
“Relax,” Leo assures me, rubbing my arm. “Tiny’s at the house. I gave him instructions. He’ll feed the girls and let them out. He promised me he’ll stay until we’re home.”
The doctor comes into the room to check me, but all I want is to know when I can go home.
After sleeping on a concrete floor, I want to feel my own bed, my own sheets against my skin. And I want to hold Leo. I want nothing more than that, an endless horizon of days holding him so tight against me that I’ll never let him go.
“Hello, Miss Dove.”
“Can I go?” I ask, growing impatient.
“We did find something in your tests. I don’t think it’s cause for concern right now, but we’d like to keep you overnight.”
Leo’s immediately on edge. “What is it?” he demands. “I thought you said they didn’t hurt her?”
“We don’t think they did,” the doctor reassures us. “But because we don’t know what they used to drug you, we’d like to make sure.”
“But I’m fine now,” I say. I really don’t want to stay here another minute longer than I have to. “Can’t I follow up with my primary doctor if anything seems off?”
The doctor nods. “Of course, yes, but we think it’s best for the baby if you stay overnight to make sure he or she is okay.”
“Wait…” My mouth drops open, or at least I think it does. I’m looking at Leo, and I feel like we’re mirroring each other’s expressions. “What?”
“The other night on the couch,” Leo says, his eyes wide. “When I had the whiskey…”
I shake my head and start laughing. “Babe, that was like, what, two nights ago? You don’t get pregnant that fast.”
“If you’ll let us, we’d like to keep you overnight and get that ultrasound scheduled first thing. If things look good, you can go home after that.” She looks from me to Leo. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but…congratulations, Mom and Dad.”
As soon as she leaves, Leo drops down into the chair beside the bed. He looks pale. “A dad? I’m going to be a shit dad. I thought we were careful.”
“Babe,” I say gently, reaching for his hand. “Come back up here.”
He climbs onto the hospital bed beside me, and we interlace our fingers.
“How many times have we been pretty wasted when we fucked?”
Leo shrugs. “I don’t know. I mean… A lot?”
“How many of those times do you think maybe we forgot to grab a condom or were too swept up in the moment to really care?”
Leo shrugs again. “I guess… A lot.”
“And don’t say such things about yourself. You’re going to be an amazing daddy. You poor thing,” I say, squeezing his hand and resting my head back against the bed.
“What?” Leo asks. “Why?”
I give him a snarky grin. “My daddy’s going to murder you dead.”
The door to my hospital room opens, and my dad’s head fills the opening. “You up?” he asks, looking me straight in the eyes.
“Do I look up?” I tease him and place my finger against my lips before ticking my head toward a sleeping Leo. He hasn’t left my side all night.
“Kid looks like shit,” Dad mutters, coming next to the bed and grabbing my hand. “I was so worried, baby. So damn worried.”
“We’re okay, Daddy. I knew one of you would find me, and we’d get out of this okay,” I sort of lie. I had faith in them, but whether or not we’d be okay…who the fuck knew.
“We?” Dad asks, his eyebrows pulling down in the center, causing his forehead to crease more than normal.
“Don’t freak out,” I whisper.
My words make his eyes widen suddenly. “Who did what to you? I’ll kill ’em.”
“Daddy,” I bite out. “You will not.” I move my hand to my stomach. “I’m pregnant.”
My father staggers backward, his hand on his chest like I punched him. “You’re what? How?”
I stare at him. “You understand how babies are made, Dad.”
He shakes his head, trying to regain his composure. “Who?”
My eyes drift to Leo, and my father’s head turns to the side, following my gaze. I don’t even have a chance to speak before my dad is holding a fistful of Leo’s T-shirt in his hand, ripping him out of the chair.
“I should fucking kill you,” Dad says as Leo’s eyes open wider, and he goes to swing but misses.
“Daddy,” I snap. “Stop it.”
“You touched my little girl?”
“I… Um…”
“Dad,” I plead. “This isn’t good for the baby.”
My dad’s shoulders slump forward, but he doesn’t let go of Leo.
“Fuck me,” he whispers. “I knew you two were fucking around. Knew it in my bones. I thought you two were smarter than this.” He shakes his head.
“You’re nothing but babies yourself, and I’m not old enough to be a gran—” He stops, swallowing hard at the word.
“Grandpa,” I say for him. “Surprise, you’re going to be a grandpa.”
“Like fuck I am.”
I giggle. “You are.”
“I’m going to be Tiny to everyone, even the kid.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Our baby is not calling you Tiny. Don’t be ridiculous. You can be Grandpa, Pa, Pawpaw, Gramps, Grandpappy, Granddad…”
“Stop,” Dad begs, releasing Leo. “I can’t. This is too much.”
“Daddy,” I whisper and hold out my hand to him.
He takes my fingers in his as he moves back to my bedside, leaving Leo unharmed. “I thought I’d never see you again, baby. I thought about all the years I wasted and fucked away.”
“I’m fine. We’re fine,” I reassure him. “We have the rest of our lives, and you can make up all the missed time you didn’t get with me with your grandchild.”
He’s green, but he doesn’t argue.
“You’re going to make an awesome grandpa.”
“Big Paw.”
“What?”
“They can call me Big Paw.”
Leo rolls his eyes behind my dad, and I stifle a laugh. “Whatever you want as long as you promise to love the baby more than you love me.”
“Impossible,” Dad says as he leans over and places a kiss on my forehead.
I’m smiling like an idiot when he turns his face toward Leo. “We’re not done dealing with this between us. Man-to-man. Brother-to-brother.”
Leo nods, standing tall, but he remains silent.
“Get some rest,” Dad says to me. “I’ll swing by to see you when you get home.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
“Love you, baby.”
“Love you too,” I tell him, and I mean every word of it.
For as lonely as my childhood was, my adult years have been kicking ass, and I can only see more love in the future.