Chapter 30
Dick Measuring Contest
? Jealous - Nick Jonas
Angelina
Autumn blurred into winter—not the snowy landscape, crisp frosty morning kind, but the gloomy grey skies and wet ground kind that makes you dread the day ahead. Combine those dreary days with persistent back pain and the constant urge to pee, and you have the perfect blend of misery.
Christmas lights shone from every home on the ranch, and ours was no exception.
It turns out Griffin Hayes is a big fan of the holidays.
He’d even taken to walking around with a sprig of ‘mistletoe’ in his back pocket, so he had an excuse to get down on his knees and kiss my belly.
I didn’t have the heart to tell him it was holly, not mistletoe.
On December 23rd, Olivia went into labor, and one day later, on Ruby’s birthday, Elsie Rose was born. While Olivia and Wilder were preoccupied with the new baby, Jaxon and Callie presented Emmy and Gracie with their Christmas present—a fluffy highland cow named Poppy.
The news went down about as well as you would expect, but there isn’t a return policy on livestock, and Wilder could never disappoint his girls. As penance for his misdeeds, Jaxon built Poppy her own shelter next to the big barn, complete with a name plate painted by Emmy Lou herself.
Just after midnight on New Year’s Day, the twins were born. Alice and Annie Hayes were just under five pounds each. They spent a few weeks in the NICU before coming home to meet their doting big brother, Atticus. Wherever the twins are, you’re sure to find Atticus looming nearby.
The end of January brings the first big snow of the season, blanketing all of Oak Ridge and the mountains in the distance. The early morning sun sparkles across the landscape like it’s made of diamonds as I pull into my parking spot across from the clinic.
I push through the front door and kick the snow off my boots and onto the welcome mat. These days, my belly arrives before I do, and Marnie’s wide-eyed gaze confirms as much.
I stop dead in my tracks, planting my hand on my hip. “My eyes are up here.”
“The OB office is two blocks that way,” she quips. “We don’t do humans here.”
If there’s one thing I’m gonna miss about this place when I’m on my maternity leave, it’s Marnie’s cunty morning banter.
“Never change, Marnie.”
She snorts and picks up a nail file as I waddle past her into my office. That’s new, too—I waddle now.
What a privilege.
It wasn’t all that long ago that I was a bad bitch in stilettos and leather pants.
Sometimes I miss that version of me, but then I remember this version is all she ever wanted.
Motherhood is a dream fulfilled. Stilettos and leather pants will be waiting for me on the other side of swollen feet and Braxton-Hicks contractions.
I’m still me, I just have another title to add beside Doctor—Mom.
The office door swings open, and Micah rushes in. “You might want to sit down for this.”
“Are you quitting? Please say you’re not quitting. I can’t live without you.”
He shakes his head, his eyes darting to the door. “Worse. Tyler’s here.”
Ice floods my veins, and I swear I can feel the color draining from my face. “You’re right. That is worse. What does he want?”
“He brought Luna. It’s an emergency.”
I tamp down my fear and abruptly stand, inadvertently shoving my office chair backward in the process. It crashes into the bookshelves behind me, knocking several frames over. I don’t stop to fix them. “What’s wrong with her?”
“Apparently, she ate an entire bag of chocolate chips.”
“Milk chocolate?”
Micah grimaces and shakes his head. “Semi-sweet baking chocolate.”
“Fuck.”
I speed-waddle down the hall to the exam room. When I get there, Tyler’s eyes are red-rimmed and glassy, and he’s holding a lethargic black pug in his arms. It’s the most emotion I’ve ever seen from this man.
“Angie,” he chokes. “You have to help her. She’s all I have left.”
I want to rage at him, remind him how he got himself into this position, but now is not the time. Luna is my priority. Everything else can wait.
I take her from his arms and place her on the scale. “How big was the bag, and how long has it been since she ate them?”
She nudges at my hand like she used to do, and my heart gives a painful squeeze. “I missed you, too, sweet girl.”
Tyler runs his hands through his dark, disheveled hair as he paces the length of the room.
“Twelve ounces, I think. I’m not sure how long.
I came home from work, and she was throwing up in the kitchen.
It could’ve been hours.” He sinks into the metal armchair, locking his hands behind his head with his face between his knees. “Fuck!”
My first instinct is to offer him comfort, but that's not my job anymore. Right now, I’m Doctor Angelina Rossi, and he’s someone I once thought I knew, someone I thought loved.
I do some quick math in my head. Luna’s a big girl, coming in at just under twenty pounds. A twelve-ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips is nearly fatal if left untreated.
I check her heart rate, administer medication to prevent further absorption of the toxin into her bloodstream, keep her calm, and set up IV fluids to prevent dehydration. Over the course of an hour, I keep a close eye on her. While I’m with other patients, Micah takes my place.
Luna’s a fighter.
“I’m going to keep her here for the next twenty-four hours or so to monitor her condition, but the fact that she’s vomiting is a good sign. Her body is fighting back.”
Tyler doesn’t look at me. He just nods and runs his hand down her back in soothing motions.
“Micah will stay with her,” I say.
When he finally looks up, I gesture for him to follow me out. He leans over and whispers into her ear, then kisses the top of her head. She’s lethargic, but she still manages to lick his face. He grimaces, and it takes everything in me not to laugh at his expense. He deserved that.
Tyler slips his hands into his pockets and follows me out of the room.
I stop beside the reception desk where Marnie’s ready with the clipboard. “I’ll have you sign the paperwork, and you can go. If anything changes, we’ll call you.”
There’s a long pause before he says anything. “Thank you, Angie. I don’t know what I would’ve done…”
Compassion overpowers reason, and I give his forearm a reassuring squeeze. “She’s going to be fine. In all likelihood, you can take her home tomorrow.”
Before I even know what’s happening, Tyler pulls me into his arms and hugs me. I don’t react immediately, too stunned by the sudden embrace to register it until it’s too late. My belly presses against his, and the feeling unsettles me. Once my mind catches up, I shove him away from me.
My hands instinctively go to my bump.
Tyler’s gaze tracks the movement.
I take a small step backward. “Don’t. You don’t get to ask.”
“I—”
A deep voice cuts through the moment. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll step away from my wife.”
Griffin
I pull up outside the clinic and park behind Angie’s van.
She left her lunch in the fridge this morning, so I thought I’d bring it to her.
She could easily order in, but I’ll take any excuse I can get to see her.
There’s this bon- deep ache that only exists whenever she’s not around.
I could endure those hours and wait for her to return home, but I have little restraint left where she’s concerned.
I find her as soon as I step inside the stark white waiting room. She has her back to the door, her light green scrubs hugging every dip and curve of her perfect body.
I nod at Marnie behind the desk. Her eyes widen and dart toward Angie and the patient.
Angie reaches for his arm. Tyler’s arm.
It’s finally happened. He came back to claim what’s mine.
Angie. The baby. I’m going to lose them.
Angie’s lunch falls to the floor, and that ache intensifies as my worst fear comes to life in front of me.
She’s speaking, but I’m too locked in on Tyler to hear a word she’s saying.
He pulls her in for a hug, trapping her hands between them. Time seems to slow, and they stay like that for the longest ten seconds of my fucking life. His sinister gaze locks on mine before Angie pushes him away.
As if on instinct, she cradles her bump and steps back. “Don’t. You don’t get to ask.”
Tyler opens his mouth to speak, but I’ve seen and heard enough.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll step away from my wife.”
Angie whirls to face me, anger giving way to something like relief. I eat up the distance between us and pull her behind me, blocking her from view.
Nostrils flared, I direct my anger where it belongs. “What the fuck are you doing here, Ty?”
Shoulders set and jaw clenched, he replies, “None of your goddamn business.”
“It’s my business if it involves my wife.”
He lets out a dark chuckle. “You sure love to use that word. Wife. As if she wasn’t my fucking fiancée first.”
I take a step closer, our chests nearly touching. I have several inches on Tyler, but to his credit, he doesn’t wilt.
With my voice low and unwavering, I say, “She was mine long before that, and you know it.”
Angie shoves herself between us, flattening her palms against our chests. “Should I get a measuring tape so you can whip it out and settle this right here?”
Marnie snorts. “No need. Angie, why don’t you just tell us who has the bigger dick? My bets on Griffin.”
I’d almost forgotten we have an audience.
I hold up my fist, and Marnie bumps hers against it.
Angie pins her with a glare. She disappears under the desk for a second and comes back with her purse. “I’m taking my lunch.”
Marnie rushes out of the office, leaving the three of us alone.
I return my attention to Tyler, and the anger comes back in full force. “I’ll ask again. What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Luna ate a bunch of chocolate. I came here because I didn’t have another choice.”
My fists clench and unfurl at my sides. “That doesn’t explain why you decided it would be a good idea to touch what’s mine.”
“I thought—”