14. Beau
Beau
“Oh, Juniper, it’s okay. Shh,” I soothed as I bounced the baby in my arms. My daughter was pissed this morning, and I couldn’t figure out why. She’d been unsettled since the middle of the night, but this was a new level of hysterics. I needed the sun to come up, and I needed it to come up now.
I’d done everything Birdie said. Fed her. Checked her diaper. We laid skin to skin. I’d swaddled her. Burped her. Sang to her. I’d even tried to call Birdie a few times to see what the hell it could be, but she hadn’t answered.
Nothing was working.
And now, with the sun creeping up over the field behind our house, I knew I was going to miss another day of ranch duties.
I pressed my thumb to unlock my phone, bringing up Birdie’s number before I hit the button to call her.
Over and over the ring sounded out—shrill and cold—until her voicemail picked up.
“Hey, baby. Can you just let me know everything’s okay when you get a chance? I know you should have been heading back out here by now. I’m just worried something might have happened. Call me back or just drop me a message, okay?”
I hung up, bringing up my text messages with Hayes. I was starting to get worried.
Any accidents this morning?
Nope. It wasn’t a bad shift. Bus got dispatched for a guy having a heart attack, but we weren’t on scene for that.
Okay.
Everything okay?
Haven’t heard from Birdie since last night. She should be on her way out here now, but I thought maybe she got caught up at the hospital.
Alright. Well, all’s calm so far on the roads. Doesn’t mean she didn’t go off somewhere, though. I’ll drive into Bell Ridge before I come home. Got turnover in thirty, and then I’ll head out.
Okay. Thanks. I’ll drive from the ranch out to her place. She was going to stop there before she came here anyway.
Jesus. I’d need to drop Juniper off with my sister, or my parents.
My phone lit up. Please let it be her! Balancing the baby in my left arm, I scooped my phone off the night stand.
But it wasn’t Birdie.
It was just some coupon for a baby website I’d visited. Great.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t wait another goddamn minute when I knew something in my gut was telling me she was in trouble. I clicked through to my contacts and scrolled until my sister’s name appeared.
“Jess.” I could hear the tiredness in my voice, even with Juniper crying over top of me.
“Oh man. I know that sound.” She laughed. “Did you get any sleep last night?”
“Not a wink. Look, Birdie should be back from work by now, but she’s not and I was going to stay home because Juniper’s in a mood. But something isn’t right. Birdie’s not answering her phone; she’s never done that before.”
“Do you think she went to her house? Maybe she was exhausted and just needed to crash closer to the hospital.”
“Maybe. But she still should have answered one of my messages. Or my calls. She always tells me when she leaves the hospital, too, and when she gets home. Calls me a worrywart…but what if—”
Jessie sighed. “Bring Juniper over here, okay? I’m getting up right now. I’ll take her so you can run into town first to make sure she’s okay.”
“Are you sure?”
“Beau. Birdie is the single most responsible and considerate person I know. You’re right. She wouldn’t just not answer your call. Bring me the baby, and go check on her. I’m sure there’s a simple enough explanation.”
Ring…Ring…Ring…
Hi, you’ve reached Birdie! Please leave your name—
Goddamn it! Why the fuck wasn’t she answering her phone? I never felt this way…my nerves were fried. What if she decided she didn’t want to stay at the ranch? If she was icing me out because she was scared of everything that happened on her day off?
No. That wasn’t Birdie. She’d never once flaked on me. That wasn’t what was happening now.
My truck stopped right in front of her house.
The street was quiet. That made sense—the sky was bright orange and pink, more light blue settling in as time crept closer to when most people in town would be waking.
But was the cold air of an early spring morning the reason why I felt a shiver rolling through my body?
Something didn’t feel right.
Relief flooded my veins when I saw Birdie’s car in her driveway. She was home. I jogged up the sidewalk, not wasting any time getting up to her porch.
Oh fuck. The second I went to knock on her door, I saw it was open. Just a sliver. But Birdie knew better than that. The door banged against the wall as I barreled inside.
“Birdie?!” I called out frantic as I took in the scene in front of me. Her living room was a mess. The table by the door was knocked over, and a hole in the drywall that looked like someone had their head smashed against it made my stomach revolt. I moved as quickly as I could through the house.
“Birdie?! Answer me!”
There was nothing. Not a single peep as I stormed through her house like a bull in a china shop.
I made it to the back of her house where the kitchen was, and stopped dead in my tracks.
She was there, lying on the floor, holding her throat as tears streamed down her face. I dropped to my knees, my hands frantically trying to check her over.
“Hey, hey…Chickadee.” My voice wobbled as I waited for the panic to drop out of her eyes. “What happened? What the hell happened?”
“Someone—” She coughed violently, her hands releasing from around her throat, and I saw red. Her beautiful skin was mottled with the impression of a hand that was far too big to be hers.
“Hey, you’re okay,” I cooed, knowing for a fucking fact that was the farthest thing from the truth.
“Beau, he just…out back.” Her voice was barely there.
“It’s okay. I’m going to call for help. I’ve got you now. You’re safe.”
She shook her head, wincing at the movement.
I sank against the wall, scooping her up and holding her close to me. Her left hand came up, resting against my chest. The fabric of my shirt pulled across my shoulders as her fingers gripped it for dear life.
“Birdie, you’re…you’re hurt. Who the hell did this to you?”
She closed her eyes, and I died a little watching one lonely tear spill down her face.
“Please, let me get you help. Are you in pain?”
She nodded again, letting her head rest against my shoulder.
“Where?”
“M-my head. He…”
“The wall by your front door,” I whispered, my blood boiling.
I’d known it had happened, and still hearing the words come out of her mouth filled me with a rage I’d never felt before.
There was no way I wanted her to feel that, so I softened my muscles and relaxed my jaw.
She shifted, her head coming off the crook of my arm and resting on my shoulder.
“He pulled me by my hair. And I think I broke my wrist. I shouldn’t be here. I-I was supposed to watch our berry girl for you…”
Our. Berry. Girl. My fucking heart shattered.
“Can you help me to the bathroom?” she whispered.
“I’ll carry you there quickly, but then I need to get you to the hospital. Are you feeling nauseous? Dizzy? I’m worried you might have a concussion.”
“I feel o-okay. I don’t think it’s a concussion. I just…I want to get clean. His hand was over my mouth. On my body. His fingers were in my hair.” A shiver rolled through her body.
“I don’t think that’s a smart idea.”
Her wide eyes looked up at me, confusion swirling through them. She was traumatized, not thinking clearly. Wouldn’t there be DNA that could be collected?
“You can’t wash up. We have to…Birdie, we have to get you to the hospital. You were assaulted. The police report…they’ll want to collect all the evidence. What if there’s physical evidence?”
“No,” she groaned. “I tried to scratch him, but he was covered up. I couldn’t…there wasn’t anything.”
“Please let me call for an ambulance,” I begged, the tears I’d been holding back flooding my eyes. God, she was the strongest woman I knew. And still it killed me that I wasn’t here to keep her safe.
“Will you drive me there? Not to St. Clare’s. Mercy Gen in Mecham County.”
“That’s more than an hour away.” There was no way I was letting her suffer for that long.
“Beau. Please. They’re my colleagues. I can’t…” She swallowed, her voice painfully raspy. “They can’t see me like this.”
“You’re going to be in pain.” The thought of how true that statement was made me want to throw up. “All the way there.”
Her left hand tightened more with the hold she had on my shirt. “I’ll be okay. Please. I’m not weak. I’m fine.”
“You are not fine. Fuck. I’m going to carry you to my truck, okay? We’ll take it one minute at a time. If you’re in too much pain once we start driving, or your head starts hurting more, I’m calling the fucking ambulance. Deal?”
The smallest smile tipped the edge of her lips. “Deal, Cowboy.”
I hated having to let her go, but I knew there was no way I’d be able to safely get the both of us up off the ground. So I slid her gently to the side, still touching her back as I stood up. My arms were back around her in an instant, and we were on our way out the door in the next breath.
“My wallet!” she protested as I walked past her backpack.
“Nope. I’m not stopping. I’m getting you out of this place and to a goddamn doctor. Colt can send me a picture of your insurance card or they can fucking bill me and I’ll take care of it.”
She was silent as I carried her out the door and over to my truck. I had to jostle her a bit, cursing as her breath hitched. “Beau.” She tried to take the seat belt from my hand, but I just shook my head at her and buckled her in.
“Just rest, baby. I’ve got you.”
Five minutes later, we were heading out beyond the city limits of Silver Springs.
My stomach was eating itself with worry over the fact that we weren’t heading towards Bell Ridge.
No. We were headed North, towards Mecham County like Birdie had asked.
My fingers were numb with how tightly I was holding on to the steering wheel, but it was either that or sending my fist through the driver’s side window.
I wouldn’t fucking do anything to scare her, even if it meant I held onto my rage by the skin of my teeth.
“Juniper? Is she—”
“She’s fine. I promise. We need to get you taken care of now. Can you tell me what happened?” I ground out, my jaw muscles flexing.
She groaned in protest, her head rocking side to side.
“Hey.” My hand landed softly on her thigh, and I fucking prayed my touch wasn’t adding to her pain. “Don’t go to sleep.”
“I’m tired,” she whispered. “It was a long shift.”
“I know. But I want to make sure that beautiful head of yours is okay before you do.” My voice was soft, but I lowered it even further in case the volume was adding to her pain. “I need to know what happened. I need to call Colt to go to your house.”
“It’s just a lot,” Birdie groaned, her face tipping towards me.
“Someone has to go. Colt will be respectful of your place. He’ll make sure the other deputies are, too. But someone has to go. And I need to know what to tell him.”
Her eyes closed, and one single nod was all I got from her.
“He rushed in while I was closing the door. I tried to get away. He held me down. And then you were there.”
I nodded, working quickly to call Colt from the hands-free console on my steering wheel.
He was clearly shaken up, even with what little I knew from everything Birdie had been through.
But my brother promised to oversee everything at her place.
And although she sat silent, her hand resting over mine as I held on to her thigh, I knew she would eventually be okay with me telling Colt.
When we finally made it to the hospital, I opened the passenger side door and Birdie slipped down off the seat before I could scoop her up into my arms. My hands caught her waist just as her feet touched the ground. A scream pierced the air as she fell against my chest.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” I nearly jumped out of my own skin as I scooped her up. Tears were pouring down her face as she cradled her right arm tight to her body.
“M-my ankle, my wrist…It’s…”
Fuck. I hadn’t even gotten that far down her body on my inspection of her injuries. And I’d fucking carried her to the truck. Of course she was in shock, and so much of her pain would have been being numbed by her brain.
“Okay, I’ve got you now. I’m not setting you down until there’s a hospital bed to put you on,” I tried to reassure her. “And even then, I might just have to keep you in my arms.”
The confession was soft, nothing more than a whisper, but Birdie seemed to settle further into my hold after hearing it. I kicked shut her door and turned, marching for the emergency room entrance.