Page 62 of Unexpected Delivery

“Nope. Worse. I blacked out while talking to them, and they took me to the hospital.” My lips roll together as I try to find a less terrible way to explain what happened next. There isn’t one, so I clench my eyes shut and blurt it out. “They pumped my stomach, then made me do a psych evaluation. I learned my lesson there.”

Hael teases a thumb over my cheek, and my eyes pop open. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t even remember talking to the psychiatrist, but I guess he asked me if I ever had thoughts of hurting myself or anyone else. And I was honest—no, I didn’t want to hurt anyone else, and I didn’t think I was suicidal but also really didn’t have much to live for. That led to an involuntary hold in the psych unit.”

“Jesus,” he mutters. “That’s fucking crazy.”

“Yeah, I get that they were trying to look out for me or whatever. I was definitely depressed, but it was scary. It taught me to be a lot more careful about choosing my words.”

“And what does all this have to do with what happened tonight?” he asks, studying my face.

My stomach tightens. His deep blue eyes are incredibly expressive. It makes me want to be honest with him, it’s just hard.

“It’s one of those tender subjects that I don’t like talking about.” I shrug, my jaw sliding from side to side. “It was a huge part of the reason I stopped drinking altogether, even recreationally. Luckily, I hadn’t formed a dependence or addiction or anything, but I wasn’t even twenty-one. I couldn’t legally drink yet, and I knew I had to stop.”

I take a few breaths before revealing this last part, not wanting to even think about it, much less say it aloud. “Adam is aware of the psych hold, and Becky texted me to let me know he went into my old job and told everyone he was worried I might hurt myself or the baby.”

“Are you fucking kidding?” he growls. His face quickly morphs into a grimace, and he stretches over me to check on Gracie. “Shit, sorry. She’s still asleep, but what the fuck?”

“Adam is very good at mind games. He knows exactly where to hit someone to make it hurt.” I frown at the double meaning, though I only meant emotionally. “I’m pretty sure if he finds me, he’ll do his best to make me look like an unfit parent. He’ll question my mental health and use that as his excuse for why he needs to take Gracie from me.”

Hael curses under his breath. “Don’t waste any more time worrying about that.” He leans closer, planting a noisy smooch on my forehead. “There’s no chance we’re going to let that happen.”

Everything in me wants to believe him, and I trust they would do their best, but Adam comes from the type of old money that seems to make it possible for them to get away with whatever they want to without having to face repercussions.

Hael stretches out on his back, tugging me closer until my face rests on his bare skin. “Get some rest. I’m going to stick around in here tonight, unless you tell me to get lost.”

My nose twitches, dancing across his pec as I search for where his scent is strongest. “You can stay.”

I certainly don’t have the strength to cut myself off from him and his delicious electric scent.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Morris

The next morning, Hael fills us in on what happened last night with Arbor. I’m teetering dangerously close to tripping over the line into going feral, as evidenced by the fact I spend the next few minutes daydreaming ways I could slaughter Adam and places to get rid of his lifeless corpse. It’s inconvenient that the ground is frozen solid right now, seriously limiting disposal methods.

Hayes sighs, snagging the coffee pot and refilling his cup. “Easton called last night. Adam is still in Arizona, but East said his family is pretty connected. He has an uncle that’s a congressman out of Utah or something. Even though East is going to continue monitoring the situation, I would have preferred if he said something along the lines ofdon’t stress. I’ll handle him for you.”

“That would be nice,” Hael agrees, running his fingers through his curls.

I nod.

It would be.

Hayes told me all about the security company their older brother owns. If Easton is truly capable of finding someone to kill Arbor’s ex, I wouldn’t be morally opposed to it. Not after seeing the bruises on her cheek and hearing about how Adam treated her.

I’d feel much safer with him out of the equation completely. I’ll murder him with my bare hands before I let him take Gracie away from us. That man will never hurt Arbor again.

Not on my watch.

Arbor puts in time at the gym organizing admin stuff with Hayes, which helps get her out of the house over the next couple of weeks. She’s asked a few times about coming to the shop, but I had to hire someone to do a deep clean of my office before I was willing to have Arbor and Gracie in the space.

Shops are filthy, and the business has been open for decades. It was in need of a solid scrub down. I’ve done my best to make the space hospitable, but I’m still stressing about bringing Arbor and Gracie into the office once her checkup is complete.

Doctor bills are charged separately from the hospital bill, but I manage to pay Arbor’s past-due balance for the care they gave her in the hospital after delivery, along with the cost for her checkup today while she’s preoccupied with filling out the new client paperwork. It’s a significant chunk of change, which will likely be a drop in the bucket once we receive the full statement from the hospital. It’s not ideal, but it’s one of those things that has to be paid, so there’s no point in spending time lamenting over it.

Arbor and Gracie are safe, and that’s what really matters.

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