Page 69 of Beyond Oblivion

As my words hung in the air, Trenton leaned down to kiss my temple, and then settled back against the headboard, taking in a deep breath. Despite being in an upright position, soon his breaths evened out and he was asleep.

I envied his ability to fall asleep whenever and wherever. Unlike me, he didn’t need the temperature to be just right, his favorite pillow or comforter, mattress or position. Trenton had slept on planes, in the passenger seat, on the floor, in a recliner, even during a wedding with his chin resting on his chest. It was like he had a button on his ass and the moment he sat and closed his eyes, he could sleep at will.

I glanced at the clock, hoping that with a full night’s rest I’d feel better by morning. Raegan and Wesley would be in town soon, as well as Taylor and his family. Between their visits and my responsibilities at the shop, I didn’t have time to get sick.

I ran through my mental checklist, but each item made my stomach churn a little more. I needed to clean the guest bathrooms—both at our house and Jim’s. Fresh towels and groceries. The ideas for meals began to scroll through my mind like the credits after the movie we’d watched earlier.

I rested my palm on my belly, hoping my body heat would be soothing. No matter how I felt in the morning, Trenton was going to fight me from the moment I got out of bed, insisting I stay home and rest. That was the unsaid responsibility of being the only daughter-in-law without children who also still lived in our hometown: I managed the general chaos while everyone else tended to their own. Ellison and Falyn didn’t know their way around Jim’s kitchen, and no one expected Liis to do anything domestic. The boys were always pretty good at picking up the slack, guiding their wives if they all weren’t busy with kids, but by the time that happened, I was usually finished and already onto the next task.

I might be the black sheep, being the only one who’d dated two of the Maddox brothers, but I was also expected—whether they knew it or not—to be the glue that held everything together.

I pushed my worries aside, letting myself sink further into Trenton’s arms and focus on sleep. I’d make it work like I always did.

Trenton squeezed me closer to him. “Chamomile,” he mumbled. “Go to sleep. I’ll take care of everything.”

I grinned; my eyes still closed. “I am asleep.”

“Good,” he said, his breaths evening out once more.

Chapter Sixteen

Trenton

I should’ve known.

The moment I woke up early, feeling rested and content, should’ve been a red flag that the universe was setting me up for a giant middle finger. You don’t just wake up before your alarm feeling like everything’s finally going your way for no fucking reason unless some cosmic prank is about to go down. It’d happened before—the day Mom died, to be exact. Kindergarten-sized me woke up with all the hope of a Disney movie, despite knowing she’d been sick for almost half of my short life. We said our last goodbyes that day, and our family would be forever changed.

It didn’t hit me until Camille’s phone buzzed while she was in the bathroom putting on earrings as a final touch before leaving for work. It was the doc’s private line, never ajust checking insituation. If it were good news, we’d be stuck refreshing that cursed patient portal for her test results like it was Black Friday.

“Can you grab it?” Camille asked.

“It’s the OB/GYN office,” I said.

She ran to the bed, nearly tackling her phone off the nightstand and letting her body fall to the mattress. She crisscrossed her legs, staring at her phone’s display.

“Are you going to answer it?” I asked.

“Why are they calling?” she asked, pressing the speaker phone at the same time. “Hello?”

“Hi, Cami? This is Shara, Dr. Ley’s nurse. How are you?”

“I’m good… I think.”

“We’re in his office looking over your test results, and he wants you and Trenton to come in to go over them in the morning. Can you do that?”

Her face paled. “Is it bad?”

“Don’t stress. Doctor just wants to discuss options.”

Camille glanced up at me. “Tomorrow morning seems urgent.”

I leaned closer. “Any chance he has time today?”

“Hi, Trent!” Shara said, sounding like she was smiling through the phone. “Actually, he had a cancellation after lunch. Can you come in at 12:30?”

“We can,” I stated before Camille could protest. She shook her head, but I planted a quick kiss on her hair and whipped out my phone to text Hazel and Calvin.

“Great,” Shara chirped on the phone. “I’ll let Dr. Ley know.”

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