Page 92 of Theirs to Take

“I’m aware,” she sassed. Millie sighed and climbed into her bed. “Fine,” she said. “I’m in bed, now talk.”

“After our night together, I freaked out. You weren’t budging on letting me stay with you, to keep you safe, and I wasn’t willing to give you what you wanted—a relationship. I couldn’t give you that because I had never been in a relationship with anyone. I was afraid that I’d fuck things up with you, and then, when you told me that you wanted the job at McTavish, I knew that making you promises would only end badly for us both. The crazy thing is, I still managed to fuck everything up. You should have been able to come to me to tell me about the baby, at the very least. You should have known that you could turn to me and that I would have been there for you, but you had to go it all alone. I’m sorry, Millie,” he said.

“I appreciate you saying all of that, Ranger,” she said. “It means a lot. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about the baby. I shouldn’t have kept him or her a secret, but I worried that you wouldn’t care about either of us. I guess it was easier to not tell you and hope that one day, you’d find out and want our baby in your life.”

“I would like the chance to be a part of his or her life. While I was driving here, I had some time to think, and I’m not promising that I’ll be a good father, but I’d like to try.”

“I’d be good with that,” Millie said. “I’ll need all the help I can get, especially now that I’m going to be on bed rest for the next three months.”

“I’ll do whatever you need, honey, but I have to make one request. I need to go back home, to work. How about taking your old job back? I’m sure that we can make it a work from home deal like you have here.”

“I won’t come back to McTavish. I like my new job, but I can live anywhere. I’ll go home with you, but I’m afraid that I can’t get my apartment back. I’ll need some time to find a place, but once I do, I’ll come back.”

“You don’t have to stay here, Millie. I don’t want to leave you here alone. You can move to my place. Hell, my house has four bedrooms, and you can take your pick.” He wanted to ask her for more. Ranger wanted to ask if she’d share his bed, but it was too soon to push her for more. He was just lucky that she accepted his apology and was agreeing to come back home with him.

“Can I think about your offer?” she asked around a yawn. “I’m really tired and would like to get some sleep.”

“All right,” Ranger agreed. “I’ll run to the pharmacy and pick up your blood pressure medication while you rest. Are you hungry?” he asked.

“I’m starving and I’d love a burger and some watermelon,” she said.

“Um, a burger and watermelon?” he questioned.

“Yes,” she said. “It’s what I’ve been craving lately. I love the burger place around the corner, and I have some watermelon cut up in my refrigerator. Oh—and a vanilla milkshake so that I can dunk my watermelon in it.” He must have made a face because she giggled and rubbed her belly. “Blame this kid of ours. I have had the craziest cravings since my second trimester.”

“Okay, I’ll be back as soon as possible.” He pointed at Millie, “You stay put,” he ordered.

She gave him a mock salute and rolled over to her side. “Lock up on your way out.”

“Will do,” he assured. He left her apartment, locking the front door on his way out. He’d call Luke and Ruby to let them know that he had found Millie and that she was safe. He was going to be sticking around for a bit until he could get Millie packed up and moved home because there was no way that he was going to leave her behind.

Ranger was able to catch a few hours of sleep on Millie’s very uncomfortable sofa before his cell phone rang early the next morning. He had fallen asleep and forgotten to call Ruby and Luke after he ran out to pick up Millie’s medication. He was so focused on getting back to her, that he blocked out everything else that he had to do.

“Hello,” he grumbled.

“You okay?” Luke asked. “You haven’t checked in.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Ranger said. “I had to get Millie settled after we got back from the hospital, and I guess that I was more tired than I thought.”

“Hospital?” Ruby shouted into the other end of the phone, causing him to hold his cell phone from his ear. “What the hell is going on, Ranger?”

“Hey, Ruby,” he whispered. “When I found Millie, she was asleep in her bed. I tried to wake her, and she said she had a headache. I took her to the ER to have her checked out. It’s a long story,” Ranger said.

“Well, I’ve got time,” Ruby spat, “continue, please.” He knew that she wasn’t asking. Ruby could be quite demanding when she wanted to be.

“Her blood pressure was up, and the doctors put her on some medication and bed rest for the next three months until thebaby comes. They said she had hypertension, but that it’s quite normal in pregnant women. They want to see her every week until she delivers, and I got a blood pressure machine for home so that we can monitor it here—or there. She’s agreed to come home with me.”

“Thank God,” Ruby breathed. “I’ve been so worried about her. Is the baby okay?” she asked.

Ranger felt a little choked up as he nodded and hummed. “The baby’s heartbeat is strong. They want to see Millie back tomorrow for a sonogram. Their machine was down in the ER, and we had to schedule with maternity for tomorrow morning. I’m hoping to have her apartment packed up in the next few days so that I can get her back home by the weekend. Can you cover for me at work, Luke?” he asked.

“Of course,” his friend agreed. “I’ll take care of everything on that end. You just make sure that Millie and the baby are all right. We can help you out when you get home with unpacking her stuff. Where will she be staying?” he asked.

“With me,” Ranger growled.

“All right then,” Ruby said, causing Luke to chuckle. “Just keep us updated,” she ordered.

“Will do,” Ranger agreed. “And thanks for doing what you did earlier. I know that you felt bad about tricking Millie, but it possibly saved both her and the baby’s lives. I owe you, Ruby,” he said.

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