hate doctors. I hate the smell of whatever they use to clean this place. I hate the nurses who keep looking at me like I’m going to attack them.
Actually, the last one might happen as I’m up and pacing in the waiting room. After Willow fell, her aunt and uncle got a little too cocky. I was able to knock her uncle out and get the shotgun away from her aunt and restrain her.
When Willow wouldn’t wake up, I knew I had to get her to a doctor. My first call was to the guys, and then Detective Greer. Axel and Emelie stayed with the aunt and uncle, while I brought her to the hospital. All our friends met me here, along with Greer, who is now questioning me on what happened.
‘Bennett, I know there’s a lot going on, but I need you to start from the beginning and tell me what happened,’ he says.
Then Greer and the guy standing next to him get their pen and paper out to take notes.
I look over at Jack, who Phoenix thankfully thought to call, and he beat the police here to the hospital.
‘Just tell them the truth,’ Jack says.
Nodding, I begin. ‘I was out back chopping wood, so I didn’t hear or see anyone pull up the driveway. When I heard Willow scream, I came running and that’s when I saw her uncle had his hands on her. She was gripping the doorway, presumably trying to prevent him from dragging her off to his car.
After I yelled to get their attention, I threw my axe at his driver’s side door. The distraction gave Willow enough time to grab the shotgun while I got her uncle away from her.
Then her aunt then started struggling for the shotgun. Though I’m not a hundred percent sure how that happened because her uncle started fighting me. When her aunt pushed her back against the porch rail, Willow lost her balance and fell backward and landing on the ground.
That was enough of a distraction that I was able to knock the uncle out, detain the aunt and get the gun away from her.’
Finishing up, I tell them what’s the uncle was saying about her needing to shut up about the lies, how Willow had told them that she wasn’t going to stop telling the truth, and how her uncle had told me that he had planned to kill us both.
Detective Greer asks more questions and his partner ask me to repeat some things. This irritates me because all I want to do is see my wife. She’s back behind the emergency room doors and I have no idea if she’s okay, if she’s awake, or if she’s scared, and it’s killing me.
By the time we got to the hospital, she was just starting to wake up, and then she passed out again. They rushed her back through the emergency room doors and that was the last I saw of her, and I haven’t heard anything either. All the guys and their wives are here in the emergency room with me when a man I’ve never seen before walks in with several bags of food.
When Cole jumps up and greets him, the man hesitantly walks over to our group, his eyes constantly scanning the room. He’s tall and buff, but his arms are covered in scars.
‘Guys, this is my buddy, Storm. We served together and he just moved to the mountain on the other side of me,’ Cole says.
Storm just nods at the introduction. Though if Cole served with him during his third time and trusts him, then the rest of us do well as well. Up on the mountain, we band together and have our own little community. He has his own reasons for coming out here, as we all do but that doesn’t mean that he has to do it alone.
Cole introduces Storm to everybody, but he doesn’t speak until he gets to me.
‘Sorry about your girl. Any updates?’ he asks.
‘Not yet,’ I tell him and he nods and grabs a chair next to Cole and his wife, Jana.
Not bothering to try to sit down, I continue pacing the waiting room. When one of the nurses makes eye contact with me, I finally snap.
‘You’re seriously going to look at me and tell me there are no updates on my wife?’ I grab her and her eyes go wide.
Instantly, Phoenix’s wife Jenna is at my side.
‘May I?’ she asks, and I nod.
Jenna goes up to the nurse and they whisper so that I don’t hear what is being said. With the way they are nodding their heads, I’m praying that means good news.
‘Thank you,’ Jenna finally says.
The nurse looks over her shoulder and gives me an apologetic smile.
‘So, she is awake and asking for you, but they had to take her back for a CT scan on her head. In just a few minutes, she’ll be going to be back to her room, and a nurse will come and take you to her. For now, that’s all the nurse knows,’ Jenna says.
It has to be a good sign that Willow’s awake and asking for me. Anything else that shows up on the test we can deal with later. If I’m at her side holding her hand, I know that I can handle this so much better.
What seems like forever, but in reality, was probably only a few minutes before finally a nurse leads me back to Willow. I have every intention of rushing to her, picking her up into my arms, and holding her. Yet when I step through her door and see all the wires attached to her, I stopped short.
Seeing me, she gives me one of her breathtaking smiles.
‘Bennett.’ she sighs and holds her hand up for me.
Like it’s a magnet, and I can’t say no, I’m drawn to her. Taking her hand in mine, I’m comforted because that contact alone is reassuring and calming.
‘Why so many wires?’ I ask staring, trying to figure out what they all are.
‘They’re just a lot of monitors, but I do have something to tell you. Why don’t you sit down?’ Willow says.
Even though there’s a smile on her face, I’m instantly nervous.
Grabbing the chair closest to her bed, I pull it up as close as I can. Then I sit, taking her hand in mine. More than ever, I need the skin to skin contact with her.
‘When I got here, the doctors ran all sorts of tests and I’m not sure what all came back, but they did tell me one thing. Something good to hopefully come out of all this. I’m pregnant.’ She bites her bottom lip and looks nervous as if this isn’t the most amazing news that I’ve heard in my whole life.
My wife is pregnant and giving me a child! Yeah, that’s great news, life-changing. We’re going to build our own family up on the mountain and our child would grow up with our friends’ kids. As my whole life flashes before my eyes, I lean in and place a soft kiss on her cheek. Then gently place my hand over her lower stomach, right where our little peanut is growing.
There are so many things that I want to say, but only one word seems to come out of my mouth: ‘pregnant.’
I’m still in complete disbelief, not to mention, speechless, but she smiles and nods. Bringing our joined hands up, I kiss them gently. I had absolutely no idea that she was pregnant. Though looking back, little things that I wrote off as stress could have been a sign and I vow to pay more and better attention to her.
Slowly each of the other couples comes to visit.
‘Only two visitors are allowed in a room at a time.’ The nurse who looks fresh out of nursing school pokes her head in and tells us.
‘Well, I guess it’s a good thing there are only two visitors. Since I’m her husband and I’m not leaving her side, then these two are visiting her,’ I say referring to Cash and Hope.
The nurse opens her mouth to say something else, but then thinks better of it and moves on.
They keep Willow in the hospital overnight, and the next morning Axel and Emelie are there with food.
‘We figured you weren’t leaving until she did, and hospital breakfasts are horrible, so we brought some food for both of you,’ Emelie says, handing over the bag.
It’s great to have friends that know you sometimes better than you know yourself.
Willow
I’m finally being released from the hospital, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Honestly, I’m looking forward to a solid night of sleep without being constantly woken up by a noise in the hallway or someone coming in to check on me.
Of course, Bennett has been super careful of me. He insists on taking me out in a wheelchair to the front door where he has this truck waiting. Then he won’t even let my feet touch the ground, lifting me from the wheelchair into the seat and buckling me up.
Even though I love that he’s so caring and gentle, I hope he doesn’t plan on being this way the entire pregnancy. Otherwise it’s going to be an extremely long nine months.
All the way home, he holds my hand, never letting go. When we arrive, he tries to stop me from getting out of the truck. But that’s when I have to finally put my foot down.
‘I feel fine and while I do, I would like to walk on my own two feet. Though I promise if I don’t feel good, I’ll let you carry me wherever your heart desires. But right now, I would like to walk, please.’ I say it’s gently as possible and I can see the conflict in his eyes before he finally nods.
Trying to offer him some comfort, I slip my arm through his so I can use it as support. Not that I need it, but I know it makes him feel better, so I will do it. Once I’m safely on the couch with more blankets and pillows than I could ever want, he heads to the kitchen to make me lunch.
Returning, he says, ‘Here are the prenatal vitamins the doctor told you to take, but Emelie said they taste gross, so there’s some juice to take with it. I’ve made your lunch with fruits and vegetables, everything that the doctor recommends that you need to eat.’ Then he sets a huge plate down on the coffee table in front of me. There’s more food than I’m pretty sure even he could eat in one sitting.
‘You’re going to help me eat all this, right? Just because I’m eating for two, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to have anywhere near your appetite.’
Sitting down next to me, he holds the plate for both of us to slowly eat our lunch. Though he only takes one bite for every two of mine, but it’s something. When we’re finished eating, he cleans up the mess and sits next to me, resting his head in my lap. Then, turning to face my nonexistent baby bump, he places a kiss there.
‘Now we should start thinking about baby names,’ he says, and I just laugh.
‘We have no idea if it’s a boy or a girl, and we just found out I’m pregnant. We’ve got time.’
‘I can’t wait to decorate the baby’s room.’ He smiles and takes my hand in his.
As we make plans, he slowly runs his thumb over my wedding ring. Bennett started doing that in the hospital and I don’t think he realizes he does it, but it’s a little thing that I love so much.
‘Are you happy? Is this what you truly want now that your aunt and uncle are out of the way?’ he asks.
I turn his head to make sure he’s looking at me.
‘This is absolutely what I want. Yes, I ran from them, but without realizing it, I was running toward you. I fell in love with you, and I’m not going anywhere unless you push me away.’
‘I’m not pushing you away. I plan to hold to you as tight as you will let me.’
‘As tight as you want. I love you,’ I whisper.
‘I love you too, sweetheart. Always.’
