Chapter Twenty-Three
Landry
I’d come out of a six-hour surgery and then headed straight to Mr. Weston’s follow-up visit. It was Thursday, and Brody left on tour tomorrow afternoon. I’d taken Friday off so we could sleep in and then I could see him off. For me, I’d taken Saturday off so I could cry in peace. Hormones were a bitch.
Because of the time off, today had been especially busy. I’d barely had time to drink enough water, let alone eat. But it’d be worth it when my alarm didn’t go off at sunrise.
I stopped right outside of Wes’s exam room, grabbing my vibrating cell.
Brody: How’s your day baby cakes?
Landry: Good, busy but really good.
Brody: Drinking enough water?
Usually I could honestly answer him, yes. But today had been so damn nuts that I hadn’t drunk as much as I should have.
Landry: I’m working on it.
Brody: I’m at the beach house, getting all my stuff packed and loaded up. I want to do nothing but YOU until I have to leave.
Landry: Oddly sweet.
Brody: That’s my jam.
***
“Everything looks great.” I closed Wes’s chart and smiled at him and Minka. “You are all cleared.”
Minka got up, hugging me as best she could, her pregnant belly keeping us a couple feet apart. “Thank you for everything, Landry.”
“We know this is your fifth year, and your fellowship is coming up.” Wes got to his feet, putting his arm affectionately around his wife’s shoulders. “We put in a good word for you with the board. A really good word.”
“That was so nice of you, thank you.” A good word from a trustee? I was pretty much guaranteed a fellowship offer from the hospital.
“Oh, and I finished your baby blanket.” Minka hopped up like she’d almost forgotten. She grabbed a pretty silver box from under her chair. “You’ve got to keep us in the loop, let us know how things are going.”
“Thank you, I will.” I took the box from her, my eyes filling with tears pretty much instantly. “And you too, please let me know when you’re back here. I’ll come up and see you, make sure everyone is doing their job.” I winked and then headed for the door. “See you guys soon.”
I stepped out, shutting the door behind me and was immediately pulled to my right. I almost tripped before Travis came to a stop, his grip on my arm punishing. “What the fuck were the Westons talking about Landry? Are you pregnant?”
I opened my mouth then closed it again. I wanted to lie to him. I wanted to tell him no, that I wasn’t. I didn’t want to have this conversation right now, if ever. I wanted to go back in time and never sleep with Travis, never date him in the first place. “Yes.”
“How far along?” His voice was ice cold, his eyes accusing.
“A little over twelve weeks.”
His eyes narrowed, his jaw ticked. “It’s mine, it’s mine and you didn’t tell me. You lied. You kept the pregnancy to yourself until it was too late. Didn’t you?” He used his hold on my arm to shake me a little, causing me to wince in pain.
My breathing became shallow; his tone, his words, his actions, they were all making it hard to get air in. “Wait, what do you mean?”
“Did you think that the baby would get me to take you back?” He scoffed, like I was beneath him. “How pathetic can you be?”
Take him back? I broke up with him, loudly and in front of a dozen people. “No. I didn’t and don’t want you back.”
He held his hand up in front of my face, silencing me. “You knew I didn’t want children. You knew I would have asked you to get an abortion. So you lied.”
Abortion. My chest was starting to ache, the stress from the conversation making my head swim. I wanted to walk away. I wanted to lie down. “No, that’s not true.”
“I want nothing to do with this pregnancy, this child, or you.” He shook his head in disgust, his grip tightening even more. “You mean nothing to me; this baby will mean nothing to me. If you try to get one cent out of me, I’ll ruin you.”
How had I ever dated someone so awful, so cruel? I put my hand to my stomach. I was starting to feel sick. Which could either have something to do with the six-hour surgery I’d just performed, or the vile man standing in front of me. “Who the hell do you think you are? I wasn’t trying to trap you or get you back. I want nothing to do with you, and if need be, I’ll help you terminate your parental rights.”
“Oh, it’s needed.”
“Dr. French? What the hell are you doing?” I heard Wes. I heard the outrage in his voice. But he sounded so far away, like he was speaking to us from a tube. “Let her go.”
Travis finally let go, the sudden blood flow making me dizzy. “And I thought you were better than your upbringing. I guess I was wrong. You weren’t wanted, and now your baby isn’t either.”
“That’s it. Security,” Wes yelled. “I’m on the board of the hospital and I want Dr. French removed from the premises, immediately.”
Wes was closer now—I wanted to talk to him, to tell him I was okay. But my legs felt weak, like they were about to…