Chapter 11

If a woman is upset, hold her and tell her how much you love her.  If she starts to growl, retreat and throw chocolate at her.

-Bumper Sticker

Ember

“Where are you, hoe?”  I yelled as I entered Cheyenne’s house.

 

“In here.”  She called back from somewhere in the back bedrooms.

 

I went to the kitchen first to grab a Dr. Pepper, and then decided to grab the box of iced oatmeal cookies while I was at it.  Cheyenne always had the good stuff.  She went to the store once a week, compared to me, when I realized I didn’t have any more cheese. 

 

Shoving a cookie into my mouth, I walked towards the back of the house, checking first into the girl’s room, then the spare room, and finally going to the master.  I found her laying on the bed looking quite exhausted.

 

Plopping down beside her I asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

 

“I have an ultrasound appointment today.  Want to go with me?”  She asked, avoiding my question.

 

“Sure.  Your mom have the hellions?”

 

“Yeah, Sam dropped them off on the way to Dallas today.  He has to go pick some parts up at Dunnam’s.”

 

“They should really start delivering.  It’s ridiculous that they have to drive three hours.”

 

“They also charge about twenty percent less for an engine than their competitors.  Give me one of those cookies,” she demanded.

 

I reached into the box but came back empty handed.

 

“Um, that’s not going to happen.  It’s empty.”  I said shaking the empty box at her so she could hear the crumbs rattling inside.

 

She gave me a look of disgust and then her gaze zeroed in on my left hand that was holding the box up for inspection.  Her eyes went wide and then she gasped.

 

“Hey, I’m sorry.  We’ll go buy you some more before your appointment.  I just need to go put on some tennis shoes,” I mollified.

 

I didn’t wear tennis shoes, or any shoes for that matter, when I was at home.  That’s why the bottom of my feet resembled alligator skin.

 

“What the fuck is that?”  She yelled.

 

“What the fuck is what?  I told you I was sorry!  Jesus, I’ll buy you more!”

 

“Not the box, you dumbass.  I don’t care if you ate my cookies.  What the fuck is that rock on your finger?”

 

Glancing down, my heart nearly stopped.  On my finger was my grandmother’s diamond engagement ring.  It was a very simple design.  White gold band with a large princess cut diamond centered in the middle.  I used to try it on when I was younger.  I even made my mom promise that she would give it to my future husband.  Max and I had a knockdown, testicle kicking, hair pulling, hurt each other until we booth cried fight over it.  Neither one of us won, and then mom had died, and I never thought about it again.

 

Until this moment, with it shining on my finger.

 

“Oh.  My.  God.” I whispered as tears rushed to my eyes.

 

“Wait a minute, you didn’t know?”

 

“No.  He never asked me.  Not that this surprises me any.  It’s perfectly Gabe.  Just put the damn thing on my finger while I’m sleeping with no explanation, and expect me to just accept it,” I said, crying full out now.

 

“Iiiyyeeeee!  This is awesome!”  She squealed and then hugged me.

 

All my breath whooshed out of me with the amount of pressure she was squeezing me with, and I couldn’t help but laugh.  I didn’t care though.  This was perfect.

 

“Let’s go find him.  Let me borrow some shoes first though.  My feet aren’t touching that nasty floor in the garage,” I said as I pulled a pair of flip-flops from the floor of the closet.

 

“We’ve got about fifteen minutes before we need to leave, are you dressed in what you’re going to wear?”  She called from the bathroom.

 

I looked down at myself.  It was my usual of yoga pants and t-shirt.  Works for me.

 
“Yep.  Let’s go.”

We were out the door shortly after, and then entered through the open bay door of the garage.  I let my eyes adjust and saw Max, James, and Jack, but no Gabe.

 

“Where the hell is he?”  I called to them.

 

Max smiled his knowing smile, and I was about to go in search of him when he walked through the door that connected the office to the garage.  He had a donut in his hand, and a bottle of water in the other.  Today, he was wearing some seriously dirty jeans that looked like they would forever be stained with grease and dirt.  The shirt looked clean, however.  It was taut across his abs and biceps.  His dog tags were resting on his chest, and they stood out starkly against the red of his shirt.  I took this in for all of fifteen seconds before my feet propelled me forward and I was running full throttle towards him.

 

A smile lit up his face as he shoved the donut in his mouth to hold it, and caught me in midair, his free hand wrapping around my ass to hold me to him as I leapt up to him.  My arms wrapped around his neck, my legs around his waist, and I leaned in and took a bite of his donut.  Chewing thoroughly, I watched as his eyes sparkled with humor.  He didn’t have anywhere to go with his hands full of an opened water and me.

 

He walked forward and placed the bottle on the nearest toolbox, and then grabbed the donut out of his mouth.

 

“So, is that a yes?”

 

“Depends.”

 

“On what?”

 

“Can I have that donut?”

 

He threw his head back, laughed, and graciously handed me the donut.  Taking it from him I took a big bite, chewed, swallowed, and then gave him a peck on the lips.

 

“Best trade ever,” Gabe laughed out.

 

A cheer went up through the garage and we both turned to see everyone watching us.  I let my legs go from around Gabe’s hips, and then ran full out for Max who was leaning against the car lift.  He caught me with a grunt, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

 

He smiled sadly at me and said, “She would want you to have that.  I love you, you little booger.”

 

I laughed at the use of my old nickname.  Using that name used to put Max in a world of hurt, but today it just made everything perfect.

 

“I love you too, Maximillian,” I said, as I squeezed his neck as hard as I could.

 

He made a gurgling laugh sound before forcefully removing my arms from his neck.  Letting him go, I walked back to Gabe and gave him a quick kiss on the neck, took my last bite of donut, and waved goodbye to him.

 

“Where are you going?”  He yelled when he saw Cheyenne pull her car keys out of her pocket.

 

“I’ve got a doctor’s appointment.  Ember has graciously agreed to go with me,” Cheyenne informed him.

 

“Aren’t you forgetting that you have a gang after you, Ember?”  Gabe called to me.

 

Oh yeah, that.

 

I turned around and waited for the instructions that I knew were about to come.

 

“I’ll take them.  I have to go pick Janie up early for a Doctor’s appointment in the same building anyway.  Let’s go,” James said to us both.

 

Nodding in approval, Gabe returned to the office and I watched his backside go until it disappeared from my line of sight.

 

Yum.

 

“Hurry the fuck up!  I’m going to be late!”  Cheyenne yelled from the front passenger seat of James’ truck.

 

Rolling my eyes, I used the driver’s side and crawled up into the truck.

 

“Won’t you catch fire if you’re in a Ford, Cheyenne?  Isn’t it against your religion or something?”  I asked sarcastically.

 

“Screw you and your cat, too.”

 

“Thems fightin’ words,” James’ muttered under his breath.

  

“I hope she finds twins,” I sneered at Cheyenne.  “And don’t talk about my cat; he’s worth two of your ugly dog any day.”

 

“Yeah?  Well I bet Gabe got you pregnant last night.  He told Sam it was baby making weather.  And then y’all did it on the porch.”

 

“What?”  I shouted.

 

She smiled evilly at me and then laughed when she saw the expression on my face.

 

“You heard me.  That’s what he yelled at us right before you showed your whore tendencies on the front porch.”

 

My mind was reeling, not because of the fact that she knew I’d had sex on the front porch, but because of what Gabe had said.

 

“How do you know that’s what he said?”  I asked.

 

“I asked Sam.  He said Gabe used to say that all the time.  Something his dad used to say to his mom when it stormed,” Cheyenne said with a brilliant smile on her face.

 

I glared at her and then turned to James.

 

“Is that true?”  I asked him.

 

“Is what true?”

 

“Did he used to say it was baby making weather?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“How do you say it?”

  

“É bebê fazendo tempo,” He said butchering it compared to Gabe.  “Or something to that effect.”

 

That sounded about right, and that’s when I started to get worried.

 

“I swear to God, if I’m pregnant I’m gonna neuter him when I find out.”

 

Not that I was really that worried.  I had an IUD.  It wasn’t as if we were doing anything unprotected.  That wasn’t the point though; the point was that he should have discussed this with me.

 

“He won’t need his boys anymore if he’s got you pregnant, dumbass.  The deed will already be done,” Cheyenne said helpfully.

   

I brooded in the backseat the entire way.  James walked us up to the doctor’s office, waited for us to get inside, and then left us there to go get Janie for her appointment.  We waited for a good hour before the nurse called Cheyenne’s name.  What the fuck took so long, I don’t know, but we both headed back, following the nurse.  She was a cute little thing, beanpole thin, and her scrubs swallowing her even though they were probably already the smallest size they made.

“If you’ll just step up here, Cheyenne, we’ll get your weight, and then send you to the ultrasound room,” The nurse said with a smile in her voice.

 

Cheyenne grumbled but stepped up on to the scare.

 

“Holy Shit!”  I said playfully when the nurse said her weight.

  

“Go fuck a duck,” Cheyenne growled under her breath.

 

I laughed aloud and weighed myself as the nurse took Cheyenne’s blood pressure.  I’d lost seven pounds in the four months I’d been seeing Gabe, and I was ecstatic.  When I had my knee surgery, I’d struggled to lose the weight I’d gained; I’ve been fighting a losing battle ever since.  I thought the weight was there to stay, but something was helping me now because I haven’t been at one forty five since high school.

 

“I’ve lost seven pounds!”  I cheered.

 

Cheyenne gave me a nasty look and the nurse laughed as she led us to the ultrasound room. 

 

“She’ll be right in,” the nurse said as she left the room.

 

“You’re such a bitch.  How could you rub something like this in my face?”

 

“Cheyenne, you’re pregnant.  Take a chill pill.”  I said.

 

To pass the time I started braiding Cheyenne’s hair.  We did this from time to time.  Acted like little girls, when, in reality, we were twenty-six.  The ultrasound tech came in a few minutes later.

 

“Hello Cheyenne, is this your partner?”  She asked.

 

I could see how she thought we were a couple.  I was holding the braid I’d just finished in the palm of my hand while Cheyenne searched in her bag for a hair tie.  She handed me one and then replied flippantly.

 

“Yes, this will be our third love child together.”

 

“That’s so wonderful.  Did you do in-vitro?”  The tech questioned.

 

“No, we used turkey basters.  Worked like a charm,” I answered cheerfully.

 

“That’s so lovely!  We don’t see enough of that here,” she admitted.

 

She laughed as if we’d told a joke, then got her machine turned on and Cheyenne ready to go.  Just as she was setting the wand on her stomach, her pager went off.  She took it off her waistband, glanced at it, and let out a squeak.

 

“I’ll be right back,” she said hastily as she hustled out of the room.

 

We both watched her exit the room in a rush.  Then we looked at the door, Cheyenne’s goo slicked stomach, and then back to the door.

 

“I bet I could do that,” I informed her.

 

“Sure you could,” she agreed.

 

Taking the wand, I ran it over Cheyenne’s stomach about belly button height.  On the computer screen, a black blur and it looked like a bunch of nothin to me.

 

“Lower,” Cheyenne said to me.

 

“If I get any lower I’ll be shoving it up your hoo hoo,” I said to her.

 

“Ya know, they do make those.  I had one with the twins.  I was too late in the pregnancy for one this time.  It won’t pick up your baby yet, since you just made it last night,” she teased.

 

I playfully lifted up my shirt and ran the wand over the lower part of my stomach just above my pubic bone.  What I saw nearly made me faint.  However, I did drop the wand.  It swung in an arc and slammed up against the side of the ultrasound machine.  Cheyenne leaned up and placed it back where the tech had left it.  We both sat there silently going over the momentous discovery we’d just uncovered.

 

Minutes passed before the tech came back in the room, she went over Cheyenne’s belly and the baby came into view. 

 

“The baby’s moving right along for 22 weeks.  Would you like to know the sex?”  She asked.

 

“Yes,” Cheyenne whispered.

 

“It’s a girl; see those three lines?  That’s the labia.  Looks like a little hamburger.  Congratulations!” She said excitedly.

 

“Yes, congratulations, snookums.”  I said to Cheyenne trying to move around the elephant in the room.

 

Once done, she guided us to the room where Cheyenne was to be examined, and left us there alone.

 

“So ...” Cheyenne started.

 

“I have an IUD.  How could this have happened?”  I cried.

 

“Honey, just the other day you told me babies were miracles, and that I should feel blessed to have one on the way,” she said sarcastically.

 

“I meant it was good for you, not for me!”  I whisper-yelled.

 

“Well that’s a little hypocritical, don’t you think?”

 

“Screw you.”

 

“What’s the big deal here?  I mean, you’re engaged.  You’ve graduated college, have a good job, and you’re in love with the father.  What’s the problem?”

 

“I don’t want to poop on the table when I’m giving birth,” I explained.

 

“That’s it?” 

 

“Well, no, not all of it.  I guess I’m just scared.  When you put it the way you just did, I should really have nothing to worry about here.  How do I tell him this?  That me and you were fucking around with the ultrasound machine and I just happened to fall on it and saw that I had a baby in here?”  I asked gesturing to my stomach.

 

My mind was whirling with all the possibilities.  I knew he wouldn’t be upset, but with Gabe, just finding out he was a father to a baby he’s never met, and us getting married, a gang putting a bounty on my head, and the fact that I was pregnant, was some serious shit going on all at once.  Then another thought hit me, and it was awful.

 

“Cheyenne, I have an IUD.  I’ve had one for three years.  Aren’t those dangerous things to have when you’re pregnant?”

 

A look of fear flashed through her eyes before she squelched it and answered, “Let’s ask the doctor when he comes in.”

 

Someone knocked on the door two raps, and entered a few minutes later.  It was Cheyenne’s doctor, and a man I knew.

 

“Dr. Robinson!”  I called out before giving him a big hug.

 

“You two know each other?”  Cheyenne asked.

 

“Yep.  His wife had a climbing accident when I was in school.  She was my first solo patient during clinicals.  He’d said he was a doctor, but I never knew what kind.  How is your wife?”  I asked.

 

“She’s doing well.  She doesn’t climb anymore, and that chaps her ass, but she’s still very active outdoors.  How’re you doing today, Mrs. Mackenzie?”  Dr. Robertson asked.

 

“I’m doing okay.  No morning sickness this time,” she answered.

 

“That’s good.  The heartbeat was strong, and from what I saw on the ultrasound, the baby looked great.  Measuring in right at 22 weeks.  You’re looking good.  This is the time when you get your second wind … blah blah blah blah.”

 

He lost me after that.  My mind had slipped back into freak out mode.  Part of it was excitement, but the other part was fear.  I didn’t know how to handle a baby.  I wasn’t married.  I had an IUD somewhere in me that could possibly kill the baby, and I had to tell Gabe. 

 

Worst of all, I wanted my mother, and that was the one thing I couldn’t have.

***

“Thanks for coming, James,” I said to him as we walked into the training room.

 

He parked himself to the side of the door and took in the chaos.  The room was a flippin’ mess.  A table was over turned; gauze strewn all over the floor and a bucket of ice sat leaking all over the floor at the center of the room.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many people in the training room at once.  The rest of the tables were occupied, as well as two of the chairs that lined the back wall.

 

“What the hell is going on, June?”  I asked.

 

“That would be our lovely football coach.  He got upset when they called practice on him.  One of the players came up here to talk to you, but only Adrian and I were here.  I called the athletic director while Adrian went to speak with the coach.  The coach then came here looking for the player, but I’d already sent him home before he got here.  Adrian went to the ER with a broken nose thanks to the lovely coach, and here I am by myself with a shitload to do, hence why I called you.”

 

“Alright, let’s get started.”

 

We worked in companionable silence for the next hour wrapping sprains, splinting arms, and giving one boy an ice bath.  James watched from his perch.  His eyes never stopped scanning the area.  He looked like he was lazily leaning against a wall, but I knew he could be lethal instantaneously if need be.

 

“Alright, anyone need some ice?”  I asked.

 

Five hands went up, and I went to the far wall and filled up five ice bags.  Just as I slammed the ice door down a commotion started up in the hall.  I sighed, thinking, at first, it was just another fight that had broken out, but then there was the sound of gunfire and my blood ran cold.  My eyes sought out James, but he was already gone, closing the door silently behind him.

 

My heart was pounding, but a sudden rush of calm washed over me and I knew what I had to do.  I heard another two bursts and cringed at the thought of James being out there by himself.  I knew if I’d had gone out there that I would have just been a distraction.

 

“Everyone, I need you to get into the storage closet.  I’ll be right behind you.”

 

How we fit five injured people, June and I into that 6X6 storage closet, I don’t know.  There was tons of junk piled into the corners, but I left it there because I didn’t want anybody to see the stuff lying outside and know that we had people in the closet.  Once situated, I locked the door from the outside and closed myself in with the rest of the group.

 

Pulling out my phone, I dialed 911.

 

“911, what’s your emergency?”  A brisk woman answered.

 

“I’m at Kilgore College.  I’m an athletic trainer, and in the training room.  There have been shots fired, but I have no clue how many are out there nor what’s going on.  Five students, my assistant and I are locked in the supply closet in the training room,” I informed her.

 

“Okay, stay where you are.”

 

Duh.  I wasn’t a dumbass.

 

“My friend is in the gym.  He just got out of the army, so he knows what he’s doing.  I don’t know what he’s doing either, I just know that he was in here when the shooting started and isn’t now.  His name is James Allen.”

 

“Okay ma’am.  Stay on the line,” I agreed but didn’t mean it.

 

Ignoring her while hanging up, I quickly dialed Gabe’s number and listened to it ring three times before he answered.

 

“Hey, baby.”

 

“Gabe, someone’s shooting in the gym,” I said without preamble.

 

“Get into that supply closet-” He demanded before I interrupted him.

“I’m already there.  I have six other people with me.  James went out the door and I haven’t seen him since.  I’ve heard a total of four shots so far.  It’s been seven minutes.”

 

“Okay.  I’ll be there as soon as I can.  Stay where you are.  Turn your phones on silent.  Don’t come out no matter what; I’ll let you know when it’s safe.”

 

“Okay.  I love you,” I whispered.

 

“Love you too, baby,” he replied gruffly.

 

I had a bad feeling about this.  Super bad.  Nothing good was going to come out of this, I just knew it.

***

Gabe

“Listen to me!”  I roared at the dumbasses who were about to go into the gym without having the first clue on how to handle it.  “I’ve been in that gym hundreds of times.  There’re over ten hallways.  It’s a fucking maze.  You won’t be able to just bust in there like bulls in a china shop.  You need more of a plan than what you have.  I have a man inside; I also have my fiancé inside.  This is not going to happen!” I fumed.

 

“I don’t really care who or what you are.  You have no authority here.  None.  Now go back behind the yellow tape before I arrest you,” The cocky little cop said.

 

I wanted to smash his head in with my foot.  He was the first on scene, and if I hadn’t gotten here as quick as I had, the little fucker would have gone in with his little band of commando cops and gotten everyone in that gym killed.  He had no experience.  He was twenty-two at most.  His attitude sucked, and he wasn’t listening to me.  It wasn’t often that I lost my temper, but right then I would have gladly put my fist through his face if it would get me to where I needed to go.

 

“Listen to me.  You have no clue what you are doing.  I’ve done this hundreds of time.  Longview SWAT is still forty minutes away, and unless you can pull a trained SWAT team out of your ass in the next five minutes we will not be going in,” I seethed.

 

It had been twenty excruciating minutes since Ember called me.  Twenty minutes of no communication.  I know I told her not to talk, but it was still no less concerning.  Sam was nearly here from his Dallas parts trip, he’d just taken the exit for Kilgore off the interstate when I’d last spoken to him.  It was as if he had a sixth sense because he didn’t stay in Dallas like he’d originally planned.  He came straight home, not even making his usual stop half way.

 

The other members of our team were scattered around the campus looking for possible entry and exit points.  They’d each arrived here on my heels; going in different directions disappearing as if they’d never even been there.

 

“Gabe!”  Sam’s commanding voice said from behind me. 

   

Instantly I calmed.  I wasn’t alone anymore.  Having the man that saved my life on a daily basis at my back cooled my temper down to a slow boil instead of that erupting volcano feeling I’d previously been sporting.  I turned my back on the little prick and turned my attention to Sam.

 

“For the love of all that’s holy, please tell me you have good news?”  I asked Sam.

 

“Yep.  Luke here is taking over,” he said gesturing to his left.

 

Luke was in black cargo pants, a black shirt, black boots, and a black gun vest.  He was carrying a tactical shotgun in his right hand, and in his left, a microphone dangled.  He gave me a steely nod and then turned his attention to Officer Prick.

 

“Listen up, Gibbs.  These men have taken shits longer than you’ve been a police officer.  I’ll tolerate none of the bullshit I just heard you spitting.  Go work the police tape.  I don’t want anyone past it.  Move!”  He barked.

 

Hiding a smirk, I regarded Luke and Sam.

 

“I told her to hold off cell communication until it was absolutely necessary, or if she thought her life was in danger.  Here’s a map of the hallways.  I have eyes on the inside; I just have to get Jack to pull the feed up on his phone.  The only place I don’t have them is the restrooms.”  I informed them both.

 

Sensing his need, or maybe just overhearing, Jack materialized at my right side.  He handed over his cell phone that had the video feed on it and nodded briskly at Sam and Luke.  There was no movement in any of the rooms.  Not one single person was milling around, which meant that they’d moved them into either the girl’s or the boy’s locker room, which is what I thought they would do.

 

The locker rooms had no windows, it was big enough to fit a large group in, and there were two exits if needed.  Obviously, the shooters did their homework.  James appeared at the end of one hallway in clear view of the camera that he knew was there.  He held up three fingers, flashed them down low, showed a fist, and then disappeared in the next instant.

 

“There’re three shooters.  Boy’s locker room.  Multiple hostages.”  Sam informed Luke.

 

Luke nodded, not arguing or questioning how Sam knew since we’d all seen the same sign.  Luke may not have been able to decipher it, but since he was a smart fellow, he knew that we could.  We spent the next fifteen minutes discussing how we would go into the building.  Luckily, Elliott remembered to bring the earpieces, because now we would be able to hear and communicate what was going on once we entered.

 

“Alright boys, you know what to do,” Sam said.

 

We spread out to different entrances and entered the building soundlessly.  Jack was my partner, and would help me clear each room, as well as watch my back, as we made our way to the boy’s locker room.

 

With our guns in hand, we set out.  The first hall we came to was the one that led to the gym.  Once in the gym, Jack went low and I went high.  With the bleachers stacked against the wall, the gym was one big open area, and it was immediately apparent that it was empty.  If the bleachers were out this would have been a different ballgame.

 

“Lock it.”  I instructed Jack.

 

He immediately used the lock on the top of the door, turned the key, and then slid the key into his pocket once he was done.  Hugging the wall, we made our way to the other door at the far side of the gym.  Once there, we opened the door slowly.  Lucky for us, it swung in instead of out. 

 

“You’re clear for the next hallway, Gabe,” Luke said into our ears.

 

“Copy,” I confirmed softly, barely a whisper of sound.

 

Easing cautiously into the hall, we locked the gym door behind us too.

 

We were locking the doors behind us, because we didn’t want to lose the shooters in the maze of rooms in the athletic wing.  With the gates closed off that connected the athletic department from the rest of the school, we made it so the shooters only had one-way out.  If the shooters did run, we wanted to make it harder to escape.

 

“Alright, boys.  Still no movement on any camera.  I can see the boy’s room crack open every now and then, but nothing besides that.”  Luke said into my ear.

 

“Copy,” Sam said.

 

“Copy,” I said.

 

“Copy,” Elliott said.

 

“I’ve got James coming up to your right, Sam.  Try not to shoot him.  Looks like he’s waiting for you,” Luke’s voice broke the silence.

 

“Got him.”  Sam said.

 

We continued to make our way down the maze of hallways and finally stopped once we were at the training room door.  Planting myself in front of the door, I watched the hallway as Jack entered the room using the key I’d made when all the gang business started.  Not that I’d thought I would be using it for this.

 

“Clear,” Jack said. 

 

Easing into the room, I closed and relocked the door and headed for the supply closet.  Lowering my weapon, I unlocked the closet door and swung it open while Jack covered my back.  I wasn’t sure of what I would find, but never in a million years did this possibility cross my mind.

 

I honestly thought that Ember would be just fine.  I thought I’d get in here, and she would jump in my arms when she saw me.  Seeing this young girl with the wide brown eyes standing behind Ember with a knife to her throat was the last thing I would’ve expected.

 

“She fell for it perfectly.  I was told if I came in here acting hurt, that I could be backup in case the others couldn’t get to her.  Looks like they were smart to have a plan B, huh?”  The little girl said.

 

“Mari.  You don’t have to do this.  Drop the knife; I don’t want you to get hurt,” Ember’s voice quivered in fear.

 

The little girl looked like she was standing on her tippy toes to see over Ember’s shoulder.  She looked barely old enough to graduate high school, let alone be in college.

 

“What about your kids?”  Ember asked.  “Don’t you want them to have a mommy in the morning?”

 

“Shut up, bitch.  I’ll be there for them in the morning, but you won’t be,” the girl snarled.

 

“You’ve got about two seconds to get that knife away from her throat or I’m going to put a bullet in your brain.  I don’t care how old you are, or how many kids you have,” I voiced with a deadly calm.

  

I felt anything but calm though.  Here I was, watching, while the woman I loved had a knife up to her throat. 

 

The other kids in the closet huddled in on themselves.  Each had their head down with their ankles and hands tied together with tape.  How this girl managed to do this by herself and hold Ember hostage was nearly impossible. 

 

I also wasn’t stupid. 

 

“Sleeper.”  I mouthed to Jack.

 

He must’ve been under the same frame of mind though, because his eyes were already moving over the rest of the group.

 

“Let the hostages go.  You can keep me.  Just don’t hurt my June bug,” Ember said pleadingly.

 

June’s head snapped up and her eyes furrowed.  She looked completely confused.  I wasn’t though.  She was saying bug because of the girl who was sporting a ladybug tattoo on her foot.  Jack and I knew each other so well that when I shifted my gun from the one who had the knife on Ember, to the ladybug girl, he never even questioned, just stayed constant with his sights trained on the girl’s forehead.

 

Ladybug tattoo girl’s eyes went glacial once she realized we were on to her.  The next instant was a complete blur.  Knife girl went low with the knife.  Ladybug lunged forward, gun in hand, and two things happened at once.  Jack’s weapon and my weapon discharged simultaneously.

 

Two barks of our firearms discharging split the still air.  One went into the heart of ladybug girl.  The other went into the left side of knife girls head.  Ember went down with startled cry, and everything returned to real time.

 

Jack kept his weapon trained on knife girl who was still moving, and I went to Ember and lifted her up into my arms.  One glance and I knew she was in pain.  Standing her on her feet, I scanned her body and found the knife protruding from her left side just to the right of her kidney.

 

“Stay still, baby.  I know it hurts.  It’s gotta stay there though, I don’t want to risk pulling it out without knowing if it hit anything vital,” I said to her.

 

“Locker room cleared.  Looks like the boys cut a fucking hole in the fucking ceiling and went out that way,” James said into our earpieces. 

 

“Need a couple of ambulances.  Ember has a knife wound to the left side, I think it’s just in some fat, but I won’t be able to tell until someone can bring me a kit in,” I relayed.

 

“Copy,” Luke said.

 

“I don’t have any fat.  You’re a butthead,” Ember declared weakly.

 

“That was pathetic, my dear,” I whispered into her hair. 

 

“Gabe, I have to tell you something.  Don’t freak out.  Okay?”

 

Conversations that started with ‘don’t freak out’ normally didn’t turn out well.  For Ember’s sake, I would try not to freak out though.

 

“What, baby.”

 

“I’m premmmmt,” she mumbled into my shirt.

 

“What?”  I asked confused.

 

She lifted her face from my chest before whispering “Pregnant.”

 

Seconds passed before it finally sank in. 

 

Sweet Jesus.

 

“Did you just say what I think you said?”  I clarified.

 

“Yes.”

 

“How do you know this?”

 

Before she could answer, the door opened and the boys filed in, along with the rest of the Kilgore PD, two firefighters, four paramedics, and Ember’s boss.  One set of medics came to Ember, and another went to the girl on the ground.  Knife girl was most definitely dead.  They only glanced at her.  No other reason to stop.  Her blood was lying in a pool under her body.  It was slowly spreading outward, creeping bigger and bigger by the second.

 

That, and the left side of her head was missing.

 

“No casualties of our own.  I don’t know what the fuck the show was for, but I’d kill to find out.  I feel like we’re missing something here,” James said, clearly confused.

 

“We probably are,” I agreed.

 

“If that one lives,”  Jack gestured to the girl writhing on the floor under the care of the medics, “she’ll know more.”

 

Ember’s boss, Mr. Dean, chose that minute to come up to Ember and see how she was feeling.

 

“Ember, are you all right?” 

 

“Yes.  It’s only a knife wound.  I’m sure it’s not that bad.  I think it only went in three or four inches,” Ember said with sarcasm dripping from every word.

 

Mr. Dean was oblivious though.  He gave Ember another once over and then said what he needed to say.

 

“I hate to be the one to do this, but you’re a liability at this moment in time.  Until this is no longer a problem, you’ll be on unpaid administrative leave effective immediately.  Your job will be held open for six months.  Please get this figured out and come back as soon as you can, I really don’t want to lose you.”

 

“I understand, Mr. Dean,” Ember whispered, pain clear in her voice.

 

Tightening my arms around her, I let the day’s events start to seep through, the ones that I’ve been holding in check since I’d first gotten Ember’s call. 

 

I felt tired.  Tired of my soon to be wife, and mother of my child, being in danger.  Tired of all the drama.  Tired of the shittiness in the world as a whole.  Just plain tired.  I needed a break.  Sadly, that wasn’t in the cards for me right now.  I needed to grow a pair and get my shit together.  It was going to stop soon; I would make sure of it.

***

Ember

“He hasn’t said a word to me, Chey Chey!”  I cried.

 

“Honey, just give him a few minutes.  Being held at knifepoint by a psycho bitch, while he watched, is a little nerve wracking.  I think he’s allowed to be a little scared,” Cheyenne said comfortingly.

 

“What the fuck do they do around here, grow them virile?”  Payton asked.

 

Payton was a friend of Cheyenne’s; they’d met during clinicals nearly three years ago.  She was a little ball of spunk.  She had a larger than life personality, which made up for her four foot eleven inch frame.  Her brown hair was a riot of jagged edges that hung to just below her shoulders in the longest spots.  Every few pieces she had highlighted it with neon pink and jet blue.  She was solid muscle despite her midgetness.

 

Payton and Cheyenne still ended up being in the same graduating class, even though both of them took a year off.  Cheyenne’s excuse was because of the twins.  Payton’s was a lot more in depth.

 

Payton was on a date with her boyfriend when a couple of men attacked them.  Said boyfriend took off, leaving the attacker there to do what he wished with Payton.  It took her nearly a year to come back from the attack physically.  Mentally was a different story.

 

“Must be something in the air,” I said drolly.

 

“Yeah, y’all’s legs,” Payton quipped.

 

I burst out laughing.  Pain made itself apparent despite the good medication they had me on, and then I sobered when I started thinking about why I was currently in a hospital bed in the first place.

 

Both Payton and Cheyenne were on shift on the OB floor, which was where I was.  Once in the ER, a doctor removed the knife that, luckily, only went through the fat of my back, just as Gabe predicted.  They transferred me to the OB floor for monitoring since learning I was pregnant.

 

This’s where I met Cheyenne and Payton.  Cheyenne was furious that I hadn’t called her, but really what did she expect? 

 

“I can’t believe I’m pregnant.  Again,” Cheyenne sighed miserably.

 

Fortunately, Cheyenne got over it quickly, and then we went about monitoring the baby.

 

Gabe followed me up here but left soon after without a word.  This was the point we were at now.  Two hours later and still no Gabe.

 

“He’s going to fucking kill me.  I did everything right, Cheyenne!”  I wailed.

 

I really was wailing.  My emotions were all over the place, and without Gabe here with me, I felt oddly empty and alone.  Cheyenne and Payton were doing their best to be here for me, but they did have work to do and couldn’t stay with me every minute. 

 

“Alright, chick.  Got a few more rounds to do.  See you in a few.”  Payton said as she flounced out of the room ponytail bobbing behind her.

 

“You have the weirdest friends.”  I hiccoughed.

 

“Yes, I do.  Gotta go too.  I’ll be back in thirty.  I’m gonna ask if they’ll do an ultrasound on you,” Cheyenne said.

 

She gave me a slobbery kiss on the forehead, patted my ass, turned the lights out, and left the room.

 

I was plunged into darkness, and then my head started spinning.  I’d gone through a lot in the past four months.  My mind was whirling.  How would I pay for an apartment if I didn’t have a job?  How would I pay for a baby?  Would Gabe even be there?  I knew he loved me, but he had a lot going on too.  He already had one kid that he was worrying about, and I’d just added another in the span of a week!  The rhythmic ‘lubb dubb’ of the baby’s heartbeat calmed me enough for a fitful doze.  I was still crying, and would wake myself up choking on snot and the likes, but still managed somehow.

 

“Are you in pain, baby?”  Gabe whispered into my ear.

 

I came out of my doze to find myself still on my side, my back to the door.  Gabe was at my back leaning over my body wiping my tears away with the back of his hand.  I could smell him.  It was a mixture of Irish Springs soap and a faint hint of burnt motor oil.

 

Didn’t matter how many times he washed his hands or his clothes; he always smelled as if he’d just come from the garage.  Which he did.

 

“No.  They gave me some good shit,” I said into the darkness, while cringing away from his touch a bit.

 

I didn’t really want him to touch me.  It made me want things I wasn’t sure he wanted to give at that moment.  He felt my withdrawal and got up to come to the other side of the bed so he could see my face.

 

“What is it?  Is it the baby?” 

 

“Do you care?”

 

“What the fuck kind of question is that?  Of course, I care.  How could you ask me that?”  He whispered heatedly.

 

“You didn’t seem too excited when I told you.  You freakin’ left me by myself.  I’m scared shitless here.  You haven’t said one single word to me since we left the college.”

 

“Ember, I was pissed.  Not about the baby.  Not at you.  In fact, pissed isn’t even the word here.  More like irate.  How would you feel if your fiancé was held at knifepoint, and, to top it off, she was pregnant?”

 

“Well I don’t lean towards that side of the fence.  So, if my fiancé was pregnant it would be a miracle.” 

 

“Ember,” he growled, exasperated.

 

“Okay, I’ll give you that.  But why were you gone so long?”

 

“I was questioning the girl that Jack shot.  She was lucky.  Only got her collar bone.”

 

“What’d you get out of her?”

 

“She was high on the painkillers too.  What I got was there was some tension in this branch of the gang.  Some of the main people don’t agree with what the gang leader is doing to you,” he said, while running one long finger along the belts at my stomach.

 

“That good?”

 

“Could be, we’ll see,” he said as he bent his head and kissed my cheek.

 

The sound of a large thump on the other side of the door had Gabe tensing in wariness.  He didn’t need to worry though because Cheyenne’s clipped, “Motherfucker” soon followed the thump. 

 

I let out a watery laugh when I heard that.  Even her being at work couldn’t curb her mouth.

 

Standing and walking to the door, Gabe opened it for Cheyenne.

 

“Thanks,” she said as she pushed the ultrasound machine in.

 

“What’s going on?”  Gabe questioned.

 

“We get to look at the baby!”  Cheyenne squealed while jumping up and down clapping her hands.

 

Gabe watched her as if she was on crack. 

 

“If it’s a girl, you have to name her Cheyenne,” Cheyenne said.

 

“Fuck that.  You wouldn’t name either one of your girls after me!  What makes you think we’ll name mine after you?”

 

“Ember’s a weirdo name.  I didn’t want to stick my kid with a weirdo name.”

 

“Ember is not a weirdo name!  What the heck is Cheyenne?  That’s like white-trash redneck.”

 

“Take it back!”  Cheyenne fumed.

 

“You first.”

 

“Seriously?  Would you two shut the fuck up?”  James barked, as he, Sam, Max, Jack, Elliott and Blaine walked into the room.

 

“Make me!”  Cheyenne and I said at the same time.

 

“What are y’all, two?”  Max asked.

 

“Do you still keep those porn magazines in your bathroom?”  I asked Max sweetly.

 

His faced reddened and I burst out laughing.

 

“You do!”  I squealed.

 

“I do not.  I was fifteen!  Tell me what fifteen year old boy didn’t have a fuckin’ porn magazine.”

 

I looked at Gabe who was wearing a sheepish expression.  I laughed and then groaned when my side pinched.

 

“Where did you keep yours?”  Blaine asked Elliott.

 

“Mattress,” he answered.

 

“What about you?”  Cheyenne asked Sam.

 

“My car.”

 

“Wow.  Y’all are a bunch of pervs,” Cheyenne exclaimed.

 

“Hello, group.  I’m Dr. Robinson.  Can everyone but the father and the bed ridden give us a moment, please?”  Dr. Robinson instructed.

 

Everyone filed out of the room leaving only Gabe and I alone.  Dr.  Robinson walked to the side of the ultrasound machine, turned it on, and then around.  Gabe made his way back to my side and regarded the doctor.

 

“You’ve had an exciting day, haven’t you Ember?”  Dr. Robinson asked me.

 

“You could say that,” I answered dryly.

 

“I’m assuming you’ve not had a chance to tell this young man over here what we discussed earlier, correct?”  Dr. Robinson queried.

 

“Not yet.  I wanted to do it face to face, and we haven’t had that chance yet.”

 

“Okay, I’ll lay it all out again.”  He nodded and then turned his attention to Gabe.  “We discussed the risks of an IUD pregnancy.  We have two options here.  We can leave the IUD in, or we can remove it.  If Ms. Tremaine is at 12 weeks or less, removing the IUD is the better option.  Once the IUD is removed it will have the same risks as a normal pregnancy.”

 

Heart in my throat, I glanced at Gabe’s face.  It was completely blank and I couldn’t read anything off his facial expression as to what he was feeling.

 

Nodding my consent, he continued.

   

“What we are looking for is gestation first.  Then we will look for IUD placement.”

 

The doctor squirted a clear gel on my stomach that was colder than a witch’s tit.  He rubbed it in with the alien probe and our little alien face lit up the screen.  He did some clicking with the mouse and moved the wand again.

 

“Looks to be about sixteen weeks.  Due date should be around February 7^th.”

 

A small inhalation from Gabe had me looking his way with raised brows.

 

“That was my mom’s birthday.” 

 

“Alright, the IUD doesn’t even look like it’s there anymore.  At least it’s not in the correct place.  My guess would be that it is somewhere in the uterus, most likely behind the baby since we can’t see it.  It’s also possible that it isn’t there at all anymore.  When was the last time you felt the strings?”

 

My face flamed.  To feel the strings you had to stick your finger’s up your vagina.  Who the hell wanted to admit the last time their fingers were up there?  The last time I had my finger up my vagina was months ago, before Gabe and I were officially seeing each other.  I’d also been getting off to thoughts of Gabe, but now that I think about it, I didn’t feel them then either.

 

“Uhh, well I haven’t felt them in a while,” I stuttered out.

 

“I haven’t noticed them either.  So it’s been four months, at least,” Gabe said with a shit-eating grin on his face.

 

Dr. Robinson laughed quietly under his breath.

 

“We’ll monitor you once a week.  I still want you to come in tomorrow, and then every other Tuesday until you deliver.  We’ll probably move you up to twice a week once you get closer.  Any other questions?”  Dr. Robinson asked.

 

“No,” I answered quietly.

 

I wasn’t sure what to feel.  I couldn’t get too excited, what if I lost the baby?

 

Seeming to read my thoughts Gabe asked, “What’s the likelihood of this pregnancy going all the way?”

 

“There’s no way to tell.  This could be just a perfectly normal pregnancy.  If the IUD is still in there, I have hopes that it will just float around on the outside of the amniotic sac.  As I said, it’s also possible that the IUD fell out and you never noticed it was gone.  This is one of those wait and see type things.  I have no guarantees right now.”

 

“Is it too early to tell the sex?”  I asked him.

 

“This isn’t normally my forte, but I will definitely give it the try.  The ultrasound techs have taken over this job for me and it’s been many years since I’ve gotten to do it.  Let’s see,” he said as he moved the wand around.  “This is a leg.  This is a foot.  This, right here, is a penis.  Nope, no mistaking that one, he just let it all hang out there.”

 

We all chuckled at the lack of modesty of our little guy.  Like father like son.

 

“Here are a few pictures.  Careful of that side there.  I’ll get the nurses to bring your discharge papers.  See you in the AM,” Dr. Robinson said, as he walked briskly out the door.

  

“I’m scared.”  I whispered.

 

“I know, baby, me too.”

 

“Who wants hotdogs?”  Cheyenne said as she burst into the room.

 

“You interrupted my moment.  I was about to get hospital sex!” I whined.

 

“Don’t lie.  Gabe would never let you do that,” Cheyenne argued.

 

“How do you know?  Do you have superpowers now?”  I asked her.

 

“Gabe’s a good guy.  He would never do it anywhere where it was possible to get caught,” Cheyenne said confidently.

 

At that, I laughed my ass off.  Of course he wouldn’t.

 

“Hello, all.  Ember, dear, these are your discharge papers.  Come in if you experience any bleeding or contractions.  Your follow up appointment is tomorrow at 9:30 A.M.  Sign here,” Nurse Wilma said.

 

I didn’t know if she was actually named Wilma.  She did, however, resemble Wilma off The Flintstone’s.

 

Just like that, I was released from the hospital.  Gabe helped me downstairs with an arm around my waist.  I felt like I’d been run over by a Mack Truck.  I ached in places I didn’t even know had muscles.

 

“I want to go to Cancun Dave’s,” I announced to the group.

 

Everyone groaned, but we loaded up into Sam’s suburban and James’s truck and headed over.

 

Cancun Dave’s was one of those restaurants that you either loved or hated.  My mother used to describe it as a hole in the wall, mom and pop place.  It used to be located right beside its current location, but it burned to the ground from an unexplained kitchen fire.  Then they bought the old pawnshop next store and converted it.  They’d plowed down the old one and now used it for extra parking. 

 

I was devastated when I’d found out that it burned down.  I spent months in a state of depression because I couldn’t get my queso fix like I was used to every Thursday.  However, it was back now and better than ever.  The whole place was done up in Retro 50’s diner. 

 

Entering in through the main door, I walked up to the host and said, “Nine please.”

 

The young teenybopper’s eyes widened when she got a gander at the sexy man flesh at my back.  Then again, who wouldn’t?  They were all over six feet, scary, muscled, and menacing.  None of them looked to be in the mood to go out to eat, but they would for the poor girl that was held hostage and stabbed in the fat.

 

I was practically bouncing on my feet I was so excited to eat here, but as I rounded the corner, I stopped dead at what I saw in front of me.

 

“Motherfucker,” I said under my breath.

 

“What?”  Cheyenne asked.

 

“Look,” I said.

 

By this time, the rest of the group had caught up with us, immediately catching on to what I was seeing, it was too late.  There, sitting in front of us, one table over from the one we were about to sit at, was Sidney, her husband, and the baby.  Sidney looked up, and her eyes widened when they connected with what I expected were Gabe’s over my shoulder.  I could feel the fury vibrating at my back as he put his arm on my hip and pulled my back to his front. 

 

That hurt, but I dealt with it because I knew he needed something to ground him, or he’d blow.

 

Getting tired of the staring match, I made my way to the table and sat at the far end.  Gabe sat at the head so he had a clear view of the table where his baby sat, eating beans and rice.  Both Sidney and her husband were arguing.  Something likely heated, if their body language was any indication.

 

It didn’t take long for the baby to notice the tension, and she started to whimper.  Big huge tears welled in her eyes and started spilling over her cheeks.  Gabe’s body went rigid when he saw the baby silently crying.  It was as if she knew crying would get her nowhere, so she held it inside, crying silently while her parents ignored her. 

 

Gabe’s control snapped, and he was out of his seat, fists clenched in unhappiness.  Max was nearly on his heels when I grabbed his hand and refused to let him go.  Sidney and her husband noticed, instantaneously, that this was going nowhere fast, so they yanked the baby out of her high chair and headed out the door seconds later, tossing a $100 bill down before they left.

 

Gabe followed them out, and I gave Max a shove to make him follow just in case Gabe needed a hand.  Yes, it was obvious that he was going to go anyway, but what are little sisters for if not to annoy the crap out of you?

 

“Sam.  Sam.  Sam.  Sam!” I said repeatedly until his eyes turned to me.  “Go stand at the window and tell us what’s going on.”

 

“No.  Just leave it.  They don’t need an audience.  He’ll tell us or he won’t.  That’s that,” Sam scolded.

 

I looked at him and understood he wasn’t going to budge, so I did the next best thing, which was turn to Cheyenne.  Cheyenne was twelve steps ahead of me though, because she was already up and walking towards the window.  Fortunately, we were the only ones on this side of the restaurant because Cheyenne started yelling out the play by play.

 

“Gabe is standing there all badass silent like.  The husband is yelling at the wife, the wife is strapping the baby into the car.  She doesn’t look happy at all.  Kinda like she swallowed something sour.  The baby’s still crying, loud now.  Gabe just said something that made both of their heads whip around as if he’d slapped them.  Must have been something to do with the baby because Sidney slammed the door and is now standing in front of it, so is the husband.  Uh oh.  Now they’re pissed.  Hubby is gesturing with his hands.  Sidney’s face is turning purplish.  Uh-oh.  Now he’s done.  Coming back to us now.  He has a look on his face that could strip paint off a car.  Spit nails with his teeth.  Beat someone until he shit his pants.  Until they’re lying in their own puddle of tinkle.  Like he could shove a longhorn up the guy’s a-” she narrated.

 

“Stop.  Come sit down, dammit!” Sam scolded.

 

“My name’s not dammit, it’s Cheyenne.”

 

“Cheyenne, dammit, that’s not what I meant and you know it.”

 

“Name’s not Cheyenne Dammit either, by the way,” I pointed out.

  

Annoyance registered on his face as he said, “Oh my God.  Would you two quit?” 

 

“Quit what?”  Gabe asked as he took his seat at the table. 

 

No Max though.  He was still outside.  That, or taking a piss, because he did that, too.

 

Cheyenne ignored the question and asked, “Where’s Max?”

 

Gabe knew a diversion when he heard one but let it go and answered, “Either Sidney drove him to drink, or he needed to take a piss.” 

 

“I ordered you the enchiladas,” I announced, but what I meant was tell me what happened.

 

“Is that a girl’s way of asking me what happened?”  He asked.

 

I fluttered my eyelashes at him and waited.

 

Heaving a sigh he said, “Not much happened.  I wanted to make sure my girl was all right.  They have to submit to a DNA test tomorrow morning.  They said as much, or the husband did.  He flat out said that he would prove it tomorrow morning.  I don’t know what the fuck he’s thinking though; how a baby with that coloring comes from two blonde haired, blue-eyed people is beyond me.  She must’ve snowed him good.”

 

The rest of the evening was spent at home, with us alone.  Gabe must have felt sorry for me because he let me watch Twilight and didn’t complain once.  Just sat there and occasionally rolled his eyes.  One time I think he muttered something about ‘sparkling douches’ under his breath, but I could’ve been mistaken.  He must have known I needed comforting though, because when I put on the third twilight he didn’t mutter a sound.  Only took it like the man he was.

 

It was going great until we were lying in bed.  Gabe was on his side, I was on mine.  Tonight wasn’t a cuddling night.  Seems being stabbed didn’t allow that to happen easily.  He brought up my plans for the next day.

 

“Well, after the doctor, I thought I would come back here and hang with Cheyenne since she’s off.  What are you doing tomorrow?”  I asked sleepily.

 

“I’m going to finish the paint on the auction bike tomorrow.  I’ll go with you to the appointment, and then bring you back.  I want you to stay here.  Clean the house.  Fold the clothes.  Watch TV on your ass all day.  I want you to stay inside, away from the workers.  If you go see Cheyenne, I want you to stay there.  It would be better if you had her come here so nobody saw you.  We’re going to have a crew out here tomorrow.  They have to level the ground towards the back of the shop.  We’re adding on a building for the custom bikes we plan to make in the future.  More to the point, it’s going to be a security hub.  We’re going to start monitoring a few places, and we need something more secure to store our Freebirds documents, computer equipment, and security paraphernalia.  Things are getting bigger than we’d originally intended, and having higher security will make it safer for all involved.”

 

Vaguely I heard him finish his discussion, but I was stuck on ‘fold laundry’ and ‘clean the house.’  It wasn’t often that my feministic side came out, but when it did, I could be a right bitch.  Whew, boy.  Gird your loins.  Getting up to my knees in bed, I reached over and turned on the light, and then turned to face Gabe.

 

“Did you just tell me to clean the house?  What am I, your maid?”

 

Gabe’s brows lowered in confusion when my rant started.

 

“I was just giving you ideas to...”

 

“No.  Just no.  You can do your own laundry.  You can pick up your coke cans.  You can put your own socks into the laundry room.  You can wash your own dishes.”

 

He interrupted me by taking my mouth in a heated kiss.  He stopped before it could get too far, because, hey, I was injured. 

 

“Would you shut the fuck up?  I wasn’t telling you to do anything.  I was telling you that you needed to stay inside while the crew’s here, that’s all.  Turn the bitch off.”

 

I might have been a tiny bit of a bitch, but I also didn’t need him to tell me I was.  Glaring at him, I turned the light off and laid down on my uninjured side again.  He gave me a soft kiss on the side of my head and went to his own side; I fumed for a whole 2.3 seconds and then promptly fell asleep.

 

My last thought, however, was, ‘doesn’t he know better by now then to tell me not to do something?’