Brody
Sitting on the uncomfortable plastic chairs in the relatives' room of the hospital, we waited to see Savannah and the baby. Mom and Dad had already gone in, and Mason and Lib were on their way. Glancing over to Quinn, I saw she was lost in thought, her fingers absentmindedly playing with the edge of her shirt. She’d been quiet since we’d left Marble Falls. I frowned as I wondered what was going on in her head. Turning in my seat, I picked up one of her hands and held it in mine.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I stroked my thumb over the back of her hand. Her eyes lifted to meet mine.
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.” She smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. I didn’t have time to question her further as the door opened and Libby and Mason walked in. Jumping up, she crossed the room to them. She looked relieved that we’d been interrupted, and an uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. Standing up, I pushed it aside, making my way over to them.
“Have you seen them yet?” Libby asked Quinn, the tension between us overshadowed by Libby’s excitement. Quinn shook her head.
“No, Claire and Ryan are with them. Claire was a little eager to get in there,” she replied with a smile. Just then the door to the relatives' room opened and Mom rushed in, with Dad following behind.
“Oh, Hope is so beautiful,” she gushed. “You should go in and see them, we’ve cleared it for the four of you to go in.” She ushered us through the door and along the corridor. “We’re heading home now. They should be sending them both home tomorrow, I’ll get plenty more cuddles then.” She quickly kissed everyone on the cheek before taking Dad’s arm and practically skipping down the corridor. I chuckled at how excited she was. Savannah’s pregnancy was in no way planned, and it caused a fair bit of tension when everyone found out. It was great to see how happy everyone was now.
Pushing the door to Savannah’s room open, Libby rushed toward the bed. She enveloped Savannah in a one-armed hug, so as not to squash Hope, who was cuddled into Savannah’s chest. Quinn held back, and I knew she felt awkward, like she was intruding on family time. She couldn’t have been more wrong. We were her family now, and evidently Savannah felt the same.
“Quinn, come here; come and meet Hope,” Savannah called out, gesturing for her to come closer. She turned to look at me and I smiled, nodding encouragingly at her. As she made her way to Hope, I crossed the room and pulled Josh into a hug.
“Congratulations, man.” I watched as tears filled his eyes before he quickly gained his composure.
“Thanks, Brode. Savannah was amazing. It was scary as shit, but she was just… amazing.” I slapped him on the back as we turned to look at Savannah, Libby, and Quinn. Mason was on the other side of the bed and I watched as a huge smile broke out on his face as he watched Libby cradling Hope.
“I think someone may be getting a little broody,” I said quietly to Josh.
“Who, Lib? All women get broody around babies. It’s like it’s built in,” he joked.
“I don’t mean Lib.” I gestured to the other side of the bed to where he was looking. Seeing him look over to Mason he chuckled.
“Yeah, I bet there’ll be a baby there soon enough,” he agreed. Motioning to Mason, the three of us left the girls to talk babies while we headed to the cafeteria for a coffee. As we sat down, my phone rang. Digging it out of my pocket I saw it was Ethan calling.
“Hey, man, how’s it going?”
“Good, Brody. So, I looked up that guy you asked about.”
“Did you find anything?”
“You could say that.” He sighed down the phone. “Brody, who is this guy? I didn’t ask too many questions when you asked me to run his name, but this guy, he’s bad news.” Closing my eyes, I dropped my head. I’d been hoping Ethan wouldn’t find anything, that Evan was just going to be some piece of shit who couldn’t keep his hands to himself. I’d managed to get his name from Quinn without telling her what Ethan was doing. I felt bad for not keeping her in the loop, but I didn’t want to upset her.
“What have you found out?” I asked, having no idea how bad it was.
“Brody, he’s wanted in a triple homicide.”
“Homicide?” I shouted, gaining a few strange looks from people using the cafeteria. Meeting Mason and then Josh’s eyes, I could see the concern on both their faces. “Who’d he kill?”
“A small-time drug dealer and two of his associates. He disappeared from Westwood, New Jersey, a few weeks ago.” He paused. “That’s not all. He’s done time for assault and battery around fifteen years ago.”
“Shit!” I pushed my hand through my hair, my stomach rolling when I thought about how much danger Quinn had been in.
“How do you know this man, Brody?” Ethan asked again when I’d fallen silent.
“He’s my girlfriend’s stepfather,” I said quietly, my mind working overtime.
“Quinn Montgomery?”
“Yeah. How do you know her name?”
“Her name’s in the file as a person of interest.”
“A person of fucking interest?” I spat, anger bubbling in my stomach. “She's a victim, Ethan.”
“Calm down, Brody. They’re worried for her safety; she’s listed as a missing person.” He paused and let out a sigh. “The bodies were found in her house. They were worried he’d hurt her too.”
“He did hurt her,” I growled. “She was banged up when she arrived here.”
“I can’t even imagine how you’re feeling, but this man is dangerous.” My stomach rolled again at the thought of Evan getting anywhere near Quinn. There was no way I’d let him hurt her again. “Has she been in touch with him since she left?”
“Shit, no! She’s terrified of him.”
“Look, you aren’t going to like this, but I’ve been in touch with the police chief in Westwood. He asked me to talk to her if she turned up here, find out what she knows.”
“No way! She doesn’t know anything.”
“Brody, I’ve no choice. I'll need to speak to her tomorrow after I’ve been over the file.”
Shutting my eyes, I lowered my head and sighed. “There’s no way around it?” I asked in desperation, not wanting Quinn to have to know what Evan had done.
“I’m sorry, man,” Ethan said, his voice showing his remorse.
“Fine. But make it late tomorrow, give me a chance to talk to her first.” I ended the call, not waiting for a reply. I knew it wasn’t Ethan’s fault. He was just doing his job. Tossing my phone across the small plastic table, I groaned, dropping my head into my hands.
“Brody?” Josh asked, concern lacing his voice. “What was all that about?”
Lifting my head, I saw the worry on his face. “Do you remember me saying I was going to ask Ethan to run Quinn’s stepfather’s details through the police computer?” He nodded. “Well, that conversation was the outcome of him doing just that.”
“Homicide?” Mason asked quietly. I nodded. “Shit.”
“From what Quinn’s told me, it sounds like he’s killed the guys he owed money to.”
“Do you think he’ll come for her?” Josh asked. I shrugged my shoulders.
“I have no idea. As far as I know, he has no clue where she is. America’s a big-ass country. She could have gone anywhere.” The idea that Quinn could have chosen a different bus that night, one that didn’t bring her to Marble Falls and the ranch, made my heart ache.
“Are you going to tell her?” Josh asked.
“I’ve got no choice,” I told him. “Ethan wants to come and talk to her. Apparently, the police department in Westwood have been looking for her. She’s a missing person.” Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair. “Until they can locate her and know she wasn’t involved, she’s a person of interest.” Needing to see her I got to my feet. “Let’s head back. I need to know she’s okay.”
As Josh and Mason got up, Josh put his hand on my shoulder. “Anything you need, we’re here for you, Brode. Remember that.” I saw Mason nod, and I pulled Josh into a one-armed hug, slapping his back.
“Thanks, guys.”
Walking back through the corridors of the hospital, my mind raced with everything Ethan had told me. I needed to get back to Savannah’s room and see my girl with my own eyes to know she was safe. It was irrational as I knew I’d left her with Savannah and Libby, but after hearing all that from Ethan, I didn’t ever want to let Quinn out of my sight again. I had no idea how I was going to tell her what Evan had done. I just hoped I could convince her to stay with me where she belonged.
Quinn
Standing in Savannah’s hospital room I watched as she held her newborn daughter in her arms. She looked exhausted but so happy. Libby had been cuddling Hope when she started to fuss, so Savannah had taken her back, soothing her almost immediately. It was crazy to think she was only a couple of hours old, but she already knew who her momma was.
Savannah had filled us in on the labor and birth and hearing her story had made me press my legs together tightly. As amazing as Hope was, there was no way I wanted children anytime soon. I’m sure as soon as Sav held Hope in her arms she forgot all the pain she’d endured, but for me, hearing about it was enough.
“Quinn, get over here,” Sav called, motioning for me to go over. I’d backed away from the bed to give them some space. I was acutely aware I was intruding on a special family moment and wasn’t completely comfortable with being there. “Do you want to hold her?” Savannah asked as I came to stand next to her.
“I’d love to.” I leaned down, and she placed Hope into my arms. “Oh, she’s so tiny,” I whispered, my eyes fixed on Hope. Opening her blanket slightly, I brushed my finger across the silky soft skin of her small hand. Grabbing hold of my finger, her hand fisted around it as she opened her eyes. Beautiful blue eyes stared back at me, her long eyelashes almost touching her cheeks when she blinked.
“Hello, Hope,” I cooed. She yawned in reply and closed her eyes, falling asleep in my arms. “She’s perfect, Savannah.” Her response was also to yawn, and she dropped her head back on her pillow closing her eyes.
“You sleep, we’ll watch Hope,” Libby whispered to Savannah, pulling the sheet over her. She was asleep before Libby could finish covering her up. I could only imagine how exhausted she must be. “I’m just going to grab a coffee from the vending machine down the hall. Do you want anything?” Libby whispered. I shook my head, and she slipped out of the door, leaving me holding Hope.
Looking around, I walked over to a large recliner chair in the corner of the room. Sitting down I couldn’t take my eyes off Hope. She was fast asleep but making tiny grunting noises, and occasionally her face would scrunch up before smoothing out again. She was fascinating to watch. Hearing the door, I dragged my eyes off Hope to see Josh entering, followed by Mason and Brody. I quickly put my fingers to my lips and gestured with my head to a sleeping Savannah. Josh crossed the room and placed a soft kiss on Hope’s head before making his way to Savannah and doing the same. I whispered to Mason that Libby had gone for coffee and he nodded, leaving the room to find her. Catching Brody’s eye, I saw him grinning as he watched me with Hope.
“Hey, baby. You look comfy there,” he whispered. Squatting down by the side of the chair, he kissed my lips.
“She’s perfect, Brody,” I told him, staring down at her. He nodded.
“She is.” We sat in silence for a few minutes watching Hope. I realized though that Brody was in fact watching me and not Hope.
“Everything okay?” I asked seeing a strange expression on his face.
“Everything’s fine.” His eyes dropped from mine to focus on Hope. I frowned.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive, sweetheart.”
I nodded, not convinced he was telling me the truth.
“Should we leave and let them get some rest?” he asked, seeing that Josh was nodding off on the bed next to Savannah. Standing up, I nodded, kissing Hope gently on the forehead before placing her in the crib at the side of the bed. Waving to a dozing Josh, we told him we’d see them once they were home. Quietly, we slipped out of the room and into the hallway where Libby and Mason were. Explaining that all three of them were asleep, they decided to leave too and we all walked to the parking lot together.
Driving back to the ranch, Brody was quiet. With the excitement of seeing Hope, I’d been able to push all thoughts of seeing Evan to the back of my mind for an hour or so. Now I was sitting in Brody’s quiet truck, all I could think about was him and whether or not he had found me. I knew logically there was no way he could know where I was, but I was sure I’d seen him in Marble Falls. As we pulled up outside the ranch house, Brody reached over and squeezed my hand.
“Do you feel like pizza and a movie in bed tonight?”
“That sounds perfect.” I leaned across the cab of the truck and kissed his stubbled jaw. Jumping out of his seat he made his way around the truck, holding my door open for me. Walking hand in hand into the house, we bumped into Claire and Ryan. They were in the hall, getting ready to go out for the evening. Saying a quick hello and goodbye we headed upstairs. Quickly throwing on some sweats and tying my hair up, I padded down the hall to Brody’s room. Pushing his door, it opened silently and I was able to stand and stare at him while he kicked his jeans off, revealing a pair of tight black boxer shorts. Turning suddenly, he grinned as he caught me watching him. Dragging my eyes up his thick toned legs, I felt my face flush as my eyes travelled over the bulge in his boxer shorts. My eyes continued to take him in, and I gazed at his bronzed and toned chest.
“Come here,” he said huskily, his hooded eyes meeting mine. Walking slowly toward him, butterflies erupted in my stomach. His hands reached around my waist, pulling me into his bare chest. “That’s better,” he muttered in my ear as he lowered his head to mine. “You were too far away over there,” he said, brushing kisses along my neck. I sighed as I dropped my head to the side, giving him better access. One of his hands released my neck and tangled in my hair, pulling my mouth up to his. His lips captured mine, and I felt him brush his tongue against my lips, seeking entry into my mouth. Opening up to him, his tongue found mine and I heard him moan, his erection pressing against my stomach. Picking me up I wrapped my legs around him as he carried me to the edge of his bed, gently laying me down on top of the comforter. My head fell on his pillow and he broke the kiss, reaching around the back of my head for the hair tie holding my hair. Gently pulling it out, my hair fanned out on his pillow.
“Beautiful,” he mumbled as he bent his head again, kissing around my jaw and down my neck. Tracing his fingers under my sweater I shivered under his touch, goose bumps erupting on my skin where he touched me. Sitting up I pulled my sweater over my head, leaving me in just my bra. I was done with waiting. I knew I was falling in love with him, and as much as that scared me, I was ready to be with him.