Chapter Eighteen

Blake

Hadley’s phone rang early the next morning, waking us both. It was her mother. Apparently, one of her friends had fallen and broken her pelvis, and she was needed at home. While I was irritated that I wasn’t going to spend the morning in bed with Hadley, the trade-off was that her mother and sister were finally going home.

We fell into a routine over the next week. Each night after work, we crashed at one of our two places and each morning, I woke Hadley with my mouth, or if I was in a hurry, my cock. Then I left her in bed dozing while I got ready for work. Hadley usually rolled into Sazerac’s around eleven, where she would spend the next few hours spoiling the staff with tastes of whatever she was concocting in the kitchen. The staff loved her. I thought I might, too. This was a problem for me because I wasn’t exactly well-versed in the language of love. I was great at getting women naked, but not so good at pillow talk. Hadley was different, and not just because she was carrying my child, but because she made me realize that with the right person, I could have something special that belonged only to me. The moment I saw that 99.9 number on the bottom of that document, a switch had been flipped. This wasn’t just about me anymore. My protective instincts were elevated to high alert and I began to worry about things I’d never even thought of, such as: was she taking the right vitamins? Should she be on her feet all day? Then I began to wonder if she was getting enough sleep or eating the right foods.

Hadley wasn’t the only thing that concerned me. Ashe Gibson had arrived, and from what I could tell, I didn’t like him. He strutted into Sazerac’s with a giant chip on his shoulder and, just like Patrice, he started making demands. Because he had us between a rock and a hard place, we complied, but not without resentment, mine in particular. As far as I was concerned, Ashe was nothing but a pompous, arrogant prick. I could care less that everyone seemed to fall all over themselves whenever he was around. Hell, even Patrice was toeing the line, which was a testament to the dickhead’s allure. What I cared about was his blatant interest in Hadley. I was there when he saw her for the first time. I recognized the appreciative look in his eyes whenever she was near because it mirrored mine. Had it been any other guy but me, he would have backed off, but Ashe wasn’t stupid. He knew I was less than impressed by him, so when Wayne took it upon himself to inform him that Hadley and I were together, the dumbass took it as a challenge. Challenge accepted, fucker.

Developing a relationship with Hadley didn’t come without its issues. As I’d been living by myself for the better part of fourteen years, I was used to getting my way. I also preferred a direct and straight forward approach to things. Hadley, however, had spent years living with her manipulative mother and crazy sister. She’d learned the art of subterfuge. What you saw was rarely what you got. For the most part, she was easy going, but some days I felt as if I was walking through a minefield—afraid that if I took the wrong step, something would blow up in my face.

One such occasion took place three weeks after I discovered I was going to be a father. Due to a late night at Sazerac’s we’d chosen to spend the night at Hadley’s. Early the next morning I woke to the sound of her crying. Even though she was muffled by the bathroom door, I could still hear her sobs. My first thought was the baby. In a mad dash of panic, I scrambled from the bed and flew to the bathroom, only to find Hadley not in the bathroom, but standing inside her...closet? Relief washed over me as I stood outside the closed door, but was soon replaced with confusion, when I once again heard the sobs. This was one of those moments I had absolutely no idea how to navigate. Should I go in or should I go back to bed and pull the covers over my head?

Just as I’d decided to head back to bed, I heard, “Oh no! Not this too!” come from inside the closet. Grasping the handle, I gave it a twist, and opened the door. Standing there, with clothes piled at her feet, was a very distraught-looking Hadley. Her tear-filled eyes locked on mine. The despair on her face nearly gutted me. Was it the baby? If so, then why was she in the closet? And why was she standing in a pile of clothes?

“Hey. It’s okay,” I quietly murmured, while praying that it wasn’t the baby.

“It’s not!” she wailed.

“Hadley, baby, clearly something has upset you,” I whispered, “tell me what’s wrong.”

“I popped oooooout,” she cried. I opened my mouth to give some sort of platitude, but then registered what she’d said. Horror gripped me as my eyes shot to the floor. There didn’t appear to be any blood. Nor was there, thank Christ, any trace of fecal matter—not that it would bother me if she’d shit her pants. Hell, during my stint in the army, I’d seen just about everything—but only because I knew how much it would bother her.

“What?” Hadley sniffled, her eyes joining mine on the floor.

“You said it popped out,” I half-stated, half questioned.

“Not it, I popped out. I,” she repeated. I watched in fascination as she turned sideways and spread her hands tightly across her mid-section. My eyes dropped to her belly—a belly that, just last night, had been flat, but was now slightly round—and widened with wonder.

“Oh, wow,” I gushed on a relieved exhale.

“Wow’s right,” she snapped. “This,” she pointed at the bump, “was supposed to be gradual. Look at it! It’s huge, and now I can’t fit in any of my clothes!” I wasn’t sure what the big deal was. She was, after all, pregnant.

“We’ll buy you some new ones,” I suggested, still not getting why she was so upset over this.

“You don’t get it!” she said, breaking into another bout of tears. Clearly, I was missing something.

“Why don’t you explain it to me,” I calmly urged.

“I shouldn’t have tooooo,” she wailed.

Now, really confused, I asked, “Aren’t you supposed to get big? I mean, you are carrying a baby in there.” I nodded at her stomach for emphasis.

“You don’t get it!” she repeated. I could tell she was frustrated. Well, she wasn’t the only one.

“You’re right, I don’t.”

“Uggggggh!” she growled and stormed from the closet and out the bathroom door.

Thinking I would give her some space, I took a quick shower and dressed for work. Half an hour later, I’d come up with a plan of attack. First, I needed to get some serious intel. This would require a trip to the book store. Second, I would take Hadley shopping for new clothes, and third, I would convince her to move in with me. As she stood there crying over her beautiful belly, I realized that, not only could her closet barely accommodate her clothing, but that it was time to make some changes. Since we were already spending all of our time together, why not live together? This way, we could raise the baby under one roof.

Hadley wasn’t in the kitchen. Next to the coffee pot, however, was a note. It read: See you at work, and was signed with the letter, H.

Feeling somewhat irritated at not getting to talk things through with her, I pulled my phone out of my back pocket, scrolled to her name, and typed:

Before I leave, I need to know you’re okay.

Ten minutes later, when she still hadn’t responded, I thought, fuck it. If she doesn’t want to talk, then I’m out of here.

On the way downtown, I stopped off at the bookstore, where I purchased some books on pregnancy and parenting. Step one accomplished.

I entered Sazerac’s to find Zane already in the office and waiting for me.

“What’s up?” I asked, when I discovered him sitting behind the desk. I knew by the look on his face, it wasn’t good. I’d put money on it having to do with Ashe. Hopefully he quit.

“Last night, there was an altercation at Whisky’s.”

My eyes snapped to his and widened in surprise. “What happened? And why am I just now hearing about it?” I asked.

“Because I just heard about it,” he replied, before adding, “Apparently, our boy Hunter really stepped in it.”

“How bad?” I groaned, dropping onto the chair across from him.

“Well, let’s see. Somehow Lena’s boyfriend discovered that she and Hunter had a thing. He showed up at Whisky’s drunk out of his mind and looking for a fight. The word is Hunter didn’t engage until the guy put his hands on Lena.”

“He put his hands on her, how?” I asked, thinking that I would lose my shit in a big way if someone put their hands on Hadley.

“I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean you’re not sure?”

“Fucking Hunter,” he growled. “Okay, here’s what I was told. The guy came in screaming for Lena. She tried to get him into the back office, but in the process, he shoved her and she fell. That’s when Hunter stepped in...and got his ass kicked. Lena took the boyfriend home and when Hunter discovered them gone, he smashed a shitpile of glasses and walked out.” Fucking Hunter was right!

“He left? Who closed?” I asked, still trying to absorb the fact that Hunter had walked out on a shift.

“Melanie and Jason.” Neither Melanie or Jason were particularly organized, which meant that we’d probably taken a loss.

“Where’s Hunter now?”

“Who the fuck knows?” Zane exploded. “He won’t answer his phone, which means he’s probably sleeping it off in some bitch’s bed. I’m at the end of my rope with him, Blake. I mean it this time. I’m done. He knew better than to walk out on a shift. He could have called either one of us, but he didn’t. I’m ready to buy him out and call it a day.” Hunter had gone too far this time. For Zane to say this, knowing how close he and Hunter were, meant that Hunter was in deep shit.

“What do you need from me?” I asked, fully expecting to spend the rest of the day searching for Hunter.

“I need you back over at Whisky’s.” Fuck that.

“No way. I’ll rein Hunter in, but I’m here now. Whisky’s is yours to deal with.” His brow arched in surprise.

“The last I looked, you still pull a paycheck from both places. Whisky’s is just as much your responsibility as it is mine, Blake.” He was wrong. Whisky’s was all his.

“Then cut me from Whisky’s,” I argued. I could see his brain searching for an answer.

“What would it take to get you back there...just until we figure out this mess?” he asked. That was just it, I didn’t want to go back there. Sazerac’s was part mine. Sazerac’s was also where I could keep an eye on Hadley.

“Make me part owner,” I mouthed, clearly joking. A dubious grin appeared on his face, and I knew I’d just stepped in it. Motherfucker. He was going to say yes!

“Fine. I was planning on doing that anyway. I’ll have the papers drawn up this afternoon.” His eyes dropped to his watch. “I’ll need you at Whisky’s within the hour, bro.”

“Fucking hell,” I said on a loud sigh.

“First world problems, man,” he joked.

“Fuck off,” I replied, and we both laughed.

On the way out the door, I shot Hadley a text, telling her I was at Whisky’s for the night and would pick her up after work. Not even a minute later, my phone pinged with her response.

I’m sorry I ran out this morning. We’ll talk tonight. —H

If I had my way, we’d be doing a lot more than talking. Hadley was mine and it was about time she realized it.