Total pages in book: 296
Estimated words: 284055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1420(@200wpm)___ 1136(@250wpm)___ 947(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 284055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1420(@200wpm)___ 1136(@250wpm)___ 947(@300wpm)
“What? You think you’re the first girl to keep me up all night before a long day at work?” He winks, and I can’t help but laugh at that.
“That’s the most Bishop thing I’ve ever heard you say.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
ALEX
I’ve never sobered up so fast in my life. The moment I saw River in pain lying in bed, it was like the whiskey never happened. God, I felt like the biggest piece of shit as soon as I heard she was having labor pains. Had I known, I would’ve never gone over to John’s house to check on things like he’d asked. I should’ve known better though. Jackson has a way of encouraging me to drink, and before I knew it, I was six shots and several beers in.
It’s noon before I wake up, and I immediately feel everything I ate yesterday start to come up. Rushing out of bed, I whip open my bedroom door and make it to the bathroom just in time. I empty my stomach contents but still don’t feel any better.
Fuck! Today’s gonna suck.
I hear the door creak and footsteps walk in, and when I peek up, it’s not River I see.
“Alexander Scott Bishop.”
Mama.
She’s pissed, to say the least. She taps her foot and crosses her arms over her chest. Her lips are in a firm line, and I know I’m about to get an earful.
I stand and grab the towel to wipe my face.
“What are you doing?” I ask, treading carefully.
“Came to see if my youngest son hit his head and suffered a concussion because that’d be the only excuse for your behavior last night.”
Partying with Jackson and nursing a hangover isn’t something new, but Mama hadn’t known about that side of me. At least not the extent of it, so I know she’s about to give me a lecture.
“I drank too much. I know, Mama. You don’t need to scold me.” I walk past her toward River’s room. When I peek inside, I see she isn’t in there. Mama follows as I walk to the living room then the kitchen next. “Where’s River?” I start to panic, and when I look at Mama’s face, I see disappointment all over her features.
“Benita drove her into the city, so she could get checked out by Dr. Granger.”
“Fuck.” I scrub my hands over my face and inhale deeply. I reach for a glass and fill it with water.
“She could have the baby any day now, Alex,” she warns me, even though I already know this. “You need to be here. No excuses.”
“Mama,” I say, setting my glass down harder on the counter than I mean to. “I know. I fucked up, and I plan to make it up to her.”
“Listen to me, son.” She grits through her teeth, her tone grabbing my attention to her face. “First, you will watch your language around a woman, do ya hear me? Next, you’ll be doing a lot more than making it up to her. You make things right, you get me?”
I furrow my brows, tilting my head. “Make things right?”
She nods, curtly.
“You want me to marry her,” I confirm, exhaling. “Mama, it’s not about me not wanting to marry her. It’s about if she wants to marry me. I love River more than anything in this world, and I’d gladly spend the rest of my life proving that to her.”
She flashes a relieved smile. “Good.”
“But just because she’s pregnant doesn’t mean it’s the right time to get married.”
“Fine, but you apologize to her for your behavior last night and vow to never do it again. She’ll forgive you. I see the love she has for you in her eyes. Your daddy has done countless things to piss me off, but I always forgive him. We’re human, after all.”
“I will, Mama. I promise. Last night was the first time in nine months that I drank like that. It’s never gonna happen again.” Nothing is worth losing River over.
She pats my cheek, a little too roughly, though, and smacks it. “Good boy. That’s what I like to hear.”
“Do you know when she’ll be back?”
“I imagine in a couple of hours. So take a shower and get cleaned up. You have some groveling to do.”
Three weeks have passed since River’s Braxton Hicks started, and even though I royally fucked up that night, she’s forgiven me. I’ve apologized countless times, but it’s more than just telling her. I’ll show her until the day I die.
I’m so grateful she’s given me a second chance because I don’t plan to leave her side ever again, and I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that to her.
“So how’re things going?” Dylan asks as we wrap up for the day. I’m covered in mud from working with the horses. It rained last night, and water pooled in the fields.