Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
He was telling me I had to tell King or he would.
Words didn’t come to me. I simply nodded.
“I’ll go get Maeme.” His tone was gentle, but I could hear the warning there. To be prepared.
I stared straight ahead at the wall while he went to get her. There was a child inside me. King’s baby. And as much as I loved him, I knew it wasn’t enough to make him love me.
What if he didn’t want it? What if he asked me to abort it? He wasn’t young, like he had been with Scotlin. He was older. He was changed.
Life had changed him.
“Lord, Drew, she’s white as a ghost,” Maeme said as she walked into the room. “What on earth did you do to her?” The fierceness in her tone was almost frightening.
I turned my gaze to her, and I knew he hadn’t told her yet. I had hoped he would. Get it over with. Just say it.
“Rumor.” He said my name with a nudge to his tone.
The tightening on my throat didn’t make it easy to speak. “I’m …” I whispered, but I had to stop and suck in some air.
It felt as if I wasn’t getting enough oxygen all of a sudden. The room started to spin, and I gripped the sides of the examination table and tried to force air into my lungs. I could hear the accelerated beat of my heart in my ears. A darkness was closing in on my peripheral vision, and I fought harder to breathe. Nothing helped though.
“Get her!” Maeme yelled just before the darkness pulled me under.
• Fifteen •
I’m just trying to protect King.
Rumor
A cold, damp cloth was pressed against my head and cheeks. My lungs no longer burned, and I was lying down. I tried to remember where I was before opening my eyes because I was clearly not alone. Someone was moving the cloth around my face gently.
“He can’t know. No one can. At least not right now. There is too much at stake,” I heard Maeme speak above me.
“You think it’s smart to keep this from him?” Dr. Drew’s voice sounded unsure.
“Yes. For now. I know, and that is all she needs. I can take care of her. Make sure she and my great-grandbaby are okay. There are issues that have to be dealt with first. If King knows, then he will act irrationally. Mess up. Get himself killed. This baby needs its father.”
“Very well. It’s your call. You’d better keep me alive when the time comes.”
She wasn’t going to tell King. I lay there, trying to decide if I was relieved or not. Did I want him to know? Could I keep this a secret from him? How would he get himself killed?
“You are safe. This is my call, and I will take full responsibility.”
“You’ll tell Blaise?” It was a question, not a demand.
Maeme sighed. “Yes. I’ll have to. But he will agree with me. Hopefully, he’ll move the Insantos bullshit to the top of his priority list when he finds out.”
I opened my eyes then and stared up at Maeme beside me, taking the cloth from my face. Her eyes met mine.
“There she is,” she said softly. “You had too much to take in at one time. Couldn’t handle it all. But you’re fine. You are going to stay that way too. I’m gonna take care of you.”
My hand moved to my stomach. It was still flat, and that made it even harder to believe there was a child inside of me. A living being that was part of me.
“The baby is just fine too,” Maeme said, patting the top of my hand gently. “Just lie there and relax. Take deep breaths. You are going to be okay. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you or my great-grandbaby.”
That lump of emotion began growing in my throat again.
“You’re not going to tell King,” I said, wanting to clarify what I had heard.
She squeezed my hand in hers. “Not right away. He needs to stay focused. What he is dealing with right now is dangerous, and if his head isn’t in the game, he could get hurt. Or killed. Neither of us wants that.”
“I’ll leave you two to talk. But the vitamins we discussed are right here,” Dr. Drew told Maeme. “I’ll be back in a week to check on her, and I’ll get the ultrasound machine moved in this weekend while King is gone.”
“Thank you, Drew,” she replied. “We are just fine.”
“I’d go over what all she needs to eat and what to do to take care of her and the baby, but I figure you’ve got that handled.”
“That I do.” Maeme’s bright tone didn’t match her expression. The worry lines in her face were hard to mask.
I wanted to be alone. Back at the cottage. I needed time to think this all through. There were so many questions and fears running through my head. I didn’t know where to even start.