CHAPTER 20

Wilder

 

It was damn hard watching her drive away because I was afraid she’d never come back even though she told me she would. But I’d done everything I could, I explained things as best as I was able, and that had to be good enough. There had to be a point in my life when I accepted that what I could give was more than enough for someone, but unless that someone was Frankie, I didn’t want to find out.

I’d do a lot for her, but I wouldn’t spend the rest of my life apologizing for my choices. She either got it or she didn’t, and I had to be okay with whatever she decided.

Before I walked back into the barn, I plucked up her panties I’d tossed and threw them in the dumpster behind the barn. I tucked in my shirt and ran my fingers through my hair on the way back to the party. As soon as I stepped foot inside, all eyes came to me. I was glad the reception hadn’t started yet because I knew my personal life would surely have been the talk of the town if everyone was already here. Seeing that my brothers were over by the keg, I headed in that direction after I hit the pisser to wash Frankie from my fingers. “Need any help?”

“Nah, this is the last thing that needed to get done.” Hunter wiped his hands on his jeans. “Everyone else should be here soon. Did you convince Frankie to stay?”

I gave a jerk of my head.

“The cake looks awesome,” he stated conversationally. “She’s crazy talented.”

“We’re not doing this all night.” I exchanged glances with both my brothers. “Maybe not ever, but especially not now. I don’t get up in y’all’s shit, so I’d appreciate it if that were reciprocated.”

Before they agreed, Maverick’s phone rang. “I need to get this. Brenda said she’d call when she was on her way.” Brenda had just completed her two-month program and spent the day with Dixie. I was excited for my niece to get here because I knew she’d love the apron Frankie brought for her. I watched as Maverick’s expression changed while he answered the call. “This is him. What? Is she okay? Where is she?” Something was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. “Is she okay?”

He listened and ground his teeth together so hard I heard the bone in his jaw pop. He hung up and started jogging out of the barn. “Talk to me,” I demanded as we all followed. “What happened, Mav?”

“Brenda got in a car accident. Dixie’s in the hospital.”

“Is she okay?” Molly cried, scurrying behind him with her baby in tow.

“All I know is she’s alive.”

Mav reached his truck, but I shoved him aside. “I’ll drive.”

He didn’t argue and ran around and got in the passenger seat. I started up the engine and peeled outta there with the rest of my family behind me. And whoever wasn’t would show up as soon as they heard the news.

Even though it was less than fifteen minutes with how fast I was speeding, I didn’t say a word the whole way there, and neither did Mav. There was nothing to say, no fake words of encouragement or false hope to give, only wishful thinking and silent prayers. The truck didn’t even come to a complete stop before he jumped out, and by the time I parked and made it inside, my family was a short step behind. Mav was just separating from someone in a set of scrubs, and while he was still wearing a mask of shock, he hadn’t lost his shit, so I took that as a good sign.

His hands were balled into fists, his body etched in granite, but he turned around and said, “She’s stable and sedated as they work on her. We just have to wait for more details.”

That was a collective sigh of relief, but until she was done and we could see her, nobody would breathe easy. My big brother stumbled back a step and fell into the wall, and when Hunter approached him, he waved him off. He just needed some time to himself, so we all gave him what he wanted.

Mere minutes passed before the waiting room was filled with my entire family while we waited nervously for the doctor to come and tell us how Dixie was doing. Maverick found out that she wasn’t wearing a seat belt and was sitting in the front seat. If the window hadn’t been rolled down, she probably would be dead, but by some miracle, she flew out of the car and rolled, which caused a nasty cut to her head that required stitches, and road rash on her legs that she needed to be sedated for so they could clean it up.

Brenda was fine. But she was in jail because she was three times over the legal limit, and I had a feeling probably wouldn’t see her daughter for a very long time. Rightfully so.

Mav, Hunt, Molly, my dad, and I were huddled around, waiting impatiently for any news, when Beau walked in, who was still in uniform. He went straight to Maverick. “Any word on Dixie yet?”

“Nothing new. They said she’s doing well under sedation and should be done soon.”

“Good. Brenda is—”

“I don’t give a fuck about her,” Mav growled.

Beau nodded. “I get it. I’m just letting you know if the other woman’s baby doesn’t make it, she—”

“What other woman?”

“I thought Lenny told you. The woman who swerved to avoid the head-on collision and ran straight into a tree, which, thank God she did because her van colliding with Brenda’s little car…” He left the outcome hanging, but we all knew what could have happened.

Maverick clasped his hands behind his neck. “Holy fuck. Is the kid gonna be okay?”

“Not kid, baby. They discovered the woman is pregnant. Luckily, she’s fine, but they’re worried about the baby.”

“Good fucking Christ.” My dad cursed and ran his hands down his face.

Beau wasn’t only an officer of the law, but he was a friend of the family, and more since his brother Brody married Molly. Still, he remained professional and calm. “They called and said she was awake, so I’m gonna go talk to her right now to get a statement.”

He walked through the swinging doors and disappeared, and Maverick dropped his head. “I didn’t want my kid to grow up without a mom. But I suppose if she’s gotta lose her, it’s better to do it when she’s young, right? I don’t know shit about periods and makeup, but we’ve got enough women in our life that can help Dixie Mae when it gets to that point. We’ll figure it out.” He lifted his head and looked right at our father, begging him for reassurance. “Right, Dad? We’ll figure it out. How to raise a little girl without a mama? Because that bitch ain’t gettin’ anywhere near my daughter again.”

“I know, son.” He clasped Maverick’s shoulder. “But yes. We’ll figure it out.”

Molly sniffled, and Hunter threw his arm around her neck and pulled her close to him, where she rested her head on his chest and tried not to cry.

I knew it wasn’t the right time to be thinking what I was, but what Mav was dealing with made me hate our mom even more. She didn’t fully understand the ramifications of what walking out on your family did long term. Maybe she did, and she just didn’t care. I’d never know because I never planned on seeing her again, but a part of me wanted to just so I could ask her.

Of course it was awful losing my mom, but what was the hardest about it was the fact that I knew her so well, or at least I thought I did.

She was home every morning when we woke up and made us all breakfast. She was there after school with a snack. If we were sick, she picked us up from school and nursed us back to health. We had jokes, memories, we had a great life, and losing her felt like she had died. But knowing she was very much alive, and her leaving was her choice straight up fucked with my head.

And standing around in a circle with my dad, Hunter, Maverick, and Molly, it was clear that I wasn’t the only one who was still dealing with the fallout out of being abandoned by Kimberly Ryder, although, I wished and hoped that she went back to her maiden name because she didn’t deserve to be tied to our family.

It felt like forever that the five of us stood there before Beau came out. And when he did, he had a weird expression on his face… like he was trying not to smile. He walked directly to me and cleared his throat. “It seems like the baby’s gonna be just fine.”

“Thank God,” my dad muttered.

Maverick sighed along with the rest of us.

Beau waited until I looked at him. “But, uh, she’s asking for you.”

I was so confused. “Who?”

“Frankie…”

And like I was the one in a wreck, it hit me. Frankie. She was the one who swerved, the one who saved Dixie Mae. She was the woman in the van. The pregnant woman. I pushed through my family with a laser vision toward the doors Beau just came from. “Where is she?”

“Room 207.”

I was almost to the doors, but Beau grabbed my arm. “I don’t know who she is to you, but by the way you’re tweaked as hell right now, I can guess.”

“Then let me the fuck go so I can get to her.”

“She doesn’t need any stress right now. None. Got it?”

I jerked my arm out of his grip and stalked away, ignoring my brothers and dad calling my name. My body felt like it had been electrocuted. Every molecule and vein was vibrating. My hands were shaking, my knees were weak, and sweat beaded on the back of my neck. When I reached the room, I didn’t bother knocking.

I should have. Because then it would have allowed me to take a breath. And I needed that because when I saw Frankie lying there with a bruised face, stitches on her forehead, arm in a sling, and wires everywhere, I lost the ability to fill my lungs.

“Frankie, baby…” I rushed to her and then stopped, afraid to touch her and hurt her anymore, but I couldn’t resist feeling her skin, so the tip of my finger ran across her forearm.

She smiled. “I’m okay.”

“I didn’t know. I would have been here sooner. I’ve been here for hours, but I didn’t know it was you, my God. Are you okay? You seem okay. You’re talking and sitting up and—”

“I’m pregnant, Wilder. And the baby is yours.” Her words rocked me even though I knew as soon as I connected the dots. I couldn’t hold myself up, and I sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand in mine. She shook her head ever so slightly. “I didn’t know. Not until a few hours ago. Although I was mad when I left a couple of months ago, I want you to know I would never have kept it from you if I would have known, I swear.”

I gently brushed some hair away from her face. “I believe you.”

“They think it’ll be okay, but I need to stay on bed rest for a while, so before I went home, I wanted you to know. I don’t expect—”

“Your home is with me, Frankie.”

She licked her lips and shook her head. “I can’t ask—”

“You’re not asking anything I don’t want. And you said you were coming back tomorrow morning anyway, right?”

“Well, yes, but things are different now.”

“They are. But we belong together, Frankie. We can delve into that later, though. Right now, we’re gonna focus on making sure you’re good and that our baby continues to be good. All the other shit doesn’t matter, okay?”

“Okay.”

Christ, I had to hold it together even though I wanted to scream. Or hit something. Or fist pump. I wasn’t sure what kind of reaction I was holding back. All I knew was that I was holding back because I needed to be the constant for her. “Do you need anything?”

She shook her head and yawned. “I’m just tired. They want to keep me overnight for observation but said I can go home tomorrow.”

I brought her hand to my mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Then get some sleep. I’ll be here in the morning. And when you wake up, I’ll take you home.” I hope she understood that her home was now with me, but I wasn’t going to continue emphasizing that point.

“Okay.”

I walked over to the door and flicked the light switch, then went around the bed. “Can you scoot over a little, or do you need help?”

“What?”

“I’m not leaving you, Grace.”

“You don’t need to stay.”

“I want to. I’m not going to leave you alone, not just because you’re carrying my child, but because I care about you. You just went through something traumatic tonight, and I’m going to be here for you. I want to be here for you, and you’re going to let me because you want that too. You’re just too bashful to admit it.”

She squinted her eyes. “I’m not bashful.”

“You’re guarded, and I get that.” I climbed in next to her and pulled her into my arms. She rested her head on my chest, and I wasn’t sure if it was because she was too exhausted to fight or if she really wanted to be there, but either way, I didn’t care. “I’m not gonna let you run away again, no matter what.”

“Don’t give me a reason to.” She yawned.

“No, Grace. I’m gonna give you every reason to stay and make it so you can’t imagine a world without me in it.”

She snuggled deeper, and I rested my hand on her stomach. “Too late, Wilder.”