Full Circle (Rockin' Country #3) (20 page)

Garrett cleared his throat. “I do have a question. We’re touring until November. At that point, we’re done while we record—except for a few weeks in Asia next April, but I worry about her continuing on with us. I don’t want her to get too tired and it start to cause issues.”

Hannah didn’t know what to say. He’d not shared these concerns with her. She knew from his tone and the way he faced the doctor head-on that he was seriously concerned. This had obviously been weighing heavily on his mind.

“Of course with any pregnancy a lot of that depends on the lady carrying the child. Hannah’s in great condition. She seems to be taking care of herself.”

“Damn straight.” Garrett nodded. There was nothing in the world that meant more to him than making sure she was taken care of.

The doctor indulged him and kept going. “As long as she feels fine, there’s no extreme swelling, and her blood pressure stays good, then I have no doubts she can keep going until November. Flying might be the only thing I would check on, but from everything I’ve gathered, this tour is by bus?”

“Right,” she confirmed. “I haven’t felt bad, I promise.” She grabbed Garrett’s hand. “Well, except for those first few months, and if I can live through that, I can live through anything.”

“I did want to verify,” the doctor looked down at the chart in his hand, “you two are planning on having the child here, is that correct?”

They hadn’t talked about it one way or another, but Hannah knew she would be more comfortable here. “I hope to,” she said diplomatically.

“If that’s what you want, babe, that’s what we’ll do.”

“The only reason I ask is that I have the name of a colleague I trust near you in California. I have a lot of patients in the same business as you, and they are dual coast. Would you like that information before you leave?”

“Yes, just in case,” Hannah told him. “We’ll be ending the tour and staying at our house in Huntington Beach for the holidays this year, so I want to make sure everything is taken care of.”

He made a note in his chart. “Perfect, I’ll have the nurse give you that info before you leave. I also wrote down a couple of pediatricians for you out there. That’s something you’re going to need to think about too, especially if you plan on going back and forth between here and there.”

That was something she hadn’t even thought of, but she didn’t want to say that out loud. “Thank you so much!”

“If there are no more questions, I’ll have the nurse bring your moms in, and we’ll get this show on the road.”

*     *     *

Hannah had never been so nervous in her life. It wasn’t like this was something she could pass or fail. Her life didn’t hang in the balance of this answer, but she wanted the answer desperately. They had just gotten their moms situated at the back of the room so they could see the monitor, and Garrett was sitting right next to her, holding her hand.

“I love you,” he told her as he leaned over and kissed her forehead.

“Love you too.” She took a minute to look at him. This was the father of her child, and within the next few minutes, they would know if they had a son or a daughter. This moment, the fact that he was so excited about it and wanted to be there with her made her love him even more than she had before.

“Are we ready?”

“As we’ll ever be,” Hannah answered. “I wanna know how I can decorate these nurseries.” She laughed.

“We need to know what kind of clothing we can buy,” Marie piped up from where she sat.

“They’re already planning on spoiling this kid, mom and dad.” The technician laughed as she got her set-up ready and pushed Hannah’s shirt up over her belly.

Not many people had called her mom, and it surprised her by making her a little teary. “I know, we’re gonna have our hands full no matter if this is a boy or a girl.”

Garrett gripped her hand harder as the technician dimmed the lights in the room, sat down, and turned on the machine. He watched as she put some gel on Hannah’s stomach and then placed the smooth side of the wand she held in her hands on Hannah’s bump.

“I’ve been feeling it down here.” Hannah pointed a little further down than where the woman had started to search for their child.

When she took the direction, they heard a very loud thumping fill the room. “There’s the heartbeat. Good, steady, and strong. Very healthy.”

Hannah smiled as she saw the outline of their baby on the screen. This time she gripped Garrett’s hand harder, wishing she could share the feeling she had with him.

“Let’s see if we can tell if this is a boy or a girl.”

They watched as the lady maneuvered around Hannah’s stomach and then started clicking buttons on the machine. “Here, we’ve got fingers and toes.” She pointed. “And look, we’ve got a thumb sucker.”

Garrett felt his breath catch in his throat, and it was hard to swallow as he heard the woman speak. It was all so real, and to see his child suck their thumb? That was almost his undoing.

“Are we ready to find out what we’re having? I can tell very easily.” The tech grinned at the rest of the people in the room.

“We are so ready,” Hannah told her.

“Alright, you two. It looks like we’ve got us a rocker—you’re having a boy.”

Garrett felt as if he’d been punched in the chest his emotions hit him so hard. He did not want to cry in front of these women, so he pushed it back and bent over so he could bury his head in Hannah’s neck. “Thank you,” he whispered to her. “You made dreams I didn’t even know I had come true.”

He took a moment to compose himself and then lifted his head to look at his mom. Marie had tears streaming down her face. “So what are we naming him?” she asked, clapping her hands.

Hannah wiped the tears off her own face and grinned over at them. “Everett James Thompson—welcome to the world.”

*  *  *

Halloween

“I
hope you two have a good time tonight.” Hannah sighed as she switched her sitting position, stretching her back out. “I wish we were going with you.”

“Me too.” Shell glanced at her in the mirror as she finished getting ready. She and Jared would be going to an event a friend of his was hosting. They were in California for a few days, and it just so happened to fall on Halloween. She was excited to meet other friends of his besides the band. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just starting to get uncomfortable. I’m so glad we only have a few more weeks of this tour left. I’m not sure my back can take much more. Don’t mind me, I’m just fat, and tonight I’m living vicariously through the two of you.”

“No you’re not. You’re having a baby. You’re gorgeous, Han, the most beautiful pregnant woman I’ve ever seen.”

“I know, I just feel huge today. I think I’m hitting that miserable stage.” She waved it off. “I had to buy new maternity clothes yesterday, and you look all hot.” Hannah raised an eyebrow, looking her friend up and down. Shell was wearing leather pants, a white tank top that had “Black Friday” on it, and had her hair done all JBF like.

Shell laughed. “You’ll look all hot in a few months, and you’ll have a child. I think the tradeoff is pretty awesome,” Shell whispered.

There was something about the way Shell said those words that made Hannah do a double take. “Shell, are you thinking about things with Jared?”

Shell hadn’t meant to get into this at all. These were thoughts she had on her own, that she never voiced aloud, and she sure as hell hadn’t meant to do it right at this moment. “Sometimes, I think about what it would be like to be married to him, you know, to have the relationship that you and Garrett have. I feel like we’re close sometimes, and then something happens to pull us back. I want more,” she admitted.

“Have you talked to Jared about it?”

“No, I don’t want to pressure him, and I feel like at this point I’ve gotten all he’s going to give me.”

That broke Hannah’s heart. As much as Shell wanted the relationship like she shared with her husband, Hannah wanted that for her too. “How are you going to know unless you ask?”

“Jared’s not like Garrett,” Shell argued.

“No, but I feel like I’ve gotten to know Jared pretty well. He’s not as closed off as he used to be.”

It was odd to explain it to someone who didn’t live the same life as her, didn’t have the same relationship. “He trusts you because he hasn’t given you his heart. He trusts everybody more than he trusts me. It was like the minute he told me he loved me, he almost became more closed off. It’s the most frustrating thing ever.”

“But you love him too, right?” Hannah was beginning to get a sinking feeling about this. She wanted Shell happy, not stuck in a relationship where she was settling.

“I do, and I thought after he let me come visit his house in California, we were turning a corner, but last week, I don’t know…” she trailed off.

“What happened last week?”

It was embarrassing to admit this to someone who knew the two of them. “I asked him if it would be okay if I took a box of stuff to his house, because I know you’ll be spending time out here. I figured it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but he acted like I had asked him to marry me. He got mad.”

“Really?” Hannah couldn’t imagine that making Jared mad. The Jared he was when they first met him, yes, but not the Jared he’d turned into.

“He all but accused me of inserting myself into his life in ways he doesn’t want me there. I’m not going to lie, it hurt, but he’s a hard man to love. It’s hard to get a feel forhim every day. I just brushed it off, assuming he was having a bad day.” Shell shrugged. “He hasn’t mentioned it since.”

“I’m sorry, honey.” Hannah pushed herself up off her seat and waddled over to hug her friend. “He’s hard to love.”

“Girl, you have no idea.”

*     *     *

Four hours later, Shell was wondering why Jared had invited her. He hadn’t paid much attention to her the entire night, and to help him with his issues, she’d refrained from drinking. At this point, she needed a shot of something very strong. As she saw the fifth girl approach him and smile up into his eyes with a “fuck me” stare, she was at the end of her rope. Since he’d come to pick her up, she’d known something was off, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She got up off her stool and walked over to where he stood talking to a few friends she still hadn’t been introduced to.

“Hey, can I talk to you?” She grabbed his arm.

“When I get done here.” He did his best to avoid looking at her.

That was it. She was nobody’s doormat, no matter how much she loved that person. “You know what, I’m done. See ya.” She turned on her heel, walked over to the bar, threw some money down for the non-alcoholic drinks she’d had all night, and walked towards the front of the club.

It wasn’t until she’d breached the doors and walked outside that she felt his hand circle around her arm. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? I wasn’t ready to go yet.”

“I am, and I don’t give a fuck if you’re ready or not. I’ve had enough tonight.” She glanced up and down the street, looking for a cab to take her back to Hannah and Garrett’s, because she sure as hell wasn’t going to his house.

“What do you mean you’ve had enough tonight?” He crossed his arms over his chest.