Honey Red (33 page)

“Don’t be a back seat driver. It’s unbecoming.” She scratched away from the signal, jerked the wheel to the left and was jumping out of the car at the emergency room nearly before she had the thing in park.

Nick followed on her heels as they skidded to a stop at the security check. Hannah tried to relay that it wasn’t her or the blind man with her who needed help. They were there to find a boy. “My nephew,” Nick piped up, gripping the dog. “James Donovan.”

“Nick,” she heard Alyssa’s voice, saw the woman’s tired eyes as she rounded the corner. “I just came down to find you. They moved him upstairs to the pediatric intensive care unit.”

“Fucking-A, Alyssa, what happened to him?”                                                   

“Anaphylactic shock. Turns out he is allergic to cashews.”

They got in the elevator. Hannah held onto Nick’s hand as Alyssa gave them the details. Jamie had been having a reaction for the better part of an hour they believed, having been given a trail mix fruit and nut bar by one of his friends’ moms. He’d been itchy, the boys claimed, his eyes kept watering but he’d been playing in the pool and the sand so they figured he was just over heated, with eyes full of pool water. By the time the kid’s mom had figured out something was wrong he’d had a grand mal seizure and stopped breathing. That’s when Ian found him.

“Oh, God,” Hannah put a hand over her mouth. Nick tightened his grip on her other hand. “Is he…I mean….”

“He’s still out. The problem is even after they got him breathing again, he wouldn’t, he won’t wake up. They aren’t a hundred percent sure how long he was without oxygen.” Alyssa sucked in a breath, rested her hands on the elevator rails. “Ian is catatonic. He won’t talk to anyone, not even Gavin. Well, except when he’s roaring and tearing the medical staff new assholes because they won’t let him hold Jamie.”

Hannah’s heart clenched. Ian and Jamie’s bond was special she knew, had observed it first-hand. This was the worst possible thing that could happen to him. She leaned back, waiting for the elevator doors to open. Alyssa turned to them both. “Listen to me,” she said, her green eyes snapping. “Get your fucking shit together. He needs you.”

“Our shit is fine sister dear.” Nick said, putting Hannah’s hand to his lips then touching her stomach. “All of it.”

“Good.”

The doors opened and Hannah rushed out, her need to see Jamie for herself so great she nearly tripped over Gavin as he sat crouched down on his ankles outside a door. He stood, pointed to the glass window. Hannah peered in, saw the boy’s small form dwarfed by the bed, all sorts of bleeping monitors surrounding him. “Jamie” she whispered, touching the glass. As if he heard her, Ian looked up, still clutching his son’s hand. His face was hard, set, angry. She bit her lip. The self-loathing and fury hovered around him like a dark cloud. “Can I go in?”

“No,” some bossy nurse said, as she read the computerized file without even looking up to see who spoke.

“I’m….” she nearly burst into tears.

“This is the boy’s mother,” Nick said, shoving her in the door. “Thank you, very much.” Hannah looked over her shoulder. “Go. It’s okay.” He whispered to her.

She made her way over to the bed, terrified, horrified, and sick to her stomach. Jamie’s face was gaunt, his chest rose and fell on its own but his eyelids weren’t moving. She touched Ian’s shoulder. He didn’t look up, kept his gaze trained on the boy, a small hand clutched in his large ones. They stood together, watching Jamie breathe for nearly an hour in complete silence.

“You didn’t do it, did you?” Ian’s voice was raw, rough, when he finally spoke.

“No. I didn’t.” She knew what he meant. “I love you, Ian. I love what we had. And I want it back.”

He glared up at her then resumed is visual vigil. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Why?” she put her hand on his neck, hoping to dispel some of his tension. “You love me too. I know you do.”

“You don’t know anything about me.” His voice broke as he put his head on the bed.

“I know enough.” She said, leaning down to kiss his cheek. “Can he come in? If you tell them, and I go….”

“Good luck with that.”

She backed out of the room, motioned for Daisy to bring Nick forward. He put a hand on her face. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. And if you spend the next seven months asking me that every minute we are going to have an issue. You go in…,” she opened the door. “Hurry before Nurse Ratchet gets back.”

Ian’s eyes ached but he would not take them off Jamie. As if by watching him he could force the kid back, make him wake up with the sheer force of his will. He heard the door open and close again but ignored it. Hannah’s honeyed scent lingered. He clutched his son’s hand, and tried like hell not to yell and throw shit. How in the fuck had he not known? This was his only son and he’d failed him. Let him eat something that almost killed him.

“Hey,” Nick’s low voice made him shiver.

“How did you get in here?”

“Told them that dog therapy was the best thing for situations like this.”

Ian glanced down and saw the yellow lab with the pink bow on her service dog harness. It all crashed in on him then. He stood, stumbled away from the bed. He’d lost his son. He’d been given one simple thing to nurture and he had fucking blown it. Nick stepped forward and let the dog sniff around the bed. Ian put his hands on his head, willed his heart to stop pounding and watched as the dog made concerned noises down in her throat.

Nick whispered something Ian couldn’t hear. His brain was starting to shut down. Jamie would never open his eyes, he just knew it. He’d never hear his delighted giggle or hear the “Yay, Daddy” words from his lips. He slid down the wall, his head on his arms. He felt tears form but could not let them fall.

A sudden noise made him look up. He gaped at the sight of the huge yellow dog, now up on the bed, whining and nosing at Jamie’s hand. Then amazingly, she stood over him and licked his cheek, still whining and snuffling around. “Nick, get her down.” He started to rise.

Nick held out a hand, his face still trained towards the bed. Ian took a step closer, threaded his fingers through Nick’s and watched as Jamie’s eyes flickered, moved under his eyelids. When they opened, their deep green was the most beautiful thing Ian had ever seen. The crazy nights of colic, the anger at the kid’s druggie mom, his early resentment at the whole fucking mess dispelled in his brain. All he saw, all he heard, all he felt was the pure unconditional love that the little boy threw his way every single day. “Jamie,” he whispered, still holding on to Nick’s hand.

The dog looked up, wagging her tail like mad, still perched on the bed. She licked the boy’s face again, softly, slowly until he looked right at her and smiled. “Yay Daddy! You got me a dog!” The boy sat and threw his arms around the animal’s neck. She sat, panting and grinning at the men.

“Yeah, buddy, we got you a dog,” Nick sat, put his arm around the boy and held him close while Jamie kept a death grip on the lab.

“What in the name of heaven is going on in here?” The nurse burst in, trailing a couple of doctors. “Shoo, shoo, get down.” She glared at the men. Nick started to let go of Ian’s hand, but he held tight, watching as the doctors checked out his son and the dog resumed her spot on the floor next to Nick.

“Good girl,” Nick muttered.

“Amazing girl.” Ian said, looking up and catching Hannah’s eye. “I love you,” he said, looking at Hannah and speaking to Nick. And he knew he’d never spoken truer words in his life.

Chapter Thirty-Five

“Ow!” Hannah lurched up from the couch, hand to her back. Daisy ran over and tried to put her slobbery dog mouth around Hannah’s palm. “No, no, I’m fine sweetie. Just getting too big for my own good.” The dog whined and licked her knee then went back over to Nick who sat nearby, plugged into his headphones, working.

Moira had jumped in with both feet and had convinced her to have her mother evaluated by a doctor. They’d discovered that she was suffering from early onset dementia, which would be tough to handle but at least she’d agreed to hire a live-in helper. “Go,” she’d whispered to Hannah. “Be with your men. And don’t you ever tell me again that two is not better than one.”

Hannah had blushed to the roots of her hair before holding her tiny, bird-like mother close.

She was in her sixth month, and really starting to feel her bones and muscles stretch and change to accommodate the baby. Ian came in, holding a tray of cheese, bread, and a six-pack of beer. She narrowed her eyes. “No fair. I can’t drink.”

“You’ll drink this. It won’t hurt the kid much, I promise.” He showed her the carrier. It was emblazoned with the Ypsi Brewing logo and woman’s head with long red hair who had a set of dog tags around her neck. “Honey Red,” Ian declared, “has just won a gold medal at the National Beer Fest, I’m told by my assistant brewer. Congrats.” He handed them each a glass, and they lifted them together.

“Holy shit dude, you can really do this, can’t you?” Hannah smacked her lips, staring into the red liquid. She frowned, stuck her finger in it, then sucked in a breath. “What the hell?” She grabbed Nick’s glass from him, under his loud protests and made him put his hand down it, guiding him to a small object at the bottom. She sat with Nick who had an adorable puzzled look on his face, staring at Ian and palming a small platinum ring. Ian plucked the glass from her, still half full.

“What is this Ian?” Her voice was soft. Nick put his hand on her leg.

“This,” Ian leaned over, took the ring from her and slipped it onto her left ring finger, then did the same with Nick’s who was still speechless. “Is us, making a commitment, in front of each other for now.”

“But…” Nick sputtered. “We are, we can’t, Ann Arbor is liberal and all, but even this might be a stretch for the kids’ school forms.

“I want this, I want you and I don’t want there to be any ifs, ands, or buts.” He gripped their hands and put them to his heart. Hannah bit her lip, leaned in to touch her forehead to his, while putting her other arm around Nick’s neck, drawing him into their circle. “You and Nick should get married, legally, so the baby has…you know….”

“Fuck that,” Nick said, standing and pulling them with him. “Hannah knows I will take care of my child, financially and otherwise. We don’t need a legal document for that.”

“We have to be realistic Nick,” Hannah gulped, knowing Ian was right. “Let’s just do that, take that step so there are no questions, ever, in the eyes of the law. “But…,” she pulled Ian close. “I want an attorney to spell it out clearly. That while Nick and I are the baby’s biological parents, you are made a guardian. We can do this. I’ve been checking. And we can…be together, all of us.” Her new resolve about this was steadfast. She did not care who knew or what they thought, not anymore. Not at the risk of sacrificing her ultimate happiness with them both.

“You’re okay with that?” Nick pulled Ian close, and the two men stood, making Hannah’s breath catch in her throat at the sight of them.

Ian nodded. “It’s my idea, so, yeah. But after the baby is born I want to have a ceremony, for all three of us.” He grabbed their glasses and handed them back out, and they clinked them softly, then sipped. Ian took hers away after she’d just had a taste of the amazing, rich, sweet red brew.

“Enough,” he said softly.

“Ugh, this sucks.” She flopped back on the couch, putting her feet up on the coffee table, staring at the ring on her finger that matched the one both of her men wore. Ian and Nick drained their glasses. Then Ian winked and pulled her to her feet, folding her into his arms.

“Maybe,” he said, nuzzling her neck and cupping one of her newly lush breasts. “But I want some of this epic sex drive tonight.”

She sighed and leaned back, letting her overheated libido take over. “Baby, I don’t know if even the two of you are enough for me lately.” She groaned as Ian brushed his hand along the curve of her stomach, reaching down to press his finger against her sex.

“Hmm,” Nick came up behind her, turned her chin around and captured her lips. “We’ll take that challenge.”

She let herself fall into their arms, completely confident they would catch her. They each took a hand and led her back to the bedroom that Nick had outfitted with a California King bed, a cushy chaise lounge and a spa-worthy bathroom including a tub that would easily hold three people. Ian eased her down, propping a huge pillow under her head, kissing her lips then lower, sucking her newly sensitized nipples. Nick took up the kiss, and she sighed, stretching and letting the relaxation and happiness course through her. The men’s hands met over the mound of her stomach, fingers entwined. She put her palm on theirs, still kissing Nick, her back arching up as Ian increased his attention to her breasts.