Kitchen Promises (Riverside Trilogy, #3) (The Riverside Trilogy) (15 page)

“Can she sleep with us?” Molly asked. “I don’t want her out of my sight,” she pleaded.

“Of course. It’s a king, we’ll all squeeze in.” I smiled back, hoping to reassure her that everything would be okay.

Michael and Molly followed me upstairs. I pointed to where Michael’s room was and then headed to our master suite.

“I still can’t believe you bought this for me.” She looked around, admiring the view. One of the reasons I bought it was because it reminded me of Molly. It was definitely her style—modern and edgy.

“Get used to it, babe. Being with me means lavish gifts and big surprises.” I grinned. I kicked the door open with my foot. Molly flicked a lamp on, giving me just enough light to tuck Stella in one side of the bed.

“Whatever happened to flowers and candy?” she mused.

“That’s for sissies.”

She laughed quietly, careful not to wake Stella. I wrapped my arms around Molly, holding her in close to me. “Get some rest. I’m going to make some calls and get this handled.”

“What’s the plan? I mean, what are we going to do?” she asked, pulling back slightly.

“
You
are doing nothing, but going to bed and resting. You’ve already been on your feet too much.
I
will handle everything.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” she muttered.

“Just trust me, okay? I will protect you and Stella. I’ll make sure
he’s
taken care of.”

I knew it made her uneasy to hear, but I didn’t want her knowing or worrying about what I was going to do.

Molly

We’ve been on
lockdown
for three days now. Stella was having a blast watching TV and skipping school. Liam stayed with Stanley and Violet, and Michael was going crazy not having his laptop or cell phone service.

“How much longer?” Michael whined, letting his body fall loosely on the bed.

“You’re annoying when you’re without technology.”

“Now you know how I felt these past few months with your annoying ass,” he quipped.

“Ha! I wasn’t this bad. No way.”

“I hate to break it to you, baby girl, but you were worse. Much worse.”

“You mean I didn’t have that motherly glow?” I smirked.

“Yeah, you glowed alright.”

“If you’re so bored, paint my toenails for me. Make them pretty for childbirth.”

“Are you serious?” Michael’s upper lip curled up.

“Hey, if I could reach my toes, or even
see
my toes, I’d do them myself, but I can’t. And since you’re down there, shave my legs, too.”

He pondered it, leaning up on his elbow. “Fine, but only because I’m bored as hell.”

A few minutes later, Michael came back with my travel bag. He set up the nail polish, razor, and nail file. “You’re not giving me much to work with here. No nail-finish, no shaving gel, nadda,” he whined in a disgusted tone.

“Oh shit. Must’ve grabbed the wrong bag. Next time I’ll grab my
Code White
bag for you filled with all commodities,” I snorted.

“You’re a sassy shit when you’re pregnant. This is your last one, right? Otherwise, I’m moving up here permanently.”

“You can’t move away from me, Uncle Michael,” Stella interrupted, giving him her best pouty lip.

“I’m never leaving you! You’re my best girl.” He smiled. Stella turned back around to the TV satisfied with his response.

“Looks like your stuck with me,” I teased. I stretched my legs out across his lap. “Now, make my toes pretty.”

After Michael’s initial shock over the news about Denny, he was eerily calm about it. Either he didn’t see him as much of a threat, or he didn’t understand how serious my secret was and how crucial it was to keep it a secret.

“So, catch me up on the latest of you and Trey. What’s going on? Serious now? Wedding bells?”

“Good god, you wanna give me a stroke? We’re
semi-serious
,” he clarified, focusing on my pinky toe as he stroked the polish over it.

“Okay, what in the hell does semi-serious mean in relationship terms? Exclusive? Seeing other people? Swinging?” He laughed. “Oh wait, does it mean, like threesomes and orgies?”

He choked. “What in the hell kind of sick porn have you been reading lately?”

“Smut is not porn,” I defended. “It’s no different than the sick magazines you read.”

“I read for educational purposes,” he defended.

“I bet you do,” I snickered.

“Done!” he announced. “What do you think?”

I lifted my feet up in the air so I could see them. “Bright pink?” I exclaimed. “Holy brightness.”

“You’ll glow in the dark, like one of those glow worms.” He laughed. “And…I’ll be able to find you no matter where you are. Just look for those bright pink toes!” He laughed again.

“So are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?” he asked, raising his eyebrows up at me.

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Any ideas what Drake’s doing about this
problem
?”

“No clue.”

“Are you going to ask him?”

“Nope. Ignorance is bliss.”

“Molly…”

“What? I don’t wanna know, Michael. I haven’t a clue what Drake would do, or
could
do. As long as it’s over, that’s all I want to know.”

“Okay…but I’m not testifying in court for either of you.”

“Glad to know our friendship has a line,” I quipped.

“Whatever. Like you’d waddle your ass in a court room and testify for me?”

“Sure I would. Except porn. I won’t testify anything to do with porn,” I snipped.

“What is it with you and porn? It’s like you’re obsessed.”

“How can I be obsessed with something I’ve never seen before,” I snapped back.

“Wait, what? You’ve seen porn,” he fired back.

“No.”

“
Everyone
has watched porn at sometime during their lives.”

“Not me.” My cheeks heated. He was making me self-conscious.

“Alright, time to change that.” He hopped off the bed. “Stella, time for your bath.”

“Ugh, man,” she pouted.

Once she left and shut the bathroom door, Michael grabbed the remote and plugged in some numbers.

“Porn on demand. This is what I’m talking about.”

“Oh god, please don’t make me watch porn,” I cried.

“Time to pop that porn cherry, baby girl.” He chuckled.

“I hate you right now,” I muttered. I grabbed a pillow and set it in my lap, ready to cover my eyes any minute.

“Oh god…fuck…” a girl’s squeamish voice echoed through the room. “Fuck, fuck, yeah!”

“Oh my god, Michael! Turn the volume off!” I smacked his arm. He laughed as he muted it.

“There better, prude?” He rolled his eyes.

“What the hell is she doing to him?” I squealed. Damn, the didn’t look comfortable. How can that feel good?

“What did you think porn was?” He giggled.

“I’m glad you find this amusing. This is gross.”

“It’s the circle of life, sweetie.”

“That!” I pointed a finger at the flat screen. “Is not the circle of life. You can’t get pregnant like that!”

“I don’t even want to know why you’re watching this,” Drake’s voice came from the doorway. His arms and ankles crossed as he leaned against the frame.

“It’s an experiment,” Michael lied.

“Yeah right…to see how long it takes before I vomit from watching this.”

I noticed Drake’s eyes were no longer focused on me. “Should I leave you two alone?” I snapped at Drake, motioning to the TV. “Need a little alone time?”

Michael laughed as I busted Drake. “Hey, I don’t promote porn cheating.”

“Porn cheating?” Drake and I asked in unison.

“I’m gonna leave you two alone now. Night.” Michael squirmed off the bed and left, shutting the door behind him.

I reached for the remote and shut it off. “Men really get off on that?”

He shrugged, not giving me a direct answer.

“Gross,” I snorted.

Drake sat on the bed next to me. “You look beautiful.” He brushed the hair out of my face, his eyes intense.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, sensing his mood change.

“Why does something have to be wrong? I can’t tell you how beautiful you are?”

“Well, sure you can. I prefer you say it naked though,” I teased.

“I don’t think so, sweetheart.” He winked. “It’s too cold up here for me.”

I laughed. “How much longer do we need to stay up here?”

“Few more days. Not too much longer, I promise, okay?”

“Alright.”

*   *   *

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

The pain…the pain is too much.

Make it stop.

Fuck…it’s…it’s time.

“Molly! Wake up!”

I woke up drenched in sweat and pain.
What the hell?

I’ve been on bed rest for weeks now. I was uncomfortable and haven’t been sleeping well, but this—this was a different feeling.

I jumped up, startled, but well aware of the pain I was feeling.

“It’s time. Drake, it’s time.” I rubbed both hands over my contracting belly. The pain was everywhere—my back
, my feet, my head, my damn uterus.

“What do you mean it’s time? Like
time-time
?”

“I don’t know. I just woke up in a lot of pain and I’m sweating. There’s a lot of pressure,” I explained, pointing below my belly to show him where the pressure was. “I think my water broke. Or I peed myself. Either way, it’s happening.” I sat on the edge of the bed, trying to breathe through the pain that was shooting down my body. “Something’s wrong.”

“I’ll grab you some ice and a cold towel.” Drake hurried.

T
he pain was knocking the air out of me, unable to speak. I leaned back on my hands, hoping to breathe out the pain. It wasn’t working. I was about to scream out in pain just as Drake walked back in with a cup of ice.

“What the hell are we going to do?” I almost screamed. I wasn’t due for five weeks yet.

Drake paced the floor, thinking of a solution. We left Chicago in such a rush, we didn’t pack any necessities, or anything remotely baby related.

“Drake, please! Answer me!” I begged, screaming. “I can hardly breathe. The pain is so bad!”

“Okay…in and out. Just breath slowly. Don’t panic.” I could tell he was trying to soothe me, but it wasn’t working.

“Get Michael! Please, I need his help.”

Before Drake could open the door, Michael whipped it open. “What’s wrong? I heard screaming.”

“Molly’s in labor,” Drake answered.

“What? Isn’t it…”

“Too soon? Yes! Now help me, please!” I cried. I hadn’t been in any kind of pain or distress since the last false alarm, but this was no false alarm. This was the real thing. I was in labor.

“Stack pillows behind her, get her body in position,” I heard Drake say. Michael was out and back shortly with three pillows. He stuffed them behind me. Everything felt in slow motion. It was as if the pain was numbing me, making me unconscious.

“We have to call someone,” Michael announced. “Isn’t there a hospital we can take her to?”

“We’re in the middle of nowhere. The nearest hospital is at least two hours away.”

“Shit,” I heard Michael mumble. He brushed his hand through his hair over and over. I could tell he was just as scared as I was.

“How far apart are the contractions?” Michael kneeled down next to me.

“I don’t know. Like four minutes, I think.”

“You’re probably dilated already. Did you call your doctor? Can you get her choppered in?”

I looked at Drake for answers. “I can try. But I don’t think we’ll have time.” He immediately got on his phone.

“Michael, please, don’t leave me.”

“Of course not.” He held my hand and kissed my forehead.

“Oh fuck!” I screamed as I clenched my eyes shut and breathed through another contraction. “I’m so scared, Michael. It’s too early. We don’t have anything for them here. What if…what if something happens to them?”

“Nothing is going to happen to them, okay? We’re both here for you. We’ll help you through this,” he promised.

I screamed through the next few contractions until I was out of energy to scream anymore. They came on so quickly, I hadn’t even noticed the small ones I must’ve had sooner. It was as if a pitchfork was going through my back and stabbing into my uterus. Times two.

“Oh god, I want drugs! Please someone give me drugs!”

“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry. But you have to do this natural. I can’t get the doctor here for three hours.”

“Three hours!”

“Molly, look at me,” Drake demanded. I opened my eyes and turned, facing him. “You can do this. You will do this. We’re right here. Understand?” His eyes were intense and dark. I nodded. I had to do this.