Remember Me: Oakville Series:Book Two (16 page)

“Did I do something wrong by asking her to help me out?”

“She doesn’t like to talk about it. Please don’t let her know you know anything about this. The only reason I’m saying anything is because I’m worried about how she’s gonna handle all of this.” He looks around nervously.

“You don’t have to tell me anything. Don’t break her trust. I’ll keep an eye on her. I don’t need details to do that. If she starts acting unlike her usual bossy, pushy, and in charge self...” before I can finish, Miss Bossy herself sticks her head in the door.

“Let’s go, Connor!” Holly shouts before going back outside.

“I’ll take care of her. That is, if I don’t strangle her first,” I say to Paul as I head for the door.

“Thanks, Kyle,” he says through his laughter.

During the ride to the store, Holly goes over her list of what we need. I can handle shopping with Amber. Holly, on the other hand, is a totally different story. She really would’ve made a good drill sergeant for marine boot camp. Actually, she scares me a little. I think even Angel is a little scared of her. It’s gotta be the red hair. Red heads can be pretty damn mean when they want to be.

“Angel, what the hell are those?” Holly barks.

“The car seats you told me to get.”

“
Those
are not what I told you to get. I said to get the ones that match these strollers,” Holly says, pointing to three boxes on a flatbed cart. “See, the car seat part snaps in here when they are small. Then, when they are bigger, they sit in the stroller part.” She’s explaining this shit to Angel like he really cares. He looks at me, his eyes begging me to help him. As fun as it is to watch him squirm, I’ll put him out of his misery.

“Holly, why don’t you start looking at the cribs and I’ll help Angel get the right car seats? We’ll meet you over there when we finish.”

“Fine. Don’t take forever, though. We have a ton of things to get still,” she states before hurrying off in the opposite direction. I hope she’s not having a meltdown. I’m gonna feel like a pile of dog shit if asking her to help me causes problems for her.

“What the hell is up with her? She’s normally a little bossy but today she’s over the fucking top,” Angel whispers. He’s probably afraid she’ll hear him. Chicken shit.

“She’s just trying to make everything perfect for Amber. You know how Holly gets.” We finish our task of getting the correct car seats and Holly is pleased when we meet her in the crib aisle. She’s also calmed down quite a bit. The rest of our shopping expedition is uneventful. We find everything on Holly’s list. Car seats, strollers, swings, cribs, dressers, and changing tables. All the big stuff that needs to be assembled. It’s going to be a very long weekend.

Saturday is spent building baby furniture. There are men, tools, and parts spread throughout the house. Four letter words are flying around left and right but the furniture is going together rather well. There is just a lot of it. Overall, it’s been a fun day. We’ve all been laughing and joking with each other. Clark and Marcus finished painting last night so it finished drying today. They even put up a border to match the bedding sets. Amber is going to love it.

Sunday we have just enough time to put everything in its place. I have to admit, the room looks great. Everyone is in the kitchen waiting for the girls to get back and Holly has food set up for a little make shift party. Holly and her parties. We hear car doors slam and all of a sudden, I’m a little nervous. I hope she likes her surprise. As Amber walks into the kitchen, she glances around, and she strolls over to me, greeting me with a kiss.

“Okay, what’s going on? What are you up to, Kyle?” Amber questions.

“We have something to show you. Everyone worked all weekend to do this for you.” She looks around the room and smiles. I grab her hand and take her up the stairs. Everyone follows behind us. “Close your eyes, princess.” Slowly, I open the door to the nursery and lead her into the room. “Open them,” I whisper in her ear. Her hands cover her mouth and she gasps as tears begin to well in her eyes.
Oh no. She doesn’t like it.

“It’s...it’s so beautiful,” she stutters as she turns and faces our friends. “You all did this for me? Thank you so much! I love you all. This is the best gift ever.” She starts hugging everyone one at a time.
Thank God, she likes it.
We spend the rest of the afternoon and evening eating and enjoying time with friends. Beasley even stops by for a while. It turns out to be a great day.

F
INALLY,
I
’VE
started to relax. Things at the center are going smoothly and I hired a few new people. One of the new hires, Chelsie, stands out from the rest. I see a lot of potential there and know that she will eventually be more than just a counselor. Not only is she wonderful with the kids, but they all love her as well. You can tell she really enjoys being around them and it’s not just a paycheck to her. That’s the kind of person I want running this place someday. Don’t get me wrong, Jax has done a great job and he seems to be acting normal again, but there’s still a nagging feeling I have that tells me he can’t be completely trusted. I haven’t seen Leena around again and that in itself is cause to celebrate. Maybe she finally got the hint and is off stalking someone else's husband.

I’m also allowing myself to relax and get excited about the babies. One more week until our next appointment with Dr. Monty. I’m in week twelve and the morning sickness has pretty much gone away. There are a few times here and there that it will still hit me but not as often. My belly is protruding quite a bit now. I look more like twenty weeks along than twelve. The internet has become my newest addiction to research everything I can on multiple pregnancies. I want to make sure I know everything I can. You can never be too prepared, right?

After sitting at my desk for hours, it’s time to stretch my legs and check on things downstairs. When I reach the bottom step, I see Angel talking to Chelsie. I love Angel like a brother but he is not going to pull his shit with my staff. As I get closer, I’m shocked by what I hear. Shocked and amused. I might have been way off on my assessment of Chelsie. I know it’s wrong on so many levels, but I hide around the corner and listen.

“If you think you can sweet talk yourself into my pants you’ve got another thing coming. I’m not some naive little farm girl. I know this must be hard for you to comprehend, but not every women wants you. Some of us actually have some self-respect,” Chelsie states calmly. The whole time she speaks, her eyes never leave his. I swear I can see the sparks flying between them. When Chelsie turns on her heal and walks away, Angel starts to smirk. The shit head. He fully enjoyed being put in his place by her.

“You can come out now, ya little eavesdropper,” Angel chuckles.
Oops. Busted.

“Can you not run her off? I really like her and she has a lot of potential,” I say as I come out of hiding. Angel just smiles down at me. “What’s the deal, anyway? She’s not exactly the type of girl you normally hit on. You know, groupie skank.” Chelsie is a beautiful girl. She’s tall about five foot six or seven, and her hair rests on her shoulders in sandy blonde waves, perfectly framing her round face and bright hazel eyes. She is the total opposite of what Angel usually goes for. If you look up groupie or skank in the dictionary, the picture next to those definitions is his usual type.

“Ouch. I think I should be offended by that remark.”

“Angel, you know I love you, but I know how you are with women. Chelsie is not a fuck ‘em and chuck ‘em kinda girl. Do not mess with her unless you’re looking for more. Please don’t give me a reason to bury you in my back yard.” He starts laughing so hard his face is red.

“Ya know, for a tiny little thing, you scare the shit out of me,” he jokes as he kisses my cheek and walks into his classroom. The fact that he didn’t promise to stay away from Chelsie doesn’t go unnoticed. I’m gonna have to keep my eye on him. I turn, surprised to see Becky walking through the front doors.

“Hey there, momma! I thought maybe we could have some lunch together,” she says holding up a bag from the deli at the hospital. She knows I love their grilled veggie subs. I love this woman.

“Let’s go up to my office.” We go up to my office and enjoy the awesome subs she brought. I tell her all about Chelsie and Angel.

“I want to meet the girl that can resist the advances of that man,” she says, giggling.

“It was a sight to see. She put him right in his place. He never even said a word to her. I think he was stunned stupid.” We both laugh. Angel always has something to say.

I get up to go pee. I swear I pee about twenty times an hour. I sit but before I do my business, a sense that something’s not right washes over me. What it is exactly, I’m not sure. The palms of my hands are moist and my stomach is rolling. I turn to look down into the toilet and instantly panic.

“Becky!” I scream as my body begins to shake. Becky comes flying through the bathroom door.

“What’s the matter? Are you okay?” I can’t speak; I can’t seem to do anything but point to the toilet. Slowly, she looks down and gasps.

“Oh shit!” She pulls out her cell phone and immediately starts dialing a number before flushing the toilet. She grabs my hand and guides me to the couch in my office. “Lay down and put your feet up.” I do as she says, knowing I shouldn’t argue. I watch as she paces back and forth, the motions slightly calming my nerves and giving me something to concentrate on.
Stay calm, stay calm
, I repeat over and over in my head.
Calm.
At the words ‘mucus plug’ and ‘preterm labor’, I snap out of my daze. Labor! How can I be in labor? It’s way too early for that. Either not noticing the small panic attack I’m having, or ignoring it, she walks over to the door, points to me, and whispers, “Stay.” She moves into the hallway and starts speaking in hushed tones, but I still make out ‘hospital’, and ‘as soon as possible’. What’s happening? What’s wrong with my babies?

“Amber I know you’re scared, but I need you to try to stay calm. I think you’re in pre-term labor. We need to get you to the hospital so they can get it stopped,” she says calmly. Thank God, she’s the one here with me. I nod my head okay, still too scared to speak. Angel walks into the room, his face pale. Becky must have went to find him. “Angel, I need you to carry Amber to your SUV and lay her in the backseat.”

Angel comes over and scoops me up into his arms as gently as he can. I’m still shaking, my nerves getting the better of me and Angel notices it the second he picks me up. When he speaks, the fear in his voice shocks me. He’s always so together and in control.