Show Me How (It's Kind Of Personal Book 2) (27 page)

“Why don’t you go get dressed and meet us outside?” Mary suggests.

“Yeah, okay.” He turns and, without any kind of warning, pukes in the kitchen sink.

Mary and I walk off the bus.

“Jesus,” Mary whispers. “He’s wasted.”

I scrub my hands over my head in frustration. “This is gonna be a fun car ride.”

“I’ll sit in back with him.”

“Like fuck you will.”

The door creaks, and Liam emerges. He misses the bottom step and falls on his hands and knees. “It’s all right. I’m fine.” He stands and stumbles forward, almost bumping into Mary.

I step in front of him and wrap his arm around my shoulder, helping him get to the car. Once we arrive, I toss him in the back. “Sleep it off, man. But if you’re gonna puke again, tell me so I can pull over.”

Mary is already in her seat, and I get in and drive away. “I’m so sorry, babe. This isn’t how tonight was supposed to go.”

“It’s fine. I’m really worried, though. The whole situation is messed up.”

“Yeah, it is.”

The drive up to Wisconsin is slow and quiet. I call Travis and let him know we’re on the way. He gives me directions, and an hour and a half later I pull up to the hospital and walk around to open Mary’s door. When I open Liam’s, I reach in and slap him on the back a couple times.

His head pops up, and I toss him a half-empty bottle of water. “Here.”

“Thanks.” He drinks it and steps out of the car.

I prepare for a stumble, but he stands perfectly straight and looks me dead in the eyes. “I’m good now. Years of experience and all that shit. Just needed to puke and sleep it off for a bit.” He shrugs.

We get inside and Liam squints at the bright lights, pulling a baseball cap over his eyes. Travis told me where they were, so I lead the way. Once outside her room, I knock and open the door. I recognize the Kelly family. Pierce, Meara’s brother, and her parents are inside, along with Travis and Charlotte.

“Thank God you’re here.” Char comes forward with Travis right on her heels.

The rest of her family stays put, surrounding her bed. Meara is sitting on the edge, knees bent, one arm in a sling, the other wrapped around her legs. She’s like a statue; she doesn’t even look when Liam says her name.

He walks in front of her and places a hand on her shoulder. She slowly raises her head at an awkward angle, and tears silently roll out of her eyes. Her eyes remain unblinking, frozen. Scratches are all over face and arms, and she looks like she went a round or two in a boxing ring.

“Princess,” he whispers.

Her body snaps up to her feet, and she raises her good arm and slaps Liam across his face. His head jerks to the side, and his mouth hangs open in shock . . . much like the rest of us.

Then, she brings her fist back and punches him in the jaw. When I think she’s going to clock him again, she puts her face on his chest and weakly punches him right next to her head, sobbing.

“Oh, my God.” Charlotte tries to go to her, but Travis grabs her arm and pulls her back.

Liam tries to touch Meara, to soothe her, wrap his arms around her, but as soon as his arms come around her, she pushes away and tries to hit him again.

Pierce holds her arms and forces her to stop. “Shh. Meara, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not!” she screams. Apparently, those were the first words she’s spoken since she’s been here.

Her mom goes to her and tries to draw her daughter close, but Meara shrugs her off. She retreats to her husband and cries in the corner, clearly not sure how to react. Upset at seeing her daughter fall apart but wanting to give her space if that’s what she needs.

“Meara,” Liam says.

“No!” she yells. “Leave. I don’t want you here!” She turns in Pierce’s arms and begins sobbing into them.

Liam stares at her with confusion and touches her shoulder. Her body coils away from him. She pushes out of Pierce’s arms, runs into the bathroom, and slams the door.

Everyone stands there for a moment, shocked beyond words. Liam storms off toward the bathroom door, but Pierce stands in front of him.

“No way. She doesn’t want you here for some reason. You need to leave.” His tone leaves no room for argument.

“I’m not leaving until she talks to me.”

Pierce stands his ground. “She just did. And she said she wants you to leave. The only thing she’s said since she’s been here. And I can only think of a couple of reasons why she’d hate you so much right now, and none of them are leaving me with the warm and fuzzies. I suggest you get out of my face before you do something you’ll regret.”

Liam’s body tenses and Travis looks at me, assuring I understand what’s about to go down. He gives Char a little nudge so she’s standing next to Mary on the other side of the room, and Travis and I slowly walk toward Pierce and Liam.

“Move, Pierce. That’s
my
woman in there,” Liam growls and points at the door.

“No, Liam. You’re my friend, but she’s
my
sister. Don’t make me force you out of here. I don’t know what you did, but you’re not going anywhere near her. I’m not telling you again to get outta my face.”

Without hesitation, Liam pushes at Pierce, and his mom gasps. “Boys, stop it!”

“Now is not the time or the place,” Mr. Kelly says.

I reach forward and pull Liam back, while Travis blocks Pierce from doing something stupid. Pierce has more belts in martial arts than I do in my closet; he’s not a guy you want to press, especially when he’s defending his family.

“Let’s go, man.” I grab Liam’s shoulder and he turns and swings at me.

I duck out of the way and twist his arm behind his back, shoving his chest against the wall. His hat bumps the dry erase board and a marker falls off it. “Don’t be stupid.”

He fights me, but I don’t want to make anything worse, so I let him wear himself out. After a minute or two, he finally gives up.

“You done?”

He nods, and I haul him out of the room. I close the door behind me and stand directly in front of it, crossing my arms.

Liam paces, runs his hands over his head, and punches the wall. He finally crouches down and hangs his head, body vibrating with frustration. He pulls his hat lower down on his head and falls to the floor on his butt.

The door opens and Travis and Pierce walk out. “You good?” I ask Pierce.

He nods and looks at Liam, clearly torn between his sister and his friend. “Yeah. We need to get him out of here. Travis and I are gonna take him to his parents’ house.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?”

“I’m straight, man,” Pierce answers.

Trav huffs out a breath. “Char refuses to leave even though she still feels like shit, so I’ll come back and take her home. I’ve gotta get Caroline from the sitters. You should get Mary back, too. It’s late.”

“’Kay.” They thank me and walk over to Liam, who stands and silently follows them. Shoulders hunched over in defeat.

I go back into the room, nod at her parents, hug Charlotte, and take my fiancée home.

What the fuck just happened?

Chapter 25

Brandon

I didn’t want to wait any longer to make sure Mary and the baby were all right, so we got a doctor appointment right away. I’ll just pay out of pocket; I don’t give a shit about anything other than my family.

“Mary?” The nurse calls her from the open doorway, and we walk hand in hand to the scale.

“Don’t look,” Mary whispers as she hands me her purse and toes off her shoes.

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t want you to see how much I weigh.”

I laugh. “You’re joking, right? Tell me you’re joking?”

She shakes her head and her face begins to fall.

“Unbelievable,” I mutter under my breath and turn around.
Women.
I don’t get the insecurity over a fucking number. It’s not enough that I tell her she’s beautiful or I love her body. Christ, just looking at her makes me hard.

My mouth has kissed, licked, and sucked every inch of her delicious body. My fingers have traced over every curve, been in every h—

“Coming?”

I jump at Mary’s voice and follow her and the nurse down the hallway . . . thankful for the first and only time in my life I’m carrying her purse to hide my hard-on. At the doctor’s office on my way to see our baby, and I’m sportin’ wood.
Lovely.

After Mary answers the nurse’s questions and disrobes from the waist down, I stand next to the exam table holding her hand. “You do know I don’t give a shit about a number on a scale, right?”

“Yeah, but I—”

“No. No buts. You’re gonna be my wife in less than a week; there’s no need to hide anything from me.”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m not alone in this. Most women don’t want anyone to know how much they weigh.”

“Yeah, they don’t want a random dude they’re dating, or the chick at the gym knowing, but not their fiancé. Not the person they’re going to spend the rest of their life with. Not me.”

“Okay. Whatever.” She waves me off and I lean down to kiss the top of her head.

A knock sounds, and a moment later, an older woman with dreadlocks tied into a ponytail at her neck appears.

“Hi. I’m Dr. Williams.” She sticks her hand out, and Mary and I both take it, one at a time, introducing ourselves.

She asks Mary pretty much the same questions she’s already answered and pulls a stool up at the end of the exam table. “I’m going to perform a vaginal ultrasound today. It may be a little cold and you might feel a little bit of pressure, but it shouldn’t be painful.”

“Okay.” Mary nods and lays back on the table. She puts her feet in the stirrups and sucks in a breath when she sees the large white wand.

“It’s okay.” I lean down so only she can hear me. “You’ve had me inside you and compared to—”

“Shut up!” She laughs and hits my shoulder.

Mission accomplished. Her nerves are gone, and she’s smiling again.

The doctor smiles knowingly and lifts the drape slightly so it rests on the top of Mary’s knees. “Ready?”

Mary nods and grips my hand a little tighter when the device is placed inside her.

The small black screen suddenly has white swirls all over it, and a soft swoosh fills the room.

“There.” The doctor points at the screen. “That’s your baby.” She presses a button and the screen freezes.

“What am I looking at?” I ask. Everything looks the same. Like a really staticky TV screen.

“This little black circle. That’s your son or daughter.”

I zero in on the blob and my heart pounds. “That little thing?”

“Yes.” She chuckles. “That little thing. About the size of a kidney bean. I’d say you’re almost eight weeks.”

“Wow,” Mary whispers in awe, sitting up to get a closer look. Her eyes fill with tears and she turns her head to look at me. “That’s our baby.”

A stronger man would hold his head high. He’d clamp his jaw and squeeze his fists together. His face would be impassive. But right now, I’m not that man. I’m not strong. I’m weak, and when she holds her arms out for me, I willingly go into them . . . completely and utterly destroyed.

“Hey? Are you all right?”

Sore from the awkward position, I raise my head and wipe my eyes. The doctor is nowhere to be found and I look at Mary. “Where’d she go?”

Her fingers trace my jaw, and she smiles. “She thought we might need a minute.”

I nod and stand, trying to gain my composure again. Man, I feel like a little bitch right now. But I can’t help but think there was even a chance she was pregnant when that fucker broke into our place. When his hands were on her. Not only did he hurt her, but he could have also hurt our child. Ice runs through my veins and I shudder at the thought.

“I’m good.” I shrug my shoulders and walk to the window.

“Brandon.”

The almost cardboard drape over her legs rustles. I turn to see her trying to get off the table.

“Stop.” I walk back and sit next to her as well as I can fit on the small table. “I’m good. Sorry, I kind of freaked out.” I wrap my arm around her and pull her close, her warmth calming me. “This is something I never thought would happen, and it just hit me a little hard. And thinking about what could have happened.” I stop and press my lips together. “I’m good.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m sure.”

The doctor must have ripped off the picture because it sits next to the ultrasound machine. I lean over and grab it. “Look at that. He or she is the size of a kidney bean.”

“God, it’s crazy. We’re going to be parents.”

“We are,” I agree.

“Are you happy?”

“Yeah, babe. I’m really happy. Are you?”

“I am. It’s still a shock, but it feels right. Like it was meant to happen. And it was meant to happen now.”

She’s right. It was supposed to. We were supposed to happen. “Let’s get you dressed and go get something to eat.”

“Okay.”

I grab her clothes and set them next to her then I frame her face and kiss her lips. “Love you. And I love the little bean in there already so much. I promise you that I’m going to do everything humanly possible to be the best father in the world.”

“I know you will, Brandon. You’re going to be an awesome dad. This baby is lucky to have you . . . I’m lucky to have you.”

* * *

I lean down and bang my head on my desk a couple of times, frustrated with the information I just heard over the phone.

“You’re sure?” I ask.

“One hundred percent. I have a contact over there who’s got eyes on them.”

“All right.”

“You need anything else?”

“No. I just needed to know.”

“Let me know if you change your mind.”

I hang up and toss my cell on my desk. It’s my last day of work for a week, and I was just about to leave when he called. Now I need to decide if I want to hit Mary with this information two days before our wedding or if I want to wait.

The drive home doesn’t give me any more answers, and when I walk inside our apartment and see Mary curled up on the couch sleeping, I know what I have to do. She needs to know.

I’m hoping that with the excitement of the wedding and the doctor’s appointment earlier in the week, she can hold on to the good things. The happy and exciting things going on in her life.