Authors: Brenda Kennedy
“
I thought I was your
girl,” I tease.
He shuts the door and lays
me down on the bed. The tee-shirt that I am wearing — one of his
—rises high on my thighs exposing my red lace panties. He smiles as
his eyes travel up my body. He rips off his shirt and removes my
shirt and panties before saying, “You are definitely my
girl.”
“
Leah?
Leah?”
I shake my head to clear my thoughts,
“Yes?”
“
You seem to be a million
miles away. Are you all right?”
“
I’m wonderful, now that
you’re here.”
We visit with Gracie and I tell him about the
incident with the baby being rushed out of here. I tell him they
never returned and I’m worried. He reads Gracie a bedtime story and
falls asleep soon after. I have to admit, this is my favorite time
of the day. Listening to Robert change his deep voice to something
calm and soothing. There is just something about a man who reads.
There is nothing sexier than that.
“
I wonder if Brooke will
ever write children’s books?” I ask.
“
I highly doubt it. Her
romance books have really taken off. Dove told me she is writing
another cliffhanger trilogy.”
“
I know. I spoke to her a
few days ago. It still might be nice if she would do a children’s
illustrated book.”
I stand and kiss Gracie and Robert asks, “Are
you ready to go home, Sweets?”
I carefully place Gracie in her bed careful
to not wake her. Robert bends down to kiss her. “I would like to
stay here tonight.”
“
Does this have anything
to do with what happened with the baby earlier?” he
asks.
“
It does. I’m worried that
something will happen to Gracie and we won’t be here,” I sadly
admit. I look up at Robert so he can see the worry in my eyes. “I
don’t want to leave her alone anymore. That little baby was alone
today,” I whisper.
He searches my eyes, “Being here with her
will relieve some of your anxiety?”
“
It will.” I look from
Robert to Gracie, who is sleeping peacefully. “If something happens
I want to be here.”
Chapter Five: Against the Odds
Robert
I know that if something happened to Gracie
and she was alone, Leah would never forgive herself. Hell, I
wouldn’t forgive myself either. “Let me talk to the nurse first,
okay?”
I walk over and speak to the on-duty nurse
about the policy on staying the night. I also ask about showers and
sleeping arrangements. When I have the information I need, I join
Leah. “She said one parent can stay and that they have showers for
you to use whenever you want."
“
Perfect,” she says,
smiling.
“
Are you sure you want to
do this?”
“
I am. She’s gaining
weight and hopefully it’ll only be for another week or
two.”
“
How about we take turn
staying? I’ll go home tonight and bring you a bag of clothes and
hygiene items in the morning and I’ll stay tomorrow
night?”
“
Are you afraid I’ll
brainwash her before you can?” Leah teases.
“
That is exactly my fear,”
I smile. She is referring to me referring to Jamie as Daddy’s
girl.
“
Thank you. You know I
love you, don’t you?”
“
I never doubt it,” I say
my goodbyes to Leah and to Gracie before going home. It’s always
hard to leave Gracie, but now I’m leaving Leah,
too.
I get to the main lobby and I see Drake
Sinclair walking in through the large double doors. He is dressed
in a black designer suit, crisp white dress shirt, and a black tie.
He looks fresh like he is just starting his day, although it is
9:00 p.m. I watch as he stops by the hospital information desk,
never taking his eyes off mine. When I pass by him, he nods but
says nothing.
When I get to my Hummer, I
see a note on the windshield. It says.
I’m
onto you.
No name and no signature. A
knife is also stuck on my driver-side back tire. I go back into the
hospital as I think about Sinclair and wonder if it could have been
him. As I walk up to the information desk I smile at the young
volunteer working. “Hi, I’m here to see my friend but I can’t
recall the room number,” I lie. “Can you please help
me?”
“
Last
name?”
“
Sinclair.”
I watch as she types something into the
hospital database. “I’m sorry, but we don’t have any patients by
that name. Maybe they’re at another hospital, perhaps.”
“
Perhaps," I say walking
away from the desk. I call Bruce and ask him if he can meet me at
the hospital. I don’t use the elevator, I take the stairs to the
3
rd
floor two at a time. I search the hallway of the
3
rd
floor searching for Sinclair and hoping I don’t see
him.
So help me, if I find out he is
watching my wife and daughter, I will kill him with my bare
hands.
The N.I.C.U. doors are closed
tightly. I don’t go in, I don’t want to alarm
Leah.
Gracie’s nurse comes out and she see me and
smiles. “Decide to stay after all?”
“
I did, but I don’t want
my wife to know,” I lie, again. “She’ll just send me
home.”
“
Well your secret is safe
with me,” she says walking towards the elevator.
Good, I was planning on that.
I walk the halls, and when I don’t see any sign of Sinclair I
go back outside and wait for Bruce to come as I change my
tire.
When Bruce still isn’t
here I decide to wait for him in the waiting area on the
3
rd
floor. I want to be able to watch Leah while looking out for
Bruce. He walks out of the elevator and he looks exhausted. I stand
up and extend my hand. “Thank you, for meeting me
here.”
“
Not a problem. Sorry, it
took so long for me to come. I was in the middle of a conference
call.”
“
I didn’t realize you kept
such late hours,” I joke. I sit down and he follows suit. I watch
as he loosens his tie and removes his jacket. He is also dressed in
a suit, but he doesn’t look as crisp as Drake Sinclair did just an
hour ago.
“
I didn’t either up until
very recently.” He smiles and says, “This must be
important.”
I tell him about running
into Drake on my way out earlier, about the knife in my tire, and
about the note on my windshield. He reads the note and asks to keep
it. He tells me about his visit with Drake earlier and about his
threats to expose me as being a junkie. I reassure Bruce that I
used after Jamie’s death and I have been clean for over a year. I
hoped
that part of my life wouldn’t
resurface again.
“
I put my investigative
team to work on Drake Sinclair tonight.”
“
That was your conference
call that I interrupted?”
“
It was. I had
to finish it
before I
came over; that’s what took me so long to come. If Drake is hiding
something, and I know he is, they’ll find it.”
“
I’m worried about Leah
and the baby. I don’t want him around them. He's snooping around
here for a reason.”
“
How much longer will
Grace be hospitalized?”
“
Another week,
maybe.”
“
I know this is personal,
but how are your finances?”
“
Good. House and cars are
paid off. We have money in the bank. My boxing career has proven to
be a very lucrative income for us. Why?”
“
Have you considered
hiring a full-time neonatal nurse for a few weeks when she is
released? They could release Gracie and you can have a nurse at the
house. It’ll help with any anxiety you may have with her being
preterm.”
“
No, that never crossed my
mind.”
“
Well, it’s something for
you to consider.”
“
That is a brilliant
idea.”
“
You can call Mason in the
morning for a recommendation for a nurse. You’ll need two or maybe
even three.”
“
Bruce, that is a superb
idea. Thank you.”
“
I also think we
should file a continuance for custody of Madison. Drake is one step
ahead of us. It will take my team some time, but if Drake is doing
something he shouldn’t, they’ll find it.”
“
I really hate to postpone
the court date. I know Leah and I are ready to meet and get to know
our daughter, Madison.” I stop and think about Drake and his anger.
“There is no telling what he is saying to Madison about
us.”
“
I don’t want to, either,
but we can’t go to court with allegations that you are still using
or that you have unresolved anger issues. Hence, the assault
charges that he was able to find.”
“
That
bastard!”
“
Another few weeks won’t
matter much,” he adds.
“
Try telling Leah
that.”
We agree to the
postponement. We also agree on me hiring a home health nurse for
the baby and I reluctantly agree to letting Bruce handle
everything. He wants to file a police report and a restraining
order against Drake, but I refuse.
I’ll
handle Drake the next time I see him. I won’t interfere with
Bruce’s work, but if Drake harasses my family, he’ll have to deal
with me.
Bruce leaves and I spend the night on the
couch outside of the double doors leading to the N.I.C.U.
Department. I text Dad in the morning and ask him if he can come to
the hospital earlier than usual. When he arrives, he brings three
coffees and breakfast for everyone. I tell him what happened and
explain that I need a couple of hours to get everything arranged. I
don’t have to tell him not to say anything to Leah, he already
knows.
I leave and call Mason. He gives me the name
of a personal friend of his who happens to be a neo-natal nurse,
Christina Badder. He tells me she has a home health care business
and this is her expertise. I hang up and call her immediately. She
informs me all of the nurses she employs have had an extensive
background check completed and they are all very competent at their
job. She adds that she used to work at Lakewood Ranch Hospital but
decided to open her own business to help people like me and Leah.
She also adds that some of her nurses work for her part-time while
still working at the local hospitals.
I shower and change into jeans and a
tee-shirt. I text Gus, Dad, and Tim and cancel my training session
for this morning. I can work out at home later on today. I gather
Leah a change of clothing and some personal items I think she’ll
need.
Before I leave, there is a
knock at the front door. A delivery truck is outside. I open the
door expecting to tell them they have the wrong house when they
announce a delivery for Leah Grether from Coconis Furniture.
Her chaise lounge is finally here. Not that she
needs it, but I know she’ll be glad to have it.
Luckily it takes only a few minutes for them to set it up.
Remove some cardboard and plastic and viola, a chaise
lounge.
Easy enough.
When I get to the hospital, I park closer to
the front than I normally would. I love my Hummer and I don’t like
it when people stab at her tires.
When I get upstairs, Dad is holding Gracie,
who is screaming, while Leah and Dad are laughing. I’m glad to know
my crying baby brings so much joy to her family. I kiss Leah and
pick up Gracie. Her eyes are red and her lips quiver as she tries
to stop crying. “Are they picking on Daddy’s girl?” I ask
softly.
“
Here we go again,” Dad
says, laughing while looking at Leah.
Leah laughs, too, and says, “I told
you.”
“
What?” I ask
unknowingly.
“
You and your
Daddy’s girl
. You did
the same thing with Jamie.”
I smile, “Jamie was my girl. And Gracie is my
girl, too,” I confirm. I hold Gracie up to my shoulder and pat her
back softly. “Aren’t you, Gracie?” I kiss her soft cheeks. “She
isn’t crying, is she?”
“
Brainwashing,” Dad
chuckles.
Leah
One week later, I’m sitting in the nursery of
my home, holding my baby. Gracie is now 4 pounds and Robert
insisted on hiring a neonatal nurse for a few
weeks.
Amy will be our nurse 12 hours a day until
Gracie Robert is convinced Gracie is fine. I already think Gracie
is perfect. Having a neonatal nurse at home adds reassurance that
everything will be all right. Before Gracie was released from the
hospital it’s mandatory that all parents take an infant C.P.R.
class, so we did. Amy will work 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. and then
we have get another nurse to replace her from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00
a.m. I spoke with Amy and told her I wanted to handle all of
Gracie’s needs, minus her medical needs. She laughed but
understood. Mom and Margie are in the kitchen cooking and Dad and
Walter are in the yard. Robert is standing in the doorway in
protective mode.
Amy does her charting and monitors Gracie’s
vital signs throughout the day. Robert and I bathe the baby and
take her to join her grandparents in the living room. I carry her
room to room and show her where she lives. Jamie had the brightest
room in the house and Gracie likes the natural
light.