Chasing Love's Wings (25 page)

She puts her hand on my knee, a comforting gesture, and I put my hand over hers. “Thank
you for putting up with me these last few weeks.”
 

“She’s my best friend, Tristan, and whether she believes it or not, she loves you
insanely. We just need to do what we can to protect her from all this stupid bullshit,
and after she has this baby, I’m kicking her ass.” She smiles, but I know she’s ready
to just lay into Cami for what she’s put me through.
 

“Later,” I say with a half smile. “She doesn’t want to see anyone tonight. I’m sure
she feels awful about everything and what she’s put you all through. So let’s give
her some time.”
 

Everyone agrees, and they all head out, little by little. “You need to call Trav,”
Jo tells me as she hugs me goodbye. “He’s worried about you.”

“Thanks, Jo. For everything.”

“Always. We’ll see you later,” she says as she takes Tyson’s hand and they leave.
 

I pull out my phone and call Travis.
 

“Please tell me you have some good news for once.”
 

“She’s all right. The hospital called me.”

“Shit, what happened?”
 

“She’s pregnant, Trav.”

“I don’t know whether or not to congratulate you or tell you to run like hell.”
 

“Congrats will do. It is going to be a long road, but we’ll figure this out.”
 

“You sure?” I know that voice. It’s the same one he uses whenever he’s concerned.
 

“Yeah, I’m sure. It won’t be easy, but I’d rather work through us and this than not.”

“All right, bro, we’ll be in town in a couple of days. Kiss Cami for me.”
 

“Tell Naomi I said hi.”

“Sure thing. Later.”
 

And just like that, he’s gone. Travis and I understand each other in ways I never
knew two men could understand anyone but their partners. Travis loves Cami to pieces
and he wants to see me happy, and despite the rollercoaster ride of these last couple
of months, she makes me happier than anything.
 

Before I can enter Cami’s room again, my phone rings. Blocked. I roll my eyes and
decide that I don’t want to go into Cami’s room hot because of her father. It’s time
for his nightly call, wondering if we’ve heard anything. He can wait until tomorrow.
 

That is the only thing that has stayed consistent since she disappeared: Bobby has
called every night, wondering and waiting with me. Though I don’t think he deserves
it, Cami needs to know he’s been trying. Another day.
 

I enter Cami’s room and get past the curtain. She’s sleeping, and it is a beautiful
sight to see. Judging by the bags under her eyes, I imagine that she, like me, hasn’t
slept much. Maybe even less than I have.

I rub my chin, debating on whether or not to keep the scruff. Her comment makes me
smile, and before long, regardless of how uncomfortable this chair is, I doze off.
 

I’m woken up several times throughout the night when the nurse comes in to check her
vitals. I’m thankful that Cami manages to sleep through it all, but I never get tired
of hearing that whooshing sound.
 

At some point I fall asleep with my head on the mattress and am woken up to the feeling
of Cami’s fingers stroking through my hair. “Hi, beautiful.”
 

“Hi beautiful yourself.” It is so great to hear her say that. “They’re going to be
in here in a few minutes to do an ultrasound. If everything looks good, I’ll get to
go home.”

“Please tell me you’re coming home to your condo.”

“Is that where you want me to be?”
 

Did I not make it clear enough last night? “Absolutely. It is your home, Cams, not
mine. Hell, I’ve been sleeping on the couch.”
 

“Well, we don’t need to both be miserable.” She gives me a half smile.

“But you need to want to be there too. This isn’t about me.”
 

“I want to be there, and I want you to be there with me,” she says. “If you’ll stay.”
 

“I can’t think of any place I’d rather be.”

THIRTY-SEVEN

******

Cami

******

He’s here, and he’s here to stay. I don’t deserve him or his willingness to forgive
me, but I can’t even begin to imagine how I was going to go through this without him.
I was so stupid to run away, especially considering all the answers to all of my problems
were simple solutions.
 

A nurse and Dr. Tolleson come into the room; the nurse is pushing a cart with an ultrasound
machine on it...or at least I’m assuming that’s what all that equipment is.

“You look better this morning, Ms. Enders. Did you get some rest?” Dr. Tolleson asks.
 

“Yes, I did.”

“Good. We’re going to take a look, see how you’re doing. Judging by your skin color,
we’ve managed to rehydrate you some. That’s a good thing.” He busies himself with
the machine, setting it up and getting ready to do his thing. I look at Tristan and
there is an awed look in his eyes as he takes in what’s about to happen. It probably
mirrors my own look. When I came in last night, I was in really bad shape, and they
were quick with the machine.
 

Once Dr. Tolleson is finished with the machine he looks at me, then at Tristan. “Mr.
Michaels, I presume.”
 

“Yes, sir.”
 

“Seems as though I made the right call last night.” I smirk a little bit at their
exchange. “My daughter is a huge fan.”
 

I watch as Tristan’s shock registers; he looks like hell, and how in the hell could
he know? “Thank you, sir.”
 

Dr. Tolleson nods and then reaches for my blanket to pull it down. I can’t help but
look down my own body and realize just how much it’s already changed and is going
to change over the next few months. “Do you know how far along you are, Cameron?”
 

“Cami, please? And—” I’m ashamed to admit it. “—no, I don’t.”
 

“Well, let’s see if we can find out, shall we?” Tristan and I both look at each other.
His eyes light up.
 

“Absolutely,” he says, and he smiles — a real, genuine smile of excitement.
 

Now that my stomach is exposed, Dr. Tolleson takes a tube off of the cart and squirts
a warm liquid across my pelvic bone. “Ready?” I nod at him and he puts a transducer
to my stomach. I can’t see anything that he’s looking at, but I can see Tristan trying
to see too. “Let me take some measurements first, then I’ll share. Would you like
pictures to take home with you?”
 

“Please,” I say, and he continues what he’s doing.
 

A couple of minutes go by and he’s ready to show us what he’s looking at. He turns
the stand and the monitor in our direction. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust
to what I’m seeing, but there is a lot of static surrounding a black hole. In the
center of that black hole is what looks like a little baby. My eyes fill with tears
and I can’t really see what I’m looking at.
 

“This little one is about three inches long, about the size of a peach. Which puts
you at about thirteen weeks pregnant. Have you been sick?” he asks me.
 

“In the beginning I was, but for about the last two weeks or so, not so much,” I say
as I try and clear my eyes.

“That’s pretty normal for this stage of pregnancy. The blood tests we ran from last
night confirm the ultrasound at about thirteen weeks. Do you know when your last period
was?”
 

I shake my head. “I was on the shot. I was scheduled to have received it again on
August second and I missed my appointment.”
 

“Well, if your blood and the measurements are correct, you probably conceived around
September fifth.” Instantly my mind starts going a million miles a minute, trying
to think about that day, but nothing comes to me. “Which would put your due date about
May twenty-seventh.”

“You’re kidding,” I say, slightly shocked.
 

“Nope. Is there a significance to that date?”
 

I shake my head; it is not my doctor’s business. Tristan looks at me too, but I just
shake my head.
 

“Well, you’re well on your way. I would still follow up with your regular doctor within
the next seven days, just so that they can check things out and make sure you’re doing
okay. Drink plenty of liquids and get some rest. I recommend bed rest, at least through
the weekend, but there are no restrictions. I will have the nurse come in with your
discharge papers and you’re free to go.”

“Thank you, Doctor Tolleson,” I say, and Tristan says the same. We shake hands, and
he’s gone from the room; the nurse stays and removes the IV from my arm and tells
me I can get dressed and she’ll be back in a few minutes with my papers and a wheelchair.

As soon as she leaves, Tristan says to me, “May twenty-seventh?” he says with a smile,
but I can see he’s a bit wary about it and my reaction. I start to climb out of bed
and stop with my feet hanging over the side of the bed.

“May twenty-seventh could quite possibly be our baby’s birthday,” I say, trying to
steer him away from the date.
 

“That’s not it. Come on, Cams, don’t hold back on me now.”
 

I look up into his bright blue eyes. I’m transfixed by them and I feel like I can
tell him anything right now and he won’t care what it is, at least not to the point
of getting upset. “It’s the day that Bobby ‘died.’” Air quotes included.

I watch him as he throws his head back in an ‘Oh, crap’ manner. “There is something
I should tell you about your father.”
 

“If it’s that he’s really dead, I don’t care,” I say before I can stop myself.
 

“No, not that. He’s been calling me. Every night since he found out you disappeared.”
I can see the worry and the fear in his eyes as he tells me this.
 

“It’s about time he worried about someone other than himself.” I climb off of the
bed, looking for my clothes from— “Shit.”
 

“What?”
 

“Can you go out to the nurses’ station, see if they have some scrubs or something
I can wear?”
 

“Why?”

“They cut off my clothes when I came in here last night.” I’d hoped to keep how bad
it really was from him, but he catches it right away and he knows instantly.
 

“You’re never leaving my side again.” I scowl at him, but he dutifully goes to the
nurses’ station and comes back with a pair of light blue scrubs for me to put on.
 

I go into the bathroom to change. Not that Tristan has never seen me naked before,
but I’d rather save the rest of the shock for when we’re at home. Not to mention the
fact that the oversized hospital gown and the scrubs will cover up the fact that I’m
not wearing a bra, and my breasts have grown pretty close to a size bigger and my
nipples have changed color...only slightly, but given he noticed the bump, I have
no doubt he will notice that too.
 

When I come out of the bathroom, Tristan is on the phone. “Thanks, we’ll see you in
a few.”
 

“Who was that?”
 

“Beau. Tyson took the car home last night, we have no way home.”
 

“Oh.” The nurse comes in, hands Tristan a package that contains my discharge papers
and some information on dehydration as well as some sample prenatal vitamins and some
other junk, but I don’t care. I want to go home.

THIRTY-EIGHT

******

Tristan

******

“Thanks, Beau.”
 

“Of course.” She scowls at Cami and I want to stand in between them to stop it.
 

“Yes, Beau, baby, I know. You can chastise me later.”
 

“That’s not why I’m scowling.”

“Then what’s the big deal?” Cami asks her.
 

“Do either of you two know what day it is?”
 

We both shrug. “No,” we say in unison, and Beau smiles, enjoying the fact that we’re
back together or that we’re absolutely clueless.
 

“It’s Thanksgiving.” She climbs back into the car and I help Cami into the front seat.

“What?” Cami says.
 

“You know — turkey, stuffing, cranberries and family. It’s Thanksgiving.”
 

“I’m sorry we pulled you away from your food fest,” Cami says to her, but I can tell
she’s teasing Beau, and she laughs.
 

“We were at your condo anyway,” Beau says.
 

Cami and I both say, “What? Why?” at the same time, and Beau bursts out laughing.
 

“I am so glad the two of you are back together. I missed both of you terribly.” She
pulls out of the hospital parking lot, and the streets are nearly empty. “Yes we’re
ALL at the condo. Waiting impatiently for your ass to be discharged...or to be told
you were staying.”

“You’re too much, you know that?”
 

After a couple of minutes, we pull in front of the condo. Tyson’s and Naomi’s cars
are here. I help Cami from the car. She rolls her eyes when I help her up the stairs
to the doorway, but I can tell that she’s still weak. We head for the elevator and
go to the living room floor. Once the door opens we’re assaulted by all the smells
of Thanksgiving, and I can hear commotion coming from the kitchen. Cami and I both
look at each other.
 

“I told you we were all here waiting for you to get discharged. If you were staying,
we were bringing Thanksgiving dinner to you.” She smiles and kisses Cami on the cheek.
Then she embraces me in a hug. “Told you.”