The courier came ten minutes later and after he left to take the envelope to Curtis, she laid down. It was early yet, not quite six o’clock, but she felt as if she’d been run through a gauntlet. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
When she woke around two in the morning she felt sick. Her body ached and her head was pounding. Moving to the kitchen she put on her tea kettle and, while it was set to boil, she got down her mug. The pain ripped through her like a knife. The next pain knocked her to her knees. That’s when she noticed the blood.
She reached for the phone, knocking it off the table and onto the floor beside her. She reached for it, the pain making her scream out again. Pressing what she hoped was the number two, she prayed for her uncle to answer before the pain took her away. Even as someone answered, she felt her body let go. The blood poured from her as she said help.
~~~
Royce rushed to the hospital, not even aware if he stopped at any of the lights on the way. Daniel had said she was hurt and that the doctors wouldn’t tell him anything. Royce remembered asking about her uncle and was assured he was on his way as well. Royce rushed in the emergency room and right into Jay York’s arms.
“Where is she? Is she all right?” He realized that Jay was speaking to him but couldn’t seem to understand. “Just tell me she’s all right.”
“They took her to surgery. She was awake when I saw her briefly, but she… There was…oh God, there was so much blood. All I could think about was her mom. I saw Leah all over again.”
Royce held the man as he cried. Blood, Royce thought, so much blood. He wondered if it was an aneurism and tried to shy his mind from that. But he knew she’d lost the baby, lost their child.
“She didn’t lose the baby,” Jay said before he could ask. “She…the doctor said that she was lucky and that she’d have to stay down for a bit, but there was a good chance that she’d deliver to term. She was so scared and crying. She said to tell you she didn’t do anything to hurt the baby. She wanted you to know that she’d never do anything like that, ever. I didn’t…she’ll be all right, he said. He said she’d be just fine.”
Royce looked at him. Why would… “I never thought she did. Why would she think something like that? Why would she have you tell me something like that?”
“Because she had it in her head that all you wanted was the kid.” Royce turned to his brother Daniel as he spoke. “She talked to Curtis today. Everything was set up that you’d get custody of the baby once it was born. The money you sent to her last week was going into a trust fund for her aunt’s care. And then once she left the hospital she was leaving the area.”
Royce sat down in one of the plastic chairs, feeling as though someone had hit him. He rubbed his chest where most of the pain radiated from. She believed that. He knew he had given her no reason to believe otherwise, but it hurt him to know that he’d hurt her.
“The doctor, did he say what happened? Did he know why she’d lost so much blood?” Jay was shaking his head. “Then what happened to them?”
“He said that she’d been slightly underweight anyway and her body was telling her that she needed to take it easy. He said these things just happen and that she was one of the lucky ones. After a few days in here, she can go home with me then I’ll—”
Royce saw his mother come through the doors. He needed her. Needed to have his mother tell him that things were going to be all right. He stood up when she came toward him. Between the three of them, she was brought up to speed and they went up to the surgery floor.
The doctor had closed off the small tear in her womb, but it would be hours yet before they would be sure that everything was fine. Two hours later they were all sitting in her room. Jay had cleared it with the hospital that they could be there. Royce had already told them that he was staying until she left or threw him out. He was reasonably sure that he could very well be thrown out, but he was willing to take the chance. He looked up when Kasey made a small noise.
She looked right at him. He could see the pain in her eyes and he hurt for her. He moved his chair closer to the bed and took her hand. He kissed it gently and smiled at her.
“The doctor said you’re going to be fine. That you might be weak for a few days, but otherwise, you’d be all right.” She nodded. “Do you need anything? Food? Something to drink?”
“No.” She looked over at the people behind him then back at him. “Why are you here?”
“Daniel called me when you called him. He thinks you might have hit last called when you picked up the phone. He said you kept calling for your uncle.”
“I don’t remember that. I was…I was hurting and I thought I’d dialed Uncle Jay. I’m sorry I bothered him.” She turned her head and wiped at the tear with her other hand. “I lost the baby. Your baby. I’m sorry about that. You don’t need to hang around now. I’ll understand if you—”
“No, Kasey, you didn’t. It was close, the doctor said, but you didn’t lose him. You’ll need to be on bed rest for a while, but that…Kasey, I love you. I’m sorry for the way I’ve been—”
“Don’t please. It’s not important anymore. It’s okay that you don’t love me. The baby made you—”
He put his hand over her mouth gently. “Don’t tell me that I don’t love you. It’s taken me nearly thirty years to figure out that I do and I plan to say it a great deal. So unless you have something profound to say back to me then I want you to hush and get better.”
She looked over his shoulder as he felt someone coming near. He thought it was her uncle and moved out of his way so that he could see his niece. Royce didn’t let go of her hand and stayed close enough that he could see her. Royce didn’t want to be rude, but the thought of leaving her right now was something he didn’t want to think about. When Jay kissed her forehead and moved back Royce slid his chair back in front of her.
“You should go home. There is no reason for you to hang around here. I’m really…I’m really tired anyway.” Her voice broke as she spoke and he brushed her tears away with his thumb. “Royce, please.”
“I’m not leaving you, honey. I do love you and I want to be here with you. Short of you kicking me out, I’ll just sit outside at the nurse’s station, but I’m not leaving.” She turned her head and he pulled it back to face him. “I love you, Kasey Marie York. The sooner you get used to hearing me say that, the better off you’ll be.”
Chapter 17
Kasey went home four days later. There was really no reason for her to have stayed the extra day, but Royce had insisted and the staff, whether charmed or bullied by him, had done as he’d asked. She didn’t care. She just simply didn’t care. It was where they’d taken her that pissed her off.
“I can very well stay on my own or with my uncle. In fact, I’d rather stay with him. Take me there. I have absolutely no reason to stay with you.” She’d said this same thing a total of eight times now and she knew she was wasting her breath. “I insist that you listen to me and take me back to my apartment this minute.”
“You’re very cute when you get all bossy,” Royce told her with a cocky grin. “But your uncle agrees that you shouldn’t be left alone. I’m taking a few days off and I’ll be caring for you. It’ll be fun.”
Fine, she thought, let him care for her all he wanted, but she wasn’t speaking to him. See how he liked being frustrated. She turned in the seat of his monster car and looked out the window. She just wanted to have some quiet time. She’d been denied that for the past few days and she wanted it.
She’d nearly lost her baby. She’d been so very lucky, the doctor told her, and then he’d explained what she needed to do to keep the baby and to stay healthy. She just needed to take it easy, avoid stress, and make sure that she didn’t lift anything more than ten pounds until the little guy was born. And he told her she was having a boy. She looked up when the car stopped.
The house was magnificent. Tall pillars of white graced the front of the long, open porch. There was a beautiful lace-worked railing surrounding it and she could see that someone had set several rockers around it in varying colors. The large urns were filled with bright flowers that spilled over and the floor to roof windows sparkled in the morning light. The brick façade was rich in deep-colored clay and the grout was creamy against each one. She was startled when someone picked her up out of the car and started to carry her.
“Put me down, you moron. I can walk. I was told to walk, as a matter of fact.” So much for not speaking to him, she thought. Maybe she’d just yell, that would certainly piss—
He kissed her mouth and all thoughts just flew away.
“I’m carrying you because I want to. Now hush up. I want you to take a nap. The doctor said that you’d need to rest as much as possible these first few days and you’re not to lift anything over—”
“I’m very aware what the doctor said. Even though you tried your best to make me seem like a simpleton, I heard and actually understood every word he said.” He grinned at her as he set her on the porch. “I want you to take me to my uncle’s house if you won’t let me go home. This is ridiculous for you to miss work for me.”
“No,” he said as he unlocked the door. When the door opened, he scooped her up again and took her inside. When he set her down, she turned to look around. There were several people standing there looking at them when they entered. “I want you to meet the staff. I’ve been very lucky in that I was able to get someone so quickly to help us out. This is Mrs. Apple. She does the cooking when I’m not in the mood. This is Mrs. Jankins. She helps out around the house and she—”
“May I have a word with you?” She had to tell him that enough was enough. And as much as she wanted to scream at him again, she wouldn’t do it in front of the people who worked for him. She’d had that done to her enough to know how embarrassing it was. He picked her up again and she squealed.
“I’ll just take Miss York up to our room. If you wouldn’t mind fixing her a tray…what would you like, Kasey? They can—”
She leaned into his ear and bit him. Hard. “I want you to fucking put me down and stop carting me around like a bab—” The tears came hot and fast. She buried her face in his neck and didn’t say another word. She knew that he’d carried her up the stairs. She knew that he’d spoken to the two ladies there in the hall and the two others she’d not learned the names of. She wanted to crawl in a hole and simply lay there. The bed beneath her made her roll into a ball and weep.
She didn’t know how long it was before she fell asleep, but she woke to a semi-dark room and a warm, hard body next to her. She tried to roll away from him, knowing that it was Royce, but he pulled her back and snuggled over her breast.
Kasey lay there, her heart pounding and her body needing his. She tried again to pull away, to get up to use the bathroom, but wasn’t able to budge him.
“Royce, let me up. I have to use the bathroom.” He groaned when she punched his arm. “Royce, let go of me. I have to pee.”
He rolled and let her go, but before she could get the blanket off and stand, he was there. She wanted to tell him she was fine, but the room tilted a bit and she had to grab onto him or fall. He held her up, speaking to her in low, soothing tones. She laid her forehead on his chest.
“I have to pee.” She hated the way her voice sounded small and weak. “I just…I think I’m fine now. If you’ll just tell me where my clothes are, I’d like to take a shower too.”
“I don’t think so. Not unless you take one with me. Come on, I’ll help you to the bathroom and then we’ll get you changed.” He held her close, but he didn’t pick her up this time.
“I feel fine. I promise to take a quick one. And I won’t lock the door.” He laughed, but said nothing. “Seriously, Royce, this is stupid. I want to…I need to take a shower. I feel nasty.”
He stopped walking and she looked at him. He looked so…sad, and her heart thudded in her chest. Before she could tell him that she was sorry that she was being a pain in the ass, he kissed her gently on the mouth. Then he leaned his forehead to hers.
“I don’t…I can’t tell you how I felt when my brother called me. He was hysterical with worry that I nearly didn’t know what he was saying. He said you were screaming for your uncle. That you kept telling him that there was so much blood. He’d thought…he told me later that all he could think about was that someone had broken in and that they had hurt you. I couldn’t breathe for not knowing. I got a ticket on my way to the hospital.” He kissed her again before continuing. “I love you, Kasey. I know you find that hard to believe after what I’ve done to you, said to you, but I do. I love you so very much.”
He took her the rest of the way to the bathroom and she let him. She didn’t fuss at him when he insisted on helping her with the toothpaste, nor did she say anything when he turned the shower on. She did, however, speak up when he started to peel off his own clothes.
“I’m not taking a shower with you,” she told him as she gripped her own T-shirt over her hips. “I can’t. You have to…Royce, please don’t. I’m…I’ve had…I’m not ready for this. The doctor said no sex so I can’t take a shower with you.”
He stopped undressing and stared at her before he nodded. “Kasey, I’m not an animal. Having sex with you…well, I was going to say is the last thing on my mind, but that would be a lie. I want you with all my heart. But I’m still going to get in with you. You take care of whatever it is you need to for five minutes then I’ll get in and clean up too. I won’t…I won’t touch you unless you need me too, but honey, I’m just as nasty-feeling. I’ve not had even a sponge bath in three days and I need a shower too.”
She supposed she could have insisted that he take one after her, but she only nodded. Kasey turned her back on him while he brushed his own teeth and she hurried into the shower. She wanted to be clean in the worst way possible. She ducked her head under the shower to get her hair wet again when she heard the door open behind her.
Kasey had never had anyone wash her hair for her before. She thought maybe her mom had done it for her as a child, but no one since she’d become an adult. When Royce took the shampoo from her and started massaging it into her hair, she nearly moaned. When he told her to stand under the spray and rinse, she felt his cock brush slightly against her hip. She froze.