Authors: RJ Scott
Then she left, and Jack and Riley stood there in silent shock. Until abruptly Riley snorted his coffee all over the table and they fell about laughing. Well, laughing as quietly as they could, only stopping when Carol came in with a fractious Lexie in her arms. Riley took Lexie immediately while Carol warmed a bottle. Lexie and Connor were coming up for eighteen months and usually slept through the night now. Well, mostly.
Jack held out his hands. He needed a Lexie hug. Riley didn’t argue, passing their daughter to him and rising to make coffee.
Jack rocked Lexie, then gave her the bottle when it was warmed through. He inhaled the scent of Lexie: all baby powder and cute. He hummed as she drank and promised Carol that he and Riley would put her back in her crib.
When it was the two of them, in their room, with Riley trailing kisses across Jack’s chest, Jack finally relaxed.
One day Hayley would be leaving them, then the twins, and someday maybe even Max. But for now everyone was here under this roof, and Jack could look after them all. And that was exactly what he wanted—and needed.
He flipped them so that he was straddling Riley, looking down at this beautiful man who held his heart, and thanking the heavens that he was here.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“You too,” Riley said back. “Now, how about showing me?”
So Jack did.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Riley reached for his cell, prodding the screen randomly until the ringing stopped. He and Jack had been talking about the Valentine’s dance until all hours. Well, that and making love, and Riley was on his way to exhausted.
“Izit?” Jack murmured from his side. He didn’t sound completely awake and the soft snore added punctuation to the sleepy question.
Riley checked Jack’s phone—just after four in the morning—and Josh’s number showed as a missed call.
“S’missed call,” he murmured.
Jack rolled over and they became entangled in covers. Finally Jack had his cell. He stared at it blearily for a few seconds, but Riley was wide awake now and decided to take over calling the missed number.
“Josh, it’s Riley,” he said immediately.
“Riley, sorry to wake you. I’ve had to take Anna to the hospital.”
Riley sat upright and passed the phone to Jack. “Anna’s in the hospital,” he managed to explain.
Jack took the phone immediately, abruptly wide awake himself. Riley couldn’t hear the other end of the call and waited impatiently while listening to Jack.
“Josh. … Okay. … No, I’m coming. … Okay. … She’s what? … An hour. … Bye.” Jack’s expression alternated between shocked and determined, and when he ended the call, Riley didn’t hesitate; he rolled up and off the bed with Jack.
“What happened?”
“Anna’s at Mercy. She’s pregnant, but she’s bleeding.”
Riley continued to get dressed. “What does that mean?”
Jack shook his head, “Josh didn’t say.”
“Did you know she was pregnant?” Riley cursed as he fumbled at the buttons on his jeans. Finally he gave up, not caring if the button was in the right hole or not.
“No. I guess it’s early on.”
“Fuck, go in, will you….” A button caught on his shirt, and he ripped the material from it.
Jack placed a hand on his. “Slow down, Riley.”
Riley looked directly into blue eyes. “Why are you so calm?” He knew he wouldn’t be if he’d had a call about Eden being in the hospital at ass o’clock.
“Because Josh is calm.” Jack shrugged. “Inside I’m worried to hell, but I have to work hard now to keep my in-control game face on. Now, I’ll get the car. You tell Carol.”
Riley grabbed phone and wallet and went straight to the door that led to Carol’s apartment. She answered almost immediately.
“What’s wrong?”
“Anna. I don’t know.”
Carol pulled her gown around her. “We’ll be okay. Go.”
Jack already had the car started. Riley buckled up as they took the road off the D.
Jack mostly drove in silence, and all the way to the hospital, Riley played back the words: Anna was in the hospital, something about a baby and bleeding. The only indication that his stoic husband was worried was the white knuckles where he gripped the steering wheel tight.
“Everything will be okay,” Riley said. He wasn’t entirely sure who he was reassuring, himself or Jack. He placed a hand on Jack’s arm and squeezed.
“I just want to get there,” Jack replied. Seemed that was all Jack was going to give in the way of worry.
The ER was quiet, eerily quiet, but Jack spotted Josh standing at the far end. He was pacing outside a closed door, and he jumped a mile as Jack nearly barreled into him. They hugged really tight, Jack murmuring words into Josh’s ear.
“What happened?” Riley said.
Josh, his eyes wide, his face pale, stared at Riley. “She was bleeding heavily and had this awful pain, and she got up to go the bathroom, and she fainted.”
“Will she be okay?”
Josh shook his head. “They…. The baby, Jack.”
Riley wanted to know it all, every second of what his sister-in-law was going through, but all he could see was the panic and the fear in Josh. Jack needed to be the strong one for his brother, but seeing the two brothers together, they were a hell of a lot more put together than Riley felt.
“Did you phone Mom?” Jack asked.
“Straight after you,” Josh said.
“And Beth?”
“Her too. Steve answered. She’s only just fallen asleep. Cam had a restless night so far, so I told him not to wake her.” He looked at Jack like he was asking for approval.
“That’s for the best,” Jack answered.
Josh looked relieved. The two brothers looked after Beth, worried about her, protected her, and Riley imagined that would never stop.
“They won’t tell me anything,” Josh said.
Riley paced a little then sat in one of the seats opposite, wriggling to get his large frame comfortable in the bright orange chairs.
“Not even what this could be?” Jack asked.
Josh shook his head. “They said it could be an ectopic pregnancy.” He hunched over a little, saying the words clearly hurt.
Riley recalled everything about ectopic pregnancy from his baby books when their surrogate, Rebecca, had been pregnant. Another one of those things on the list to look out for and to worry about—the fertilized egg implanted somewhere other than the uterus. What he remembered in graphic detail was that this kind of problem could be life-threatening. He couldn’t consider that now; he had to focus on the fact his sister-in-law was in the hospital and that everything had to be okay.
Jack rested a hand on his brother’s knee. “How many weeks is she?”
“Eight,” Josh said. He hunched over. Abruptly all the Campbell bravery and stoicism was escaping him, and he had his arms across his belly, hugging himself. “We hadn’t told anyone because it wasn’t planned and she’s worrying every day about being too old.”
“She’s still young,” Riley defended. He subsided when he realized he didn’t really need to say anything at all. Anna’s age was irrelevant here.
Josh looked up at Jack. “I’m sorry.”
Jack frowned at him. “Sorry for what?”
“Us not telling anyone. Maybe if we had, she wouldn’t be ill….” He trailed away and confusion filled his expression. “I don’t know why I said that.”
Riley sat quietly for a while; he’d never seen Josh so confused and out of it, and he wanted to be doing something positive, but he couldn’t. Adrenaline and the need for action pumped through his system. The Hayes family had their share of middle-of-the-night emergencies, and Riley always handled them by being in the center of things. Sitting here, he felt powerless. He couldn’t sit like this. He stood up. Someone must know what was happening. He could hear noises the other side of the damn door, and surely if he pushed through….
Jack’s hand on his arm was enough to stop him. He spun to face him fully, saw understanding in Jack’s expression, and immediately calmed down from his “need to do something, anything” move.
“Josh?” Donna’s voice came from behind them, and she pulled Josh into a hug. Neil was there, and he didn’t hold back on his support, hugging Josh as well.
“Do we know anything else yet?” Donna asked.
Neil squeezed her hand and put a protective arm around her shoulder.
“Nothing, other than the bleeding and pain,” Josh replied.
“Josh, bleeding in the first trimester is something that happens.”
“But what about the pain and the fainting? She’s never had trouble with being pregnant before.”
“Everything will be okay.” Donna was firm. “I refuse to believe otherwise.”
“Do you need to call anyone else?” Riley asked. “Can I do anything?”
“I don’t want another baby. Not if it hurts Anna,” Josh said. His voice was broken and harsh, like he was on the edge of tears. “I love my children,” he looked up, and Riley saw naked fear on his face. “I can’t imagine life without her. I don’t want a life without her.”
No one said anything. Not one of them gave empty promises that Anna would be okay. Riley looked at Jack’s expression, at the worry and concern there, and at Josh, who looked pale. Was it selfish of any of them to think of Anna first then the baby? Until tonight, he and Jack hadn’t known there
was
a baby. All Riley could think was “Please let Anna be okay.”
They sat for at least half an hour, and for that entire time, Jack held Riley’s hand. When the door opened, Jack was as quick to his feet as Josh. A nurse came out. She nodded at all three men. “Joshua Campbell?”
“Me,” Josh said. “Did she…? My wife….”
The nurse looked from him to the rest of them, and Riley’s chest tightened. He could imagine the fear in Josh. “Everything is fine. Your wife has a kidney infection, not an uncommon thing, and that caused the pain and the dizziness. The bleeding wasn’t connected, but she appears to be absolutely fine.”
“Not an ectopic pregnancy?” Josh asked.
“No. Baby is fine. And mother will be.”
Josh swallowed. “Can I see her?”
“She’s sleeping, but if you follow me, I can take you back.”
Josh looked at Jack, who gestured with his hand. “Go. We’ll be here,” Jack said.
Josh closed his eyes briefly, then nodded. “I’ll come back out when I… when….” He couldn’t get the words out and mutely followed the nurse through the door, the closing of which seemed so final.
“Thank goodness,” Donna murmured, as if as soon as Josh left, she could allow her own fear out.
Neil stood. “I’ll get us all coffee.”
The drive home was slower than the middle-of-the-night race, and they had left a smiling Anna with hugs and best wishes. Jack and Josh sat with Anna for a while, and Beth arrived a little after eight a.m. The dynamic of the Campbell siblings was support and love; it always had been, and it always would be. Riley texted Eli the news that everything was okay, and sent a quick text to Eden explaining what had happened. He added a
love you
at the end.
Eli met them at the door. “Thanks for the text,” he said. Then to Jack, “I’m glad she’s okay.”
Hayley was at the kitchen table, with the twins in high chairs on either side.
“Max was here,” she said, “but he couldn’t sit still much longer.”
Riley’s heart melted. “You waited for us?”
Hayley bit her lower lip. “We wanted to.” She gestured to Lexie, who was chewing on a multicolored textured octopus, and to Connor, who had fallen asleep head first on the tray of his seat. At any other time, this would be funny. “Is Aunty Anna really okay?”
Lexie held up her arms to be lifted. Riley was there first, unclicking the belt and cradling her in his arms.
Riley held her close and nodded to Hayley. “She’ll be fine.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“When can I visit?”
“She’ll be home tomorrow. We’ll take you there.”
Hayley came round and hugged Jack, then Riley and Lexie.
Riley held tight. So sue him if he held on a little too tight. If he had his way, he would never let go.
CHAPTER NINE
“Pappa, can you go in and help Dad find something?”
Jack looked up from under the barbecue and knocked his head on a protruding metal part. The damn thing hadn’t been right since Riley sat on it at the last family gathering. Of course, Riley had blamed Josh for how his heavy ass had somehow ended up sprawled on the barbecue. It got to be a standing joke that Riley had saved everyone from burnt offerings by breaking Jack’s pride and joy. The barbecue today had been Riley’s idea. A way of getting the entire family together. Secretly Jack thought that Riley wanted to do this for him so that he could see Anna and check she was okay without being too obvious.
Jack rubbed his head and slid out from under the brickwork. “What’s he looking for?”
Hayley shrugged. “Something or other for the barbecue.”
“He does realize I need to fix the barbecue before we can cook anything?”
“He said it was important. Was all sad and stuff.” Hayley frowned as she spoke.
Riley? Sad?
Last he’d seen Riley, he was moving furniture and pawing through boxes in storage; he’d seemed pretty happy then.
Jack stood and ruffled Hayley’s hair. “I’ll go find him. Tell Uncle Josh not to start until I check it’s okay.” He gestured at the barbecue that he’d built with Josh when they were teenagers. It wasn’t the prettiest affair: metal grillwork, and bricks, but it was solid.
“Okay.” Hayley ducked as Jack went to ruffle her hair again. She patted the length of it back into place and narrowed her eyes at her dad. “This took me a long time,” she informed him.
Jack chuckled, Logan would be here today, and that was probably why Hayley, more interested in jeans on the weekend, was wearing a scarlet dress. It also explained why her long blond hair was pulled back at either side with clips and brushed until it gleamed in the sun.
He climbed the steps of the new wraparound porch, now all finished and sanded, and entered the cool kitchen, wondering where Riley was. Not that the house was huge, but he could be with Max, or in the good room, or in the office.