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Holy shit! I can’t wrap my head around what Ashley’s telling me. How could the woman I’ve consider one of my best friends for the last seven years stab me in the back like this? Melissa sure is lucky she’s in France at the moment. Otherwise, I’d probably end up in jail for killing her.

“Ashley, I swear to you that none of that’s true—not one bit of it. She made one joke one time at dinner about me taking over her father’s company. I never ever agreed to it or even considered it, and I
never
thought about marrying her. Not ever. I may have lost my mind for a little bit there in the beginning, but I never once thought about asking you to abort our baby. There’s not a chance in hell I’d ever think about doing that, let alone sending Melissa over to try and bully you into it.”

“This is all your fault!” she screams. “God’s punishing you for not wanting this baby, but I’m the one who is paying for it.”

“Ashley, I swear to you I did want this baby. How can you doubt that after the last few months?”

We don’t get any further into the conversation because Nurse Darla suddenly appears.

“I’m so sorry to interrupt,” she says sheepishly when she notices the open box on the bed. “I just came to see if you happened to have a name picked out. I need to finish his certificate, and all that’s missing is a name to put on it.” Her face is filled with anguish as she asks, and I can’t imagine how hard this part of her job must be. Well, I guess I don’t have to since I now know the pain of being the parent in this situation.

“Daniel,” Ashley says without hesitation, and Darla nods before leaving. She must have already known the baby was a boy and been considering names without me.

He had always been Sammy in my dreams, but Daniel’s nice too.

“That’s a good name,” I say, our argument momentarily forgotten.

We sit in silence, staring at the box containing the blanket and hat from the picture, as well as the picture itself.

Darla comes back about five minutes later, holding some kind of certificate in her hands. I immediately notice the footprints on it and can’t tear my eyes away from them—those tiny little footprints, no bigger than half my pinky finger. I feel the tears trickling down my face.

Without warning, Ashley lets out the nastiest snarl I’ve heard. “You bastard!”

I stare at her, having no idea what I’ve done this time. “He wasn’t a Garrison. He was a Mitchell.”

It’s then that I notice the name at the top of the paper she’s holding in her hand: Daniel Garrison.

“I had nothing to do with this… but he was a Garrison, Ashley.” Was she really not going to give my son my last name?

“No, he wasn’t,” she growls at me. “He was mine! MINE!”

“Whoa! What the hell is going on?” Quinn asks, appearing in the doorway.

“This asshole had them give Daniel his last name.” Ashley sobs as Quinn approaches the bed.

“No, he didn’t,” Quinn says with a soft sternness. “I was the one who filled out the paperwork while you were still unconscious. I listed him as the father. They’d probably written Tanner’s last name as the baby’s in the paperwork before you’d even woken up.”

“How could you do that to me?” Ashley cries into her hands and mumbles to herself.

Quinn leans closer to Ashley, whispering in her ear, but I honestly don’t think Ashley hears a word she’s saying.

Quinn nods toward the door. “I think you need to give us a little bit.”

I shake my head as I mouth out, “Waiting room.” I’m not going home to my comfortable house while Ashley’s stuck here during the worst thing that’s ever happened to her. I’ll give Quinn the space she needs to get Ashley calmed down, but I’m not going anywhere.

Chapter 17

Tanner

It’s been two days since Ashley’s meltdown over Daniel’s last name. When Quinn had come out the room after calming Ashley down, she told me Ashley doesn’t want me here. It wasn’t a surprise, but I could see how hard it was for Quinn to say that to me. No matter how many times I insist it’s not her fault, she keeps apologizing.

Since being banned from her room, I’ve taken up residency in the waiting room, which is thankfully pretty empty most of the time. The hospital staff has been really good at keeping the attention swirling around my presence here from generating a crowd. Apparently, Alex asked Davis to get in touch with some head of something or other, and so far, the extra security staff he hired has kept any crazy super-fans out, which is impressive since I’m in such a public place.

The waiting room is quiet but covered in fucking Valentine’s Day decorations. This is the first Valentine’s Day on which I’ve ever been able to say I love someone… and she wants nothing to do me. I would love nothing more than to fawn all over her today and celebrate our love, to see her face covered in the same delight as that of the nurses who’ve been receiving flowers all day. Some have gotten balloons, some candy. One even comes back to the nurses’ station with a big-ass teddy bear from a patient, holding a heart that reads,
I love you.
It reminds me that our love is one-sided. I love Ashley, and she hates me. Even so, while she might not want me here, there’s nowhere else I want to be. If I’m being honest, I have to admit I’m holding out hope that she’ll break down and want me by her side. It won’t happen, but I need to hope for something, or I’ll go insane.

Her parents came to see her yesterday, and reality sunk in a little for me. I’m really screwed if she’d rather see her mother than me. Not knowing what Ashley’s told them about us, I made myself scarce so her parents wouldn’t see me and ask questions. Quinn had already told me that Ashley never mentioned the baby to them, and I didn’t want to make things worse by accidentally saying something I shouldn’t. They didn’t stay long, but I avoided the waiting room for a while in case they decided to hang around. Instead, I hid out in the little coffee area meant for the nurses where I could covertly keep an eye on things since it wasn’t a good idea for me to go roaming the hospital. They never did head to the waiting area though. They just stood in the hallway outside Ashley’s room, only two doors up the hall from the coffee cove, criticizing her, and I finally got to see firsthand why Ashley doesn’t speak with her mother. I’d been close enough to catch quite an earful.

“I just don’t understand what she was doing out that late at night. Why did she get that job as a waitress? If she would’ve just listened to me years ago and chosen a different career, she would’ve never had the need for another job,” her mother had said to her father, her voice full of disdain as she finished her little tirade. Then the two headed down the hallway and didn’t come back.

Now, I’m back in the waiting area, sitting amid the paper hearts and streamers, thinking about how those people are the polar opposite of my parents. I can’t wrap my head around how Ashley’s mother could be so awful to her. She’s a great person who’s great at her job—a job she really loves.

When I look up, I see my own wonderful parents walking toward me.

“What are you doing out here?” Ma asks before pulling me into a hug.

“She doesn’t want to see me. What are you guys doing here?” I ask. I hadn’t been expecting them to come.

Ma holds up a large brown paper bag that looks as if it holds enough food for the entire floor. “I wanted to bring you something to eat. I know you most likely haven’t been eating.” She smiles softly. “I’m so sorry she won’t let you see her, honey.”

“I admire your will to stay here and wait it out in case she changes her mind. You’re a good man, Son,” my father says proudly.

Somehow, I don’t feel as though I’ve made him very proud though.

“Not good enough. This is all my fault,” I tell him, choking back the sorrow. I’m not ready to break down again. I need to be strong for Ashley, even if she doesn’t think she needs me. I need her, and focusing on her gives me something to do.

“It is not,” my parents say in unison.

“This was the fault of some asshole who thought he was better than calling a damn cab,” Ma says with so much disgust in her voice it startles me.

“That asshole just pled guilty,” a voice I don’t immediately recognize says from behind us. I turn around and find myself face-to-face with the detective handling Ashley’s case.

“Detective,” I say, shaking his hand. I can’t remember his name for the life of me.

“I’ve already informed Ms. Mitchell and Ms. Taylor. Mr. Michaels, the driver of the other vehicle, pleaded guilty early this morning on the advisement of his attorney. He was offered a deal of ten years. The evidence was there. He wasn’t getting out of it, but the prosecutor didn’t want to take any chances. It’s ten years flat, no possibility of parole,” he says.

“That’s it?” Ma asks, sounding appalled.

I can’t say that I disagree with her.

“There was a chance he could’ve gotten less time with a trial. This was also to prevent Ashley from ever having to set foot in a courtroom to relive that night,” he explains.

“Well thank goodness for that, but it still doesn’t seem like enough. That man killed my grandson,” Ma points out as if we all hadn’t already known that.

“Margaret,” my father chides.

“Sorry, sweetie,” she says as she rubs my arm.

“It’s okay, Ma,” I say before returning my attention to the detective. “Was Ashley okay with the plea bargain?”

“She was once I explain it saved her from court,” he says.

“Okay, then. Thank you,” I say, offering my hand to him again.

“My pleasure,” he says, taking my hand. “If it were up to me, people like him would never see the light of day again.”

I nod, watching him walk off down the hallway. My sentiments exactly.

“Tanner,” Ma says. “You’re allowed to feel, too. Ashley isn’t the only one who lost him. You can’t keep everything all bottled up. Make sure you take time to grieve.”

“I know,” I say, even though I don’t agree.

“Okay, well, we’d better get going. You call us if you need anything,” Dad says, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and giving me a squeeze.

“Yes, I will. Thanks guys.” I smile grimly at their backs as they walk away.

“Oh, and honey,” Ma says, turning back to face me once more. “Melissa’s been trying to get in touch with you. She’s worried. You should give her a call.”

“Ma, don’t take anymore of her calls. She’s not what she seems,” I say, my tone serious.

Ma furrows her brow. “What does that mean?”

“She went to Ashley’s and told her I wanted her to have an abortion,” I explain, my suppressed anger rising to the surface. I still haven’t decided how I want to deal with Melissa, but I will. Oh, I will…

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Ma gasps.

I sigh, a feeling of sorrow washing over me. “I wish. Ashley spent the last two months thinking I wanted her to get rid of him.” I can’t help thinking that if Ashley had just confronted me sooner about it, things could have turned out differently.

“No wonder Melissa kept asking about the baby.” Ma sighs. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay, Ma,” I say hugging her. “Just don’t take anymore of her calls,”

“I won’t.” She nods and takes my father’s hand before they head off down the hall again.

I find my way back to the chair that practically has my ass-print permanently ingrained in it and wait. I’m not sure what I’m waiting for. In the silence, I find my mind going blank, which I’m grateful for. It’s nice to hear nothing from time to time in the midst of all the chaos. I know I should probably get back to handling all the mundane details of my life, like dealing with Davis, but I’m not ready yet. Right now, I just want to sit in silence.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been enjoying my solitude when Quinn appears. Every time she comes out to talk to me, I hope it’s to tell me that Ash has changed her mind and is asking for me, but that’s never the case.

“As long as everything stays the same through the night, they’re going to let her leave tomorrow,” she informs me.

I nod. Sensing there’s more coming. I ask, “And?”

“We need to start planning a service for Daniel,” she says sadly.

“Okay, whatever Ashley wants. I’ll take of everything,” I say.

“Okay, I’ll keep you posted,” she says before heading back into Ashley’s room.

Chapter 18

Ashley

I try to avoid Tanner and his family the best I can, but with them making up about eighty percent of the people at Daniel’s funeral, it’s pretty hard. His parents are both here, along with two small families that I assume are his sisters’. There’s a young woman with her husband and daughter, and there’s another couple next to them with two older children. Alex is also a part of the group. Hell, the whole football team probably would have shown up if it wouldn’t have brought the paparazzi down on us like a swarm of locusts.

I just wish I could have a break from him and his guilt-fueled concern for me. I hate him and everything he reminds me of, and every time I have to look him, all the pain comes flooding back.

The only people here for me are Quinn and some co-workers from the bar and the paper. I never bothered to tell my parents when I found out about the baby, so why tell them about losing him either? Quinn knew not to mention anything in front of them, and I’m sure that she said as much to Alex and Tanner.