I shot him a glare, but before I could rip him a new one, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Slipping it out, a text from Callan lit up the screen.
Callan: We’re still waiting for the doctor in the back. Sorry it’s taking so long. Avery okay?
A glance inside the front window showed Avery sitting on Oakley’s lap, head resting against her shoulder.
Me: She’s good. Looks tired, though. I can bring her to my place, let her sleep over
Callan: That’d be a lifesaver. Mom has a spare booster in the truck. I’ll come get her in the morning
Me: Sounds good. I’ll let you know once she’s all tucked in
Callan: I owe you
Sliding the phone into my jeans pocket, I looked down to find a worried Parker staring up at me. “How is she?”
“She’s okay. Just waiting for the doctor.” I couldn’t fight it any longer as I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her close. Her skin was ice as I said to the guys, “We’re gonna head out. Avery’s staying at my place since Cal and Sage are going to be there for a while.”
“How many stitches?” Bailey asked, a white puff of air forming with his words from the cold.
“Not sure yet.” I turned Parker in the direction of the door, but she stopped me. She set a hand on my arm, and I dropped it.
She stepped in front of Reed, and he met her gaze. “I know you worry about him. But I’d never intentionally hurt your brother.”
“He hasn’t been the same since you left, Parker.”
His response pissed me off, and I nearly stepped between the two before he added, “But I have hope this time. Just…be gentle with him.”
Reed took the number-one seat for the hardest tobreak of the Bronson brothers, but over time, Brandy had softened him. I really should thank her, because if he had said anything to upset Parker, we would’ve had a redo of this past summer.
Parker tilted her chin up, so much promise in those eyes of hers. “I will.”
13
PARKER
Soft snores filtered in from the back of the truck as Beckham slowed at the turn for his house. I’d figured Avery would fall asleep on the way, if the number of yawns before we left were any indication. I could play off my silence as being considerate while she slept, but really, I was nervous.
I hadn’t been sure what to expect from the conversation with his brothers, but Reed being pissed wasn’t on my bingo card. Sure, the man had always been a grump, but never toward me. That, paired with how I hadn’t felt like I was imposing until I walked in on them talking about me, had my emotions on edge.
I’d put on a brave face, but with my hormones, I was doing all I could to hold the impending tears at bay.
After parking in his usual spot, Beckham came around to open my door before doing the same to Avery’s. He didn’t hesitate as he reached across the sleeping girl to unbuckle her and gently scoop her intohis arms. I quietly closed both doors and tried not to focus on the way Beckham’s biceps flexed with Avery in his hold.
Like he’d done it a dozen times, he unlocked and opened the front door using the hand under her legs, then swung it open to let me in first. I slipped past him, and he nudged the door shut before heading down the hall in the direction of his bedroom.
Not a single word passed between the two of us.
While I waited on the couch, I checked my phone. A text from two hours ago popped up.
Axel: How are you holding up? You and the baby doing okay?
A strange sense of calm washed over me with my cousin’s check-in. He’d been doing that every so often since I told him I was pregnant and navigating things on my own.
We’d known each other existed while growing up, but with the feud between our fathers, we never met. With free will and the desire to reclaim the things my parents had robbed me of, I’d found Axel’s sad excuse for a Facebook profile and reached out. It’d taken him weeks to respond—something about how technology wasn’t his thing and his teenage daughter was the reason his profile existed to begin with. After that, I’d driven to Midnight Valley to meet them. He was a single dad, so he understood the struggles I would be facing doing this on my own. The difference was Annabelle was sixteen now, and lived for giving him headaches and heart attacks.
I hoped my experience would be a little bit different.
Me: We’re okay. I’m back in Bell Buckle.
