“A little while. I was handling it.”
Vane shook his head, and I suspected he wanted to say something, but he put his foot on the accelerator when the light we were sitting at turned green. We shot forward, and he finally managed to get out of the majority of the traffic to head straight toward Walnut Creek Hospital.
“We’re not going to talk about this right now,” he said again as he steered into another lane and passed a particularly slow Toyota. I glanced into the window of the car on the way past, and an elderly lady turned to look at me at the same time. She raised her hand in a wave, and I smiled, giving her one back.
“Are you angry?” I whispered, afraid I’d fucked this all up. Vane could lose his job just like Jean-Paul had said, and so could I.
He cleared his throat and then sighed. “No, I’m not. I mean it. We’ll talk later. This kind of stress isn’t good for the baby.”
I smiled because I couldn’t not, and he grinned back at me. “No, it’s not.”
He pulled into the parking garage near the hospital. We found a space on the second level, and he managed to steal it from another person who was racing toward it. He gave my hand another squeeze and raised it to his mouth, kissing the back of it. I hadn’t realized he’d never let it go the entire drive here.
“Come on. Let’s see if your father is okay.”
12
Vane
Jax sat in his seat with the bright morning sun beating on his sickly pale face until I went around to his side of the car and opened the door for him. When he glanced up at me with a pinched frown and fear in his eyes, the last of my vague thoughts of dumping him at the front doors and running like a bat out of hell went up in flames.
Was being seen in public like this with him smart?No.Was I fucking pissed off about that little fucker who I’d heard threatening us?Yes, I fucking am.I was sure there was more to the story than what I’d managed to overhear, and if circumstances were different, I would have gone in there and let that little fuck know exactly what kind of a nightmare I could turn his life into for screwing with my boy. My plans for revenge would have to wait; Jaxson looked at me with big shiny eyes that he blinked like he was ready to cry, and I was surprised by how badly I wanted to make sure those tears never fell. First of all, he would be humiliated by showing that much emotion in front of strangers, I was sure of it, and second of all… I never wanted him to feel bad.
Goddamn it.
This entanglement with Jaxson wasn’t smart on a personal level, for multiple reasons, and it was a fucking fact I should step back. Instead, I held out my hand for him, and he took it. I hefted him to his feet and wrapped an arm around him when he didn’t seem quite like he’d stay upright. Pulling him close, I held him while he shivered in my arms and hid his face against my neck.
“I’m here for you, Jaxson,” I murmured.
His shoulders trembled. “I thought you’d tell me everything is going to be okay.”
The awful reality of the situation pushed in around us and seemed to loom like a weight pressing down on my chest. I’d had two separate days like this when I was too young to deal with them, and no one had held me. Adrenaline smashed through my veins and had me cradling him tighter. I pressed a rough kiss to his temple.
“It might not be all right, but I’m here, okay? I’m here.”
He nodded and sniffed, and that was my cue to kiss him again in the hope I would stop any actual waterworks—because I was the least qualified human on the planet to deal with that. I turned and kept my arm around him, herding him toward the hospital.
We fought traffic to get across the street and then went through the front doors. Straight forward from the entranceway was a desk. The boy sitting there tapping away at his keyboard ignored us for about a minute, perhaps hoping we would change our minds and go away. He had short, shiny black hair that looked like it would be soft to grab onto, and a pretty pout on his plush pink lips that had me looking for a few seconds. But I was in for another terrible shock. I didn’t want to size him up against Jaxson. I didn’t want to compare them and decide whether or not I should trade up.
I was content, dare I say even happy?
I gave Jaxson a little squeeze. “My boyfriend’s father might be dying while you sit there wasting oxygen,” I snarled and slapped a hand on the desk. The boy finally lifted his eyes to me and nodded, that pout of his turning into more of a frown.
“Name?”
Jaxson told him and he sighed and pecked at the keyboard, leaning toward it, squinting. I wanted to scream by the time he sat back. “He’s been moved to surgery,” he said in a bored tone that made me want to pick that keyboard up and bash him on the head. “Second floor.”
Jaxson rested his head against my chest, and I wanted to yell at the kid who couldn’t act more like he didn’t give a fuck about Jaxson’s father. There was no way I should give in to my urge to raise hell. Not only would me yelling draw attention to us, but it would also only make Jaxson feel worse. I contented myself with shooting the kid a nasty glare and then guided Jaxson toward the elevators.
The ride upstairs wasn’t long. In no time we were heading down a short hallway toward a waiting room. The turn into a small alcove full of chairs brought us into sight of a woman with long brown hair and rosy cheeks. She wore what looked like a gas station uniform, and her face was a long oval shape like Jaxson’s. We were practically at her side before it ever occurred to me to brace for such a thing: meeting one of his parents. I’d been so worried about Jaxson, it hadn’t occurred to me to stress about his family learning about us. She was nodding at a tall bald doctor who leaned closer to her with a clipboard between them that he was pointing at.
“Mom?” Jaxson called as we approached, and when she turned to him her face crumpled. He left my side to hug her, and I stood there feeling out of place while she rubbed his back. He made a terrible sound that was, again, almost crying, but not quite. With a sniffle, he stepped back from her and swiped his thumbs under his eyes. I was shocked when he was right back at my side, but also happy to offer support. I wrapped both my arms around him, nearly crushing his body to mine as he leaned his shoulder against my front.
“Who is this?” his mother asked. Her eyes were bright and curious, and while I’d never met his dad, I knew that serious expression. Jaxson was definitely her son.
The longer he didn’t say anything, the harder her jaw became.
“Jaxson,” I whispered and gave him a little shake.
