Seb’s hand landed on his shoulder. “It’s not a well kept secret. We know you are, man.”
He chuckled. “Good. So I won’t need to come up with an excuse not to go out for dinner with any of your contacts that you’re wanting to wine and dine for investments? I’ve got an important phone date with my baby mama.”
Sebastian laughed. “There will be no wining and dining required. I’ll also be partaking in the delights of a phone call with my fiancée. The both of us have been so damn busy lately it feels like we’re connecting more over phone calls than?—”
Hawk’s phone vibrated in his hand, and his attention zoomed in on the message his sister had sent him.
If you and Seb are still on the ground, call me. And if you get this after you land… still call me. DO NOT FREAK OUT.
Fuck. Dread spread through his body. Hawk’s fingers squeezed his phone as his knee began to bounce.
“Everything okay?” Sebastian asked, his face set in stone but the concern bleeding into his voice.
“I’m not sure. Give me one sec and I’ll let you know.” Hawk stood, walking towards the wall of windows overlooking the Clarence County Air Field.
Jessie was fine when he left. Fucking glowing from the orgasm he’d given her. She’d given him a kiss—and a smack on the ass—and sent him on his way. She hadn’t been feeling sick. So what could it be? If Mae was telling him not to freak out, she had to know he was going to. Christ, she needed to answer her fucking cell phone before he?—
“Hey, sorry. I just had to step away before I could answer.”His sister’s voice filled the line.
“What’s going on? Is something wrong with Jessie? The baby?”
“God. I told you not to freak out.”
“Tell me.” Hawk’s teeth clenched as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“She’s fine now, we’re just at the hospital and I thought?—”
“What thefuckdo you mean you’re at the hospital?”
“We went on a walk and she said the baby was kicking, so we sat to see if I could feel him, and then she just had this pain. I panicked and called Stone, and he drove us to the hospital.”
Hawk closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose as a cold sweat broke out on the back of his neck.
“What sort of pain, Mae?”
“She said it was sharp. I just remember when I was pregnant, and had pain like that…”Her voice caught and his own throat ached with emotion. Fuck. She thought Jessie was losing the baby.
“Is she still in pain? What’s happening right now?” Hawk turned back to Sebastian, pointing to his bag as soon as his friend’s eyes landed on him. Thankfully, Seb got the message and stood immediately, grabbing both of their bags before stepping towards the wall of windows Hawk was now pacing in front of.
“It only happened a few times over a couple of minutes. She seemed to feel better once she stood up to stretch, but then we were in the sun and she sort of wilted while Stone was checking her over. She wanted to go back to the apartment, but we convinced her to get checked out. Just to be careful,”Mae’s voice caught, and Hawk’s heart sank. His sister’s miscarriage wasn’t something she ever talked with him about, but it was obvious how deeply it had affected her. She was trying to protect Jessie and the baby with everything she had. And the fucking lump in his throat he was trying to swallow past was a clear measure of how much that meant to him.
“We’re still at the air field. I’m going to hop in my truck and come to you. St. Clare’s, right?”
“Yes. But she was very clear. I wasn’t even supposed to tell you about this. Birdie is on her way in and the doctor here is confident that everything is okay. She doesn’t want to mess up the presentation for you and Sebastian.”
“Fuck that. I’ll be there in half an hour.”
“Okay. That should be fine. They’re running some tests, so you’ve got time.”
“Thanks for letting me know. And thanks for being there for her. For both of them.”
“Of course, Hawk. Family is everything. And Jess is family.”
“Yeah. She is,” he cleared his voice and wiped at his eyes. “I’ll see you in a few.”
He slipped his phone back into his pocket, running his hand over his face one last time as he tried to figure out how the hell he was going to let Sebastian down.
“I—” Hawk started to explain when Seb’s hand came out and stopped him right in his tracks.
