JJ’s eyes lit up when Brantley stood tall, her gaze sliding to Baz.“Don’t I know it.”
Reese started toward the door with Brantley beside him, glancing back at JJ when he said, “If you think of anything you need, holler at us.If we don’t make it by tonight, we’ll do our best to come back in the mornin’.”
“Do we have to come back?”Brantley joked in a conspiratorial whisper.
“Hey!I heard that.”
“Love you!Keep those babies cookin’ a little longer,” Brantley tossed back before urging Reese out the door with Tesha trotting at Reese’s side.
Once in the hallway, Brantley laughed.“Is it me, or does she get grumpier with each passing day?”
“Can you blame her?She’s cooped up in that room day and night.”
“It was her choice.”
“Only because she didn’t want strangers traipsing through her house.”
She’d had two choices: stay at the hospital in a fancy suite paid for by Wes Buchanan or go home and have a nurse—the aforementioned stranger—who would take care of everything she needed.Because of all she’d endured recently, JJ had opted for the hospital stay because she was uncomfortable with people she didn’t know being in her house.But it wasn’t like she was being held prisoner.She could leave the hospital if she absolutely wanted to—although it would be against medical advice.
A flash of memory had a cold chill snaking down his spine.Reese shook his head to dislodge the image, but it took root.An underground concrete cage with no way out.Endless days and nights.Extreme heat, bitter cold.
Brantley’s voice jarred him back to the present.“It’s only been nine days.”
“You say that like you’d last five minutes in that bed.”
“I would if you were naked and in it with me.”
Realizing there was a nurse sitting at the desk, Reese felt his cheeks heat.She had a phone receiver to her ear and probably hadn’t heard the comment, but still.
“The good news is,” Brantley continued, “Dr.Tinder said the babies are doing okay.”
True.For now.To keep them that way, JJ’s doctor put her on bed rest until her due date, which was still four weeks away.While everyone was praying to whatever higher power they believed in, the fact was those babies could be born any minute now.
Half an hour later, as they were pulling out of the Whataburger drive-thru with their breakfast quickly cooling in a white and orange paper sack, Brantley glanced his way.
“How long do you think she’ll last?I mean, really last?I’m sure she’s dangerously close to leveling the hospital, and it hasn’t even been two weeks.”
Reese took a sip of his coffee, peered over.“I’m sure the walls will hold.Even against her wrath.”
“You really think she’ll make it four more weeks?”
Reese gave a quick shake of his head.“I’ll give it till the end of the week.”
“Before she blows a gasket?Or before the babies are born?”
“Babies.”
Brantley cocked an eyebrow.“You care to wager on that?”
Reese huffed a laugh.“I amnotwagerin’ on JJ’s health.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
As was the case for everyone close to JJ, Reese was hoping the twins would make it full term, but according to Baz, that wasn’t likely to happen.The soon-to-be father had been reading up on this stuff and was now a walking encyclopedia of potential problems that could arise, none of which made for a good night’s sleep, he was sure.Reese damn sure didn’t envy the man.
“Regardless,” Reese said as he lifted the lid on his coffee, “we’ve gotta get the baby shower done.”
Brantley leaned back, resting one hand on the steering wheel.“You know I’m not gonna do it, right?”
