Begin Again (14 page)

“If it’s her appendix will she need surgery?” Journey could feel the tears filling her eyes.

“Yes, and the sooner the better. A tech will be in soon to take her for her CT. You’re welcome to go with her as well. When did she last have something to eat or drink?”

“Around six tonight, but I think she threw up everything that she ate.”

“Okay, that helps, thank you. I’ve put a rush on her CT, so as soon as it’s done they’ll read it and we can get the ball rolling. Do you have any questions for me?”

“Not right now, but thank you.”

Two hours later
, Journey was ready to climb the walls. She’d been like that since they’d taken Abby back for an appendectomy. She tried to send Dylan and his dad home, but neither of them budged. Stacy and Bellamy both texted her, telling her that they were thinking about them and if Abby was up for visitors they’d come see her tomorrow. They both were very sweet. She’d talked to Ruth and told her she could lie down in her room and that the baby monitor was in there. She promised Ruth that she’d call her in the morning and let her know how Abby was doing.

“Here’s some water
, baby. Why don’t you come sit down?” Dylan said as he wrapped his arms around her. “All this pacing isn’t going to make it go any faster.”

“I know, but she just looked so tiny in that bed and she’s all alone.”

Exhaustion made her weepy and soon she was crying into Dylan’s chest. She took comfort in the strength he was giving her. Dylan never stopped holding her as she cried. It made her realize that she made the right decision giving Dylan a chance. The fact that his parents dropped everything to come sit with Joey and to give them a ride meant so much to her. When Abby was recovered she’d do something to show her appreciation.

Abby never got sick. Sure, she had the occasional cold or earache, but she’d never been as sick as she was earlier.
She could admit that when Abby had gotten sick she panicked, but not Dylan, her hero. He was so gentle with her and her little girl clung to him like a lifeline. When they had been brought into the exam room she wanted either her or Dylan, even when Nan came down to visit she wouldn’t leave Dylan’s lap.

Dylan brought her out of her thoughts when he grabbed her face in his hands.
He kissed her forehead softly. She looked up into his eyes, seeing something that she didn’t quite understand, but whatever it was made her heart beat a rapid staccato in her chest. His thumbs wiped away her tears and she let out a sigh.

“Ms. Cummings?” They both turned around
as Abby’s surgeon, Dr. Massey, walked into the waiting room.

“How is she?” Journey asked as Dylan wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“She did great. We were able to remove it with a laparoscope. We’ll keep her for a couple of days to monitor her, but she should be back to tip-top shape in no time. She’s in recovery right now, but you should be able to go back and see her shortly. I’ll be by tomorrow to check on her. You folks have a good night.” She shook his hand and Dylan did as well.

“Thank you so much
, doctor.” As soon as the doctor left the room Journey threwher arms around Dylan. “She’s going to be okay.
”

Charlie came over to give her a hug, and then exc
used himself to call Ruth. Since she knew Abby was going to be okay Journey was finally able to sit down. Now all they had to do was to wait for them to say they could go see Abby.

Chapter Eleven

Journey stretched out in the bed while Abby still slept. The bed was certainly not built for two, but Abby wouldn’t let Journey get off of the bed.
If she  had her way, she would’ve had Dylan in there, too. She lifted her head to see Dylan fast asleep in a chair that did not look comfortable. She had tried to convince him to go back to her place, but he just ignored her and settled in. His sock covered feet were resting at the end of Abby’s bed.

She got out of the bed and went to the bathroom.
After she quickly relieved herself, she washed her hands, and then gave herself a once over in the mirror. She quickly finger-combed her hair and threw it into a bun on top of her head. Using one of the toothbrushes they brought her, she brushed her teeth and felt somewhat human again. Dylan was standing outside the door when she opened it.

“Hey
, honey, how did you sleep?” She wrapped her arms around him.

“I’ve slept better, but I wasn’t going to leave my girls.
” Her heart may have fluttered a little bit when he called her and Abby his girls. “My dad’s on his way, so I’m going to have him take me to my truck. I’ll go check on my mom and Joey and I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Do you need me to bring you anything?”

“If you’ve got stuff to do today
, you don’t need to come back. If you could just keep an eye on Joey until Nan gets some sle—” His hand over mouth stopped her from talking.

“Baby, listen to me.
My mom and sisters are going to help with Joey until Nan is free. I’ll bring you some clothes when I come back in two hours. Deal with it.” He pulled his hand away and kissed her quick and hard on the lips. “Are we clear?”

Journey nodded her head.
“Can you bring her dolly? She’ll be in her bed dressed in a nightgown.”

“
Sure. Is there anything you need?”

Who was this guy? He was so sweet and taking such good care of them.
He went into the bathroom, smiling at her as he shut the door. Journey went over to the bed, smoothing Abby’s hair away from her face. Her little angel had slept all through the night, which they said could happen after the anesthesia. They had warned her that Abby could get sick afterwards, but so far she hadn’t.

A minute later Dylan stepped out of the bathroom.
He came over to her, kissing her. She could taste the minty flavor of the toothpaste. He pulled away looking down at Abby.

“My dad just texted me
; he’s downstairs waiting. I’ll call you when I’m on my way so you can let me know if you girls need anything.” He dropped another kiss on her lips and then bent down placing a kiss on Abby’s forehead. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

***

Dylan got to Journey’s house about an hour after he left the hospital. Before he went there he went home to shower and change. He threw some clothes in his bag because he planned on staying at her house with Joey that evening. His mom greeted him at the door with Joey in her arms.

“Hey
, Mom.” He leaned down to kiss her cheek. Joey reached for him and he scooped up his little man in his arms. “What’s up, little man?” He followed his mom into the house.

“How’s Abby?” She grabbed him a cup of coffee.

“She was sleeping when I left. When they got her settled in her room last night she was hurting a little bit, but fell asleep before they could
give her anything.” He kissed his boy’s head. “The little girl scared the shit out of me last night.”

“Mouth, Dylan.
Little ears hear everything.” She pointed at Joey.

“Sorry.
Are you okay staying with him for a little while longer? I’m heading back up to the hospital to sit with them.”

“Of course
. Actually, can I have your car seat? Your dad is coming over soon, so we’ll take him with us to run some errands. I’ll call you later and let you know when we get back.” He loved his parents. They barely knew Journey, yet here they were helping any way they could.

He stood up
, kissing Joey one more time before he handed him back to his mom. “You be a good boy for Grandma.” His little man smiled and wrapped his arms around his mom’s neck. Of course she soaked it up. She was crazy for all of her grandchildren. He kissed her cheek. “Bye, Mom, love you.”

“Love you too, baby. Kiss the girls for me.”
Dylan grabbed Abby’s bag that his mom packed for him and one that she packed for Journey too.

Twenty minutes later he was back at the hospital.
He was just reaching for Abby’s door when he heard a bunch of laughter coming from the room. It sounded like his sister and Stacy were there. Pushing open the door, he smiled at the sight before him. Abby was up in the bed wearing a little tiara on her head. Journey was in the bed with her, holding Abby in her arms. Stacy was sitting at the foot of the bed and Bellamy was sitting in the chair.

“Hello
, ladies.” He kissed his sister and then his sister-in-law before going to Journey. He leaned down kissing her quickly before turning his attention to Abby. “Hi, Princess, how are you feeling?”

“Better, look what I got,” she pointed to the tiara on her head.

“I see that. Now you really are a princess.” He grabbed her bag and pulled out her doll. “Does this little girl belong to you?”

Abby’s face lit up
. “Lucy! Oh thank you, Dylan.” She took the doll from him, hugging her close.

“I brought a bag for you to
o, baby.” He wrapped his hand around the back of Journey’s neck, pulling her in for another kiss. What was the matter with him? He couldn’t keep his hands off of her.

“Thank you, honey.
How was Joey? Was he being good for your mom?”

“He was
. They were waiting for Dad to get there and they were going to take him to run some errands.” He realized they had visitors and turned to his sisters. They were both watching them. The amusement was evident on their faces since they were wearing matching smiles. “So what did I interrupt?”

“Oh, we were just making plans for next weekend.
We want to do a date night, but we want to wait and see how Princess Abby is feeling once she’s home.” He liked the idea of the six of them going out. It would give them all a chance to get to know Journey better.

“Look what Care Bear made me
.” Abby held up a picture. It was two stick figures, one with yellow hair and the other with brown and it looked like they were holding hands. His niece was the sweetest little girl.

“I see. It’s very nice.” He handed her back the picture and she laid it very carefully on the tray table next to the bed.

“She’s my best friend
. Well besides my Aunt JoJo.” Journey kissed Abby’s head and snuggled her close. He could see the glassy look in Journey’s eyes and knew she was going to start crying. Dylan pulled her and Abby close, mindful of Abby’s surgery last night.

“Journey,
don’t worry about Joey tonight. Dustin and I are going to keep him and we’ll bring him to Nan in the morning. I got her number when she was here earlier, so we’ll work it out with her.” Stacy and Bellamy stood up to leave. “Don’t forget, we’ll Skype you later so you guys can see him since they won’t let us bring him up.”

Dylan moved so Journey could get up and say goodbye to his sisters.
They both bent down kissing and hugging Abby goodbye. She walked around the bed to them, hugging Stacy first.

“Just text me when y’all are ready.
Thank you so much for this, both of you. I don’t know how we’d have managed without all of you.”

“Hey, that’s what family does.” Stacy kissed her cheek and then came over to Dylan, while Bellamy was hugging Journey.

“Thanks, Stace.” She wrapped her arms around him.

“No problem
.”

She
stood on her tip-toes and put her mouth by his ear. “I absolutely love her, and she’s crazy about you.” She kissed his cheek and stepped back when Bell came up to him.

“Bye, Squirt
, and thanks for coming to visit.” He kissed her cheek and then watched as both women waved as they left the room.

Dylan grabbed the chair and sat down.
He noticed that Abby had fallen back asleep. “Baby, why don’t you go use the shower while she’s sleeping. I’ll be here if she needs something.”

Journey walked around the bed and came towards him.
When she was close enough he pulled her down onto his lap. He loved how she immediately snuggled into him. “Thank you for everything, Dylan. I know I’ve said it before, but I can’t thank you enough. You and your family have been amazing.” He kissed the top of her head. It had to be hard for her; no parents’ and a useless brother. Sure his family could have their issues, but they loved each other something fierce.

By Tuesday things were back to normal.
Abby had been released Sunday night and Dylan could see how much Journey missed Joey. That had been the longest Journey had been away from him. Sure enough, Stacy had texted them Saturday night and they were able to see Joey on her tablet. They all took turns talking to him. He had them laughing as he blew kisses at them and waved. Dylan couldn’t help but laugh when Joey got so excited his little fist popped his uncle right in the face. Dustin had been a good sport, but flipped Dylan the bird.

He went to his brother’s to sleep Saturday night even though he didn’t want to leave them.
He got to spend some quality time with his son. Sunday he took Joey to Nan and went back to the hospital. Abby was sitting in a chair coloring when he got there. Journey was curled up sleeping in Abby’s bed. He knew she wasn’t getting a lot of sleep there and the dark shadows under her eyes were all he needed to see to know that he was going to let her sleep.

He got down in front of Abby
. “Hi, sweetheart, how long has Aunt JoJo been sleeping?” he whispered.

“Since breakfast,” she whispered back.
She sat down her coloring book and crayons then came to Dylan wrapping her arms around his neck. “I want to go home.”

He picked up her slight frame, carefully.
Sitting down with her in his lap, he whispered, “I know you do. Maybe you’ll get to go home in a little bit.”

Journey had ended up sleeping past lunch
. When she woke up, he could tell that she was embarrassed that she slept that long. Right before dinner they discharged Abby, so Dylan drove his girls home. Nan and Joey met them there. Journey may have smothered him in kisses, but he couldn’t blame her.

Normally he would’ve gone
home sometime in the night, but after Journey had rode them both to orgasm, she asked him to stay. Sleeping all night with her in his arms felt so right that it scared the fuck out of him. As much as he wanted her, a tiny part of him was worried about their age difference. He was hitting his mid-thirties and she was barely over twenty-one. She didn’t act her age at all, but she did look it, if not younger. He had finally fallen asleep when he told himself to “shut the fuck up,” that he wasn’t going to run scared this time.

When Abby came walking into the bedroom in the morning
, she didn’t act surprised about Dylan being in bed with Journey, who was still asleep.

“Good morning, baby girl.”

“Dylan, will you make me breakfast? Joey and I want cheesy eggs.”

As if he could hear them talking and saying his name
, Joey started shaking the shit out of his crib as he called out “mama and dada” over and over again.

A little while later
, Joey and Abby were sitting at the table while he served them up cheesy scrambled eggs, toast, and sliced oranges. His boy was definitely a healthy eater. Abby wasn’t her normal bubbly self, but he figured that was normal after surgery. He was letting Journey sleep in since she wasn’t going back to work until the next day, when Abby was allowed to go back to school.

Why wasn’t this freaking him out
—all of this domestic bliss? Most of his life dating had just meant easy access to sex. He never treated them bad, but he was never fully committed to any of them. Not until Journey did those desires ever rise to the surface. She had been young, fresh-faced and bubbly. It didn’t take much before she tangled him in the web that she didn’t even know she was weaving. He felt lost after leaving the Marine Corp. Exhausted from his last tour, his parents had been worried about him.

He wasn’t depressed when he got out, but he wasn’t himself either.
Dylan had been in the Corp since he was eighteen and that was all he knew as an adult. His parents and brother thought he was too serious all of the time. They wanted him smiling more, but most of all they wanted to see him happy. When he had first laid eyes on Journey, she seemed as bright as the sun. She’d been smiling at one of her costumers and it lit up her whole face.

He’d felt young and free with her, and as much as that exhilarated him
, it scared him too. With her, he hadn’t felt like he had a care in the world and he certainly wasn’t used to that.