Savor (10 page)

The sound of beeping feels close by, and I realize how much I hate Logan’s alarm clock.

Why would he set it for so early in the morning? I was sleeping so good and now it won’t shut up. Remind me what he could possibly have to do this early? Shit, am I supposed to take him to the airport?

On the shock that I’m probably late, I shoot up out of bed only to realize I’m tangled in some sort of cords and not in my own bed. Panicking, I look around at the hospital room to see Erin fast asleep in a chair in the corner with C.J.’s arms wrapped around her. Stuart is sleeping in a chair underneath the T.V., his fingers lightly tangled with Luke’s, who has a magazine spread open in his lap, although he’s asleep too. My eyes fall on Dean who’s asleep on one side of my bed, head resting next to my lap, and on the parallel side, Logan. Immediately, I notice his swollen face and gently stroke it. The light touch shoots him up and he grabs my hand.

“Jumpy much,” I respond leaning back against the pillows.

There’s a flood of relief in his eyes as he says, “You would be too if it was me in the hospital.” Trying to offer him a smile, I nod at his comment. “You okay, Maximus?”

“I don’t know,” my voice sighs. “Why I am here? I mean one minute I was having hunger pains and the next…I’m here.”

Logan’s lips plant a kiss on the back of my hand. He whispers, “Don’t fucking scare me like that, Maximus.”

“If it makes you feel better it wasn’t on my to do list…”

He cocks a smile and I look down at my stomach. “Is our baby okay?”

Logan nods slowly. “Yeah, but, Maxx—”

“But what?”

He lets out a deep breath. “You’re not okay. You had some heavy bleeding. You’re dehydrated. You’ve got severe exhaustion. Luke’s pissed off at himself because he feels he should’ve been able to prevent this from happening.”

“Wait. Heavy bleeding. But the baby—”

“Is fine. For now, Maxx. The doc says if you keep up like you have been…we could…well we could…” The words choke in his throat and he grips my hand tighter.

No way. Not gonna happen. I’m not gonna let that happen.

Tears form in my eyes and he gets up to hug me tightly. “Don’t cry, Maximus. We’re gonna make it.” His lips land next to my ear. “I gotchu.”

The sound of my sniffling startles Dean awake. He yawns wide before he noticing my eyes are open. “Mom!”

His loud declaration wakes the entire room.

Really? I mean I know it’s not the library, but when the entire room is sleeping, how about we use our whisper voice?

“Hey.” I extend my arms for him to take a turn hugging me. Unsure of exactly when it is, I ask, “Did I miss your party?”

He nods, and I go to apologize when he says, “It’s okay. Knowing you’re okay is much more important.
This
is the best gift. You being okay. You are okay, right?”

“I feel okay.” My shoulders shrug. “Kinda rested for the first time in weeks.”

“That’s because they hydrated you and doped you up to get some rest,” Luke informs me from the foot of my bed. “Why didn’t you tell me you hadn’t been sleeping?”

I shrug my shoulders again. “I thought that was normal. You know between this thing growing in me and then work and I never sleep as good when Logan’s not in bed with me—”

“God, that’s sad,” Erin scoffs rolling her eyes. “It’s not like he’s that comfortable to be sleeping next to.”

“Maybe not to someone who was just curled up in C.J.’s arms,” Logan punches and folds his arms across his chest.

“I was not curled up,” Erin denies.

“Like a baby bear to its mama.” Logan raises his eyebrows.

C.J. smirks proudly. “Nothing to be ashamed of, Erin. I’ll let you call me daddy if you want.”

“Ew,” she sneers.

“I’m in the room.” Luke shoots him daggers.

Before C.J. can get out another word, the doctor strolls into the crowded room and says, “Well, boy don’t I feel late to the party.” I offer him a smile and he says, “Alright, people, anyone who is not related to the patient please leave.” When no one moves, I smile.

Family. They’re all my family, huh? Wait. Where’s Tony?

“Okay. I’ll try again. If you knocked up the patient, please stay.” His instructions cause the others to shuffle out reluctantly, Dean hesitates the most.

“Kid, I got her. I promise,” Logan says. “Let Uncle Stuart or Uncle C.J. take you home to get some rest.”

“But—”

“Kid. She’s gonna need you to have all your strength. Trust me.”

Dean nods and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too.” I wave to him as he exits the room.

When it’s just Logan, me, and the doctor, I let my head hit the back of the pillow again, another wave of exhaustion hitting me.

Is it normal to get this tired so soon after waking up?

“I see the meds are doing their job.” The doctor smiles softly at me. “Well let me talk briefly before they put you back to sleep. I’m Dr. Strongston. I’ve been keeping an eye on you since Luke brought you in. The good news is that you are indeed alright. Everything that’s going on with you right now can be treated and dealt with. The bad news is you’ll be sentenced to at least four weeks of bed rest—”

“Four weeks?” I gasp.

“Yeah. And even from bed, the amount of stress you put yourself under needs to severely change for your own health and the sake of your child. You lost more blood volume than I am comfortable with, so we are going to keep you overnight for observation and let your OBGYN take a look at you when she comes in tomorrow. From what I’ve seen and what I know, you were in the process of a miscarriage.”

Hearing him say the words strangles my attempted response. “Mis-mis…misc—”

“Miscarriage.” he repeats sternly. “The bleeding stopped. Your body, last time I checked, seemed to have completely reset the course of keeping the baby, but we need to monitor you for at least another day. Sometimes these things happen. All I can say is that for your own health and for that of your unborn child, dramatic changes need to be made. We can further discuss that in the morning however. Why don’t you try to get some rest, Maxx. Your family can come back and visit in the morning, alright?” I open my mouth, and he sighs, “I’ll be the one to tell them. Something tells me that they might listen if I say it.”

“Thanks, doc,” Logan says sitting back down in the chair. When the door shuts, he demands, “Quit your job.”

Did you hear him correctly?

“I’m sorry…what?”

“Quit.” he repeats. “It’s obviously stressing you out—”

“My job doesn’t stress me out any more than reading a book does.”

Though that is sometimes stressful. Like when the two characters can’t see what’s right in front of them and you find yourself screaming at the book. Don’t you hate when that happens?

“And speaking of, where’s Tony?”

“Out of town,” he answers, “but Dean called him. He hopped a flight to head back, but won’t be in until the morning.”

“Your flight wasn’t booked solid?”

“I took a private jet.”

Confused, I raise my eyebrows.

“Jake let me and Si Si take his plane.”

I let out a soft yawn my eyelids getting heavy. “He wants us to move to Cali.”

Logan’s voice rises, “What?”

“He wants me and the Kid to be with you in Cali. Says you need us out there.” I yawn again.

Damn I could take a nap right now.

In a soft voice, he whispers, “What did you say?”

At least I think he’s whispering. Does he sound like he’s whispering to you too? Do you know what the back of your eyelids look like?

“Uncle Luke is gonna be pissed that you’re bringing her a doughnut,” Dean informs me, taking a huge bite out of his own, getting crumbs on my car seat.

He can’t even eat better in the car?

“Uncle Luke can suck it, because after all she’s gone through and the shit style hospital food, she deserves this.” I roll the bag up and lick the frosting off my fingers, immediately wishing I was licking Maxx. “All the dieting restrictions probably added stress to her when she didn’t need it.”

4 weeks of bed rest. Does that mean we can’t fuck that entire time? How do you expect me to be under the same roof with her and not sleep with her? I mean, yeah, I’ve had some practice, but that’s not the point. Before now, it wasn’t an option and now that it is, I’m not sure how to say no. And besides, sex with me is relaxing. Well, after you’ve had an orgasm or two.

“Kid, I gotta ask you something.” I lean back against my door.

“Shoot.”

“Do you wanna move to SoCal?”

He slows down chewing and cocks an eyebrow at me. “Is this a trick question?”

“It’s not a math problem. No tricks.”

Fuck you. Math is tricky. Who adds letters to numbers with any purpose other than confusing someone?

“I mean, I’d move to Cali. Hot chicks. The beach. Sun. That would be kinda cool. But Uncle Luke and Aunt Erin are here. Uncle Stuart, C.J., and Tony too. Not to mention Mimi and Pops. Plus, I’m doing really good on the basketball team. Coach says I’ll make varsity next year if I keep this up.”

“I get it.” I nod slowly. “You have a life here.”

“A good one.” He points a finger at me flinging crumbs.

Fucking really?

“But if we had to move to Cali to be with you then whatever.” He shrugs.

You know I’ve done a lot of wrong in my life, but raising a kid to say something like that is definitely something I should take pride in, huh?

“Take this to your mom for me, will ya? I gotta call work.”

“Alright, but when Uncle Luke loses his shit, I’m sending him after you.”

I roll my eyes and don’t even bother telling him not to cuss.

Dean grabs the bag, gets out of the car, shoves one hand in his hoodie, and hustles towards the hospital door. Once he’s out of sight, I place a faint smile on my face knowing I have to do this. I’m the reason Maxx ended up in the hospital. And I’m gonna make it fucking right.

The phone rings twice before Jake’s voice fills my ear, “I know what you’re thinking Kellar, and the answer is no.”

“So you’re a fucking mind reader now?” My annoyance with him is heavy.

“No. I’m not an idiot. Your pregnant girlfriend—”

“Fiancé.”

“Had a scare.”

“More than a fucking scare—”

Ignoring me, he continues, “You think the best thing would be for you to quit fighting, but it won’t be. Doing that is going to stress her out all over again just like you being away.”

Is it bad that he might be right?

“You quit on me now, and she’s gonna deal with the guilt of wondering if she killed your career. And nothing you can say or do will make that fear subside. So let me counter the offer you were about to offer me to give me one more good fight before hanging up your shorts,” Jake smoothly says into the phone.

Motherfucker lives up to his name, doesn’t he?

“Keep fighting for me, and I’ll relocate you back home.”

Was that in English?

“Look, I need my fighter at his best. You are that on your home turf. Not worried about your girl or your kid. Surrounded by family. So I will relocate your trainers or find ones who are willing to travel to train you. Same routines. I’ll even find you a new post workout masseur. Photographer. Everything, so you can fall into bed with your girl every night.”

“The catch?”

“You fulfill your contract and travel to fights just like you do now.”

My eyes shut, the speech I had planned is gone out the window.

“Kellar, I know a good investment when I’ve found it. And I’ll do what I have to do to keep it. Now, do we have a deal?”

What do you think? Do we?

Maxx

Four weeks is a very long time to do nothing but the bare minimum for work and listen to Erin go on and on about wedding plans.

Apparently, I’m supposed to care about what kind of flowers she holds and it offends her highly that I don’t. I already don’t know much about flowers, let alone the ones she’s supposed be holding!

Four weeks is all the time we have to plan for a wedding because after my hospital scare, Logan demanded we get married immediately. We would’ve both been okay going to the courthouse, but we’d quickly realized the Hart siblings would’ve never forgiven us for it.

The upside to the hospital scare is that it brought Logan back home on a more permanent basis. Wait. Is it weird to see the upside to a scare like that? Hm. Anyway, Jake relocated him and his assistant here. He’ll still be required to travel to different cities for fights, but at the end of the normal day, he comes home to me. Runs drills with Tony and the Kid. Pisses Erin off by half washing dishes. It’s so relieving that he’s back home but still gets to fight. I personally thanked Jake when he came to check on me three days after I got out of the hospital. Turns out he’s not completely soulless.

Erin zips the back of my gown as I stare at my reflection. I’m not sure what shocks me more: the fact that I’m in a wedding dress, that I’m pregnant, or the fact I’m pregnant in my wedding dress.

Didn’t the old school chant say first comes marriage then comes the baby in the baby carriage? How’d I screw this one up?

“You look beautiful.” Erin beams beside me looking gorgeous in a black, floor length strapless gown.

Why does she look prettier than me?

“I don’t feel beautiful.” I pout, my hands rubbing the bump. “I feel like a zit that needs to be popped.”

“You’re not even that big yet.”

“I feel that big.”

“It’s your wedding day, Maxx! You’re supposed to be smiling.”

“I’m also not supposed to be pregnant.”

Erin opens her mouth to counter, but realizes she can’t. Instead, she shifts focus. “You get to eat a cupcake today.”

“Mmm…” I hum out and rub my stomach again at the thought.

Yes. Wedding cupcakes were part of the deal of having an actual wedding.

“Hope you’re ready for this. It’s going to epic.” Erin’s exaggerated hand motions should frighten me but they can’t outdo the very important facts that are bouncing around. I get a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting and today I marry
the
Logan Kellar. Words I never thought I’d actually say. The realization causes me to clutch my stomach tighter.

Is it bad that I don’t know where we’re getting married? That I actually know very little about my own wedding day? I mean, Erin spent hours making me listen to her discuss things and give opinions, but other than chocolate cupcakes and this flowing halter top gown that reminds my boobs of the good ol’ days, I don’t know shit about it.

“Erin!” Luke calls from the other side of her bedroom door. “We’re gonna be late.”

Annoyed, she rolls her eyes and opens the door. “You can’t be late for your own wedding, Luke. It can’t start before she gets there.”

“Yeah, but there is a minister who has a life I’m sure he wants to get back to,” Luke counters adjusting the sleeves on his tux jacket. Looking up at me, he relaxes and smiles brightly. “You look beautiful.”

“I look like the dish who ran away with the spoon,” I sigh going to touch a tendril of my hair when Erin slaps my hand.

Isn’t there some sort of rule not to slap the bride to be?

“You do not.” He extends his hand for me to take. “You look like a woman ready to say yes to spending her life with the man she loves.”

“She doesn’t look terrified,” Erin corrects him and adjusts her lip gloss.

Luke scolds, “Supportive, baby sister. Be supportive.”

“I’m as supportive as the top half of her dress. Now can we go?” She shoos us out of her bedroom door.

With a smile on my face, I let out a deep breath.

In less than an hour, I will officially be Mrs. Logan Kellar. Wait, I only have to take the last part of his name, right?