The Heart of Mine (13 page)

"Honestly, I don't know. Obviously part of me wants to be selfish and wants a little boy that looks exactly like Madison, but I would love to have a little girl. I just want this little one to be happy and healthy."

"I know you do, sweets."

"One last dip and then call it a day?" I asked.

"You bet."

We both went running towards the water, splashing our way over to the rest of the group. We spent at least another hour in the water, splashing around and getting our fill of the unusually warm day. I finally started making my way over to my towel when I heard my phone ringing through my shorts pocket. I ran as quickly as my feet would allow. When I saw Lydia's name flash across the screen, I didn't hesitate to answer.

"Hello, Lydia? Is everything okay with Madison?"

"Yes dear, everything is the same. I was just calling to see what you and your grandparents' plans were for tomorrow?"

Part of me was disappointed that she didn't have any news, but I guess patience really is a virtue when it comes to situations such as this. "Ya know what, I'm not quite sure. Let me ask when I get home and get back to you."

"Sounds good, sweetheart. I'll chat with ya soon."

"Bye, Lydia."

I felt a small tinge of guilt, knowing that I would be spending Thanksgiving without Madison. Especially given the fact that there wasn't much to be thankful for when he was still laid up in that damn hospital bed.

I felt cold hands wrap around my shoulders and I recognized those strong arms instantly. "Hey, you feelin' okay?"

"Not really. I think I just need a nap or somethin'. I feel exhausted."

"I bet! Well, I know if Madison were here, he would've really appreciated everythin' you put together. He's lucky to have you, KJ." Joey placed a small kiss to my forehead and I smiled up at him from behind.

Everyone helped me gather up the huge mess we had made. We loaded up the coolers, towels and chairs. We all decided it best to leave the banner and balloons and we made our way out the dirt road. We waved good-bye to everyone and went our separate ways. Cami and I dropped off Glenn and Joey at their house and made our way back to my house. When we walked through the door, my grandparents instantly greeted us. By the looks on their faces you would've thought someone had just died, and my heart along with my bag dropped to my feet. I couldn't hold back the tears that began to pour out from my eyes and my granddad wrapped his arms securely around me.

"Baby girl, there's no reason to cry. We don't have bad news. We were just worried about you. We haven't heard from ya all day."

My tears instantly dried up and I smacked my granddad across his chest. "Don't ever do that to me again."

"I promise, baby girl. We talked to Lydia today, looks like she is preparin' a large spread for Thanksgiving and is ivitin' everyone and their parents, literally."

"Oh, that'll be nice."

We all made our way into the kitchen when I noticed what time it was. With as much fun as we all had today, time had literally gotten away from me. It was almost seven at night and I hadn't been to the hospital all day.

"I'm gonna go get dressed and head to the hospital before dinner, is that okay?"

"Of course."

"Cami, do you want to go with me?"

"No love, I think you and Madison need some time alone. Say hi for me."

"Will do."

I ran upstairs, quickly dressed and made my way to the hospital. Little did everyone know that Joey and I had some
other
plans to tend to first. The hospital was definitely on my list of things to do, but what Joey and I had planned was my first order of business.

Joey

I wasn't exactly sure how Kayla and I were gonna pull all this off, but I knew if anything went wrong, Madison would have my ass when he woke up. Kayla was the one who came up with the scheme to get Wren and Madison's father out of hiding. I trusted her judgment, but just in case, I made sure to inform Glenn of our plans so he could be around if anything went wrong.

Kayla made the call to Madison's father earlier, claiming that we had the money. I wasn't sure if she had even attempted to get a hold of Wren, but it would seem that wherever Madison's father was, Wren was right there with him.

I saw her truck pull up to the motel where they had been stayin', and watched as she exited her truck. She made her way over to room six and I waited with baited breath as she waited for someone to answer. What happened next was not at all what I had expected.

One instant she was standin' in the doorway and the next a long tattooed arm was aggressively pullin' her into that room. I quickly dialed Glenn and left the phone on as I ran full speed to the room. I banged on the door for a good minute before I finally kicked it in. When the door sprung open, Wren had Kayla down on one of the beds with a gun pointed straight at her head. Madison's father was nowhere to be seen. I scanned the room before finally feeling a hard metal object hit me from behind.

***

When I came to, my hands and feet were bound to an old rickety chair. The back of my head was throbbing and I knew that what must've hit me was the butt of a gun because now Madison's father had one pointed at me as well.

"Well I never expected this to be the way I would meet my future daughter in law properly, but I guess this'll do."

I opened my mouth to speak, but Madison's father waved his gun in front of my face. "Don't even think about sayin' a word."

I glanced over at Kayla who was still sittin' on the bed across from me. Tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. I gave her an apologetic look as I took in every feature on Wren's face. Now, I could only pray that Glenn had gotten my call and was doin' what I had instructed him to do.

"Looks like I'm gonna get exactly what I wanted." Wren's voice was raspy and I could tell he was at odds with the whole situation. I wasn't quite sure what it was I saw on his face, but I swear I could see the love he had once felt for Kayla as he stood there starin' at her.

"Just let her go. You guys can have me. You already got Madison. I'll do whatever you want, just let KJ go."

"Oh we're callin' her KJ again, eh? I thought that nickname was reserved for me, baby."

"Don't call me that." She growled.

He pushed the gun deep into her cheek as she cried harder. "I'll call you whatever I want. You don't get a say so anymore. So, you sure that baby isn’t mine?"

She nodded her head as much as she could as the barrel of the gun dug deeper.

"Well isn't that just too bad. Then I guess you'll have to just deal with not being able to bring that baby into this world."

"DON'T!" I screamed as Wren pointed the barrel of the gun at Kayla's burgeoning belly.

"Shut your fucking mouth, or you'll be next. Trust me, I would rather have Madison witness this, but you'll do, seeing as you seem to love her just as much as he does. Which I find quite funny. How two guys could love this worthless pathetic girl is beyond me. I tried, trust me I did, but there was no way I could let a girl like her take a piece of my heart. She's unworthy of love. For fuck's sake, her parents couldn't even find it in themselves to love her."

I watched as Kayla's once ethereal spirit drained from her body. Every ounce of what made up her uniquely lovable personality slowly drained from her face, leaving nothin' but a shell. I could see it in her face that she knew this was the end for her, and oddly enough she seemed at peace with it all. It was almost as if this is how she expected this whole situation to end. Part of me questioned if she ever knew that she deserved love?

"That's what I thought, baby. You know you don't deserve to be loved and you know this baby will never be able to love a mother like you. Suffering, that's what you deserve." His gun poked into her belly and Kayla doubled over in sobs. Her body rocking back and forth tryin' to control what she knew was about to become her reality. She had already felt as though she had lost Madison and now she was about to lose the only piece of him she had left.

I tugged and pulled at the restraints around my legs and arms, gun in my face be damned.

"Boy, I'm warning you. You try to move another muscle and I will pull this trigger. Don't test me."

"You're a piece of shit James Raine. You never deserved your son or your wife's love. She's lookin' down at you knowin' what a piece of shit you are. No wonder Madison never shed one single tear after you got locked up.
He
deserves better than you. You want money? Fine, I'll get you your fuckin' money, but you let that poor girl go. That girl is carryin' your grandchild, one that you will never see because you couldn't stop being a selfish bastard for more than a second. Prove that you can be the father you knew you should've always been."

For a split second I thought he was actually contemplating the words coming out of my mouth, but then he looked over at Wren and nodded his head. Survival instincts kicked in, not only for myself but also for the helpless girl across from me. I threw my body back, shattering the chair into pieces, when I heard a gun shot fire. My eyes instantly shot over to Kayla as her body slumped over to the side of the bed. Wren was on the floor bleeding out of the side of his neck and I glanced around the room searching for the shooter. The chair had broken enough for me get free. Splinters ripped through my skin as I moved as fast as humanly possible to free my legs. Madison's father stood staring in my direction as his gun was still aimed at Wren's body.

I stood and ran over to Kayla, shielding her body with my own from any further damage he may cause. I checked her body for any wounds, but she seemed in perfect shape. Seconds later, I looked towards the doorway to see Glenn standing there with his own gun pointed directly at James.

"Put the gun down Mr. Raine."

The gun fell to the floor and I could see the pained expression on his face. I'm not sayin' Mr. Raine was a good man by any means, but what he had just done spoke volumes. He saved his son's family, whether he knew it was the right thing to do or not, he made a choice that his son would've appreciated.

"Kayla, Joey, are you guys okay?"

We both nodded in Glenn's direction as he made his way over to us, gun still pointed in Mr. Raine's direction.

"Was it really all about the money?" Glenn asked.

"It was
never
about the money. It was about the son that no longer considered me his father. I knew he would never accept me back into his life and that killed me. The money was just a way to get his attention. I wasn't even the one drivin' the car that hit him. Wren would've killed him, had I not pulled him from the SUV. I would've called the cops, but then I saw Joey runnin' over and I knew he would do what was right. I just wanted my son back."

"You got a real funny way of showin' that. I'm pretty sure I speak for Madison when I say there is no way in hell he would ever let you back in his or his child's life after
this
. I suggest ya leave town and never return, Mr. Raine."

James fell to his knees, and began to cry. I had never seen a grown man cry before and a part of me felt remorse for him, but a bigger part of me knew he deserved everything that was happening to him. There's a way to go about gettin' back your life, and this wasn't one of them. Before we knew what was goin' on, another gunshot went off and Glenn and I watched as Mr. Raine's lifeless corpse fell to the ground next to Wren.

The guilt of all must've consumed him, forcing him to take his own life. There was never a doubt in my mind that this was what he had wanted all along. He knew he would never get back into Madison's good graces and knowin' that his son would hate him even more for what he put Kayla through, must've sealed the deal.

Kayla tucked her head deep into my chest, her tears soaking straight through my shirt. I scooped her up into my arms and carried her from the blood-splattered room. There was no need for her to see the aftermath of what had just occurred. Glenn quickly called 9-1-1 as we both made our way over to Kayla's truck. I sat her in the seat and checked her over once again for any signs of bruising or trauma. I think she was more in shock of the situation and revelations more than anything.

"Stay here and don't move. Do you hear me?" I tried to speak in a soothing tone.

She nodded her head in agreement as I walked with Glenn over to the oncoming police cruiser. I knew they would want to get all of our statements, but I was more concerned with getting Kayla and the baby checked out.

"Glenn, did you tell them to bring an ambulance also?"

"Yeah, bro. Should be here shortly. Although, if you don't go stop her, I'm pretty sure she's gonna be drivin' herself to the hospital."

I turned and ran straight for Kayla's truck, snagging the keys right out of her hand. "Hey, did you not hear what I said? You are in no shape to drive. The ambulance will be here shortly, they'll take you to the hospital."

"I
need
to see him, Jo."

I tucked her head into my chest, "I know you do, sweetheart."

The ambulance showed up a few minutes later. The police officer agreed to take our statements at the hospital after they secured the crime scene, and after Kayla and the baby were checked out. Glenn and I both rode in the back of the ambulance on the way to the hospital with Kayla. When we pulled in, Glenn called Cami to fill her in on most of the details and told her not to repeat any of it to Kayla's grandparents. He also told her that we would be home as soon as Kayla was discharged.