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“Please don’t.”
The medic who rode with us watched from the corner of her eye.
“I don’t want to see him,” I added.
“He’s probably worried sick, Ray. You can’t just avoid him. Does he even know about?—?”
“No.” I cut him off before resting my hand on my stomach, grunting from the pain in my side. “And you’re not going to tell him. We broke up.”
A bump in the road made the medic sway on her seat behind me. In her hand she held a tiny butterfly needle, one I knew meant I was going to get an IV from my many trips with Mom. Something about her sticking it in me in a moving vehicle made my stomach hurt. “They’ll likely need to keep you overnight,” she said as she gently picked up my hand. “They’ll need to do an exam of your ribs, an ultrasound, and monitor you for signs of a concussion.”
“Can’t I just get the ultrasound and go?” I winced as the needle slid into my vein, surprisingly easy for such a bumpy ride.
“Technically, yes, but I highly recommend you stay the night so they can observe you. It’s best for both you and the baby.”
I gritted my teeth while she hooked up the fluids. I couldn’t afford a night in the hospital, not with the amount I was going to be spending on Mom. I didn’t want to think about the bill for the ride in the ambulance either, but I didn’t have much of a say in that.
I’d hear them out. I’d let them poke and prod at me until they were satisfied then I’d get out as soon as I could. Every second I stayed there was enough time for Wade to come find me, and the idea of that, of him finding out about the pregnancy in the worst possible way, was enough to make me nauseous.
“I’m going to throw up,” I croaked.
Chapter 36
Wade
The burn of whiskey sliding down my throat did absolutely nothing to soothe the unending ache in my chest. I grimaced at the taste of water, the ice cube tickling my lips, and set the glass down. I’d never let Jackson order for me again. He’d gone soft.
“I do feel a little guilty,” Jack chuckled. “Cassie’s learned how to stand on two feet and how to make them work. We have to keep an eye on her constantly. Mandy should be fine by herself for an hour or so, though.”
“Can’t imagine the stress,” I deadpanned. The ice in my glass clinked as the cubes moved around. For some reason, they were far more interesting to look at than anything else.
“She told me about the conversation you guys had back at the resort,” Jack said, his voice a little softer. “And I heard about the accident.”
I steeled my jaw. “Doesn’t matter.”
“It does.”
“Does it?” I snapped, turning my head toward him. “She certainly doesn’t seem to think so.”
“You don’t know that.” Jack sighed. “What’s happened since the wedding? Mandy said something about a necklace?”
I felt the muscles in my face contract as the memory of it flashed behind my eyes. “I gave her a diamond necklace. Then she overheard me talking to my stepbrother. Unfortunately, the conversation got heated and I told Zane that what Ray and I had wasn’t real, it was only a means to an end, to get the investment. He was threatening to out us to Alec. I’ve tried to tell her that it was a lie to get him off my back, but everything changed that night. She gave me back the necklace and became really reclusive.”
“Just sounds like you need to talk to her, to get things sorted out.”
The glass clanged against my front teeth as I knocked the rest of the whiskey back. I didn’t want to be having this conversation, and in actuality, I would have rather been speaking to Mandy. She was always the one who understood the softer side of things even if I didn’t. Jack, even though he was my best friend, could be clueless sometimes.
“We have talked. Hell, we even fucked the night of the accident. I thought we were back on track, that things were going to be okay. That was before all of this Hunter bullshit.”
“Hunter?”
“You might have met him at the wedding,” I clarified. “He spent the entire time clinging to Zane’s hip. He owns some agricultural empire or some shit. Ray was talking to him with too big of a smile, if you get what I mean.”
Jack’s brows furrowed as he spun the ice and whiskey in his glass, watering it down thoroughly. I cringed. “Talking doesn’t mean anything.”
“Yeah, well, when she had the accident Zane was the one that called me. She happened to crash just outside of Hunter’s ranch.”
“She could have just been passing by it,” Jack said. “You don’t have to immediately think the worst of her.”
