Page 24 of Dancing With Redemption

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Lincoln

“She’s what?” Lincoln shouted at his sister, blinking at her with confusion.

“Pregnant. She was going to tell you, but shit kept happening,” June said, reverting back to an old habit of swearing when she was uncomfortable.

Lincoln stared at his sister for a long time, not sure how to take this news. “I see.”

“You see? You see? Maybe you should tell the fucking doctor, bonehead! If she’s bleeding down there, then something is wrong. Tell the damn doctor, Lincoln!” June was all but jumping up and down now, her fury something to witness.

“I will.” He put a hand on June’s right shoulder. “Don’t have a hissy fit. Let me go tell them.”

“Finally!” June threw her hands up and went to sit with the rest of the faces in the waiting room, waiting for news about Roxie. June had arrived an hour after he’d brought Roxie into his former step-father’s hospital, the only place Lincoln knew he could bring her without too many probing questions.

“Um, excuse me? Nurse? My sister told me Roxie’s pregnant,” he said when he didn’t see the doctor.

“Oh, we know. We do tests on all female patients that need x-rays but aren’t conscious. The Ob/Gyn has been in to see her. The baby is fine, there’s just some damage to the patient’s…” the nurse carried on speaking, but Lincoln didn’t hear the rest.

He was too busy looking at Roxie. He didn’t know what had happened to her hair but what was left was patchy with a lot of stubble. Her head was covered in cuts, and her face was swollen now. There were bruises underneath both of her eyes, and her bottom and top lip were busted and swollen. Then there was the rest. Her hands and feet were covered in bandages to protect the damaged skin of her nail beds. She’d probably lose all of her toenails, even though the needles beneath them had been removed.

Her right hip was fractured but it was a hairline fracture, nothing the doctor could do there but let it heal. The rest of her was hidden by a white blanket, and Lincoln was almost happy it was there. He hoped the blood had been cleaned away from her. He’d seen it and it had frightened him when they first found her, but the good news was, he was here with her. He could make sure she got the best care available.

There was no doubt the Bennets would ensure that, all three of them. She’d had every exam the hospital could provide, there were three bottles dripping medicine into the IV plugged into her right forearm, and her skin was warm, but not hot. She was as comfortable as she could be.

“I’m here, Roxie,” he whispered as he pulled up a chair to sit next to her bed. He took her left hand in his, not wanting to wake her up, but sure that he wanted to touch her. To make sure she was real.

How was he going to explain this to Lily? he wondered. Mommy got a really bad haircut and fell down?

Lincoln frowned, hating any kind of lie, but he’d have to explain something to the girl in a way that wouldn’t traumatize her.

And there was another baby on the way?

His heart swelled in his chest, a sensation that took his breath away. Fuck, this was bad. Well, no, it was good, but how was he going to explain this to the guys? He’d sworn he’d never marry or have a girlfriend for so long that even Kai had wondered if he was actually gay a time or two. He’d been adamant about it for so long, but now? He was never going to let her out of his sight again, if he could help it.

If she’d ever forgive him for everything that he’d said the last time they were together. And if she’d forgive what a dick he’d been to her.

“Lincoln? Has she woken up yet?” June’s soft voice broke the silence and Lincoln turned his head.

“No, not yet. She needs the rest.” Lincoln spoke softly, not wanting to wake Roxie up.

“Okay. Are you hungry?” She waited until he shook his head before she came in and sat down in the chair next to his. “I’ll go get you something if you are, you don’t have to leave her.”

“No, I’m fine. Really. I just want to watch her for a little while.” Lincoln’s eyes were already on Roxie’s bruised and battered face. “If you want to go home, you can. Check on Lily for me. It might be good for her aunt to make an appearance.”

“It’s still so amazing to me that I’m an aunt.” June smiled shyly and looked at Roxie rather than her brother. “She’s amazing, you know?”

“Lily or Roxie?” Lincoln asked absently, too busy smoothing out a slight frown that had formed on Roxie’s face.

“Both of them.” June sighed out the answer, and Lincoln looked back at her. “She’s been through so much, but she keeps fighting, doesn’t she?”

“She’s always been amazing like that,” Lincoln answered, thinking about a younger version who went by the name Chloe, who would glare at him angrily and screech at him about how much she hated him. He’d loved her even then, though she hadn’t known. He hadn’t let himself feel it, not after she ran away, and maybe not when he’d found her again. Oh, his heart had felt what it bloody well wanted to, but he hadn’t let himself feel it. He’d tried to fight it. Too bad for him he’d lost that fight.

Or maybe it was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Especially if there was another baby on the way.

“I’ll see you at home later. If you come home. I know they’re keeping her tonight, so maybe I’ll see you in the morning. Try to rest.” June put her hand on his head, ran her fingers through his hair for a moment, and blinked away a sudden case of tears. “I love you, big brother. I’m so glad you all found her for us.”

“I love you too, little sis. Be careful going home.” Lincoln smiled warmly at his sister, one of the few people he could say he loved without feeling like a liar. That circle was expanding now that he’d met Roxie for the second time in his life, he thought, as his sister left. It was a much bigger circle now that included a daughter, a woman as old as his own mother, and a few more.