Page 145 of Kings Fear No One
My cries deepen. My body quakes. All the trauma and fear and bad emotions I’ve shoved down floods out of me ’til I have no more to give.
Logan’s there to catch every teardrop that falls. He breathes me in, absorbs my pain ’til it’s his. ’Til we’re healing together in each other’s arms.
Minutes must go by of us huddled on the bathroom floor like this. Neither of us are keeping track.
I’m achy and exhausted by the time it’s over.
He helps me off the floor, and we clean up. I chug water hoping it’ll settle my stomach. Logan notices my phone vibrating on the kitchen counter.
“Baby, somebody’s calling you.”
I look over and frown at the local number. It’s only after it goes to voicemail that I decide to answer and listen to the message left for me.
“Hello, Ms. Baxter, I am calling from the lab at Pulsboro General. Your test results for your blood work have come in earlier than expected. You may stop by the lab any time between noon and five p.m. on weekdays and noon and three p.m. on weekends. Thank you.”
I’m speechless as the line beeps and I lower the phone from my ear.
Logan turns his head half to the side. “Everything alright?”
“I’m not sure,” I whisper, then I meet his concerned gaze with my own puffy eyes. “I… I asked for a blood test the other day when you were admitted to the hospital. It was to determine the paternity. The results have come in early.”
36
LOGAN
“You don’t have to do this,” I say once I’ve shifted gears into park. We’re seated in my pickup truck, parked in the lot of the town hospital. “I told you I don’t care what the DNA results say. We’re a family. The baby’s mine.”
“I… I…” she lets out a shaky breath. “I feel like I need to know.”
I take her hand, linking our fingers. “I wish you would’ve told me. You would’ve come straight to me about the pregnancy.”
Teysha’s frown fractures my heart… or whatever it is beating inside my chest. I’d never imagined a scenario where I could look at a woman and feel her emotion as my own. Any woman I was ever involved with had never affected me like this. I hadn’t allowed myself to be close enough to develop real feelings. Flings and one night stands made up the bulk of my experiences with the opposite sex.
But one sad look from Teysha and I can feel the urgency doubling my heartbeat. I stroke my thumb along the small ridges of her knuckles and wish I could take every lick of pain away. Since it’s impossible, I settle on the next best thing.
Reassurance.
“I’m not mad at you. I don’t blame you,” I go on. “None of it was your fault, and you’re doing the best you can. I get that. No matter what, we’ll figure it out, alright?”
She inhales a deep breath, then nods, clinging to my hand like it’s a lifeline. We walk toward the hospital in sync with each other, a true united front.
“Teysha? Logan?”
We turn at the sound of our names to find Korine and her mother, Sunny. Both women seem to be lacking on rest judging by their fatigued energy.
It’s no surprise—Sunny’s seriously ill, and Korine has barely left the hospital since Cash was shot. Teysha being the nurturer she is, rushes toward both women for quick hugs.
“What are you two doing here?” Korine asks. “Are you going to visit Cash?”
I glance at Teysha, who gives me a small smile, then answers for me. “We’re here for some test results. But we would love to visit him too. Is he still in the same room?”
We end up on a detour, riding the elevator to the fifth floor where Cash’s room is located. Mace and Sydney are already there, in the middle of chatting with Cash.
All things considered, Cash looks better than he has in days. The color’s returned to his complexion and so has the twinkle to his gaze. Only he could be laid up in the hospital and still look like a fucking GQ model with his shoulder-length golden brown hair framing his face.
I break off with him and Mace while the ladies hover on the other end of the room to mingle.
“Feeling better?” I ask, nudging Cash’s blanket-clad foot.
