Page 77 of Landon & Shay: Part Two

He gave me her room number and everything, but I didn’t expect to walk in on my friend’s legs opened wide as a doctor did some weird shit to her.

“You okay?” a voice asked me, making me look up from the roses in my hands.

Shay stood in front of me with a small smile against her lips. “Define okay,” I joked as I lay the flowers in the chair on my left, and Shay sat in the chair on my right.

She crossed her legs beside me and played with the collar of her shirt, as if she was debating putting it between her lips. An old nervous habit of hers that I missed.

“Is she doing all right?” I asked about Raine. “I know she’s probably freaking out because Hank isn’t here, but outside of that, is she okay?”

She dropped her hands to her lap and turned to face me. “Yeah, I think she’s coming around to being better than she was earlier. The baby is coming earlier than expected, but the doctors are taking really great care of Raine, which makes it less scary. Plus, so much time has passed that Raine’s anxiety has faded a bit. So, all in all, she’s okay. Her and Hank are just going to be parents a lot sooner than they thought.”

“It’s so wild to me that they are going to have a kid.”

“They are the dream couple,” she said. “I used to wish for their kind of love story.”

“Used to?”

“Yup. I’m not sure my life is cut out for that kind of true love, but I’m happy to know two people who did receive it.”

“What do you mean your life isn’t cut out for true love?”

She shrugged as she hugged her knees into her chest. “I don’t really believe in love. At least not for me. I feel as if Raine and Hank are a once in a lifetime kind of love story. That stuff doesn’t happen for most people.”

“But it could happen,” I argued.

“It’s highly unlikely, but it’s fine. At least I’m able to see that strong kind of love from a distance with Hank and Raine.”

I frowned. “You don’t believe in true love for yourself?”

“Oh no.” She shook her head. “I believe in love. It just doesn’t seem to believe in me.”

“Did you love your last boyfriend?”

She laughed. “Sam? Oh no. I know I tossed an iced latte into a woman’s face and all, but I don’t think any love was involved in that situation. I hardly knew him.”

“Well, who was the last person you loved?”

She grew somber, rested her chin against her tucked in knees, and tilted her head toward me. “Oh, come on Landon,” she whispered, her voice low and controlled. “I think we know the answer to that.”

Before I could reply, a person came shooting through the hospital doors. He flew to the receptionist counter in a flurry. “Hello, I’m here to see my wife, Raine Jacobs, and—”

“Hank,” I called out.

He turned to face me and sighed with relief. Then, he saw Shay and hurried over. “What’s going on? Is she okay? Will people not let you guys into her room? Is she alone? Oh my gosh, she’s alone. Did something go wrong? What went wrong? What’s going on?”

He raked his hands through his hair nonstop in full freak-out mode.

Shay stood to her feet and placed a calming hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Hank. She’s okay. Everything’s moving along well. She’s in her room now and a doctor was just finishing up checking in on her. She just asked me to come out and make sure Landon was all right.”

“What does that mean? Why wouldn’t you be all right?”

“Because I saw your wife’s lightning bolt.”

“I don’t know what that means, but it sounds weird.”

“Trust me, it is, but for now, go see your wife. She’s going to be happy to see you.”

“Or, she might kill you. It’s honestly up in the air right now,” Shay joked.

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