Page 65 of Harmony Island Gazette
All I could do was shake my head and cry.
“Juniper, you need to make sure the baby is okay. Boone can take care of himself. He’s strong.” She’d turned her body so she was staring at me now. Each hand gripped my upper arms as she held my gaze. “You have to think of the baby now. Please.”
I stared at her, trying to process what she was saying. And then, slowly, I began to nod. “Okay,” I whispered.
Mom looked hopeful. “Okay?”
“Okay. But you’re calling the sheriff on the way.”
Mom pulled open the door, and I collapsed on the front seat. “Of course,” she said as she shut my door and hurried around the hood to the driver’s side.
She stuck the key into the ignition, and the engine roared to life. I closed my eyes and tried to relax as she drove the familiar streets to Harmony Medical Center. I listened to her voice as she talked to the deputy sheriff. She relayed what had happened and the address of Kevin’s rental. Then she thanked the deputy before hanging up the phone.
A few seconds later, her voice drew my attention. “Juniper?”
“Mm-hm?” I opened my eyes to see her face illuminated by the red light we were stopped at.
“The sheriff is going over to Kevin’s place. He’s going to take things from here.” She glanced over at me. “Boone will be okay.”
My throat felt crackly as I swallowed. My emotions rose up in my chest as tears pricked my eyes once more. All I could do was close them, or the dam inside of me would break and I was going to be unconsolable.
I had Boone all wrong. I’d allowed my fear of Kevin to cloud my judgement when I yelled at Boone. When I’d accused him of lying and manipulating me for his own gain.
From the look on Kevin’s face when he saw Boone enter the living room, one thing was for sure. Boone did not work for Kevin, because KevinhatedBoone.
I’d run off the first man who had been there to protect me. If I ever got the chance to apologize to Boone, I would. That man deserved my eternal gratitude, and I was willing to give it to him.
Problem was, I doubted he wanted it.
To him, I must be this emotional and fickle woman who jumped to the wrong conclusion every time. My life was a mess, and I doubted he wanted to be the man to help me sort it out.
No, Boone was going to leave at the first chance he got. And the truth was, I didn’t blame him. I’d leave me, too.
24
JUNIPER
I didn’t feel better about Boone and what may or may not be happening over at Kevin’s house when I walked into Harmony Medical Center. I waited anxiously next to Mom while she checked me in.
I couldn’t shake Boone from my mind as the nurse led us from the check-in desk to one of the back rooms so she could take my vitals. I tried to stop worrying about him as I was brought to a bed where they used an ultrasound machine to check on the baby.
There was a brief moment when all the world around me faded away as the nurse pointed out the heartbeat in the tiny little bean inside of me. She informed me that I was about ten weeks along and that my morning sickness should die down soon.
But once the wand was no longer pressed to my stomach and the machine had been turned off, thoughts of Boone came flooding back.
I was worried about his safety. I’d never seen Kevin this bad. He was not going to take lightly a man coming in to interfere with what he was doing to his wife. I’d already witnessed the contempt he had for Boone when he walked into my parents’ house a couple days ago. I couldn’t imagine how enraged he must have been when he saw Boone barge into his rental and stand between us.
I knew Boone was strong. I just feared what Kevin would do when he realized I was never coming back.
I also worried about the deputy sheriff. Would Boone be able to accurately describe what had gone on? That he was protecting me? I didn’t want him to suffer consequences when I was the one who’d willing walked into Kevin’s house, thinking that he’d changed.
He hadn’t changed, and he was never going to.
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the hospital pillow Mom had situated behind me. She was currently scouring the hospital for some food and a drink. My stomach was tied into knots, but I knew if I didn’t eat soon, the nausea would hit and I’d be making friends with the toilet bowl.
I focused on relaxing my muscles. My body felt as if it were sinking into the mattress. I was anxious and tired at the same time. It was an exhausting combo.
A soft knock on the door had me opening my eyes. I glanced over, expecting to see a nurse walking in, but instead I was met with a deputy sheriff. He had a notepad in one hand and a pen in the other. He turned as if he were about to leave, so I called out to stop him. “Hi.”
