Page 14 of Tangled
“Can I call Kara?” he asked. “Please.”
She opened her eyes again and studied his. There was more than concern there. He was worried. Very worried. Yet he was asking, not assuming. After a beat, she gave a tiny nod. She hadn’t meant to stay hidden from her friend for so long anyway. And she could use Kara’s company, not to mention her medical advice.
Her lids closed again, and she felt the soft brush of Brad’s lips across her forehead, followed by the sound of him rising and leaving the room. After that, she slipped into a sleep so deep she didn’t even dream.
***
“Brad, what’s going on?” Kara asked as she walked into his apartment. He’d called her the moment he’d shut the door on Scarlett’s sleeping form. She’d promised to come over with her medical kit, but he hadn’t told her anything more. While he waited, he’d paced and paced his living room as he read every article he could find online about hyperemesis gravidarum. He needed to know everything about it because Scarlett was miserable, and he wasn’t physically capable of letting her bemiserable. Although a small part of him also recognized that his obsessive researching was a diversion—a diversion from facing the fact that he,they, were having a baby.
When he didn’t answer, she set her bag down on the sofa table and studied him. “You’re starting to worry me,” she said.
He ran a hand through his hair, something he’d done at least a dozen times in the forty-five minutes he’d been waiting. “It’s, um, not me,” he said. “I need to show you something, and I need you to not freak out.”
Kara cocked her head as her eyes searched his. “Okay,” she said, drawing the word out. Normally, such a lukewarm response would have him doubting whether she’d keep her word. But Kara was tougher than she looked. He knew from listening to her talk about her time working for the aid agency that she’d seen far more of the world than he had.
“Come,” he said, gesturing with his head toward the hall that led to the bedrooms. He paused outside the guest room and listened. He believed Scarlett was still sleeping, but he wanted to be sure.
When he heard nothing, he put a finger to his lips to tell Kara to stay quiet, then eased the door open enough for her to peek inside.
A tiny sharp inhale was all the recognition she showed, although she lingered for a moment, watching her friend. Finally, she pulled back, and he shut the door again before leading her back to his living room.
“What is Scarlett doing here?” she demanded, keeping her voice to just above a whisper. The walls and doors in his apartment, in the hotel, were thick, but he appreciated her caution.
“It’s, um, kind of a long story.”
Kara’s eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms. “We have time.”
He wanted a glass of whiskey, desperately, but he wouldn’t have one. Not only was it not quite noon, but he didn’t intend to let himself off easy with some false courage. Plus, he’d also heard Ellie and Olivia complain in the early days of their pregnancies about the smell. The last thing he wanted to do was give Scarlett another reason to vomit.
He sank into a chair and rested his head in his hands. When he looked up, Kara hadn’t moved.
“I met her in December. Randomly in a bar. Some bad shit went down that I don’t know if I can talk about, at least not until after we talk to Ryan. Afterward, we ended up in my hotel room.” Kara’s eyebrow shot up. “And yes,” he continued. “What you think happened happened. And now she’s carrying my,our, baby and has that morning sickness that seems like it’s trying to kill her. Can youpleasehelp her feel better?”
Kara stared at him. Then, abruptly, she sank into the chair across from him. “Scarlett is pregnant?” she asked. He nodded. “With your baby?”
“Technically, it’sourbaby, but yes.”
She stared at him again before slumping back in the seat. “And by ‘bad shit,’ what can you tell me?”
He hesitated, truly not sure if he should tell her. Then again, the family might gossip like magpies among themselves, but they were a vault with outsiders. “It’s not relevant to her condition now, but we saw a man get murdered,” he said before briefly recalling what they’d told Ryan.
When he finished, Kara continued staring at him. Then a wisp of a smile touched her eyes. “Well, not that there were any bets going, but if there were, you’d definitely win the weirdest way you two met.”
That drew a smile from him as well. The first in what felt like a long time, even though it had probably only been a couple of hours. “You would have made a mint if you’d wagered onthat,” he agreed. She chuckled, then he sobered. “Can you help her, though? She’s really sick. She called out yesterday—and yes, before you ask, she was working here. I didn’t know that, nor did she know that I am who I am. I’ll leave it to her to tell you that story. Then Ryan and I went to see her this morning and she passed out. Not for long, but she was definitely out. And she barely made the short ride here from the seasonal housing before she lost the contents of her stomach in the bathroom. I’m worried and I don’t know what to do.”
Kara arched her brows. “And you found out you’re going to be a father. That’s a lot for a day.”
He wagged his head. “This isn’t about me. Can you help her?”
“I can. Are you going to make me wait to hear why you and Ryan stopped by this morning? I can’t imagine you make house calls for all your staff when they call out.”
He nodded. “Another story, another day. What can you do?”
She studied him some more. “She’s why you seemed out of sorts, different, when you got back from Paris, isn’t she?”
He let out a huff, then rose. “Coffee?” She nodded, and he walked into his kitchen.
“Witnessing the murder had something to do with it. But yes, it was her,” he said. He let that information percolate while he made them both an Americano.
