Page 12 of Spring UnVeiled
As she crawled back into the bed, she texted her parents with her decision.
I hope you meant it when you offered to help me raise my son because I am keeping Ian Hubbard.Could you please pick up a car seat on the way to the hospital?Looks like you two need to go shopping.Love you both.Kyfollowed by a smiling emoji and a heart.
For the first time since her baby’s father had turned his back and walked away, she felt strong.She was no longer a victim of lost love, but a survivor of heartbreak.
She laid back down, still feeling a little dizzy.Lying on her side, smiling as she watched her newborn baby sleep, she closed her eyes…for the last time.
Chapter5
When Evan’s phone rang,he glanced at the illuminated clock on the bedside stand.
Fuck.
His mind immediately went to his SEAL team.He tried to remember which platoons were deployed and which troops were training and where.
Fumbling for the phone, he realized he wasn’t back in his condo in Virginia Beach.He was in the VIP quarters on base in Coronado.Even though his eyes were blurry, he didn’t recognize the phone number but knew the area code was California.Who the hell could be calling him at that hour?He’d be really pissed if it was a wrong number.
“Captain Hubbard, who the fuck is this and why the hell are you calling me at three twenty-five in the morning?”
“Evan.”Genevieve’s voice broke on his name.
Wide awake, he sat up straight in the unfamiliar bed.“Vivi, what’s wrong?”
“She’s…” His ex-wife gasped in a breath.“She’s gone.”
“Vivi, I need you to take a deep breath and let it out slowly.Then tell me who’s gone.”
The woman he’d loved for years did as instructed.“Kylie.”She broke into uncontrolled tears.
He was already out of bed and sliding into khaki slacks and a polo shirt.“I’m on my way.”No matter what, whether this was real or imagined, Genevieve needed him.
“Now, tell me why you think Kylie…” Fuck.He couldn’t say the words as his throat tightened and closed.He swallowed hard as he slipped into a pair of loafers without socks.“Did someone from the hospital call you?”
“Yes,” she squeaked out.
“What exactly did they say?”
It took a few tries, but she finally got her breathing more under control.“They said that they don’t know why.”She sniffed.“But when they walked in the room the baby was crying and Kylie…was…gone.”
“Gone, as in she’d left the hospital?”That didn’t sound like his Kylie, but he liked that idea better than the alternative.
“No.She’s…dead.”Even though Genevieve’s words were just above a whisper, it was as though someone kicked him right in the solar plexus.Thank Christ he was passing the couch and sat down on the arm because his knees wouldn’t hold him up.
Nothing is ever as bad as first reported, he reminded himself.
He prayed she was wrong.He prayed that once they got to the hospital, they’d find his little girl sitting up in that bed eating Jell-O.He prayed it was a mistake.
As he started to stand, another thought hit him.What if she’d taken her own life?She hadn’t been thrilled about having a baby.Had he been an asshole for asking her to give it twenty-four hours?Had he pushed her over that edge to the point where she felt like suicide was her only way out?He’d heard that postpartum depression could really fuck with a woman’s mind.
Heat seared the back of his eyes.
You know better than to jump to conclusions!he chastised himself.Get the facts.Assess the situation.Deal with whatever comes next.
Evan took a deep breath and stood.“I’ll be there to pick you up in just a few minutes.”As he glanced around the unfamiliar two-bedroom quarters, he wondered where the keys were to his rental car.His aide had pointed out an SUV parked in the garage when he brought him home from the hospital last night.
He refused to be that much of an ass and call Lieutenant Commander Harrison at this hour of the night just to ask where the fuck he put the keys.Flipping on a few lights, he found a bowl next to the door with two sets of keys; ones that were obviously house keys and the other with a car rental tag.
“Vivi, I’m heading out right now.”With the house still locked up tight for the night, Evan exited the side door to the garage.As he slid into the SUV, it dawned on him.“Do you still live?—”
