Page 59 of Gatling
I left my phone and my cut in the cabin. The only thing I brought with me was my coat and a box full of whiskey that I’d stashed in the kitchen, above the stove.
I’m pregnant.
That text remained unanswered, heralding a future that scared the shit out of me.
Kelsie was a dreamer, an optimist. I know what she would say—that I’m a good man, that she wants me to be her husband and the father of her baby.
But that’s not me.
I looked down at my hands, marked with calluses and scars.
These hands only knew how to kill. They knew nothing of love.
“Thought I might find you out here.”
My head snapped up. Noah hiked through the trees, shoulders hunched up around his ears, hands buried in the pockets of his tan Carhartt.
“Kelsie has been blowing up your phone. She’s worried sick.”
“I don’t have my phone on me,” I rasped. Fuck, it felt weird to speak to another human. I’d been out here for two days with no one to talk to but the woods.
Noah and I said nothing for several long seconds, just staring at each other. He leaned back against a tree across from me, blowing on his hands to warm them.
“Aren’t you cold?” he asked. “I’m freezing my ass off and I’ve only been walking for five or ten minutes."
I shrugged.
“Can’t feel much of anything now.”
Noah’s gaze flicked to the pile of empty whiskey bottles.
“You always were a depressed, miserable drunk.”
“What heartwarming words of comfort.”
“Trust me,” he replied. “It’s taking every ounce of willpower to stop myself from kicking your ass after you got my sister knocked up.”
I dragged my gaze up slowly to meet his.
“What’s holding you back?”
Noah huffed and glanced away, nudging at a clod of dirt with the toe of his boot.
“Kelsie. She’s been through enough. She doesn’t need us to be fighting.”
A pause stretched between us. I scrubbed at a scratch on my palm.
“Is she…okay?”
“Yeah. Doctor gave her the green light to go home. She still needs to rest for a few days, but all things considered, she’s doing well.”
Another question weighed on the tip of my tongue.
“And the baby?”
Noah slid his gaze back to meet mine. His eyes said he was not pleased with this topic of conversation, but there was a glimmer of understanding at the same time.
“She’s fine, too.”
