The Truth

And there I go again, crying messy rivers down my cheeks.

“Thank you,” I manage to blubber to Harper. To Ace, I say, “You don’t deserve her. Do not ever piss her off because I’ll keep her and dump your ass in a heartbeat.”

Ace wraps his arm around Harper and presses a soft kiss to her temple. “Love you too, Sis. And trust me, I know I married up. Seems like you didn’t do too bad, either.”

Ace looks at Daniel with a question in his eyes, and I wonder what conversations transpired between them during the period I was out. But before I can inquire, Mom comes up to the bedside, pushing Elle and Ace out of the way to take my hand. “Did they say what happened?”

Elle chimes in, “Yeah, what the hell? You dropped like a bag of bricks! Neve thought you died, and when I tried to reassure her that you’re fine and awake now, she started calling you Zombie Tiffy. I’m gonna let you deal with that one because luckily, she’s not scared of zombies yet.”

“She’s not?”

“Her only frame of reference is some Halloween special. She thinks zombies wear dark eye shadow and growl a lot.”

“I can probably pull that off if I need to,” I joke. But when I try to laugh, it hurts my head and I wince.

Five sets of eyes, full of questions, focus on me.

Daniel answers them all, not giving me a chance to. “Her blood sugar dropped from not eating, and she’s been working too hard.”

I can see what he’s doing. He is covering for me, giving me the chance to decide whether to tell them about the baby. He adds a sharp look to Ace, and I look between the two men. Somehow, Daniel knows that I’ve told Ace and is telling him without words to keep his mouth shut.

But enough of this. I want to tell my family the truth. This pregnancy is important and should be celebrated, not hidden away. Still, I hold my tongue until Daniel and I talk. He deserves that.

So I nod, silently agreeing with Daniel's explanation.

“Okay, well, I guess. You have to take care of yourself, dear. You can’t run yourself into the ground and expect to pop right back up,” Mom says with all her years of motherly wisdom. “Besides, deadlines can wait. Work is replaceable, but you are not.”

“Said like a true mother,” Daniel says with affection. “And very correct.”

A nurse comes in to check my vitals, which are all stable. He encourages me to drink some more water and eat a little bit off the tray. It’s just Jell-O, but I get it. Get something in my system besides IV fluids. After witnessing a spoonful going down, the nurse looks around the gathered group of people. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask some of you to leave. Visiting hours are almost over.” He looks at Harper curiously. “And I’m guessing some of you have better places to be than here.”

Mom looks at me, shaking her head. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”

She shuffles around the bed in her heels to push Daniel out of the way. She claims the chair he was sitting in earlier and grabs the water cup from Daniel, holding up the straw for me to take a sip. I give in and drink, which is surprisingly good. “Mom.”

Daniel’s clearly not pleased and clears his throat. “Mrs. Young, if you’ll allow me—”

Thankfully, Dad saves Daniel from Mom’s wrath. “Honey, get your butt up and let’s go. Can’t you see Tiffany’s beau has this handled and is taking good care of her?”

Ace snorts in amusement. “Beau? What year is this? 1821?”

“Well, I feel really damn strange calling him her boyfriend,” he whispers. “He’s damn near the same age as me and runs a multi-billion-dollar company.”

Daniel smiles at my dad, letting it roll off his back. “Beau or boyfriend, either works just fine.”

Mom huffs at Dad like he’s being ridiculous. “I’m not going anywhere when my baby is in the hospital.”

She tries to get me to drink again, but this time I push the cup away kindly. “Mom, I’m fine. And Daniel, can you stay with me?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else,” he says, sitting down on the bed next to my legs and laying a possessive hand on my thigh.

Dad comes around and puts his hands on Mom’s shoulders. “That’s your exit cue, dear.”

Mom looks uncertain, afraid to let her baby go when she’s hurt but knowing she needs to. “Oh. Well, uh . . . okay. If you’re sure, honey?”

She’s not going to give up easily, but I give her a reassuring nod. “I’m sure, Mom.”

Dad reaches across to the other side of the bed, shaking Daniel’s hand and saying, “Take care of her.” Then he hugs me. “I’ll take care of your mother.” He rolls his eyes in annoyance, but he’s smiling, totally understanding of Mom’s worry. “I’m glad you’re okay, honey.”