It's Our Time (Carolina Rebels 3)

“Damn, man. This house is nice.” Zane whistles as we walk inside. It is a nice two-story house that sits in a subdivision.

“Yeah. I kind of went overboard, but,” he shrugs, “having all those bedrooms is incredibly useful right now.”

“Elias James?” a woman calls.

“Yeah, Ma. It’s me. Some of the guys are with me,” he finishes as an older lady enters the foyer with little Bree in her arms. “Ma, this is Zane, Scott, and Ian. Guys, this is my mom, Alice.”

“Nice to meet you gentlemen.”

EJ snorts as he takes Bree from her. “They aren’t gentlemen, Ma.”

“We most certainly are,” Scott defends us. “We came to give y’all a mini-break and play with the baby. Hand her over, Elias James.”

EJ glares as he nods his head toward a room on the left, the living room. We take a seat on the couch, and EJ does actually hand Bree to Scott, but it’s only because he’s going to help his mom with lunch.

“Man, I forgot how much I love babies,” Scott murmurs. “It’s been forever since Stella and Stephanie were this little.”

“You could always have more kids,” Zane says.

Scott just shakes his head and talks to Bree instead. “And your daddy said you’re a fussy baby. He’s crazy, isn’t he?”

She blinks and jerks her hand. We take turns holding the baby and EJ takes her once it’s time for lunch. I don’t really know much about him, but it’s clear that he wants to take care of Bree and that he loves her. If I don’t know anything else about EJ Bertuzzi, I know that he’s taking the dad role seriously.

“I thought you said she cried all the time?” Zane asks. “She hasn’t cried once since we’ve been here.”

Alice laughs. “She’s taking a break. She had just calmed down from a crying fit before you got here.”

Really, all she’s done is sleep, but it doesn’t sound like she’s sleeping at night, so she has to catch up at some point. Her schedule is backward. For EJ’s sake, I hope they get it turned around soon. We thank them for lunch and head out, so we can get our own nap in before we have to be at the arena. When I get into the car, my phone is on.

There are dozens of missed calls from Sydney and even more texts. Before I can press the buttons to call her back, there’s another incoming call from her.

“Hey, ba—”

“Where the fuck have you been?” she whisper-yells. “I’ve been calling and texting for over an hour, Ian! You can’t just not answer! We have a kid! You always have to answer me! What the fuck have you been doing while I’ve been over here losing my mind?”

“What is going on?” I ask, my heart hammering in my chest at how upset she sounds. “My phone died and it was charging in the car while I was at EJ’s to see the baby and have lunch. What’s wrong?”

“Well, that’s fucking great! I’ve been in the hospital with Savannah while you’re socializing! You can’t do that, Ian! You—”

“What happened to Savannah?” I interrupt. Thank god I haven’t pulled out of EJ’s driveway yet. I’d have to pull over.

Sydney takes a deep breath. “I got a call from the daycare. They were outside since it was warm today. She fell, broke her arm, and hit her head. They had to call an ambulance. So, I’m here with her. She wants her fucking daddy, and I can’t get up with him! She has to get stitches, Ian. And a cast for her arm. And you were nowhere to be found!”

“I’m on my way now.”

She scoffs. “Why?”

In the background, I hear, “Ms. Jarvis?”

“I have to go.” She hangs up without another word.

Fuck! I read her texts, see she’s at the county hospital. Before I can leave, EJ is jogging out of the house.

“Hey, Marco just called me to see if you were here. Sydney has been trying to call you because—”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks. I gotta go.”

What are the odds that the one time I don’t have my phone with me, something happens to Savannah? Sydney didn’t sound like she’s going to cool off any time soon either.