Fighting to Breathe (Shooting Stars 1)

“Like that’s gonna happen.” He shakes his head, knowing my mom as well as I do, since he basically lived with us from the time we turned sixteen, when his dad kicked him out.

“I know, but I won’t separate my family and Lea.”

“I don’t think you should,”

“I can’t. I know she’s afraid of being alone.” I take a pull from my beer, setting it on my thigh. “I want her happy, and I don’t even know if she realizes that part of her happiness is dependent on having people around who care about her.”

“I can’t imagine Lea not having friends in Montana.”

“She said most of her friends were friends of hers and Ken’s. I guess some of them knew he was having an affair and never told her about it,” I reveal.

“Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with people?”

“I have no fucking idea.”

“Well, if you ever hear Rhonda’s cheating on me, you better fucking tell me or I’m kicking your ass.”

“Shut the fuck up. You and I both know that is never gonna happen,” I scoff.

“Just sayin,” he growls as his knuckles turn white around the bottle in his hand, like even the idea of Rhonda with another man pisses him off enough to break something.

“She’s getting ready to have your baby,” I remind him.

“I know, thank fuck.” His body relaxes, making me laugh. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“How long’s it going to take until you tell me Lea’s pregnant?”

“Seeing how it should have happened fifteen years ago, hopefully not long, but first I need to find a way to settle everything between us then put a ring on her finger,” I say.

“You’ll find a way.”

“I have to; our future depends on it,” I mutter as his phone starts to ring.

“Lea’s calling.” He frowns, looking at the phone in his hand and swiping his finger across the screen, putting it to his ear. Through the speaker, I hear Lea’s worried voice saying something, and then Ben is up and taking off through the house. I get up and follow him, listening as he growls, “I’m on my way. Tell her I’m on my way.”

“What’s going on?” I question, hopping into the passenger seat of his truck and slamming the door.

“Rhonda went into labor. Lea’s driving her to the hospital now.”

“Is she okay?” I ask nervously.

“She was yelling in the background for me to get my ass there or she was cutting off my balls, so I think so,” he says, running a shaky hand over his head and stepping harder on the gas.

“We’re less than five minutes away, and if you kill us before we get there, Rhonda is gonna be pissed.”

His foot eases off the gas and he turns toward town, still speeding, but not as fast as he was. Once we reach the intersection for the hospital, I tell him, “Just pull up in front, and I’ll park the truck while you head inside.”

“Thanks, man,” he says, and as soon as we pull up out front of emergency, he opens his door, thankfully remembering to put it in park before getting out and jogging inside. Once I have the truck parked, I head inside and see Lea standing in the hall, talking to Dr. Rubin. My pace quickens as his hand moves to her cheek then to rest on her shoulder, close to that spot on her neck I have claimed as my own.

“Babe,” I say, which comes out more like a growl as I close the distance between us. Her head turns my way, and without saying anything to Dr. Rubin, she closes the space between us, throwing herself into me. “Shhhh.” I wrap my arms around her, noticing how badly she’s shaking. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, everything’s perfect. I got her here in time.”

“You’re trembling,” I state, rubbing my hands down her arms. Her head tilts back and she smiles a beautiful smile. “I’m coming off an adrenalin rush, or that’s what Keith was just telling me.”

I grunt and she smiles bigger, dipping forward, placing her forehead on my chest. “Is Ben in there with Rhonda?” I ask, and she nods then tilts her head back once more to look at me.

“Yeah, she was already dilated to an eight when they got her settled in the room.”

“So what happened?”

“We were watching a movie and I got up to make us some popcorn. When I came back, she was bent over on the bed, holding her stomach. She told me that her water broke. I was going to call an ambulance, but she argued with me until I agreed to take her in my car. I drove like a crazy woman to get here, afraid I would end up having to deliver the baby.”

Chuckling, I rub her back, muttering, “You did good, baby.”

“How’s it going, man?” Keith asks, putting his hand on my shoulder when I turn to lead Lea to one of the chairs in the hall.

“Good, you?”

“Good.” He shrugs, looking at Lea then at me again, but I don’t see anything in his eyes when he looks at her—no heat or desire, just concern, the same kind you would have for any friend. “You gonna be okay, Lea?”

“Austin’s here,” she says, like all she needs is me with her to make everything okay. He puts his hands in his pockets, watching as I take a seat and pull Lea down into my lap, instead of settling her in the seat next to me.

“Dr. Rubin, can you come in here?” a nurse asks, poking her head out of a door across the hall from us.

&n

bsp; “Sure.” He nods, heading towards the room, going inside, and closing the door behind himself. Ten minutes later, a loud cry travels through the quiet hall.

“Oh, my God,” Lea whispers, sliding off my lap into the chair next to me. Her arm wraps around mine and her head leans on my shoulder as we listen to the loud cry coming from a few feet away.

“He’s perfect,” Ben says, stepping out into the hall spotting us. I get up and go to my best friend, giving him a hug and a pat on the back. “I’m a dad,” he says, and I see tears of pride in his eyes.

“You’re going to be a great dad. Congrats, Ben,” Lea says from my side, and his eyes drop to her and he picks her up off the ground, spinning her around, making her laugh echo down the hall.

“Thanks for getting her here,” he says, kissing her temple.

“I didn’t want to deliver the baby,” she grumbles as he drops her to her feet, making him and me both chuckle.

“The doctors are cleaning him up. As soon as they say it’s okay, I’ll bring you guys in to meet him,” he says, looking at the door anxiously.

“Go be with your family, brother. We’ll be here,” I tell him, and he nods, heading back into the room. I pull Lea back to the chairs and sit with my arm wrapped around her while we wait.

When Dr. Rubin walks out, we both stand and head towards him.

“Mom and baby are doing great. Ben says you can go in now,” he says, patting my shoulder and smiling at Lea before walking off down the hall. When we walk into the room, Rhonda is in the bed, with her hair braided over her shoulder and the blankets up high around her. Ben’s standing, holding a small bundle in his arms while talking to the doctor, and the nurse who called for Dr. Rubin is filling out some paperwork off to the side.

“Hey.” Lea walks over to Rhonda, leaning over and kissing her cheek, and I follow, doing the same. Ben comes over carrying his son in his arms. His head dips to look at his face and he speaks softly to him, once he’s close to us. “Braden, I would like to introduce you to your godparents, Lea and Austin,” Ben says, causing Lea to inhale a sharp breath.