Broken Dreams (Broken 2)

“Jesus, dude, you better snap the hell out of it before we get to the house. You’re gonna freak Whitley out.”

Layton turned and looked at me. “Her water broke. Do you know what that means?”

I tried hard not to laugh as I said, “Um…she’s fixin’ to have a baby?”

I came around the corner and pulled up, and Layton jumped out of the truck before I even stopped. Mimi came out with a huge smile on her face. I let out a laugh and shook my head. I knew Courtney would never leave Whitley alone being so close to the due date, but she was going to be pissed this had happened right when she left.

Speaking of, Courtney came barreling up in my truck and skidded to a stop before she got out of the truck. As she walked by, she shot me the finger.

“What the fuck?” I whispered as she walked by.

I jumped out of the truck, ran up to her, and grabbed her by the arm. “Courtney, why did you just do that?”

She looked away from me, but I turned her body around, so she was facing me.

“Fuck you, Reed. I hate you.” She had tears streaming down her cheeks.

My heart dropped to my stomach. “What?” I whispered. I dropped my arms and took a few steps back.

She looked so angry.

“Courtney, I was kidding, baby. I swear to you, I wasn’t upset about what you said about the flowers. Why are you acting this way?”

The next thing I knew, she threw my cell phone at me. “Just don’t talk to me until we get Whitley to the hospital. Until then, I don’t want to look at you. Prick.”

She turned and walked away. I picked up my cell phone and saw she had opened my text messages.

Reese: Hey. Do you want to meet sometime this week? I know we’ve been keeping this a secret from the wife, but I’m really excited to see you. This is going to be amazing.

I looked up at Courtney as she was walking toward the porch.

Fuck me. She thinks I’m cheating on her.

I ran up to her, but Layton came out, helping Whitley. Court walked up to her and took her other arm as she helped her.

“Court, I have to talk to you—now.”

She shot me a dirty look and turned back to Whitley. “Remember to breathe, baby girl. That’s it. You got this.”

“Courtney?” I said.

She let go of Whitley and turned to look at me. “What you have to say is not nearly as important as Whitley having a baby with her husband—her husband who is loving and caring and faithful to her.”

Layton and Whitley both stopped, and Layton turned and looked at me.

“What’s going on?” Whitley asked as she held her stomach.

Courtney glared at me. “Nothing important.”

As she turned to walk away, I yelled out, “I didn’t cheat on you, Courtney. Reese is not a girl, for fuck’s sake. It’s a guy.”

Layton really looked confused now. “Are you talking about Reese Michaels? The guy I got Lulu from?”

I let out a sigh and dropped my head. There goes my surprise.

I looked up, and Courtney had stopped walking.

She slowly turned around and looked at me. “Reese is a dog breeder?”