Once they were in the room, Tucker fell asleep before Jace came out of the bathroom. Fully-clothed, boots still on, stretched out diagonally across the bed.
It took Jace longer. He hoped his brain was fried enough that he wouldn’t dream tonight. He wanted to sleep like the dead, as long as his body would let him.
Blythe was finishing breakfast when Renie walked in the hospital room.
“Good morning!”
“Good morning to you, too. Where’s that sweet little girl?”
“With your mom. She’s practicing the grandma thing.”
Blythe laughed. “I wonder if she’ll let the baby call her grandma.”
“Your mom will come up with something more unique.”
Renie was right. Her mom would never settle for something as mundane as grandma. It would be as interesting to see what name she came up with for herself, as it would be to decide what to name her baby.
Oh God, she had to think of a name for the baby. Tucker should have some say in it, shouldn’t he? And what would the baby’s last name be? Would it be Cochran or Rice?
She hadn’t thought about any of this while Tucker was gone. It was far too complicated. Had she gone the traditional route, like Brooke had, she’d be married already. Her husband wouldn’t have left her for the first few months of her pregnancy, and she wouldn’t have to worry about what the baby’s last name would be. She hated to think Brooke was right about anything. But if she was here, Blythe would have to agree with her. Good thing she wasn’t. Blythe laughed.
“What?” Renie asked.
“I was thinking about the lectures Brooke would be subjecting me to if she was here.”
“Oh, gosh…” Renie started mimicking some of the things they both thought Brooke would be saying.
Bree arrived in the middle of it. “You two sound like Brooke,” she said, which made them laugh harder.
“Renie, I wish you could stay closer to home. You’re good for her,” Bree told her.
“I won’t be gone that long. I promised my mom I’d help when the baby’s born, but as soon as I can, I’ll come back. I promise.”
“Sorry to put a damper on the mood in here, since it’s so nice to see you having fun, but I’ve been asked to tell you the Rice brothers are downstairs.”
“Ugh, no, don’t be such a buzzkill.”
“Tell me how you’re feeling about them,” said Bree.
Renie pulled a chair over, closer to the bed. “I talked to Jace last night.”
“Yeah, and what did he say?”
“He didn’t know where Tucker was. You have to know that. He wouldn’t have lied to you. That isn’t who he is.”
“There’s a part of me that knows that, or at least wants to believe it. I’m just so mad at both of them. Sometimes I wish I’d never met either one of them.” Blythe stopped talking and rubbed her belly. “But if I hadn’t met them, I wouldn’t be having this baby, and right now, this baby is the most important person in the world to me.”
Bree was crying.
“Don’t cry, Bree! You’re gonna make me cry. And I’m not sad. I’m mad. If I cry, I’ll be pathetic. I want to be mean, and stubborn, and make Tucker Rice pay for…”
For what? For hurting her? Leaving?
“Do you want to see him?”
“I don’t know. I do, and I don’t. I’m mad, I’m not kidding about that. I’m hurt. And I’m scared.”
“What are you afraid of, sweetie?” Bree asked the question, but Renie reached out and took Blythe’s hand.