I chug the rest of the water wishing it was something stronger. A good shot of whiskey right now would do the trick. Too bad I never drink and tattoo. On the way out of the breakroom, I throw the bottle in the recycle bin and look at my reflection in the mirror on the wall. I look like a tortured man; I’ve aged twenty years in nine months. “Fuck!” I say under my breath. “Get it together, Aiden.”
I walk back toward my area, still stretching my arms. “Sorry about that. Let’s get it going.”
Treyton grunts; no doubt he’s fed up with my shit. So am I. Trust me, if I could forget about Gracie I would. But it’s not possible.
I pick up the tattoo gun and get back to work, leaning my wrist on Treyton’s shoulder blade to help steady my hand. It’s not a technique I like to use, but it works.
I barely get started when my phone starts to ring. I should ignore it—I’ve already stalled enough—but since Gracie’s left, I haven’t let one phone call go to voicemail. I don’t want to miss her call in case she does ever decide she wants to talk to me again.
I don’t turn off the gun because I’m determined to just find out who it is and tell them I’ll call them back. One look at the caller ID and I see Tate Jennings’ name. He’s a friend. I’ve given him a tattoo once or twice and he’s saved my ass one time after Gracie left and I was on a drunken binge and about to destroy everything at the Whiskey Whistler Bar.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Aiden, this is Tate.”
I move the phone to hold against my shoulder. “What’s up, man? I’m kinda in the middle of something. Can I call you back?”
His sigh is loud on the phone, and the tone in his voice tells me that something isn’t right. “No, it can’t wait. I, well, thought you should know that Gracie’s here...”
I turn the gun off and jump up. Treyton turns to me with a question but doesn’t say anything. His stare levels me, and I have no doubt he’s on high alert ready to go if something is going down. “In Whiskey Run?” I ask, not even recognizing my own voice.
He pauses, and it takes all I have to remain silent while I wait for him to respond. “Uh, actually no. At the hospital in Jasper.”
My stomach plummets, and I can feel myself getting sick. “Fuck! It will take me thirty minutes to get there. Is she okay?”
Tate stammers, “Uh, yeah, as far as I know she’s okay.”
I tighten my hold on the phone and grab my keys off the counter. “Don’t let her leave. I’m coming.”
I hang up the phone before I even think to ask what floor she’s on or where she’s at. “I’m sorry, Trey. I have to go.”
“Gracie?” he asks while he follows me out to my truck.
“Yeah, she’s in the hospital… fuck... I don’t even know what’s happening, I’ll have to call Tate back. I have to go.”
“Let me drive you.”
“I’m fine. Can you cancel my appointments for me?”
He nods, and I drive off toward Jasper.
The thirty-minute drive gives me plenty of time to think, and every thought is about Gracie. We were good together, damn we were so good together. The attraction was instant for both of us, and from that moment I knew she was going to be my wife. I know it’s crazy, but even now, even after she walked away from me, left me with only a note, I would marry her tomorrow if she’d have me. It makes me sound like a punk ass that is pussy whipped, but I don’t care. There’s nothing or nobody that matters to me like Gracie does. First, I’m going to make sure she’s all right. Then I’m going to find a way to keep her with me for always.
9
Gracie
“Yeah, we’re in room 312, but I should probably...”
Tate pulls the phone from his ear and then pockets it. I jut my chin at him because I know who was on the other end of that phone call. “That was Aiden, right? You called him and told him I was here.”
I know it sounds like I’m accusing him, but I’m not. The whole situation is messed up, and this is not how I intended for Aiden to find out he is going to be a father.
I was on my way to Savage Ink. I was going to tell Aiden about the baby, and even though I’ve had almost four hours to figure out how I was going to do it, I still didn’t have a clue. Maybe this is best. He’s going to know as soon as he lays eyes on me anyway.
When I started having pains, I thought it was just Braxton-Hicks again, but the worse they got, I knew I needed to get checked out. I never dreamed they would admit me and that I was already three centimeters dilated.