“Well, he’d be a damn fool not to come back to you. That Sara chick ain’t got nothing on you, babe,” she winked.
I ran my hand across the back of my neck, trying to ease some of the growing tension as I said, “She was his first love, and you’ve seen the pictures of her. She’s beautiful and…”
“And so are you. You’re all that and so much more!”
“It’s not just that. They have history. You heard what Doc told Maverick. Cotton loved her, and it broke him when she left. She’s the one that got away.”
“She left, Cass. Never came to see him. Hell, she never even called the man. There’s no coming back from that.”
“I’m not so sure,” I told her, fighting back the tears.
“Stop with the doubts, Cass. This isn’t like you. You’ve always been sure of yourself. There’s nothing for you to worry about with this chick. Besides, you’re starting to sound like me, and that’s never a good thing,” she laughed.
I forced a smile and said, “Okay. I’ll stop. Let’s go call Dr. Roberts and see when we can get in to see her. I’ll make an appointment too. It’s almost time for me to get another prevention shot.”
“So you’ll go with me?” Henley asked excitedly.
“Of course, I’m going with you! I wouldn’t miss it.” I reached into Henley’s purse and grabbed her phone. As I handed it to her, I said, “Now, give your man a call. It’s time to tell him he’s going to be a daddy.”
“Are you sure? What if the test is wrong?”
“Call him, Lee Bug. He’d be pissed if you waited two weeks to tell him.”
She nodded and pressed his number on her phone. Seconds later, her eyes lit up, letting me know he’d answered. “Yes, Maverick. I’m fine. I just needed talk to you about something. Have you got a minute?” There was a pause and then she said, “You know how I told you I thought I had the stomach bug? Well, it wasn’t the stomach bug.” She paused and smiled as she listened to him talk. “No… stop. I’m fine, Maverick. Just listen to me. When I wasn’t feeling any better, I decided to take a pregnancy test. Well… it came back positive. I know it’s early and we haven’t talked about…” her voice trailed off as she waited for him to stop talking. “Yes, positive means pregnant,” she laughed. I could hear his voice rumbling through the line, and even from across the room I could tell his was thrilled. “I’m about to call the doctor now. I’ll know more after the appointment.” Her smile grew wider and wider as she listened to him yammer on, and when he was finally done talking, she said, “I love you too. I’ll let you know what the doctor says.”
As soon as she got off the phone with Maverick, we called the doctor. They told her it would be a week before she could get her in for an OBGYN appointment, but the doctor sent her a prescription of prenatal vitamins to last until she got in to see her. In true Henley fashion, she spent the entire day on her computer, searching unique baby names and the latest designs for nurseries. While she was busy scoping out all the new trends, I spent the day working in the bar. My mind was in a complete blur the entire time I was doing inventory. I couldn’t stop thinking about Cotton and wondering what was happening in Alaska. I wanted him home—safe and as far away from Sara as possible, and I felt like a selfish ass for feeling that way. I knew she was helping the club and should’ve been thankful, but I couldn’t stop myself from wondering just how strong her connection with Cotton really was and what would happen to us if she decided to act on it.
After a two-hour drive to Seattle, we boarded the plane without any delays. The flight actually left on time, and we were in the air just after nine. Stitch was sitting next to me, going over the files Big had given us on Derek. As our Enforcer, Stitch didn’t like surprises and wanted to be sure we weren’t missing anything. His eyes were glued to those damn papers until he was certain we were ready for what lay ahead. We were just about to land when he said, “I’m going to want to check all the artillery before we head out.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” I assured him. Sara’s security firm kept an overstock of weapons for emergencies, and Seth was confident we’d have everything we’d need. He guaranteed to have it waiting for us when we arrived at their firm. Stitch gave me a quick nod, then rested his head back on the headrest and closed his eyes, trying his best to prepare for the landing. Thankfully, it didn’t take us long to get on the ground, and once we’d exited the plane, we headed straight for Sara’s car. Once everyone was inside, Sara grabbed her phone and made a call to Seth.
“What’s Derek’s location,” she asked. She waited for his answer and then asked, “Are you sure he’s still there?” After another brief pause, she said, “Good. We’re headed to the office now.”