Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 77663 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77663 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
The worst thing they did to me, though, was to have dinner with their father and his mistress the last night they were here. I don’t understand what I did that was so wrong for my family to treat me like this. They knew how much I had suffered because of their father and that woman, and still…
Dan was the only one I could count on, and now he was lying in that bed lifeless, not moving, not talking. “Dan, can you hear me? You’ve got to pull through. I need you; your son needs you. Dan, Dan.”
I shook his arm, but there was no movement, nothing, not even when I pinched him. I felt like there was a hole in my chest, a deep gaping maw that nothing would ever fill. No, there’s still Junior. Sweet little Junior who needs me.
A son to raise to replace the one I’d lost. Yes, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll give all the love I have to my little boy. My little Dan. I was about to walk out of the room when a different doctor came into the room.
“I’m sorry, but where is Amanda Stewart?”
“Why do you need her?”
“She’s listed as his next of kin on his insurance. She would have to be the one to decide where we go from here.”
I felt the world spinning and had to sit down. ‘But they’re divorced.”
“That doesn’t matter; she’s still listed as next of kin and the only one who can make the decision as to whether or not we remove your son from life support.”
“Isn’t there a way to fight this?”
“I suppose you can contact a lawyer, yes.”
A lawyer, I’ve gotta get a lawyer. Okay, think, think. How much is this gonna cost me? I left the room almost in a daze and turned around twice because I couldn’t remember what I was doing or where I was going.
My family has a lawyer, but he doesn’t handle things like this; he’s more of an estate lawyer. But maybe there’s someone at his firm. I tried calling my husband, but he wasn’t picking up.
I left the hospital in a daze, not aware of my surroundings, and even bumped my shoulder into the wall a time or two. Outside in the early evening twilight, I tried to catch my breath as soon as I stepped outside in the fresh air and was almost run over. There was a lot of commotion, and a man was yelling, but I was too distraught to hear what he was saying or even look in his direction.
I did have enough sense to move out of the way of the crowd of people that came rushing past me.
THUNDER
I’m going to kill that fucking doctor. We were just in her office about eight hours ago; she couldn’t see this shit coming? I told her ass I wanted to move closer to the hospital when the time came; I could’ve rented a hotel or some shit for the occasion and had all my girl’s friends and family there with her, which I would’ve done had I know today was the day.
First of all, fuck this shit. She didn’t even know she was in labor; I fucking went into labor, yes, get that, me Thunder McCall. To make matters worse, her team was there; my men, rough around the edges, badass, no-nonsense strike-to-kill men, were in my kitchen at my behest because I’d lost my fucking mind and decided that everyone had to be there just in case something popped off with the baby.
It wasn’t bad enough that I was wearing an apron and baking a tray of snicker noodles, doodles, what the fuck because that’s what she said she wanted.
I had just taken the tray out of the oven, and she was laughing about something with my sister and her grandmother, who were keeping her from losing her shit while I baked, when a pain hit me in the gut so hard and so unexpectedly that I almost sent the tray flying.
“What the fuck!” I looked around the room at all the startled faces, but before I could say anything more, my knees almost buckled from another searing pain.
I had to lean against the counter and take huge breaths, dragging in huge lungfuls of air as the room spun around me. Then I heard it, “Oh no, my water broke.” The panic in her voice and the scared look in her eyes when I looked over at her, was enough to make me forget my own pain, and I started barking out orders, but her team was already moving.
“Get him in the car. Come on, Miss.” Cody, that fuck, sounded cool, calm and collected.
“I can take my own woman, fuck me.” This one made me double over, and I’m sure I heard snickering.