SWNOVELS Finding Hayes: Chapter 34
I wasn’t sleeping well, and I knew the only way things were going to get better was to talk to Hayes.
To rip off the bandage.
Avoiding the conversation, avoiding my husband, the man I loved, certainly wasn’t working.
This just wasn’t a conversation I could have over the phone.
I knew my pulling away had hurt him, and I felt sick about it. Saylor had been messaging me every day, and she’d let me know that Hayes was shutting down. She thought he was struggling with me being gone, but she didn’t know the half of it.
I was an asshole.
A big, pregnant asshole.
What kind of mother would I be if I couldn’t even have a conversation with my husband? Yes, it would be a difficult one, but running from it wasn’t going to make things better.
I made my way into my father’s room just as Dr. Dorsey stepped in behind me.
“How’s everyone doing this morning?” he asked.
“I actually kept breakfast down, so that’s a good thing.” My father was sitting up, his bald head shiny from the cream that Nadia liked to rub on his head to keep the skin from flaking off.
“That’s great news. But even better news is the latest numbers. Your body is responding to the combination of the two drugs being used together. These are the best numbers you’ve had since you were diagnosed, Billy.”
My mouth fell open, and I clapped my hands together.
Good news.
How long had it been since we’d had good news? Yes, getting into the trial was huge, but it had been years since we’d had any positive feedback regarding my father’s illness.
He was responding to the treatment.
He was freaking responding to the treatment.
He might actually be around to know his grandchildren.
I covered my face with my hands and cried.
But for the first time in a while, these were happy tears.
Nadia was on her feet, pulling me into her arms as tears streamed down her face.
“He’s responding to the treatment,” she said. “This is really happening, Savvy.”
“Well, hot damn. I’m happy about the good news, but seeing my two girls all lit up like this would be reason enough for treatment,” my father said.
“I don’t want to give you false hope. We still have a ways to go. But yes, this is good news, and I think it’s fine to celebrate that. The hope is that things just keep getting better, and at this point, there’s no reason to believe that won’t happen,” Dr. Dorsey said.
“Thank you. Sometimes just having some good news is enough to help you keep fighting,” I said.
“So, Dr. Dorsey, can you tell my daughter that she can go back to her life? You know she’s newly married,” Dad said. “She married the boy next door. I always knew they had a thing for each other.”
“Oh, my gosh, Dad.” I shook my head and chuckled. “Dr. Dorsey doesn’t need all this information.”
“Well, I wasn’t done.” My father raised a brow and smirked at me. “She’s a very talented interior designer, and she’s opening her own business back home. She can’t be sitting in a hospital all day with me. She needs to be out there living her life.”
“I agree. I’ve got things covered here, and I think you should just come back once a month for a visit. It’s going to take time, Savvy. And you should be home with your husband, opening your business and calling us with all the exciting news every day,” Nadia said. “Your father lives for those calls. They help him feel like he’s out there living his life, too.”
A lump formed in my throat, and I nodded as I took his hand. “You will be, Dad. I can feel it in my gut. You’re going to get through this.”
“I have to side with your family on this one, Savannah,” Dr. Dorsey said. “You can come visit often. But sitting around watching him fight this disease is not going to help him get better. And as a parent myself, there’s a lot of joy in seeing your children shine. So go out there and make your dad proud.”
“I was actually coming to talk to you just now, because I booked a flight home today. But I’ll come back in a week.” I swiped at the tears falling down my cheeks.
“How about we meet in the middle, and you come back in two weeks?” Dad said.
“Well, I could come relieve Nadia sooner.”
“Sweetheart, I don’t have a life I want to live that doesn’t include my fiancé right now. And I’m sure if Hayes was in this position, this is where you’d want to be. Where you’d need to be. But I’ve got this. He’s stuck with me,” Nadia said with a chuckle. My father was lucky to have found a woman who loved him so fiercely.
“Wait. Did you just say fiancé?” I gaped at them as Dr. Dorsey chuckled and excused himself from the room.
“Yep. He asked me last night. We’ve been talking about making it official for a while,” she said, flashing me the ring.
“I didn’t want to tie her down to a man who didn’t have a future. I’ve had the ring with me for six months now. And last night, I felt like something was changing. And when you feel it, you act on it,” Dad said.
I stared down at the ring and hugged Nadia before hugging my father. “I’m so happy for you both.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get out of here and let us plan a wedding already, okay?” Dad said.
“Okay. Two weeks. And if for any reason you need to go home and want me here for a few days, just say the word. I’ll be working for myself, so I can set my own schedule.”
“Deal.” Nadia wrapped her arms around me and kissed my cheek. “Your father is lucky to have a daughter who fought hard for him to get into this program. A daughter who never gave up on him. You are the reason that he hasn’t thrown in the towel, Savvy.”
I couldn’t speak because I was overcome with emotion, so I just hugged her back.
“I’m so glad that he has you, Nadia. He’s a lucky man.”
The nurse walked into the room and interrupted us. “It’s time to get started for the day. You’ve got some food in your stomach, so let’s get things going. Dr. Dorsey wants to increase the amount of meds you’re getting again today, and we’ll see how you respond. Let’s head down to the treatment room.” She stepped out of the room, leaving the three of us alone.
“All right, baby girl. Get out of here. Grab your bags and head to the airport. Go home to your husband and start living this beautiful life you’re creating for yourself. Nothing makes me happier,” my father said.
I kissed his cheek as I rubbed my hand along his bald head. “I love you, Dad.”
“I know you do. And I love you, too.” He smiled and pointed at the door. “Go.”
I gave Nadia one more hug before heading out of his room and toward the bridge that led to the apartment.
Suddenly, I couldn’t get home quickly enough, and I was jogging.
I looked up at the other end to see a person come around the corner with a duffle bag thrown over his shoulder.
My eyes widened as I took him in. Tall. Broad shoulders. Beautiful green eyes. His overgrown scruff making it obvious he hadn’t shaved in days.
Hayes Woodson.
My husband.
He’d come for me.
Before I realized what I was doing, I was sprinting down the bridge. His lips turned up in the corners as he dropped his duffle bag, just before I threw myself against him on a whoosh.
He wrapped his arms around me, one on my lower back and one on the back of my head, like he just wanted to keep me right there.
We just stood there hugging for the longest time before I pulled back to look at him. “Hey, husband.”
“Hey, wife.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m done giving you time, Sav. I missed you, so I booked a ticket and decided to come find you myself.”
My eyes zoned in on his wrist to see the splint, and I ran my fingers gently along the fabric as I cringed that I’d just jumped on him. “Oh, my gosh. Did I hurt you?”
“Not from lunging into my arms. But not taking my calls, not telling me what’s going on—yeah, you hurt me, baby.” He quirked a brow, arms crossed over his chest.
I glanced around us, not seeing anyone in sight.
So I guess we were doing this right here.
“I booked a ticket home today. I was coming to talk to you. I was just going to get my bag and head to the airport.”
“Well, here I am, Sav. How about you just tell me what’s going on?” He cleared his throat. “Is this too much for you? The marriage? The life we’re building? Me? Is it too much?”
“You think it’s too much for me?” I shook my head in disbelief.
“I don’t fucking know. Everything was good when you left, or at least I thought it was. And then you came here, and everything seemed fine, and then you went silent on me. Stopped calling. Your texts are short. You’re treating me like a fucking acquaintance. So, if this is done, you’re going to need to tell me right here. Right now. And then you’re going to have to convince me that there’s a reason we don’t belong together, because I don’t see it. I love you so fucking much, and it’s killing me that you’re pulling away.”
This was the most vulnerable he’d ever been in all the years that I’d known him. My chest squeezed, and I took his hands in mine.
“I’m not pulling away.”
“Don’t lie to me. There’s something going on, and I can feel it in my gut. So, we’re not leaving here until you talk to me. I’m not losing another decade with you. Because I’m back home making plans for our future. A future that I want with you.”
“I’ve been gone for two weeks. What kind of plans could you have made?” I laughed and blinked several times as I tried to see through my falling tears.
“Nope. I’m not giving you any more until you talk to me.” He shrugged, his hands wrapped around mine, and his sage-green gaze was intense and unwavering as he looked down at me. “Tell me what’s going on now.”
“They wanted to run some tests on me—you know, check my blood work to make sure I wasn’t showing any early signs of the disease.”
“You’re sick?” His eyes softened, and I didn’t miss the concern. “You thought I wouldn’t be there for you if you were sick? I’ll move fucking mountains for you, Sav. We’re in this together.”
“Hayes, I’m not sick.”
“Okay. So, what is it?” He threw his hands in the air in frustration.
Do it. Just say it. He’s here. He has to know.
“I’m—” I looked away because the thought of seeing him disappointed would be the end of us. “I’m pregnant.”
“You’re pregnant?” he asked, and there was no fear in those words. He sounded… relieved. Happy.
I turned to look at him. “Yes. I’m having a baby. Our baby.”
“That’s why you haven’t talked to me?”
“Well, you don’t want kids, right? So I was stunned to find out I was pregnant, and then I panicked because I don’t want to lose you.”
“Baby, you would never lose me. And I’m sorry if I made you think that I would ever walk away from you or our child.”
“But that doesn’t change the fact that you don’t want children, Hayes. And now I’m pregnant,” I said. “So, where does that leave us?”
“It leaves us right fucking here. Exactly where we were when you left.” He tugged me close, one hand moving to the side of my face. “Sav, I never thought I’d want to be married, and now I can’t imagine a life where you aren’t my wife. People change. You changed me. You made me want things I never thought possible. You carrying my baby doesn’t make me feel anything other than happy. Excited about the future—with you. Growing our family together.”
“You’re serious?” I asked, my eyes searching his.
“I’ve actually been having some thoughts of my own. Thinking about a future with you that I hadn’t imagined possible. And it doesn’t fucking scare me, baby. The only thing that scares me is a future that doesn’t have you in it.”
I took his other hand and moved it to my stomach. “Well, I’m glad you feel that way, because apparently, there are two babies in here.”
“Twins?” His smile widened, and he shook his head as loud laughter bellowed out. “That’s so you, baby. You’re such a rock star. And my sperm must be fan-fucking-tastic if I put two babies in you at the same time.”
My head fell back on a chuckle. “Definitely not the reaction that I expected.”
“I’m not always going to say the right thing or do the right thing, but I promise you, I’ll always be there for you. For our children. And I may not have known that I wanted kids the way that you did, but now that we’re having two, it feels right. We never do anything by the book anyway. We got married on false pretenses, and then we fell in love. We agreed we wouldn’t have a family, and now we’re having two babies. And guess what?” he said, using the pads of his thumbs to swipe the falling tears from my face.
“What?” The word sounded wobbly.
“We’re going to be amazing parents. Because we live in a home filled with love. And that’s all you need.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with my grumpy husband?” I asked, as I smiled up at him.
“Nash and I had this talk, and he reminded me of something.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, the reason I didn’t want kids was because I feared I would fail at it. Fail at being a father. I wouldn’t want to put my kids through what I went through growing up. But he reminded me that I’d been more of a father to Saylor than I’d realized. I’d already proven I would be better at it than my parents were, because she’s fucking amazing. So, I’ve got this, Sav. I’m going to do my best to be a good father to our children, and they’re already winning because they’ll have the best mom anyone could ask for.”
“This is all I needed to hear,” I said over the sobs escaping my throat. “I just wanted you to stay. To be here with us.”
“I’m not going anywhere, baby.” He pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me. “I love you, and I love our babies that are growing in your belly. I love the life we’re building together. It’s a life I never dreamed of, and that’s all because of you.”
“Me, too.”
“This will be something positive for your father to fight for, too. Knowing he has grandchildren on the way. Old people live for that shit.” He chuckled.
I looked up at him. “I haven’t told him yet. I haven’t told a soul. I wanted to tell you first, but I couldn’t do it over the phone.”
“Well, then, let’s go tell him the good news, and then I’ll book myself a ticket and take you home.”
I nodded as he scooped up his duffle bag and intertwined our fingers.
“Let’s go.”
And we walked hand in hand down the bridgeway toward where my father was receiving treatment.
Today had ended up being filled with more good news than anyone had expected.
And that felt damn good.