“He took advantage of you, and for that—”
“That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Have you met me? Do you really believe that I would let anyone take advantage of me?”
I heard my dad clear his throat from the other side of the curtain and lowered my voice.
“I don’t know if Tackle will ever feel the same way I do. I don’t even know how much of a role he’ll play in our baby’s life. What I do know is that I’ll still love him and I will never, ever regret having his baby. I haven’t met her yet, but I love this little girl so much. I want you to be in her life. In order for me to allow that to happen, you have to promise me you’ll take a step back, think about this from my point of view, and understand that none of this is about you.”
“You’re having a girl?”
I smiled. Of everything I’d said, that was the one thing I wanted him to focus on, and my brother hadn’t disappointed me. I was having a baby girl, and she was all that really mattered.
“Knock, knock,” I heard an unfamiliar voice say. The curtain opened, and a man in scrubs stepped in. “I’m here to take you up to the fourth floor if you’re ready.”
“I’m ready.”
“They’re admitting you?” Knox asked.
“Just overnight. The doctor said she thinks I’ll be able to go home tomorrow.”
When the man wheeled me out, I looked around for Tackle, but didn’t see him. “Um, wait,” I said and he stopped. “Dad, do you know…”
He nodded. “I’ll see if I can find him.”
“Let me.”
“Knox, please—”
“I need to, Sloane. He and I need to talk, and I promise not to use my fists this time.”
“You promise?”
“I do.”
34
Tackle
Halo didn’t have to look far. I was in the bay next to Sloane. Ben knew it too, and I appreciated that he hadn’t said anything.
I’d heard every word Sloane said, and a lot of them hurt worse than her brother’s punches had.
Hearing her say she didn’t know how much of a role I’d play in our baby’s life almost killed me.
From the second I realized she was pregnant, I’d done everything I could to let her know I would be there for her and for the baby. Most of it, I didn’t handle the right way, especially in the very beginning, but the time we’d spent together in the house in Chestnut Hill, I thought, had been magical.
I understood why she said she didn’t know if I’d ever feel the same way about her as she felt for me. I’d never told her I loved her, but I did. I don’t know exactly when I realized it. Maybe it wasn’t until today, but I’d felt it.
When I heard Halo ask someone if they knew where I was, I got off the gurney and opened the curtain. “I’m right here.”
“Oh, man.” He winced. “Who did that to you?”
“Some asshole who believed he needed to defend the honor of his sister.”
“She sure set me straight, didn’t she?”
“In that way that only Sloane can.” I followed him out of the emergency room and over to the bank of elevators.
“I’m sorry, Tackle.”
“So am I.”
“What for?”
“Mainly that we didn’t tell you sooner. We wanted to, but then everything happened with Tara, and we decided to let you be happy for as long as we could.”
“I’m not unhappy.”
“I know. We just didn’t want to put a damper on it. Ya know?”
“Yeah, I get it.”
“So, that thing she said about whether or not she’d marry me? I kind of fucked that up big-time.”
“What did you do?”
I spent the time we waited for the elevator and during the ride up to the fourth floor, telling him all the stupid shit I’d done since I found out Sloane was pregnant. When the doors opened, both Halo and I were laughing.
“I, uh, bought her a house. I mean, I didn’t know I was buying it for her exactly when I did, but maybe I really did know.”
“Huh?”
“Remember Chestnut Hill Park?”
“How could I forget it? It’s where you broke my neck.”
“You broke your neck. I didn’t. Anyway, remember the house across the street and how whenever Sloane came along with us, she’d sit and stare at it?”
“Vaguely.”
“You’ll remember when you see it. My dad, the crew, and I have been renovating it. When you were first in New York with Tara, Sloane and I started living there.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. It’s pretty amazing.”
“No, not wow the house; wow, you love her.”
“Yeah, man, I do. Not that I’ve told her yet.”
“Why not?”
“After all the bonehead things you did with Tara, you’re giving me shit?”
“Oh Dios mío,” Carolina said when I walked into Sloane’s room and she saw my face.
“Oh my God,” said Sloane a few seconds later.
I walked over and kissed her. “It hurts worse than it looks.”
“Did the two of you make up?”
“He forgave me when I told him I bought your dream house.”
Sloane smiled, but it was fleeting.
“We need to talk,” I said before she could.
“We do.”
“Maybe we could ask everyone—” Before I could finish my sentence, my phone rang with the one tone I couldn’t ignore. “I have to get this,” I said, pulling the cell out of my pocket. Halo followed me out into the hall. “Sorenson.”
“Tackle, it’s Doc. Where are you?”
“Mass General with Sloane. Halo is here with me.”
“Somebody got to Nick. I don’t know her condition other than it’s pretty bad. I think they may be bringing her to that same hospital.”
“Roger that.”
“I’ll make
