Stolen Moments (And Then Came Love Book 2) (25 page)

“Have him call Vivian. I don’t have time to deal with that conversation.” Marissa grabbed Keegan’s arm. “You’re staying with her, through the rest of this process.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Keegan nodded and walked over to where the nurses were prepping Candace to be moved.

Arianna hurried out into the waiting room.

Trevor stood. “What’s going on?”

“She’s in preterm labor. Marissa’s not sure if they can stop it.”

“Looks like we’re going to have another grandchild soon.” Greta stood.

“We barely met the first one.” Dustin shuffled his feet.

“But she’s lovely, and I’m sure this next one will be as wonderful.” Greta smiled.

“Oh.” Arianna turned to Trevor. “Marissa wants you to call your sister.”

“Which one and why?”

“Evidently, the father of Candace’s baby is your nephew Keegan.” She motioned for the three of them to follow them.

“Keegan?” Trevor ran his hand through his hair. “Vivian is going to have a shit fit.”

“I take it she’s not as laid back as you are?” Dustin glanced at him.

Trevor shook his head. “Think high strung and high maintenance.” He pulled out his phone and dialed the number.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Trust, how you doing?”

“Trust?” Arianna glanced over at him.

“Nickname. He was a trust fund baby.”

Arianna chuckled. “Like you’re not?”

“Thanks.” Trevor shook his head.

“Did she call you out?” Trust chuckled.

“A bit.” Trevor cleared his throat. “Anyway, we’re at the hospital with Arianna’s sister who’s in preterm labor. Arianna came out to tell me Keegan is the father of the baby.”

“What?”

“My exact words were, Vivian’s going to have a shit fit.”

“You can say that again.” Trust blew out a deep breath. “Is he at the hospital with her?”

“They are on their way to labor and delivery as we speak.”

“Shit,” Trust said. “I’ll break the news to Viv and then we’ll head over there. Nothing like your youngest being the first to give you a grandchild.”

“I don’t envy your conversation with Vivian. I’ll see you when you get here.”

“Thanks, Trevor.”

He hung up the phone and looked at Arianna. “I guess, since we kind of adopted Candace it would make this our first grandchild as well.”

Arianna glared at him. “No, we didn’t adopt Candace. We’re doing right by my sister because my mother is lying bitch with an ice cube for a heart.”

“But she makes pretty babies.” Greta smiled.

Arianna pursed her lips to stop the chuckle, but it escaped. She pointed at the waiting room. “You three wait here, I’m going to check on our patient.” She gave Greta a quick hug, before turning to Trevor.

Trevor kissed her cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She walked over to the door, entered the key code, and entered the labor and delivery area.

Marissa walked out of the room.

Candace screamed and then moaned.

Arianna cringed. “I take it she’s not doing well?”

Marissa wiped her brow. “She’s in labor, but is only three centimeters dilated. I gave her a shot of Fentanyl. I’m hoping it’s enough to relax her enough to get her IV in. This is going to be a hell of a labor.”

“We’ll have to check for obstructions. Her birth canal was on the small side when it was checked last, but with the baby being premature, it may not be an issue.” Arianna bit her lip.

“C-section is an option too.”

Arianna rubbed her temples. She didn’t want to think about her little sister going into surgery. Any other patient it would be an option, but her sister?

Marissa patted her on the back. “It’s hard to deal with when it’s family, isn’t it.”

“You may have to make that call for me.” Arianna blew out a breath and headed into the room. Pregnancy was so much harder on teens. Their bodies weren’t ready for this.

Candace’s eyes were drifting closed.

She grasped her sister’s hand. “Honey, can you talk to me?”

“Huh?” Candace turned to face Arianna. “I don’t know what Dr. Owen gave me, but I don’t hurt as much anymore.”

“Good. Arianna examined Candace’s stomach. She looked at the nurse. “Get the IV in while you can.”

The nurse nodded.

“Candace, Keegan’s Trevor’s nephew?”

Candace nodded. “Yep, why do you think we didn’t tell you? We didn’t want his parents finding out. They’re going to kill him.”

“They’re not going to kill him.” Arianna dipped a paper towel in a cup of water and wiped Candace’s brow. “Can you tell me your whole name and birthdate?”

“Candace Dakota Ellington. October 19, 1996.”

Arianna spun around to Keegan. “How old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

“She was fourteen when you got her pregnant?”

“We had sex for the first time on her fifteenth birthday, I promise.” Keegan held up his hands.

Arianna pursed her lips and turned back to Candace. She looked at the nurse who motioned to the successfully placed IV. “Honey, we’re going to start you on some medication all right? Have you ever had IV meds before?”

Candace shook her head. “This is my first IV.” She held up her hand and pointed to it. “It didn’t hurt at all.”

“It’s because of the medication Dr. Owen gave you.” Arianna picked up two straps, one pink and one blue. “I need to put these under you, do you think you can lift up a bit?”

Candace shrugged and boosted herself up, but didn’t make it far.

Arianna gently shoved the straps under her, the nurse pulled them out on the other side and handed them to Arianna. “Go ahead and start her on the antibiotics. I don’t think the magnesium is going to do much good.” She tightened the straps around Candace’s belly. “I need you to stay on your back and we’ll monitor the baby and your contractions, okay.”

Candace nodded. Her eyes drifted closed.

“Does she sleep through the whole process?” Keegan walked over to where they were standing.

The nurse laughed. “Sorry.”

Arianna shook her head and frowned. Kids, they were kids, they didn’t know any better. “Don’t be, I thought it was funny too.”

“What?” Keegan looked between the two of them. His eyes were as wide as saucers.

“Remember the screaming, crying, and pain she was in a little bit ago?” She closed her eyes and shook her head, before slowly opening them.

He nodded.

“It will come back with vengeance.” Arianna patted him on the shoulder. “You might as well sit down. This could take a while.”

“How long?”

“Oh, I’ve seen full labor go on for over a month.” The nurse shook her head. “Poor girl was in excruciating pain too. We waited until she was full term to induce, but we certainly thought about letting her go early.”

“A whole month?” Keegan glanced at Candace. “You don’t think hers is going to last long, do you?”

“It would be better if she stopped labor and waited until the baby was full term. The baby will have to spend some time in the NICU, if it’s born in the next day or two.”

“What’s the NICU?”

“Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.” Arianna motioned toward the door. “Why don’t you go to the waiting room and we’ll let her sleep for a bit?”

Keegan kissed Candace.

Her eyes drifted open for a moment. “I love you,” she mumbled.

“I love you too, Kitten.”

Candace giggled.

“Kitten?” Arianna mouthed to the nurse.

She shrugged.

Arianna stroked Candace’s arm. “Try and sleep okay, we’ll be back in a little while.” She turned to Keegan. “Candace told us that she broke up with the baby’s father.”

“We decided to pretend to break-up once she found out she was pregnant. That way my parents wouldn’t find out.”

“But you’ve been there? Going to the free clinic with her?”

Keegan dropped his gaze to the floor. “No, I know too many people in this town to be able to go a lot of places with her.”

Arianna shook her head. “Things could have gone a lot smoother if you had just told your parents.” She blew out a breath and headed into the hallway.

*****

Trevor sat in the waiting room with Greta and Dustin.

“This waiting room is way too tiny to fit all the people who’d be here back home.” Greta chuckled.

“Believe me, it will get small once my family starts to show up.” Trevor shook his head.

“I guess including Arianna and Candace, we’ve got six kids.” Greta looked at Dustin.

“I have nine brothers and sisters.” Trevor’s phone chimed.

It was his mother. Be there in fifteen minutes.

“Nine brothers and sisters?” Greta’s eyes widened. “There were ten of you growing up?”

Trevor nodded. “Donovan, Angela, Vivian, Marissa, Julian, Drew, Jake, Terra, me, and Blake.”

“Wow – glad we stopped after Kyrsten.” Greta shook her head. “Can you imagine ten kids?”

“You would have had them if you could. You love kids.” Dustin put his arm around Greta and whispered something in her ear.

Greta chuckled and smacked him playfully on the chest. She looked over at Trevor. “Still planning on going to work on Thursday?”

“It depends on if I pass my physical on Wednesday.”

“Is there any doubt you’ll pass your physical?” Dustin chuckled.

“No.” Trevor glanced at his phone. Why couldn’t his parents show up? He shook his head at the irony.

Arianna walked in the room and plopped down next to him. She leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. “How’s it going in there?”

“She’s sleeping and on the monitors. How long before Keegan’s parents get here?”

“I have no idea, I haven’t heard.” Trevor shook his head. “Mina’s with my sister-in-law, Audrey. She said she’d take her to school in the morning if you wanted me to stay here.”

“I’d like you too.” She buried her face in his chest. “I’m not ready for this.”

“Were you ready at fifteen?”

“No, but this is different. We’re dealing with a premature baby here. A baby facing six weeks in the NICU or longer, depending on how extensive the health problems are.” She looked up at him. “Candace will be recovering. And chances of her having postpartum depression are extremely high.”

Trevor cupped her cheeks. “We’ll deal with it as it comes.”

Arianna rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You don’t get how much work this takes, do you? It’s hard enough to raise a baby, let alone a premature one and his mother who is going to be suffering severe mental health issues.”

“Ari—”

She stood and held up her hands. “No, the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours are going to be a rude awakening on you. Maybe after we get through the labor and delivery you’ll have a bit of an understanding.” She stormed out of the waiting room.

Trevor sat there, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. “What in the hell happened?”

He stood and paced the floor. “I’ve delivered babies, including premature ones, dealt with NICU situations in the middle of the desert with no modern hospital for over one hundred miles, and had women with PPD and PTSD all at the same time. What part of this doesn’t she think I understand?”

A hand dropped onto his shoulder.

He turned around to see his father standing there. “The part where it’s her life affected and she’s scared to death.”

“It’s my life too, Dad.” Trevor raked his hand through his hair. “You don’t think I’m scared? This whole being a parent is new to me. I’m scared too.”

Greta walked over to him and put her hands on his shoulders. “Then tell her, honey. She wants to know she’s not alone.”

Trevor threw up his hands. “I was trying to. To tell her no matter what, we’ll get through this together.”

“She knows you’ll get through this together. She wants to know you’re having the same feelings as she is. That the feelings she has are normal for people in your position.”

“Then why didn’t she say something?” Trevor leaned his head against the wall. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand women.”

Everett laughed. “Son, I’ve been with your mother for the last forty-seven years and I still don’t understand her.”

Jackie breezed into the room. “Because you don’t listen, darling.” She smiled at Greta and Dustin. “Jackie Vitalli and my husband Everett, we’re Trevor’s parents.”

“I’m Dustin Halsey and this is my wife Greta. I’m Arianna and Candace’s father.” He shook Everett and Jackie’s hands and then shoved his own in his pocket.

Trevor walked out of the room and over to the delivery ward.

His Dad followed him.

Trevor leaned against the wall. “What am I going to do?”

Everett smiled. “If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it.”