Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 61746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
“Babe, you okay?” I asked, figuring she had another bout of morning sickness. Despite the name, she felt sick throughout the day, and it sucked seeing her suffer through it so much. All I could do was make sure she stayed hydrated, had something in her stomach to keep her nutrition up, and got some rest.
“No,” Madison groaned.
“I’ll get you some water, okay?” I told her before bounding down the stairs and to the back room to grab a bottle of cold water out of the fridge. By the time I reached the attic, she shuffled out of the bathroom, looking a bit pale. I gently placed my hand on her back and handed her the bottle of water. “Let’s get back in bed.”
“I didn’t get sick this much with Chloe,” Madison said as she crawled back in bed, letting me pull the covers over her.
“Hopefully, this morning sickness phase won’t last too long,” I replied as I brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. Despite the light purple crescents beneath her eyes from restless nights and the loss of some of the color in her face, she still looked beautiful.
Madison smiled a little as she took my hand.
“Thank you for being here with me,” she said. “You and the guys have been so nice.”
I tilted my head at her.
“Of course, we’d be here for you. You’re going to be the mother of our child,” I replied as I gave her hand a squeeze. “And we care about you a lot. We want to make sure you’re okay.”
Madison’s eyes started glistening with tears. I wondered if I said something wrong, but she warned me that she would have random crying bouts.
“Sorry, it just means a lot. Michael never did any of this for me,” she admitted with a light sniffle. “I pretty much went through my pregnancy with Chloe all alone because he was always out of the house for work or whatever else he was up to.”
That dude was a major asshole. I hated hearing about him because all he’d done was hurt Madison. Now, he was trying to make her life hell all over again.
“I’m sorry you had to deal with him. I promise that he’ll be long gone from your life soon,” I assured her as our eyes met. I wished that I could comfort her better with details, but Marlo wanted to talk soon about our next move.
Hopefully, it moved us closer to where we wanted to be because Baker’s anonymous police report didn’t get us anywhere. Who knew how many corrupt cops were in the local police station?
Madison smiled and nodded before resting her forehead against mine.
“I just want things to go back to normal. I want a new kind of normal with you guys,” she replied.
That sounded like paradise to me, and we were so close to achieving it. I kissed her on the nose and cupped her cheek, making her laugh softly.
“It’ll be crazy and fun and incredible,” I promised her.
“Talking about our sex lives?” Bryce’s voice came from the top of the staircase.
I smirked as I turned to see Bryce and Baker approaching the bed.
“I guess that’s pretty accurate,” I replied before shooting a wink at Madison that made her cheeks regain some of their flushed color.
“We figured you’d be hungry in about an hour or so. What do you want us to pick up?” Baker asked Madison.
“Basically, what are you craving today?” Bryce chuckled.
A grateful look filled Madison’s face before she shook her head.
“I couldn’t make you guys go out of your way for it,” she replied.
Baker crossed his arms over his chest as he gave her a pointed look.
“I’d go to a different state if it made you happy,” he said.
Madison glanced over at me, prompting me to nod.
“That’s true,” I told her. Baker was as determined and stubborn as a person could possibly be.
“You know that tamale place across town? I can’t stop thinking about their spicy tamale pie. Oh! With extra sour cream,” Madison said with an almost dreamy look on her face.
“Tamales it is,” Bryce said as he clapped his hands together. “Sounds pretty damn good anyway.”
“Oh, Taj, Marlo needs you downstairs,” Baker told me before he and Bryce headed down to the tattoo shop.
My eyebrows furrowed slightly as I wondered what Marlo needed me for. I turned to Madison and kissed her warm cheek.
“I’ll be back later. Marcus was finishing up before I came up here, so I’m sure he’ll be by in a minute,” I said.
Madison nodded and shot me a smile before I met Marlo at the front desk.
“What’s up?” I asked Marlo, keeping my voice lowered since there was still one more customer left in the shop.
“I remembered there’s a cop that always goes to the Ice House. We should go have a chat with him. Maybe escalate that report Marcus left,” Marlo murmured, acting like he was looking at the desktop computer screen.