As soon as his deep, rough voice answered, I could tell he was tired. “’Bout time you called back. I’ve been trying to reach you since midnight.”
I swore under my breath and dragged a hand down my face. “I left my phone in another room, and it was on silent. I’m an idiot. Is everything okay? How’s Hollyn?”
“Everything’s fine now. A couple hours ago, it was a little intense. She was really fussy and started running a fever. I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to take her to the ER. She was pretty uncomfortable.” The last part of his sentence sounded pointed, and I felt the prick of it against my skin. “Fortunately, Daire’s mom is a doctor, so she came over and walked us through what we should do. The fever’s down, and Hollyn’s finally asleep. Daire’s mom stuck around until about an hour ago to make sure there was nothing to worry about since we couldn’t contact you, and because she was worried about Hollyn’s previous medical history.”
Shaw Archer wasn’t just ‘a doctor.’ She was head of surgery at one of the busiest hospitals in Denver. Hollyn wouldn’t have received better care from anyone else. If I’d been home or even answered the first call, Shaw would’ve been the first person I reached out to for advice as well.
“I’m on my way home now. I’m sorry I was unavailable last night. That wasn’t my intention when I left.” I felt like smacking myself in the forehead as guilt started grinding away at my gut.
“It was probably good practice. I mean, don’t you have to work on bridges and tunnels and stuff? You’re gonna be up in the mountains and out on the plains for work; you aren’t always going to be able to answer your phone. It was good that Daire was here, but we should probably make a list of people to call outside of your family just in case you can’t be reached again in the future. I was going to call your dad if Daire’s mom didn’t pick up.”
Campbell sounded exhausted, but everything he said made sense. It made me feel slightly better that he kept a level head in a stressful situation.
“I’ll pull an emergency contact list together when I get home. I’m sorry I didn’t think of that before now. I’ll hurry so you can get some sleep.”
He yawned, and I heard him mutter something in a soft voice to someone who wasn’t me. “Don’t rush. Daire and I took turns staying up with the baby through the night. She says you can thank us by bringing donuts home with you. She also said you need to tell her cousin to turn her phone on. She tried to call her when we couldn’t reach you and couldn’t get through.”
I nodded even though Campbell couldn’t see me and looked over toward the massive bed where Remy was lying diagonally with her head propped on one hand. She was watching me with careful eyes as I slowly moved toward her.
“I’ll get donuts and pass along the message. See you soon.” I hung up the phone and stepped next to the bed. “Is your phone off?”
Remy lifted her eyebrows and looked over to the mirrored nightstand where her phone was sitting. The screen was clearly black, with no indicator lights showing the missed calls or messages. “I guess so. I’m pretty bad at making sure it stays charged. Why?”
“The kids had a bit of an emergency with Hollyn last night and were trying to reach us. Daire called you when they couldn’t get a hold of me.”
She rolled over and grabbed the phone, frantically tapping on the screen. “Shit. I’m sorry. The only person I was expecting to hear from was you, so it didn’t seem like a big deal to put it on the charger. I didn’t think about someone trying to get to you through me.” She sounded genuinely upset. I regretted being the one to dampen the previously heady mood.
I reached out a hand and tugged on one of her bouncy curls. “It’s not your fault. It’s my responsibility. The last thing I planned on doing was disappearing on you the morning after, but I have to go home and check on Hollyn.” It kind of sucked that I couldn’t even stick around and make her breakfast. I promised her I wouldn’t bail on her again, and it wasn’t even a day before I was doing exactly that.
“It is my responsibility, Hyde. If we’re going to spend time together, we both have to be aware of how our actions affect your daughter. If it was just the two of us, it wouldn’t matter, but for her, we both have to do our best. And I don’t mind that you have to leave. I’m not that fragile or self-absorbed. Just be sure to say goodbye this time.” She shook the phone in her hand and reached for the sheet to pull over her naked body. “I’ll be sure to charge it from now on. Let me know if I can do anything for you and Hollyn. Let me know how your first day back at work goes. I’m here if things get hard and you need someone to talk to.”
I leaned across the bed so I could give her a hard kiss. When I pulled back, I whispered a soft goodbye. I could tell the word made her happy by the way she smiled at me.
So many others wanted so much from me that I was unable to give, and all Remy ever wanted was a simple word. She was dead-on about realizing what you had once it was gone. I don’t know that I would’ve been fully able to appreciate her if I hadn’t forced so much time and distance between us.
On my way out of her fancy loft, I clicked on a delivery app and ordered her some breakfast. Hollyn wasn’t the only one I wanted to give my best to. Remy also deserved to know I was thinking about her when I couldn’t be with her. Especially after the night we shared. The sex was spectacular, but I wanted to make sure everything outside of that was also as special and memorable.
I was going to win her over no matter how hard I had to work at it. And a breakfast burrito seemed as good a place to start as any.
Remy
I FELT TERRIBLE that Hyde missed the call from home when Hollyn needed him. I didn’t plan on keeping him distracted for the whole evening, and I didn’t think I needed to adjust my bad habits when I was with him. I was used to dropping in and out of contact when it was convenient for me. There were days I really didn’t want to speak to anyone and times when my phone felt like an anchor weighing me down. My mom used to panic whenever I didn’t answer or respond to her text messages, and my silence often made my brother mad. I was better about being reachable now that I was back in my hometown, but keeping an eye on the battery life on my phone still wasn’t a priority.
I needed to change that if I was going to borrow Hollyn’s dad every now and then. I had to be more responsible and think about what was in the baby’s best interest, rather than what was easy for me. It was kind of like drinking while on my various meds. It was something I did so I could feel normal, but the truth was, it was dangerous, and not something I should mess around with if I really planned to find a place for myself in Hyde and Hollyn’s life. I wasn’t sure how big a role I wanted to play, but after spending endless hours in bed with him, I knew it would be something more serious than I originally intended when I asked him to spend the night. I didn’t have the same connection with anyone else that I had with Hyde. I wasn’t stupid enough to ignore the way he made me feel in the name of protecting myself. I had nothing to lose if I let myself love him all over again. I gave him my heart a long time ago. And just like Bowe said, I always knew where it was even if I pretended not to.