“Just a few more twinges,” I say, hating myself for being so manipulative, for using my unborn child as bait, but I reassure myself it’s for a good cause.
“Doc?” Beau asks, sniffling and wiping her nose as he concentrates on doing absolutely nothing of any importance. “Is everything okay? Do I need to call Danny?”
“No, no,” he says quickly, pressing a button. “It’s okay. We’re okay. Baby is absolutely fine.”
I see Beau physically relax, her hand tightening around mine. I knew she wouldn’t let me down. I wish she could be as strong for herself and James as she always seems to be for me.
“Is that a penis?” she asks out of nowhere, leaning into the machine.
“What?” I sit up quickly, making Doc lose his grip on the probe and therefore its place on my stomach. Shit. I quickly lie back down and he rushes to replace it before Beau figures out we’re big fat frauds. “A penis?” I ask, straining to see the frozen image of my baby.
“Yeah, there.” She takes a pointed finger to the screen. “See?”
“No, that’s the umbilical cord,” Doc says over a laugh. “A bit long for a penis on a sixteen-week pregnancy.”
“I don’t know why you’re laughing,” I say. “You’ve not seen his father’s bits.”
Doc chokes on nothing, and Beau shoots her eyes to me, shocked. I shrug. And it happens. Her lips twitch, and it is life.
“You’re terrible,” Doc sighs.
“Terribly loose,” I mutter, and Beau chuckles. “To be expected, I suppose. This kid is going to fall out of me.”
“Rose!” Beau shrieks, falling to the bed beside me. I look at Doc, and he smiles, nodding, telling me it’s a job well done, but I’m quickly frowning, and Beau shoots up. “Wait,” she says. “Are you saying there is no penis at all?”
My eyebrow lifts, curious for Doc’s answer.
“No, Beau, I said it was the umbilical cord, not a penis.”
“So there is a penis?”
“I . . . it’s . . .” He blows out his cheeks.
“You do know what’s in there,” she says, pointing to the screen.
I love how curious she is. “Tell Beau,” I demand, making them both swing stunned looks my way.
“What?” she asks. “No, Rose, you’ve always said you like the element of surprise.”
“I don’t want to know,” I confirm. “But I want you to know.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I do.”
She bites her lip. “And you don’t want me to tell you?”
“Can you manage that?”
“I used to be a cop, Rose,” she says, placing her hands over both of my ears and blocking my view to Doc, so that when he tells her if I’m having a boy or a girl, I can’t lip-read him. She soon frees my ears, looking at me, her smile wide. I’m not even going to ask. All I care about is that smile on her face. I know it’s temporary. This is a brief distraction. But it gives me hope. She’s not all out.
“Happy?” I ask.
“Thrilled.”
“Good. Now you can teach me how to drive.” I pull my dress down and get up.
“What? Where?”
“Around here,” I say as Beau’s phone starts ringing in the distance. She looks toward the door, and I notice Fury is still on the threshold.
He holds up her cell. “Mr. Hayley.”
“I’ll call him back.”
I’m certain her father has heard what’s happened to Beau’s mother’s remains. She won’t want to discuss it, least of all with him, and I don’t force it. Because, honestly, I’m relieved. She’s up and about. Okay, looking like hell, but at least she’s responsive. “Thought you could teach me in Dolly,” I say, my steadfast determination never wavering. I know that old, rusty, banging thing brings her peace. Closer to her mother. But she cannot drive it. At least, not outside the grounds of the mansion. No one said anything about inside the grounds. I link arms with her and lead us to her room. “Perhaps wash your face first.”
“That bad?” she asks, reaching for her cheeks and wiping.
“Like death on a bad day.”
She laughs lightly, coming in closer to me. “I love you, Rose.”
And perhaps, I hope, on top of her undying love for James, our friendship is another reason for Beau to stick this out. “I love you too,” I whisper.
I chew on the inside of my lip as Beau fiddles under the hood of Dolly, trying to get her started. Her denim shorts are riding up her ass, her long, smooth legs glimmering in the sun. “If I were a man, I’d be wolf-whistling at you right now.”
“I think the battery is dead,” she says over a laugh, coming up for air, oil smeared across her cheek. She wipes it and considers the engine for a few moments. “Are any of the cars here?”
“There’s one out front.”
“Wait here,” she orders, jogging off. I check my phone, as if I wouldn’t hear it if it rang in my hand. Damn that kid. Just a call, that’s all I ask. A check in. Anything. I exhale and start a slow wander down the pathway, eventually reaching the stream that leads to the pool. I look down into the water at my reflection staring back. My hair falls forward, covering my face. It needs cutting. Maybe I’ll book Beau and myself in for a pamper day. I smile at the thought of Fury having a pedicure alongside us. It drops when I consider the fact that despite being unreasonably gorgeous, Beau is also the least girlie girl I know. Not that I know many girls. Still, it isn’t about being girlie. It’s about rest and relaxation.
Calm.
I shake my head to myself as I pull my hair back and fasten it with a tie. I’m not sure any amount of pampering could rest or relax us. Stress is inbuilt now. We just condition ourselves to handle it. Soak it up. Or not so, as Doc kindly pointed out. But I must, or the alternative will be Danny caging me.
I hear a car and turn, seeing Beau pulling up with Otto. “What are you doing here?” I ask as I approach and Otto goes to the trunk of Dolly. I thought all the men were out on business.
“I needed to pick up something.” He appears a few seconds later with some leads of some kind.
“What?” I ask, watching as he flips the hood of the Mercedes and squeezes some metal claw things.
“A few grenades and a harpoon.” He bends over the engine, and I roll my eyes as Beau collects the other ends of the leads.
“Then you’re in the wrong place. I believe all weapons are now stored in the swanky new bunker buried underground at the boatyard.”
He exhales and unbends his body, looking at me tiredly, and I smile sweetly.
“I just spoke to Esther.”
His face becomes thunderous, and he goes straight back under the hood.
“Have you spoken to her?” I ask.
“Little point, isn’t there?”
“Why?” I press. “I thought you two were getting along nicely.” Too nicely for Danny.
On an impatient grunt, Otto straightens again. And smacks his head on the underside of the hood. “Fuck!”
I flinch, and Beau flies around, still armed with the claw clips on the cables. “What happened?” she asks.