Play for Keeps (The Devil's Share #6)(12)

I sent him a weak smile. “You got Halen?”

“You know I do.”

Luke’s words played on repeat in my mind as I drove over to the hospital. He was right, Lexi was right. And I was an asshole.

All I could think about was our wedding, our family. I wanted it all and I wanted it all right now. I’d waited my whole life for Lexi, and having Halen was the best thing I’d ever done. I just wanted more, I wanted to fill our home with kids and memories. And for some stupid reason, I was making the wedding the start of it all.

But this was our life. We were already living it. We were surrounded by our family, making memories every day. My sister was in the hospital, on medication to make sure my tiny baby niece’s heart rate stayed even. Lexi had been right to storm out.

When I got to the hospital, I had every intention of finding Lex and making things right between us. I hated that she was mad, and I hated that I’d given her a good reason to be. But Smith was pacing the hallway, running his hands through his hair and looking like roadkill.

“Hey, man, you okay?”

He jerked his head up, like he was surprised to see me. He looked fucking deranged. “No, man. I’m not okay. I’m losing it.” He walked toward me, a creepy look in his eyes. I took an involuntary step backward. “My girlfriend, my whole world, is in there on an IV drip to keep my daughter in her belly.” He threw his hands in the air. “My kid could literally decide to come out at any second. And I need to ask her mom to marry me. I need to get the perfect ring and construct the perfect proposal. I’m about to be a dad and a husband and I am freaking the fuck out, man. And hospitals? You know I hate hospitals. But I’m going to be spending at least the next two weeks locked in this one.” He put his hands on his thighs, bending at the waist and taking deep breaths.

I knew my eyes had gone wide. I glanced side-to-side making sure no one else had just heard his epic meltdown. Nondisclosures and patient confidentiality aside, that would have been paparazzi gold. Slowly, I put my hand on his back, and when he didn’t detonate, I guided him cautiously to a nearby chair.

“Okay. Here’s what we are going to do. We are going to take this all one issue at a time.” Discreetly, I pulled out my phone, sending an SOS text to both Luke and Jacks. “Constructing the perfect proposal isn’t really an option right this second, nor is it feasible. Because like you said, Dill is in the hospital. As far as the perfect ring, do you know what she would want? Because we can easily get that taken care of.”

He leaned his head back against the wall behind us. “I was thinking I could find my mom’s ring. It was her grandmother’s and it’s really beautiful. She hid it before she passed away, said she was afraid my old man would find it and pawn it.”

“Hid it where? At your dad’s place in Louisiana?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

Well. That sucked. Smith hadn’t been back to the house he grew up in in well over a decade. He’d only visited the state of Louisiana once recently, and that hadn’t gone well at all.

I looked at Dylan’s closed door. I could just make out the sound of her and Lex laughing. An idea started to form in my head. The chicks might be pissed, but it was what Smith needed. It was what we all needed.

“What if we go get it? Your mom’s ring.”

Smith turned and looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “I’m not leaving Dylan. And I’m sure as hell not leaving her to go back to that hellhole.” He shook his head. “I’ll just get another ring made.”

“Smith, I’ve know you for a long time. If that ring is what you want for Dill, if it means something to you, then nothing else is going to feel right. I know leaving her seems like the wrong thing to do. But. She has all the girls here. And if you are constantly on edge, then you aren’t good for her right now anyway. We’ll take a road trip, and if she needs you, we’ll call the company jet and have you here in less than an hour.”

He didn’t immediately tell me no. He did let out a sad little laugh. “I don’t want to see my old man. I don’t want to see the spot my mom died. I don’t want to remember that house, those memories…”

“I know you don’t. But maybe you need to. Maybe confronting all that stuff, seeing it, conquering it… Maybe it’ll give you some closure. We’ll go, be right by your side. We’ll get the last piece of your mom, and get it out of there.” I wouldn’t want to leave Lexi if the roles were reversed. But I would hope that the guys would do what I was doing. Rally behind me, and help me do what I needed to do. What was best for my sanity.

He took a deep breath. “You think the guys would be down for that? Everyone has so much going on. Landry and Halen, Riffraff. Your wedding. Things are crazy right now.”

“We’re the Devil’s Share, things are always crazy.” I grinned as I clapped him on the back. “And Lexi decided to postpone the wedding, until her best friend and mine could be standing next to us. It wouldn’t be the same without you two.”

When he met my gaze, he had tears in his eyes. “Thanks, man.”

I nodded. “Let’s go tell the girls we’re going on a road trip.”





Chapter Ten





Lexi

“Hey, Kitten? Can I talk to you in the hall for a minute?”