Checkmate (Neighbor from Hell #3)(103)

Connor was happy and she didn’t want to wreck that for him. He didn’t want a child yet and as much as that hurt, it would have hurt a heck of a lot more having a child with a man that didn’t want it.

“Rory?” Connor asked as he pulled into Strawberry Manor’s parking lot.

“Yes?” she asked, feeling like she was in a daze.

“Can you check up on him for me later?” he asked, reminding her that at least she had something else to focus on for a while.

“I’ll try to, but I might not be able to,” she said, avoiding his eyes as she lied to him.

“Why not?”

“I have to go away for a few days.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Now? You need to go away now when Andrew is getting his transplant?” Connor asked, sounding confused and a little disappointed.

“I’m sorry, but I got a call from Trevor while you went to check up on Andrew. I guess with the all the excitement I forgot to tell you, but Zoe’s not feeling well and Trevor is running himself ragged between work and taking care of both sets of twins. Everyone else is trying to help, but they really need someone to stay with them. I’ll only be a few days,” she said, forcing a reassuring smile.

“Okay,” he said, sighing and not sounding particularly happy, but at least he let it go. “Drive safe, baby, and give me a call when you get there to let me know that you’re okay.”

“I will,” she said with another forced smile as she gave him a quick kiss on the lips, glad that this at least bought her a few days to get over her heartache.

* * * *

New Haven Hospital

The next day……

“We’re not supposed to release you unless you have someone to take care of you,” the nurse explained even as she helped Rory out of the wheelchair and into the waiting taxi.

“My brothers are going to take care of me,” Rory said as another wave of dizziness shot through her head and threatened to make her lose the green Jello lunch that they’d forced down her throat.

“Are you sure?” the nurse asked, looking uncertain.

“Yes,” Rory assured her, thankful when the nurse took her at her word and closed the door behind her.

“Where to, miss?” the driver asked.

“The Holiday Inn on Tremont Street,” she said, closing her eyes and letting her head drop back against the faded cloth seat as she did her best to ignore the throbbing that was starting to make itself known in her hip.

Thirty minutes later she was letting herself into the hotel room and praying for death with each step. She thought a soak in a hot bath would help, but by the time she made it to the bed, it was obvious that she wouldn’t be making it that far, at least not today.

Chapter 38

“You’re fired. Get the f**k off my site,” Connor told the bastard that he’d caught sitting on his ass and text messaging his girlfriend while the rest of the men busted their assess.

“What? You can’t fire me!” Dave, the man that he’d foolishly hired as a supervisor and gave one too many chances to, said, getting into Connor’s face.

“I just did,” Connor said, stepping around the ass**le as he gestured to a few of his men to remove the prick.

“What the hell am I supposed to tell my wife?” the man demanded as Connor walked away.

“That texting your girlfriend got your ass fired!” Connor yelled over his shoulder, not bothering to waste another second on the ass**le.

He pulled his phone out and after one look, shoved it back in his pocket and kicked a bucket full of sand out of his way, not giving a damn where it went. Three days, three f**king days without a single word from Rory. He’d never gone this long without talking to her or seeing her and he didn’t like it, not one f**king bit.

This wasn’t like Rory. He wasn’t the type of ass**le that expected her to check in. He wasn’t overbearing and would never try and keep tabs on her, but he was really starting to worry. Three days without a word. The night that Andrew received his transplant he called her to tell her that everything was going good so far and to tell her that he loved her, but she didn’t answer. The next day he sent her an email update of the project and still nothing.

Something was seriously wrong. He didn’t know if he’d somehow pissed her off and she needed space from him, which he could deal with, but he just needed to know that she was okay. Rory wasn’t the type to leave a project of this size for three days without checking in. She wouldn’t do that, not unless she didn’t have a choice.

He called Trevor and left a message this morning, but he hadn’t heard back from the man yet and-

“I just got your message. What’s going on?” Trevor asked, pulling on a Yankees baseball cap as he climbed out of his truck and headed towards Connor.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Connor asked, frowning as he noted that the parking lot was suddenly overrun with trucks sporting Yankees bumper stickers and Bradfords, a lot of Bradfords.

“Is that really any way to talk to your favorite in-laws?” Jason asked with a tsk as he threw a tool belt over his shoulder and walked over to join them.

“We’re here to get this project finished,” Trevor said absently as he tossed a hard hat to one of his younger cousins.

“Why aren’t you home with Zoe and the babies?” he demanded as he headed for the office, because he knew without a doubt that something was seriously f**king wrong. Rory would never volunteer to play babysitter so that someone else could finish building her dream.