Tears stung my eyes. “Abby would be f**king floored at what I said. All I do is disappoint her.” I furiously shook my head. “I’m no good for her.”
Reaching over, Mia took my hand in hers and squeezed. “That’s not true, Jake. Abby loves you with all her heart and soul.”
“Sometimes I think I’m a curse for her.”
“What?”
“She was almost beaten to death because of me and now f**king this happens.”
“Oh Jake, you’re not a curse. You love Abby and would never do anything to hurt her. She knows that too.” When I opened my mouth to protest, Mia brought her hands to my lips to silence me. “The last thing Abby would ever want is for you to be thinking like you are. Bad things happen to good people every single day. What happened with the cyst happens to thousands and thousands of women. You had absolutely nothing to do with it. Abby told me she’d had cysts before. She could have had it checked out when she first started having pains, but she didn’t. Even so, she’s not to blame either. Shit just happens.”
With a defeated sigh, I let my head fall back. Once again, I found myself staring up at the ceiling. “You’re right.”
“Of course I am.”
When I jerked my head to gaze at her, Mia smiled. I laughed and shook my head. “You really are the perfect match for AJ.”
At my words, her smile grew even wider. “Thank you. I love him with all my heart.”
“I can tell. I’m glad he found you.”
“See, there’s the sweet Jake I’m used to.”
My brows shot up. “You really think I’m sweet?”
“Most of the time, yes. You can also be an arrogant, self-absorbed dick sometimes, but for the most part, you’re pretty sweet.”
I laughed at her honesty. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“Most of all, you’re a caring and devoted husband. Anyone can see that. And one day, you’ll be a wonderful father.”
All the fears about becoming a father, letting my future children down, and cheating on Abby raged in my chest, and I drew a ragged breath. “I hope so.”
Mia’s phone dinged in her pocket. “Sorry, I need to check this. I left Bella with Frank.”
I chuckled. “She’ll be fine. He’ll spoil her rotten by giving her too much sugar and not putting her to bed.”
She smiled as she peeked at her phone. “It’s AJ. He wondered where I was. They’re upstairs in the surgical waiting room.” She rose up and tucked her phone back in her jean’s pocket. Then she held out her hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”
I grimaced. “I dunno if that is such a good idea.”
“You don’t need to be alone right now, Jake. We’re your family.” When I started to protest, she shook her head. “AJ loves you. He’s had some time to cool down. Just tell him you’re sorry, and I’m sure everything will be fine.”
“I hope you’re right.”
She cocked her head at me and smiled. “Don’t you know by now that we Runaway Train women are always right?”
I laughed. “Yeah, I think I do.” I rose off the bench and then followed her out the door to the elevators. When we walked through the door of the surgical waiting room, AJ’s eyes bulged at the sight of us. He glanced from me to Mia and threw her a questioning glance.
“Everything is fine,” she assured him.
While he nodded his head, he still stood up and came over to wrap his arm around Mia’s waist protectively. After raking my hand through my hair, I sighed. “Sorry, man. What I said was so f**king wrong. I’ve apologized to Mia, and she accepted it. I hope you can, too.”
His dark brows furrowed while he surveyed my words. “Don’t ever go there again. I don’t care what’s going on in your life—I’ll end you, I swear.”
“If I ever do such a douche thing again, you have my permission.” I took a tentative step forward. “You’re my best friend in the whole world. I never, ever want to hurt you or anyone you love. Okay?”
“Okay,” he said. With a tentative smile, he gave me a hug.
“Mr. Slater?” a voice questioned.
AJ released me, so I could whirl around. I stared questioningly at the young male doctor in the doorway. “Yeah?” I croaked, my heart shuddering to a stop.
He smiled. “Your wife came through the surgery just fine. We were able to stop the hemorrhaging, and the removal of the tube and ovary went well. She’s in recovery, and you can come and see her in a few minutes.”
I closed my eyes and staggered back until AJ caught me. “Thank God,” I murmured. Once I could breathe regularly again, I pulled away from AJ. I stared around the group of my band mates and Abby’s brothers. “Thank you all for being here. For loving me and Abby so much.” I couldn’t fight the tears anymore, and I broke down. AJ’s arms came around me as well as Brayden and Rhys’s. They didn’t tell me to man-up or call me out for being a pansy. Instead, they just patted my back, spoke soothingly to me, in an acceptable man-way, and let me cry. We truly were brothers in that moment.
After I’d pulled myself together, a nurse came to take me to Abby. I followed her back through the maze of rooms to where Abby was. Her eyes were closed, and her face was as pale as the white sheet she had drawn to her chest. I eased down in the chair beside her and took her hand. “Angel?”
Her eyelids fluttered as she tried to wake up. “I’m right here, babe.” I squeezed her hand reassuringly.
She stared up at the ceiling for a moment before her head slowly turned to look at me. A smile formed on her lips. “Hey.”
The sweet sound of her voice sent warmth through my chest. I leaned in to kiss her hand. “Hey, yourself.”
Her gaze swept around the room, taking in the machines, and she shuddered. “Am I okay?”
“Yeah, you are now.”
My words didn’t console her. Her lip trembled as tears pooled in her eyes. “Can I still…”
I was sure she didn’t know much of what had happened, but it wasn’t hard to believe her first thoughts would be to worry about having a child. “Yes, you can. And we will someday, I promise.”
“Sooner than later?” she whispered.
In my heart of hearts, regardless of what had just happened tonight, I still wasn’t ready. But I knew I would be a real bastard to say that while Abby lay recovering from major surgery. So, I forced a reassuring smile to my lips. “Of course, Angel. As soon as the doctor says you’re ready.”