Sacred Vow (Angels Halo MC Next Gen #5) - Terri Anne Browning Page 0,12
he nodded in understanding. “Okay, baby. Just be careful.” He brushed his lips over mine. “Love you, River.”
“Love you, Mav,” I whispered before forcing myself to step back.
He followed me to the front, stopping to hug my mom before we walked out the door and he locked up behind us. I tossed my things into the back seat while Mom got into the passenger seat. By the time I got behind the wheel, only a few seconds had passed, but she already had her head leaned against the window and was drifting off to sleep.
Sighing, I leaned over and fastened her seat belt before driving us home.
Dad didn’t even question her when we walked into the house fifteen minutes later. Sometimes, if Mom didn’t help out at the bar, she would come and keep me company at the shop, so it wasn’t unusual for us to come home together.
Leaving my parents in the kitchen, I went upstairs to get ready for bed. After showering, I texted Maverick good night and that I loved him, something I did every night, no matter what. Just as I started to drift off to sleep, my phone pinged with his message.
Maverick: Sweet dreams, baby. Love you.
My eyes filled with tears, and I cried myself to sleep.
The drive back to Creswell Springs felt like it took forever the next evening. I was exhausted from traveling to a city I didn’t know on top of everything else.
That morning, I’d called Aunt Willa to let her know I wasn’t feeling well so I wouldn’t be able to work that evening. She’d told me she would handle the shop for me and hoped I felt better. I hadn’t gone to school that morning, but Mom knew I wasn’t going and had agreed to cover for me with everyone. If Maverick came looking for me, she’d promised she would tell him I was in bed sleeping.
Once I was home again, I went straight up to my room and showered the day off me. My heart felt so heavy, and I could barely keep my eyes open as the water rained down on me, mixing with my tears.
I’d thought I could be brave and do what had to be done on my own, but the truth was, I was a scared little girl. I’d chickened out at the last minute and run.
I loved Maverick more than life. All I wanted to do was protect him, but I couldn’t do what I knew I needed to do to ensure nothing happened to him. Not this time…
Now I had to face the consequences and pray everything would be okay.
As I washed my body, I saw the small bruise and tiny pinprick mark on the inside of my arm where the IV had been. The nurse had been seconds away from giving me the medication that would sedate me when I’d freaked out and jerked the needle out of my arm. I’d grabbed my clothes and gotten the hell out of there.
Holding back a sob, I touched a trembling hand to my flat belly. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry. I love you. I do. But I love your daddy too. I thought if I… That…” I clenched my eyes closed and sucked in a deep breath. “I just didn’t want them to kill him. But in the end, I couldn’t. I haven’t even met you yet, and I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone. Maybe even more than Maverick.”
I’d never thought that was possible. That I could love anyone as much as I loved him. But this was a different kind of love. This was a feeling that came straight from the marrow of my bones. There was life growing inside me that I’d created with my soul mate. Part of Maverick was sleeping right under my heart.
I’d been minutes away from ending my pregnancy, because I knew that was the only way to truly protect Mav from my father.
But I couldn’t.
I couldn’t choose between the man I loved and the baby that already owned my heart.
Four
Maverick
My alarm woke me at noon, telling me it was time to get my ass up and start the day. Groaning, I turned it off and just lay there for the longest time.
There was a pressure in my chest that was alien to me. A heaviness that kind of hurt—only it wasn’t an actual physical ache. It felt deeper, and I didn’t understand it.