“I shouldn’t have sprung it upon you like that. I’m sorry too.”
He kissed the tips of her fingers and as if he’d electrocuted her; she yanked her hand back.
“It isn’t your fault,” he said.
She nodded. “Okay. And now?”
“And now… we’re going to get some food into your belly. Because I noticed you didn’t touch your food at dinner. But you need to have something, or else you’ll get nauseous again. Then we’re going to get you cleaned up under the shower. I’m taking off this sticky bedding.” Bree slapped his chest, and he chuckled.
“And after everything is all cleaned up, then we’re going to bed and—”
“We’re going to bed?” Bree asked with her chin jutted out. She fisted the bedding next to her thighs.
“Yes, Love. I’m going to be big spoon and you, like always, are going to be the little spoon. Just like when we were kids.”
He tapped the tip of her nose once with his index finger before he stood up. “Call out if you need me, okay?”
He left her sitting on the end of the bed, wide eyed. He boiled some water for tea and stuck two slices of bread in the toaster. He pulled out his phone to call Kera.
“Declan.” Kera’s voice was crisp, not how she’d normally greeted him.
“I heard what happened from Gwenn.”
Declan sighed. That didn’t take long.
“I fucked up. I’m working things out with Bree, but it’s like I’m talking to a ghost. She seems so frail. How much longer before the puking stops?”
“There’s no rule book here, Dec. No pregnancy is the same.”
“I know that. I guess what I’m really asking is—is Bree still healthy? I want to get her checked out in the hospital. I don’t want her to get dehydrated. We need to look out for her and the baby.”
“I’m a doctor, Dec. Bree’s my sister. I’ll let nothing happen to them. What Bree needs now is to rest. Give her some ginger tea. I’ve brought her salty crackers last night. The pack is on top of the fridge. Oh, and try some toasted bread with butter.”
“I’m already on it,” he said.
“Good. And Dec?”
“Yeah?”
“You’ve acted like a total putz. Get your shit together. I know the one person Bree needs right now is you.”
Declan let out a breath. He was all too aware he’d fucked things up. Multiple times.
“You’ve always been her rock, Dec. You’re the one person Bree turned to when things went from bad to worse after our dad left. She has always depended on you for guidance. I know you can be that for her once again. Please, don’t let her down again.”
“She means everything to me and more. Don’t worry, Kera. I’m going to do right by my girl. I’m going to show her how much she means to me. She and our little baby growing inside of her are mine. I know this will not be a walk in the park, but Bree is going to trust and love me again.”
“She never stopped loving you. It’s the trust you need to work on,” Kera said before she hung up.
He brought back the phone from his ear and laid it on the counter next to Bree’s plate. How would he get her to trust him again? After he’d fucked things up yet again. The screen turned black and if it wasn’t for the toast to jump up from the toaster, he would be still staring at the screen.
Declan took out the butter from the fridge. After taking care of Bree’s meal, he put everything back in its place before heading out to the bedroom.
Just like he figured, Bree didn’t listen to him. The shower was running in the bathroom.
He decided to not make a big deal out of it.
“Are you okay in there?”