Utah (Knights Corruption MC: Laredo #4)

Chapter 10

10

“Here you go, honey.”

“Thanks, Mom.” I took a sip of the ginger tea she handed me, my sudden wave of nausea making my mouth water. They called it morning sickness, but it hit me at various times throughout the day.

“How’s Utah doing?” She brought her mug of coffee to her lips, blowing on it to cool down the hot liquid. “Did they ever find the person who hit him and took off?”

I didn’t want to lie to her any more than I had to, but I wasn’t about to tell her the truth either.

“He’s still in some pain. And no, we haven’t heard anything. But I’m sure karma will come back on the person who did this to him.” I prayed my words weren’t spoken in vain.

She tapped the top of my hand, smiling her motherly grin of sympathy and warmth. I wondered if I inherited any of her traits. She was kind, compassionate, and strong. Would my child look at me with adoration as I did her?

Melinda Grayson had endured not only the loss of the love of her life when our father passed away eight years ago, but she’d been in a terrible accident three years back. Someone had run a red light and slammed into the back of her, messing up her back so badly, she had no choice but to go on permanent disability. She’d undergone two back surgeries, but she still suffered when she stood or sat for too long.

As if on cue, she grimaced as she shifted in her seat.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

She tapped my hand once more. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

“Fine” was her typical response when any of her children asked her how she was doing. Her standard reply aggravated Knox because he was as protective of her as he was us, and when he found out she’d needed help with something and didn’t tell him, he interpreted that as a failure on his part. He’d taken up the role of protector, and I didn’t envision him letting go of those reins anytime soon.

She tucked an errant strand of blonde hair behind her ear, her beautiful smile working to convince me she told the truth. I’d often been told I looked like her, which was a compliment as she was beautiful. We shared the same honey-blonde-colored hair as well as our deep-shaded brown eyes—a shade Knox possessed too.

We chatted for another ten minutes about what movies were hitting the streaming services we subscribed to, planning to watch one of them in a couple days. Glancing at the clock above the stove, I placed my mug on the table and stood. “Shit! I have to go. Utah has a doctor’s appointment in forty-five minutes.”

“Let me know how everything goes. And if there is anything specific you guys want to eat for dinner, tell me. I’d be happy to make it for you.”

I’d never turn down her cooking. “Okay, thanks. I’ll talk to you later.”

Because our place was only two doors down from our mom’s, I was home thirty seconds later, walking into my bedroom to find Utah struggling to pull his jeans on.

“Why didn’t you wait for me?” I asked, rushing toward him. “It’s only been a couple days since you were patched up.” I swatted his hand away when he continued to try to get dressed. “You’re gonna hurt yourself.”

“Ow, woman. Damn.” He shook his hand as if I’d hurt him. “I’m injured here.”

“And infuriatingly stubborn.”

“Sorry, but I’m used to doing everything for myself. I don’t like depending on anyone.”

“You have no other choice right now. If you wanna get better anytime soon, you’ll let me help.”

He released the material. “Go ahead.” His rough tone warred with his soft expression. The arch of his brow dared me to… what? Argue? Comply? I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t have the mental energy right now to figure it out.

After pulling his pants up, thankful he’d managed to put on underwear this time, I dragged the zipper through its metal teeth and fastened the button. My hands lingered on his waistband longer than necessary before I stepped back.

“Did you take your pill?” I asked, looking for the bottle I’d left on top of the dresser. It was gone.

“Yeah.”

“Did you take the bottle?”

“Yeah,” he repeated. “Why? Am I not allowed to have my own pills? They have to be administered to me like I’m a child?” Gone was any trace of amusement I’d seen on his face seconds ago.

Confusion rattled me. “That’s not what I meant. I only wanted to make sure they weren’t misplaced.”

We held each other’s gaze for a moment before he spoke. “Sorry for snapping. I’m just on edge.”

“Anything you wanna talk about?” I rummaged through his bag for one of his T-shirts. “Is this okay?” I asked, holding up a plain black shirt.

“Fine.”

“Do you need help?”

“No,” he answered as he draped the material over his head, moving slowly so as not to stretch too much.

Tapping the screen of my phone, I saw we only had thirty-two minutes to get to the doctor’s office. On a typical day, it would only take twenty, but there was road work on the way there, so we needed to leave now if we were going to be on time.

After helping him with his boots, Utah walked toward the hallway with me in tow. Once outside, he looked up and down the street as if waiting for someone.

“You okay?” I asked, confused as to why he’d stopped.

“Yeah.”

The downturn of his mouth and the pinch between his brows told me the wheels turned in his head. Whenever he displayed this expression, I’d learned it was useless to try to pry information out of him because he was like a steel trap.

I brushed past him and headed toward my car. After only two steps, I stopped and turned around, almost knocking into him.

“Sorry, I forgot my car was too small.”

“It’s okay. It was just that day leaving the clubhouse. I’m a little better now.”

I pressed the button to unlock the doors as we approached. “I’d offer to let you drive, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I’d have to agree.”

After he slowly folded his large body into the passenger seat, he leaned forward and maneuvered the seat belt behind him, clicking it into place to stop the ding of the warning bell. I didn’t need to ask why he didn’t wear it strapped over him because it would rest directly over his wound.

The only sound during the first five minutes of travel was the radio. I would like to say the silence was comfortable between us, but there was an underlying awkwardness swirling around, and I wasn’t sure if it came from me or him. Or both.

I didn’t have time to wonder long before a wave of nausea hit. “Ohhhhhhh…” I groaned, tightening my grip on the steering wheel.

“Are you okay?”

I shook my head, praying I wasn’t about to throw up. One deep breath through my nose, then out through my mouth, was followed by another. Then another.

“Mint,” I finally managed to say, pointing toward the storage area nestled between us.

Utah rifled through the center console, pulling out a pack of peppermints. His large fingers fumbled with the lid. Another groan from me had him practically tearing the box in two.

“Here.” He popped it into my mouth.

There was something about the sucking motion that gave me some relief. I kept that information to myself, however, because I didn’t need to hear what enticing things he’d have to say on that subject. Not right now, anyway.

“Do you get sick like this a lot?”

The concern in his voice was sweet. From my periphery, I could see he was looking at me, but I kept my attention on the road ahead. A wave of hormones wafted over me, and if we made eye contact right then, I’d start crying.

“Almost every day. It comes out of nowhere.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For doing this to me?”

I finally turned to look at him, my smile mirroring his. Instead of wanting to burst into tears like I had seconds ago, I was filled with gratitude that Utah had decided to step up and help me with the baby. Initially, I’d pushed him away because I wasn’t sure whether I was going to go through with the pregnancy, but the man was persistent. His perseverance was one of the reasons I decided to keep the little bean. Although the idea of being a mom scared the hell out of me, at least he’d be there with me.

“At least we had fun doing it.”

I couldn’t argue with him. The sex between us had been phenomenal, the best I’d ever had.

“Do you miss it?”

“Us having sex? Fuck yeah. You know I—” He abruptly stopped speaking and turned to look out the window.

“You’re not gonna finish that sentence?” I asked when he continued to be silent.

“I just miss what we had. That’s all.”

There was more to it than that, but because we were pulling into the parking lot of the doctor’s office, now wasn’t the time to press him for more information.

I’d save my interrogation for the future, if and when another opportunity arose.