“Nothing numb in your neck?” I asked.
“No, sir. I’m sorry. I lost my balance, and I tried to overcorrect.”
“Just settle down. You’re going to be fine. I think it’s just a minor head injury, but you’ll need stitches.”
“Bryan, I’m so sorry. I was in the other room checking up on something,” Jack said.
“No need to be sorry. Injuries occur on worksites. It’s fine. I’m not upset. I just want to make sure we get this man in the hands of a doctor to make sure he’s fine. He’ll need stitches, though.”
“That mean I’m off the job?” the man asked.
“All depends on what the doctor says, but if he gives you any medication to take for this injury, then, yes, you’re going to have to be off the job. But don’t worry. You’ll be paid for the full day today, and your medical costs will be covered since you got injured on a jobsite, okay?”
“Got it,” the man said.
I could hear the sounds of sirens off in the distance, and it made me thankful I hadn’t told Hailey yet. If she knew someone had gotten hurt making this house for us, it would forever taint this expedition. I wiped at the blood trickling down the man’s head with an alcohol wipe as the ambulance grew closer and closer, and then I backed up once the emergency crew came barging through the front door.
There was nothing more I could do here except help Foreman Jack get everything back on track, and then I needed to run through somewhere and get Hailey and me some lunch.
She was expecting food, and I needed to make sure my mind was settled before I got home.
Chapter 10
Hailey
I was just coming downstairs when I heard Bryan’s truck pull up. I made my way into the kitchen and poured myself some chocolate milk. I had been craving it all night, and my mouth was watering just thinking about it, but the moment Bryan walked through the door, my attention was turned elsewhere.
Bryan had blood on his fingertips.
I set the mug of chocolate milk down and went waddling for him. He looked down at his hands and sighed as he held the bag of food in front of him. I ran my hand down his arm to feel for any injuries, the air silent between us as I studied him.
“What happened?” I asked. “Did you get hurt?”
I took in the blood underneath his fingernails as my knees grew weak.
“Just an accident at the foundation site,” Bryan said. “Nothing serious.”
“You have blood under your fingernails. I’d say that’s serious.”
“Someone fell off a ladder,” he said.
“A ladder while pouring foundation?” I asked.
“Foundation work wasn’t the only thing being done today. It was just the biggest thing.”
That didn’t seem right. I’d been with Bryan long enough to know how basic construction worked. Unless there were other projects he went to check up on today, ladders weren’t necessary while pouring concrete. I looked up at him and gave him a quizzical look as I led him into the kitchen. I turned on the warm water and went to clean off his hands, but he yanked them from me and did it himself.
“I’m just trying to help you,” I said.
“You don’t have to clean someone else’s blood off me. I’ve got it,” Bryan said.
“Why won’t you just tell me what happened?” I asked.
“I just did. Someone slipped off a ladder and fell. The ladder came down on them and split their head open. It’s fine.”
“But I thought you were going to a concrete pouring,” I said.
“And like I said, Hailey. The concrete pouring wasn’t the only thing happening today.”
“So it was a jobsite that’s already partially developed?” I asked.
“Hailey, it’s been a very trying morning. Can we just drop it?”
I knew he was hiding something from me, but I knew it was wise not to push it. He was already annoyed and on edge with one of his workers apparently getting hurt, and I wanted us to enjoy our Sunday together. Whatever he had picked up for food smelled wonderful, and I was ready to dig into it as I reached for my chocolate milk.
But before I could get my hand around it, Bryan knocked it over with his elbow.
“Bryan, look out!” I said.
The mug dropped to the floor and shattered into a million pieces. Chocolate milk was sprayed everywhere, and I could feel tears rising to my eyes. What in the world was I crying about? It was just some milk. I could clean up the mess and pour another mug.
It wasn’t a big deal.
“I’ve got it. You just clean yourself up.”
“Hailey. You're going to get hurt. Let me clean this up,” Bryan said.
“You go pick out a move for us to watch and get the food set up. I’ll clean this up,” I said.
“Stop it, Hailey. I’ve got it. These shards are sharp. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“Just let me do this, Bryan.”
“Hailey, back up.”
It was the tone of his voice that caught me off guard. I looked up into Bryan’s eyes and saw a fire there I hadn’t seen in a long time. He was angry with something, angry with whatever the hell had rattled him this morning. That pretty much confirmed for me that he hadn’t gone where he said he was going, but why would he lie to me? Why would he tell me he had to work if he was going somewhere else? Had something happened to Drew? The business?
Did he have to go see Ellen for something?
I slowly backed my way out of the kitchen as Bryan started picking up the shards of ceramic. Tears were pooling in my eyes, threatening to race their way down my cheeks. I could feel my hands trembling as I backed myself all the way onto the carpet of the living room, watching as Bryan cleaned up the mess and muttered to himself. I couldn’t catch what he was saying, but I knew it wasn’t good. I knew he wasn’t happy, and I could feel it spoiling the only day of the week we had to spend with one another.
Why was he hiding the truth from me? Why was he keeping secrets from me? Was it because he thought I was keeping one from him? I thought I had done a good job of covering up what happened at the art gallery. I thought I had done a good job of voicing what was wrong without divulging too much. It was enough that I was traveling down this road of pain. Bryan obviously had enough going on himself. Watching him murmur to himself and slip on the chocolate milk unsteadily confirmed that I had made the right decision in not telling him about that man who’d come in and threatened me.
But was he keeping secrets because he knew I was?
I settled myself on the couch and began pulling out food. Sandwiches and soups and salads and drinks. Bread and chips to munch on and dips to enjoy. I spread everything out on the table as the shards of the broken mug clinked their way into the trash can, and tears began to spill down my face.
I couldn’t get myself to settle down.
“I’m sorry I snapped at you like that,” Bryan said.
“It’s fine,” I said, sniffling.
“Hailey, are you crying?” he asked.
I wiped away the tears quickly as Bryan rushed over to me.
“Hailey, why are you crying?” he asked.
“You just need to be careful, okay?” I asked. “Even if you are telling me the truth, which I’m not sure you are, it could’ve easily been you who was hurt today.”
“But I wasn’t,” Bryan said. “It wasn’t me. I’m just fine.”
“Physically, maybe. But not mentally. You would’ve never gotten irritated with a broken glass like that before.”
“I just didn’t want you cleaning it up. Had you lost your balance and fallen on those sharp slivers, you could’ve really hurt yourself.”
“I was fine cleaning it up,” I said.
“Sweetheart, I can’t imagine what this pregnancy is putting you through. And I know you feel I treat you like a pariah sometimes or like a porcelain doll, but the truth is, you’re carrying my child. You’re growing a human being, and you have to take that into account with every decision you make. If you’re hurt, that child feels your pain. If you’re sad, our child feels that sorrow. And I know you’re frustrated, and I know you’re over this pregnancy, but you can’t make decisions without first taking into account the child you’re carrying.”
His hand came up and wiped away at a tear that was rushing down my cheek.
“You have to be careful for our daughter’s sake,” he said, grinning.
“And you have to be okay for our son’s sake,” I said sincerely.
“Hailey?” he asked.
“What?”
“You said that a little too seriously.”
“Said what a little too seriously?”
“The son comment. Did you? Are we ...?”
I cupped Bryan’s cheeks in my hands and planted a kiss on his nose. I could feel how hot his skin was and how riled up he was inside. Something serious had happened this morning, but I wasn’t sure what it was. It was obvious someone had gotten hurt, but a minor injury wouldn’t have kicked Bryan up like this. He had worked in construction far too long for stuff like that to worry him any more.
Why wouldn’t he just tell me what happened?
“I don’t know the gender of our child,” I said. “I didn’t go find out without you or anything like that. I just know. I know it’s a boy.”