“It’s my pleasure,” Knox replied. “I’m happy to help.” He turned to go and Thorne stood up. “Let me walk you out,” he offered. He gave Maggie’s hand a gentle squeeze and let it go. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?”
She nodded, and for a brief second he wondered if she would miss him while he was gone. Probably not. He shook off the thought and walked to the door to join his brother.
Knox turned to him once they were in the hall, the door safely closed behind them. “What’s on your mind?”
“The investigation,” Thorne said shortly. “I’m worried the sheriff is going to let his hatred for our family blind him to the evidence. You and I both know Maggie didn’t do this.”
Knox nodded thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” he said. “The guys on the force are pretty sharp. It won’t take long to clear her from the suspect list.”
“That’s not all I’m worried about.” Thorne briefly described his concerns regarding Livia and her goons, and his fears for Maggie’s and the baby’s safety.
His brother stilled, no doubt reliving the horror of his own son’s kidnapping. “Do you think I’m overreacting?” Thorne asked, feeling a little paranoid. After all, Livia hadn’t been seen or heard from in weeks. She was a smart woman; she likely had no desire to get arrested again, so she’d probably gone to ground after sticking her neck out to kill Cody’s kidnapper and Leonor's assailant.
“No,” Knox said flatly. “I don’t think we should discount the possibility that Livia is somehow involved. It would be a mistake to underestimate her.”
“What can we do?” He’d feel better if there was some concrete action he could take to protect Maggie and his unborn baby. But short of wrapping Maggie in Kevlar and locking her in a windowless room, there was no surefire way to keep her safe.
“Stay close,” Knox said. He glanced back at the closed door. “As close as she’ll let you, anyway. I got the impression things aren’t totally smooth between you two?”
Thorne shook his head, reluctant to go into the details. He felt bad enough as it was; he didn’t want his brother knowing just how much of a fool he’d been. “I’m working on it,” he said.
“You want my advice?” Knox continued before Thorne had a chance to respond. “Grovel. A lot. Flowers, chocolates, you name it. But get back into her good graces, and the sooner the better. Both of you are going to experience a life-changing event soon. It’ll be a lot easier if you can face it as a team.”
Thorne nodded, knowing his brother was right. He didn’t think a bouquet of roses would earn Maggie’s forgiveness, but it might help soften the ground. “Thanks.”
“Anytime.” Knox set off down the hall. “I’ll call you,” he said over his shoulder.
Thorne stood by the door to Maggie’s room for a moment, considering his options. They clearly needed to talk. He owed her an apology—had owed her one for quite a while, in fact. Now might be the best time to offer it, while she was stuck in the hospital bed. It was a little cowardly of him to use her situation to his advantage, but he did have things to say and he wanted to make sure she heard them. Since she was essentially a captive audience until the doctor released her, he might as well bite the bullet and plunge ahead, despite the fact that he wasn’t used to trying to explain his actions to someone else. Still, he had to try. He might not get another opportunity like this again.
Nerves jangled in his stomach, making him feel like he’d just jumped off a galloping horse. He took a deep breath and decided to take a page from Knox’s book. Flowers might not be the answer to every problem, but they certainly wouldn’t hurt. And the walk to the hospital gift shop would give him a little time to compose his thoughts.
He glanced around, checking to see if there was a doctor nearby who might be going to see Maggie. He definitely didn’t want to miss the obstetrician’s visit, provided Maggie was okay with him staying in the room. Fortunately, there were no white coats in sight.
He set off down the hall in search of a peace offering. He couldn’t think of the right words to say, but hopefully the flowers would help make up for that.
He’d find out soon enough.
* * *
Maggie sighed and rubbed her eyes, trying to massage away the dull throb of her headache. Now that she knew she was pregnant, she didn’t want to take anything stronger than Tylenol for fear of hurting the little life inside her. She mentally reviewed her actions over the last few months, trying to recall if she’d done anything that may have harmed the baby. Nothing came to mind; she hadn’t so much as had a drink since the beginning of the year. That was good news for the pregnancy, but a rather sad commentary on her social life.
Or lack thereof.
What would her friends say about this news? The last time they’d had a girl’s night had been New Year’s Eve, five long months ago. They stayed in touch with regular texts and a few phone calls, but everyone was so busy it was hard to find time to get together. They all worked too much, and on top of that, Sonia and Amber had families of their own keeping them occupied.
And soon I will, too.
She smiled at the thought. Her life was going to irrevocably change in a few months. Was she ready?
Was Thorne?
He had seemed different somehow when he’d returned to the room with Knox. Still quiet, but she’d sensed a determination there, as if he’d made up his mind about something. And then when Sheriff Jeffries had stopped by to make his nasty allegations, Thorne had practically vibrated with silent indignation on her behalf.
She wasn’t quite sure what to make of this apparent shift in his behavior. Had he experienced a true change of heart, or was this simply a reaction to the explosion and the news of the baby? Would he go back to ignoring her after the shock wore off and life returned back to normal?
Only time would tell. She was going to have to be patient.
A wave of dissatisfaction swelled in her chest. She wanted answers now, not in a few months! But pushing Thorne for a response might actually drive him further away. And while she was going to protect her baby no matter what, she didn’t want to deny her child a father.
An upbeat jingle interrupted her thoughts, and she grabbed her cell phone off the rolling lap desk next to her bed. It was a wonder the thing still worked, but she supposed her body had absorbed the brunt of the impact when she’d been blown across the yard.
“Hello?”
“Hi, sweetie.” Her mom practically sang the words. “Your father and I are taking the RV to Big Bend to do some camping, and we thought we’d stop by on our way out so we could all have dinner together. We should be there in about a half hour.”
Maggie’s stomach dropped. She loved her parents, but her mom had a tendency to overreact. The last thing she needed was for them to find out she was in the hospital—she’d never hear the end of it.
“Oh, this is a surprise,” she said, stalling for time. How could she convince them to skip the visit without raising suspicions?
“Well, it’s not too hot yet, and we’ve been wanting to go for a while. And we haven’t seen you in ages, so I thought it would be a nice chance to catch up.”
“Sure,” Maggie said, trying to sound enthusiastic about the possibility. “Um, but the thing is I’m pretty swamped at work and I don’t know if I’ll be able to get a break for dinner—”
“Oh, honey,” her mom said, disappointment and disapproval warring for dominance in her tone. “You have to eat. And I know you’ve been working a lot lately. You need to take a break. You know what they say about all work and no play.”
“I do. But this