90 Days (Prairie Town Book 2) (6 page)

     She froze, terrified and in shambles.  Her mind was going fifty miles an hour and the world around her began to spin.

     He was sending her away?

     “Baby, I know this is hard and you don’t understand it, but we’re doing this for your own good.” He whispered hoarsely, his voice thick with emotion.  “I almost lost ya tonight and I refuse to go through that again.  If something’s wrong, we want to fix it.  These people say they can fix it.”

     “But I don’t want to.” She said, slowly turning in his arms to face him.  It hurt her heart to see the tears in his eyes.  He was crying because of her, wasn’t he?  “Daddy, please…”

     “I can’t let you come home right now.” He winced, his face contorting with the obvious pain he felt.  “I love you so much, Laney.  Your mama and I would do anything for you… you have to stay here.  Just for a few days.”

     “But I won’t do it again.” She hiccupped.  “Daddy, I promise I won’t.  Just let me go home with you.”

     He stared at her for several long seconds and she almost thought he was going to say okay, but then he sighed and lifted his eyes to the security guard standing a few feet away.

     “I’ll fill out the paperwork.”

     “What?” Her knees gave out on her.  “Daddy, no… No!  Please. I’ll—”

      “I love you, Laney.” He cupped her face between his hands and kissed her forehead, his lips lingering there for a few seconds.

     She could feel them trembling against her skin as more tears slid down her cheeks.

     “I’ll come see you tomorrow.” He promised.  “And every day for as long as you’re in here.  Just get better for me.  Promise me you will.”

     “No, Daddy.  Take me home!” She sobbed as the security guard grasped her arm.  Trying to break free, she grabbed for her father.  “Daddy! Don’t do this!  Don’t let them take me, please!  I’ll be good, I swear!”

     “Come on, Miss McIntosh.” Joe grunted, struggling to keep his grip on her.  “Let’s go.”

     “Daddy! Daddy, please!  Please!”

     “Hey, Todd, can you help me out?” Joe called.  “She’s mighty strong for such a small thing.”

     Another set of hands grabbed her other arm and they began to pull her away.

     Away from her father.

     Away from safety.

     Away from the world.

      “Daddy!” She screamed, her throat aching and raw.  “Daddy, please!”

     He only got further away.

     As the elevator doors opened and the security guards dragged her inside, Laney watched as her father buried his face into his hands and began to cry.

     “Daddy…”

----------

Lydia

     Sitting in stunned silence, she allowed her sister’s story to echo in her mind.

     Was it true?  Had Laney really gone through all of that?  Had her father really left her in the hospital to be poked and prodded by doctors?

    
I’m the worst sister in the world.
  She thought, bowing her head and closing her eyes.  Maybe if she didn’t look at Laney, she wouldn’t cry.

     Nope.  It didn’t quite work that way.

     “I hope this doesn’t change how you feel about me.” Laney said quietly.  “Yeah, I still struggle from time to time, but I’m not that girl anymore.  I haven’t tried to…well,
that
, since then.”

     “Laney.” Lydia lifted her head to gaze at her, rolling her teary eyes.  “Nothing in this world could ever change how I feel about you.  I only wish you’d told me sooner—that Dad had told me.  Or Jeb.  Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

     “Honestly?  Because Dad was afraid you’d try to come home and you’d forget why you left in the first place.  He knew how important your transition was.”

     “I could have waited.”

     “No, you couldn’t have.  Everything was working out just as you’d planned it to.  It’s no one’s fault that I caused chaos.  I mean…well, it’s
my
fault, but there’s nothing you could have done to change the outcome.”

     “I could have been there for you.”

     “They barely wanted to let Mom and Dad come see me, let alone anyone else.  Jeb wasn’t even allowed to visit.”

     Watching Laney toy with one of her bracelets nervously, Lydia racked her brain, trying to think of something to say.  Something, anything, would be better than just crying about it.

     It was too late for tears, wasn’t it?

     “Laney…”

     “I’m honestly fine, Lydia.  That seems like decades ago now.” Laney smiled sadly.  “Sometimes the fight is still hard, but I keep on keeping on.  It’s all I can do.  I have bad days, that’s all.”

     “But you don’t have to have bad days alone.” She reached for her little sister’s hand and grasped it tightly.  “I’m here for you.  I’m never leaving again.”

     “I appreciate that, I do.  But…”

     Uh oh.

     “You’ve got a wonderful life planned with Callum and I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that.  This wedding is supposed to be the most extravagant thing Prairie Town has ever seen, remember?”

     “And it will be, but not without you.  Whatever it takes, Laney, I’m serious.  I want you to feel better.  What can I do to help?”

     “That’s just it, Lyds.” Laney sighed heavily.  “I don’t know.  I never do.”

     It seemed like an eternity had passed by after Laney excused herself to take a nap, and Lydia was left alone with her thoughts when the front door opened and the love of her life walked in.

     “Hey, baby.” Callum said as he placed a box on the kitchen counter and flashed a broad smile.  “I brought you some more stuff from the bakery like you wanted.  Cupcakes galore, I swear.  They loved your idea of doing wedding cupcakes instead of… What’s wrong?”

     “A lot.” She sighed, standing from the couch and slowly entering the kitchen.  Keeping her arms tight around her slender frame, she peered up at him and bit at her trembling bottom lip.  It was a lot to take in—and she was more worried for Laney than ever before.  “I don’t know what to do.”

     Burying her face against his muscular chest, Lydia exhaled slowly, attempting to calm herself.  Callum’s strong arms embraced her and his hand immediately found her hair, stroking the long strands as he often did when he wanted to cheer her up.

     “What is it, Lydia?  The wedding…?”

     “No.  God, no.” She sniffled and pulled back to gaze at him, giving a small smile.  “The wedding is definitely not what’s making me cry right now.” A fresh tear spilled down her cheek and he quickly thumbed it away, concern growing prominent on his handsome face.

     “Then what is it?  You were so happy when I left earlier.  Did you and Laney have a fight or something?”

     “We didn’t have a fight.  We just…had a heart-to-heart and I don’t really like what I found out.”

     Taking her hand, he guided her to the couch and sat down, pulling her onto his lap.  Wrapping his arms around her waist, he rested his chin against her shoulder and blinked.  “Tell me?”

     “I don’t think this is something I can just talk about, Callum.  It’s not you—I trust you with everything and I always will, but it’s not mine to tell.”

     “I see.” His eyes wandered the room briefly before snapping back to hers.  His gaze was so soft and kind, as always.  Callum had a good heart.  “Well, whatever it is, we’ll get through it.  I’m here for you—and for Laney.  Just tell me one thing and I’ll drop it, okay?”

     “Okay.”

     “Is she all right?”

     “For now, I think.  I’ve just got to keep a close eye on her.”

    
A very close eye.
  She thought as she leaned into him and sighed. 
I can’t lose my little sister.

Chapter 4

Benji

     It took a little over a month to get things sorted out, jobs aligned, and their belongings packed, but they were finally on their way to Prairie Town; he was finally on his way to Laney.

    “I can’t believe we’re actually doing this!” Aggie said excitedly as they coasted down the exit ramp that lead into Prairie Town, North Carolina.  “This is our new home, Benny.  Our permanent home, I hope.”

     “I hope so, too.” He commented, gripping the steering wheel as he eased his foot down on the brake. 

     He glanced at the beautiful scenery that could only be the state of North Carolina and a smile played at the corners of his mouth.  It was drastically different from Vermont; more vivid and colorful, somehow.  Even the air smelled cleaner to him.

    
And this is where Laney is.
  His heart skipped a beat and he inhaled deeply through his nose, willing his mind not to freak out.  Not yet, at least.

     “Oh, I can’t wait to see Lydia.  And Jeb.  And Laney.  And…well, everyone!” Aggie squealed, clapping her hands together excitedly.

     She had done a complete 180 since the night he’d found her crying in the bathroom.  Maybe it was only PMS—that was logical.  Hell, he knew about that all too well, but damn if she hadn’t scared him.

     Certain thoughts had entered his mind since then, too.

     What if Aggie really did have more going on in her mind than she let on?  What if it got worse now that they were in Prairie Town?

    
It isn’t fair to judge her like that.
 

     His parents had insisted something was wrong with his head after he came out to them as a transgender.  Mama Palmer even threatened to have him locked up in a mental hospital for further evaluation.

     Nothing was wrong with Aggie, he decided.  She was just being her wonderful, weird self.

    
Prairie Town will be good for us.

     “Oh, look! Look! There’s the apartment complex!” Aggie launched forward in her seat, hands grasping at the dashboard as she bounced up and down.  “Hurry up and park, Ben.  I need to get in there and hug my girl.”

     “I’m going as fast as I can.” He laughed, shaking his head.  “I can’t go over ten miles an hour, remember?  Children live here, too.”

     Rolling to a stop behind Callum’s Tahoe—he wasn’t sure where he was supposed to park—Benji watched Aggie push open the door and jump out, not even giving him a second thought.

     She hurried into the complex and disappeared from sight. He sighed and leaned back in his seat, raking his upper teeth over the cold metal of his lip ring in a nervous manner.

     “I hope this isn’t a mistake.” He said quietly, eyebrows pinching together.  “Please don’t let this be a mistake.”

     The complex doors opened and Callum appeared, waving at him with a grin on his face.  Benji waved back and glanced around, unsure of what to do.  He couldn’t just get out of the car—that was stupid.  What if someone decided they wanted to take it for a joy ride?

    
This isn’t Vermont.
  He reminded himself as Callum approached the driver’s side window.

     “Hey.” He said when Benji rolled down the window.  “Have a nice drive?”

     “Something like that.” Benji smirked.  “If you call riding in a car for nearly fourteen hours with continuous Broadway tunes as your only source of entertainment ‘a nice drive’.”

     “Ouch.  You, too?” Callum snickered.  “It wasn’t that bad, was it?”

     “Nah.” Benji admitted.  He actually loved the fact that Aggie loved Broadway tunes.  Sometimes he even sang along, depending on the act.  “I’m just tired, man.  I’m liable to collapse on the pavement once I park.”

     “Well, I’m sure me and Jeb can manage carrying you upstairs.” Callum teased.  “Need help with any luggage?  Lydia put me on official luggage helper duty.”

     “She did, did she?” Benji almost snorted and dropped his gaze guiltily.  It was actually pretty awesome that Lydia had someone wrapped round her little finger so tightly.

    
If only we could all be so lucky.

     “You better believe she did, but I’d do it anyway, you know?  Southern hospitality and all that.”

     “Right, right.” Benji nodded.  “Well, where should I park?”

     “You’re moving into 4F, right?”

     “Yeah, the haunted one.”

     Callum opened his mouth to say something, but stopped and stared at him quizzically.

     “I’m just messing with you. I know it’s not
really
haunted.  The old lady died at the hospital, right?  Just don’t tell Aggie that.  She’ll be very disappointed.”

     “Oh, Aggie.” Callum grinned and rapped his knuckles against the side of the car before stepping back.  “I’ll just wait for you to park, man.” He commented, nodding towards an empty space.  “That one’s yours.”