Heart of the Music (Saints & Sinners #1) (16 page)

“Support you on what?” Jarrod glanced at the door to where Sam, Austin, Mike, and Tyler stood, looking confused and scared as hell at the sight of Trish in a hospital bed.

“Are you okay, Trish?” Mike asked her, scanning her body, checking to see if there were any visible injuries. To think about how far Mike and Patricia had come in their relationship blew Jarrod’s mind sometimes. The man had gone from making her life miserable to being there for her in a heartbeat, and he knew Mike would be there for them now.

“I’m fine, Mike. I’m not injured. I’m… I mean, we’re having a baby. I’m pregnant.”

The shouts of joy and congratulations coming from their room were loud enough to wake the dead, but when Sam gazed Patricia’s way, he coughed to get their attention, and the room went silent.

“We’re missing something here. What were you guys talking about before we came barging in?” Sam asked.

As the tears slid down her cheeks, Jarrod held her tighter against his body.

“When the day comes that Trish can’t travel with us anymore, I’m going to be staying put with her, and when the baby is born, I’m not leaving my family to go out on the road until they’re ready to come with us. We’ll get our own bus, but I will not leave my family.”

“We wouldn’t ask you to, man. Is that why you’re upset, Trish? Because you think we would leave you alone to raise this child? No fucking way. The minute you can’t travel with us, we’ll find a way to make it work. We can postpone the tour. We can do whatever we need to do. We’re not going back out on the road until every single one of us is ready.” Sam spoke the exact words Jarrod and Trish needed to hear in that moment.

As they nodded in agreement, the nurse came in asking them to step out so she could assist Trish in freshening up. Jarrod kissed her before leaving the room, making sure she didn’t need anything.

Sitting in the hospital cafeteria, Jarrod still couldn’t believe it was true. “I’m going to be a dad. How crazy is that?”

“You guys do have five years of catching up to do, man.” Sam nudged him.

“I think it’s about damn time,” Mike confessed, rubbing his face.

“It’s the best fucking feeling in the world, Mike. I mean, she has my baby inside her. You can’t even imagine what that knowledge feels like. It’s like a high or something.” That was the best way he could describe what he was feeling right then. Nothing compared to the high that came with finding out he was going to be a parent, not even the high from 20,000 screaming fans.

The next couple of days flew by. Patricia had gotten discharged from the hospital the day after finding out about the baby, and he was pretty sure he was driving everyone insane. He bought every pregnancy book available to man and drilled the doctor with more questions than he probably should have, but he didn’t care. He was going to be the best dad possible, and nothing was going to stop him from making sure he got everything right.

They were on their way to his mom’s place to tell her the news, because he had refused to tell her over the phone. He couldn’t wait to see the look on his mom’s face when they told her she was going to be a grandmother. He wished his dad was still alive to see this.

“Do you think she knows?” Patricia asked him while sitting in the passenger seat of his truck. He was going to have to look into changing his car because there was no way his truck would be safe enough for their baby. Damn, he really needed to get a handle on his shit before it got out of control.

“I don’t know. She might though since we’ve been so secretive about why you ended up in the hospital.”

“I can’t wait to tell her.” She was probably more excited about telling his mom than he was. He just smiled and took her hand in his as they pulled up to his mom’s house. As usual, his mom was outside working in her garden, something she had started enjoying doing after Jarrod’s dad passed away. They should probably start doing something like that, right? When his mom heard the truck, she wiped her hands on her jeans, and started walking toward them.

“Jarrod, you need to calm down. I can almost hear your brain racing right now.”

He turned off the truck and looked at her. “I just want to make sure we’re ready and we do this right.”

“We’re going to make mistakes, babe. There’s no manual on how to be a parent, but we’re going to learn together.” He lowered his head to kiss her stomach before kissing her lips.

He helped her out of the truck, and when they reached the front porch, his mom looked between the two of them and he could tell she was worried about the woman who was carrying his child.

“Are you okay, sweetheart? What happened?” his mom asked her as she hugged them.

“I’m fine, Christine. He took really good care of me when I was sick.” Patricia tucked herself under his arm, and he held her tight as his mom watched them, no doubt trying to figure out what was going on.

“We have something to tell you, Mom. You’re going to be a grandma.”

He smiled when his mom’s face changed from concern to shock. “What?”

“We’re pregnant, Mom.” He placed a hand on Patricia’s stomach, and with his other hand, he wiped the happy tears from Trish’s face.

His mom pulled Patricia away from his embrace to hug her, and when she looked at him, her eyes shined with happiness. “Oh, dear Lord, this is the greatest news. You two are going to be wonderful parents.”

Yes, they were. He knew they would both do anything in their power to make sure their child was loved unconditionally.

Patricia

Being pregnant was definitely life-changing for her, and the last couple of months had been challenging, to say the least. The excitement of carrying a child, of carrying a life, had been so overwhelming that she didn’t think she could ever be happier. After moving in with Jarrod, they had spent their time learning about what being a parent meant. Jarrod had been beyond amazing. Every baby book in the world was spread out on their kitchen table and every baby website was bookmarked in their web browser. As much as she had pictured raising a family in her house, she had to admit that with all the changes they were making to Jarrod’s house, this was the perfect place for them.

The one thing she could do without was the morning sickness—although, she really didn’t know why they called the damn thing morning sickness when it lasted all day. She had decided to travel a little less because the exhaustion just wasn’t worth it. Now, as she watched Jarrod pack for his business trip to L.A., she was reconsidering her decision. She hated being away from him, but she knew he just couldn’t give up on everything. She knew he didn’t want to leave, but this trip to L.A. had been on the books for months, and it was one of those trips that couldn’t be blown off.

“I hate leaving you like this, baby, but I have to go to this meeting.” He had tried to cancel, but the label wasn’t having it, and she understood better than anyone the pressure he and the rest of the band were under to get this new album together.

“It’s okay, Jarrod. You’ll only be gone for a day. I think we can handle being by ourselves for twenty-four hours. This meeting is important. This new endorsement is a good deal.” She hated that he had to leave, but he would be back before she knew it. That was what she kept telling herself.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay? My mom can stay with you while I’m gone.” Jarrod had put everyone on high alert—from his mom, his sister, their new publicist, the band, and the other band members’ parents. He was taking no chances; if she needed someone while he was gone, he was making damn sure someone would be there in the flash of an eye to take care of her.

“Baby, I’m pregnant, not dying. We are going to be just fine,” she told him, rubbing her belly.

He kissed her softly. “Okay, but if you need me for any reason at all, I’ll be on the first flight out.”

“I know, baby. Now go before you miss your flight.” She ran her hands under his shirt, loving the feel of his bare skin. Pregnancy had made her extra hormonal horny, and she had been like a sex machine, for the past few months, not that Jarrod ever complained.

“I love you,” he kissed her and then he kissed her belly, “and I love you, baby girl.”

“It could be a boy, you know,” she told him laughing, “and we love you. Now go.”

Chapter
Twelve

1 year ago

Jarrod

He was deep in the middle of a dream when his phone started ringing and took him out of Trish’s bed in his mind and put back in his own bedroom. He grabbed his phone from the bedside table, swearing at whoever was calling him this early on his day off.

“Yeah?” He rolled to the side of the bed to look at the clock. Who the hell was calling him at 2 a.m.?

“I’m looking for Mr. Jarrod Banks.”

He shook his head, trying to get rid of the fog in his brain. He didn’t recognize the man’s voice, but obviously he had some sort of connection to him if he had his number.

“Speaking.”

“Mr. Banks, my name is Dr. Smith. I’m calling from Saint Thomas Hospital. We have you as an emergency contact for Patricia Monroe.” At the mention of the words hospital and Trish, he jerked upright in his bed, alert and awake.

“What happened?” He picked up his jeans from the floor, grabbed a clean T-shirt, and headed for the garage.

“She was in a car accident and was brought in about an hour ago. She was unconscious when she arrived. She’s stable now, but we’ll be keeping her for a few days. She has a broken leg and a few bruised ribs. She’ll need to take it easy for a few weeks.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” He didn’t even let the man say anything else. He ended the call, snatched his keys off the table, and climbed into his car.

Jarrod made it to the hospital in record time, surprised he hadn’t gotten a speeding ticket. After waiting around for someone to finally give him Patricia’s room number, he took a few minutes to get himself under control. The last thing he wanted to do was walk into her room with his emotions all over the place.

When he entered the room and saw her bruised and asleep on the hospital bed, he felt his heart break. He pulled up a chair beside her bed and took her hand in his. Eyes never leaving her face, he needed the reassurance she was okay. The doctor
came into the room and gave him as much information as he was legally allowed to give. Jarrod texted the guys to let them know what was happening before texting their booking agent to reschedule their shows for the next few days.

She’d been asleep for an hour with Jarrod at her side before she woke up. “Where am I?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

“You’re at Saint Thomas, Trish,” he told her, pressing the button to alert the nurse that she was awake.

She looked a bit panicked. “Jarrod, what are you doing here? What happened?”

He watched her closely as she took in her surroundings and squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her that she was safe. “You were in a car accident. I got here as soon as they called me.” He held a glass of water to her lips, helping her take slow sips.

“Why did they call you?” she asked him, confused.

He smiled down at her. “You put me down as your emergency contact.” Which they would discuss later. Putting him down as an emergency contact meant she trusted him more than anyone else, and that was something he would hang on to.

“Oh, yeah.” She tried to look away, hiding her embarrassment of the whole situation, but he didn’t let her. He turned her face slowly, careful not to hurt her, so he could look her in the eye.

“How are you feeling?” He hated seeing her looking so fragile and broken.

“Like I was hit by a car.” She tried to hold back a laugh, making her wince as she held her ribs.

“You have a broken leg, a couple of bruised ribs, a mild concussion, and a sprained wrist.” His heart started racing as he told her about her injuries.

“No, no… the tour….” Leave it to her to be thinking about the state of their tour while she lay in a hospital bed with broken bones after being hit by a car.

She took care of everyone else, but when it came to her well-being, she always put it last on her list of priorities. “They’re already rebooking the shows.”

“No, you can still go.”

“No.” If she thought for a second he would leave her when she needed him, she had another thing coming.

“Jarrod, you can’t just reschedule the tour.”

‘Watch me’ was all he wanted to say, but instead, he told her, “I said no. You’ll be off for a few weeks, and so will we. We’re not leaving you alone.” His tone left no doubt that this wasn’t up for discussion.

He saw the resistance leave her body. “Okay.”

“Do not ever fucking scare me like that again.” He kissed her forehead, running his hands over her body, needing to reassure himself she was whole. His chest expanded in relief. She was safe, and he’d make sure that was the way it would stay.

Present Day

Patricia

Jarrod had been gone for a half a day when she woke up in the middle of the night with a searing pain in her lower back. “Sweetie, you have to stop kicking Mommy like that.” She took deep breathes focus on the memory of Jarrod’s face when they found out they were having a baby girl. Fear and pure joy had been all over his face, and hers too. She still couldn’t believe they were having a little princess.

When the pain become more bearable, she got out of the bed and felt something drip between her legs. When she saw blood on the sheets, her heart constricted, fear slicing through her body. “Okay, sweetie, you have to hang on, you hear me? Children need to listen to their mothers, and I am telling you I need you to hold on.” She grabbed her phone from the table and dialed Sam’s number.

He picked up on the first ring, his voice on full alert. “Trish, what’s wrong?”

“I need you to come take me to the hospital, or I can call the ambulance…. I should probably do that instead, right? I mean, that’s the logical thing to do.” She tried to stay calm as she spoke to Sam, but she wanted Jarrod. She needed him, and knowing he wasn’t there, made her thoughts spiral out of control.

“What happened?”

She focused on keeping her breathing even, trying to calm her body’s response. “I woke up because Emma couldn’t stop kicking me, but, Sam, there’s blood on the sheets and Jarrod is out of town, and I’m freaking out here!”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes. Stay there and call Jarrod right now.”

She grabbed one of Jarrod’s sweatshirts from his dresser and slipped it on before calling him. It rang a few times before he picked up. “Baby, what’s wrong? It's 3 a.m. back home.”

“I woke up because Emma was kicking me like a pro-soccer player and there’s blood on the sheets, so Sam is coming over to take me to the hospital. I know this meeting is really important, but I’m really scared, Jarrod. I need you.” As she told him what was happening, she couldn’t hold back the tears or the fear that something was wrong with their daughter.

“Baby, nothing is more important to me than you and our little girl. I’m taking the first flight out. Hell, I’ll charter one if it’s faster,” he assured her, and she could hear him opening up his suitcase in the background. God, she needed him home right now.

“Okay.” She briefly closed her eyes, allowing a tendril of relief to wash through her.

Sam drove her to the hospital, and within ten minutes, she was settled in a room under observation. Her moment of relief knowing Jarrod was on his way home had since vanished. She couldn’t shake the fear that something was wrong with the baby.

“Trish, it’s going to be all right. The baby is going to be fine. Jarrod’s on his way. I’m not leaving.” Sam’s words echoed through her head as she drifted off to sleep, no longer to resist the pull of exhaustion.

“Baby, wake up for me.” She struggled to open her eyes. She was so tired, and after the doctor had come back in to tell her the baby was fine, fatigue had taken over.

She squirmed a little before opening her eyes. “Jarrod, you’re here.” She threw her arms around his neck, breathing him in, taking comfort from his touch.

“What happened? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?” His voice was panicked, and he didn’t bother trying to hide it.

“We’re both fine. The doctor said it was possible to have some blood loss. I just freaked out when I saw it. They’re keeping me overnight, but they say there’s nothing to be worried about. We’re both healthy as can be.” Jarrod fell to his knees the instant she spoke the words.

She rubbed his hair and neck, trying to calm him down, but nothing worked. “Baby, I’m okay. The baby is okay. We’re all okay.”

“I…wasn’t…here. Oh, God, what if…?” She could hear the agony in his voice and knew he was blaming himself for going to L.A and not being there for her and the baby, but he needed to understand that this was not his fault. If he would have been here, this would still have happened; nothing he could have done would have changed that.

“It's okay, baby. It’s okay. Jarrod, look at me.” She placed his hands on her belly, so he could cradle Emma and feel for himself they were both okay.

He lowered his head to her belly and whispered, “I’m right here, baby girl. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there, but I’m here now. You’re such a strong girl, just like your mama. I love you both so much.”

Jarrod

The day he got the call from the hospital one year before telling him Trish had been in a car accident was a day he would never forget. But the night she called him saying she was bleeding and she had to go to the hospital almost killed him. He was on autopilot until he walked into that hospital room and saw for himself that she was really okay. He couldn’t remember a day in all his life when he had been so scared in all his life. The possibility of losing the woman he loved and the child she was carrying was enough to bring him to his knees.

Two days after checking in, the doctors reassured him that it was safe for them to go home. He should feel bad about overwhelming the doctor with questions, but there was no way he was taking any chances with Trish’s health. After an hour of interrogating the doctor, he was convinced that it was all right for them to go home, but he’d be damned if she went back to work. Her sweet ass was staying home, even if he had to tie her to the bed.

“I want ice cream,” she declared on their way home. After stopping at two different stores because they didn’t have the coconut ice cream she wanted, they finally pulled up their driveway.

“I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed.” He knew the feeling too well. He hadn’t left her side for two days, and he was sure looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

“I just want to hold you and keep you to myself for the next couple of days,” he told her as they climbed the stairs to the master bedroom.

When they got to the top of the stairs, she turned around and kissed him softly with a longing for intimacy that matched his. “That sounds perfect to me. I missed you while you were gone.”

“Me too, baby. I don’t think I’ll be able to go away like that again.” That was the God’s honest truth. After everything that had happened while he was gone, he knew he wouldn’t be able to do it again.

“What about the album?” she asked. He knew she understood the pressure they were under to produce their next record, but just like everyone anyone else around them who had a problem with it, she was going to have to come to terms with being his number one priority.

He helped her out of the sundress one of the guys had brought for her to wear home and slipped one of his T-shirts over her head. She was showing now, and he didn’t know how much longer he would have the privilege of seeing her in his clothes.

“I talked to the producer, and we agreed we could record it here. The guys all signed off on it. They actually sounded relieved to know we weren’t going to be stuck in a recording studio.”

“It’s gonna be nice having everyone around for a while. What did Derek say about the next tour?”

“I told him we weren’t going to consider leaving until the baby was at least six months old. He wasn’t happy at first, but he accepted it.” Jarrod pulled back the covers on the bed, and when she was settled comfortably between the sheets, where she was going to spend the next few days, he climbed in next to her and pulled her to him. “I got the quote back for the new bus too, and most of the things we want for the baby are doable, so we don’t have to worry about that.”

“Oh, good. I hate spending that much money, but if we’re gonna take this little person with us, I want to make sure we’re comfortable.”

“Baby, it’s not that much money. We’ve got more than enough to customize our bus.” Money was one of those things that they couldn’t stop talking about. He understood that spending money wasn’t something she was comfortable with, but it was a part of who he was and, sooner or later, she was going to have to accept that.

“I know, I just need to get used to it.” She snuggled closer to him. He stilled at the contact, welcoming the relief washing over and allowing it to sink into him. He knew it would all be okay, because he wouldn’t let anything ruin this for them.

“Let’s try and get some sleep. I’ll cook something when we wake up.”

“That sounds good to me. Love you.”

“Love you, too, baby.” He cradled her stomach with his hands and fell asleep holding the woman he loved and the child he couldn’t wait to meet.

Patricia