Four

Austin...

The distillery is like a well-oiled machine. Every now and then, something breaks or a formula gets messed up, but for the most part, everything goes smoothly. And yeah, there’s always something going on with the employees. Someone calls in for a sick kid or an emergency, but for the most part, our employees are exceptional. It doesn’t hurt that we pay well.

But today is not one of the smooth days. Today, we’re finishing up on our biggest order of the week, two people are out with colds, and one of the chutes broke halfway through the order. We called in the repairman, and now the chute is in working order, and we called in a few people that would have had a day off today. We’re finally getting caught up, and we’re going to make the deadline, but barely.

When my phone rings, I answer it automatically. “Austin Blaze.”

“Hi Austin. This is Brandon Reynolds.”

I’m walking through the distillery watching everything to make sure it’s all in working order. “What’s up, Doc?”

I roomed with Brandon my one and only year of college. He was some kind of prodigy, graduating high school early and was in his fourth year of college when I was in my first. I’m not sure how we ended up rooming together. I’m sure that my father was hoping Brandon’s smartness would wear off on me, but it didn’t. If anything, I was a bad influence on him. I often joked with him that he owed me for dropping out because if we had stayed rooming together, he would have partied too much and probably wouldn’t have made it to medical school. However, after I dropped out, we stayed in touch, but usually at planned dinners or something. Not random phone calls.

The man on the other end of the line is quiet, and I say his name again. “Brandon? You there?”

“Yeah, I’m here. How have you been? How’s business?”

My forehead creases because we just got on the phone, and already this is such an odd conversation. “Uh, well, I’m good, and business is good. Did you call to catch up? I’m sort of in the middle of something right now. Can I call you later?”

“Uh, yeah, sure, I was going to tell you about the patient I had today, but sure, we can talk later.”

I freeze because I know Brandon. He’s a doctor and the type of man that takes the Hippocratic oath seriously. He’s not going to talk about his patients to anyone. Unless…. “Who was your patient?”

Instead of answering, he says. “What’s going on with you, Austin? You and Ally have been best friends forever. She didn’t remember me, but I can’t say I blame her. She has a lot going on right now.”

“What’s going on, Brandon? Is she okay?”

He still doesn’t answer me, and it’s starting to piss me off. “I heard you were the father. Ally didn’t say that, but that’s the rumor. Is that true?”

I tell him what I tell anyone else that asks me. “Ally and her baby are mine.”

He blows out a breath, and there’s anger in his voice. “Okay, so explain things to me. Why would she tell me that she can’t afford to take off work? Why did she come in my office today frazzled, sick, overwrought, and tired? Hell, man, she fell asleep in the room waiting five minutes for me. Her blood pressure is so high, I know that unless she makes some big changes, that baby is going to have to come early.”

“Fuck!” I scream out loud. Everyone in the plant stops working and looks at me. I ignore them all and walk out of the plant toward the parking lot.

I’m about to tell Brandon thanks for the heads up, but he’s not finished yet. “And why, if she’s your woman and that’s your baby, is she coming to these doctor appointments by herself? Why is she dealing with all this by herself?”

“She’s not going to anymore. Look, it’s complicated, but I’m about to uncomplicate it. She’s going to rest, and from this point forward she’s going to be taken care of. Whether she likes it or not.”

“Good. Don’t go over there yelling at her and making this worse.”

I’m shaking my head as I get into my SUV. The truth is, I’m not sure how I’m going to make her listen to me, but I’m going to have to figure it out. “I won’t. I promise. Thanks for the heads up, Brandon.”

“You’re welcome.”

I click off the phone and immediately dial Ally’s phone number. It rings five times before going to voicemail. I grip onto the steering wheel, and I know I need a plan. First, I call my assistant manager. I never turn things over, choosing to usually do things on my own, but I’m going to start delegating right now. I give him a list of things that I need done and tell him for the next few weeks, I’m going to be out of pocket a little bit. He can call me if he needs anything.

Second, I pull out of the lot and head over to my house. Ally is not going to like this, I know she’s not. I can count the times I’ve been to her house on two of my hands, but there’s no other way. She’s always been secure in our friendship. At least I thought she was. She knows my parents, my brothers, everyone loves her and would do anything for her, but there’s still a part of her that believes she doesn’t fit in with us, which is bullshit. There’s no part of me that cares about what side of town she lives on, who her parents are, or anything else. She’s always been “my person,” and the fact that she lives in a trailer park is not going to come between us. I don’t have a choice. She doesn’t want to come to my house, so I’m going to hers.

I can pack, pick up groceries and dinner, and be at her house in the next hour or two. I know I’m going to have a fight on my hands, but I’m going to do what Brandon suggested. I’m not going to upset her, but I am going to get what I want. And what I want is Ally… and our baby.