Page 44 of Cannon

He waited for her nod before continuing. “It’s August and hotter than fire out but you’re wearing long sleeves. Is there something underneath I need to see?”

Renae stared at him, then nodded, pulling up her sleeve. What a brave girl. Fingerprint bruises went all the way up her arm. Cannon leaned closer, reaching out but holding his hand above her arm. He waited for her nod before turning her arm to see the bruises better. There were two different sizes of fingerprints, so it wasn’t just her cousin who had hurt her.

Cannon breathed deep. This young girl didn’t need to know how much these bruises infuriated him. He remembered what his therapist had said about how he wasn’t to blame for his father’s actions. Renae needed to know this wasn’t her fault.

“First off, I want to tell you that you didn’t deserve to have this happen to you. You did nothing wrong. People that hurt kids do it for a variety of reasons and none of them are the child or youth’s fault. I’m going to call the Sheriff’s Department since they are the law enforcement over the area because what your cousin did is abuse. And then we’ll make sure you’re safe.”

Renae had tears start to trickle down her face. “I just kept saying I needed to make it to eighteen so I could graduate. I want to join the Army.”

Jesse wrapped her arms around Renae while Cannon dialed his phone.

“We’ll get you safe and then help you follow your dreams.”

Cannon called the sheriff directly because as mad as he was about how Renae was being treated, he didn’t think he could deal with Kerwin today. They’d get Renae settled and then see about cleaning out the trash.

Thinking about how Renae had been at the mercy of her cousin when her mom died made him realize he and Jesse needed to have everything in writing. He didn’t know if his dad was alive, but he wanted to make sure his girls were alwaysprotected. He’d contact Locks and find out which attorney they used after he chatted with Jesse.

After speaking with the sheriff, he texted the guys all about what was happening with Renae. Rascal, War, and Scoop had all offered to go to get any of Renae’s stuff when needed or help out with any message that needed to be received. Cannon despised the fact that he couldn’t be the one to deliver the message with his fists, but with his girls on the way, he wasn’t chancing injuring his one hand that wasn’t hurt.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jesse waited for Cannon to come out of his appointment. Her doctor had scheduled hers after Cannon’s cast removal. Jesse stood up and walked over to one side of the waiting room and then walked back to her chair. The stupid fake contractions had been bugging her since lunch yesterday. She hadn’t even really felt hungry for any of the special foods on Labor Day. She’d sipped some iced tea and kept her feet up.

Today, everything hurt. Her girls were pressing on her pubic bone enough to make her want to cry. She wondered if she could get her doctor to induce. She was so done with all of this.

Cannon had been a saint these last couple of weeks. After talking to the sheriff, Renae had been placed with a sweet couple in town who were foster parents. Jesse had invited them to the picnic yesterday. In just those two weeks, Renae wasn’t so painfully thin and the smile on that girl’s face was ear to ear. In fact, Renae couldn’t stop talking about how wonderful the family was. Although Jesse would have preferred her on the compound,none of them were approved for foster care. When everyone figured that out, she saw a couple of faces that looked like this deficiency might be fixed soon.

The girls’ room was perfect. Cannon wasn’t getting a lot of sleep, so he’d started taking an afternoon nap. Whenever Jesse woke up during the night, Cannon would get out of bed to help her up. Her belly was freaking huge. She wondered how big they’d estimate the girls were today. It seemed to her that her belly entered a room way before she did. Cannon talked to the girls in the morning and at night. In the evening, he’d rub lotion on her belly to help with the itchiness and stretch marks while he talked to the girls. And he was still leaving the post-it notes for her. Now he could do it himself. Yesterday, he’d left her one in the spice rack.

Then she’d found one on top of her motorcycle boots.

She dreamed of being wrapped around him on his bike, but right now, she wouldn’t even be able to reach him with her arms around her belly. She stood up and walked across the room again and then back to her chair. Before she could sit, the door opened, and Cannon walked out. He walked over to her, sliding his arm around her back and pulling her to him. He kissed her forehead.

“Ready to go check on the girls?”

She nodded and grabbed her purse, allowing Cannon to lead her out of the room with his arm around her. When they goton the elevator, he pushed the number of their floor, then pulled her back against his chest so she could lean on him. If only he could carry her belly for her. She groaned and the pain from the girls pressing on her had her breathing deep. Man, it felt like they were jumping right between her legs. The elevator opened and Cannon led her to her doctor’s office. She loved that the office was actually a part of the hospital because of the convenience. She checked in and the nurse behind the receptionist motioned her back.

“We’re ready for you.”

The nurse got her weight, asked the questions, then told her to get her bottom half undressed for the doctor. With her belly, she held onto the exam table and Cannon pulled her shoes, socks, panties, and leggings off. Then he helped her to sit on the exam table and laid the thin sheet across her. Not that it really hid that much with her belly. A knock at the door and her doctor walked in.

“How are you feeling today?” the doctor asked.

“I think the girls are trying to dance in there. Everything hurts, especially between my legs.”

At Jesse’s words, the doctor cocked her head and quickly washed her hands and put on gloves.

“Well, let’s get you laid back and your feet in here. We’ll check how everyone is doing today.”

Jesse leaned back with Cannon’s help and then her legs were in the stirrups. Her back didn’t feel good lying like this at all.

The doctor pulled a light between her legs then made a type of hmmm noise.

“Have you been feeling any contractions?”

Jesse didn’t understand what she meant. “Well, those Braxton Hicks ones have been really kicking my butt since yesterday, right after lunch. Some of them really hurt.”

The doctor patted her leg and pulled off her gloves, then picked up her phone and texted someone. Then she helped Jesse’s legs out of the stirrups and had Cannon sit her up.