Until Her (Sequel)

chapter eighteen

Week Twenty-Six of Pregnancy. My book was finally finished. With the crazy year I've had, it seemed impossible that anything would get finished. With November looming over us, Carter and I were scrambling to find a home to raise our children in, all while he was fighting for his spot on Atlanta FC.

Although Adam gave a public apology for the outburst he threw at Carter's press conference, it was full of empty promises and excuses. It did no good to help Carter's image, and he was suspended from his team because apparently it put Atlanta FC in a bad light. It was only probable that the shoe deal would be cancelled, which also halted our house-hunting, because it meant that we'd have to lower our budget.

Carter kept on a brave face, but I knew he was hurting. He and Jonathan had several lengthy phone calls on several nights, while Peyton convinced us that going back to North Carolina was our best choice. The only problem was, when Warren was released, he would return home, too, and I was uncomfortable with that.

My books hit the shelves in a quick frenzy, quickly becoming a bestseller. It was thrilling and exhilarating to release a new book—a rush I missed—but it was difficult to enjoy with so many things looming.

Going back to North Carolina for a visit was the break both Carter and I needed. Being around a real family made Carter feel good, but the cherry on top for him was when I uncovered the Harley I'd gotten for him in college. He was so happy and surprised, he rode the bike for several hours that night.

I got to talk to my mom about more baby stuff, and Peyton and Jonathan came over. We began planning my upcoming baby shower, which was the least stressful conversation I'd had in months. Peyton reached over to touch my stomach every ten minutes, but I didn't mind. Carter and I asked her and Jonathan to be the godparents to our child, and after excitingly accepting, Peyton took her job very seriously.

We had to drag our feet back to Atlanta, because being home was so leisurely and easy. Atlanta only brought me more concerns and questions.

Was Cole still in jail? When was Warren getting released? I dreamed about them almost nightly, reminding me of the days in college when I stayed with Carter because I couldn't sleep alone.

At 10:03 PM, a knock rattled our door. Carter and I slid out of bed while discussing birthing classes. I threw on a robe over my bra and underwear, Carter slid on his shorts. Bailey pawed at the door. When Frankie stood on the other side, we welcomed him in with smiles, until I remembered why he was here. I had asked him to look into Cole's background, and my gut was telling me he'd found something mysterious.

"You guys should sit down," Frankie suggested. We quickly obliged. "I looked into Cole, like you asked, and I found a lot of stuff. But there's something you guys need to know right now."

We waited expectantly and wide-eyed.

"In August, Cole paid you a visit. Correct?" Carter and I both nodded. "Afterwards, he visited Mr. Lee, and signed the final contract on his book."

"W-wait. That doesn't make any sense. Cole came over here to go over some of his chapters. He hadn't finished the book yet. You can't just publish a book that quickly," I scoffed.

Frankie finally sat, folding his hands together. "I talked to your editor, Graham. When you started working from home to get away from Cole, Graham picked another editor to go over Cole's work."

"Yeah, I know..." I said softly.

"Graham said he told you they had fast-tracked the editing of Cole's book. Correct?"