Breaking Boundaries (5th in Breaking Series)

Chapter twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jacob ran hard and fast to the hotel with Elizabeth calling for him to calm down. He ignored her. His wife and his son had been in a fire. His wife had passed out and nearly died. Aiden and Thomas had saved them both from dying of either smoke inhalation or flames. Not only that but cattle had been killed, his home was gone, a ranch hand had been shot and may die.... Jacob had a feeling even more had happened while he'd been away but no one had said what and he wasn't taking the time now to listen.

That was the last time he volunteered to go to Austin to secure cattle contracts.

He ran up the narrow staircase to the room that Elizabeth had told him Ellie and Eli were sleeping in alone. He tried the knob but the door was locked so he knocked loudly, "Ellie?! Ellie, honey, open this door."

It only took seconds for the door to open and Ellie was throwing herself into his chest. Jacob wrapped her up tightly, moved into the room and closed the door with his foot. His eyes found Eli. The boy was sitting in the floor in nothing but a cloth diaper with a leather belt in his hands that he was gnawing at it with all he was worth as drool ran down his chin in rivulets.

Jacob rubbed at Ellie's back and kissed her hair which was still damp from the bath she must have taken, "Ellie, I'm so sorry I wasn't here."

"It's okay," Ellie whispered and Jacob felt hot tears soaking into his black dress shirt. He frowned. Crying? Ellie was not much of a crier. She was too tough for tears most of the time and he just couldn't see a fire, even a scary one that almost claimed her and Eli's life, reducing her to tears like this.

"Ellie?" Jacob pulled away from her as Eli got to his feet and hobbled over on his chubby legs, reaching for Jacob.

"Dadadadadada!" the boy squealed and Jacob felt his heart constrict in his chest as he scooped his son up and kissed his slobber coated cheek.

He then turned his attention back to his wife. She had always had pale, porcelain skin but right now it was deathly white. She had a welted bump on her brow, dark circles marred the skin around her red, swollen eyes and her expression was drawn, tight and full of sorrow, "Ellie, talk to me...."

"I..." her voice broke and she sniffed loudly before crossing her arms tight around her middle, "I lost it, Jacob."

Jacob pulled off his hat and tossed it into the chair when Eli began to try to chew on it, "Ellie, I don't understand. Are you talking about the house? I'm not worried about the house, honey, I'm just glad the two of you are okay....."

"Not the house, Jacob!" Ellie practically screamed.

Jacob took a step back and nodded, "Okay...." What was wrong with his wife? "Then tell me what you lost. I'll replace whatever it was..."

"You can't just replace it..." her voice broke again and her breath hitched in a sob before she looked up into his eyes with such sadness that his heart broke without knowing why. "The baby, Jacob. I lost the baby."

"The baby?" Jacob whispered with confusion. What baby?

Ellie nodded and hugged herself tighter, "I'm so sorry..."

Understanding dawned on Jacob and his heart shattered apart in his chest. There had been a baby; his and Ellie's baby, and now it was gone. Stolen from him before he'd even known it existed. He'd always known he couldn't keep his family safe and right here was another perfect example of that! He'd been gone and they had needed him. Because he hadn't been around his unborn child was dead, his son had nearly died and his wife was hurting and in tears.