Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
I stood up and paced the cabin, down the hallway to Mike’s bedroom and back to the kitchen. Waiting for Macy was agony. I couldn’t sit still, couldn’t focus on the television. What was I going to do if I was pregnant? How would I tell Mike? He had just recently asked me to be his roommate, but there was still so much I didn’t know about him. Why hadn’t he ever settled down with a woman before? What was behind so many short-lived relationships? And what was between him and Porter, and him and the bartender?
The sound of tires on the driveway cut blissfully into my panicked musings. I rushed to the door to welcome Macy in. We hugged briefly before she pressed a small package into my hand. I read the instructions carefully, shutting myself in the bathroom to perform the pee test. Leaving the stick on the back of the toilet, I washed up and opened the door.
“Well?” Macy asked, waiting in the hall.
“I haven’t read it yet,” I said.
“Do you want me to?” She nearly begged me for the privilege.
I moved aside to let her pass. She dashed to the toilet and picked up the test, not caring where it had been. A single squeal was all I needed to tell me it was positive. She rushed to throw her arms around me, but I felt my stomach revolt. I pushed her back and fell to my knees, retching into the toilet bowl.
Macy collected my hair lovingly away from my face and held it while I threw up. I found her hand when my stomach had settled and squeezed. She helped me to my feet while I washed my mouth out.
“I know it’s scary,” Macy began, “but you’re gonna love being a mom.”
I was having a hard time summoning the same level of excitement. “What am I gonna do?”
“Let’s get you out of the bathroom,” she responded, as if I were one of her preschoolers. I let her lead me to the sofa and sat down while she busied herself in the kitchen. “What’s this?” She opened the soup pot.
“Chicken noodle,” I said.
“Perfect.” She poured some into a bowl for me.
I sniffed it, and it smelled really good.
“Feeling better?” Macy asked.
I nodded.
“Okay.” She sat down next to me. “You have to tell Mike when he gets home.”
“I don’t know if I can,” I protested.
“You have to,” Macy said firmly.
“We just moved in two days ago. We haven’t even been on that many dates.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Macy argued. “He’s the father.”
“Yes, but what if he reacts badly?” I pouted.
“But he needs to know,” Macy persisted.
“Just give me a few days,” I bargained. “I’m still in shock.”
“It’s not my baby, and it’s not my relationship, but I’m speaking from experience—it’s not going to get any easier to tell him.”
“There’s something…” I didn’t know how to begin. I had promised Macy that I would be safe even when she cautioned me about moving in with a man I didn’t know. “There’s something about Mike that he’s not telling me. We went out to eat yesterday and ran into an old friend of his. They had this really weird vibe, like there was a whole lot they weren’t saying.”
Macy shrugged. “Could be anything. Could be a grudge over an old girlfriend.”
“I don’t think so.” I frowned, taking another spoonful of soup. “There was another thing. His dad made a comment about his ‘bad-boy past’ or something like that.”
“Hmm.” Macy considered the new information. “I could ask Dillon to do some snooping. He’s a wiz with computers. Or Jason is on the police force—he might be able to tell us something.”
I shook my head. “If it’s nothing and I launch a major investigation, he’ll never forgive me.”
Macy kept her thoughts to herself, whatever they were. I had dual experiences with failed relationships, but Macy and Lindsey gave me hope. Maybe in Mike I would find what they had found in their husbands. Maybe I could have my happily ever after too, if only I could put these nagging doubts to rest. How was I going to confront him about the future when there was so much I didn’t know about the past? It seemed like everything had changed in an instant, and my head was spinning under the pressure.
When Mike came home, he made a big deal out of taking care of me. He brought me a cup of chicken soup from the diner, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d already had my fill of soup. I re-evaluated the purchases I had made at the grocery store and decided I couldn’t trot out the pickles, no matter how much I wanted one. There wouldn’t be a bigger neon sign anywhere in the world pointing to a pregnant woman.