Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 31838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
“I want to be a father to your baby, Ellen. I want to be there while you give birth, holding your hand as you labor to bring a child into the world. Then I want to help you care for the child, and to be a father figure in every sense of the word. But now that this Victor Navarro is in the picture.”
She looks confused now.
“But Victor already has a passel of kids with four other women,” Ellen says in a slow voice. “He wouldn’t want this baby.”
I nod.
“So I guess there’s no reason to be angry then.”
I watch Ellen’s face unfold in a loving, not to mention relieved, expression.
“So you’re not pissed?” she breathes.
“I’m not,” I growl, and she steps towards me, taking my hands in hers. “And yes, this Navarro guy sounds like a waste of space,” I continue, running my thumbs over her hands. “He may not be interested in being a father to your baby. But I am.”
Shock and delight spread across Ellen’s beautiful, angelic features.
“Really?” she whispers.
“Yes, really. I love you, Ellen Massie,” I growl. “Maybe you were a homeless waif who needed a place to stay when we met, but now, I’ve discovered what true happiness can be. I want to be a father to your child, sweetheart, and a lover to you. I want us to be a family.”
“Oh Ryder,” she chokes as tears well up in her eyes. “I want that too, so much. I love you, Ryder, and thank you for not being angry.”
Then, I pull the sweet girl towards me and wrap my arms around her waist.
“We’ll find a way to make it work,” I rasp against her lips. “I promise, sweetheart. You and the child are safe with me now, and we’ll figure it out, okay?”
“Yes,” Ellen laughs through tears of happiness. “Yes, we will.” Then, my hand slides into her brunette curls as I lower my face to hers.
“I love you, honey. You know that. I’ll take care of you forever.”
With that, our lips lock as our hearts meld because this is the first time we’ve ever exchanged words of love. It’s the first time we’ve exchanged promises in fact, but the sentiments are on-point, and even more importantly, they feel right. Ellen Massie was made for me, and now that the mystery of her pregnancy is solved, we have forever to look forward to.
EPILOGUE
Ellen
“Sit down and let me do that,” Ryder growls, guiding me to the sofa. I lower my heavily pregnant body down gratefully onto the soft cushions and sigh with relief. Meanwhile, I smile as my boyfriend rushes to get me a glass of water. We’ve known for a while that we’re expecting a baby girl, and Ryder has been adorably obsessed with making sure we have every detail planned for her arrival. Meanwhile, I smile while taking a sip of the cool liquid because I love having my man wait on me hand and foot.
“You never believed me, did you?” I hum.
Ryder looks distracted, holding up a small purple dress for a newborn.
“About what?” he asks.
“About getting pregnant from sperm in the water!” I laugh. “What else?”
He grins.
“Yeah, it was such a far-fetched story, honey. I can’t believe that anyone actually believed it because it’s so improbable.”
“But the rumors really were going around campus, and you saw how many pregnant girls there were!”
His handsome face breaks into a smile.
“That’s true, but it’s more like a ghost story, right? There’s always a real, scientific reason for the creaks in the walls and the lamp that goes out on its own.”
I giggle.
“Yet Coleman University actually put medical staff on the case,” I muse. “How insane it must have been!”
“Yeah, but I’m sure all the girls confessed, just like you did,” Ryder winks. “Hell, male swimmers are powerful, but they’re not that powerful.”
I laugh because it’s true. I suppose a bunch of girls were interviewed by Dr. Steiner, but I’ll never know. All that I know is that the rumors died down, and now, no one thinks of the pool as a potential cause of pregnancy. Ryder’s right – it’s crazy that the rumor even ever existed.
But my life has changed dramatically ever since that day. I’m not at Coleman anymore because after Ryder and I admitted our love to each other, I initially carried on going to class, with him visiting me every weekend. But as I got bigger and bigger, it just wasn’t worth it. All the cafeteria food tasted like cardboard to me, and it was tough sometimes to even get to my lectures. As a result, we decided that I’d withdraw for the rest of the year and move in with Ryder. It’s fine. I’ll go back to school after the baby’s born and finish my degree. But for right now, I want to focus on being a mom.