Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 39424 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39424 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
I cut him off. “What the fuck, Davis?” I walk over to him and get in his face. “Tell me what the hell is going on.”
“Sit down.”
I raise my hand over my head. “I’ve had it up to here. Now tell me—”
He cuts me off again. “Trust me, you’re going to want to sit down when you hear this.”
I sit down on the edge of the couch. “Okay. I’m sitting.”
He sits down across from me. “Chloe is pregnant.”
He barely gets the words out and I bolt to my feet. “What? She’s pregnant? But—” I start, ready to say that we used condoms, and then I remembered the first time I walked her home. The night she found out about the picture in my wallet and we had sex that night without anything.
Davis is looking at me worriedly. “I mean, maybe it’s not—”
I put my hands against his chest. “Don’t finish that sentence. The baby is mine.” When he nods his head, I start to pace. “How do you even know this and why didn’t she tell me?”
“She passed out at the gym the day before yesterday.. It was a whole thing but—”
I stop pacing. “She passed out?”
He waves his hand. “Yeah, but she’s fine. Natalie was with her, and Abby went to check on her last night. I just assumed you knew.”
I shake my head, trying to figure out what this all means. Why wouldn’t she tell me? I go to grab my phone, and there are not any missed calls and there are not any text messages from her..
“I have to go.”
Davis blocks my path. ‘You can’t drive like this… and you need a shower.”
“Fuck!” I know he’s right. “Give me five minutes. Can you drive me into town?”
“Sure thing.”
I shower, and by the time I get out and am walking out the front door, Davis is handing me a coffee in the travel mug. It’s not until we’re halfway into town that I put voice to my thoughts. “Look at me, Davis. I shouldn’t be anyone’s dad.”
Davis doesn’t get outraged or even try to argue with me. “I’m not sure I would lead with that when you go in there.”
I look out the window and watch as we pass through the small town. “Why didn’t she call me… why didn’t she tell me?”
Davis stops at a red light and looks at me. “I don’t know, but if you’re still saying she’s the one, then you better figure this shit out, Elias. Have you told her how you feel about her?”
I think back on the last few weeks and I know I fucked up. “Shit. She told me she loved me and I said nothing—”
Davis looks at me as if I’ve grown two heads before pushing on the gas when the light turns green. I don’t need him to tell me what a dumbass I am because I already know.
I pick up my phone and make the call I should have made as soon as I hooked up with Chloe. My boss answers on the first ring. “Hey, Elias, I’ve been expecting your call. I hear congratulations are in order.”
I pull the phone from my ear and look at it. Does everyone fuckin’ know that Chloe’s pregnant? “Yeah, hey, Walker, I was hoping I could schedule a time to come in and talk to you about my position.”
“You’re not quitting,” he commands.
I nod. “I don’t want to quit… but I do want to solely work from Whiskey Run. I understand there’s some things I may have to travel for, but I hope you understand… I need to stay put.”
“Done.”
Shocked is putting it lightly. “Done? That’s it?”
Walker chuckles into the phone. “Yes, I've talked to Dr. Kline, and she says you’ve made great progress and your work last night proves you’re irreplaceable. We need you… and I’m okay if you want to stay near your family. You’ve earned that right, Elias.”
Every part of what he says overwhelms me, but mostly when he mentions my family. “Thank you, sir.”
“Sure thing. So let us know if you and Chloe need anything. The first trimester is hard, so make sure you spoil her. Trust me on this, I know what I’m talking about.”
“Got it,” I tell him before we say goodbye.
I’m speechless as we get closer to Chloe’s.
“Wow,” Davis says, and I nod my head in agreement. Walker’s known as a good guy, but I had expected some kind of argument about wanting to cut out traveling for missions.
Now that I have that fixed, hopefully I can focus on what I need to do.
When Davis pulls onto the main street in town, my pulse picks up. We pass by the gym, and all the lights are off already, so I’m assuming Chloe’s home. “Any last-minute advice?”
He pulls up to the curb of her house. “Yeah, tell her how you feel.”