“I was hoping we could talk.” Somehow, it sounded like a command rather than a suggestion.
“While I’m not opposed to talking with you, now isn’t a good time. I’m in the middle of my workday.” Could I have moved some things around to make time for Ryan? Probably. Definitely. But why would I extend a courtesy he hadn’t bothered to giveme?
Yes, I knew I am pregnant with his baby, but I wasn’t ready to share the news with him. Not yet.
Ryan lifted an eyebrow as he surveyed the remnants of the lunch on my desk. I didn’t owe him an explanation, but one fell from my lips. “I wasn’t expecting a visit from Amara. The break I took to spend time with her has put me behind schedule. If I have any hope of getting out of the office on time today, I need to get back to work.”
“I did not intend to interrupt your workday. My plan was to wait until your office hours were over. I wanted to explain why I have been MIA.”
“Well, maybe we can do it another time,” I said, cleaning up my desk.
“Jo, I’ll be around until we have time to talk.”
What the hell was I supposed to say to that declaration? “Then I guess I will see you around.”
“Count on it.” He tapped my desk. “See you later, Jo.” Then, he left, leaving my door open.
A moment passed before I steadily got out of my chair and closed, then locked, my office door. That visit could have been handled better. Why didn’t I just hear him out? Or, better yet, tell him I was pregnant?
I felt completely out of my depth. After a lifetime of carefully planning my life, everything was out of control. I hadn’t even gone to the doctor to confirm my pregnancy. The only evidence I had was the positive test. It was time I made an appointment.
An hour after telling Ryan I couldn’t talk to him because of my heavy workload, I left the office early. Good thing I worked for myself. As luck would have it, my doctor was able to fit me in at the last minute.
“A positive home test and another one here in the office, Jo, you’re pregnant.” Dr. Erickson smiled at me indulgently. I’d known him my entire life. I was comfortable discussing all my medical questions with him.
“Shouldn’t we wait for the blood test to be sure?”
Dr. Erickson chuckled. “If it makes you feel better, we can, but I want you to start on prenatal vitamins right away. You’re over 10 weeks along. We will load you up with information to get you started on the road to motherhood. The blood test will give us a picture of the health of you and the baby. We will refer you for a sonogram. How are you feeling?”
It was a damn good question.
On the way home, I ran into Amara. “Hey Jo, I stopped to talk to you, and I heard you played hooky. Where did you get off to?”
“Oh, I had an errand. Come on up.”
I slid my key into the lock of the door leading upstairs to my place, and my folder with all the pamphlets and forms from the doctor slipped from my hand.
“Oh crap,” I murmured.
They seemed to float to the floor in slow motion. I rushed to pick them up, but before I could stop her, my cousin bent down to help me retrieve the papers.
She stood up, clutching one of the forms I needed to complete.
“Jo? What is this? Are you pregnant!?”
Christ, Amara’s voice was clear, and it carried.
“Shh!” I pressed my hand to my lips, trying to gather all the papers by myself because Amara hadn’t resumed helping. She stood over me with her hands on her hips.
“Are you?” she repeated.
“Let’s go inside and talk about it,” I snapped.
We lived in a small town, and news spread like wildfire. I hadn’t seen anyone around, but people had a way of popping out of the woodwork. No sooner had I thought that than a pair of well-worn, distinctly masculine black boots came to a halt directly in my line of sight.
My first thought was,Please let this be Chase. He was the only person I could think of who wouldn’t‘share’my news. I didn’t even want to think of what would happen if it were someone else. Especially…
“Um, hey, Ryan.” I heard Amara greet him.
