Jade stands and takes my hands. “I’ll pretend I wasn’t here. He doesn’t have to know.” She knows me so well, reading my expression.
“No, no. It’s not ideal, but if it’s true and my blood test comes back positive, he’ll be happy. He’ll give us shit for the rest of our lives that you found out before him, but he’ll be happy.” We bothlaugh because that is so Conor. I place my hand on my stomach. Could I really have a little one in there? “I’m scared to hope.”
Jade wraps her arms around my shoulders. “Well, now I have to keep you distracted for the rest of the day, so let’s call the other girls.”
“You have a zillion things to do,” I say, soaking in her hug.
“Nothing is as important as this. Come on, we’ll call them as soon as we leave here.”
three
Kyleigh
I’m sittingon the toilet, staring at the stick with two pink lines glaring at me.
There is no way.
No possible way.
My phone vibrates on the counter, and I pick it up, seeing Jade’s name.
I want to swipe my thumb and tell her what I just found out and ask how this happened. Not that I don’t know how it happened, but it’s all so surreal. I have a sleeping baby in the other room. Two kids under two?
I mentally do the math, figuring out when the baby will be born, while the call goes to voicemail. Great, we’ll get maybe a month before Rowan is back in training for the season.
My phone vibrates on the counter again, and this time, Rowan’s name comes up.
I slide my thumb across the screen. “Hey.”
“Hey.” He sounds tired and frustrated and worried.
I hate this part of the season, when the holidays are coming. There are so many obligations that I attend alone, and I don’tever want him to feel guilty. After Parker was born, the guilt seemed to pile on him.
“How was the morning skate?” I put the stick on the counter because this is not the time for me to tell him.
“Good, but I really wish I was at home with you. Parker’s napping, right?”
“Yeah.”
“God, Ky, if I was home, I’d have you in bed naked, fucking you so good.”
“I know you would.”
When I don’t play along in his phone sex game, silence descends over the line. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I inflect as much elation in my voice as possible.
It’s not that I’m unhappy about having another baby. We wanted another. It’s just that Parker is exhausting, and he’ll be walking by the time this next one comes into the mix. It’s going to be a lot.
“I’m sorry again,” he says. “You sound so tired.”
“We’re good. I’m going to take him for a walk when he gets up.”
“Ky, it’s freezing out.”
“Well, that’s why they invented coats and blankets. I need to run to the shop anyway. The dress for that winter wedding I was telling you about is done and the bride has her fitting today, so I want to make sure it’s perfect before we leave for the cabin.”
He groans. “I can’t wait for a few days off. My body is beat to shit right now.”
