“In a manner of speaking? What’s that supposed to mean, Zoey?”
“It means physically, I’m fine. There’s nothing life threatening for us to worry about,” I confirm. “But things are about to change… for the both of us.”
“How so?” he asks, leaning forward and placing his forehead against mine. “No secrets, Zoey. Don’t be afraid to tell me what’s going on.”
“Hang on, in this instance, show and tell is better than me blurting it out,” I state, crawling out of his lap and stepping out of the tub. I can hear the water splash behind me as I wrap the towel around me and tie it across my chest. He’s going to follow me but I don’t want him to. I want him right where he is when he finds out he’s going to be a daddy. “Don’t get out, I’ll be right back.”
As the bathtub ladened with bubbles filled earlier, Harrison went outside and grabbed our luggage. Thank goodness he did because running outside wrapped in a towel, in forty degree weather, isn’t something I was looking forward to. I’d catch a chill and end up nursing a cold on top of the pregnancy symptoms I’m already suffering from. Thank God for Zofran. That does not sound like a good time to me, especially since I’d still need to wear my Mom hat with Elodie whether I’m worshiping the porcelain throne and laid up in bed or not. A mother’s job is never done.
As I rummage through my bag, I find the box I’m looking for and a satisfied smile crosses my face. I thought long and hard about how I’d present this news to him, and this seemed to be a popular one amongst bikers and old ladies according to one of the forums I joined where I asked for advice. This was the consensus and I’m excited to present it to him. I can’t wait to see his face when he puts two and two together.
“Zoey!” Harrison hollers. “I’m about to get my ass out of this tub and come get your gorgeous ass.”
“I’m coming! Hold your damn horses,” I shout back.
“The only horse I hold onto is chrome plated, baby, and we left that at home so get a move on already!”
Stomping my foot in frustration, I march back into the bathroom with the gift box tucked beneath my arm. “Has anybody ever told you that patience is a virtue? Don’t spoil this moment for me, Harrison!”
While I scold him, he tilts his head to the side and his eyes zero in on the package I’m holding. “What’s that?” he asks, pointing at the gift.
“It’s for you, obviously,” I state, rolling my eyes. “It’s your Valentine’s Day present.”
“We’re exchanging gifts now? While we’re soaking in the tub?” he inquires, confusion plastered on his facial expression. “I was going to give you yours over a candle lit dinner. I have it all planned out, Zoey.”
“You can still do that, I’m not trying to rush you. But this,” I say, lifting the box from the crease of my arm, tapping it with my finger, and holding out to him, “needs to be given to you now. It goes hand-in-hand with my announcement.”
“Announcement?” he murmurs, lifting from his lounged position, grabbing the hand towel off the rack, wiping the water droplets from them as he reaches out and takes my offering. “Why do I get the feeling this is going to be monumental?”
“Because it potentially could be,” I tell him. It will, it totally will, but I don’t want to give that away so I school my facial features and wear my indifferent mask. It takes every ounce of my will power not to smirk at him as he rips into the cardboard.
“This feels like Christmas all over again,” he gleefully says as he shreds the top. When the contents are exposed, his lips tighten as he lifts up the pregnancy test that’s splayed over the mini-cut which he has situated between his fingers, rubbing the leather. “Does this mean what I think it means?” His voice is stilted, husky, and yet, full of hope. He brushes his hand across his scruff, scratching his chin. The hair is starting to grow back in which is a relief since I didn’t realize how much I’d miss it until it was gone. “Because we both know this isn’t meant for Elodie.”
I giggle at his presumption. “It won't fit her, it’s not meant for her, and that depends,” I say as I let the towel nonchalantly fall to the floor and step back into the lukewarm water, settling my body between his spread thighs. “What do you think it means?”
“Are we… are we having a baby, Zoey?” he asks, anxiously licking his bottom lip.
“In about six months, give or take,” I whimsically remark, reaching out and placing the palms of my hands over the blades of his shoulders. “How do you feel about that?”
“Ecstatic, terrified, bewildered,” he answers. “What about you?”
“All of the above,” I whisper. “In the beginning, I was in shock and wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not, timewise, seeing as the club is eventually going to be facing the Dragons. Having a baby in the midst of all that drama and fighting scared the daylights out of me.”
“And now?” he asks, hauling me into his chest nestling me in, and tightening his arms around me to keep me close where there’s no room to escape. “How do you feel now, baby girl?”
“In your arms, those fears vanish,” I admit. “I don’t worry about what could be because here, wrapped up by you, I’m safe.”
“We need to reapproach the topic of our living situation,” he suggests. “I know we said we’d stay where we are for the time being, but I think we need to consider building on the plot of land Riptide gave us.”
“I’ve been thinking about that as well,” I confess. “We’re outgrowing our place even with all the additions we’ve made. It’s just hard to let it go because that place has become my salvation, my home. It’s the first thing I’ve done on my own and it belonged solely to me, something my family couldn’t take away from me.”
“Those people weren’t your family,” he growls, rubbing his chin on the top of my head. “Family doesn’t do whatyoursdid.Thoseassholes were no more than an incubator and sperm donor. They most certainly weren’t parents to you.”
“In my head, I get what you’re saying, Harrison, and it makes sense and I validate that. But in my heart, I always wanted them to at the very least, care.”
“They’d have to have feelings in order to do that, baby. Those slimy fuckers had the emotional maturity of a slug. Any emotion within them was non-existent, unless it was geared toward them, their monetary interest, and greed.”
“All they ever wanted was power. Over me, over the town, and over each other,” I mumble. “They were sick, Harrison.”
