“Nothing,” I said, too brightly. “Everything’s fine.” I’d tell him soon, but not here, where other people could overhear every word that passed between us. “Are you going to be home this evening? Because there’s something we need to talk about.”
His eyes flicked over my face for a second before he stood up and grasped my wrist. Before I could react, he was pulling me through the kitchen and out into the back parking lot.
“By the look on your face, whatever it is can’t wait. What’s got you worried?” he asked, his hands resting lightly on my shoulders.
“I don’t know how to put this exactly.” I paused, gathering my strength for the two words to come. “I’m pregnant.” I paused for a moment, waiting to see if lightning would strike or something. When it didn’t, I continued. “I keep going through it. I’m sureyou always wore a condom, right? One of them must have broke. But it’s definitely yours.”
“You’re pregnant.” His hold on me tightened. “Are you sure?”
“I did a test this morning. I know this isn’t what you—” I stopped when he whooped loud enough to echo off the nearby buildings.
“That’s amazing. You’re amazing,” he said before kissing me and pulling me into a hug. I gladly pressed myself against him. “God, a baby. We’re going to have a baby.”
“Brian, are you sure you’re okay with this?” His grin and obvious excitement were not what I expected. Good things made me nervous. I didn’t know how to trust them.
“You bet. I know we’ve got some things to work out, but I’m all in. I’m a little blown away, but I’m so, so happy.” He kissed me again and rested his forehead against mine. “And don’t worry, darling. We’ll figure it out. Together.”
I wanted to believe him, but Iwasworried about everything we’d have to sort through. Brian would be a wonderful dad, but what if, despite his best intentions, he kept choosing work over me and our baby? I was afraid of the idea of raising a child basically on my own.
My idea of family meant that the kids always came first. They were the most important thing. Brian let his work take him away so often, and I didn’t want our baby to ever think he or she came last. I’d had way too much of that while growing up, and there was no way I would do that to my own child.
TWENTY-FOUR
BRIAN
Iwas up early the next morning. I left Caitlin sleeping while I showered and dressed quickly. I made a quick stop at the sheriff’s office to find that it had been a quiet night before heading out to grab coffee and pastries at Carly’s place. By the time I arrived home again, Caitlin was just coming downstairs, dressed in one of my t-shirts.
“I thought we had a day off together,” she said and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I wanted to spend more of it in bed.” She kissed me in a way that had me thinking that taking her back to bed was a very good idea. But then I remembered my plan.
Hearing about the baby had rocked my world in a good way. I wanted a child with Caitlin. I hadn’t known how much until she’d told me that she was pregnant. With that, the pieces of my life started to fall into place. The biggest piece was that I wanted to convince her to raise our baby right here in Poplar Springs. I’d built a whole plan around working her up to the idea.
“I thought we’d do some shopping for baby stuff and maternity clothes for you,” I said as I led the way into the kitchen and put our breakfast on the table.
She looked down at her flat stomach and raised an eyebrow at me. “I think you may be jumping the gun. I don’t need maternity clothes yet.”
“I like to be prepared.” I pulled out a chair for her. “We should make a list of what we need. Between the various stores in town, I think we can get most of it.”
“You want to shop for baby items? In town?” she asked and reached for a coffee.
“This one’s yours,” I said, handing her one. “Decaf.”
She huffed. “I can drink caffeinated coffee. I looked it up on the internet. I just need to practice moderation.”
“Doesn’t hurt to play it safe. And you should ask a doctor about your diet at your first appointment.”
“Have you set that up?” she asked, and I couldn’t tell if she was kidding or not.
“No, I thought you’d like to choose your OB, but the decision should happen soon, right?” According to Dr. Google, those take-home tests could indicate a positive pregnancy as early as ten to twelve days. But the first time we got together was at that motel in Beaumont, which was about six weeks ago.
So that meant she could be anywhere between four and eight weeks pregnant. I didn’t try to figure out the math, but I’d checked it on multiple sites. Around thirty-five weeks to go, which seemed far too short a time to convince her that we could have a good life with the baby here in Poplar Springs.
“I’ll get a recommendation from Aurora and make the appointment. Do you want to come?” She glanced at me tentatively.
“Hell, yeah.” I wouldn’t miss it. “Let’s eat and then we’ll go take a look through the shops.”
We enjoyed the pastries and coffee before heading out to the shops along Main Street. Our first stop was a furniture store, specializing in handmade oak pieces. We stopped to look at a rocking chair and then a crib that converted into a bed for when the baby got older.
“I like the look of that,” I said as I ran my hand over the wood. “It seems substantial.”
