“Fine. I’ll come out to the ranch and drive you into work. Only if you feel up to it.”
“I’ll feel up to it. Ineedto be here. Dad is trying to turn the ranch over to Beau and Mom is wanting to turn the diner over to me. I have to be here for them. They deserve to have time off. Oh god, they’re supposed to be traveling in the spring. I’m supposed to be running everything here by then.” She groaned as she pressed the palms of her hands into hereyes. “I messed this up so badly. I can’t keep… I won’t be able to keep up here… They’re expecting me to step up and I just threw the biggest wrench into everything.”
“You don’t have to figure everything out in the next five minutes, so just breathe. I’m sure we can find a way for it to all work out.”
We.That simple word somehow made Jessie feel better. Hawk was right. She didn’t have to have all the answers right then and there. Over the next few weeks, she could come up with a solution that worked. One where she was still able to step up for her family, while having the baby. She could do it all. Heck, she’d been juggling ninety-nine percent of this stuff for most of her life. The ranch, the diner, her parents and her brothers. Jess could still be there for all of them while becoming a mom.
Renewed in her conviction to stop feeling sorry for herself, Jessie ran her sweaty palms down her shirt. She shoved down the groan that was trying to make its way out of her chest as she started to push off the floor to stand.
“Whoa. What do you think you’re doing?” Hawk asked, stopping her as he placed his hand on her leg.
“I need to finish closing. You said it yourself. I don’t have to have everything figured out tonight. So, I’m going to finish closing and turn my brain off.”
“What still needs to be done?” he asked, his hand now resting on her thigh.
“I was just finishing washing down the tables. Then I need to count the drawer and put the money in the cash bag. It gets locked in the office.”
“If I take the tables, do you feel up to doing the cash drawer? I can do it after I finish, no problem, but I just figured you might feel better if you took care of that and knew it was safe.”
She nodded and accepted his outstretched hand beforefinally standing on her own two feet again. “I can do it. But you don’t have to wash the tables. I can get to them before?—”
“No. I’ve got it,” he said as they walked back out to the dining space. “One of my nightly chores as a kid was wiping down the table after dinner. I promise, I’ve got years and years of practice under my belt. Sit and enjoy the show.”
Jessie watched as Hawk grabbed the cleaning cloth and spray off the counter and started wiping down tables, wiggling his hips back and forth and looking over his shoulder at her with that ridiculous smirk that had her biting her bottom lip so she didn’t laugh.
“Really seems like you know how to put your ass into it.”
“Whatever it takes, Pretty Girl,” he winked. “If shaking my ass for you makes you feel better, I’ll put on a show like this every morning and every night.”
Five
Hawk swept the last of the crumbs off the final table as he tried not to collapse into the chair next to him. Fuck. He was going to be a dad. The warmth he’d felt in his chest the minute the words left Jessie’s mouth returned, glowing bright right over his heart. It was great being an uncle to his friends’ kids. Hell, he’d thought for so long that was the only role he’d ever have. But becoming a dad? Having a baby with Jessie? The universe was conspiring in his favor, and he’d never take that for granted.
There was no doubt in his mind that she wasn’t just freaking out about what her pregnancy would mean for her family. God, he hadn’t ever realized how much responsibility she carried. But it was good that in her panic she’d told him. Because he could lighten the load. Things at the Trident were insane, but Nash would be coming back in a few weeks. And Hawk was rotating off simulator duties to help Sebastian with his investment opportunities. That would give him more time at the office. More time to work from his apartment if he needed to take care of Jessie.
His eyes found hers watching him from across the room,and he let his mind wander. Every inch of her face looked so damn tired. She was so pale, and the blush that had covered nearly every inch of her pink skin was gone–replaced instead with an unnatural gray tint. But that would go away, wouldn’t it? As she moved from the first trimester into the second? Wasn’t that when women started to feel better?
Fuck. She’d probably have a cute little bump by then. One that would fit perfectly into the palm of his hand. He wanted to walk over to her, drop to his knees, and press a kiss right against her skin. Right where their baby was growing–
“What are you smiling about?” Jessie’s voice broke through his thoughts.
“I was thinking about how good you’re going to look when you start showing,” he admitted.
Her hands moved from the table to her lap, but even though he couldn’t actually see it from the angle they were at, he was positive she’d covered her belly.
“We’ve still got a while to go until that happens. And I’ll take all the time I can get. I don’t think…”
Hawk set the cleaner and towel behind the counter and walked towards her. He pulled out the chair right next to her, turning it backwards before he sank down. His eyes lowered for one second, a smile on his lips as he realized he was right about her hands cradling their baby. And there was that warmth again.
“What don’t you think?”
“I’m not ready for anyone to know. There’s just… There's a lot that could go wrong. And a lot to figure out.”
Hawk nodded. Mae was proof of what could go wrong. His heart ached for his sister, and the thought of Jessie going through that left his mouth dry and his stomach churning.
“I need to tell Mae and Stone. She’ll never forgive me if I don’t. But I won’t tell anyone else. And they won’t either.”
Jessie nodded, understanding flashing in hereyes.
