When I hesitated, Whit cocked his head, his brows drawing together. “Zellie, honey, you okay? We can wait if you want.”
“No, no,” I said quickly, waving away his concern. “I just… No…it’s fine.”
“You sure?” he pressed. “There’s no rush if you’re not ready.”
“Really,” I said, joining them by the apartment door and slipping my arm around Whit’s waist. “Just give me one more minute to have you to myself.”
He held me close, kissed the top of my head. “You have me for as long as you want.”
“Me too! Me too!” Henry cried, jumping up and down.
Whit released me long enough to lift Henry with one arm and then pulled me back against him. “This better?” he asked, his arm tightening around me.
I nodded. “Perfect.”
Still, the thought of telling the others filled me with dread, as if somehow it would set in motion a chain of events that would destroy our happiness, shatter my dreams when they were finally within reach.
But that was ridiculous. I was being paranoid, letting my past poison my future. So, we joined the rest of our neighbors downstairs for the weekly gathering and Whit made the announcement as soon as we’d finished supper.
There were exclamations of joy, hugs for both of us. But there was something off, an undercurrent of tension that I couldn’t explain. Was it just me being paranoid again? Did they think that someone like me wasn’t good enough for Whit despite the hints they’d dropped that had sometimes felt like encouragement? Or was it something else entirely?
Before we left, June pulled me aside and pressed a small cloth parcel into my palm. “Add a little of this to your morning coffee every day. It will keep you healthy.”
My brows came together. “What do you mean? What is it?”
“Just herbal supplements,” she said. “An old recipe. The women in my family have passed it down to new brides for centuries. Babies have a way of leeching nutrients right out of you.”
“Babies!” I scoffed. “That’s a bit premature, Ms. June. We haven’t even set a date for the wedding let alone talked about if we want children.”
She curled my fingers around the bundle. “Talking isn’t what gets you in a family way.”
“I’m aware of how it works,” I said, chuckling. “I have Henry, after all.”
June gripped my hand and leaned in closer. “And do you remember how you got withthatchild?”
Insulted now by her presumptions, I pulled my hand back, but her grip was like a vice. “How do you know anything about it?”
“Take it,” she said, her tone offering no room for argument. “You will thank me.”
“Zellie?” Whit said, suddenly at my side. “Everything okay?”
“Yes,” I said, casting a wary glance at June. “Yes, it’s fine. Let’s go.”
As soon as we were in my apartment and Henry had gone to his room to get his pajamas, I rounded on Whit. “What the hell was that?” I demanded. “There’s somethingseriouslywrong with that woman! I don’t need her advice. Who the hell does she think she is?”
He ran a hand through his hair, sighing. “June means well. We’ll talk more about this when I get back.”
“Where are you going?” I asked, my chest tightening.
Since learning of what Henry and I had experienced at Dawes House, Whit hadn’t left us alone any more than absolutely necessary. We were still discussing moving to another property, weighing pros and cons for Henry, so I knew we wouldn’t be at Dawes House forever. But I still felt better when he was there with us.
“I need to go out of town for a couple of days on business,” he said. “I won’t be gone too long. Will you be okay?”
I nodded. “When do you leave?”
“Tonight, I’m afraid.” My eyes must’ve given away my disappointment. He took my hands in his and kissed them. “But it doesn’t need to be right now.”
After Henry was asleep, Whit followed me to my bed, made love to me, slowly, tenderly. Then he held me until I was asleep. I didn’t feel him get out of bed; just the absence of the warmth and peace I’d already grown used to.
