Jack.
We made a baby.
A strange, trembling joy floods me so fast it almost hurts. It is not fear or shame. It is joy.
For one breath, nothing else in the room matters. Not my parents. Not Blake. Not the church.
Not even that 'perfect Morgan Leigh Montgomery' is pregnant outside of marriage.
Only this tiny life Jack and I made.
My hands shake at the revelation.
“Wow,” I say, breathless. “How far along am I?”
“About a month.”
My heart drums in my chest. I do the math.
Tybee Island.
A surge of guilt and confusion twists my gut. I was so mad at himlast night. I thought he was lying to hurt me. I should’ve known. Jack is the least vindictive man I’ve met. And now I know why. He believes his blackmail suggestion caused his parents’ death. Oh my gosh. He had so many opportunities to throw my dad’s hypocrisy in my face.
If it’s true... but I saw it with my own eyes.
I clutch the back of my head and cringe, wondering what’s real and imagined.
Either way, I need to tell Jack about the baby. Right now. My heart is begging me to.
I glance over.
I wait for my father to smile. For my mother to pray. For one of them to say this child is a gift from God.
Neither does.
That is when the joy in my chest turns inward.
My parents must already know. Mother leans back in her chair, legs crossed, jaw set tight. Dad doesn’t look at me. He doesn’t even comment. They are too calm for such life-changing news.
The doctor clears his throat. “There are options if this is not good news.”
My palms shoot over my belly, covering it. “No! This is a blessing.”
Mother sighs loudly, but agrees. “She will have the baby. Thank you, doctor. Can you please give us some privacy?”
He leaves the room. Then, she rises and stands beside me. Her short hair hangs by her cheekbones as she glares down, studying me like an experiment gone wrong.
“This situation has reached unstable ground with irrevocable consequences.”
“This baby isnota consequence.”
“You are unwed and pregnant.”
“Well,” I mutter, desperate. “He might marry me when he finds out.”
“Blake will marry you tomorrow. Child and all. Nine months from now, nobody will be the wiser.”
I gasp and look at Dad, who veers his eyes. Still, he chimes in, his voice softer, but no less certain.
