Sanctuary, page 24
“I’m not completely sure myself, Del.” I grimaced and pushed my cake away. “But I’m late.”
“You should have said something, and I would have brought you a test when I picked you up.” She jumped to her feet, tossed a few bills on the counter, and dragged me out of the diner.
Fifteen minutes later, we walked into Hannigans’ after making a quick stop at the pharmacy. We would normally have gone straight to the bar so I could get a kiss from Jack, but instead, she rushed me toward the bathroom without letting me even look at my husband.
The ladies’ room had two stalls, but as soon as we walked in, Delaney locked the main door and pushed me toward the nearest toilet. “Hurry before he comes to check on you.”
Doing as I was told, I closed the stall door and pushed my pants down my hips. My fingers shook a little as I peed on the stick, my stomach churning. Jack and I had decided to wait for kids, but the truth was, I wasn’t sure I even wanted them. Both my parents had been walking advertisements for why people shouldn’t procreate.
“Well?” Delaney called.
“I just peed on it. Give me a minute,” I complained, recapping the test and finishing my business before opening the door. Putting the stick in my back jeans pocket, I walked over to the sink to wash my hands and then leaned back against it with a sigh. “It’s going to be negative. I was just being silly, thinking my being late could possibly mean I’m pregnant. We agreed to wait, and we’ve been careful. I’m probably just stressed.”
“You’ve never been late in all the years I’ve known you, stress or no stress,” she argued. “You’re just freaking out a little right now. Believe me, I’ve been there, Nishia. My parents died when I was a kid, and I didn’t have any role models after that. Not until I met Max. Then I found my long-lost aunt and discovered a family I never could have imagined being mine.”
“Yeah, but…I’ll suck at being a mom, Delaney.”
“No way. You’re great with all the kids at Sanctuary. You will be a kick-ass mom, and you can’t convince me differently. And if you ever need help, I’m right here beside you. I’ll help you find your footing.” She hugged me, and I relaxed a little into her. “It’s going to be okay.”
“But we agreed to wait,” I whispered.
“He only agreed to wait because of you. Trust me when I tell you that he’s been dying to knock you up.”
I lifted my head from her shoulder. “Really?”
“Oh yeah,” she laughed. “He wants the world to know who you belong to.”
Grinning at that thought, I pulled the pregnancy test out of my back pocket with a little more enthusiasm than I’d put it in there. A pounding on the door surprised me, and I dropped it.
“Shit!”
“Ugh, that’s him.” Delaney sighed. “Call me if you need to talk.”
I barely heard her as I bent to pick it up. “Huh?” My head snapped up when she unlocked the door. “Wait, Del!”
The words had barely left my mouth before the door was shoved open. Delaney ducked under Jack’s arm before he could stomp inside. When he saw me crouched down with the little stick in my hand, his face went from stormy to dazed in the blink of an eye.
“What are you doing, little fairy?”
“Nothing.”
“Doesn’t look like nothing.” Locking the door behind him, he slowly walked toward me.
Straightening with the stick still in hand, I held it out to him. “I’m late.”
“I know.” He took the stick from me but didn’t look down at it. I watched his hand drop to his side, his fingers curled around the base, covering the little window that would tell me the results. “I know your cycle better than you do, baby.”
“Do not.”
His lips twitched, but he didn’t give me that smile I loved so damn much. “You’ve been nervous about this. I know you’re scared, and I don’t know how to reassure you there isn’t any reason to be, because I’m scared too.”
“Why are you scared?” I whispered, confused.
He grasped my hand and pulled me into his body. “Because of the monster in my head, baby.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s ridiculous. He’s a wimp compared to you, Bear. You’d make an amazing dad. Every time I see you with one of the kids at the shelter, I fall a little deeper for you.”
His green eyes darkened. “Maybe I should have tried knocking you up sooner?”
“You were not trying,” I admonished.
He kissed the top of my head. “I wasn’t not trying.”
I slapped his chest, but my amusement was short-lived. A lump filled my throat. “It’s not that I don’t want your babies, Bear. You know that, right?”
“I know, baby.”
“I’m just scared of hurting our kid like my mom hurt me,” I choked out.
Grasping my chin, he tipped my head back. Seeing my tears, he groaned like he was in pain. “If that’s what you’re so scared of, then you have nothing to fear, Nishia. You’re not your mom, and you never will be.”
“I’m still scared, though, Jack.”
“It’s okay. We can be scared together. You’re not doing this on your own, little fairy,” he reminded me.
He was right. If I was pregnant, we would do this together. I knew if Jack was beside me, there was nothing to be afraid of. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I reached for his hand that held the pregnancy test. “Okay,” I whispered. “Let’s see.”
want more?
Elias and Samara are coming February 2024 in the FINAL book of the
Angel’s Halo MC Next Gen series.
Terri Anne Browning, Sanctuary
