Page 70 of Another June with You
“Remember that night we were hanging out here, watching movies?”
Shannon nodded.
“You left early, but he stayed. We were flirting, as usual, and I dared him to kiss me. I never thought he’d actually do it. But once we started, we couldn’t stop. We didn’t want to stop.” Tears sprung to her eyes again. “It was the best night of my life.”
Jamie’s sad little whimper broke Shannon’s heart.
“I really thought this was it, that we were finally gonna make a go of it after all our flirting, but then he left for Denver.”
“And what happened?”
“He didn’t call me. I thought he would. He said he would. He left before I even woke up, and the first time I saw him since was two days ago when he dropped you off at the church.”
“I can’t believe him!” Shannon was appalled that Duncan would do that. It infuriated her that he could be the kind of guy to hook up with a girl and then blow her off. “I’m so angry right now. I want to give him a piece of my mind and let his new fiancée know exactly what kind of guy he is.”
“You don’t mean that. He’s your brother, and you love him. Even if he did something like this.”
She didn’t know what to do, but she knew Jamie was right. She loved her brother, despite his flaws and mistakes—and this was a big one.
“It’s not like I haven’t had guys use me before.” She lowered her head, and tears fell from her eyes and plopped onto her lap. “I just never thought Duncan would be one of them.”
Shannon laid her hand on Jamie’s.
“And I would normally be able to shake it off and move on if it wasn’t for …” Her shoulders began to shake again, and she buried her face in the pillow.
Shannon scooted closer and rubbed her back.
Jamie rotated her head and rested it on the pillow, looking up at Shannon. “I’m pregnant.”
“You’re pregnant?” Shannon swallowed hard.
A slow, sad nod was Jamie’s answer.
The ache of sympathy in Shannon’s heart spread through her and blended with a sudden flare of jealousy. Was this some kind of cruel joke? She might never have a child of her own and her friend had gotten pregnant without even trying.
“I thought I was late from the stress of wedding season or something, but then I remembered throwing up after the rehearsal dinner, so I took a test last night.”
“And it was positive?”
“Yeah, I kind of freaked out and smashed some things.” She pointed to the trash bag. “And then I thought, it’s Duncan. We could do this. We could raise a baby together. So, I planned to tell him after lunch today.” Her face screwed up as the emotions hit her again. “I don’t know what to do now,” she whimpered. “I don’t know if I should keep it.”
A strong instinct to protect the baby took over. “It’s not the baby’s fault you and Duncan got carried away. That’s my brother’s baby, Jamie. Please, don’t do anything without telling him.”
“But he’s getting married now. If I tell him, I’ll mess up his whole life, and he’ll resent me for it. And even if he were to leave her for me, it would be because of the baby, and I don’t want him that way. I want him because he wants to be with me, and he obviously didn’t or he would’ve called after that night.”
“You’ll never know unless you talk to him.”
“It would be easier for everyone if I made it go away.”
Shannon couldn’t breathe. The thought of Jamie getting rid of the baby filled her with a sense of panic. “Of course, it would be easier on Duncan if you terminated the pregnancy and never told him. But what about you? Could you go back to your life and pretend it never happened?”
“I don’t know. This isn’t how I thought things would go down with me and Duncan. And honestly, if he and I were a couple, I’d want this baby. But I don’t want to be a single mom. I know that.”
Shannon could no longer hold back tears.
Jamie sat up then. “Are you mad at me?”
Shannon wiped at her wet cheeks. “In our family, we believe every life counts, that God has a purpose for each person, including the babies not yet born, no matter how they came to be conceived. This baby is innocent, and it’s our blood. A part of our family.”
