Page 82 of Bound By Thorns
I stepped back, giving him space, sensing that he was barely holding himself together. “I’ll let you go,” I said quietly. “But… if you ever want to talk, I’m here. I know we don’t know each other well, but Riley—”
“I appreciate it,” he interrupted, his voice still curt but softer this time. “But I’m fine.”
He didn’t wait for a response. With a nod that felt more like a dismissal, he turned and walked away.
I stood there for a long moment, staring at the empty space where he’d been. “You’re fine,” I whispered to myself.
TWO YEARS LATER
A tremor of panic rippled through me, more intense than I’d ever felt. Sitting there on the bathroom floor, the positive pregnancy test in my hand felt like a bomb rather than a bundle of joy. Logan and I, we’d been carefree about protection. Our chances of conceiving were laughably low, so we thought, why bother with barriers?
But there it was, glaring at me: two undeniable lines. I never really thought I’d need to consider the realities of actually becoming pregnant. The thought had been more of a distant ‘what if’ rather than a solid plan.
Was I even ready for this? Happy? And Logan—what would this mean for him? We had transitioned away from the relentless pace of field ops; he was shaping new recruits, and Iwas deep into my residency at Blackthorn clinic. Life had found a comfortable rhythm.
And now, this curveball.
Staring at the test, I half-wished one of the lines would just fade away, dissolve into the simplicity of before. But life doesn’t rewind, and those lines weren’t going anywhere. The more I thought about a tiny baby in Logan’s arms, the happier my thoughts became. My pulse calmed and I gathered the courage to get up and face the music.
I couldn’t just wing this. Telling Logan—it needed more than just an offhand comment or a surprise announcement. He’d always harbored a soft spot for kids, something I’d caught glimpses of whenever he was around little Raven. Zarek and Leora’s tiny daughter had a way of bringing out a tender, almost wistful side of him. It made me wonder, sometimes, what kind of father he’d be, especially if we had a girl.
With these swirling thoughts, I decided it was time to plan out exactly how to break the news to my husband.
I quickly got to work on my laptop and booked a session with my friend, Daria, for an ultrasound. Once I was ready, all I had to do was wait for Logan to come back from his training session and break the news.
As soon as Logan came through the door, tired and ready to shed the day’s weight, I was there, wrapping him in a hug, as I always did.
“I need an extra long one,” he whispered against my neck, “the new recruits are stupid as hell.”
I laughed against his ear. “I’m sure you can handle them. You need patience. Now, especially.”
He got out of my grip and looked at me puzzled.
“Now, especially? What have you got planned, Chaos?”
Guiding him to the living room, I handed him a stack of papers I’d laid out on the coffee table, disguised as a newtraining program. “I thought you might want to review this,” I suggested with a nudge.
He picked up the brief booklet and started perusing through it. “What is this? You created this?”
I simply nodded and waited for him to reach the page where it talked aboutkey milestones.
Slowly, he eyes wandered through the milestones. His new recruit was due to start training in eight months. The recruit’s pre-training cycle included check-ins everytrimester.
He looked thoroughly confused until he got to the recruit’s profile. It was a picture of an ultrasound and details around its size and health.
I saw as Logan’s eyes widened at the name of the recruit,Baby Bennett-Carlton.
He carefully put the booklet back on the coffee table and hung his head low. The heels of his palms rubbing softly over his eyes.
He finally turned his red rimmed eyes towards me. “Is this happening? Is this really happening to us?”
I nodded, my vision blurry with tears.
His response was a choked laugh, half disbelief, half joy, as he pulled me into his arms, his heart beating wildly against mine.
Before Logan could wrap me in his arms, his lips claimed mine—a kiss loaded with urgency and longing. His hands were quick, deftly unclasping my bra over my t-shirt, his touch igniting a familiar fire within me.
Suddenly, my shorts were discarded, and I found myself sprawled on the couch, Logan’s hands exploring eagerly. He caged me beneath him, one hand cradling the back of my neck.
