“Four days. But I can’t be…you know.” She shot to her feet and began to pace, refusing to say the otherPword. That might make it happen. She wasn’t taking any chances. “I mean, we never even had unprotected sex, Fi. So I can’t be. It’s probably just the stress or something.” Yeah, she stopped pacing. That had to be it. “I read somewhere that stress could affect a cycle.”
Her friend put a hand on her shoulder, and her expression softened. “Kay, so could a defective condom. It’s as good as unprotected.”
Shoot. Not what she wanted to hear.
“But you’re right,” Fi said, squeezing her shoulder, the gleam in her eyes much more positive than before. “There are a lot of factors that could throw off your cycle.”
Yeah. Like a baby.
She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. The last thing Leo needed right now was a baby. Life was finally going good for the guy. He was taking chances—she was proof. So was their relationship. Yeah…she and Leo had a relationship, even though nothing was ever stated. And he was reaching for a goal now. Looking toward the future instead of living hour to hour. Day to day.
Just last Sunday, he told her everything about his plans to invest in At-Ease Ranch, after he saved up a certain amount. Kaydee was so damn proud of him. Even told him, but he’d brushed it off, then brushed her mouth—with his; of course, that caused her mind to fog and need to take over.
But before the mind-fogging incident, she’d been touched beyond anything that he’d confided his At-Ease plans to her. And not during sex, or even afterward, when their defenses were always down. No. It’d been while they were eating dinner.Dinner.That had made a much bigger impact on her.
Still did.
“Tell you what,” Fiona said, dipping down to catch her gaze. “Since we’re done with work, how about we stop by the store and grab a test?”
A test. Yeah. She should probably do that. Drawing in a breath, she began to shove everything back into her purse. “Okay. No sense in worrying about anything until I know for sure.”
But she knew. She’d never been late in her life.
An hour later, she stood next to Fiona in her bathroom—the one she remodeled with Leo. The one they made beautiful. The one they probably made a baby in.
At least, if the three sticks they stared at on the counter were correct. All three pregnancy tests sported double pink lines in their digital windows. A positive result.
Kaydee was pregnant.
Her heart rocked, and her queasy stomach felt…well, queasy.
“No wonder I’ve been so tired this week,” she said, then promptly yawned.
Fi tipped her head. “Are you going to keep it?”
“Yes,” she said with a jerk of her head, while her hand automatically covered her belly. “I’d never give up my baby.”
My baby…
God, Kaydee really thought once she got confirmation that she’d freak out. Shed a few tears. Curl up in bed. Funny thing was, she suddenly felt grounded. It was weird. But in a good way. Like she had a purpose. Someone to love whom she wouldn’t have to leave, and who wouldn’t leave her…at least, not until college.
She hoped.
“Are you going to tell Leo?”
Her euphoria evaporated. “Yes. Of course.” She’d never keep it from him.
But how would he take it?
He never made her any promises to stick around. Heck, they hadn’t even really labeled their relationship as a relationship, although she considered it one. A great one. Did he? And she had no idea how he felt about having children.
She sighed, and it quickly turned into a yawn, right before her phone vibrated with a text in her pocket. Her heart skipped a beat, then raced when she saw it was Leo. Was he here already?
Can’t stay tonight. Have to turn and burn after dinner with Gram. Sorry.
Disappointment mixed with relief. Telling him about the baby was going to change things between them. Big-time. No matter his response. And she knew there was a huge chance it wouldn’t be a good one.
She also knew something was off. Knew it in her gut. Maybe the baby was increasing her intuition. Maybe it was just because she was so in tune with Leo. Whatever the case, Kaydee was getting a weird vibe.
