I clenched my jaw and pretended it was fine.
“Hm.” Dr. Davidson’s eyebrows went up and my hackles went right up with them. That judgmental look on her face made me want to throw something. “Will the dad be in the picture?”
Chloe swallowed audibly. “I don’t know. If he wants to be. I haven’t told him yet. I figured it would be better to find outif there’s even a picture to begin with before I asked him if he wanted to be in it.”
Dr. Davidson nodded. “Well, your cervix feels high, firm, and closed. I’d know you were pregnant even if I hadn’t seen the results of your urine test.” She slowly withdrew and Chloe’s knees collapsed inwards. “Let’s see how the ultrasound looks.” She reached for the machine next to her and unhooked a slender probe the length of my forearm. “I’m going to slide this inside?—”
“I beg your finest pardon?” Chloe squawked, lifting her head off the table. She clawed my arm like a lifeline.
I had to work to cover my laugh. It was long, but notthatmuch longer than something else I could put inside her, and I was thicker. “If that thing scares you, don’t come running to me for protection. I’m the wrong man for the job.”
She craned her neck to stare at me, and when I smirked back at her, her gaze dropped to my crotch—conveniently right at eye level for her. And then I wished I hadn’t teased her because the way she looked at me made my jeans tighten.
Dr. Davidson cleared her throat. “It’s only the first four or five inches that goes inside you. It’s not comfortable, but it’s not painful, either. Just breathe, okay? Squeeze Steven’s hand if the pressure is too much.”
Chloe nodded and closed her eyes. Her hand found mine. I rubbed my thumb across her knuckles in what I hoped was a soothing gesture. Dr. Davidson kept her eyes on the machine’s rectangular screen as she worked. She was quiet for so long that I started to worry. Chloe wanted this baby so badly. I didn’t believe in a god or higher power, but I sent a prayer to the universe anyway.Please.
“All right,” Dr. Davidson said brightly after what felt like an eternity. “Everything looks exactly as it should. The embryonic sac is definitely in your uterus where we want it, so it’s notectopic. You’re about eight weeks along. And I think if I…yes…there it is. Do you hear that?”
Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
“It’s the heartbeat,” Dr. Davidson explained.
Chloe’s hand spasmed in mine. “The heartbeat?” she whispered.
Dr. Davidson nodded. “Listen.”
Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
I looked down at Chloe. She stared back at me with eyes as shiny and green as a spring meadow. “That’s my baby,” she said, awed.
Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
The beat was quick but strong and steady.
And so was mine.
17
CHLOE
Chloe
Hey! Hope you’re having an epic adventure. When you have cell service, give me a call.
Chloe
I really need to talk to you about something. Call me when you can.
Chloe
Dude, are you alive??
Since Gabeand I only texted when we were horny, I wasn’t too surprised I hadn’t heard from him. Still, I hated that he was out there, taking all kinds of risks because that’s what he loved to do, and had no idea he was going to be a dad in seven months. I didn’t know any of his friends or family, so there was no one I could get in touch with to make sure he was okay.
Other than that niggling worry, I was surprisingly calm. Better than calm, I was in solution mode. Solution mode was where I thrived. Not that Radish was a problem. Babies were always a blessing, blah blah blah, but they sure didcauseproblems. Such as: space, and the lack thereof. Child care, and the lack thereof. Money, and the lack thereof.
But every problem had a solution. Luckily, I had seven months to find it.
