“Emotional break,” I explained.
Both eyebrows shot high on the nurse’s forehead. “So, we can add external stressors as a possible cause.” She paused, staring at her tablet like she was working her way down a checklist. “Any strenuous physical activity?”
Under her breath, Penny grumbled, “He won’t let me ride.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Even scared out of her mind, she couldn’t let that one go.
Tara let out a knowing laugh. “I can see how that might be frustrating, but it sounds like he only has your best interests at heart.” She lifted her eyes from the tablet to offer me a wink.
“We, um—” My words trailed off when I realized how personal this was about to get.
“Yes?”
My face flamed, but I forced myself to spit it out. “We had sex last night.”
“I see.” She rolled her lips to keep from smiling at my obvious discomfort.
“Could—could that . . .” God, could this be any more embarrassing?
“It’s possible,” Tara admitted.
My gut twisted painfully, my fists clenching atop my jean-clad thighs. The idea that this could all be my fault had guilt crashing over me like a tidal wave, and I could scarcely lift my head to meet my wife’s eyes when she whispered my name.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Bleeding is scary, but it’s more common in the first trimester than most people realize. After I take a quick blood pressure reading and check your heart rate, I’ll relay all this information to the doctor assigned to your chart.”
By the time she left us, I was completely lost inside my head, beating myself up. Penny had been through emotional hell yesterday, and both the EMT and Tucker had advised tons of rest. So, what did I go and do? I fucked her after she woke up screaming from a nightmare. It didn’t matter that she’d begged me to. I should’ve known better.
“T-Tripp?”
At the sound of her voice, my head lifted from the edge of the bed, and I scooched to the edge of my chair. Clasping one of her hands between both of mine, I failed to keep the panic from my voice. “What is it? Are you hurting?”
Twin tears crested over her lashes, rolling down the tracks that had been carved onto her cheeks since we’d left the motel.
Bringing her knuckles to my mouth, I dusted a kiss over them. “Talk to me, Lucky.”
Her face screwed up, and it sliced my heart wide open when she began to openly weep.
Without thinking, I climbed onto the gurney, pulling her against my chest.
Muffled against my shirt and broken by hiccups, she said, “I’m so ashamed.”
I eased back, tipping her chin up with a finger. “You didn’t do anything wrong. This isn’t your fault.”
She shook her head sadly, her eyes filling with fresh tears. “How can you even stand to look at me when there’s even the slightest chance the test could reveal Jake to be the father?”
My jaw dropped, and a disbelieving exhale rushed past my parted lips.
The past twenty-four hours had been the hardest of my life, and I’d be a fool to believe that in the decades that lay ahead, there wouldn’t be moments that rivaled this one.
Suddenly, my father’s voice sounded in my head.
“Don’t let the hard days win, son. Fight through them. Fight for each other.”
Whatever happened here today, or with that paternity test, nothing could ever change my feelings for Penny. And it was about damn time I made that crystal clear.
Filling my lungs with air, I answered her question. “It doesn’t matter who the father is because this baby is a part ofyou. And there isn’t a single piece of you I’m not fucking obsessed with.”
Big green eyes stared up at me before her eyelids dropped, and she shook her head, whispering, “You say that now, but—”
