Perfect Contradiction (13 page)

“I already got a gift from you guys, Beth,” I warned.

“I know,” she said quickly, moving to sit back down between Matt and Keith on the large sofa. “This one isn’t for
you
.” Beth was positively beaming.

The entire room was watching me, including Hunter from his seat across the room, so I sucked it up and opened up the pretty wrapping. I sucked in a breath and blinked back tears. I ran a finger along the edge of the beautiful, large frame. Beth had taken copies of the baby’s ultrasound, the photos we’d taken the previous week of my pregnant belly, and a gorgeous poem about motherhood and had them placed in a keepsake frame.

“Thank you, Beth, Matt, it’s beautiful,” I said softly.

“Well, might as well open this one too then,” Daniel said with a wide smile, placing a large gift bag on my lap. “Keith and I couldn’t help ourselves,” he said with a wink over at his partner. The bag was filled with lotions, socks, onesies, and tons of other helpful baby stuff. It also included one of those baby books you could fill up with all the baby’s “firsts”.

“And while you’re at it, here’s a gift for the baby from Pastor Wright and me,” Mrs. Wright said.

I was shaking my head. “You guys, this is all too much… I don’t know what to say.” I fingered the wrapping paper on the stack of gifts Mrs. Wright had piled near my feet.

Daniel snorted. “You don’t have to say anything, sweetie. Don’t let anyone fool you,” he said with a crooked grin. “We all just used your pregnancy as an excuse to buy all the tiny things we never get a chance to and we wish we could more often. Believe me, it’s more about us than you,” he explained. Everyone laughed and nodded in agreement. His eyes were twinkling and I knew he was playing it off… wanted to give me an out from becoming a blubbering, emotional mess.

“Well, I don’t know,” Pastor Wright said after a moment. “It has a little to do with you. We all love you, Jen, and we wish you and that precious little bundle the best,” he said. Mrs. Wright nodded, wrapping her arm around her husband’s waist.

“Now open the presents!” Beth commanded. Everyone laughed and added in their own commands. I was smiling like an idiot when I began to open the rest of the baby’s presents. Diapers, toys, clothes, and more. The Wrights had truly gone overboard. But when I opened the final gift, my eyes swam with tears. I lifted the beautifully hand-knit blanket, hat, and booties out of the gift bag and sat them on my lap. A pretty, gender neutral sea green, I knew they would match the baby’s quilt and bed just perfectly. They were absolutely breathtaking, and I knew Mrs. Wright must have taken a lot of time working on them for the baby. The details were exquisite.

“You shouldn’t have,” I murmured with a sniffle.

“Of course I should have,” Mrs. Wright said gently, her eyes saying everything she couldn’t.
Anything for her grandbaby
.

“Thank you so much, everyone,” I said through my tears.

Beth wiped away her own tears and then shook her head. “How about some of that eggnog?” she broke in. “Just make sure it’s the non-alcoholic for the preggo lady.” Everyone laughed, and I was glad to have a moment to get my emotions under control.

The rest of the evening went by quickly and before I knew it, I was headed back home to spend Christmas Eve all by myself.

It was after ten when I finally made it home and changed into my nightgown.

It was approximately fifteen after ten when I realized the gift I’d wrapped up for Hunter wasn’t in my bag where I’d placed it.

It was about seventeen after ten when I realized the gift must’ve fallen out of my bag in the Wrights’ living room while unwrapping gifts… and that I’d left it behind.

It was exactly eighteen after ten when I realized that Hunter Wright was about to find out he was my baby’s daddy. And it was at exactly that same moment I muttered a few choice words that I’ll never
ever
admit to actually saying so long as I live.

It was Christmas morning, and someone was knocking on the front door. Scratch that, they were most definitely
banging
. I debated pretending I wasn’t home for a moment, but I quickly discarded that idea. My car was out front, and it was Christmas morning after all. I glanced over at the back door in the kitchen. Make a run for it? I looked down at my fuzzy, white house slippers and protruding tummy.
Nope
. I took a deep breath and headed for the front of the house, where the banging had gotten louder and more frantic.

“Jennifer Collins, come open this door.”

I cringed. Hunter sounded angry. I got to the door and pulled the sheer curtain away from the glass window. Hunter’s eyes met mine. They were as wild as his hair, which looked like he’d ran his hands through it no less than a hundred times that morning. He was wearing jeans and a gray T-shirt in twenty degree weather. I unlocked the door and pulled it open.

“Come in and get out of the cold, Hunter,” I said. I stepped back to let him enter and shut the door behind him.

“I need to talk to you,” he said gruffly.

“So I gathered,” I answered with a sigh as I headed back into the kitchen. I poured a large cup of coffee, adding two spoons of sugar and a splash of milk before handing it over to him.

“You should’ve been wearing a jacket,” I admonished. “You’re gonna get sick running around in the snow in short sleeves.”

“I don’t care about that,” Hunter said angrily. I sat down at the table and waited for Hunter to do the same. A growl accompanied by mutterings I chose not to understand accompanied him as he sat roughly into a chair across from mine.

“You got my gift?” I asked. Hunter’s eyes met mine; he was still processing, still kind of in denial and shock. I glanced down at my hot tea. “I didn’t mean to leave it there. I’d planned to give it to you myself when we got a moment alone to talk.” Hunter ran a hand roughly through his hair, his arm muscles flexing from the force.

“You’re sure?” Hunter asked.

Jackass
. I narrowed my eyes. “That I’m pregnant?” I asked, a hand on my enlarged belly. “Pretty freaking sure,” I snapped.

Hunter’s gaze softened.

“And if you meant if I’m sure it’s yours, I’ll kick your behind right back out in the snow without a second thought, Hunter Wright,” I promised with a glare. Another angry swipe through his hair. Looked painful.

“I’m sorry, Jen. I didn’t mean that. I have no clue what I meant; it’s just a lot to take in. I’m trying’ to understand,” he said quickly. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

My heart clenched painfully.
Before he had a girlfriend and a great job traveling around
,
he meant,
I thought.

“I had a lot of reasons. Some were good reasons, I thought,” I said. “Others maybe not so much, but I did what I thought I had to do at the time.”

Hunter stared at my stomach for a while. “How long have you known?” he asked softly.

Putting a hand on my stomach, I rubbed it back and forth. I stood slowly, and Hunter jumped out of his seat as if he suddenly realized I might need help. I rolled my eyes.

“Come on. Let me show you something,” I said as I left the kitchen. Hunter followed me up the stairs and into my room without saying a word. Walking over to the baby’s bassinet, I laid a hand on the soft blanket Mrs. Wright had knitted that hung over the side. I turned around toward Hunter. He was looking around my room, his eyes taking everything in. We’d argued over this room the last day he’d been helping with the renovations. Well, I’d argued—Hunter had just taken the brunt of my anger and confusion.

“The room expansions… they were for the baby,” Hunter murmured. He walked over and ran a hand along the tall chest of drawers, which had tons of baby products laid out on the top and was filled with newborn necessities. He moved across the room to stand next to me and stare down at the bassinet, newly painted with a fresh mattress inside, a beautiful old quilt, and Mrs. Wright’s gifts inside. His eyes met mine, and I couldn’t read them. There was too much going on in his mind, too much to sort through. I sat down on the edge of my bed and waited for Hunter.

“I knew the day after Beth and Matt’s wedding,” I whispered.

Hunter’s eyes widened as he remembered back. “When Beth had me come check on you and you’d been crying….”

I nodded, looking down at my lap. Hunter was starting to piece everything together on his own.

“The way you were acting when I was here during renovations.” He clenched his jaw, hurt, and then anger flashed. He stood there, thinking back, probably doing what I’d done countless times—replaying all those times we’d spoken, all the times we’d been together since the wedding.

“And St. Louis?” he asked softly after a few moments.

I sighed and leaned back into my pillows. My back was killing me.

“I’d gone to get a few things for the inn, like I said,” I answered. “And then I was planning on seeing you… to tell you about the baby. I’d bought the gift you found last night that day and was going to give it to you, but then…”

Hunter sighed deeply and shifted on his feet. “But then you saw me with Tabatha,” he filled in.

Tabatha
. So, that was her name. I tightened my lips and turned my face away from his searching gaze. I nodded. And then Hunter…
chuckled
. I whipped my head back around, not sure if I should be angry or worried.

“Hunter Wright. You stop laughing right this instant,” I commanded.

“We weren’t together then,” he said.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“Tabatha and me. We weren’t together. She had been hinting around that she wanted to date, but we weren’t at that time.” He shook his head and picked up the baby’s knit blanket.

I replayed everything I’d seen that day in St. Louis. Had I overreacted? Been so blind by my own hurt and disappointment that I’d read more into the situation than was truly there? I swallowed down the thick knot that had formed in my throat.

“That doesn’t matter now. You guys were dating when I saw you on grand opening day of the inn,” I said softly.

Hunter nodded. “We were then, yes,” he answered.

“So it doesn’t really matter at this point, does it?” I asked thickly.

Hunter smiled and sat the baby’s blanket back in the bassinet. “I said
were
,” he whispered.

“Were?” I asked. “What does that mean?”

“It means exactly what you think it does. We
were
dating. Past tense. As in, not presently.”

His eyes watched mine, waiting for me to say something. I had no idea what he expected me to say. I had no idea what I should say, so I didn’t say anything. My mind was having a hard time keeping up with everything I was feeling.

“And you and this Jackson?” Hunter asked after a moment. His gaze was intense.

I licked my lips. I needed a drink… of water. Yeah, a drink of water. “Jackson?” I asked with a raised brow. “Jackson is just a friend like I said. Just a good man who stayed at the inn as a guest.”

“He wanted more,” Hunter said.

“He did,” I confirmed, watching Hunter from my spot on the edge of the bed.

He walked over to me. “But you didn’t?” Hunter asked softly. I fidgeted, smoothing out the fabric of my T-shirt over my baby bump.

“No, I didn’t,” I answered finally.

Hunter knelt down in front of me, just inches away from me. “Why didn’t you?” he asked seriously. A muscle ticked in his cheek. “He seemed like the type of man who would’ve taken care of you… of the baby.” His eyes flashed dangerously and I suddenly felt surrounded by him, caught up in the turbulence of his intensity and of my own emotions.

“He was that type of man. A good, honest man who wouldn’t have blinked twice about taking care of another man’s baby as his own,” I answered softly. Hunter turned his face away from me, but not before I saw the anger there.

“So, why didn’t you let him?” he asked harshly. “Love you. Take care of the baby.”

I reached out a shaking hand and caressed the side of Hunter’s face, moving it until his eyes met mine. “Because he wasn’t you,” I whispered. “And I didn’t love him, couldn’t love him, because I’m still in love with you.” I leaned forward and let my forehead rest gently on his.

“I’m sorry, Hunter,” I said. “I should have told you before now.”

Hunter shook his head gently and brought a hand up to cup behind my head. “Jennifer Collins, I’ve loved you for a long time now,” he murmured against my cheek. His lips skimmed across mine and then he kissed me gently, showing me without words how much he missed me, how much he loved me.

My heart was pounding in my chest.
This
. This felt so right. Hunter pulled away. He was smiling. His eyes widened, and he sat back on his haunches. Holding a hand out slowly toward my stomach, his eyes asked for permission. I nodded. He rested his hand lightly on my belly and then added his other hand a second later. He still looked flabbergasted, kind of like his entire world had been rocked off its axis.
Welcome to my world
, I thought with a tiny smile.

“Is it a boy or a girl?” Hunter asked, his voice thick with emotion.

“It is a little surprise,” I answered. “The baby wouldn’t let us catch a glimpse to find out what we are having,” I added.

Hunter raised a brow and glanced back down at his hands resting on my huge stomach.

“Of course, Beth is convinced it’s a girl.”

Hunter chuckled softly.

“She’s already bought a truckload of pink clothes and has been referring to the baby as
Little Elizabeth
.”

“Sounds like Beth,” Hunter muttered.

I grinned. Sure did.

Suddenly, the baby kicked gently against Hunter’s hand. His eyes widened into saucers and a smile spread across his face. “Did you feel that?” he asked in awe.

I nodded, not having the heart to voice the
duh
that immediately sprung to mind. Hunter rubbed his hand back and forth until the baby kicked again. He laughed and bent forward to place a small kiss on my stomach. I blinked away the tears that formed in my eyes. Such a gentle touch, a kiss for his unborn child, such reverence. I’d been wrong to keep the pregnancy from him.

“Let’s get married,” Hunter blurted.

Maybe I hadn’t been wrong after all.