Them (Him #3) (13 page)

She giggles, trying to get away, but I only tighten my arms around her.

“Will, I can’t believe you were grabbing my butt in front of Logan,” she hiss-whispers.

“Come on, he didn’t see anything,” I promise, grinning at her.

“You’re rotten,” she grumbles, but I know she’s over it when she kisses me.

I love everything about this woman. She knows all my secrets, my fears, my insecurities and loves me no matter what. I have it all with her: laughter, friendship, and she still makes me feel like a horny teenager whenever I’m around her. All I need in life is to know that she’ll be next to me each morning when I wake.

As my wife, whatever adventures life has in store for me, I’ll have her by my side to face them. Our potentially biggest adventure starting tomorrow when we go see her doctor.

Sarah

We’re pregnant.

I told myself I wasn’t going to cry, but that went out the window the moment Will looked at me, eyes bright and wet as the doctor confirmed it. By his estimate, we are six weeks along. Any tears that came after that were all Will’s fault. I hope he’s paying attention to everything my doctor is saying, because I zoned out after he said we should be able to hear our baby’s heartbeat at our next appointment.

Our baby.

After the appointment, we stop to have lunch together. Neither of us speaks; we just hold hands and grin at each other. It’s not until we’re back in the car so Will can take me home that we’re able to speak again.

“Should we wait to tell Logan?” I ask.

Will nods. “Isn’t it normal to wait until the first trimester is over to tell people? Isn’t that what Brian and Christine do?”

“So, not until the middle of February? That seems so far away,” I argue.

“I know.” He reaches out to rest his hand on my thigh. “But with the year he’s had, it’s probably safest to wait.”

I turn to glance out the window, hating the implication of his words. There’s a reason expectant parents wait to tell people—the risk of miscarriage is greatest during the first trimester. A bubble of fear expands within my chest. After waiting so long only to have our hopes dashed time and time again to get pregnant, I would be devastated if something were to happen.

“You’re right,” I gulp, my emotions lodging in my throat.

He squeezes my thigh and gently runs his hand downward to my knee and back up again. “It will be okay.”

He’s always known how to calm me down. I do my best to relax my nerves as we turn onto our street. Walking me inside, only to make sure I’m all right, Will kisses me sweetly, pausing to let his fingers drift over my stomach. I could tell he’d rather stay with me than go into work, but for some reason I need a couple hours to myself to collect my thoughts.

“I’m fine. Go.” I push him toward the door.

He leaves me after one final kiss on my forehead and I watch him walk back to his car. Once he pulls back onto our street, I close the door and hurry to let Rascal out of her crate. I left my coat on so we could go for a walk. We don’t walk every day; on the colder ones, when I’m feeling lazy, I just let her out into our fenced backyard. Today, though, given how mild it is, I decide to collect my thoughts on a walk with her.

“Wanna go for a walk, girl?” I coo, clicking her leash onto her collar.

We head toward the playground I take Calvin to when I babysit him. Given the temperature, it’s deserted. By next September, I could be walking this way with a stroller. The sky is clear of clouds, but the wind still has an edge that stings my cheeks as we walk. Its chill does nothing to dispel the warmth inside me, though.

Over the last few months, our world has changed so much; first with Rascal and then with Logan coming to live with us. Will and I want to adopt him; finding out we’re pregnant does not change that in any way. It’s so strange to think about the loneliness I suffered before when now it seems as though every day my world is filling with more to love.

I had been so certain a family was not in my future, ashamed that I couldn’t provide one for Will. My joy at the difference of now versus then is only hampered by the fact that we decided to wait until I was past my first trimester to share with everyone. I can’t wait to tell my parents, Sawyer and, crazy as it sounds, Will’s mom. She fawns over Rascal and Logan so much already, I’m sure she’ll lose her mind over her first grandbaby.

Heart full, I turn back in the direction of our house. Once we’re back inside, Rascal curls up on her cushion in the living room. I start a fire and pull out Logan’s gifts to wrap. From us, we’re giving him lacrosse gear and his long board will be from Santa. Sure, he’s probably long past the age of still believing in Saint Nick, but neither Will nor I wanted to confirm that. Worst-case, he’ll roll his eyes at us Christmas morning.

I have Christmas carols playing in the background as I work. There’s plenty of time for me to wrap everything before the boys get home, but I still start with the long board so I can hide it before I wrap anything else. It comes in a box with two of the wheels visible on one side, which somewhat defeats the purpose of the box. It’s hard to disguise the outline of the wheels so I end up putting it inside another box, filled with balled-up tissue paper.

I’m excited about Christmas and hopeful that we can still give Logan a good one even after everything he has been through this last year. He could be in a group home right now, and the thought of that alone breaks my heart. That may be why I go a bit overboard on the ribbons and bows. I only want it to be special for him. Once I’m finished with it, I carry the box back upstairs and hide it in my closet. It’s big, though, so I might have Will move it up into the attic tonight after Logan goes to bed.

Heading back downstairs, I get started on wrapping all of the lacrosse stuff Will got. There are gloves, pads, cleats, a helmet, balls, the shaft and a head. I wrap each one individually and place them all under the tree. Logan is going to flip when he gets home and sees all of it. Excitement from the day hits me and I stretch out across the sofa to rest. Even though I only intended to lie down briefly, I end up falling asleep.

Hours later, I groggily awaken to Will leaning over me and rubbing my back. “Hey, sleeping beauty.”

I blink up at him. “What time is it?”

He smoothes my hair back behind my ear as his blue eyes shine warmly down at me. “Almost dinner time.”

Stunned so much time has passed, I bolt upright, almost bumping heads with him. “Why didn’t you wake me when you got home?”

He lifts his arm to wrap around my shoulders and hold me close to his side. “You looked so peaceful and besides,” his voice lowers to a whisper. “You need your rest.”

I gulp,
my rest.
Will this feeling ever go away? I’m barely into my pregnancy, so it’s not surprising I’m in awe of the thought of it. I wonder if four or five months from now I’ll still feel the same way.

“What’s for dinner?”

He stands, pulling me up with him, and directs us toward the kitchen. “Smoked sausage, steamed broccoli, noodles and applesauce. Logan helped me make it all.”

“Yum.”

Logan is already seated when we reach the kitchen.

“Sorry I didn’t help with dinner.” I gesture toward the food on the table. “This looks great.”

As we eat, I ask Logan how school was. It was the last day before winter break, so it will be fun to have both of my boys home for the next two weeks.

“What day is Amber coming over?” Will asks.

“The twenty-seventh. She’s going to be out of town before that.” Logan’s cheeks redden as he answers.

“Oh. Do you know where she’s going?” I can’t help my curiosity.

“Her grandparents live in Florida,” he replies.

“Does she have any brothers or sisters?” I ask, ignoring Will’s attempt to hide his grin.

Logan glances between us, probably wondering why Will thinks this is so funny. “She, um, has an older brother. I think he’s a sophomore.”

If his name is Brian, I’ll die laughing. I can tell Will is thinking the same thing I am.

“I look forward to meeting her.”

Logan pales. “She’s only coming over to work on our project.”

Will snorts and I glare at him. Turning back to Logan, I reply, “Of course.”

He doesn’t look convinced but doesn’t say anything.

“Do you guys want to watch a movie tonight?” Will changes the subject. “Logan and I can run out to Redbox or we can order something through the DVR.”

I clap; I’m always up for a movie night. “Let’s go with DVR. I can make popcorn.”

I clear the table while Logan and Will go to check out what movies are available. After giving me their top picks, we all agree on an action comedy. Logan helps Will bring in more wood for the fire as I make the popcorn.

Fifteen minutes into the movie, I pass out.

Will

Amber is in the house. Her dad dropped her off thirty minutes ago. Sarah is pretending to read a book in the living room since they are in the kitchen. How do I know she’s faking? She hasn’t turned a page in ten minutes. Sarah spent the first ten minutes Amber was here offering her something to eat or drink while Logan looked about as uncomfortable as I’d ever seen him.

I decided to come to his rescue and get her out of the kitchen so they could get started on their project. I had hoped to get her upstairs, but I only managed as far as the living room. She planted her ass on the sofa and gave me a look daring me to try and move her. I just shook my head at her and flipped on the TV to some college ball so I could keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t go and bother them again.

Rascal ambles out of the kitchen to come curl up on her cushion by the fireplace. It’s warmer today than it has been in the last week or so, which is the only reason we don’t have a fire going. We haven’t had one since Christmas day. It came in handy for a quick way to get rid of all of that wrapping paper, though. Sarah outdid herself on all of the gifts under the tree.

Logan loved all of his presents. I’ve spent the last couple of days either trying not to fall off my old skateboard or showing him how to pass a lacrosse ball in the backyard. Passing the ball is fun, unless either of us misses and Rascal is outside. She goes nuts after the balls, and they’re a bitch to get back from her.

After we opened our presents here Christmas morning, we picked my mom up and headed over to Sarah’s parents’ house for brunch and to open even more presents. I know Sarah was bummed we couldn’t tell anyone about the baby. It makes sense to wait, though. Besides, Sawyer and Jared are coming down to visit. We’re having a New Year’s get-together, and I have a feeling Sawyer and Christine will figure it out as soon as they notice Sarah not drinking.

I glance up at her, grinning when I notice her toying with the locket I got her for Christmas. It’s empty now, but I know she can’t wait to put our baby’s picture in it. Considering the amount of money she spent on the new camera lens she got me, there’s a decent chance I’ll be taking the picture.

“What do you think of Amber?”

I was so distracted I didn’t realize Sarah had set down her book and was now looking at me.

“She seems shy,” I reply.

Sarah nods. “I like her.”

I can’t help but laugh. “After ten minutes?”

She smirks. “Yes, after only ten minutes.”

That response right there is Sarah through and through. She’s quick to trust, so open and loving with those around her, even people she’s just met. It’s one of the things I love most about her, and I can only hope our baby inherits that from her.

“All I know is I’m not ready to be a grandparent,” I tease.

Her forehead wrinkles. “But they’re so young. You don’t think . . .”

I stop her before she gets too worked-up. “No. From what I know of Logan, anything above and beyond having a conversation with her is not on his radar.”

Sarah exhales, relief evident in her expression. “After everything you see in the news with kids these days, though . . .” She trails off as her eyes lower to watch her hand drift over her stomach.