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“I’m thinking the pill for now, and the IUD as a long-term solution,” I finally admitted.
That, and I wanted the birth control today. I’d have to wait a bit for the IUD seeing as Dr. Page wasn’t a gynecologist, and I assumed he wouldn’t be able to put it in today.
“Sounds acceptable,” Dr. Page said as he pulled out a prescription pad from his pocket. “I’ll write you three months’ worth. But I still want to see you back in a month for labs like we discussed.”
With my marching orders and a brand-new prescription for birth control, I headed out of the office and to my car.
I reached in my purse for my phone and extracted it after only searching the bottomless pit for less than a minute.
I had my phone and was placing the call moments later.
“Hey, baby,” my father said. “What’s up?”
It was a common occurrence for me to update my parents on my progress and how my doctors’ appointments went, but today, instead of just texting, I called. I had other things that I wanted to discuss before I got all the way to where I was meeting Pace for lunch.
“You have a second?” I asked softly.
I heard movement in the background, as well as the low chatter of what I assumed was the bullpen at work.
Then there was a slam of a door, and quiet.
“I’m all ears,” he said. “I’m in my office. They should give me about ten minutes of alone time before they come and ask anything of me.”
The teasing nature of my father was something I’d missed over the last year. He always felt so guilty any time he was around me that it was nice seeing him back to normal.
Instead of pussyfooting around what I had to say, I just went ahead and told him everything.
“My lease is up on my house, and the owners want to sell it,” I said. “They gave me the option of buying it.”
“Okay,” Dad said. “And…”
“And Pace asked me to move in with him,” I all but blurted.
“What is making you not want to move in with him?” Dad asked quietly.
I thought about that for a long moment and then decided, to hell with it.
“What if he changes his mind?” I asked just as quietly.
Barely audible.
“What if he asks you to marry him in two weeks, y’all live to be ninety-eight, and then die within hours of each other?” he asked.
I sighed and looked out of the Jeep, wondering why I even bothered.
My dad liked Pace. He liked him a lot. In fact, he liked him so much that I could tell he really, really wanted me to be with Pace.
I knew as well that if Pace ever asked my dad for my hand in marriage, my dad would likely offer to fly to Vegas with us just so he could get it done fast.
Which was saying something because my dad did not like flying. Not even a little bit.
“I guess I’m just scared,” I admitted. “I’m worried that he’s going to realize that I’m not this grand prize that he thinks I am. That he gave up a lot to save me by donating his kidney. That one day he’s going to come to the realization that I’m too much trouble.” I paused. “Dad, this kidney may only last five years. Hell, I could reject it next week. What if I do, and I literally just ruined his kidney? All of that would be for nothing.”
My dad made a sound in the back of his throat that was akin to panic.
When the silence went on too long, I sighed.
“Dad,” I said, knowing that he was freaking out now. “It’ll be okay.”
“It will,” he agreed, sounding unconvinced. “I think that you need to trust in that yourself.”
I snickered.
“If I had to kill someone to get that kidney for you, just so you could live, I would.”
I froze when I realized that Pace was standing right outside my Jeep. When had he gotten there? How had he gotten there without me knowing?
“That him?” Dad asked.
I made an ‘uh-huh’ sound and said, “I’ll call you back later.”
He laughed as he hung up the phone without saying I love you or goodbye. Two things he always made sure to do.
I let the phone drop and looked at the man that had his face closed off.
He was dressed in his work uniform and he had his helmet tucked up under one arm. The other was resting on the rollbars of the Jeep as if he’d been standing there a while.
“Uhhh,” I said.
“You could’ve talked to me if you were scared.”
I leaned my head back against the seat and groaned.
“I didn’t want to freak you out,” I admitted.
“So how about you tell me everything that’s freaking you out,” he said. “We addressed one of those things last night. Now I’m learning that you’re worried about living past five years…I thought we’d talked about this?”
