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“I just knew we were going to have some fun weather.” The thunder hit hard, striking with lightning as well.
“It certainly is.” Together, they cleaned the dogs, drying them off.
It was pouring down with rain.
“Let me make you a coffee before you head back. It’s the least I could do.” She patted his arm.
“I’m not going to turn down any coffee. You know how I like it, sweetheart.” He grabbed a fresh towel, rubbing at his hair as he walked back through Elizabeth’s house. It was a nice place. Clean, tidy. There was a lifetime of memories here all in one place. Reminded him a little of the clubhouse.
The dogs attacked their food and he chuckled. He was thinking of getting a couple of dogs himself.
“Do you want to tell me what is bothering you, or would you like me to guess?”
“You’re too all-knowing for your own good.”
“That I am. I know. I know a lot of things.” She sighed. “I’ve spoken to Anna-Beth. You two talked about the cursed houses thing.”
“We don’t believe in it.”
“I know. Nearly every single couple doesn’t believe in it, Rix, but I tell you, it exists.”
“I’m leaving,” he said.
This made Elizabeth pause. “Excuse me?”
“Next week, I won’t be around. I’m heading back home. I’ve done what I’ve come to do and now it’s time for me to move on.”
“Wow,” she said. “Does Anna-Beth know?”
“No, I haven’t told her.” There were a few things he hadn’t told her.
“Well, if you don’t believe in the houses and everything it entails, why do you look like you’re sucking on lemons, boy?” Elizabeth smiled. “You have feelings for her.”
Rix tapped his fingers on the counter. With his other hand, he nursed his drink. “You know I’m not a good man, right?”
“I have my suspicions and I do watch television. I have some inkling of what you’re like when you’re at your other place.”
He chuckled. “I don’t think she will ever go with me,” he said.
“You don’t believe in the cursed houses bringing people together, but you don’t want to live without her?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Rix, you’re a clever man, but right now, you’re starting to sound a little stupid.”
“I get it.”
“Do you, really? It doesn’t sound like it to me.”
He sighed. “I honestly don’t know what to fucking say right now. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve heard it all before. I was married.”
He ran his fingers through his hair. “She’s pregnant. She doesn’t know it either. I knocked her up on purpose so I could have my way with her.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how to tell her. I know she loves it here.”
“I take it all of these conversations are to be kept between us?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes, she can’t know.”
“I do find it interesting that you haven’t said the truth so far.”
“Which is?” he asked.
“You love her.”
“Feelings don’t come because of two houses,” he said.
“Oh, come on, the two houses is just some fun. I believe the real magic could be in the time people spend together. Your houses are close, and well, time and closeness always create feelings. You’re in love with her and it scares you. You’ve never been in love before.”
“In my world, having a loved one is close to a death sentence.”
She sighed. “But not always.”
“Of course not always,” he said, rubbing at his temple. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be yelling at you.”
“You know what I think?” she asked.
“No.”
“I think you need to go talk to her. Staying here isn’t going to provide you with the answers you want. You’re in love with Anna-Beth, I can see that. And the one thing I can safely say I’ve learned from love,” she said, with a smile, “is when you feel something for someone, you will do whatever you can to make it work. You’ve just got to figure out what works for you, for the both of you.”Chapter NineAccording to Rix, she was fine.
The doctor said it was just a little stomach bug and that she would be fine in a couple of days. She didn’t believe him, so she’d decided to go get a pregnancy test. She wasn’t an idiot. Morning sickness was what she was going through and after going to the pharmacy, she’d taken the test on her lunch break.
She was pregnant.
With Rix’s baby.
The same man who seemed to be pulling away from her and she had no idea why.
Walking home, she didn’t exactly feel the rain or anything. She was numb to it all. One step in front of the other, she couldn’t believe what was happening.
She was pregnant with Rix’s child.
They were going to have a baby together. Once at the edge of the road, she stared at their houses. They seemed so peaceful, not at all like they could cause trouble. It was crazy.
As she crossed over the road, Rix’s front door opened and he rushed out toward her.
