Her eyes glisten, and she lifts her hand. Something small and white catches the light. My gut freezes as I see what it is. Not one. Not two. Four.
Pregnancy tests.
Her voice cracks as she speaks. “We went to the nearest town so no one would see me buying them. I took four. All positive.” She swallows, her hand trembling as she holds them out like evidence. “I’m pregnant.”
The world tilts. I hear Beau suck in a breath. Simon goes still beside me, his glasses catching the headlights, his face unreadable for one long, excruciating second.
My own pulse pounds in my ears so loud I can barely hear.
She hugs the tests to her chest, as if they might shield her from our reaction. Her voice is small, desperate. “Say something. Please.”
Simon is the first to move. He steps forward, wrapping her in his arms so tight she disappears against his chest. His voice is low and steady, the one he uses in the ER when everything is falling apart.
“Sweetheart, breathe. Just breathe. We’re not upset. Just surprised. That’s all. Can you tell us how you’re feeling? What happened?”
Her fingers clutch his shirt as if she’s drowning. She shakes her head, tears spilling again.
“I know I screwed everything up. I know this wasn’t part of the plan. You didn’t sign up for this, and I didn’t either. And now—now I’m ruining everything before it even begins. I wassupposed to have more time before this… fuck! I should have been more careful. I know you guys have your careers, and I have the café, and then there’s…”
“Stop,” Beau cuts in sharply, his voice rough. He steps forward, gripping her arm. “Fuck the plan. You hear me?” His eyes flash in the dark, fierce and confident.
She shakes her head hard, pulling back enough to look between us. Her voice is broken glass.
“No. I know what a child can do to a relationship. I watched it happen. My father resented my mother for tying him down. He took it out on us every day. I saw how the bond between them withered, leaving only anger and obligation. I will not do that to you. I won’t force any of you into something you don’t want.”
I can’t listen to another word. My hands cup her face, forcing her to look at me. “Listen to me, Wren. We marked you. All three of us. That means you’re ours. And we’re yours. You own us just as much as we own you.”
Her eyes shine, wide and scared.
“We love you,” I whisper fiercely. “And this”—I glance down at her trembling hands, those little plastic sticks clutched against her chest—“is not a mistake. This is an extension of everything we already feel for you.”
Simon nods, his hand smoothing up and down her back. “Levi’s right. This doesn’t scare me. What scares me is the thought that you’d feel like you have to hide something from us. That you’d run instead of letting us hold you through it.”
Her lip trembles. “I didn’t know how to say it. I panicked, and when I panic, I run. I left this town as soon as I could. I left that city and ran back here. And today, when I realized that I might be… that I was… I don’t know. My instincts kicked in, and I ran again. All I could hear in my head was my father talking about how hard it was to have a family. All I could see was you guys resenting me for doing this to you.”
“You did not do this to us!” I tell her. “Do we have to remind you how babies are made? I know it’s scary. Having a baby must be so scary, but we’ve got you. We’ve got this. We are not your father. None of us is our families, babe. We are the start of something new. We are the start of something pure and good… and ours.”
“And I know you run. I know you think that you ran to this town, and maybe that’s true, but I want us to try something new this time around. When you feel the need to run, run toward us. Next time,” Simon says gently, “let us be your escape. You know you can tell us anything. Say anything. Say it messy. Say it scared. Say it however you need to, but say it to us. There’s nothing you could tell us that would make us walk away.”
Beau’s fists are at his side, like he’s restraining himself from shaking sense into her. “You think a baby will break us? You’re out of your damn mind. A baby with you, Wren, that’s… Christ, that’s the best thing I could imagine.”
Her sob breaks loose, and I catch her before her knees can buckle. She’s shaking in my arms, sobbing into my chest, and I press my mouth to her hair. “It’s okay, baby. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
Simon tips his forehead against hers. “We’ll take care of you. Of both of you. But first things first—you’re coming to the hospital tomorrow. They’ll run tests, ensure everything is progressing as it should, and verify that you’re healthy. That’s the only thing that matters right now.”
Her fingers clutch at his arm, desperate. “You’re not mad?”
“Mad?” I repeat, pulling her back enough to see her face. “Sweetheart, the only thing I’m mad at is myself—for not being there when you found out. For letting you carry this alone even for a second.”
She looks at Beau, then Simon, back to me, her face streaked with tears. “I’m sorry for running at dinner.”
“You’ll be forgiven the moment we tell my parents they’re going to be grandparents,” I murmur, brushing her damp curls from her cheek. “Trust me, that’ll buy you a lifetime of forgiveness in their eyes.”
Her breath catches. “A baby.” The words come out almost reverent, like she’s tasting them for the first time.
I press my lips to her temple. “Yeah, baby. Our baby.”
Simon’s arms wrap around both of us from behind, Beau pressing in at her other side until she’s cocooned between us, her small body swallowed up by three men who would burn the whole damn town before letting her feel alone again.
