Page 47 of Easy On Me

Chapter Fourteen

Tyler

If someone wanted to see a definition of a man who was all in, Jase Hatcher was it.

He hunched on a plastic chair in my OB’s exam room, denim-clad knee jittering, his gaze on the model of different embryonic stages by week. “It’s still really small.”

“Well, yeah.” Paper crinkled under me on the table. I swung my feet, bouncing my heels against the metal table in a light tattoo. “It’s early.”

Still the first trimester. I could think about how we might have waited until the second to get married, once we were past the miscarriage-risk point, but more and more I was convinced the baby wasn’t why we were married. My pregnancy had been the impetus for our decision, sure.

But overall? This marriage was about us.

After a soft knock, Dr. Wade bustled in with her wide smile, followed by Vicki, my favorite of her nurses, who’d already weighed me, checked my blood pressure, and drawn vials of blood . “Tyler, so good to see you. I hear you’re seeing us about a baby?”

“Yes.” Struck by uncharacteristic shyness with the woman who’d been my doctor since I was sixteen, I slanted a half-smile at Jase. “This is my husband, Jase Hatcher.”

“Oh, hello.” She shook Jase’s hand as he stood with a low nice to meet you. Dr. Wade peered at my printouts over her glasses. “Yes, I do see a name and status change here. Okay, then. Well, your bloodwork and blood pressure look good. So we’re doing a pap smear and a transvaginal ultrasound so we can see what we can see, all right?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Familiar with the pap smear drill at least, I scooted to the edge of the table and slotted my feet in the stirrups with Vicki’s help.

“Couple of fingers and I’m going to palpate your abdomen.” Adjusting the light and sheet, Dr. Wade launched into the familiar narration, and I smothered a giggle at Jase’s wide eyes. Amusement almost drowned out the pinch of the speculum when the skin around his mouth went white while Dr. Wade swabbed for the smear.

An arm crossed over his belly, he propped his elbow on his wrist and covered his mouth. I smirked as Dr. Wade withdrew the speculum. Men really had no clue.

“Okay, so this may feel a little weird.” Vicki slid a lubricated condom on the ultrasound wand. “You tell me if it gets too intense.”

The sensation was odd, but not painful. His fist over his mouth, Jase blew out a breath even as images flickered to life on the large screen on the screen. I winced a little as Vicki adjusted the wand, and Jase stepped forward, taking my hand.

“Hmm. All right. That’s good.” Dr. Wade murmured as Vicki tapped on the keyboard, capturing image after image, the unmistakable shape of a baby in the yawning black oval

“Look at that,” Jase breathed, staring slack-jawed at the screen. “It has arms.”

“It does.” Dr. Wade and Vicki exchanged a warm look. Dr. Wade circled her fingertip on the screen around a flickering light. “And a nice, strong heartbeat.”

“Sweet Lord,” Jase whispered, fingers tightening around mine. I squeezed back, emotion sitting on my chest. We really were having a baby.

According to Dr. Wade, everything looked good, and after we’d set up an appointment for the following month, we stepped into the warm spring sunshine. Jase stared at the sonogram printout in his palm, then folded it with reverent hands and tucked the image into his wallet. In his truck, we both sent quick texts to our mothers.

“Let’s go downtown.” Jase laid his phone in the console. “Get you something to eat. Walk a little.”

“Don’t you need to go back to work?” Planting season was in full swing, so his days were long and he was always in a field somewhere.

“Took the afternoon off.” His smile as he looked at me was unbearably sweet. “Y’all are important.”

Speechless, I watched him navigate the streets between Dr. Wade’s office and the parking lot behind the fire station downtown. I was important to Mama Nancy, to Marilyn and Maggie, but I’d never been important like this before, like he looked at me and saw everything he wanted.

I didn’t quite know what to do with that.

As we walked toward Broad Street, passing the whimsical metal bicycle racks shaped like hunting dogs, he laid an arm along my waist. We skipped the pool hall chili dogs, which were the best, because neither of us were sure if hot dogs were good for the baby, but the Mexican place offered chicken and vegetables and the most amazing guacamole ever. After, we walked hand in hand until his face lit up as we came along Mary Madison, the boutique’s windows full of tiny clothes.

I laughed as he tugged me inside. “We don’t know what it is, Jase.”

“So?” He held up a white outfit from the table just inside the door. “This is okay for either.”

He was excited like a little kid at Christmas. I remembered that feeling from being three or four maybe, before I learned that Christmas wasn’t for everyone. A chill shivered over me at the memories of bedroom after bedroom, dark nights, full of being scared and alone.

He’d had those kinds of holidays, though, the ones with bright Christmas trees and cookies and warm mornings with gifts and hugs. And he’d make sure our baby had them. He’d help me craft holidays like that. We’d be a family.