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“Thanks. I might need one soon. I’m starting a new venture online. I came into some money from a friend recently, and I thought if not now, when.”
She mentally thanked Declan for the millionth time. If he hadn’t given her such a big sum to fund going away and buying her cottage, she didn’t know what she would have done.
Declan’s money allowed he
r to delay trying to find a job and revealing her identity to a potential employer. If she could make a go of an online business, then she never had to face anyone looking at her in disgust because she was a “dragon lover.”
Focusing along those lines made her think about Gerard, and her heart constricted. She studied Malcolm and tilted her head to the side with a smile. Pushing the fake glasses up her nose with the tips of her fingers, she said, “So what’s fun to do around here?”
Malcolm perked up. “Not much. There’s a bowling alley, a movie theatre—it plays Bollywood movies more than the new stuff—and then there’s the lake. But the nearest city is not more than thirty miles away, and it has a lot more choices.”
She laughed. “I’ve seen a Bollywood movie or two, and I thought they were interesting. I’m terrible at bowling. I’m more of a dancing girl. Any clubs?”
“Not here, but I could show you a couple of good ones in the city.”
“Um. Maybe.” She was reminded of why she hid in a small town. “Thanks for the offer, Malcolm. I better get inside and get to work. My stuff won’t unpack itself.”
He appeared disappointed. “I hear you. Listen, I’m that way, three houses down. The one with the red mailbox is me. If you need anything, stop by or call.” He handed her his card, and she took it.
“Thanks. I will.”
After he was gone, she walked inside the cottage. In the middle of the living room, which was mostly empty, sat the few boxes that fit in her car. She’d brought nothing more, preferring not to have anything shipped there.
She sat down on the threadbare carpet and stripped the tape off one of the boxes. Toiletries, these were things she had brought from her bathroom—perfumes, lotions, and tampons. Come to think of it, wasn’t she due? She frowned, trying to calculate the time. Her mouth dried when she realized her period was a week and a half late.
“Impossible,” she rasped. “Not after all this time. I can’t be pregnant.”
Her cell phone rang. She had changed the number and only given the new number to Janessa and her mom. Sure enough it was her sister calling.
“Hey, girl, all settled in?” Janessa asked her.
“As well as can be expected, I guess. I don’t have much, and I haven’t unpacked any of it yet.”
“Thinking you made a mistake and want to come back?”
Lachelle sighed. Her heart ached. “I haven’t made a mistake, and yes, I want to come back. But I won’t. Not yet.”
“I understand, and I sure miss you.”
They had agreed not to talk about Gerard or the shifters if possible. Lachelle considered telling her sister about suspecting she was pregnant, but she preferred to find out for sure first.
After shooting the breeze for a while and avoiding anything important, she ended the call with her sister and got back to making her cottage livable. When she had avoided long enough, she drove thirty miles to the city and purchased a pregnancy test.
At home, she hardly ate or slept as she waited until the morning. The test had indicated it was the best time to check if she was pregnant. Heart in her throat, she went through the procedures and watched for the plus or minus sign like a hawk.
“All this time, I hoped,” she muttered to herself. “Now, I’m faced with having a baby that’s only half human. How in the world would I be able to raise him or her alone, without them?”
Tears filled her eyes. The plus sign practically jumped off the stick. She was pregnant with Gerard’s baby.
Chapter 14
Gerard caught Kelly’s hand as she ran it across his thigh and shoved it away. She flounced from the bed and stomped across the room. “Every time I try to touch you, you push me away!”
He lay down on his back and stared up at the ceiling. Outside the bedroom window, the moon shone brightly. Nocturnal animals stirred. He heard every one of them, but they didn’t tempt him to venture out. Even the sky didn’t call to him to fly. His wings lay somewhere inside his body. Then again, maybe they didn’t exist in this dimension until he willed them to appear.
What does it matter?
“Gerard,” Kelly shouted. “Are you listening to me?”
