AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Are you all right?’ I asked, immediately concerned. “Where’s Nathan? Do we need to call your dad?”
“I’m all right. Just uncomfortable.” She eased herself into a chair. “Nathan got called out. There was an accident. I don’t know the details. I was half-asleep when he told me, but then I woke and couldn’t get back to sleep.”
She gasped, her hand flying to her belly. I skidded across the room, landing on my knees at her feet in a panic.
“No, no. It’s all right.” She laughed. “The baby turned a bit. It feels so strange now that this little one isn’t so little anymore.”
I exhaled sharply. “You scared me. I’ve no idea what to do.”
“Liar.” She patted my head then leaned back in the armchair. “You’ve read more about this than I have.”
I forced myself to relax. She wasn’t due. There hadn’t been any problems in ages. We were fine.
“Are you okay?” I asked her. “Worried about anything?”
A bead of sweat trickled down her brow. “You’re starting to sound like Nathan.” But she smiled.
“I need you to be okay.”
“I know, but you can’t protect me from my own pregnancy. Yes, it’s painful sometimes, and uncomfortable always, but that’s life. I’m going to have to send you away when I’m in labour. You stress out too much about this pregnancy.”
“Are you sure you want to stick around right now?” I asked. “Every time something goes wrong, you end up in the firing line.”
“Because I’m the weak link,” she said drily. “But I’m still here, so that must mean something.” She gasped. “Oh, feel this.”
She reached for my hand and placed it over her navel. I felt an odd movement beneath my fingers and pulled back in shock.
“That’s so…”
“Weird?” she said with a laugh.
“Well, yeah, but it kind of felt like a foot or something!”
“Do you think? Feels like a wrecking ball to me, but whatever. It won’t be long now until the baby has no room to move at all.”
I sat on the floor, staring at my hand. There was a life in there, growing away, right in the middle of everything. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course,” she said.
I looked up at her. “Why didn’t you find out if you’re having a boy or a girl?”
“Because it doesn’t matter,” she explained. “We’re happy with the baby we’ve made, no matter what.”
“I’m glad. I think Jeremy would have been disappointed if Zara was having a girl.”
“That’s his problem. I wish I had his energy to waste.” She looked me over. “What’s wrong with you lately? You’re always frowning these days.”
“Just thinking about how things will work out. The baby is another person to keep safe, and I… I don’t always know that I’ll be enough.”
“Good thing it’s not on you. There’s an entire pack, growing by the year, that will handle this together. You’re still in school. You have exams to worry about. Think this hard about your future and what you’ll do next. Byron is strong. We’re safe here. The pack is full of unique, important, dedicated people whom we can rely on. There’s no reason for you to feel responsible for this baby.”
I glanced at her stomach. A whole person was in there, working hard to live yet still vulnerable, weak, and small. How could I not feel responsible? “You’re not worried?”
“Not any more than usual,” she said. “We have friends, and we have new life to get ready for. We can’t concentrate on what could go wrong all of the time. We can’t focus on past mistakes or feuds. If we don’t appreciate what we have, then what are we even fighting for? We’ll be okay. I know it. We have to be.”
I wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince me or herself, but I knew I couldn’t let her down, no matter what happened.
CHAPTER17
