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The doctor was happy with Hallie’s blood work and general health. She’d sent Hallie out the door with prenatal vitamins and a big smile, assuring Hallie they’d see a lot more of each other over the next nine months or so.
An unexpected wave of joy had crashed into her then. She hadn’t planned on being pregnant, but already loved the bean incubating in her womb. Her grandmother and her sister were overjoyed, which made it easier for Hallie to picture a bright future for her daughter or son.
Yet a shadow loomed. She’d never planned on being pregnant while nursing a broken heart.
She knew better than anyone that every family looked different. Her parents hadn’t raised her, but were still in her life. She had her grandmother and her sister. Gavin would be a part of his child’s life, she knew. He might panic or freak out when he learned the news—to be fair, so had she—but he’d step up and be the father he was capable of being.
They would develop their own routine, arrange visits with their child, attend parent-teacher conferences together at school. It would work out.
Hallie and Hannah hadn’t had a typical childhood—how could they when they were raised by one of country music’s biggest stars?—but they’d never lacked love. Just because Gavin wasn’t interested in settling down, didn’t mean he wouldn’t love their child. And his family—the Sutherlands—would love their child, as well.
Hannah would be an aunt and Will would be an uncle. Eleanor would be a great-grandmother. Presley and Cassandra would soon be married to the two other Sutherland brothers, making them “official” aunts. Her child would be loved by many and that’s what mattered.
Or so she tried to convince her fractured heart whenever it argued with her. Hallie had done the unthinkable. She’d fallen in love with Gavin. She had been in love with him for some time—possibly since she’d first laid eyes on him.
As her sister and her grandmother sang about never giving up, Hallie felt herself smile. There was much to celebrate. A baby was an exciting event. She’d keep doing the next best thing for her child and everything would work out.
Hallie was a family girl and that’s what she and Gavin had unwittingly started. A family. Her heart gave a mournful wail, and she wondered how long it would take for her to fall out of love with Gavin.
Or if she could.
