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Shaking her head, Brooke got up. She was feeling much better, and Gavin wanted to talk to her. “Can’t say that I have. Probably something I’ve eaten. I have to go—Gavin...”
Eyes twinkling, Charlie interrupted her. “Or something you’ve done?”
“What do you mean?”
Her mother laughed. “Brooke, sweetie, don’t you think you’re...I don’t know, maybe pregnant?”
The word “pregnant” exploded in Brooke’s brain. Staring at her mother, she tried to remember. She couldn’t be, could she? They’d used protection every time, hadn’t they? Oh, dear. There had been the one time when he couldn’t get to the package on the bedtable quickly enough... She’d forgotten all about it, but now...
It took another few seconds for her scrambled brain to do the arithmetic and count the days. “Oh, my goodness, you’re right. I could be pregnant. I’m probably pregnant. Never thought I’d utter those words again.”
Charlie and Lindsay clapped their hands, and her mom’s eyes were wet with tears.
But a feeling of dread settled in the pit of her stomach. Quickly, she sat down on the bed again. “What do I tell Gavin? He doesn’t want to get married; he was very adamant about that.”
“Only because he thinks he’s not capable of looking out for his loved ones,” Charlie said. “Talk to him about it.”
Frowning, Brooke stared at Charlie. “He’s mentioned something like that before. He told me he’s hopeless at any kind of relationship, and he’s not marriage material.”
“Mostly because he thinks he wasn’t there for me,” Lindsay said. “After our parents passed away and Charlie was in hospital, he was juggling a job and looking after her. It was during that time I met Mark. He still blames himself for not seeing sooner that I was in trouble.”
“Well, last night he was the hero,” Brooke said.
Lindsay grinned. “Mention that when you tell him about the baby.”
“I don’t even know for sure whether I’m pregnant.”
“We can find out easily enough,” Charlie said and took out her phone. “Let me order a test for you; it’ll be delivered...”
But Brooke shook her head. “No, thanks. I...I’ll go and get something tomorrow morning. Right now, I’m beat and I...need time to...I need time. I can’t talk to Gavin right now. Mom, will you tell Gavin and Connor...?”
Her mother got up. “Go and have a lovely bath. I’ll tell Gavin you’ll see him tomorrow. And I’ll take care of Connor. Oh, and by the way, I’ve found your phone. It was in one of the boxes you dropped off at my place. It’s been charged.” With a big smile, she handed it over.
Brooke heard the other women leave, but her eyes were on her phone.
Quickly she scrolled to Gavin’s messages. Had her mother deleted them? Her heart kicked against her ribs. No, she hadn’t. Every single one he’d sent was still there.
With her phone in her hand, she lay back against the pillows and began to read his texts, one by one. She had to remember to thank her mother.
