AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER 18
Aweek later, theywere all back on the ranch, and life continued as usual. Well, everyone else was back, except for Gavin. He still had clients to see and was staying another week in Seattle. Since their arrival back on the ranch, Brooke was finding it difficult to settle down. She’d been to see the family doctor, and he’d confirmed she was indeed, pregnant.
She sat staring at the boxes in her bedroom she hadn’t unpacked yet. She now knew what was missing in her house, in her room: Gavin’s presence. Ever since she’d moved in, she’d unconsciously been looking for him everywhere. She wanted him to be here, with her and Connor and Baby.
Listlessly, she opened one of the boxes. Since she’d finished a painting that morning, she was at a loose end, not quite sure what to do next.
This one wasn’t for any exhibition, but she was in love, not something she’d thought would ever be possible again. She had no choice but to try to express her intense emotions, and the only way she knew how was to put her feelings onto a canvas.
The painting would be a surprise for Gavin. It had been a surprise for her, truth be told. When she’d picked up her palette knife Tuesday morning, she hadn’t known what she was going to paint. Her only thought had been to get her feelings on to the canvas.
She should’ve felt more relaxed by now. But...what was going to happen next? Was something going to happen? She had no idea. Normally, she took things in her stride; she was never overly concerned about what tomorrow would bring. Things seemed to happen whether she fretted or not, she’d discovered a long time ago. But now she was agonizing over the uncertainty of “what now,” and it was driving her crazy.
Gavin seemed very happy with Baby: he was attentive and loving, and she heard from him at least a few times a day, asking how she was. He missed her; he couldn’t wait to see her again. But was this how things were going to work? She was pregnant with his baby, and he’d be cheering from the sides?
So far, she’d managed to stop Connor from asking whether Gavin was going to be his new dad, but she wasn’t sure whether she’d be able to do that the next time.
She also had questions she didn’t know the answers to, damn it.
They’d all had a lovely weekend in Seattle, but she and Gavin had never been alone during the day. There were people around them all the time and during the night; neither one of them had wanted to waste time talking.
He’d taken them to the airport. He’d told her they had to talk, but it had been five days, and she still had no idea what he wanted to talk about and when they’d be able to talk. When exactly he would be back on the ranch was another unanswered question.
At least she was feeling much better. The worst of the nausea seemed to have passed, and she could eat again.
There was a knock on her front door. “Anyone home?” Charlie called out.
Smiling, Brooke got up quickly and walked out of her room. She loved the easy way they all got along, and either of her sisters-in-law dropping by always brightened her day.
Both Lindsay and Charlie were in the living room. “Hello.” Lindsay smiled. “We haven’t seen you around much this week.”
“I’ve been painting, and now I’m trying to settle in, but I just want to sleep. Come on in, I’ll make tea.”
In the kitchen, Lindsay pulled out a chair. “So why aren’t we organizing a wedding yet?”
Brooke shook her head. “I don’t think there’s going to be one.”
Charlie opened the cupboard and took out cups and saucers. “But that’s ridiculous—of course, there’ll be a wedding.”
Brooke concentrated on the ritual of making tea. She wanted to bawl her eyes out, but that wasn’t going to change anything. “It is what it is. Gavin has been very clear right from the start about not getting married.”
“But he loves you!” Lindsay cried.
“I know. And he’s said he always wants to be with me, but that doesn’t mean he’s changed his mind about getting married. Look, I’ve done that. If Gavin doesn’t want that, I’m okay. I suppose not every love story ends in a ring, a wedding, and flowers, you know?”
“And you’re happy with that?”
“I’m happy.” She grinned. “I’m pregnant, and I feel miserable most afternoons, but I’m really happy.”
