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“It’s fine,” I lied, clutching Takoda tightly in my arms.
“You don’tsoundfine.”
Because I’m not.
“I’m coming in, Cheyenne.” There was a jiggle of the lock on the door, and by some sly chance, it turned out that Hazel was a little handier than Wade was. Hazel’s eyes went wide as she came through the door, quickly shutting us both in the bathroom. “What’s wrong?” She rushed toward me, dropping to her knees on the floor.
I shook my head. “It’s... I... I...” I couldn’t actually say the words out loud, so I shifted Takoda in my arms, holding out the pregnancy test.
“Oh my god...” Hazel croaked out, her gaze focused on the result. “That’s... This is crazy.”
“Yeah, I know,” I burst out in sobs, my head dropping to rest against Takoda, his fur tickling my nose in a familiar and comforting way.
“This means you get to stay!” Hazel exclaimed, her voice suddenly...excited.“This is so amazing. Congratulations. I bet Wade will besostoked.”
I hesitated, looking up at her, seeing her gray eyes alight with joy. “I don’t think he’s going to be excited at all, Hazel.”
Her brows furrowed. “And why wouldn’t he be? It’s obvious that he loves you, and now it makes perfect sense for you to stay and take that job down at the vet clinic. It’s like the stars just aligned!”
Uh, in what universe?
“Hazel, he doesn’t want me to stay here in Texas. When I talked to him about it, he kind of just...freakedthe hell out. I don’t think he feels the same as me—and if he does, he’s not willing to admit it.”
“Iknowhe’s in love with you, Cheyenne. Iknowit.” Hazel was adamant, her eyes blazing with passion. “He’s just being a stupid man. I swear, all men lack some cells in their brain. It’ssofrustrating.”
“Yeah, but he’s going to think that I’m a gold digger.” I sniffled, more tears slipping down my cheeks. “He’s seriously going to think that I probably got pregnant to trap him or get money from him or something.”
“That makes no sense, I saw the protection in the trash can—well,Ididn’t, but Lindy did, and so it’s totallynoton you, Chey. This is just something that happened, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.”
“I can’t have kids.”
“Well, you obviously can.” She snorted, giving me a smirk. “Is it too soon to joke?” she asked quickly when I frowned at her.
“No, it’s not like that. I mean...” my voice trailed off as my parents came back to mind. “I don’t know what it is to be a good mom. I didn’t exactly have the best upbringing.”
“So you know whatnotto do,” she reasoned, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. “We’ll all be here to support you, and we can hold your hand the entire way if you need us to. You’ve got this. You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met, and your past doesn’t define your future. That’s up to you.”
I took a deep breath, unsteadily filling my lungs with oxygen. “I don’t know, Hazel. I just... Maybe I should think of adoption.”
“Well, Wade isn’t going to want that.”
I shook my head, knowing that she was right. “I know, I know, and I don’t want to be an absent mother, either. I don’t know what I’m thinking right now.” I started to cry again, and Hazel squeezed me tighter, resting her head against mine.
“You don’t have to have any kind of plan right now. We’ll just take it one step at a time, and figure it out from here. First thing’s first, you’re going to have to tell Wade. I think he’ll take it better than you think.”
“I don’t know...” my voice trailed off as I broke away from her. “Like I said, he didn’t want me to stay here in Texas. I don’t want him to ask me to stay just because I’m pregnant. I don’t want to be one ofthosecouples that stay together because of a baby. That’s not good for either of us.”
“Yeah, but if we’re being dead honest, you could stay here in Texas andnotbe with Wade if he’s really going to be a dick about it all. I mean, my family would for sure support you with or without his consent, considering you’re pretty much family now—and we already thought that...”
“What do you mean?” I furrowed my brow as I pushed myself up from the floor, setting Takoda down and brushing the dog hair off my jeans.
“I mean this.” She dug into her sweatshirt pocket, pulling out a slip of paper. Hazel held it out for me, nodding for me to take it from her.
I did, wiping the moisture from my cheeks as I unfolded it. “What is this?”
“Just read it.”
My eyes scanned the paper, and I realized it was a receipt...
