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Okay, deep breaths.
“Just give it to me straight.”
She nods. “Okay.” She lets out a breath. “I’m pregnant.”
I blink several times at her and flex my hands just as many times, trying to get a hold of all of the mixed feelings coursing through me.
At least, she’s graduated from high school and college! She has a stable job and a health plan. She’s an adult.
Yeah, who got pregnant by the first guy—
First guy? Yeah okay, Theo.
What if he doesn’t treat her right? She barely knows him! Then she’ll be connected to him forever. With a baby!
But a baby! You love babies. And this one you won’t be responsible for. You get to give this one back to its parents when it cries!
“Dad?” She breaks the back and forth inside my head, sliding her hand on top of mine and gives it a gentle squeeze. “You okay? Are you in shock?”
“I—no.” I let out a breath. “I’m good. Just…caught off guard. I think?” I rub my forehead. “Honey, was this…planned? I just—”
“No! No. I mean, we weren’t trying for this…” She winces. “But we weren’t really trying all that hard to not—” She looks up in the air.
I put my hands up. “Ah ah ah. No.” I point at her. “I don’t need the uhh…details.”
“Dad, you’re not going to get all weird about it like when you tried to give me the sex talk?”
“I wasn’t weird,” I defend.
“Uh…well…you see…when a man and woman love each other very much,” she imitates me and clears her throat, “ask your mother.”
“Well, you clearly did not take my advice!” I say, standing up.
“How do you figure?” She stands up and lifts her chin, trying to appear tall but I’m still at least a foot taller than her.
“You love this guy?!”
“Yes!”
“Oh, really?”I ask, quirking an eyebrow at her.
“Yes! Dad…I know it seems like we haven’t been together that long, but we’ve known each other for a while.”Well, that makes me feel slightly better.“And we were exploring things for a while before we made it official.” She blushes.That does not.
“Raegan Marie, please spare me.” I glare at her.
“Sorry.” She sits back down and looks up at me and the tears in her blue eyes gut me. “I need you to be on board with this. Mom is going to freak the fu–hell out and you know I can’t handle her without help. Lucas is going to handle it whatever way you do. I need you on my side.”
I sit down and lean forward to grab her hand in mine. “I amalwayson your side, Rae.” Her shoulders sag like she’s had the weight of the world on her shoulders and hearing my words removes some of it. “Is that the reason for the ring? Honey, I am not concerned about you being pregnant and not married—if that’s what this is about? I mean yes, I would prefer—”
“Dad…” She interrupts and she gives me a small smile. “Wes and I have been talking about getting married since before I got pregnant.” She bites her bottom lip, even as her lips tick upwards. “I am so crazy about him, Dad. And I know, it’s uncomfortable with him being your age, and I wish I could make that less weird for you.”
“I’ll get over it, I guess.” I cock my head to the side, my mind going back to a time, what feels like a hundred years ago when she looked up at me with those bright blue eyes and asked me to pick her up and put her on my shoulders.
“We really tried to stay away from each other especially with it being against the code of ethics and—”
I’m vaguely aware she’s still talking but my ears perk up at that. “Wait wait wait, Rae, back the hell up. Code of ethics? You work for him?!” I stand up again because now I’ve got a fuck ton of different questions.
She blanches. “So, this is going to be the hard sell.” She nods. “I knew there was going to be one.”
