AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’m hungry, a little lightheaded, and all too emotional. The appointment with Doctor Anderson went well. Tears welled at the corner of my eyes when he pointed to the tiny pea-size blob on the screen of the ultrasound.
And thethumpity, thumpof the heartbeat had me a mess. Heck, even Travis cried. In that moment, stomach smeared with wet goo, both my brother and doctor staring down at me, nothing else mattered.
The baby made everything else seem unimportant. I’d thought about being a mother one day, and now it was closer than I’d ever dreamed. And as for Ridge, I hadn’t thought of telling him about the appointment. Not out of spite or anything like that, but more because I told him the news over a week ago, and I’ve heard nothing from him. Not that I had expected to.
But when he’d asked about the baby…his interest was near palpable. His concern and then, dare I say, joy and relief were hard to miss in the smoothing of the tiny lines around his mouth and the spark lightening his blue eyes.
I blink and a hot, fat tear slides down my cheek. Damn. I’m one big ball of emotions.
Water and food, that’s what I need. Mel’s ice cream parlor is two doors down, and cool, creamy mint chocolate chip is calling my name.
Doctor Anderson’s words filter through my mind from not even an hour ago. “You need to take care of yourself. Eat lots of vegetables, make healthy food choices, and get plenty of rest and fluids.”
I don’t suppose a double scoop counts as healthy. But wait, there’s calcium in dairy. That has to be good for the baby, and there’s protein. It’s better than nothing and I can’t continue walking around on an empty stomach.
I walk into the parlor and the cold air hits me as my phone buzzes with a text.
Kelly: Your jerk of a brother was just here looking for you. Are you okay?
I breathe in the delectable warm waffle cone aroma and step to the side of the counter to type out a reply.
Me: I’m fine. We ran into RK. Not good.
My teeth sink into my bottom lip, worrying the tender flesh, and I immediately regret mentioning that I saw Ridge to Kelly. She’ll want more details and I’m not ready to talk about it. My phone pings with another text.
Kelly: Honey, I’m here if you want to talk. Love you.
Her response surprises me, yet it really shouldn’t. She knows how mixed-up I am right now, with no answers to anything, and she isn’t pushing. Though the time will come when she’ll want me to spill.
I text out thanks and no sooner hit send when she adds another text, making me laugh and cringe at the same time.
Kelly: Oh and I’ve only broken one glass! Oz isn’t too mad.
My chuckles cause several sets of eyes to look my way.Oh shit. I’m surrounded by half of the Kincaide clan.
At a large round table across the store, the twins, Jett and Scarlett, as well as the two youngest, Laken and Jasper, sit with their ice creams. None of them are talking.
Lucky me, I have their attention.
It’s like I’m back in high school, though Cole Kincaide’s missing from this dreadful reunion. Two years my junior, and while I wouldn’t say we were friends in high school or otherwise, Cole’s all right.
He comes into Oz’s every now and then, and through the years has never been mean or arrogant. That’s a lot more than I can say about some of them staring at me right now.
Jett’s unrelenting stare burns my skin, and sadly, I’m all too familiar with that look. We’re the same age and were stuck in the same grade all through school.
His sharp blue eyes roam my body from head to toe in a not-so-subtle and definitely cocky way like it’s his God-given right to get his fill. Suddenly, my simple black jeans and T-shirt feel downright scandalous, but I refuse to give a damn.
His twin, Scarlett, and maybe the meaner of the two, throws me an icy stare before resuming her conversation, and I let out a sigh, grateful for her spiteful silence rather than the nasty insults she’d flung in high school.
Next is Laken, the prettiest cowgirl in all the land—barf—and one of the most sought after girls in town. She’s talked to me before and was nice enough, but only when we were alone. If she’s with her horde of followers, I might as well be invisible.
And then there’s Jasper. He’s the only one still staring at me with a soft, almost welcoming smile. Funnily enough, as the youngest of the bunch, he has never had any reason to talk to me yet he’s one of the nicer ones. And now that he’s legal, I’ve seen him at the club once or twice with his friends.
I sidle up to the counter and place my order, stealing furtive glances at the bunch. Every once in a while, one of them will do the same. Despite it being just the five of us in here, I sit at a small table close to the door.
Scarlett rambles on about some upcoming party or community gathering, the high whine of her voice grating on my nerves. Laken offers the obligatory nods and smiles, while both men bear similar looks, as if they’d rather poke their eyes out with a fork than continue the conversation.
The cold, silky ice cream coats my throat and does its job to fill me up. While eating, I wonder what the likes of the twins, Laken, or Jasper will do when they learn Ridge is going to be a father? And better yet, that I’m the one carrying his baby.
