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Would she leave?
Would I beg her to stay like I so desperately wanted her to?
I got in the truck and put it in drive, and we drove toward the hospital with a heavy silence hanging in the air.
Chapter Twelve
Sierra
“Pete,” I hissed. “Stop pacing! You’re making me nervous.”
Pete halted and pressed his back against the wall, his arms rigid and crossed over his chest. The snug exam room was darkened and glowing a pale blue as the ultrasound tech dragged the doppler over my still flat belly. Pete twitched, tapping his fingers on his arms. He was driving me absolutely nuts right now.
I couldn’t tell if he was nervous about the baby or nervous that therewasa baby. Either way, his incessant fidgeting was driving me up the wall.
“Four-ish… maybe five weeks,” the ultrasound tech said softly to herself. “Really early still. Normally we don’t do a scan like this until eight weeks but given the circumstances…” she trailed off, looking at the screen.
“Is everything okay?” I asked hurriedly, my body tightening. Pete stepped forward and laid his hand on my shoulder.
“Everything looks great, I promise.” She smiled warmly as she removed the doppler. “We’ll see you in a month to get a better image. You’ll be able to hear the heartbeat then too.”
I sank back into the pillow and blew out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding while Pete squeezed my shoulder, a tight smile on his face that didn’t meet his eyes.
“The doctor will be in shortly to talk to you,” the tech said before leaving the room, and then we were alone.
“See, everything’s fine—”
“Are you happy?” I asked, unable to stop myself.
“About—”
“That I’m actually pregnant,” I whispered, wincing. I felt like an idiot for even asking. Of course, he wasn’t happy about it. This hadn’t been planned by a loving, stable couple with big dreams. This was an accident after a one-night stand.
He took a moment to response, but said, “I’m happy everything is okay.”
I rolled my lip between my teeth, somewhat stung when I had no right to be upset in the slightest.
An older gentleman came through the door with a smile on his face, dressed nicely in khaki trousers and a muted gray button-down shirt.
“You must be Sierra Gold.” He smiled, shaking my hand as I rose into a seated position. “And you are?” He turned his attention to Pete, who bristled a bit.
“Pete Greenway.”
“Ah, so you were who Grant Hallston was going on and on about on the phone this morning,” the doctor said as he looked at monitor, where a screenshot of the inside of my belly was illuminating the room. “I understand you want a paternity test done.”
“Yeah, although it’s not needed. It’ll just make him feel better,” I cut in before Pete could even open his mouth. I gave Pete a nasty look that made the doctor roll his eyes between us and chuckle.
“Well, that can be done this early but it takes a while for the test results to come back, and it’s not nearly as precise as getting the test done after the birth.” Doctor Enstrom was his name, and apparently, he’d delivered the Hallston’s baby girl last year.
I knew Pete said he had to tell some people, but now it felt like our business was everywhere.
Did his friends know he was seeking a paternity test?
I slouched a little, embarrassed at the thought that these people I didn’t know were forming some opinion on me that had to do with loose behavior, when that was far from the truth.
“We need to take a blood sample today anyway, so you don’t have to do anything extra, Sierra,” he continued. “Pete, we’ll need a cheek swab from you.”
“How does this work, exactly?” Pete asked. “You said it wasn’t precise?”
