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KATIE
Other than I may be carrying a psychopath’s baby, not a damn thing.
LIAM
I’ll clear my schedule, and yes, I will meet you at the ambulance bay doors like yesterday.
I tossed the blankets off my legs, swinging them around as I dropped my laptop next to me. I raced for the closet. Jackson never stayed in the shower for long, so I had to hurry.
I yanked clothes on without regard for any fashion or aesthetic. Ava would be appalled, but there wasn’t time. I grabbed one of Jackson’s ball caps and slid my feet into slip-on booties. As I rushed out the bedroom door, I grabbed my purse and flew down the stairs.
Lady luck was on my side. For once. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, Hayden, Lucia, and Marcie were in the kitchen. I raced in. “I’ll buy Starbucks if you take me to the hospital for another PT appointment.”
Hayden looked at me like I was insane, but Marcie, the coffee addict, bobbed her head like a bobblehead on a dirt road. She could always be counted on when the S-word was mentioned. Hayden looked from her to Lucia, who was also nodding. He groaned and got up.
“Okay, fine. Go grab ya boy toy, and we’ll go,” he said.
I felt my eyes strain as they widened. “He’s got stuff to do with Olivia today. He’s not going.”
Never in a million years did I think that would work, but Hayden shrugged and led us out of the kitchen.
At the hospital, Lucia dropped us off at the ambulance bay entrance. Just like yesterday, Liam stood there waiting. Medical staff and EMTs were bustled in and out of the building, pushing gurneys, some with patients and some without. The chaos and cacophony of the scene reminded me Jackson and I had been on two similar gurneys not all that long ago.
Following Liam through the hospital was like being smacked with deja vu. Only yesterday, the trip had a smidgeon of hope at the journey’s end. Today, I felt like I was heading to the gallows. There was no hope to be found, no reprieve in sight. All I could see was the death of everything I’d never thought I’d find but had always wanted.
I knew my options. Everyone knew the options for a situation like this. I knew when Liam and I locked ourselves in his office,that was the conversation we would have. “Here’s your options” and “Do you know what you want to do?”
I didn’t know.
Tears pricked at my eyes and burned my nose. The sound of our footsteps had been a steady, rhythmic beat, but with every step, mine changed. They went from a normal clip-clop sound to a shuffle. I felt like I was slogging through thick, sticky mud that sucked at my legs.
When Liam held the door for me, I hesitated. I stared at Liam long enough for Hayden to ask, “Kit Kat? Is everything okay?”
I swallowed, turning to flash Hayden a smile before stepping into Liam’s office. I walked straight to the windows. My arms crossed over my chest. I felt like I needed to hold myself together at the moment.
“Katie…”
I interrupted him. “I know my options. I don’t want to hear them out loud.”
“Understandable. Do you have any questions you want to ask?” Liam asked as he sat behind his desk.
“Is there any way to tell ahead of time?” I asked.
“There is a newer DNA test…” Liam began.
“Is it dangerous?”
Liam shook his head. “Not at all. It’s non-invasive. It’s a blood test. The mother’s blood carries some of the baby’s DNA. It’s just a matter of isolating the baby’s DNA and testing it against the potential father.”
“So I’d have to tell Jackson?” I closed my eyes, swallowing the sick that threatened to appear.
When I looked at him, Liam’s eyebrows rested in the middle of his forehead. “He doesn’t know?”
I shook my head, pulling my lips into my mouth and biting down on them, trying to fight off the tears always beneath the surface.
“No,” I whispered.
My voice shook with emotion. Fear that Liam would tell his nephew what was going on scared me.
