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Liv didn’t even try to wipe the smile off her face. “I’m pregnant, too.”
“You and I have the same due date?” Mallory wondered.
Shaking her head, Liv answered, “No, but it’s close. I’m due on the tenth.”
For the next few minutes, all the women stood and moved around the room to hug and congratulate their two friends. Mallory and Liv seemed to be over the moon, and I loved to see how Mallory wasn’t the least bit offended that Liv shared her news at the same time.
And it was in those moments of controlled chaos that I started to feel a mix of emotions move through me.
Obviously, I was excited to hear Liv and Mallory share their news. Even if I didn’t know them all that well just yet, I could still feel the excitement radiating off of them and how that joy leaked through to the rest of the women there.
I was honored, humbled, and slightly overwhelmed to be a part of such a wonderful occasion, at the same time I yearned for more of it.
For so long, I’d wanted to feel like I was important to someone, like I mattered. If what I just witnessed was any indication, these women could give that all on their own. I would have loved nothing more than to be part of the group.
Even more than that, I wondered if it was possible.
Could I be just as happy as the rest of them were?
Would Forrest and I be able to go the distance, so that one day, I’d find it endearing to see him slightly stressed about me being pregnant with our child?
I could only hope to be so lucky.
Forrest
“Thanks for calling, Detective.”
“It’s no problem. I hope I can call you back with good news before things get worse.”
“She’ll be safe with me always, but there’s an added layer of diligence with it until that call comes from you,” I declared.
“That sounds good, Mr. Hickman. I’ll be in touch as soon as I have more news for you.”
At that, I said goodbye and disconnected the call with the detective in Birch Creek. Then I moved back to where I’d been standing just moments before the call came through and returned my attention to Daisy.
It was late morning, we’d been getting ready to make breakfast not that long ago, and Daisy was sitting right where I left her—on the counter wearing my T-shirt. There was no better sight. She was the only thing I could look at that would turn my mood around in a heartbeat.
And right now, I needed whatever I could get when it came to improving my mood, because the good news was becoming difficult to come by.
As I stepped forward between her legs, Daisy said, “Judging by the way your voice sounded and the look on your face, I can only assume the detective didn’t have anything good to say.”
I sent her a sympathetic look. “You’d be correct.”
“What’s going on?”
Frustration moved through me. I wanted nothing more than to bring this whole situation to a close. Unfortunately, we were dealing with unique circumstances. This guy, Jeremy, was already in a boatload of trouble for what happened at the bar, and by taking things into his own hands when it came to Daisy and the testimony she was set to give when it went to trial in a few months.
Over the last week and a half, I’d done some work on my end to talk with the Steel Ridge PD about what happened to Daisy, and they’d done me the courtesy of reaching out to the Birch Creek police.
I was given direct contact with the detective in Birch Creek who was working on the case, and he’d kept me abreast of any updates he could. Today’s update was not what I’d been hoping for.
“It seems he’s gone quiet,” I revealed.
“Quiet? What do you mean?”
I sucked in a deep breath, feeling reluctant to share the news. “They don’t know where he is.”
Daisy’s eyes widened. “How is that possible? He’s out on bond, isn’t he?”
