AllFreeNovel
Share Us
20
Clarissa Rust told herself not to hope too hard. At the same time, she wondered why she couldn’t hope to be pregnant. So she steadied her fingers, ripped open the package containing three pregnancy tests, and did what she needed to do.
She left the stick on the bathroom counter and headed down the hall toward the kitchen. In the cabins out on this part of Sweet Water Falls Farm, it only took four steps to get from the bathroom to the kitchen, and Spencer stepped into the entryway as if he’d been waiting for her.
Which, of course, he had.
“Well?” he asked, and Clarissa saw the bright ray of hope in his eyes. She carried it in her soul.
“It takes a few minutes,” she said.
Her husband gathered her into his arms, a place she willingly went. “No matter what, it’ll be okay,” he said.
“I know,” Clarissa said. She was six days late, though, and she couldn’t help her feelings as they continued to climb through her. For a woman as regular as she was, she’d known the very first day she should’ve started her period and hadn’t.
She hadn’t said anything to Spencer until day four, and it had taken another couple of days to get to town to buy a test. Last time, she’d only bought one, as if she and Spencer wouldn’t have to try for longer than one month to get pregnant.
This time, she’d smartly bought a multi-pack of pregnancy tests, but a writhing, desperate sense of discomfort inside her really didn’t want to have to use the others.
“Even if you’re not pregnant,” Spence said. “That just means we get to keep trying.” He leaned away and smoothed his hands down the back of her head, grinning at her.
She smiled back at him. “I don’t think it’ll be negative for a lack of trying.”
“It’s been a couple of months,” he said. “Heck, we’ve only been married for four.”
Three and a half, but Clarissa wasn’t going to correct him. She nodded, because she knew when they’d said I-do. She also knew she was ready to be a mother. She knew he wanted to have a baby and be a father.
Something inside her flipped, and then flipped again, because Clarissa wanted Mama to be a grandmother before she passed away. Yes, she had Ford already, but she had more room in her heart for more grandbabies.
Selfishly, Clarissa wanted a little girl, so she could have a generational picture of the baby, her, and Mama.
“How long do we wait?” Spencer asked, and Clarissa turned to face the hallway with him.
“We can probably go look,” she said, taking his hand. “I want you to check first.”
He took a breath, squeezed her hand, and said, “All right.” They went down the hall together, and Clarissa really wanted everything they did to be side-by-side, just as they were right now.
He crowded into the bathroom doorway in front of her. “Two lines is pregnant,” she said.
“I remember,” he said, committing himself by taking the first step inside. She stayed in the hallway and pressed her eyes closed.
She didn’t dare pray, because God knew she wanted a baby. So much in her life was so perfect that she felt bad asking for more.
“There’s two lines,” Spencer said, and Clarissa’s eyes shot open. Her husband turned around, the test in his hand and his eyes as wide as double moons. He whooped, threw his free hand into the air, and yelled, “There’s two lines!”
He laughed as he grabbed onto her and swung her around. Her feet hit the door, and he quickly set her down. A smile had started in her soul, but she didn’t dare let it show on her face yet. “Let me see,” she said.
He handed her the pregnancy test, and Clarissa stared at it. One bright pink line sat on the right-hand side, just like last time. This time, a lighter, fainter pink line showed on the left. Barely there, but definitely there.
She grinned as tears filled her eyes. Her chin wobbled as she looked up and at Spencer. “There’s two lines.”
His joy streamed from him, and Clarissa finally let go of the happiness and hope she’d been clenching with such a tight fist. Tears flowed down her face as she tipped up to kiss her husband.
His touch was intimate, whole, and real, and Clarissa felt loved and cherished and so complete with him. She didn’t have to ask him if he was happy—it came through in his eyes, his voice, his touch.
“I can’t wait to tell Nate,” he said.
“What?” Clarissa asked. “No, Spence, we can’t tell anyone.”
