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She tells me how she figured out she was pregnant...how she was too freaked out to call. How she waited too long, and then it felt weird.
She's been struggling to make ends meet, she says. She sold all her paintings and shestillcan't afford rent.
"Can you stay here in Oregon?" I ask when she finishes her story.
Piper bites her lip. "I don't want to impose."
"You're not imposing."
"I'm..." she pauses. "Caleb hates me, Jesse."
"Too bad," I shrug. "He'll learn to accept it. You're having my kid."
"And your mom is sick."
"Shewassick," I correct her. "And she's getting better already. And honestly...she'll be thrilled."
I rake my hand through my hair, my anxiety suddenly skyrocketing.
"She was just asking me when I was going to settle down this afternoon."
Piper raises her eyebrows. "Are you inviting me to move in with you?"
I lean back in my chair and cross my arms. "I mean...that's why you're here, right?"
Piper bites her lip and goes silent. Her plate is empty, but she picks up her fork and taps it against the porcelain anyway.
She's nervous.
I am too.
"I'm keeping it," she says. "No matter what. And you...I wanted you to know, and I wanted to see you. But..."
My stomach drops. "But what?"
"I don't know if this is forever."
I huff out a breath, shaking my head and rubbing my jaw. "Are you serious?"
"When it comes to the baby, I'm always serious," she says quietly. "But you...Jesse, you left so quickly and then you didn't call. You didn't write. I don't know how you..."
She stops.
Inhales sharply.
"Do you--"
"Do I what?" I ask when she doesn't continue.
What the hell is wrong with her?
"Do you want to make a deal?" she asks.
I swallow hard. "Depends on what it entails."
She twirls her fork in her fingers, chewing on her lip. "I'll stay until the baby is born," she says. "I need help anyway. And if I can convince your family to accept me and I can find a place in Fern Hollow...I'll stay. And if not, I'll at least move to Portland so you can be close to our kid. If you want, of course--"
"I want," I cut her off. "Piper, I know I'm not like...the most responsible guy. But family is everything to me."
