AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Shane smiled wryly. “Probably. I’m just worried about Gabby. She’s been unusually quiet lately, and she sounded a bit down in the dumps when I talked to her before I came over here.”
Logan’s heart squeezed. He’d been craving news of Gabby, but now he felt uncertain about what to do with it. If she wasn’t happy, it was none of his business, but try telling that to the mushy organ in his chest that wanted to fix whatever was bothering her.
“Was she upset?” he asked.
Shane shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe. It’s hard to tell, which is unusual in itself because she usually shares anything and everything that goes through her head.”
“Do you know why?” He sensed Kyle glance over, his curiosity piqued. Logan didn’t usually ask many questions when the others talked about their families, so digging for details was out of character for him.
“That’s the thing.” Shane sipped from his beer bottle and set it down. “She says it’s just about being single, but I think there’s more going on. Maybe she’s missing her ex, or he might have tried to get in touch. I just wish she’d let me in.”
Logan scowled. “From what little you’ve told us, he sounds like a cheating asshole, and she’s better off without him.”
Not that they knew much. The entire Walker family had been close-mouthed about the situation. They were protective of their own. Especially after what had happened with Shane’s ex.
“He is, and she is,” Shane replied. “But sometimes the heart wants what it wants.”
Logan didn’t like the idea of Gabby missing her douchebag ex, but he had no business getting invested in her love life so he told himself to cut it out. He shouldn’t be feeling anything toward her. Not concern. Not even the frustration he’d experienced when he realized she’d been avoiding him as much as he’d been avoiding her. Yes, it was childish, but he’d wanted her to catch his gaze across the room or drop by The Den just to see him. Now, hearing that she wasn’t doing well, he wondered whether he should check up on her. Maybe stop by her place to say hi.
And take her to bed?his subconscious asked skeptically.
He sighed. Yeah, he should leave her alone.
4
On the firstMonday of April, Gabby could barely convince herself to get out of bed. Even Thomas’s begging to be fed didn’t do the job. It was only when her bladder was full to bursting that she realized she had no choice. She dragged herself to the bathroom and answered the call of nature, then fed the cats and dogs. She didn’t have enough oomph to go outside and put out alfalfa for the goats and grain for Princess, the beautiful palomino mare. Instead, she headed for the kitchen and started making scrambled eggs.
Unfortunately, the smell turned her stomach. She rushed to the toilet, fell to her knees, and retched until her gut felt hollow. Sweaty and wrung out, she wiped her mouth clean. Then, with difficulty, she got back to her feet, washed her mouth out, splashed her face, and returned to the kitchen. She threw the eggs out the window and washed the frying pan, ignoring the churn of her stomach as it threatened another mutiny.
Okay, no eggs. Perhaps she’d try a piece of toast. That usually went down all right when she had a tummy bug. She fixed the toast and flopped onto the sofa while she ate, warding off Mouse, who wanted to curl up on her belly. Mouse was the smallest of the cats and usually Gabby would love to cuddle with her, but she didn’t need any pressure on her stomach right now.
When she’d managed to get the toast down, she called her boss and said she wouldn’t be in. She hated to call in sick. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d had the flu, but something was clearly not right with her today. Although, to be fair, she hadn’t felt great for a few days. It had just come to a head this morning.
Knowing that she needed to take care of the other animals, she tugged on a robe and left the house. It only took a few moments to put alfalfa down for the goats, check they had fresh water and that each of them looked healthy. She sighed, already exhausted, and trudged around the house to the barn. It was dim inside, the mornings getting darker now that it was halfway through autumn. She opened the large door at the end of the building and went to Princess’s stall.
“Hey, beautiful.” She stroked the mare’s neck and slipped her an apple. “You ready to get some sunshine?”
Princess snickered, nudged Gabby with her nose, and munched the apple.
Gabby smiled and rubbed her affectionately. “You want breakfast?”
Princess followed her out of the stall and waited while Gabby brought her a flake of hay and some oats. When she was eating back in her stall, Gabby quietly returned to the house. Thelma was waiting for her at the front door and followed on her heels as she went to the bathroom. Perhaps she’d been working too hard. A day off and a nice spa routine might put everything right.
Her skin felt disgusting, so she opened the medicine cabinet, looking for one of her clay facial masks. Instead, her eyes fell on the box of tampons on the top shelf. Her stomach dropped. She stared at them. When was the last time she’d had her period? It must have been a while because she could remember expecting it weeks ago but putting the lateness down to the stress of the breakup, selling her house and buying this one, the move, her new job, and everything else she had going on. Now, she mentally counted backward and swore.
Two and a half months.
Either something was majorly wrong, or she was pregnant.
Complicated emotions twisted inside her. Fear, and excitement. Despite the bad timing and the sad state of her love life, she’d always wanted a baby. Confusion. Sure, she wasn’t on the pill, but she never had unprotected sex. In fact, theonlysex she’d had in months was with Logan.
Oh, shit. What if she was pregnant, and Logan was the father? He’d be furious. He’d made it very clear that he didn’t want children or a relationship. If she was pregnant, that meant she’d taken away his right to choose, because if there was a baby growing inside her—and it was a big if—there was no way she’d give it up.
Slow down.
She tried to think it through. What were her symptoms? She hadn’t had her period for months. She’d been feeling tired for weeks. Now she was nauseous and the smell of eggs had made her throw up. It was certainly possible that those things could add up to pregnancy.
She hadn’t used an oral contraceptive or any contraceptive device other than condoms for a couple of years because she hadn’t wanted them to impact her ability to have a baby once she’d found a partner and decided to go for it. Still, condoms were effective. Although… how old had that condom in her purse been? She squeezed her eyes shut as she did the mental arithmetic. It had been there for months. Maybe even a year. It could have gotten damaged during that time.
