Page 53 of If Only You Hurt

“I guess it does. My parents aren’t here yet. How was the train ride?”

“Oh, easy. I started a new book, and it felt like no time passed, and we were already in the city.” She begins to pull on her scarf while Rick makes his way inside and greets me with a quick hug.

“Why don’t we grab a quick snack while we wait for Laney’s parents. They should be here shortly, right Lane?” Grant asks.

“Yeah. She said her Uber was close when she last texted.” Grant’s mom and Rick went to Becca’s place to see the twins real quickly, dropping off their bags.

“Wonderful. I spoke to your mom earlier, and she assured me you’re both okay, so my curiosity is piqued as to why we were summoned,” Grace says as she grabs some coffee from the Nespresso machine.

“You weren’t summoned, Mom. We simply wanted everyone together. It’s been a while.” Grant is horrible at lying, and this is a true example of that.

“Right, because the few weeks since the holidays feel like a lifetime ago. Plus, that week you just spent at my house really wasn’t a lot of bonding time, right, Son?” Grace deadpans, knowing her son is full of crap.

Rick laughs, knowing we are up to something, yet I doubt a pregnancy is on their radars.

We sit at the kitchen table, the house quiet as Ellie and the kids are out—Tyler with his girlfriend and her girls at a birthday party. Ellie will be back shortly after she drops them off. Hopefully, by the time she returns, we will have filled the parents in on everything we recently found out.

Chatting about Grant’s next trip for work, which he will be leaving for in a few days despite him trying to back out of it, we hear about all the photographs he’s planning to take on his next adventure. Pulling out his phone, he’s sharing photos of the resort where he’s staying, explaining where he’ll be and how far he’ll be from the locations he needs to photograph.

Grant was able to postpone his departure date, but I didn’t let him fully back out of his commitment to this project. He’s been waiting forever to work with this company and showcase his work for them, so it’s an opportunity I couldn’t allow him to step away from. Luckily, after I explained I was fine here with my sister and his, he finally relented and will go for the needed days to get his work done.

Grant’s in a discussion about the cuisine he heard about at a local restaurant he’ll be near when the front door opens, and my mother calls out for us.

I head to the front and find both my parents removing their layers of clothes and putting their bags by the door. Their trip here will be for a few days, then they’re heading out to Florida to see some friends who moved there recently. My mom said she’s ready for some warm weather because the Nebraska winter has been harsh this year.

“My Laney, sweetie. How are you?” My mom hugs me and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. The moment I feel her arms around me, I close my eyes and soak in her love. Something about my mother’s embrace brings a calm to my nerves.

“Hey, quit hogging my daughter. I need to say hi too.” My dad practically pushes his way through, this being a part of their regular banter when they see either of their daughters.

“Oh, hush, Kirk. You’ll get time with her. Let me say my hellos, and you can have your time with her.” She smiles; my parents never lose that playful side with one another.

Once my dad gives me a huge hug, lifting me off the ground like he did when I was still a little girl, we make our way into the kitchen. The moment everyone greets one another, it dawns on me that the time has come, and we have to tell them our big news.

Grant must sense my anxiety and comes over to pull a chair out for me to sit. He sits next to me and puts his palm on my thigh, a quick squeeze indicating he’s here for me and we’ll be okay. At least, that’s how I’m interpreting his physical touch at the moment.

Grant clears his throat, taking the lead for me as I feel like I’ve lost my voice all of a sudden.

“Thanks for coming over on such short notice, everyone. Laney and I appreciate it.”

At those words, my mom takes a huge intake of breath and looks over at Grace, both of their smiles sneaking across their faces.

I hear one of them whisper, “Here we go,” and they grab onto one another’s hand over the table, then bring their gazes back to us.

I internally roll my eyes. Since we were in diapers, these two have been waiting for this day. I guess we’ll be giving them more than us dating—we’re giving them a grandchild too.

I hear Grant chuckle, probably having the same train of thought. “As I was saying, we appreciate you being here. Laney and I have some news.” He pauses, and I can feel the crimson wave of color splashing across my cheeks.

“I’M PREGNANT!” I yell.

I can see Grant’s head whip in my direction. Yeah, I sort of went off-script just now. The nerves got the best of me. I look over at him apologetically as I know we hadn’t planned for it to come out that way, but I couldn’t take the way everyone was holding their breath. We had planned on easing them into the news, first sharing that we were dating and then moving toward the pregnancy announcement. I was adamant I needed to ease them into news, yet I caved so quickly.

The moment the words are out, I hear the scrape of the chairs against the wood flooring, and both mothers are jumping up and down, screaming. I hear a lot of, “OH MY GOD! ARE YOU SERIOUS? A BABY?” being thrown out and echoing off the kitchen walls.

My father, the carefree, lovable guy I’m used to seeing, is looking at Grant with an expression I can’t read. Oh no, he’s mad. That’s all I can think of.

“Kirk, sweetie, we’re going to be grandparents again! Isn’t that amazing?” My mother can’t contain her excitement.

“It’s definitely something, Jana, that’s for sure.” His gaze is more like a glare at Grant right now, and I’m not sure how to react. I am thirty years old, and I think I can make my own decisions and take my life in whatever direction I find fit. This can’t be that surprising.

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