Page 49 of Found By You

Don’t say it, my past warns. No good can come from it.

It’s too soon.

“…should shower,” I say instead. Pussy.

There’s a small crease between her brow as she watches me—knows me. I’ve never been good with hiding my emotions like my brothers—Butch and Beau are the experts in that department.

She nods, pulling me in for another lingering kiss before I stand and force my legs to move away from her while she gets ready for bed.

The pounding heat and clouding steam from the shower aid to block out the war going on inside my head. What I feel—real versus lust. What’s coincidence over what’s meant to be…

Fate, I stubbornly recall.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I’m starting to believe it.

Fifteen.

Maci

“I think you’ve popped, Maci,” Alison announces, staring at my belly.

“Did you?” Cassidy gasps, rushing out of the back room.

I laugh, wiping down the front counter of Cup O’ Joe—my new part-time job. After an unwelcome interview with Rick’s Gym—who found my current ‘situation’ unmanageable in the long run, Duke suggested I contact Winton’s Resort on the mountain. It proved to be a night-and-day experience. The manager at Winton’s was eager to jump on my offer of private, couple, and group yoga classes—not rude in the slightest when I told them I was pregnant.

And the classes have been going great: Every Thursday and Friday are reserved for regular group classes, while Saturdays are for couples. Three, forty-five-minute classes with a fifteen-minute break in between to start—and they’re already asking to add two more to the schedule. That’s how fast the classes are filling up.

It’s a dream come true.

My string of bad luck seems to have finally ended. Fingers crossed.

I’ve been living with Duke at the rental cabin for two weeks, and I still haven’t heard a peep about any available apartments in Whitetail. I even went out of my price range and still nothing.

Cassidy says it’s because they’re all being used as vacation rentals for the holiday season, that after the new year, she thinks I’ll get a call.

Not that I’m overly eager to leave the cabin. Living with Duke has been…another dream. We don’t fight, we don’t argue, and every day he goes out of his way to make me feel special—whether it’s a text or call just to see how I’m feeling, bringing me lunch or my pre-packed snacks to work for me because I forgot them.

He’s the kind of man women only read about in books.

The only downside—if you can call it that—is he hasn’t let me pay him anything for staying. Instead, he’s been asking me for menial favors, like helping him pick out flooring for the house build, cabinets, countertops, and even exterior siding. Don’t get me wrong, we have a blast doing it—joking and making fun of carpet samples that should be named after different shades of dog poop.

We’ve spent every day and every night together. And I fear my feelings for Duke are starting to take on a whole new meaning. Because these last two and a half weeks with him have been nothing short of perfect.

Being thirteen weeks pregnant, and officially in my second trimester, it’s hard to say if it’s the hormones or that every time Duke rubs my belly I want to cry, jump on him, run away, and proclaim my undying love for him all at once.

“Duke said the same thing,” I say to Alison regarding my growing bump.

Cassidy stands beside me, pulling her matching Cup O’ Joe work shirt tight over her belly. “What do you think, Al?” she asks. “Who’s bigger? I’ll be ten weeks tomorrow.”

Alison grabs her phone and starts snapping pictures. “Show me those babies!” We laugh, proceeding to push our tiny bumps together.

When Duke and I went to dinner at Butch and Cassidy’s a few weeks ago, Duke thought we’d be leaving early to avoid a fight. But it turned into a nice evening. It was clear afterwards that the stubborn brothers’ relationship is on the mend.

“When did you say your appointment is with Dr. Sanderson?” Cassidy asks, smiling at the pictures Alison just sent her.

“I have to be there by 11:30 AM,” I reply, checking the time. “I should probably get going actually.”

The bell above the door chimes, and Duke strolls in.

---