Page 81 of Found By You

“You think I want to do this without him, Cass?” I say. “I don’t want to do this with anyone but him. I love him with all my heart. But he lied to me. He should’ve told me Rachel was pregnant when she died. Do you have any idea how our relationship looks now? Me, the baby, living together since day one. All of it.”

Cassidy shakes her head. “I do know. And you have every right to be upset with him, but you have to understand.” Her voice lowers. “No one knew she was pregnant until after she was gone. Duke only ever told Butch and his parents.”

“All right. I think that’s enough pregnant smackdown for one day,” Butch grumbles, gently ushering her back while eyeing the few shocked customers watching on.

It’s a miracle someone doesn’t have their phone out recording.

Cassidy swats his hand away. “I’m not done,” she declares. “What are you so afraid of? Duke was ready to give you the world, Maci. The whole world. And you do this to him?”

I start to cry, because…she’s right. And I know it, too.

“Grandma Judy is a horrid old hag. She can’t stand to see anyone happy, so she preys on sensitive topics and situations to get her rocks off,” she announces. “Judy only found out because she eavesdropped on a private conversation between Duke and his mother. He was going to tell you. You know he would never lie to you; he loves you so much, Maci. The man is devastated.”

“I love him, too,” I sniffle, taking the napkin Butch hands me.

Cassidy waddles around the counter, engulfing me in a hug. I hug her back as best we can with our large bellies pressed against each other. “He needs you, Maci. Probably more than you’ll ever know. And you have to know you’re not some twisted replacement family he chose five years later.”

I pain a laugh. “I know, it’s just—”

“No,” she says, stopping me when she swipes the tears from my cheeks. “You and Duke belong together. You know it, I know it, Butch knows it.” Her fiancé grunts from behind her. “Everyone in this Podunk town knows it. And as horrible as this might sound… I think if Rachel were here, she would know it, too.”

I nod vigorously, blowing out a shaky breath as I peer out the front bay windows of the coffee shop, but Duke’s truck isn’t there. “Where is he?” I ask, looking to Butch.

He pulls out his phone. “Wherever the hell he is, I’m sure we can get him here.”

“I told you she just needed a swift kick in the ass, honey.” Cassidy smiles at Butch who just shakes his head and smirks.

An intense pain grips me.

I hiss, clutching my belly with one hand and holding the counter with the other. My back tenses as a dampness forms between my legs.

Oh, my— Did I just…pee myself?

Cassidy rests a gentle hand on my back. “Maci? What’s— Oh my god, your water broke!”

I wince as another real contraction hits me. “No.” I stare at the wet crotch of my leggings. “She can’t. It’s too soon. I’m not ready,” I say, but a wave of pain hits me, and my knees buckle.

“Butch,” Cassidy yelps, and he’s racing around the counter.

“Everyone out,” Peggy shouts. “We’re closed. Out, out—Go.” She rushes to usher people out the door with their coffees in hand.

I clutch my belly while Butch holds me upright. “Breathe, Maci,” he tells me. Cassidy takes his phone and keys, scurrying ahead of us to hold the door.

“I need Duke,” I cry.

“I’m trying,” Cassidy says, her phone pressed to her ear. “Shit. He’s not answering…”

I can’t do this without him.

Twenty-Four.

Duke

“Fuck,” I roar, whipping the wrench across the garage. It hits the wall with an echoing clang. I stalk out the open garage door, and I head to the house— my house that was supposed to be ours. Maci and me.

Why didn’t I tell her?

She had every right to know. And I kept it from her.

---