Page 71 of Found By You

“Have you picked any girl names yet?” Alison asks curiously. “Any ideas?”

I shrug.

“Oh, come on,” Cassidy whines. “I know you’ve got ideas. I’ve always loved the name Renee. Butch even said he liked it if we ever have a girl.”

“That’s nice,” I say, my phone dinging with a text on the side counter.

Duke: What time do you get out of work?

Me: Half an hour.

Duke: I’m at the house. Rhett brought over some paint samples. You mind swinging by on your way home to take a look?

I frown at the screen. He thinks he’s being slick, but I know what he’s doing.

Me: I have to stop at the pharmacy to pick up more prenatal vitamins, then I can swing by if you want.

Duke: I’ll see ya in a bit. Drive safe.

“Oh, boy. I know that look.” Cassidy laughs. “What’d Duke do now?”

I sigh. “Nothing, he just… He won’t stop with this whole ‘move into the new house with me’ thing. And honestly…he’s starting to get a little aggressive about it.”

Alison’s brow furrows. “Aggressive, really?”

“That’s not like Duke,” Cassidy says in concern.

“I know.” My frown only deepens. “He doesn’t understand why I think it’s too soon.”

“But you live together now?” Alison reasons. “Why can’t you just move to the new house together? I thought everything was going well.”

“It is. It’s just… What if it flops after the baby comes?” I throw my hands in the air in dismay. “Babies bring a lot of new things to the table: stress, sleepless nights, financial aspects, schedule rearranging. Not to mention the strain it can put on a relationship.”

“Have you talked to Duke about all this?” Cassidy asks.

“Of course, we have. All he says is, ‘We’re rock solid, baby, don’t worry about it,’” I say in my best Duke impression. Alison and Cassidy laugh. “But I am worried. Our relationship has been amazing so far. I don’t want to break my lease, move in with him, have the baby, bring her home, then everything changes, and we break up. And where will I be? Rushing to find a place to go with a newborn at the last minute.”

“Duke would never kick you and the baby out, Maci,” Cass says sternly.

“I know. That’s the problem. What if he ends up miserable, but won’t dump me because he wouldn’t want to put us out? I mean, I hate to say it, I really, really do, but…”

“It’s not his baby,” Alison says, and I cringe.

“Alison,” Cassidy gasps.

I blow out a shaky breath. “No, she’s right, it’s not. My daughter isn’t his responsibility, no matter how he sees it. It’d be irresponsible of me to expect Duke to keep us around out of the goodness of his heart for god knows how long until I was to find another place to live. I can’t do that to him—to me. The cabin is a good space for now. It’ll work until the end of my lease, then I’ll find something bigger after that. Or, if we make it through the rough stuff in the beginning with the baby, maybe I’ll move in with him… I don’t know.”

Cassidy puts her hands up as if to stop my mind from spiraling any deeper—too late. “This whole conversation is meaningless because you and Duke aren’t breaking up. Ever. Duke loves you too much to let your relationship flop, Maci, seriously. This baby is his in his heart, and that’s all that matters.”

“He hasn’t even said it back, Cass,” I say, grabbing up my purse and sweater. I punch out for the day and walk around the counter. “I have to go. I’ll see you guys later.”

“Maci,” she calls out to me, and I can hear the upset in her voice—but it’s the truth.

I have to be smart about this. I can’t put myself in the kind of place I was last year with Evan. Relying on him as my only form of support—emotionally, mentally, physically. The only thing I had control of was that I could support myself financially, and here, I can do that—by not moving into his house right away.

I need to do this on my own as best I can to preserve our relationship.

A while later I’m turning onto the long drive at Duke’s property. The house looks great. Hunter green siding, brown roofing, stunning natural wood framed windows, and the gorgeous mahogany front door to match the covered wood beam wraparound porch.

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