Page 50 of The Bridges I've Burned

So, that was what we did.

“I’m going to plead the Fifth,” she finally answered.

“You bitch!”

Her eyes were leaking with unshed tears from our giggling. “It’s why I ordered a matcha latte this morning at the coffee shop, too.”

I grimaced. “Gross. You know that shit tastes like grass, right?”

“Well, right now, that ‘grass’ is the most caffeine I’m allowed to consume, and even that makes Macon nervous. He’s overprotective on a normal day. Now? He’s freaking insane.”

I swallowed nervously. “So, how did this all happen? The baby, I mean. Was it planned?”

“No!” she answered with a laugh. “But it’s not unwelcome, if that’s what you mean.”

“That’s not at all what I meant,” I assured her. “I know you’ve always wanted kids.”

Her gaze met mine, and although she didn’t say anything, I knew we were both thinking of Daniel.

“I’m not sure how it happened, honestly,” she told me. I tilted my brow. “Okay, I mean, I know how it happens, obviously, but I don’t know how exactly it happened for us.”

“Explain,” I said, grabbing another bite of my long-forgotten PB&J. I needed something to do with my hands.

“I’m not sure if I ever told you that Macon and Kristy tried to have a baby for a long time.”

I could tell by the pitch in her voice that she did not enjoy talking about her fiancé’s cheating ex. It wasn’t as sore of a subject as it used to be now that Kristy had helped put her second husband, the former sheriff, behind bars.

But it didn’t erase the pain she’d caused Macon.

“Anyway, I guess after she got pregnant so quickly with Hayes, Macon kind of figured it was his fault they’d never conceived.”

That sounded like him. He tried to carry the blame for everything.

“So, you decided to, what? Forgo birth control because of it?” I was trying to figure out where she was going with this story.

“Not exactly,” she answered sheepishly. “But I might not have been as diligent as I should have been, believing that it might never happen for us.”

“Marin.” I tried to sound genuine in my scolding, but how could I? They were having a baby, and if there were two people more deserving, it was Marin and Macon.

My throat constricted.

“I’m sorry I left the party,” I said, my voice suddenly heavy with emotion. “I?—”

“No.” She held up a hand. “I should have told you. I worked up this whole gender reveal in my head and got so wrapped up in the surprise of it all that I forgot to stop and think how it might affect everyone. When the first sentence out of my dad’s mouth was a fearful, ‘Is she healthy?’” I knew I’d made a mistake.

My face softened. “He knows MS isn’t inherited.”

She nodded. “Yes, of course he knows. The rational side of him, that is. But sometimes, when you’re hit with something like that, the irrational thoughts are the ones you hear the loudest.”

I nodded, understanding more than she realized. “So, that’s why you showed up here, in the middle of your engagement party, willing to walk in on Zander and me?”

She grinned.

“Seriously, Marin. Did you really think I’d just run back here, emotional and distraught, and what? Use his dick as a coping mechanism?”

She snorted, her hand flying to her mouth as a laugh bubbled up her throat. “I mean, I wouldn’t blame you. God, those Green genes are really something else, aren’t they?”

Now, it was my turn to laugh. “That is your future brother-in-law!”

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