Page 13 of Unexpected Love

“Daddy, he doesn’t want this baby. I wish you guys would’ve waited before you called him. If he shows up, it’ll be out of guilt, and I don’t want that.”

“Shit, I’m sorry. We didn’t even think about that. We are just screwing this all up. Maybe I’ll call Stacy and have her run interference.”

I nod my head because that sounds like a great idea, and I tell my dad that. He excuses himself to make the call when my pops comes back in followed by a man in a lab coat. “Chloe, this is Dr. Swanson.”

“Hi, Chloe. Can you tell me about your symptoms and when they started?”

He helps me raise the head of the bed. I want to be sitting up. “Certain things have made me a little queasy, like chicken, but not constantly. The constant nausea started around two weeks ago and has progressively gotten worse. The only food I’ve been able to tolerate is peanut butter and crackers. Even then I can only tolerate a couple bites.”

“We’re going to prescribe something for you for the nausea, but I want you to try taking some ginger and thiamine first. I’ll write out how much to take and when. If those pills don’t work, then you’ll need to start Zofran. If it gets any worse with the meds, you’ll need to follow up with your doctor because you may need IV fluids, but I do want you following up with her anyway.” He scribbles some things down and then looks back up at me. “Your IV’s about empty—I’ll get your discharge papers and send the nurse to unhook you and let you go home. I want you to take the next couple of days easy, and let’s hope the ginger and thiamine work. You take care.”

He takes his leave, and I sit up more in bed and swing my legs over the side. My pops sits down next to me. “I think you should come home with us. Let us take care of you.”

“Dad, no, I’m seriously okay. I don’t need to be disrupting your lives. I’ll be fine. You guys live five minutes from my house, so I can always call you if I need you. Plus, who would take care of my babies?” Sure, they’ve watched my cats before, but they don’t give them cuddles like I do.

“Fine, but after we get you settled at home, your dad and I will get your medicine for you. We’ll also get your car from the jewelry store,” Pops says before moving out of the way so the nurse can unhook my IV and give me my discharge papers and prescriptions.

Dad insists on carrying me out of the hospital while Pops gets their SUV and pulls it up in front of the doors. Pops shakes his head at Dad. “Ian, her legs aren’t broken. She can walk.”

He just rolls his eyes. “I know, but our baby is sick, and I don’t want her walking, so just let me do it.”

Dad sits me in the front seat and buckles me in. “Daddy, I can do it myself.”

“I know, but I have to make up for being a complete dick. My baby’s having a baby. I’m going to be his or her favorite.” He gives Pops a look.

I hear Pops whisper something under his breath about being the favorite. “Seriously?” I say. “You do realize you’ll be my child’s only grandparents, right? You can share the duties of being the favorites.”

They both get quiet, and I choose to ignore it. I know why, too—it’s because they probably think I should let Joe’s parents know so that they can decide to be involved with their grandchild or not, but what if it’s not my place to tell them? What if they hate me? What if Tay Tay and Dustin hate me and take Joe’s side and then I lose them?

We pull up in front of my house, and I see Carter’s Jeep is in the driveway. Before I can get out of the SUV, my dad already has the door open and is trying to pick me up, but I manage to shoo him away. “Daddy, I’m fine. Seriously…please let me walk.”

As soon as my feet touch the ground, they both have an arm around me. It’s overkill, but I’ll let it go for now. The front door opens, and my brother is standing there. “Always trying to be the center of attention, huh?”

Ragnar and Lagertha both move in front of Carter and greet me with matching meows. “Hi, my precious babies. Mommy is okay.”

“Oh, brother,” I hear Dad groan from behind me, but as soon as they step in behind me, they both curse. That’s when I realize someone is standing in the middle of my living room.

“Joe? What are you doing here?”

He walks toward me hesitantly. “Your brother got ahold of me and told me you were sick. I wanted to come check on you myself.”

I give my brother a look that I hope conveys that I’m not too happy with him. Pops gets in front of me, but I try to move back in front. “Boy, you’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here. I know you told her to leave when she told you about the baby.”

“Dad, that’s enough. Please let us talk, okay? Can you guys go get my prescriptions filled? You also said you’d get my car. I’ll be fine, and we’re just going to talk.” Finally, I get them to go and turn back around to face Joe.

God, why does he have to look good? He’s wearing a t-shirt that is molded to his lean, muscular frame and jeans that cling to his firm thighs. A baseball cap sits on his head, creating a shadow over his blue eyes.

“Thanks for coming, and as you can see, I’m okay.” I walk into the kitchen and fill up my kettle with water before setting it on the stove. My eyes stay on it even when I feel Joe enter the room. His presence is so much larger than life that he fills any room that he enters.

I continue to ignore him while I wait for the water to boil. “Listen, I know I hurt you, and I’m sorry. You just caught me by surprise, and I didn’t know what to do or say.” I stay facing the stove, and I hear him sigh. “I want to be involved in our child’s life. I want to know him or her.”

“Okay, thanks. I’ll keep you posted.”

“You’ll keep me posted? Well, gee, thanks.” He sounds pissed, and of course I feel bad.

“What else do you want me to say, Joe? Your first reaction was to tell me to leave.” My stomach picks this moment to rebel against me and this time violently. I make it to the sink just in time, but because I’ve barely eaten, it’s mostly bile. I dry heave a few times and feel Joe’s hand on my back, gently rubbing it.

The tea kettle whistles, and I stand up to go to it, but Joe stops me. “I’ll take care of that.” He moves away, and I turn my head to see him shut my stove off and move the kettle.

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