Page 85 of Embracing Trust

“Don’t hold supper. Late practice,” he says as he stuffs the last bite of a sandwich into his mouth.

“Finley Jacob,” Kate admonishes as he whirls past us on the way to his car.

“Sorry,” Finn calls as he bounces down the porch steps.

“Oh my goodness…Hello. Can I—"

A female voice calls out from inside the house. “Kate, your water is boiling.”

Kate turns from me and rushes toward the kitchen.

My stomach flutters. I cautiously peek into the foyer and step inside.

Kate beckons me from the kitchen. “I’m sorry, Julia. Come on in.”

I approach the kitchen and stop in the doorway. A woman about my age with beautiful long dark hair and brown eyes sits at the kitchen table. She smiles.

The table is covered with bridal magazines, several of them open to pages with wedding gowns.

She must be a girlfriend to one of Ryan’s brothers.

Kate smiles. “I’m sorry about all of that. Come on in and join us,” she says as she motions me into the kitchen. “Julia, this is Aubree. And Aubree, this is Julia.”

“Hello,” the young woman says as she continues to thumb through the bridal magazine in front of her. “Ryan mentioned you.”

“Hi. Nice to meet you,” I bite my lip. I take a few steps into the kitchen.

Ryan’s mentioned me?

Kate sits down at the table with Aubree and picks up one of the magazines.

“Aubree and I are looking at wedding dresses. She and Ryan are engaged. Do you ever talk to Ryan anymore?” Kate says as she holds up a magazine for Aubree to see. “Did he mention that?”

I squeeze my eyes closed and open them again. I hold my arms close to my churning stomach and let out a breath.

I can barely speak. “Engaged?”

“We’re so excited,” Aubree adds and bounces in her chair.

The room is closing in. I cover my mouth with my palm. My heart pounds as the sound clangs like symbols in my ears.

Aubree stands from her chair and pulls her shirt taut across her protruding stomach.

“Things aren’t always in the right order, but I’m going to be a grandma,” Kate says with a smile.

Aubree affectionately rubs the baby bump.

My legs go numb. My body shuts down. I lean against the kitchen doorway and my stomach gurgles. I’m weak. I’m dizzy.

The front door slams behind me and heavy footsteps clomp through the foyer.

“Are you okay?” Aubree asks with a smile. “You don’t look so good.”

“What the hell?” Ryan shouts.

I turn to Ryan. His face is red, his lips flat. I turn back to Kate and Aubree. Kate kneads her hands together on the table and Aubree smiles as she continues to stand and hold her shirt tight across that pregnant belly.

My heart falls from my chest and shatters into a million tiny pieces all over the floor. I’m going to be sick. I push past Ryan and run to my car.

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