Page 48 of Healing Bonds

“In an hour. Why don’t you call your husband? I’m sure Mr. Wilson will want to be a part of this, my child.”

“I’ll wait outside. I need to take a walk. He isn’t going to be as happy as the first time, I promise you.”

“He might surprise you.” The older woman smiled.

Walking out of the room, I followed her to the reception area, where she hugged me tightly before excusing herself to see another patient.

Stepping out into the hot, spring day, I was instantly suffocated by the immense heatwave we had been experiencing. Fighting back tears, I pulled out my phone and hit Ryan’s contact.

He answered quickly—he always did, no matter what he was doing.

“Ames?” His gentle tone shook my control, and the first tear rolled down my cheek.

“Oh, Ryan,” I whimpered.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Twelve years later, and his voice still set my blood on fire and made my heart pound a little faster.

“I’m pregnant,” I whispered into the phone, sitting down on a hot bench that burned through my jeans.

There was silence, and then, something shattered before he finally said something. “Well, this wasn’t planned.”

“Can you come to the doctor’s office?” I timidly asked. “I have an appointment for the first ultrasound in an hour.” I heard the rumble of his truck start through the phone and a sigh. He was coming. He wasn’t mad at me. We would take this in stride like everything else in our lives.

“I’ll be there in ten. I love you.”

I smiled, the tightness in my chest easing. “I love you, too.”

True to his word, he arrived ten minutes later. I hadn’t moved from my spot on the bench, just staring at the sky, trying to imagine what was going through his head and what we were going to do. Three kids were hard enough, and now, we would have four. We wouldn’t all fit in his truck or my car anymore. Fuck, this was a nightmare.

He came and sat next to me, dirty from working in the shop with his dad. He reached for my hand that was resting on my bouncing knee and held it tightly. “Valentine’s Day, huh?” He laughed, shaking his head, immediately knowing the cause for this little surprise.

I studied his handsome face, which had only gotten better with age. “I’m sorry,” I quickly apologized. “I should have?—”

He pulled me into his chest, wrapping his arms around me and pressing my face to his chest. I inhaled the familiar, comforting scent of his cologne and tried to calm my racing heart.

“This isn’t your fault.” He pressed his lips to the top of my head. “Don’t apologize for being pregnant, for giving me another child—another version of us. I love you, Amber, and after everything we’ve been through, this is God blessing us with another angel.”

“But four, Ryan?” I squeaked. “We’ll need new cars, a bigger house—everything is going to change.” I pulled away from his damp shirt that was now wet from my tears and stared into his blue eyes.

He smiled the same grin that he flashed me all those years ago when I met him for the first time. “It’s time for a new house anyway, and I know you’ve been hinting at that new SUV for a while now.” I blushed under his gaze.

So, he had noticed my subtle hints. I thought he was blind or ignorant. Nope. Turned out, he was just ignoring me.

He checked his watch before grabbing my hand and rising from bench, taking me with him. “Come on. It’s too hot outside for you and our little one.” He rested a hand on my stomach and leaned forward to kiss me, his lips soft on mine, always a gentleman.

The wait for my ultrasound appointment was short, and once we were settled into the room again, I held my breath as they began the ultrasound.

“Oh, boy, you two are going to have a handful on your hands.” The doctor laughed just as Ryan and I heard the sound of two heartbeats fill the room. “Looks like you’re having twins again!”

“Twins?!” I shouted, my eyes colliding with Ryan’s. This wasn’t fucking happening—not again. We barely survived the first time, and we were young then.

“Congratulations!” our doctor cheered.

Two weeks later, we still hadn’t told a single soul the news. We’d put our house on the market and spent the last two weekends searching for something bigger and with more land,which seemed impossible if we wanted to remain close to Ryan’s family.

Celine and Ace were hosting a barbeque today, and we decided it was the perfect time to finally tell everyone the good news.

Two weeks had given me time to come to terms with it, to understand the blessing in disguise, and to become excited at the thought of two new babies. I only prayed that we would be graced with little girls. I was already outnumbered with two boys to one little girl.

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