Page 72 of Accidental Baby Daddy

“Where have you been? What have you been up to?” she asked, sitting across from me as I sat down on the recliner.

Gillian sat quietly on the couch, not speaking.

“Gosh, there’s a couple of loaded questions,” I breathed, and before I knew it, I was telling my mother everything. I told her about Dick, about my runaway bride episode, about Oliver, about how he was helping me and how we’d started hooking up. Finally, I told her about my pregnancy.

“You’re... I’m going to be a grandmother?” she whispered, tears falling down her face.

“You are,” I confirmed, allowing myself to smile. Gillian sat with her arms crossed, seeming upset.

“So why have you just now reached out, Mom? Where’s Dad? What’s going on?”

My mother swallowed hard. “I’ve left your father,” she admitted.

I blinked, shocked. She’d always stood by Dad, even when he’d been super critical of me and even Gillian. He’d never been physically abusive, but words could hurt, too.

“When did this happen?” Gillian demanded to know.

“A few weeks ago.” Mom went quiet for a moment before speaking again. “I heard about Lexie being back in town, and I wanted to see her. I wanted to see both of you.”

“Why did you leave him?” Gillian asked.

She sighed. “There’s a lot that goes on in a marriage that the kids don’t know about,” she admitted, and I nodded, believing that was true. “But you both know how your father is. He seemed content to never see his girls again, and I couldn’t handle that. I love you both, and I’m sorry that I’ve been distant all these years.”

It sounded almost too good to be true, and I didn’t know if I could trust it.

“I’d love to throw you a baby shower. We should meet with Oliver, see how he feels about that,” my mother chirped, and I went pale.

“I haven’t told Oliver yet,” I admitted, and my mother’s blue eyes widened.

“You haven’t?”

“I’ve been on the fence about whether or not I would be staying in Wagontown,” I admitted. “I’ve been saving up to move away, start over.”

“I can understand that, but now that you’re pregnant…”

“I know,” I said quickly. “You’re right. I’ll tell him, but... just in my own time.”

“Of course, honey.”

Our mother stayed for a while longer, but Gillian never came around, staying cold toward her. When Mom left, I turned to Gillian, and she narrowed her eyes.

“Something’s up,” she said. “Why would she leave Dad after all these years? And why does she suddenly want to see us?”

“Maybe she’s just now realizing the error of her ways, Gilly. You never know.”

She snorted. “Seems suspicious, that’s all I’m saying.”

It was surprising, sure, but suspicious? It felt as ifGillian simply didn’t trust our parents, and honestly, I could understand the feeling.

“Are you ready to go?” Gillian asked, grabbing her keys, and I cursed. I’d nearly forgotten I had a shift at the bar.

I sighed as I walked to the car, rubbing my stomach. At least I’d stopped throwing up so much in the past couple of weeks. I felt like I could keep a lot more down, and that was good news for my two jobs.

I’d only missed two shifts from each job, and I knew that wasn’t much given everything that had happened. It was just that I hated ever calling out sick, for any reason. I had always been a hard and reliable worker.

Thankfully, Agnes and Oliver understood that I needed a couple of days off. This was my third shift at the bar since I took the time, and Oliver had barely surfaced the last few shifts I’d worked.

I had the feeling that he’d be around more tonight, though, because we were having a Mardi Gras-themed party, offering half-off drinks to anyone wearing beads, masks, or other Mardi Gras attire.

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