Page 16 of A Little Thankful

Forrest closed his eyes and opened his mouth, but I could see his hand shaking, so I reached out for it, and he held on tight.

She swabbed, then said, “All done.”

His eyes popped open. “Wait. I didn’t even feel that. Are you sure you got an adequate sample?”

“You want me to go back in? Because I can be a lot more aggressive if that would make you feel better.”

Forrest stepped back, trying to get away from her. “No. No. If you say we’re good, then we’re good.”

“Okay. Next potential daddy.”

She sat on the far end of the sofa. Her sky-blue bag open on the coffee table, with the swabs and tubes lying next to it. We’d cleaned up the pizza boxes, and empty beer bottles before she showed up. I knew she would want a place to set things up so I asked Mace to open a folding chair next to the sofa, so the guys didn’t have to stand. She was quite a bit shorter than they were, only around five feet, four inches to their six feet and over. Hunter was the tallest and had to be at least six-three or four.

“Hey Hunter,” she said when he dutifully took a seat next to her. “How’s it going?”

“Well, I don’t know yet.” He leaned forward, clasping his hands together on his knees.

“How do you want it to go?” She put him completely on the spot.

“You know I love kids,” he said, without hesitation, and my heart melted. Of all the guys, I think my feelings for Hunter were the strongest. It had taken a lot of will power for me not to call him, and now that I saw him again, I hoped things might work out between us.

But I knew better than to get my hopes up. The idea of being a father was much different than the reality of it.

She glanced over at me for a moment, then back to Hunter. “Then I hope this whole thing works out for you.”

“Thanks,” he said.

She swabbed him, slipped it in a tube, labeled it, then looked over at Mace who was already seated in the chair.

“Time for you to take a breath,” she said, as she took the sample. “You know you work too hard. This might be exactly what you need to slow down.”

“Also, might cause me to work harder, depending on how this goes.”

“Now, you know you can’t be doing that. You need to work smarter, not harder.”

“A wise woman,” I said, thinking how I needed to apply more of that to my own life.

“She’s absolutely right,” Forrest agreed. “Sometimes when I overdo it, I feel sick.”

“Time to back off,” Dr. Charles said. “Your body is giving you a warning shot. Take it, and act accordingly. Okay, Mom, your turn.”

I took the chair, and opened my mouth for the swab.

Painless.

“Now, where’s that baby of yours? I can’t wait to meet the little doll.”

“She’s in the main house. Do you want me to take you over?” I asked her, wanting to stay with the guys, and find out what was up with Mace.

“I know my way around this place. No need. And I’m sure your mom will be more than happy to show me the way to Autumn’s room. But, does she know why I’m here?”

“Shit! No.”

“Maybe we should take care of that first, then your folks can… well… I’m only the doctor.”

“Should we wait here?” Forrest wanted to know, looking like he might be more comfortable if he didn’t have to face my family just yet.

I gave it some thought, then I said, “I’d rather you came with me for emotional support.”

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