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Oh, shit.

“How old are you, Mona?”

She’s got a grown woman’s tits. Fuck.

“Seventeen. Almost.” She grins and wriggles closer to me. My arms can’t help but hold her tight. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-one.”

I do the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I drop my arms, but as I do, I grab her hand. It’s dark. She could trip and hurt herself.

“Does this mean you’re not gonna kiss me?” Her voice is genuinely sad, not bratty in the least.

“I’ll kiss you in a year or so.” I lead her back the fire. “Is your ride the girl you’ve been sitting next to?”

“Abby? Yeah.”

“She’s drunk. I’ll drive you both home.”

She’s quiet a minute. “Will you drop me home last?” she finally asks.

“That’s what I was planning on.”

We talked in the cab of my truck ‘til the sun came up. She was right. Her parents didn’t notice she was hanging out with a strange man in their driveway.

I didn’t want to let her go that morning.

I’ve never wanted to let her go.

But she left me when she was grieving the babies. She wandered off in the dark, and I couldn’t find her. I was stupid and weak, and I fucked up. I almost ruined everything forever.

But here she is. Soft and squirming underneath me. Taking my cock, crying out my name. Still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

I can’t screw this up again.

She didn’t go to the pharmacy.

She’s trusting me again, and she has less of a reason now than when we were at that bonfire. I need to be strong.

And I’m fucking terrified.

CHAPTER 9

MONA

Miss Janice twists the ring on her finger as I read to her from Proverbs. I keep both hands on the book, resisting the constant urge to rest my hand on my belly. I missed my period, and there’s a weird taste in my mouth all the time. I’m pregnant. The test I took before I came to work confirmed it.

I haven’t told John yet. And he hasn’t been around long enough to know my cycle.

For the past three days, since I began to suspect, I’ve been terrified twenty-four seven.

The floor is quiet. It’s midnight, and most of the residents are asleep. Nursing homes are never totally silent, but there’s less bustle from food services and OT and visitors. Every time a door shuts or someone coughs, I startle.

Miss Janice doesn’t seem to notice. Her insomnia is acting up, so I’m keeping her company for a few minutes before I leave. I’m on second shift this week. I switched with Lorraine so she can deal with some issues with her kid’s school.

John’s at a clubhouse party. It’s fine. We talked about it. There was a poker run today with his old club, Smoke and Steel, and a bonfire afterward with a local band.

John’s going to call me after my shift, and he’ll come home if things get too wild. It’s fine. I’m okay with it. We talked about it at length. In the past few weeks, I’ve gone to the clubhouse for some daytime events, and I’ve gone for some rides with his brothers and their old ladies. Dizzy and Fay-Lee. Pig Iron and Deb. They’re cool. Not my usual type of person, but interesting.

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