Page 15 of Agony of Our Regret

I closed my eyes. Seeing his pain, how much he missed his son was too much.

Then it all clicked. That was why he pressed.

He wanted to check on me, but if there was even a slim chance of this being Noah’s child, it would be a reason for him to come back. Not just to me, but to his family.

“I’m sorry, Wes.”

He gave me a sad smile. “I understand. As much as the family and I want him to come home, you’re right that it needs to be on his terms. He won’t be happy in the long run if it isn’t.”

I let out a breath as a boulder lifted from my chest.

Chris stepped up to our side. “We’re happy for you guys. No matter what happens, you three will always be family.”

He nodded to Gavin and Luca before squeezing my shoulder and leaving with Wes behind him.

Once the door shut, Tessa threw her arms around me. “I can’t believe it.”

“Mom, you were the one who figured it out,” Gavin pointed out.

She pulled back and stared down at my stomach. “I had a hunch. Wes picking up on it too may have gotten me a little too excited.” She frowned. “I shouldn’t have pushed you to tell us. I’m sorry.”

How could I hold a grudge when they were coming from a place of love and concern? I had more support than I realized, and there would likely come a time when I needed them.

FOUR

Two days passedwith no one mentioning anything pregnancy-related to me at the office. The hope I had that we’d settle into a new normal grew, especially when Daniel called me into his office to ask me to partner with Gwen on a new project.

Since I was already on the school committee, he wanted us to help relocate the teens who would attend, acting as the main contacts to help them plan, pack, and get any information they needed.

“Would you prefer them to text or email?” Gwen asked from across the table in a small conference room.

“Is there a way to say only text with an emergency?” As much as I wanted to be available to the students, they shouldn’t expect us to answer immediately in the middle of the night.

This new assignment was the perfect distraction, not too time consuming and providing immediate impact I could see. Working at headquarters felt too distant most of the time. Issues from our Council’s area would come in. We’d meet, discuss, and come up with potential solutions to send back to the members. We met only once a month outside the office to hear from people directly.

Planning the schools rebuild was all remote as well. Neither of us would travel to New Mexico. The local team reported back to us, and if anything needed more attention, Bruce or Daniel would go.

“So far, they’ve stuck to emails, so we can continue that. Maybe as the time for them to leave gets closer, we can offer them our numbers for more urgent matters,” she suggested.

I nodded. “That’s two months for us to put together a FAQ sheet and other resources. They would only need to text or call for emergencies.”

“Hopefully.” She smirked as she typed.

We wrote the content for a student web portal with all the information they needed and a way for them to meet and communicate with other students before school started.

The few teens I’d spoken with already made me feel both old and young. I could relate to them since I wasn’t that far removed from the exact thing they faced, but at the same time, they treated me like an authority figure. Like an adult.

At twenty-one, I technically was. It just didn’t feel like it. Even now that I was pregnant.

But internalizing that fact was a struggle.

“You know, depending on how this goes, it might become a standard even when the threat from the AS is over.” Gwen peered over her laptop. “We could be a part of the establishment of the first Society academy.”

I hadn’t thought much beyond the immediate need. Or, more correctly, I didn’t think beyond the existing threat. I wanted a more permanent solution for the students so they didn’t have to endure what we did, but if this was successful, I didn’t see why it would ever close.

“You’re right. It could be the equivalent of Drexel for our people.”

She grinned. “Maybe we can convince them to name the auditorium or gym after us.”

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