Page 12 of Trouble Comes in Threes

“What if I want more?”

I paused. “I’m sure Jed is open to adopting again.”

She bit her bottom lip. “What if I don’t want to adopt?”

“Oh, honey.” She’d talked to multiple doctors about having a baby, but most had told her she had too much scarring, and that if she got pregnant, the chances of her losing the baby were high.

“Rose,” she said, giving me a watery smile. “I’m pregnant.”

Chapter Four

I stared at her in shock.

She chuckled, but it sounded strained. “If you don’t close your mouth, a bug might fly in.”

I shut my mouth and squeezed her hand. “How far along are you?”

“I’m not sure. I missed my period last month, but they’ve been spotty lately. I took the test this morning, and it popped up positive right away.”

“But you haven’t been feeling sick like the last time…” I let my words trail off. The last time was when she’d miscarried twins over four years ago. One had been an ectopic pregnancy, and she’d lost both babies.

“I know, but after I lost the twins, the doctor said I might have been so sick last time because I had double the hormones.”

I nodded, scared to get excited for her until I knew all the facts. “What did Jed say?”

Her face fell. “I told him, and he said it was impossible. I showed him the stick, and he walked out the door and left for work.”

“Wait. He just left?”

“Yep.”

I stared at her in shock again, and she placed a finger under my chin, closing my mouth. When I regained my senses, I said, “That’s not like Jed.”

“I know, but he’s definitely not happy.”

“He’s just in shock, Neely Kate. Give him a moment to get used to the idea.”

“Is that how Joe reacted when you told him about Liam?”

She knew darn good and well that it wasn’t. “You can’t compare the two,” I insisted. “We were trying to get pregnant. This is a surprise.”

“Jed doesn’t think it’s a good surprise.” Tears filled her eyes. “When Joe found out about Liam, he picked you up and spun you around. You told me yourself.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “I wanted that too.”

“He’ll come around, NK. Just give him a minute.”

She shook her head, more tears spilling out. “I’ll always remember his reaction. He’s spoiled it.”

I leaned forward, pulling her into a hug, her chin resting on my right shoulder, and held her tight. I understood her disappointment. I could tell her that I’d felt the same way when I’d told James I was pregnant with Hope. Sure, it had been unplanned, and it was a shock, but I hadn’t expected him to be so angry. And I hadn’t expected him to strongly insist I get an abortion. I’d hoped he’d changed his mind and soften to the idea, but if anything, he’d only become more adamant that I couldn’t keep the baby.

After Hope was born and she was kidnapped weeks later, I found out that while James had never wanted our daughter to be born, he would have moved heaven and earth to protect her. He’d given up his immunity deal with the government to make sure she and I were safe, and he’d also insisted that I deny his part in her DNA so no one would ever threaten her because of him. He’d wanted Joe to be her father. After some time, I’d realized that was the greatest gift he could have given her. Otherwise, she might be dealing with the same situation Ashley was dealing with now—only so much worse. Because James “Skeeter” Malcolm wasn’t the lackey Mike Beauregard had been.

James truly was the bad, bad man.

“Are you having a tea party or digging out the base for the retaining wall?” Bruce Wayne called over with a laugh. Obviously, he couldn’t see Neely Kate’s tears.

Neely Kate pulled out of my embrace and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, smearing dirt under her right eye. “This is supposed to be a happy thing,” she said with a sad smile.

“Then we’ll celebrate with lunch,” I said, reaching over and rubbing the dirt from her cheek with the back of my hand. “What would you like to have?”

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