Page 19 of Where We Call Home

When I told them I was pregnant, they were thrilled. I assumed they’d want to include me in activities I could enjoy, be overbearing and involved every step of the way. Maybe I was naive to think that.

Right now, I felt like I was shouting into a void only I could hear, my expectations too high.

"Forget this," I muttered, locking my phone while walking out of the doctor’s office. My pulse pounded in my ears, my thoughts a chaotic tangle. If I replied now, I’d say something I’d regret—something I couldn’t take back.

Outside, I leaned against my car, the cool metal grounding me. My phone was already in my hand. Without thinking too much, I tapped Rhodes’s name.

Why him? I didn’t know.

The line rang, each trill tightening the knot in my chest.

“Hello?” His deep voice answered, slightly out of breath.

“Am I bothering you?” I asked, the words tumbling out too fast. Under my breath, I muttered, “This is why I text.”

Rhodes chuckled, a warm, rumbling sound that somehow made my heart ache and ease all at once. “Nah. Just tossing a hay bale into the truck. What’s up?”

I hesitated, kicking a pebble on the pavement. “Nothing. Just... finished a doctor’s appointment.”

“Everything okay with the baby?” he asked, his tone dipping into genuine concern.

“Oh, yeah,” I said quickly, trying to keep it light. “She’s measuring almost eight inches already.”

There was a beat of silence before he asked, laughter in his voice, “Is that big?”

“Kind of, but nothing I can’t handle,” I said, then immediately slapped a hand to my forehead. Did that sound as suggestive as I thought it did?

Rhodes let the pause hang, just long enough to make me squirm. “Are you free Friday?” I blurted, desperate to change the subject.

“For you? Always. What time?”

“How’s five?” I asked, cringing at how casual I tried to sound while my stomach flipped like a damn pancake.

“Works for me. Any requests? Besides the pasta, of course.”

I thought for a moment, closing my eyes and letting myself tap into the craving. “What about a dark chocolate cake and ice cream?”

He scoffed, the sound airy, teasing, and entirely too attractive. “Deal. What kind of ice cream? Let me guess, I’ll make all your chocolate dreams come true.”

I laughed, nodding like an idiot at my phone, as if he could see me.

Something about the way he said it, low and easy, made my chest tighten in a way that wasn’t unpleasant. His soft promise seeped through my jagged thoughts, smoothing the edges. I exhaled, the weight I’d been carrying lifted just a little.

“Yes.” I exhaled, the word coming out like a release of pent up tension.

Somehow, Rhodes had reached into my chaotic mind and plucked out exactly what I was thinking, as if he understood me on a level no one else did. It was a familiar connection I couldn’t quite grasp but didn’t want to let go of.

“Perfect. I’ll see you Friday.”

“Wait, can I bring anything?” The words rushed out, a little too eager. I winced at myself. Truthfully, I just wanted to keep him on the line a moment longer.

“Just yourself.”

His response was simple, but it hit me harder than it should have. My throat went dry, and I swallowed audibly.

“Well, I’ll, uh, see you Friday?” The sentence hung awkwardly in the air, more like a question than a statement. Why did I say it like that? We’d literally just agreed on this.

I groaned quietly, slumping into the driver’s seat. My head thunked against the headrest, my frustration bubbling over.

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