Page 68 of Theirs to Take

“You know, a girly doctor,” she said. He knew exactly what an OBGYN was, but his question was—why was she asking if they’d have one on staff?

“Is everything all right—you know, down there?” he asked.

Ruby giggled and shook her head at him. “You’ve said pussy a million times to me over the past four months, but you’re going with calling it, ‘Down there’ now?”

“Can you just answer the question, Ruby?” he grumbled.

“Everything is fine, down there,” she said. “But I’m pretty sure that I’m getting sick every morning because I’m pregnant.” She whispered that last part and Luke nearly dropped her cup of tea on the floor. How had that happened? Sure, he hadn’t used protection, mainly because he didn’t bring condoms with him. But he was sure that Ruby was on the pill—wasn’t she?

“Pregnant? But you were on the pill, right?” he asked.

“No,” she breathed. “I’ve never had any need to be on the pill. I just never really thought that I’d be able to get pregnant, so I didn’t push the subject of protection.”

“Why wouldn’t you be able to get pregnant?” he asked.

“When I was a teenager, my mother took me to her girly doctor for my first official checkup. Honestly, I think she was just making sure that I was still a virgin, and I was, but I had some other issues that needed to be checked.”

“Other issues?” he asked. He was feeling a little lightheaded and needed to sit down. Luke handed her the tea and toast thathe had made for her, and she thanked him as he slid into the chair next to her.

“Yeah, I was having really bad periods, and a lot of pain associated with them every month. After they ran a few tests, they found out that I had a bunch of things wrong with me—cysts on my ovaries, and endometriosis, which is the main reason why the doctor told me that it would be nearly impossible to get pregnant. I guess he was wrong.” She took a bite of her toast and sipped her tea, watching him as if he was supposed to say something to her. Maybe he was, but he wasn’t sure what the hell he could say about any of this.

“Why do you think you’re pregnant now?” he asked. “Maybe you just caught a stomach bug.”

“From where?” she asked. “You hardly let me out of this house and you’re fine, so I didn’t catch it from you. Plus, I haven’t had a period in just over three months now, so I’m assuming that I’m pregnant.”

“How can you be so casual about this, Ruby?” he almost shouted. “A baby?”

She shrugged, “For so many years, I had resigned myself to the fact that I’d never have a baby. I thought that I’d never be a mother and well, I have a chance to be that now and I guess, I’m okay with it. I want to be a mom, and if I’m pregnant, then, so be it.”

“So be it?” he asked. “How can you say that? If you’re going to be a mom, then I’m going to be a dad and I’m not sure that I’m ready for that, Ruby.” He had never pictured himself with kids. Hell, he’d never picture himself with one woman, yet here he was, sitting next to the woman who had captured his heart, even if she didn’t know it yet, and he was fucking everything up.

“Then, I’ll raise the baby on my own. I’m not looking for you to make me any promises here, Luke. I’m just looking for a ride into town to the clinic.” She stood and grabbed her plate andmug, tossing them into the kitchen sink with a clatter as she made her way upstairs to the bedroom that they shared. When the door slammed shut, he almost jumped out of his seat. It was the first time that he’d ever seen Ruby that angry, and he was the cause of it. He hated that he had given her the impression that if she was pregnant, he wouldn’t be a part of their child’s life. Of course, he’d want that because he wanted Ruby—he just hadn’t gotten around to telling her that part yet. He was a chicken, and now, he’d gone and fucked everything up with the one woman he could see himself spending the rest of his life with. Luke had ruined everything, and he wasn’t sure that he’d be able to fix it now.

Ruby

Ruby locked herself in the bathroom and cried until she was sure that she had no more tears left. She had to focus on the fact that she was going to finally get answers to the many questions that had popped into her head over the past couple of weeks.

When she first started throwing up every morning, she never imagined that she could possibly be pregnant. She thought for sure that she had come down with a stomach bug, but then, she started doing some math, realizing that she hadn’t had a period in months, and came up with the possibility of being pregnant.

At first, it terrified her to realize that she might be carrying Luke’s baby. She thought for so long that it was simply impossible, but the more that she allowed herself to dream about it as a possibility, the more she liked the idea. Ruby thought that Luke would make a wonderful father, but now, she worried that she had pegged him all wrong.

At least he had agreed to run her to town to the local clinic. She needed confirmation that she wasn’t losing her mind. She needed to hear from a doctor that she was pregnant, and then, she’d find a way to go home. It was time for her to take back herlife. Mr. McTavish had been kind enough to hold her job for her, but sooner or later, he’d have to fill her position. She wanted to go home. Knowing that Luke wasn’t ready to be a father had her fantasy of the two of them raising this baby together vanish, just as quickly as it had formed. She was a fool for thinking that Luke might be happy about the baby. Why would he be? They had only been together for four months and now, she was telling him that he was going to be a father. Of course, he wasn’t happy about her supposed news.

After she showered and got dressed, she found Luke in the spare bathroom. He had showered and dressed in clean clothes and when he saw her looking at him in the hallway, she wanted to run and hide, but changing her mind now wasn’t an option. The damage was already done and if she was pregnant, she’d have to find out sooner or later.

“Ready,” she said. “Thank you for agreeing to drive me to town.” She walked downstairs to wait for him at the front door.

Luke caught up with her about halfway down the stairs and grabbed her arm. “Wait,” he insisted. “I don’t want things to be this way, Ruby.”

“I know that I’ve sprung a lot on you, Luke. I’m sure that my puking my brains out never registered with you that I could be pregnant. I know it was a shock, but if I’m pregnant, I want to know for sure. After this visit, we can sit down and come up with a way that I can go back to my apartment and my job. I’ll need to have a way to pay for my and my baby’s medical care, and my job won’t hold forever.”

“It’s not safe,” he said.

“I’ll figure that out as I go,” she said, “but, I can’t wait to stay here with someone who doesn’t want me.”

“I never said that I don’t want you, Ruby,” he argued.

“Right, but you don’t want to be a father and if I’m going to have this baby, and you won’t want him or her, then you won’t want me.”

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