Page 69 of Theirs to Take

“It’s not like that,” Luke insisted. “I didn’t mean what I said earlier. I’m not sure how I’ll handle the news if you’re pregnant, Ruby. I just need to figure it out,” he said.

“Well, don’t take too long, Luke,” Ruby spat. “If I’m pregnant, you’ll only have about seven months to figure it out.” She pulled her arm free from his grasp and finished down the stairs. She was done discussing this. It was time for her to figure out her next move because, in her heart, she knew that she was going to have to come to grips with being a mother, and she was pretty sure that she was going to have to do it alone.

The doctor who saw her seemed to be nice; sympathetic even when Ruby basically told her the whole story behind her possible pregnancy. Of course, she left out the parts about the two of them being on the run and possibly having someone coming for them. That wasn’t something that she’d be able to share.

They had her pee on a pregnancy test and took some blood, just for good measure—the doctor’s words, not hers. She’d be fine just peeing on the stick, but apparently, they weren’t always conclusive. Luke stood in the corner of the room the entire time as if she had the damn plague, and she almost found the whole scene funny—but then again, none of this was funny.

When the nurse came in holding her pregnancy test with a paper towel and wearing a smile, she knew that she was going to get her answer without the help of the blood test. “I’m guessing that you’re about to tell me that I’m pregnant,” Ruby said.

“I am and you are,” the nurse said. Ruby felt the hot tears spilling down her face as she choked back her sob.

“Really?” she asked.

“Well, I hope that I’m not giving you unwanted news, honey,” the nurse said, “but, yes, you’re pregnant. The doctor would like to do a quick sonogram to check on the baby since you’ve been having so much morning sickness with the pregnancy.”

“Is something wrong with the baby?” Luke asked. It was the first thing he had said since they left the house.

“Not at all,” the nurse assured. “Doc just wants to check in on the little guy or girl. Give us a minute and I’ll be right back in with the machine.” Ruby nodded and swiped at her tears. She hated that she couldn’t seem to stop crying, but the waterworks didn’t seem to have an off switch.

“I’m sorry that this didn’t turn out the way you were hoping, Luke,” she sobbed. “But I’m not going to be sorry that I’m pregnant. It’s a miracle that it even happened, really. I won’t ever be sorry about any of it.”

“You shouldn’t be,” Luke said. He crossed the room to stand next to her and when he sat down in the chair next to her and pulled her hand into his own, that damn hope bubbled up to the surface again.

“I wish I could take back what I said earlier, Ruby. I was surprised by the idea of us having a baby, and I fucked it all up and said all of the wrong things. I’m sorry.”

“You did say all of the wrong things,” she agreed. “You said that you weren’t ready to be a father,” she reminded.

“That wasn’t the truth. I couldn’t see myself being a father—ever,” he admitted.

“Yeah—that’s so much better,” she mumbled.

“Let me finish,” he insisted. Ruby nodded and waited him out to go on. “I never saw myself with a wife and family—not until Imet you, Ruby. I never had a true steady girlfriend. Hell, you’re the only woman that I’ve been with for longer than a few dates.”

“What we’ve been doing isn’t necessarily dating,” she said.

“I know, but it counts,” he argued.

The nurse and the doctor reappeared in the tiny room and went over things like prenatal vitamins and follow-up visits. She found herself only half listening and nodding to the doctor’s instructions. When they finally did the sonogram, she held her breath waiting to hear the baby’s heartbeat and when the loud whooshing sound filled the room, she looked up to find Luke wiping away tears of his own as he watched the monitor and held her hand.

“You’re about three months along,” the doctor said. “Does that sound about right?”

“Yes,” Ruby agreed. “I was told that I couldn’t have children. Is the baby okay in there?” she asked.

The doctor smiled and nodded, “He or she looks to be just fine.”

“Can you tell the sex yet?” Luke asked.

“Not yet,” the doctors said, pointing to the image on the screen.

“Our baby,” Ruby whispered. Luke squeezed her hand into his own and smiled down at her, and for just a second, her whole world felt right.

“We plan on going back home soon,” Luke said to the doctor. “Can she have her follow-up appointments back there?”

“Of course,” the doctor said.

“We’re going back home?” she asked Luke.

“Yeah, but there are conditions. We can talk about all that later,” he promised.

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