Page 71 of A Deceitful Pact

“You good?” he checks, still trying to hide his hurt.

“I feel fine, honestly. And I’ve never believed in ghosts,” I assure him.

“Sure.” Sawyer fakes me a smile while the cashier bags up the lion and the carrier.

* * *

It takes me some time, but I manage to convince Sawyer that I don’t need a hospital. He does, however, insist on driving my patroller home and taking me straight to see Dr. West. It’s against regulations to let a civilian drive a state-owned vehicle, but I let it go because I’m exhausted.

“Sawyer. Sheriff Hale.” Tabitha, the receptionist, greets us both as we take a seat in the doctor’s waiting room. I’m sure that everyone in town has had Eleanor’s confirmation that Sawyer is the father of my baby, so it’s only natural that folk will expect us to be a couple.

At the moment, it’s hard to deny that we are one. He comes home to me every night when he’s closed the bar. We spend all our free time together, not to mention the mind-blowing sex we have. Even I have to admit it’s gonna be weird when the baby gets here and all this is over.

“Sheriff Hale.” Dr. West calls us inside, and when I sit down, Sawyer takes the chair beside me and leans his arm over the back of mine.

“Sawyer said on the phone that you lost consciousness again.” Dr. West doesn’t look impressed by the fact I’m wearing my uniform.

“It wasn’t that bad, we were in the baby store and I thought I saw something out the window that couldn’t have been there.” I feel Sawyer’s hand tense around mine. “I just blacked out for a few seconds.” I play it down, because I don’t want this to get blown out of proportion.

“Well, as it turns out, I got a call back from the hospital earlier this afternoon, and I can explain the dizzy spells and fainting.” He taps his paperwork on his desk.

“Your iron levels are low,” he reveals.

“What does that mean?” Sawyer leans forward in his chair with concern.

“It means I need more iron,” I tell him sarcastically, and when neither he nor Dr. West laughs, I worry that this might be more serious than I thought.

“Of course, you’re right, you do need more iron. I can prescribe you some supplements, and there are certain foods you can eat which are rich in iro–”

“Make me a list,” Sawyer interrupts him, pushing the notepad that’s resting on the desk in front of him, and Dr. West nods dutifully as he picks up a pen and gets to work.

“I also suggest you take my advice seriously and consider taking some time off the job, or at least cutting your hours until you go on official maternity leave.” He rips the top sheet off the pad and hands it straight to Sawyer. Then, after scribbling something on a different pad, he passes it to me. “That’s your supplement prescription. I know Mark stocks them over at the drugstore,” he assures me

“Thanks, Dr. West.” I smile gratefully, understanding why the women in Clearwater Creek get sick so often. He’s nowhere near as hot as Sawyer, but he’s handsome and assertive. The way he manages to keep himself so private despite living in this town is miraculous.

I sit and wait in the passenger seat of the patrol car while Sawyer heads to the drug store to pick up my prescription. I know after what the doctor said he’s gonna to be coming down on me even harder about resting up, and as I watch him cross the street to the grocery store to get some food from Dr. West’s list, I smile to myself and feel real lucky.

“You okay in there?” I stroke my hand over my belly when I feel her kicking. “I’m sorry I’ve been so preoccupied. I want you to know that you are the most important thing in the world to me.” My eyes fill up with tears. “I’m gonna do everything that Dr. West and your daddy tell me to from now on,” I promise, quickly drying my eyes before Sawyer gets back to the car. He hands the grocery bag across to me and pauses before he starts the engine.

“Riley, I don’t wanna fight, but you have to listen to what the doc said. Lily is safe, you can’t do anything to help those other women right now. When people are high on drugs and adrenaline, it’s amazing what they can do. Lily could have been running for miles before she got picked up. I’ve spoken to Jamie and he’s assured me he’s gonna do everything he can to figure this out, and trust me, if there's a man who can, it’s him. Leave everything to us, and focus on her,” he begs, as his huge hand spreads out over my stomach.

“Okay,” I agree without protest.

“You have to think of your baby, and you're getting far too pregnant to be—what did you say?” He stops mid-protest when he realizes I’ve agreed with him.

“I said, okay.” I look back at him and watch his mouth drop open. “And I thought we were both in agreement that she’sourbaby now.” I don’t know why he used the wordsyourbaby during his little speech. Perhaps it was because he was expecting me to fight and thought it was what I wanted to hear, but it turns out that it isn’t. Hearing him say that puts dread inside me, and I’m confused as hell over what my mind is doing.

“Ourbaby,” he corrects himself with a wide, happy grin on his face. Then, after shaking his head and laughing to himself, he starts the engine to take us home.

SAWYER

FIVE WEEKS LATER

“You could at least let me paint around the window sill.” Riley rubs her hand across her big, round belly as she rocks herself in the chair I got from the antique store in the city.

“I feel useless,” she pouts.

“What do you mean ‘useless’? You picked out the colour, and you're doin’ a great job of lookin’ cute in those dungarees.”

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