Page 12 of Dubious Secrets

Ryker moves closer to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I rest my head in the crook of his arm. I want to comment about how this feels like the beginning of the end, but I keep it to myself. We stand like that until Mary disappears, and he turns me to face the car.

“We still have a little time before the appointment. Do you want anything to eat?”

I roll my eyes as I settle into the passenger seat. “Ryker, I don’t need to eat constantly. Plus, we’re cutting it close already.”

He frowns, looking at me briefly before watching the traffic so he can pull away from the curb. “We’re not, and you barely eat as it is. I just want to make sure you get enough every day, and we have enough time to hit a drive thru.”

My chest warms at his consideration, but I sigh. “Thanks, I don’t mean to be rude. I just—I’m not starving myself or our baby.”

He reaches over and squeezes my thigh. “Stassie, I promise I don’t think that.”

I nod, watching out the window as we head to the doctors. The entire time he doesn’t move his hand off me, his thumb rubbing and forth, only letting go when we park and head into the lobby to wait to be called up for our appointment.

When I lie on the exam table waiting for the tech to come back in, I fidget with my hands on my stomach.

“Nervous?”

I look over at him. “Yeah, a little. I just hope everything is okay.”

He moves closer to me. “You’ve been worried about it?”

Blowing out a breath, I try to think about everything I’ve been reading the past few weeks. “Yes, no. I don’t know. It’s just a lot of waiting with nothing to confirm your fears, you know? Probably be easier when I can feel them moving or something, I hope.”

Ryker nods, his smile gentle and calming. “I should have guessed with the way you’ve been powering through those oils.”

I laugh. “Sorry, it helps me a lot.”

He shrugs. “I don’t mind it. Let me know if you need me to buy you more.”

Smiling, I nod. “Thanks. That means a lot. My parents always thought I was weird for using them, and maybe they’re right and it’s a whole placebo thing. But it helps me for now.”

“We all have our things. Things that make sense to us, and not others. Don’t feel bad about it, Stassie,” he says.

My eyebrows raise. “Oh yeah, what’s yours?” I mean to be teasing, but my voice comes out a little more sultry than I intended.

His cheeks flush pink, and the tech walks in before he can answer.

“Sorry about the wait. How are you doing today?” she asks, coming to sit down beside me.

“I’m good,” I say, relaxing as much as I can as she pushes up my shirt and squirts a bunch of cold gel on my skin.

“Awesome. Okay so we’re checking gestation age today. Do you have an estimated conception date?”

Ryker clears his throat and tells her.

She nods, watching her machine as she moves the doppler over my stomach.

Ryker stands near me, his fingers entwined with mine as we watch the large TV screen in front of us mirroring the ultrasound tech’s movements.

“There we go, mama,” she says with a smile. “There’s baby’s belly and…here’s their heartbeat.”

The fast thumps sound through the room and Ryker’s fingers tighten on mine. I look up to see tears shining in his eyes, and a smile pulls at my lips.

“I’m just going to grab a few more measurements, and then I’ll print out some photos for you guys, okay?”

I nod, watching on the screen as she moves the doppler over my stomach and clicks away on her machine every few seconds.

“Everything looking good?” Ryker asks after a few minutes of silence.

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