Page 139 of Against All Odds

Dr. Cowles nods. “You are.”

A girl. A little girl with potentially Violet’s amber eyes and dark-brown hair. One that I’m going to have to chase boys away from because she’ll be so beautiful, so smart, and so much freaking trouble.

Violet looks to me, and I lean down to kiss her.

“God, I love you so much,” I say, my voice thick with emotion.

The last week has been pretty fucking perfect, and this is the cherry on top. We were told yesterday that the judge signed the paperwork for Dylan’s paternal rights, Violet agreed to move in with me instead of us going back and forth each morning, and now this.

“I love you too.” Her hand rests on my cheek before she returns her attention to the doctor. “The baby is healthy, right? You said everything looks okay?”

Dr. Cowles smiles. “Yes, the heart looks good, as does everything else we can see. You’re progressing along really well, and I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.”

Violet lets out a long sigh. “Okay. Thank you. I’m just so relieved.”

I am too. Violet has been under a ridiculous amount of stress, and hopefully this will ease her mind and allow her to relax. Things in our lives are settling, and I honestly didn’t think she could endure another setback.

The doctor wipes her stomach and moves the blanket back to cover her. “You’re welcome. I’ll see you in a few weeks, okay?”

Violet nods, and once the doctor leaves the room, she takes my face in her hands. “We’re having a little girl.”

“Yes, I’m in a world of trouble, aren’t I?”

She laughs and nods. “I think you are.”

“There will be boys.”

“Oh yeah?”

I sigh. “There are always boys, and they want the girls.”

Violet snorts a laugh. “I seem to remember you being one of those boys.”

“Exactly.”

Yeah, I’m so screwed. If they’re anything like me, I’m going to have to invest in some kind of repellant, or maybe I’ll just follow her around. I can retire and make sure no one approaches her. That sounds reasonable.

“I think I did okay with the boy I found,” Violet says, bringing her lips to mine. “You turned into an amazing man.”

“After a lot of stupid,” I say before kissing her again. “It’s the stupid I worry about.”

Violet shakes her head. “We have a few years before we have to worry about any of that.”

“If she looks anything like you, I’m going to be swatting them away like flies.”

I remember back when she was young, I wasn’t the only boy who liked her. Miles had a crush on her too. I could see it in his eyes. Then there was that other kid who ended up moving here when we were sixteen. He wanted her too.

Violet laughs and gets off the table. “You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m not wrong, though.”

She gets dressed and we head out. On the ride back to Ember Falls, she calls her mother, which goes exactly as I thought it would—very ... odd. Instead of overwhelming joy about having a granddaughter, she only said she was happy and then proceeded to talk about the new find they had yesterday with so much enthusiasm.

It made me sad for Violet.

“I promise, my mother will be over the moon,” I say once they hang up, taking her hand to comfort her.

“I know she will.”

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