Page 81 of No Going Back
“I don’t think you want me to answer that question honestly.” Amelie wiggled around, angling her body in a slightly different position. “I’ll just say pregnancy was pretty easy up until about a week ago, not considering the little scare we had.” She blew out a breath as she settled into her new spot. “Now it seems like it’s getting harder every day.”
“I have not found pregnancy to be easy at all.” Dianna struggled not to gag at the memory of how very sick she’d been in the earliest days of her pregnancy. Even now there were times when her stomach threatened to revolt, usually coming completely out of the blue. “So I’m not sure I’ll be thrilled when I hit what you’re calling the hard part.”
Troy and Griffin came past, carrying the hutch she inherited from her grandmother, moving carefully as they took slow steps down the hall toward the spot it would occupy in the world’s most beautiful kitchen. Griffin shot her a quick wink before disappearing from sight.
“Ugh.” Amelie rolled her eyes. “I think he just got you pregnant again.”
“God I hope not.” Dianna adjusted the stretchy fabric of the leggings sitting a little tighter on her belly than they used to. “I’m having a hard enough time stomaching the one I’m dealing with now.”
“That’s what you girls get for messing with those handsome men.” Muriel gave one of the movers a little wave as he passed. “Speaking of handsome men. You should’ve provided popcorn for the gun show. I could’ve sold tickets.”
Dianna laughed as Amelie rolled her eyes. “It’s chaotic enough here as it is. The last thing we need is the Bridge Bitches getting in their way.”
She’d gotten to know Amelie and her grandmother a little better once Griffin realized he could be different things to different people and no one would feel slighted or left out. He no longer believed he had to keep certain parts of his life separate. And he no longer felt like one wrong move would doom everything.
At least not usually.
He still had days of doubt. Days of worry. Days of uncertainty. But now on those days he talked to her about it. She shared her own uncertainties and worries and doubts, letting Griffin know he wasn’t alone.
And he did the same for her, because even now, so many years after all that happened, she still struggled with the lingering effects of the damage that had been done.
She probably always would.
It was a difficult realization to come to, but some things simply never went away. Some traumas stayed with you forever, changing you, lingering in the corners of your mind and waiting for a moment of weakness. But even on those bad days, she still woke up and chose to be the person she wanted to be instead of what everyone else tried to burden her with.
And Griffin was slowly learning to do the same.
Griffin came by again, this time stopping to give her a kiss, his hand lingering on her belly, before he went next door with Troy to collect more of her belongings.
Once everything was finally in place and the movers were all packed up and gone, she and Amelie and Muriel relocated to the dining room, clearing off the table just as their pizza arrived.
It was the kind of day she was still getting used to having. One filled with a different kind of family than she’d ever been a part of. The kind of family where everyone was kind and supportive. Uplifting and nonjudgmental.
Also the kind of family where kids were older than their aunts and uncles, but Griffin and Troy assured her it wasn’t as big of a deal as she was making it.
Griffin sat down beside her as the pizza was being passed around, hauling his chair close to hers as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders and splayed one hand across her slightly fuller belly. “How are you feeling?” It was a question they asked each other often. One they’d both promised to always answer honestly.
“A little sad, but really happy at the same time.” She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I really love my little house, but I also really love this one.”
Griffin’s expression turned serious. “I’m still happy to connect them. I’ll build a hallway across the yard so fast you won’t even see it happen.”
Dianna smiled because she knew it was true. Griffin wasn’t lying when he said he liked to figure shit out. He’d managed to renovate the giant house she now called home in what felt like the blink of an eye. He’d made leaps and bounds with the help of his therapist, learning to open up in ways she never expected.
Because at the end of the day, Griffin still had the same singular goal that brought him to Moss Creek. He just wanted to be a good dad. And now he had another opportunity to prove how capable of it he was.
“No hallway.” Dianna rested her hand on his leg, the diamond he put on it two days after Janie dragged her to the hospital winking in the light. “I think Evelyn will take amazing care of it.”
She’d struggled with the thought of giving up her little house. It still represented the first independence she found after leaving Martin. So when Amelie’s best friend mentioned she was looking for a place to rent, it seemed like it was meant to be.
“I think so too.” Griffin leaned into her ear. “And now Officer Staks can ask her out to dinner.”
“Awe.” Dianna pushed out her lower lip. “Don’t give Cooper a hard time.”
Griffin grinned, nosing along her hair. “It’s a whole lot easier to feel bad for him now that I’m the one who put a ring on your finger.” He pressed a kiss to the spot just beneath her earlobe. “And, I can’t hate him too much because he has excellent taste.”
“Stop bothering her.” Muriel tossed a napkin at Griffin, the wadded-up ball bouncing off his shoulder before dropping to the hardwood floor. “It’s a good thing she can’t get any more pregnant than she already is.”
“Ignore her.” Troy slid a piece of pizza across the table. “She says the same thing to me every day.”
