Page 21 of The Awakening
“I forgive you.” My words were quiet, and I wasn’t sure I meant them.
“You don’t sound overly enthused that I want to be there.”
“Gavin, it’s not that. I know you’re busy on the ranch and it changes more than just your day to come with me.” I shrugged and looked out the window.
“So, you’re worried about the ranch running smoothly?”
“No.” I huffed.
“Ellie, I want to be there for you and this baby. Things aren’t normal, I get it but you deserve all the support I can give you.” His hand tightened around mine.
“Okay. We’ll do this together.” I smiled softly at him and breathed a sigh of relief.
The rest of the drive was quiet, and I was a bundle of nerves walking into the clinic. The anatomy scan was worrying me, and Gavin couldn’t sit still. “Would you quit bouncing around? You’re making me seasick, and we’re hours from the ocean.”
“I’m excited. Sue me.”
“Ellie Morton,” the nurse called from the desk. All eyes turned to us as we stood and followed the woman down the hall.
“Right in there. Unbutton your pants and slide them below your hips. Hop up on the bed, and the tech will be right with you,” she said. She’d barely made it inside the room before she turned around and left, closing the door behind her.
I stared at Gavin, the chaos of our delivery to the ultrasound room ratcheting up my anxiety.
“Well, I guess I could do the honors if you want,” he teased as he reached for me “This isn’t exactly where I thought I would finally get you out of your pants, but I won’t complain.”
Slapping his hand away from the button of my jeans, I shook my head. His eyes were dancing, and despite the stress of the day, his mischievous ways had me wanting to burst out laughing.
Lying back on the exam table, I pulled the blanket up to cover myself, but Gavin pulled it down to expose my swollen abdomen. He placed his hand on it and grinned. It was the first time he had done this. The light pressure from his hand sent tingles through my body. Something had changed in him, and I wasn’t going to complain.
“All right, Ellie, let’s get a look at this little one.” The tech came in and stopped in her tracks. “Oh, hi. I thought Kate would be here with Ellie.”
“I’m Gavin. The dad.” He beamed and looked over at me.
“Well, this is exciting. Let’s get started.” The tech sat beside the bed and squirted the warm jelly on my stomach.
She moved the probe around and clicked the mouse as she measured. “Look up at that screen, and we’ll see whether your little person is a boy or a girl.” Her warm smile settled my nerves, and I turned my attention to the screen at the foot of the bed.
“Is that the baby?” Gavin whispered.
I nodded, watching a look of awe spread across his face.
“Wow. That’s amazing.” He turned his attention back to the screen.
After several minutes and lots of pushing on my abdomen, the tech huffed a sigh. “Looks like the Morton stubbornness has been passed on to this little one. I can’t tell you with any certainty whether it’s a boy or girl. I’m so sorry.” She clicked off the screen and handed Gavin the pictures.
“Do you have another ultrasound scheduled after this?” he asked, looking at the printout in his hands.
“No, not unless there are any complications.” She smiled, but Gavin’s face fell a little.
“Thank you,” I said, hoping to list the mood, and sat up.
She nodded and walked out of the room.
“Well, this sucks. Maybe we can schedule another one. We can pay a private clinic.” Gavin ran his hand through his hair while he looked at the ultrasound photos.
“It’s okay. In a few months, we will know. Finding out now won’t change the outcome.” I walked over to him and took the pictures out of his hand. “This little person is going to be amazing.” The black and white images barely resembled a baby, but as I studied them, I fell more in love with our child.
I handed the photos back to him and buttoned my jeans, then laced my arm through his. “Now, it is tradition after appointments that we get milkshakes and chicken wings. You up for it?”
