Page 110 of The Mistakes I've Made
“What happened?” I asked.
“His mom died,” she answered. “His mom died and everything changed. He changed. And then he ran.”
“Taylor isn’t running,” I said firmly. “He’s getting exactly what he wanted. Now, everything will go back to how it was before I came. His precious hotel will stand, unchanged, and so will the town.”
“Do you think that’s what he really wants?”
“I have a very official-looking letter that tells me he does.”
“Maybe you should go ask him yourself. Men are…” She scrunched her nose, as if she was trying to find a particular word but then just gave up. “Frustrating,” she finally said. “Sometimes they need a little extra push to get them to fess up their feelings.” Laughing lightly, she added, “I guess women aren’t innocent of that either.”
“Is that what you did with Jake?”
She laughed. “Oh, yes. I pushed him all right—right out of town.”
My brows lifted. “You kicked him out?”
Her head tilted. “It broke my heart to do it. But, as much as I loved him, we needed time. And I figured if we found each other again, it would be right next time. And it was. So, yeah, I pushed him. But I also pushed myself in the process. We both grew.”
I shook my head, feeling like I was swimming in doubt. It was a nice notion, the idea of time.
But time was never a luxury Taylor and I had.
Especially now…
“No. He’s made his decision, and he chose wrong. I don’t need any further explanation than that, and I don’t want to wait around for a man who doesn’t want me, especially since…” My words got caught in my throat. It was barely an idea but one I’d been grappling with all day. It was the real reason I’d given up my fruitless search for whiskey.
“Especially since what?”
I swallowed hard, knowing that once I said it, action must be taken. “Especially since I think I might be pregnant.”
I honestly didn’t know what I would have done if it wasn’t for Molly. She hadn’t asked many questions or passed any judgment.
She’d simply asked what I needed, and when I’d said, “A friend,” she was there.
Having never done this before, she was a guiding light as well as the shoulder I needed to lean on. While I suspected I might be pregnant, I wasn’t sure if I could actually confirm it.
Molly, having already been down the surprise pregnancy road assured me enough time had passed.
“I got my first positive test when I was a day late,” she’d said. “I took about ten more after that, and Jake took a blood test when he didn’t believe the pile I threw on his desk. But, yes, the home tests are pretty accurate these days.”
I sort of nodded my head in a daze.
Great, that’s great.
Luckily, my good friend Molly also took care of procuring the much needed pregnancy test as well, having some stored away in her own bathroom at home. When she returned and handed one over, I couldn’t help but give her a questioning look.
“We’re trying for baby number two,” she said, giving a casual shrug. “I order them online so that the entire town doesn’t know.”
“Small towns are weird,” I commented.
She let out a small laugh. “Indeed they are. Do you know how to use one of these?”
Looking down at it, I felt a small lump form in my throat. This wasn’t exactly how I pictured this moment in my life.
“I think I can figure it out, but can I make a call first?”
She shrugged. “I’m not going anywhere. You do whatever you need to.”
