Page 10 of Unwell
Impossible.
‘Ginny…’
‘You promise not to tell? I don’t want him to get into any trouble.’ Excitement tinged the torrent of harried words.
‘Visitors are allowed. Restricted, but he can certainly apply to see you. Especially with him being the father of your child. Do you want me to try to reach him for you?’
Her head bobbed with glee. ‘Please.’
‘I’ll need a name and a phone number.’
A frown tugged at her lips. ‘Well…his name’s Elijah. I don’t know if he has a phone.’
Damn. I hoped that he might be a key to finding out what Ginny had done to land herself amongst these foreboding walls.
‘How do you get in touch with him?’
‘He comes to me. He always has. On the farm.’ Ginny talked like it was perfectly natural that the man who impregnated her would be found just wandering around.
I’d have said that perhaps he was a figment of her imagination, but given her swollen stomach, evidence would have said otherwise.
Assuming, of course, that she was really pregnant.
Had anyone checked?
‘I’ll ask in the office for you, to see if there’s a way we can track him down for you.’
Ginny sat heavily on a chair, her face serene. My answer must have proven satisfactory.
‘Can I just have a quick check of your stomach, Ginny?’
She tipped her head. ‘Whatever for?’
‘To see how the baby is growing.’
Her shoulders lifted in a shrug. ‘I don’t see how you’ll see in there, but as long as you aren’t entering where Elijah does, I suppose it’s all right.’
Placing a hand on the upper portion of her abdomen, I pressed my fingers into her skin, gently but firmly.
I was met with a wriggling from within that set my heart aflame. Would this be how it felt to caress a child inside me? Bitterness filled my throat. Why did she so easily catch a babe while I struggled year after year?
It wasn’t fair.
She had everything I wanted without even trying. Some farm boy had fucked her and she grew a child without a care.
I hated her.
Looking up into her face, I saw how openly she returned my gaze. ‘Do you feel her?’
I couldn’t help but soften my ire. I didn’t hate Ginny. I envied her. Which was crazy seeing as she was locked in hell.
Her hand covered mine, pressing it flat over her stomach. Warmth filled me. It emanated from her handand slithered through me, capturing me. For a minute, I was lost in those deep pools of blue, feeling her child dancing beneath her skin.
‘How do you know it’s a girl?’ I asked.
‘A mama always knows.’
I was trapped between admiration and cloying jealousy.
