Page 46 of Beyond Reach

It wasn’t about being scared. She needed to preserve her sanity and her emotions.

The knock came again, and the doorknob turned. Mrs. Driscoll stuck her head in. “Chanda?”

Mom.

She had tested out the word in her mind after Garner asked her to marry him.

“Um, I wasn’t feeling too good,” Chanda said. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

Mrs. Driscoll came into the room and shut the door behind her. “I know this is hard for you, dear. I was down there thinking who’s on Chanda’s side? Who is her support?”

Chanda’s mouth fell open. She felt tears threatening but blinked them away and swallowed the lump in her throat. “Thanks so much for thinking about me, but I’m good.”

Garner’s mom wouldn’t be put off. She sat down on the bed beside Chanda and took her hand. “I hate this.”

Chanda gasped.

“I want grandbabies. Don’t get me wrong. But I hate that she’s the one to start them coming. Isn’t that terrible?”

Chanda couldn’t find words.

“I figure the best way to get the smirk off that woman’s face is to have you get pregnant as quickly as possible.” Mrs. Driscoll gave an awkward laugh. “That’s immature of me to say, isn’t it? I should be ashamed for rushing you two. But don’t worry that this changes anything. Garner chose you to marry.”

Chanda burst out crying—heaving messy sobs that had her gasping for air. Mrs. Driscoll pulled her into her arms and stroked her back. Chanda couldn’t get the truth out. All she could do was cry. Garner’s mom kept offering comfort, which Chanda couldn’t absorb.

After a long while, she begged Mrs. Driscoll to leave her alone. “I appreciate you so much. I honestly do. You’re the sweetest person, and I see where Garner gets it. But…”

“Say no more. I’ll leave you be. When you’re ready, you can come down. If not, that’s fine too. We’ll give you space. This situation doesn’t have to be negative. In time, I believe Marcella will see that this entrapment gives her zero chance of getting Garner back.”

Chanda didn’t respond, and soon the older woman left the room. Chanda lay on her back to stare up at the ceiling.

Should I fight for him? Or am I in danger at all? Are we meant to be or just a fantasy?

The answer didn’t come, and she slipped off into a merciful sleep.

He sat on the side of the bed, drawing her awake. Chanda looked up into Garner’s face, but she couldn’t make out his expression. The light outside the window had long since faded, and the room lay in almost total darkness.

“Congratulations,” she said softly. “You’re going to be a dad.”

He didn’t respond.

“Garner?”

“I don’t know how to be.”

She sat up and rested her back against the headboard. The movement put space between them. “That’s easy. You should be happy. You’ll have a child of your own, from your blood.”

“But not with you.”

The reassertion hurt to her core. She wanted to scream at him or to slap him—or just to cry some more. No, there’d been enough crying to last a lifetime. Of all things, to have cried in front of his mom. She didn’t know if the older woman told Garner about it, and now he was feeling guilty for leaving her alone so long.

“If you want to call off the wedding—”

“No!”

She jumped at the forcefulness in his voice.

“Look at me, Chanda.”

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