Page 45 of Beyond Reach

“I don’t.” She cast him a sheepish look. “I mean, not that I don’t want to run, but I still don’t need to be reminded of how I did.”

“Okay.”

She sighed. “All I want to do is keep telling you how sorry I am, but that doesn’t change where we are. I feel like I’m not qualified to be your wife. Everyone who knows you knows you want kids, and then there’s me. God, how do we deal?”

“Together.” He held her hand in his.

“You took forever coming out of the doctor’s office. I know this is hard for you, and I figured you were done. That’s why you took so long to come.”

She waited for him to explain, but he didn’t. Her nerves roared on, raising doubts. Still, he sat in the parking lot with her, holding onto her. It had to account for something. He didn’t try to take back the ring he put on her finger. Whether that was from being a man of integrity who wanted to keep his word, or whether it was because he wouldn’t let her go, she wasn’t sure.

He brushed her neck with his lips. A chill raced down her spine, and she leaned into him.

“I love you,” he murmured.

Her heart sang. “I love you too.”

When the emotions died down, they drove to get some lunch and took it with them to his house. Neither felt up to spending time in public. If she wanted to cry some more, it would be better to do it in private.

Garner pulled onto his property and stopped. Chanda’s heart took a flying leap into her throat. Marcella was parked in the driveway. She sat in the driver’s seat waiting for their arrival, or at least she waited for Garner.

“God, we don’t need this,” Chanda groaned.

Garner’s jaw tightened. “I’ll take care of her. Just stay put a minute.”

Chanda was happy to do just that. She had no wish to have a run-in with Marcella. Over the last three months, not hearing from or seeing her cousin had felt like vacation. Not to mention the strong bond that had reformed and grown between Chanda and Garner in that time.

Garner started to climb out of the car. Chanda intended to keep a sharp eye on Marcella in case she tried anything. Marcella’s door sprang open, and she climbed to her feet to face them.

The rounded belly—the rounded pregnant belly—was too obvious to miss.

Chapter 18

Chanda sat on the side of the bed staring at nothing. She’d made an excuse to get away from everyone. Now she sat in Garner’s room. Her stomach rocked and reeled, and she ran into the bathroom for the millionth time. There was nothing left. She’d thrown it all up.

Downstairs, Garner met with Marcella, her mom, his parents, Steven, and even Lanae. Everyone had come over to the house after Marcella dropped her bomb. She was pregnant with Garner’s child. Of all days, this was the day she chose to show up and let him know he was about to be a father—the very day Chanda discovered she would never be his kids’ mom.

“I don’t even belong down there,” she muttered to herself. “Who’s on my side? Where’s my family?”

Oh, that’s right. Marcella was her family. God, it made no sense. Her belly acted up again, and she swallowed, determined to get it together.

As she left the bathroom, hopelessness washed over her. All along it seemed like Garner was out of her reach, just beyond her fingertips.

Sure they’d been involved the last three months, and he had asked her to marry him. Now it felt like the whole scenario was a fantasy, an unattainable wish. For a moment, she squared her shoulders and determined she would stick by Garner and not get jealous of her manipulative cousin. She walked toward the door but stopped with her hand on the knob.

“Garner’s going to be thrilled beyond belief. He’s going to be down there smiling all over himself.”

She bumped her forehead against the door then shut her eyes. A decent person should be happy for him, act like an adult, wish him well, and stand with him. A real person would have to take a minute.

She gazed around the room and spotted the suitcase she’d brought with her to town. It sat just inside the closet. Garner had insisted she stay with him while she got settled in Arlington. She didn’t even have a permanent job yet. So far, she’d worked temp positions until she could get everything settled with the relocation. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to escape to.

This situation was what Marcella meant when she said, “You won’t get him. It’s already too late. I’ve already made sure of it.”

Chanda remembered the words perfectly. She’d wondered then why Marcella sounded so confident. Marcella knew three months ago that she was pregnant. She waited, biding her time until the perfect moment. Maybe someone told her about the engagement. She couldn’t have known the bad news they received about Chanda not being able to get pregnant. No, that was just good luck on that witch’s part.

Someone knocked on the door, and Chanda sprang away from it. Her heart raced as she backed up to the bed and fell on it. Her throat dried. She stared at the door without answering.

Don’t be a coward, Chanda.

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