Page 32 of Shelter (The Wanderers 4)

CHAPTER11

Haley couldn’t believe this was happening. It had been four days since she’d learned she was pregnant and still she hadn’t fully grasped the magnitude of her situation.

She couldn’t be pregnant. She hadn’t lived yet. She had only begun to discover what love might mean in the last few months. Even that had been unexpected.

At the girls’ home where she was raised, she’d rarely ever been alone. The girls slept in bunk beds in a dorm-style room where the beds were only a few feet apart. They ate together, went to classes, and even shared community showers. The only time she had two minutes alone was when she was on the toilet.

Sure, she’d had friends among the girls. There was a group she spent most of her time with, sharing a dining table or playing on the playground together, but she’d never really developed intense relationships. It was frowned upon.

The head mistress and all the other women who worked at the home were very strict. The classes the girls attended had nothing to do with formal education. They weren’t taught to read or write or do math. They were taught how to be the perfect wife to someone from the aristocracy. How to be demure and polite. How to sit properly. How to walk silently. The importance of obedience in all things.

They learned sewing, knitting, and embroidery. Not because they would ever be expected to do any of those things for any important purpose but as a way to pass the time both at home and later in life.

Haley had spent countless hours under the watchful eye of Lorena since arriving at the Hanson estate, sitting demurely in the library or den, usually with her knitting in her hands, though she didn’t care what she knitted, nor did she ever pay much attention. She’d also never spent so much time alone. She was often left to her own devices in her room. Braylon and Riggs went to work during the day.

Storm was nearly always close by, but he wasn’t expected to converse with her. It wouldn’t be appropriate. In the first few weeks, he used to ask her polite questions, but he’d long since stopped because Lorena always frowned at him when he engaged her in conversation.

“You don’t need to entertain her, Storm. Just do your job,”Lorena had said on more than one occasion.

In the past few weeks, all three men had snuck into her room late at night with regularity, spending more time with her, which helped erase the boredom. But now that she was in constant turmoil, she wished she didn’t have to spend even one minute alone.

She worried her life was about to get a whole lot more complicated because Lorena had marched into her room this morning with a pregnancy test in her hand, demanding Haley pee on the stick.

Haley had known this would happen any day now, so she hadn’t been surprised, but she also needed to school her response. Even though she already knew what the result of the test would be, Lorena did not.

Haley had played along, even acting pleasantly surprised when the test came back positive. That knowledge alone was enough to stress her out, but she wasn’t expecting Lorena to suddenly take over her life. She insisted Haley needed more structure in her life to ensure the baby would be healthy, so she rattled off a daily schedule. Finally, she clapped her hands together. “We’ll start your piano lessons after lunch. Music is good for the fetus.”

The woman had spun around and marched from the room, leaving Haley in disbelief. She could hardly tolerate spending any time at all with Lorena, and now she would be expected to present herself even more.

Now that Lorena was gone, Storm appeared in the doorway. “You okay?” he whispered.

Haley sighed and rubbed her temples. “Hope you enjoy piano,” she muttered.

He glanced up and down the hallway and then stepped into the doorway. This was his usual custom. He couldn’t come all the way in, nor could he shut the door, but if anyone asked what he was doing, he could simply say Haley had called out to him to bring her something or fix something.

Haley met Storm’s gaze. “That woman is going to drive me batty,” she hissed. “She wants me to spend most of my waking moments with her, following her around, learning how to do ridiculous things like play the piano. I think she just likes to keep an eye on me. I’m worried she’s suspicious.”

The thought had occurred to Haley a number of times lately. Maybe she was just paranoid, but it felt like Lorena stared at her harder and cornered her more frequently. If anyone needed something to occupy her time, it was Lorena.

“Let me see if I can come up with a reason you could be excused.”

Before Haley could respond, Storm disappeared.

She couldn’t help but smile inside. All three of her men were under a great deal of stress, and it was apparent in their expressions, but they went out of their way to try to make her life easier.

As usual, Storm came through for her yet again. He showed up in her doorway thirty minutes later, grinning.

She hurried over to him, knowing he would need to keep his voice low.

“I spoke to Rush,” he began.

She lifted her brows in surprise. “Rush?” Why would Storm speak with Rush?

Storm glanced up and down the hallway before directing his attention toward her. He reached out and cupped her cheek, stroking her skin before releasing her.

She licked her lips. She loved this new phase they were in, one where all three men felt like they could touch her. It wasn’t much because they couldn’t risk someone seeing them, but it meant the world to her.

“Rush is a doctor, princess.”

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