Easton
I can’t explain how happy I am to have Holly there in our home. We bring our takeout containers to the table and finish eating. Holly had a surprising amount on her plate. But who am I to judge?
I’m just glad she’s here.
She also heard everything we said, and I’m glad she did too. She heard our honest thoughts about her, and maybe that is what she needed.
We make small talk while we eat. Everything feels right, for the first time in a long time. We have our woman here and, by the end of the day, she will be our woman.
“Where have you been working?” Dylan asks.
“At the steak house down the street from yours,” she murmurs.
“What made you want to work there?” he asks.
“Well, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but I need the money, so there’s this friend I have who owns it and offered me a job,” she says with a shrug.
"You can always come back to the bar,” I tell her.
She gives me a small smile. “I know, but this is a good place to work, and they pay well. Plus, I’m not sure how I would feel if everyone knew that I was sleeping with the bosses.”
“Why do you need the money?” Dylan asks.
“Oh, you know; bills and medical costs,” she says, starting to sound unsure.
“Are you sick?” I ask, looking her over. She doesn’t look sick.
She shakes her head. “Not at the moment, but I know a lot of medical costs are going to come up in the future.”
“What are you hiding?” Braxton asks, narrowing his eyes at her.
“I really don’t think this conversation is a good idea,” Holly says getting up, but I grab her arm to stop her from leaving.
“Talk to us. We can’t have any more secrets between us,” I plead.
She blows out a breath. “Because I’m pregnant.”
There is nothing but silence in the room as we take in her words.
“If you are, in fact, pregnant, why wouldn’t you want to tell us?” Braxton asks, confused.
“Because of everything you guys just went through with Helen. I knew you wouldn’t believe me. Which is why I stayed away,” she mumbles.
“So, you were going to have our baby without us knowing? Were you ever even going to tell us?” Dylan asks coldly.
To my horror, she shrugs. I drop my arm from her, and pain immediately enters her eyes.
“I get it,” she whispers brokenly.
“I want proof. Easton, call our doctor. Unless you are against getting checked out?” Dylan says, raising an eyebrow at her.
“Call him, I don’t care. I know I’m not lying. You don’t need to believe me. I have been preparing to raise this baby alone since the day I came over and Helen answered the door practically nude. I have nothing to hide, and I have never given you a reason to doubt me,” Holly says angrily.
I call the doctor who has an opening in an hour for us.
Which makes the next hour tense and awkward. I have a feeling that whatever bridge we were mending is very fragile right now.
The same doctor who was here with Helen comes out, and I can tell he’s amused to see us for the same reason that he had seen us for just two weeks ago.