Page 15 of Hung Up on the Hacker

“I’d just as soon not think about your mother thinking about our love life.” But the look of heat they exchanged made it clear that the idea of starting a family was high on their priority list. And with both of them in their mid-thirties, that made sense. Ticking biological clocks and all that.

“I think these two granted you at least a little reprieve.” Mia dropped a kiss to Duncan’s head as she fed him more roasted potatoes. He’d been a total Velcro-Boy the whole night, and Mia seemed entirely content with that state of affairs. “She’s loving the role of adopted grandma.”

Cash already knew Holt was enthusiastic about expanding his brood. Everybody here was settling down into this new kind of life. He felt weird about it. Not like he wanted to be out there on missions anymore, doing crazy shit. He had teams for that. But this odd little slice of domesticity was worlds away from his reality in Baltimore. Yeah, he wanted a life and a marriage with Hadley, but was this what it would look like? Kids and pets and weeknight cookouts? He couldn’t quite wrap his brain around it.

As conversation continued on around him, he glanced toward Hadley. She’d barely touched her food, and though she’d engaged in the chit-chat—mostly focused on the two girls at her table—something felt off. Was she feeling sick again? She’d seemed totally fine, if still a little groggy, when she woke from her nap. That made total sense after the spa treatments he’d talked her into this afternoon, while he caught up on work that couldn’t wait. The whole point had been relaxation. But she didn’t seem relaxed now. He recognized a vibrating tension in her movements. Maybe it was just anxiety, worried about the prospective confrontation with her brother. She was as eager as he to get it over with. It was almost enough to make him throw caution to the wind and blurt everything out.

Almost.

But that wasn’t the way. He’d bide his time. And when they got back to the inn, he’d do whatever he could to reassure her that everything was all going to be okay.

Dinner was, blessedly, nearly over. Hadley had managed to finish her meal without a repeat of the nausea. She’d kept most of her interactions focused on Maddie and Dakota. Sweet and engaging little girls, neither of them were old enough to pick up that something was wrong. Everyone else seemed too focused on talk of wedding and adoptions and family to pay much attention to her.

Except for Cash, who was being… Cash. Nothing in his neutral expression gave anything away. She only knew that he knew something was off because she’d had a lifetime to learn how to read him. He hadn’t missed the fact that she was avoiding him, but it couldn’t be helped. Her capacity to deal with disasters was completely maxed out at the moment.

She didn’t know what the hell she was going to say when they got back to the inn, but that was a problem for Future Hadley. Present Hadley was living minute-to-minute. Present Hadley was probably going to be in control for a while.

Cayla clapped her hands. “Okay, everybody grab your plates. We’re gonna get everything cleaned up.”

The rest of the group moved as one, clearly accustomed to this routine. Hadley instinctively wanted to stick to the rear, but that might give Cash an opportunity to corner her. Instead, she herded the girls into the house and toward the waiting garbage can. They each tossed their paper plate into the trash.

“Good job!” She offered them a high five for the effort before slipping into the stream of people going in and out, grabbing the remaining dishes, utensils, and other detritus from the meal.

The tiny kitchen was packed as adults worked to load dirty platters and casserole dishes into the dishwasher. The dogs danced in and out of legs, playing what seemed to be a game of hide-and-seek or peek-a-boo. Spotting greasy hands about to reach for fur, Hadley grabbed Maddie around the waist, boosting her up.

“Let’s get our hands washed. You, too, Dakota.”

She held them up to the kitchen faucet one at a time so they could wash their hands. Dakota’s feet were dangling when Holt’s voice boomed from the back of the house, startling them all.

“B.B., come back here! What is in your mouth? Somebody grab her.”

People leapt into motion at the order. Banana Bread streaked through the house, something clutched in her teeth. She was a blur of golden brown fur as she dodged from person to person, the manic metronome of her tail waving as everyone got in on the game of keep away. Otis and Leno hampered the proceedings, trying to join in themselves. Brax took a header over the pit bull and nearly crashed into a wall. Rachel ended up on her ass, with Otis trying to climb on her head. The girls laughed, and poor Duncan, who’d only just let go of Mia, tried to climb her leg with a wail.

“Gotcha!” Holt managed to snag B.B.’s collar, dragging her to a stop. “Drop it! Drop it! Give it to me.”

At last, she relinquished her grip on the thing in her mouth.

Holt examined his prize, his expression turning amused, then lighting up with wonder as he let the dog go and straightened to his full height. Smile wide and delighted, he looked at his wife. “When were you going to tell me?”

Face blank with confusion, Cayla shook her head. “Tell you what?”

He held up the mangled white stick. The positive pregnancy test.

The bottom dropped out of Hadley’s stomach again. Unless there was miraculously another one in the bathroom trash—which didn’t seem likely—she was about to get outed in front of everybody.

Oh, dear God.

Nobody was focused on her, and she took the opportunity to try to slow her racing pulse, resisting the urge to curl her hands or cross her arms or do anything that might pull attention her way.

Breathe. You have to keep breathing.

“Ah.” Cayla’s face softened as she stepped up to pat his cheek, the gesture one of intimacy and easy affection. “No. That’s why you never look outside the processing window. It’ll look like a false positive from the evaporation line. Not pregnant.”

Holt’s face fell, his big shoulders slumping in disappointment. “Oh.”

Wrapping her arms around him, Cayla rose to her toes and brushed her lips to his. “It’ll happen. You just have to be patient.”

Cayla had covered for her. Relief took all the starch out of Hadley’s knees, and she had to put a hand on the lip of the sink to keep from dropping. That wouldn’t be the end of it, she was sure, but it wouldn’t be coming out here and now before she’d had time to think.

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