Page 32 of The Devil Gets His Due

Julie slips on gloves and he does the same. She takes two fingers and her hand slides beneath the gown. “At this stage, we’re just checking for dilation and position of the cervix,” she says to Scott. “Go ahead.”

And then…he’s got his fingers inside my wife. If this were all real, I’d be pissed. Actually, I’m really pissed anyway.

“How dilated would you say she is?” Julie asks, and he glances at me and away.Yeah, I know you’re enjoying this, you smug bastard.

“Uh…she’s not?” he asks.

“Right,” says Julie and he finally withdraws his hand.

That’s an experience we won’t be fucking repeating. I’ll make sure of it.

“I’m just going to check the baby’s heart rate.” Julie reaches beneath the gown to press a wand to Keeley’s stomach. There’s a whirr and a woosh and…it’s there, a tiny galloping beat.

My child’s heart.

I step closer, almost instinctively, as the sound begins to echo through the room.

And it all becomes a little more real to me.

I came out here to make sure Keeley was up to the task, and to make sure things were ready. But this…is really happening. And if there’s anything I can do to make a difference, I need to be doing it.

When the appointment is over, I walk Keeley to her car. “I’ll cook tonight,” I tell her as we part. “So don’t load up on Mike and Ike’s or white rice.”

She frowns. “Is it going to be gross?”

“Would you consider anything that isn’t pizza or Lucky Charms gross?”

Her mouth curves. “Most likely.”

“Then yes,” I reply, “you’ll probably think it’s gross.”

“Fish,”she says flatly. “You made fish.”

I look over at her from the stove. “It’s nearly ready.”

She changes into that fucking sweatshirt and returns just as I’m placing the salad on the table. “No fries?” she asks weakly.

Living with Keeley is basically a trial run for raising a toddler.

She cuts up the fish and disconsolately mixes it with the salad, but nothing more.

“You’re supposed to be putting it in your mouth,” I tell her.

She grins. “I bet I’m not the first girl you’ve said that to.”

“Most women seem to figure it out on their own.”

She blinks in surprise and then there’s something between us, a silent, quicksilver moment of tension. Her tongue brushes along her lower lip as if she’s picturing the same thing I am, and every muscle in my body tightens in response.Fuck. Nope. Next topic. Except all I can think of right now is her on the floor, looking up at me with a gleam in her eyes, as if sucking me off was the only thing she wanted to do for the rest of her life. “Eat your vegetables.”

“I had a bunch of Doritos today. The seasoning is full of herbs. It’s practically a salad.”

“I really hope you aren’t the kind of doctor people go to for advice.”

“Not yet,” she replies blithely. “But I will be soon, once I get my show. What do you think of the nameKicking it with Dr. K?”

“Will it be about an old white guy who adopts two inner-city youths and grows more than they do?”

“Okay, what aboutDr. K Knows Everything? I’ll solve medical mysteries.”

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