Page 80 of A Second Dawn

I follow her to the door. “I’m not so sure about that. It’s ingrained in him from his army days.”

As we step into the kitchen, the wafting aroma of cooked eggs immediately hits me like a punch to the gut. My stomach churns with an intensity I’ve not felt before. It’s as if it’s trying to get out of my body.

My mouth waters, but not in a good way. It’s a sure sign that I’m seconds away from losing the battle with my rebellious stomach.

Mental note, peanut doesn’t like eggs.

Miriam is still talking, but I don’t hear a word, desperately covering my mouth with my hand. Abandoning her, I make a mad dash toward the bathroom. My legs are weak and unsteady, and I struggle to gain control over my roiling insides.

Reaching the bathroom, I collapse in front of the toilet and fling it open. My body convulses as I give in to the overwhelming urge to vomit.

Out of the blue, Aiden appears behind me, crouching down to gather my hair and holding it out of the way as my body expels the fruit I snacked on earlier.

Argh! Can this get any worse?

I don’t want him to see me like this.

When there’s nothing more coming up, I sink against Ade, totally drained. I let my head fall against his chest. His arms fold around me, holding me tight. His head rests on top of mine, and he buries his nose in my hair.

“Those eggs!” I complain. “Why is this happening now? We’ve had eggs every morning, and I’ve never reacted like this.”

“It could be that you’re further along in your pregnancy or because we only had rotten eggs to use this morning.”

“What?” I pull away from his body and scorch him with a death stare.

He raises his hands in surrender. “Sunshine, I’m joking. But seriously, perhaps your body is finally relaxing. You’re not on constant high alert anymore and you can be just… you know, pregnant.”

“Hmm… as awful as I feel, I kind of like that explanation.”

That makes him smile. “Come on, Sunshine. I’ll make you a ginger lemon tea. Tara says it will help settle your stomach.”

“You talked with Tara about this? But I haven’t been sick before,” I frown, my mind a little fuzzy.

“Yeah, I wanted to be prepared in case it ever happened.”

I smile despite feeling like crap. Can this man be any sweeter?

He stands, taking me up with him. With his arm around my waist, we enter the dining room, and the smell of breakfast once more assaults me, making me wretch.

I run outside into the fresh air, taking deep breaths to free my lungs and senses of this god-awful scent.

I realize too late I left my jacket inside, but there’s no way I’m going back to get it. Goosebumps quickly pepper my entire body. This is the first time in ages that they were caused by the cold and not by the two men who wreak havoc with my emotions.

Without waiting for Ade, I walk back to our cabin. I think I’ll skip breakfast today.

As I quicken my steps, I ponder Aiden’s words.

Could he be right? Am I having more symptoms now because I can allow myself to be pregnant? When Ian agreed we could stay, a weight lifted off my shoulders, and I’m relaxing every day a little more.

It doesn’t take long before Ade enters our cabin, a pot of tea, a couple of sweet potatoes and plain crackers in hand.

“Why the sweet potatoes?” I ask, screwing up my nose. I hope it’s not some weird naturopathic remedy to bite into raw potatoes to fight off nausea.

Ade winks at me. “Tara said to cook and mash them for you. She thinks your stomach can handle it.”

“Cook and mash… like baby food?” I raise an eyebrow at him.

He chuckles and puts down everything on our small kitchen table. “Well, if it’s good for a baby’s stomach, it’s gotta be good for you.”

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