Page 26 of Threatened

She’d stayed on living at his house, and they’d gotten to know each other better. A whole lot better, in fact. Who was he kidding? He was head over heels in love with her now and hoped she felt the same way about him. They were so crazy about each other that they talked increasingly about making it official. While he hadn’t actually proposed, they’d talked around the idea enough that they both knew how it would go. The plan was to get married at City Hall with Ben Carlisle as Gage’s best man and the gal Kyle had hired as her assistant in her Feng Shui business as her maid of honor. Soon, the moment would feel right—he’d ask her officially, and then they’d do it.

Probably before Gage started working for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He’d been in training for four months at the academy and would graduate in December. Carlisle had promised to set him on the path for a detective job. With the skills Gage had from the SEALs, he thought it would suit him well.

At the moment, Kylie was the true breadwinner. She’d picked up a bunch of new celebrity clients in LA after the Hirohito trial had hit the tabloids. It seemed movie stars couldn’t get enough of scandal and intrigue and having their energies adjusted. He still wasn’t a huge believer in all her mystical ideas, but he was a firm believer in her and if her work made her happy, then he supported her one-hundred percent.

“Here you go,” she said, coming down the steps of their deck with a plate of raw meat in her hand. “I’ll take mine well done, thanks.”

“Burned to a crisp coming up,” he said, laughing when she stuck her tongue out at him.

“Pardon me if I don’t want food poisoning.” She gave him a mock haughty look as she put the plate down by the grill.

“Is that a hit against my cooking?” He narrowed his gaze on her but wound his arm around her waist. The skirt she wore swished around his legs.

“Nah.” She gripped his T-shirt and pulled him closer for a soft kiss. “You know I love you.”

“Do I?” he asked but didn’t give her time to answer as he kissed her again, more deeply this time. “Yeah, I guess I do.” Those words were whispered against her lips.

The sound of her ringing cell phone broke them apart. Kylie pulled the phone from her pocket and glanced at the screen, then up at him, her eyes wide. “It’s Dr. Bailey’s office.”

His heart stumbled. “Answer it.”

She nodded and turned away slightly to talk. He knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop, but he hung on every word she said. She’d gone in for her regular check-up a week ago and had made a point of speaking to her doctor about the fact that she had been late on her period. They’d both been praying it wasn’t anything serious and that her endometriosis hadn’t worsened. He’d spent the past week feeling worried and helpless.

“Yes, Dr. Bailey. No. I understand. Okay. Thank you.” Kylie hung up and stood with her back to him for what seemed a small eternity. Her shoulders rose as she heaved in a breath. Did that mean the news was bad?

Finally, Gage couldn’t take it anymore. “Sweetheart, what did she say?”

“Well, unfortunately...” Kylie turned around to face him, her gaze downcast. “We’re going to have to adjust our plans a little.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” he said. “I’m so sorry, but don’t worry. Whatever treatment or procedure you need, we’ll get through it together. I just want you healthy and happy.”

Then she looked up at him, her face pale and her hands shaking. “No. There’s no procedure or treatment for this.”

Heart in his throat, Gage led her over to the bench of the picnic table and sat her down before taking a seat beside her. He took a swift glance toward the kids, who were still happily playing in the sandbox. That was good because he had to focus on Kylie. His emotions were rioting inside him. He couldn’t lose her. Not now. Not when he loved her more than life itself.

After she’d moved in with him permanently, he’d made it his top priority to learn everything he could about her disease, so he could be there for her and support her. He’d never heard of endometriosis being lethal, but maybe there was something he’d missed.

“Whatever’s wrong, we’ll get a second opinion. We’ll go anywhere, do anything. I love you, Kylie, and I want to fight this.” He took her icy hand and warmed it between his. He’d lost too many people he cared about in his life. Gage refused to lose another. “I’m beside you every step of the way.”

“No,” she said, staring blankly out into the yard. “That’s not it.”

“Then what?” Gage pleaded. “Tell me.”

She looked at him, tears sparkling in her eyes even as she gave him a radiant smile. “I’m pregnant.”

“What?” Now it was his turn to stare at her. “How?”

Kylie gave a small snort. “The usual way, I suppose. We haven’t been using protection because I never thought this would happen.”

Gage stood and walked a few paces away, trying to wrap his head around the news. In his heart, he’d always prayed for a miracle like this, but never in a million years had he expected it to happen. He loved Kylie, just as she was. Would’ve been perfectly content and happy to spend the rest of his days with her and the twins in their own version of happily ever after. But now…

“Holy crap!” Gage was pretty sure his whoops of joy could be heard clear across the county. He rushed back over to wrap his arms around Kylie and picked her up, twirling her around, mindful of both her condition and the grill nearby, then set her down and kissed her. “A baby. Our baby. Wow.”

It was then that he noticed she didn’t seem as happy about the news as he did. His gut nosedived to his toes. Maybe this wasn’t what she wanted. “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

She moved out of his arms and over to stand by the picnic table again. “No, I’m happy. I’m just…shocked, I guess. And a little scared. I mean what if I can’t handle this?”

“Of course you can handle it, baby. Look at what a fantastic job you’ve done with the twins. They’re doing amazing.” He joined her at the table. “You’re one of the bravest people I know.”

---