It had been so much fun and she had loved every second. It was such a strange concept to be allowing a man into her life, but it also felt damned good. And now, she was riding the wave of a high as she skipped out of bed and into her bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and could see instantly how fresh and alive she looked, but that was quickly taken away as she started to go about her morning routine and a wave of nausea quickly followed.
She sat down on the side of the tub and clutched the edge. She had no idea what was happening to her but out of nowhere, she felt as if she was going to throw up.
She brushed her hair back off her face and waited until it passed, and then she rose to her feet again and looked back at her reflection in the mirror. She was pale, and completely changed from the woman full of life who had been staring back at her only moments before.
“Jeez,” she said aloud. “What the hell did you eat last night?”
She tried to remember what her and Ashley had nibbled on while they had been getting ready for the big date, and when it came down to it, Kady realized she actually hadn’t had anything at all.
She wracked her brain for the last time some food had passed her lips and she realized it had been at lunch when she had eaten an apple.
“No wonder you feel horrendous,” she said to herself as she walked out of the bathroom, into the hallway and started off down the stairs.
In the kitchen, she opened the refrigerator and pulled out some butter and jam, and then she opened up her cupboards and got out a large, crusty loaf of bread. She toasted the bread underneath the grill and layered on the butter and jam. As she went in for a bite, she felt as if she could retch but she forced herself to have some and chewed it until she was able to swallow.
The more she ate, the better she felt. And when she had a cup of coffee and a fresh glass of orange juice, she felt pretty much back to normal.
She looked at the clock and saw it was already almost eight am.
“Better get a move on,” she said aloud to herself as she wandered back upstairs and into her bedroom.
She rooted through her closet until she found a cute little outfit and pulled it on over her underwear and started to comb her hair. She could still smell the scent of the fresh air on it from the night before, and the dusky scent of Flash’s cologne. She smiled as she remembered how good it felt to hold onto him while she had been on the back of his bike, and then suddenly she laughed as she replayed in her mind how cheeky he had been with her in his goodnight texts.
She left the house for the day with a huge smile on her face, and a second date to look forward to the following evening. As she strode along her street and toward the center of town, all she could think about was what she would wear, where he would be taking her, and what they would do. She wondered if she would hear from him during the day, and then she started to question herself and whether she should text him.
Dating was like a minefield for Kady. It had been such a long time since she had done anything like this that she almost didn’t know where to begin or how to act. But she was sure that if she just followed her instincts everything would be okay.
She approached the salon and felt the familiar swell of pride she got every day when she realized how well she had done in such a short space of time. It was such a good feeling to be the boss of something. To be living her dream and taking charge of her own life. She had regularly wondered what it would be like to work an office job, a nine to five that she could walk away from at the end of the day and not think about until she had to be back at her desk the following morning. But Kady knew that kind of life wasn’t for her. She was an entrepreneur, she wanted to create and explore different avenues to forge ahead with her own destiny and ways of making a living.
She wanted to build her own dream, not someone else’s. And she loved the fact that she’d had the guts to make it happen.
She pushed open the salon door and stepped inside. The bouquet on the side table was still fresh and beautiful but the smell seemed strong and overpowering. She covered her nose and had to fight back the urge to gag.
“Jeez,” she said as she stifled a cough. “They smell terrible.”
She swiped the vase up into one arm and carried it with her to the back room where the trash cans were, trying all the while not to the let the smell get too close to her.
As she tipped them into the trash and threw the old water down the sink, suddenly she felt the overwhelming urge to throw up again and this time, she couldn’t hold it at bay.
She bent over and put her head in the sink and vomited up all of her breakfast. It was fast and unstoppable, and when she leaned back on her heels and wiped her mouth, she was in shock. It had just come out of nowhere, and it had been the flowers that had started it all off.
She scowled and ran the tap to clear everything away and grimaced at the ugly sight in the bottom of the sink.
“You’re definitely going to have to stop forgetting to eat,” she scolded herself. “What were you even thinking last night going out on an empty stomach like that.”
She shook her head and walked back into the main room of the salon and began to open the place up and make it feel fresh for the day.
She was sad that she had had to discard the flowers, especially considering they had still been so fresh and lush looking, but they had smelled so badly. It was as if the water was rotting in them and the pollen in the center had burst with the heat and was hot and toxic. Just the memory of the scent made her eyes water and her stomach flip again and she got quickly to her feet and dashed to the doorway.
She stood in the shade and the cooling breeze and closed her eyes. All around her, she could hear the sounds of life and of Main Street coming alive in the early morning. She could hear the shutters on the shop windows being thrown up, the doors opening with the tings of their bells, and all of the other store owner’s greeting each other with a happy and cheerful hello.
But Kady could barely even see straight. She felt lightheaded and woozy, and she was sure that, at any moment, she could vomit again. She rubbed her forehead and stepped back inside.
“You need more to eat,” she said to herself as she clutched her stomach and just hoped it would pass.
The thought of anything going into her mouth was enough to make her gag again, but she knew she wasn’t going to get any work done if she hung around there all morning with her guts churning all over the place.
She grabbed her purse and headed out the door, locking it behind her and turning over the BACK IN 5 MINS sign so it was facing the street.
She walked quickly to the coffee house and had to stop several times on the way to gather herself. It was the strangest sensation, like none she had ever felt before. Suddenly, she would feel it and then it would go. She slowed her pace and tried to keep a smile on her face, but she could tell she was as white as a sheet and looking dreadful.
When she reached the coffee house, she ordered a large iced water and a muffin, and then she walked back to the store slowly as she picked at it bit by bit and slowly started to feel a bit better.
“So weird,” she whispered to herself as she opened the shop back up and stepped inside. “Maybe you’re overworking yourself.”
She sat down at her desk and drank the water slowly and in short sips. She ate the entire muffin and threw the wrapping in the trash, and then she opened up her laptop and looked at her notes regarding the beginning of her new pamper parties.
The screen seemed to ebb and flow away from her and within a few moments, she had to slam it shut and she breathed in and out deeply. She couldn’t sit there all day feeling like that, but she didn’t know what else to do.
She picked up her cell phone and scrolled through the names until she reached Ashley. She hadn’t told her how the date had gone and she was pretty sure her friend would be there for her in a heartbeat in her hour of need. She pressed dial and waited for Ashley to answer.
“Hello?” her groggy voice finally came from the oth
er end of the line.
“Hey, Ash,” Kady managed to say. “Have you got a moment? Did I wake you?”
“Yes,” Ashley yawned. “To both questions. Are you okay, what’s up?”
Kady spun around on her chair and looked out of the window onto Main Street. She could tell it was shaping up to be another beautiful day and she had so much ahead of her that she could be doing, but she had an anxious feeling that was outweighing the nausea and she wanted to speak to her friend.
“I know you’re going to hate me for asking this,” she said as she crinkled her eyes closed, foreseeing Ashley’s unfavorable reaction. “But would you be able to come on down to the salon? I really need you this morning…”
“Oh my God,” Ashley said with panic. “What’s going on, are you okay?”
“I’m not sure,” Kady said as she bit her lip nervously. “I really need to talk to you.”
“I’m on my way,” Ashley said and in the background, Kady could hear her jumping out of bed and rifling through her clothes.
“Thank you so much, Ash,” Kady smiled. “I’m sorry to call so early, but you know I wouldn’t if it wasn’t important.”
“Of course,” Ashley said.
In the background, Kady was sure she could hear Breaker’s muffled voice asking what was going on, and then Ashley replied, “Nothing babe, just go back to sleep.”
Kady smiled. She was so pleased that Ashley had found someone with whom she had connected with. It really had been a life-changing experience for her and it had made Slate Springs her home for good.
The nausea rushed over Kady again and she closed her eyes.
“I’ll see you when you get here,” she said and then she hung up the phone.
She breathed in and out deeply and just prayed that Ashley was there within the next five minutes. Because now, it definitely wasn’t just the nausea that was getting to Kady, her anxiety was peaking too.
It had been six weeks since her wild night with Flash, and something had just occurred to her… She hadn’t had a period since.
She was late.
And now, she was incredibly nauseous and she had an ominous feeling that she knew why…
7.
“Okay, you’re going to have to run that by me all again,” Ashley said as her jaw almost hit the floor.
The two girls were sitting in the middle of the salon and Kady had just thrown up again for the third time. She was red hot and afraid, but more than anything, she was excited.
Could this really mean what she thought it did?
“I’m probably being completely paranoid,” she said as she sipped her water and fanned her face. “But it just occurred to me about being late.”
“Fucking hell,” Ashley sighed. “Well, then you definitely need to take a pregnancy test.”
Kady nodded her head and then put it in her hands. How the hell had she ended up here? Only twelve hours earlier she had been on top of the world, dating a guy she really liked and having the time of her life. And now, something major had possibly been thrown into the mix. She knew she had to take a test but she was too nervous. But could she really spend even one more day not knowing? It had only crossed her mind an hour before and she was already so frustrated she felt like she could burst.
“I’ll go to the drug store,” Ashley said as she got to her feet. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
Kady watched as Ashley barged out the front door of the salon and she bit her lip, got to her feet and began to pace. Ashley was being such a good friend to her, but Kady really did feel the need to think this through. If Ashley was there when she took the test she may feel obliged to tell Breaker. And Kady didn’t even know how she felt about telling Flash. If it was positive and Ashley knew, would she be putting her in an awkward position?
Kady thought on it a moment and she knew that even though she didn’t want to, if it was positive, she was going to have to tell a white lie to her friend until she had figured everything out.
She fought back tears and paced even harder from one side of the salon to the other. Could this really be happening? Surely, she was just being paranoid?
She paused as she heard the familiar clatter of heels coming back down the street and she knew Ashley was almost there. The pharmacy was only two doors down, and it would have been deserted so early on in the day.
Ashley appeared at the door with a small white paper bag and a look of nerves.
“Come on,” she said. “You’ve had plenty to drink there, there’s no time like the present.”
Kady took the bag from her reluctantly and closed her eyes. She really didn’t think she had the nerve to do this.
“Thank you,” she said. “You’re such a good friend.”
Ashley rubbed her shoulder reassuringly and Kady turned and disappeared into the back room and into the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and closed the toilet seat before she sat down on it and thought for a moment. She really didn’t want to be taking the test right there in the bathroom, but she also wished now that she was alone. The pressure felt too much for her to go and tell Ashley what was happening, one way or the other, and now, she was working herself up into a frenzy.
“It’s going to be fine,” she told herself. “You’re just getting yourself worked up, as usual. It’s not even going to be positive.”
She smiled to herself and began to calm down. And then she opened the paper bag and looked inside. The box was small and blue, and when she ripped into it and read the instructions, she knew she would have an answer to her burning question and anxiety within three minutes.
Three minutes.
That was all it was going to take.
She opened the toilet seat and took a deep breath. Whatever was going to happen, she would be strong enough to cope. She had faith in herself for that.
She sat on the floor and looked up at the sink. It had gone way past three minutes and Ashley had already knocked on the door once to see if she was all right, but she still didn’t have the nerve to go out and face her. She reached up and pulled the white stick back into focus, hoping that, in some way, the result would have changed since the last time she had looked at it a few moments before.
But it had not.
Two very prominent pink lines were visible in the results window.
Kady was pregnant.
She put her head in her hands and breathed in and out deeply.
How the hell had this happened? She had always been such a good girl and now she was sitting in the floor of her salon bathroom finding out she was pregnant from a biker she had only technically had one official date with.
Holy shit, she thought. This is like something out of a soap opera.
Ashley knocked on the door again and Kady jumped and slowly got to her feet. She wrapped the test up in some toilet paper and slipped it back into the box and threw the box and white paper bag into the trash.
“You okay in there?” Ashley called through. “You’ve been in there a while…”
“Sorry,” Kady shouted back. “I felt sick again.”
She didn’t want to lie to her friend but she had to get her head straight. There was no way she could just waltz out of that bathroom and tell Flash’s best friend’s girlfriend that she was pregnant with his baby. She had to tell him first, if she could even tell him. And then they would have to decide what to do together.
She took one more deep breath and looked back at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was white and she looked terrified, so she quickly pinched her cheeks to bring some color into them and flipped her hair and put on her widest smile.
She flung open the door and stood there grinning and started to laugh.
“Sorry,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’m such a goddam drama queen.”
Ashley eyeballed her suspiciously and then she waited for her to speak again.
“I’m just being paranoid,” she said with a sigh of fake relief. “The test was obviously negative… I must have just eaten somet
hing funny or be overworked and stressed. Who knows.”
“You sure?” Ashley asked with a look of concern.
“Sorry, Ash,” she said with half embarrassment and half shame. “I got you up and out of bed and I was just panicking. I’m an idiot.”
“It’s okay,” Ashley smiled. “I know you’d do the same for me.”
She was looking at Kady in a strange way and she could tell Ashley didn’t quite believe her. But, for now, she was going to have to grit her teeth and see the lie through. There was no other way. The information was all too new and she hadn’t even processed it herself.
“Okay, good,” Ashley smiled warmly. “Why don’t you sit down and I’ll go and get us some coffee or something? When’s your first appointment of the day? Do you want me to stick around and try and reschedule them for you if you’re not feeling great?”
Kady shook her head.
“Thanks so much, Ash, but honestly, I think I’m just going to close up and get myself home to bed. I could do with a lie down. It was foolish of me to think I could get up and come in today, but you know what I’m like.”
“Okay, hon,” Ash smiled. “You sure?”
Kady nodded enthusiastically and gave Ashley a quick hug before she walked to the back of the room and began to turn off all the lights.
“I’ll call you later to see if you’re feeling better,” Ash said. “And you can fill me in about your date then too!”
Kady nodded and smiled and waved her out the door. As soon as Ashley was out of sight, she exhaled and sat down in the chair and looked blankly into space.
Was this really happening? Was she really in this position?
And what the hell was she going to do next?
She tidied up the last of her belongings, grabbed her work diary and headed for the door. She had to get home, and for the second time in two days, she was going to be shutting up shop with no notice.
You’re losing it, Kady, she told herself. Your easy life just checked right out…
Later than evening, she was still looking at various test results and they all still said the same. On her way home from the salon, she had gone into the drug store and bought five more tests, all of different makes and sizes, and they all told her the same thing.
FLASH (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 15) Page 7