“Perhaps I should pass out more often, if this is the kind of treatment I’m going to get from you!” Joshua joked, but Tammy certainly wasn’t amused.
Tammy hung her head slightly as she became serious. “You know, babe, I was so afraid when they took you in to surgery. I thought I would never see you again.” Tammy’s eyes welled with tears at the thought of losing him again and this time for good. There wouldn’t have been any going back. No reconciliation.
“Well, I’m here now, so you don’t have to worry about that. And since you’ve agreed to be my wife again, you have me for the rest of my life.” Joshua pulled her closer and returned her kisses in the same manner that she’d just given them. Cheeks, nose, chin and forehead. Then he placed a lingering kiss on her lips. He hoped that kiss would somehow signify that he would be there with her until God said that his time was up.
Raising his hand to caress her back, he continued, “Sweetie, with everything that’s happened, I don’t want to waste any time. I don’t want you to ever doubt my love for you. I am no longer that selfish kid anymore, and I’m ready to support you as you pursue your dreams. I’d like to be there for you. Will you let me do that?”
“Yes,” she spoke softly, rubbing his hand. She’d been waiting forever to hear him say that.
Interrupting their moment, Joshua’s doctor and nurse came in to place an EKG on his chest to monitor his heart for the next twenty-four hours. Tammy watched them carefully as if she thought they might break him.
“Everything is looking great, Mr. Archer,” the doctor commented as he flipped through his chart, jotting down notes. “After twenty-four hours of wearing the EKG and we get the results we want, I’ll sign your discharge papers and you’ll be free to go.” He closed the chart.
“So what are you planning to do now that you’re retiring from the NBA?” the doctor asked, grabbing his things to move on to his next patient.
Joshua offered more information than the doctor probably wanted to hear—explaining that he and Tammy were reuniting and he was going to take a backseat to allow her to pursue her career goals.
“That’s admirable. Get some rest and I’ll come by to check on you again this evening,” the doctor said before leaving. Patting Joshua’s arm with the file, he gave Tammy a wink before exiting the room. He walked back towards the nurses’ station and put in the orders to have Joshua’s paperwork ready for his release.
“So when are we moving to Texas? Looks like I’ll be ready as soon as tomorrow.” Joshua grinned. He was looking forward to getting away from the smell of disinfectant and into the care of his wife. Texas had never really been in his plans, but he was ready for whatever it took for him and Tammy to work on becoming one again —no matter what part of the country it took him to.
CHAPTER 3
“Trash,” Raegan said, deleting Rico’s e-mail without opening it. Just seeing the message from him made her stomach turn. She didn’t know if it was the thought of him or the scent coming from the potpourri sitting on the end table. She realized it was probably a combination of both. She had taken the day off because of the turmoil that seemed to be happening in her uterus. Caleb had stopped by during his lunch break to check on her. As he sat there rubbing her feet, she tried to hide her displeasure at the e-mail from Rico, which was threatening to ruin her day.
The nerve of that idiot! She inwardly cursed him. The mere thought of him caused her heart to race and definitely not in the way it had before. She was so angry with him. Lying bastard. Stay out of my inbox! She went into the trash folder to delete the message from there as well, as she didn’t want any trace of him lurking around if she could help it.
“Oh, no. Not again,” Raegan blurted out as she tossed her laptop to the other side of the sofa, slipped her feet out of Caleb’s grasp and dashed toward the restroom. She arrived just in time. She hated vomiting and would trade that for any other pregnancy symptom.
Standing at the sink washing her hands and rinsing her mouth out with mouthwash, trying to rid her mouth of the unpleasant smell and taste, Caleb’s knock on the door reeled her thoughts back from the unpleasantness. She silently prayed that the obnoxious smell wouldn’t capture his senses. That would surely be enough to make him want to leave. I almost want to.
Caleb didn’t mention the stench as she opened the door for him. “Are you all right? Can I get anything for you, sweetie?”
Raegan tilted her head to one side and smiled. Running her hands over her hair, she shook her head. If there was something that could rid her of the morning sickness, she would ask for that, but what would that be?
He stepped to the side, allowing her to come out of the bathroom. He pulled her into a hug that made her feel as if everything would be all right. His gentle reassuring strokes along her back made her forget about the sickness caused by the baby growing inside of her and the sickness caused by Rico reaching out to her.
“Ouch!” Raegan doubled over in pain, wrapping her arms around her abdomen. She’d never felt that before. Thinking the worst, she immediately grabbed her cell phone to call her doctor with Caleb following closely behind her.
As Raegan waited for an answer, she silently prayed that the pains were not an indication that she was about to lose her baby. Caleb sat next to her on the couch, clutching her free hand in his. He listened intently as she described her concerns through choppy breaths and shaky palms. Within a few minutes of the nurse talking, her body visibly relaxed and he followed suit when the worry began to wash away from her face; her symptoms were normal and everything would be fine, the nurse reassured her.
Caleb didn’t realize how much his emotions were entangled at the thought of something happening to the baby.
Raegan was glad that Caleb was with her in this moment. His baritone voice along with his tender touch always had a way of comforting her. She closed her eyes for a brief second to capture this moment in her memory. His cologne. His closeness. His touch and even his breath. She loved him and needed to spend forever with him. She prayed the paternity of the baby wouldn’t change any of that for them.
Almost as if Caleb knew what she was thinking, he reaffirmed his position. “Cami, we’re doing it together, all the way. I don’t do things halfway. I meant what I said, I’m all in.” She was glad to have him around to support her. She hadn’t even told her mom about the pregnancy; she was so sure that her mom was going to flip out when she relayed the news. She was the golden child. Her brother, as loving as he is, would never let her live this down—getting pregnant before marriage.
The kiss that followed his admission was nothing short of exquisite. For now, she was certain that he would stick around. However, she hadn’t told him of her plans to get a DNA test before the baby was born. Hopefully that won’t change a thing.
Raegan and Caleb were able to recapture the moment they were sharing before her morning sickness and pain nearly sent the day spiraling out of control. Caleb opened the blinds slightly to brighten the room. He used his phone to play soft music, hoping to relax mommy and baby. Then he sat next to her again and resumed rubbing her feet. Raegan picked up her computer to do a little research on DNA testing.
She could hear her best friend Kensi’s voice in her ear. How does Caleb feel about the DNA test? Is he willing to go along with it? Did you even tell him about needing an STD test? Kensi was often more rational, but Raegan couldn’t see past needing answers. She felt like she and Caleb needed to have as much information as possible before the baby came. There you go questioning his sincerity again, her conscience reminded her.
“Still checking e-mails?” Caleb inquired. Raegan was rather quiet and nothing filled the air but the sounds of John Legend’s voice on the radio.
“No,” she articulated slowly, contemplating whether she should tell the truth about what she was really working on. You said you would be honest, she reminded herself. “I’m looking up info on getting a DNA test done before the baby is born.”
Caleb’s eyebrows shot up in confu
sion. For the life of him, he couldn’t understand why she would be doing that, especially right now.
“You’re kidding right? Why?” Caleb shook his head, running his hands behind his head. He knew the discomfort she felt about not being certain if he or Rico was the father, but that didn’t hurt his feelings any less. All he wanted for her was to be excited along with him that God was allowing her to bring forth life into this world; instead she ruined the moment. His heart was broken.
“You know why.” Raegan put the laptop down and slid next to Caleb on the sofa, grabbing his hand. She pleaded, “Babe, I need to do this for me, well for us. We need to know the truth.”
“Why does that matter? Especially right now when we’re going to be together? Didn’t I tell you that it didn’t matter who fathered the baby? Didn’t I tell you that I would be here for you?”
Raegan nodded. She heard him and at this moment didn’t doubt whether or not he would be around, but she needed to know, and deep down inside, she felt like Caleb did too. Maybe not right now but at some point, he’d want to know the truth about the baby’s paternity.
Although part of him wanted to know if he had fathered Raegan’s baby, he wasn’t ready to deal with the reality that there was a fifty percent chance that he didn’t, mostly because he didn’t want to deal with the fact that she actually slept with Rico. The idea of getting a paternity test made that a reality to him, and that burned him up inside.
Raegan could see the worry in his face from the way his eyebrows were starting to push together. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been in a weird place with so much of my life out of control; I want to make sure that I can at least have some kind of control with this pregnancy and I think the DNA test will do that for me.”
“So what if it is Rico’s baby? Then what? Have you decided what you will say to him?” Caleb stood and began pacing. It seemed as if Raegan had already made up her mind about this whole situation without him, and that bothered him too.
“I haven’t. I guess we would need to have some sort of a sit down with both him and his wife.”
“Wife?” Caleb stopped to look at her. “See, I knew something was wrong with that guy!” Caleb murmured an expletive under his breath, shocking Raegan, and slapping a fist into his palm.
“Yea, I’m still trying to figure out the best way to handle that situation as well. I think his wife needs to know.” Raegan knew it was a delicate situation and needed to be approached with caution. She didn’t want to hurt his wife, but she definitely wanted to hurt Rico, so she had to be careful with that. Seeking vengeance never turned out well. She shook her head at the thought of everything she’d gotten herself entangled in.
“I’m just as upset as you are, but make sure you have a cool head and that you take as much time as you need before you do anything. Please pray about it first. In fact, let’s pray about it together. We’re getting married, so we’re in this together . . . all the way,” Caleb emphasized again. Reaching over to grab Raegan’s hand, he pulled her into a standing position and prayed:
Heavenly Father, we know that You are all-knowing. We come to You because we know that this situation needs Your touch. We give You praise for who You are and ask that You go before us and make our paths straight. Give us clear heads and pure hearts so that our intentions may reflect Your character. Help us to get out of our own way and handle this situation according to Your Word—in love. Show us how to do that in a way that glorifies You, our Father in Heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
CHAPTER 4
Tammy arranged for Raegan to pick her and Joshua up from Hobby airport when they arrived in Houston. Tammy hoped that riding with a friend as opposed to using an Uber or any other car service would help alleviate any unwanted attention. Rumors were already flying around about his impending retirement before he had the chance to make an official announcement. He was still coming to terms with it himself, so the less people who knew about his current whereabouts the better. He would make his decision known when he was ready.
Cruising her coupe along the curb in the arrival terminal, Raegan quickly placed her car in park and hopped out to greet her friend when she spotted Joshua’s tall frame, standing at least another foot and a half higher than Tammy. She threw her arms around Tammy’s neck and squeezed as if she hadn’t seen her in years. It was good to have another person around who was always in her corner. After releasing her friend, she opened her arms to Joshua as well, hugging him as if he was just as good a friend to her as Tammy.
“It’s so good to see you guys. Apologies for the discomfort you’re going to feel in this small car.” Raegan snickered, gesturing toward her coupe as she moved to assist them with their bags. Joshua immediately swooped the luggage out of Raegan’s grip and put the bags in the trunk.
“No problem. I’m sure no one would even believe I could actually fit in there anyway,” he commented, brushing off her remark about his size. “And don’t even think about lifting anything heavy like that when you have a man around. I’m not that sickly. My hands still work,” he reminded the two of them. She shouldn’t have been trying to lift anything anyway, since she was with child. As much as the baby had been on her mind lately, she’d forgotten in that second while trying to be helpful.
He didn’t have to tell Raegan twice though. She took the hint and walked back to the driver’s side and slid behind the wheel. “Hop in guys.”
Once Tammy and Josh found a way to fit inside of Raegan’s two-door coupe, Raegan shifted the car into gear to exit the airport.
Glancing up in the rearview mirror to get a good look at Josh, Raegan probed, “So Joshua, how long are you here?”
“Indefinitely,” he answered with a huge grin on his face. He leaned forward to kiss Tammy, reiterating his joy at being able to spend the extra time with her. No more plane rides keeping them apart.
When he pulled away, Tammy winked and smiled back but added nothing to his response. Raegan asked more questions. “What about ball?” Raegan was prying. She pretty much had her answer to that question but wanted to make conversation. Besides, it wasn’t every day that she had a pro basketball player riding in her backseat.
“I’m putting ball aside for now to focus on my health. Gotta stay strong for my sweetheart, you know,” he answered, not giving much detail, reaching forward to give Tammy’s arm a quick rub.
Since she wasn’t getting anywhere with that line of questioning, she shifted her focus to Tammy, who seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.
“So Tammy, what do you have planned for Josh during his stay?” Raegan changed the subject, a huge grin covering her face. She was mostly teasing.
“I haven’t gotten that far yet, but I’m sure we can figure something out. He really needs to rest for a while, so we’re probably going to lay low and keep things nice and easy,” she answered, shifting her body to peer around to the backseat to get a glimpse of Joshua’s expression. Joshua looked pretty uncomfortable, buckled in his seatbelt with his legs stretched to the other side of the car. He simply smiled at her. He knew there could be no protest at this point. He wanted to find a court and play basketball, but Tammy would never have that.
“I see. Well, if you guys are pressed for something to do, you can always come over to my place and help me prepare the nursery,” Raegan said, glancing over quickly at Tammy to catch her reaction.
“Nursery?” Confusion covered Tammy’s face as she reached over and touched Raegan’s stomach. “Wait, are you having a baby? When did this happen?”
“Looks that way for now.” Raegan shrugged her shoulders and smiled weakly as she patted her belly. She waited for Tammy to absorb the news as silence filled the car for a brief moment. Nothing could be heard but the wind that seeped through the windows as her speed increased around the freeway and the soft R&B music playing on the radio, which seemed to have Joshua’s attention.
“Ah! Congratulations!” Tammy squealed in excitement but just as quickly calmed down. She knew Raegan had been practicing ce
libacy—or so she thought. She didn’t want to get into all of that in front of Joshua, so instead she waited on Raegan’s reaction. Is Raegan excited about the baby?
“Thanks, Tam. You know it’s not happening the way I thought it would but it’s done now.” Raegan caught the confusion in Tammy’s eyes, hoping that she’d answered the question that was never asked with the shrug of her shoulders.
“Is Rico the father?” Tammy whispered. She silently hoped that Raegan would say no. It was best if he stayed out of her life forever. Tammy felt a little responsible for Raegan’s disastrous relationship with Rico since they did meet at one of her house parties.
Raegan peered up into the rearview mirror to see if Joshua was paying attention or engrossed in the music on the radio. She didn’t like addressing that question. She hardly knew Joshua and didn’t want him to form a negative opinion of her so early because of the unfortunate situation she’d gotten herself into.
Raegan looked over at Tammy and lifted an eyebrow as she shrugged her shoulders once more.
Tammy mouthed, “Caleb?”
Again, Raegan shrugged her shoulders as if to say, “I don’t know.” Tammy knew this was a conversation for another day and decided to drop it. She leaned back in her seat floored at what Raegan just admitted. She silently prayed, Lord, have Your way, as she didn’t know what else to say or pray. She would talk to Raegan about it later, as she was certain that having the conversation in front of Joshua would make her uncomfortable.
“Are you guys going straight to your house, or do you need me to take you somewhere else first?” Raegan changed the subject. If they continued whispering, Joshua was sure to become suspicious.
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