by Smith, Megan
“Stop fighting me,” he whispered.
His arm snaked around my waist and his hand spread out over my stomach. I tensed.
“Stop pushing.” I moved his hand down my body so it rested on my hip.
After a few minutes of complete stillness, I heard Hunter whisper, “I love you,” and then a second later he was lightly snoring. I was finally able to relax and fall asleep. I snuggled up to him a little closer, wanting to take advantage of this time.
The next morning, I woke up before Hunter even stirred. As soon as I opened my eyes, I ran to the bathroom to throw up. I dressed and prepared for the worst day of my life.
Mom leaned against the kitchen island reading the paper and drinking her coffee. No one else was around.
“Morning, Mom.”
She took off her glasses and set them down on the island. “Morning, baby girl, you want something for breakfast?”
I took a deep breath, trying hard not to think of food. “No thanks, I was going to go for a walk. You want to come with me?”
“Sure.” She finished her coffee and followed me to the park.
“You want to tell me what’s going on with you and Hunter?” she asked.
No, but I had to do it.
It is probably better to start at the beginning—the fights with Mason, Hunter’s arguments and stress, Dom’s help. Mom listened, just as she always did.
“I wish things didn’t end like they did,” I said. “Mason, I think, finally got his head out of his ass about us, but it’s a little too late now.”
“It’s not too late if you don’t let it be. I know you love him,” Mom said.
I started crying and sunk onto a nearby bench. “Mom, he’s going to hate me for what I did. He is going to think I’m trapping him. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to tell him.”
She sat down next to me and hugged me to her side. “Tell me what’s going on, baby girl.”
I took a deep breath. I wiped the tears from my eyes and held her gaze.
“I’m so sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I’m pregnant.”
Mom blinked, letting the words sink in. Disappointment crossed over her face, and then realization as to what I just said hit her. She didn’t say anything for a while; I started shaking. Was she upset, mad? I needed her to say something, anything.
She took my hand, I sighed. Maybe things would be ok. I could deal with her being upset with me. I was upset with myself.
“MacKenzie,” she squeezed my hand. “You had such a bright future ahead of you. I’m not saying you can’t have that now, but it’s going to be a struggle.” A few tears fell from her eyes. “I didn’t want this to happen to you. I’m disappointed, but it has happened and now we have to deal with it. We, sweetie, not just you. Your whole family is here for you.”
The tears are flowing freely now. She wrapped me in her arms and shushed me.
“I take it you haven’t told anyone yet?” She asked, running her hands through my hair.
“Chloe, Hailey, and Dominic.”
“Dominic?” I knew she would be surprised.
“Yeah, he’s actually the one who bought me the test.”
Nodding at me, she said, “You need to tell Hunter. This isn’t something you can hide from him. If he doesn’t want any part of this, then it is what it is, but I don’t think that will happen. Your family is here for you, and before you even ask, yes, they are going to be upset over this, but no one will turn their backs on you or my little grandchild in there.” She said as she rubbed my stomach.
I wiped the final tears out of my eyes. “I love you, Mom.”
“Aww, I love you too, baby girl.” She said hugging me back. “Have you called the doctors or anything yet?”
“No. I have no idea what I need to do.”
She took my hand in hers and helped me up. “Well, first thing we need to do is call and make an appointment to see the ob-gyn. They will have you take a test in the office and will also do some bloodwork.”
I smiled. “Sounds good.”
Mom stopped walking and gave me another apologetic smile. “You are going to have to tell your brothers and your father. I’ll be there with you.”
“Well, Mason was pissed at me already, so I might as well add this to his list of reasons now. I just hope he doesn’t murder Hunter. I know Coop and Jackson will be upset with me. And Dad, ugh I don’t even want to think about it.”
“We will get through it as a family, sweetie.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Mom was able to pull some strings and got me an appointment for Monday morning to see the ob-gyn. They confirmed that I was indeed pregnant and did some bloodwork to confirm how far along I was. They told me I would have the results back in a day or so. Until then, I stayed clear of everyone.
Wednesday night, Mom and I decided to get some ice cream and sneak off to the bookstore to find some books on pregnancy. Chloe surprised us back at the house with a few things for me as well, and we went into the sitting room to talk about the wedding.
“Chloe, I’m going to look like a whale in your wedding. I really would just rather do something else special for you,” I said.
“Oh no, I need you there with me,” she said. “You are my maid of honor and you cannot back out on me. It’s not an option.”
“Come on, you really want to take pictures with Shamu standing next to you? I’ll probably be waddling like a duck, walking down the aisle.” I started laughing picturing it.
Mom joined in on laughing at me too, and Chloe was still glaring at me. “Just because you went and got knocked up doesn’t mean…”
Someone cleared their throat behind me.
Chloe and Mom turned their head, but I knew who it was, felt who it was.
“Hello, Hunter,” Mom said. “The boys aren’t here. I think they went to the movies.”
Hunter was still. “Can I talk to CC alone?”
“You ok?” Chloe asked.
My cheeks burned. I nodded. I folded my hands in my lap, and curled my legs Indian style on the couch.
They walked out. Hunter sat across from me. He didn’t say anything. I bit my lip.
This would be the end of us, the end of us all being a family—no more holidays, Sunday dinners, birthdays, graduations—no nothing if this didn’t go over well. My eyes darted down to the table. Between the wedding books, a pregnancy magazine peeked out.
His eyes followed mine. He scratched the scuff that was on his face. “Are they yours?”
My hands were sweating. I was shaking. “Yeah.”
His eyes went wide, “You’re pregnant?”
I nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Hunter, just listen to me for a minute, okay? You are twenty-two, and ready to graduate from college in a few months. I don't want this to stop you from making something of yourself. Just because this baby is ours doesn’t mean you have to be with us.” I stood up from the couch and started pacing. “I want to be with you, God knows I do. Don't get me wrong. I can raise this baby on my own. You didn’t ask for this, and I don’t want you to think I trapped you.”
“Are you done?” He asked, smirking.
“Yes.”
“CC, I love you more than you will ever know. I never stopped. I understand why you haven’t told me, why you didn’t come to me first. I’ve been an asshole.” He stood up, and came over to me, grabbed both of my hands with his, and pulled them between us. “I’m sorry; I didn’t know what to do. Our families are so close, and I felt like I was ruining it. I broke my promise to you that I wouldn’t break your heart. I need to make that up to you.”
“You don’t need to make anything up to me. Hunter, I ruined us. I told you I was protected. I thought I was. Remember when I was sick over Christmas break, and the doctor put me on antibiotics?”
“Yeah, when you had your ear infection.”
“Well, it counter-acted my birth control. I’m so sorry.” The tears pooled in my
eyes. “I wasn’t thinking. I don’t want you to hate me; I swear I wouldn’t do something like this to trap you.”
“I know you wouldn’t do anything like that,” He said. “I love you. I want this with you, with our baby. I want to be a family. I want to take care of you both. You know everything happens for a reason, right? Please stop crying.”
I took a shuddering breath. “Yes, but I feel like I’m holding you back now, trapping you. I don’t want you to regret doing this with me.”
He reached up, cupped my face in his strong hands and used his thumbs to brush the tears away. “CC, I could never regret anything about you, ever.” Hunter dropped his hands to my hips and pulled me towards him. “You know I’m going to marry you one day, right?”
“Are you going to marry me just because I'm pregnant?” He couldn’t be serious. Just because I was having our baby didn’t mean I was expecting him to propose.
He kissed me. “No. Because I’m never letting you go again. You are it for me. I don’t give a shit if your brothers like it or not. I’m done trying to make everyone happy. I should have been done a long time ago. I’m going to make it up to you, I promise.” He kissed me again, lingering a little longer this time.
I reached up, and entwined my fingers behind his neck. “I love you, Hunter.”
“I love you too. I need to show you something. I should wait until it’s finished, but this is for you now too.”
He led me out to his truck. It was just starting to rain, but the sun was shining bright, and a rainbow spread over the field across the street.
He kissed me before opening the door to his truck. “You know I love kissing you in the rain. I just couldn’t help myself.”
We drove for about twenty minutes, and pulled up to a cute little neighborhood. The houses were beautiful, mostly two stories with nicely manicured lawns. Hunter turned into the driveway of one that was towards the end of the street.
“Who do you know who lives here?” I asked.
The house was two stories with tan siding, white trim and white shutters. It had a two-car garage and, with a little work, nice landscaping. The bushes needed to be trimmed and there were a few bare spots in the lawn.
“Come on, I’ll tell you when we go inside.”
He laced our fingers together and we walked up to the house. He reached in his pocket, pulled out his keys, and unlocked the door.
He ushered me inside. His hands rested around my belly. I tensed, but he gently rubbed my stomach.
“Welcome home, CC.” He said softly to me.
“What? This is yours?”
Shaking his head at me, he says, “No, this is ours.”
Was I missing something? How could this be his?
“I don’t understand. How can you buy a house? When did you have the time to even look for a house?”
He chuckled. “Well, when I turned twenty-one, my trust fund kicked in. I knew I was coming back to Jersey to live, so mom has been on the lookout for me. She found this around Christmas; I just signed the papers on Friday when I got back. It needs a lot of work but it’s not too bad. Come on, I’ll show you.”
In front of us was a staircase that led to the second floor. Off to the right, there was a living room with a fireplace and a bay window. When we walked past the stairs, there was the dining room with floor to ceiling windows and off the dining room was the kitchen. The kitchen was beautiful. It had dark granite countertops, black appliances, plenty of counter space and tons of cabinets. Next to the kitchen was a full bathroom with a stand up shower. It needed some fixing up and a good cleaning but was not too bad. There was a huge family room with sliding glass doors leading to a nice sized back yard with an in-ground swimming pool.
“That door leads to the basement, but it’s a mess down there. I don’t want you getting hurt on the steps since there are a few broken ones.” Hunter pointed at a door in the family room. “Come on, I’ll show you the upstairs.”
He led me up the stairs to the first bedroom on the right. Bright yellow paint and stained carpet greeted me.
“Don’t worry; this is getting new paint and hardwood floors. Actually, all the other rooms are too. The only room that is already finished is our room.” He lifted my hand and kissed it.
He took me into the second room. The mint green paint and dark green was as stomach turning as bacon. Yes, it had to go too.
The bathroom was at the end of the hallway. It was very out dated but it was huge. With a few upgrades, it would be great.
“Ok, now I’m going to close your eyes. This is our room.” He stood behind me, and covered my eyes with his hands.
Hunter walked us into the room and lowered his hands. The room was gorgeous, enormous compared to the other two. Chestnut hardwood covered the floors, with a king-size canopy bed positioned between two wide windows. There was a dresser and a bureau, both black. Behind the only door in the room was a walk-in closet with all the shelves and racks you could ever use and in the center there was a tall square table with drawers.
“So what do you think?” Hunter asked. “Could you live here with me?”
I wrapped my arms around him. He tucked me under his chin.
“Hunter, it’s perfect. Are you positive this is what you want, and it’s not just because of the baby?”
He rubbed my back. “I was going to ask you to move in with me once we worked everything out, so yes, this is what I really want.”
He wiped my tears again and I laughed.
“It’s just these stupid hormones.”
He laughed with me. “Guess I better get used to that, huh?”
“Yeah, that seems to be all I do, well that plus throwing up every day, all day.”
He pulled me to the bed. He lifted my shirt and tossed it behind him. Then he unclasped my bra and pushed me back. He knelt in front of me, placed a single kiss on my stomach, then looked up at me and placed a few more kisses. He worked his way up to one of my nipples and sucked it into his mouth. I moaned.
I pulled his shirt off and reached for the zipper of his jeans.
He frowned. “Can you do this?”
“I’m pregnant, not broken.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him towards me.
Hunter and I spent the next hour memorizing each other’s bodies, whispering how much we loved each other and through our lovemaking, apologizing for all the hurt that we had caused each other. After we were completely spent, I placed my hand over his heart. He mirrored the gesture.
“You are my heart,” he said. “Always and forever.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
I woke the next morning, wrapped contentedly around Hunter, my hand still pressed to his heart and his hand still on mine. I didn’t want to move but I knew I would be getting sick any minute now. I tried not to think about it. I tried to focus on Hunter lying here with me, our lovemaking from last night.
“Mm…” Hunter lightly ran his fingers up my arm. “I love waking up with you wrapped in my arms.”
I lifted my head up to look at him but regretted it as soon as I did. My stomach rolled. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, begging for my stomach to calm down. It didn’t work, and I was sprinting to the bathroom.
Hunter sat on the edge of the tub with a glass of water in his hand.
“Does this happen every day?”
I nodded. “Looks like it.”
I realized I was naked. I stood to get dressed, but Hunter stopped me from moving.
“Take a shower with me?” he asked.
“Where are the towels?”
Hunter reached around me and opened a cabinet in the wall. He pulled out two fluffy white towels and reached to turn the water on. After adjusting it a few times, he reached for my hand and helped me in the shower with him.
Hunter pressed his lips to my neck and pushed back on me until the shower tiles pressed up against me. He hands slowly lowered down my back, past my ass and stopped on the backs of my thighs and he picked me up. I wrapped my legs ar
ound him and he pressed himself into me.
Groaning into my neck and thrusting slow and hard, he said, “I’ll never forgive myself for pushing you away, CC. I was so fucking stupid.”
I adjusted my hips so he could hit deeper. “Everything is fine now; we worked it out.”
“I know but you’ll never know what that did to me. I didn’t think I would ever get this with you.” He said panting in my ear.
Moaning his name aloud as my body started tightening, my head hit the tiles with a thud and everything started going out of focus with my release. Hunter thrust a few more times and came.
After we both caught our breath, he lowered me down but still held me against the wall. I was thankful for that considering my legs felt like Jell-O. He helped me wash my hair and body, spending extra time on my belly. I loved watching him in complete awe of my tiny baby bump, of how my body was changing daily.
After we got out of the shower, he wrapped me in one of his over-sized towels and he handed me a pair of my yoga pants and one of his t-shirts to wear.
“You left them at my place and I was going to return them to you but hadn’t had the chance yet.” he said.
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t. But I really need a toothbrush more than I do my pants now.”
“Yeah, sorry, there is an extra in the drawer in the bathroom.”
I grabbed the toothbrush and brushed my teeth. Hunter came in behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his hands on my stomach. “I can’t believe there’s a little piece of me in here.” He kissed the side of my neck.
I spit the toothpaste out and rinsed my mouth. “I know, I was really scared at first but it’s kind of growing on me now.” I twisted in his arms and reached up on my tiptoes to kiss him. He lifted me and sat me on the bathroom sink and I pulled him between my legs. I giggled. He was hard again.
He pulled back from the kiss, smirking. “I can’t help it.” He kissed me again harder this time, but I pushed him back before things could get crazy.
“I know, I know.” He kissed me a few times before he helped me down off the sink. “We should probably head back to your parents’ house and tell everyone what’s going on.”