It's Our Time (Carolina Rebels Book 4)

by Lindsay Paige

Mom is quiet for a second. “You don’t have to be so harsh, Sydney.”

  My eyes water. “I’m not trying to be! God, I’m just…I called to tell you the happy news. Be happy for me, please?”

  “We’re happy for you,” Chris says.

  “Let us know how we can help with the wedding, and we’ll do it,” Dad adds.

  “Is it rude if I just want to invite you from your family, Dad?”

  He laughs. “Yes, but if that’s what you want, then I’ll make it work.”

  “I’ll let you know for sure at some point.” There’s a knock on the door. “I gotta go. Carey’s here.” We say our goodbyes and I answer the door. Based on her frown and arms folded over her chest, I’d say she’s not happy to be here, but I want us to get back on track again. “Hey.”

  “Hey,” she says as she walks in.

  “Aunt Carey!” Savannah comes over and hugs her. “Look. His name is Z.” She holds up her seahorse. For some unknown reason, she’s named him after Ian’s friend, Zane. She just walked up to me this morning and said that his name was Z. When I asked why, her answer was “because,” which was very helpful.

  “Go color a picture for Aunt Carey,” I tell her. She agrees and goes to the coffee table, where her supplies are already scattered on top. Carey and I sit at the dining room table. “So, how are things with you and Jerry?”

  “Do you really want to know?” she asks snidely.

  “If you’re going to be with him, then yeah. You’re still my best friend. Aren’t you?”

  She doesn’t answer the question. Instead, she says, “You didn’t tell me you were engaged.”

  I glance down at my ring. “It just happened practically and we haven’t exactly been on speaking terms. Plus, I didn’t know if you’d be happy for me.”

  “You’ve been hung up on the same man since you were sixteen. Regardless of what I think, I’m going to be happy that you’re finally getting what you want, Sydney,” she says quietly, her eyes focused on the table.

  I bring the discussion back to her and Jerry. “Tell me how it happened.”

  Carey nods, takes a deep breath, and explains how he came into the store where she works. He sought her out, said he wanted to be forgiven because he realized he made a huge mistake, and she initially said no. He came in every shift for two months, asking for forgiveness. She finally gave in and went out to dinner with him. They’ve been seeing each other since. “He’s changed, Sydney. Sometimes, he doesn’t even seem like the same guy. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be giving him the time of day.”

  “All right, then. I’m sorry for how we reacted, but you sprung him on us.”

  “I know,” she interrupts. “I didn’t know how to bring him back into the picture and things kind of blew up.”

  Ain’t that the truth. A wave of nausea hits me hard. I squeeze my eyes closed, take a controlled breath, waiting to see if I’ll need to go to the bathroom.

  “Sydney? You okay?”

  “Yeah,” I whisper. “I’ve been sick.”

  “Sick?” She sounds surprised. “You don’t normally get sick. I mean, the only time I remember you being sick was when you were pregnant with Savannah.”

  My eyes fly open. Oh god. Could I be pregnant?

  “What’s wrong with you?” she continues, not realizing I’m frozen and feeling lightheaded. “You don’t think it’s contagious, do you? Should I take Savannah? Let you rest? Sydney?”

  “I was sick not too long ago with that virus Savannah brought home from her daycare,” I remind her. “Will you take her? Let her spend the night with you and Logan? I’m sure she’d love that anyway.”

  “Yeah. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine. I think it’s a bad virus or something.”

  I nervously sit at the table while Carey and an excited Savannah pack a bag for her to spend the night over there. Once they leave, I run to the pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test. I walk into the apartment and nearly drop the bag when I see Ian.

  “Hey, gorgeous.” He smiles. “I was wondering where you were. Where’s Savannah?”

  “Ah. She is spending the night with Carey and Logan.”

  “You guys made up?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good.” He closes the distance between us and kisses me gently. “How are you feeling, babe?”

  “Not good,” I reply honestly. “I could be sick or…” My voice trails off and the confusion soon appears on his face.

  “Or what?” he asks. I hand him the bag. He pulls the handles apart and drops the bag, quickly picking it back up. “You think you might be pregnant?” His eyes are wide. He gulps as he stares and waits for an answer.

  “Maybe?” I whisper. “Carey said something and I realized the last time I felt this terrible, I was pregnant with Savannah. I could have some virus, but I could be pregnant, too.”

  “Wouldn’t you know?”

  “I’ve been really irregular since I had Savannah, so I didn’t think much about not having it yet.”

  “Okay.” He takes a deep breath that somehow calms me down. Ian takes my hand in his and leads me to the bathroom. He gives me the bag and nudges me inside. “Do whatever and then let me in and we’ll find out.”

  I step into the bathroom and close the door.

  “All I wanted was to come home for my pregame nap, babe,” he says from the other side with a touch of teasing in his tone.

  I can’t help but laugh. “Don’t be an ass, Ian.”

  “Or sex and a nap since Savannah isn’t here.”

  “Sex is what got us here.” His talking to me helps calm my nerves, so I’m grateful for that.

  “At least it was fucking fantastic sex.”

  I laugh again. Soon, it’s time to wait, so I open the door for Ian. He sits on the edge of the tub and pulls me to sit in his lap. “What if it’s positive?” I ask.

  “What if it’s negative?” he parrots back.

  “Wait. What are you hoping for?” I’m confused now.

  “What do you want it to be?” he asks, running his nose from my ear to the crook of my neck.

  “I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “On the one hand, I worry about the timing. On the other hand, I worry I’ll be disappointed. I love being a mom and I want Savannah to have a little brother and for you to experience everything you missed with me and another baby, but fuck, Ian. What if it’s too soon for us to handle something like that? We’re solid, but what if we’re not that solid? And we’re supposed to get married while I look like a whale? Tell me what you’re thinking.” I turn sideways in his lap to look at him.

  He’s quiet for all of a second. “A little brother, huh?”

  I hang my head dramatically before lifting it. “That’s what you took away from that? Were you even listening to me?”

  He laughs. “I was listening. I heard a bunch of nonsense. Babe—”

  “You know what?” I interrupt. “Don’t say it. I’m just anxious, tired, nauseous, and ready to find out one way or another. We’re going to be fine because you love me, I love you, and neither one of us are going anywhere. So, just hold me until it’s time to look.”

  The most brilliant smile overtakes Ian’s face. He leans forward and kisses me hard. He drives me insane as his tongue moves slow and leisurely and then fast and almost rough. I’m so lost in his kiss that I jump when the timer on his phone goes off. I glare at him when he laughs.

  “Do you want to do the honor or should I?” he asks.

  “Us together.”

  I lean forward, take a deep breath, and grab the test. Ian grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him. I expect him to say something, but instead he kisses me quickly just once. Then, we glance down.

  Pregnant.

  “We’ll have to move,” Ian says.

  “What?” I look up at him. That’s such an odd thing to say.

  “It’s a two-bedroom apartment, babe.” He grins. “Baby Rhett needs a room, too.” Oh, right. Duh. “This is going to be so much fun.”
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  I laugh. “Yeah. Me being miserable for a few weeks at the least is totally fun.”

  “I’ll be your butler, gorgeous, don’t you worry. When do we get to tell Savannah and everyone else?”

  “Let’s wait until after I go to the doctor. We’ll tell Savannah once I start showing, I guess. So, you’re excited?” It’s obvious to me, but I want to hear him say it.

  “Honest answer or the tame answer?”

  “Since when do you give me a tame answer?”

  He laughs. “Good point. I think I’m more excited about this than you marrying me.”

  My eyes nearly pop out of my head. “Ian! That’s just wrong!” Isn’t it?

  “What? You were a sure thing that I knew was going to happen. I didn’t know I was going to have another kid. If you don’t want to be a whale when we get married, then you better get moving on finding a dress. If it’s going to be really small, then we don’t need to do a lot of planning, right? Whenever the season ends, we’ll give everyone a few weeks notice and get married then. Why are you frowning, babe?”

  “Because it kinda sounds like we’re rushing so no one will know that I was pregnant when we got married.”

  “That’s not why. You know it. Everyone who will be there will know it. Anyone else doesn’t matter.”

  I sigh. “You know the woman is supposed to always be right and not the man?”

  The stupidest grin ever appears. “Can’t help it, gorgeous. Some days, it’s you. Most days, it’s me.” I laugh and he takes the test from my hand, putting it back on the counter. “So, we have a plan?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” He kisses my forehead. “Come take my nap with me.”

  We go to the bedroom after I properly dispose of the test. Ian pulls me close. One arm is under my neck, bent so his hand can run through my hair, and his other is on my stomach. My eyes drift closed. I’m so tired. This nap is going to be perfect.

  “Babe?” Ian whispers just as I’m dozing off.

  “Hmm?”

  He keeps his voice low, but it’s thick with emotion as he speaks. “I can’t tell you how fucking happy I am right now.” He kisses my forehead, letting his lips rest there. “I just…fuck, gorgeous. I have no words.”

  “We don’t need any, Ian.”

  “Don’t let me fuck this up.”

  At this, I prop myself up on an elbow to look at him. “What? How would you fuck it up? You’re the strong one—”

  “I mean with Savannah and the baby.”

  “Don’t you remember what I told you in the beginning? When you said that you didn’t know how to be a father? I told you that I didn’t know how to be a mother and that I’d been winging it. That’s all you can do, Ian. It’s going to be different because it’ll be a baby, but lucky you, I’ve done this before, so I can promise that we’ll be fine.”

  He nods. The worry lessens, and I hope I can soon make it go away completely. Ian takes his role very seriously. Where I sometimes worry about us unnecessarily, he worries about that unnecessarily. “When do you think we’ll have little Rhett?”

  “I don’t know. Depends on how far along I am.” Last time, I was about six weeks when I started feeling sick, though I didn’t go to the doctor until I was eight weeks along. I quickly do some math based on that. “Maybe October? If this pregnancy is the same as before.”

  “New season. New baby.”

  “You’re supposed to be napping,” I remind him. “And I would like to nap, too.”

  “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep. You nap. I’ll hold you.”

  I lie back down, resting my head on his shoulder, and it takes all of two minutes for me to fall asleep.

  When I wake up, Ian is gone. There’s a note on his pillow where he basically said he didn’t want to wake me just to say goodbye. He also said that if I was feeling any better, he’d love for me to come to the game tonight. I check my phone for the time. I’ve slept for a long time. If I leave now, I’ll probably make it right after puck drop. I find my jersey, slip it on, and head to the arena.

  The box seems unusually full tonight, but I excuse my way over to Lizzy, Meredith, and Sylvia.

  “Look who it is!” Sylvia exclaims. “How have you been? What’s new in—Oh my god, you’re engaged!” She grabs my hand and yanks me closer to her so she can examine the ring.

  “You really don’t miss anything, do you?”

  “Not a chance,” she mutters. Lizzy and Meredith step closer to peer at it as well.

  “Congrats,” Lizzy says.

  “Yes, congrats,” Meredith adds.

  “Congrats. The ring is pretty,” Sylvia says. “How did he propose? Was it romantic? When did he propose? When is the wedding?”

  Lizzy laughs. “If you’d shut up, she might tell you.”

  “Well, we were talking about our future and he asked me. We’re getting married soon after the season ends.”

  Sylvia frowns. “That is not nearly enough details, but I should have expected as much. Let’s sit and watch the game.” I end up between Sylvia and Meredith with Lizzy on the other side of Meredith. Sylvia leans forward to ask Meredith, “Do you know how EJ’s doing?”

  “You mean you don’t?” she teases with a laugh.

  “EJ is the one who has the newborn, right?” I ask.

  “Yeah. Poor guy is exhausted all the time and his mom has basically moved in to help him. I’ve offered to help his mom when I can, but EJ isn’t accepting help from anyone but his mom it seems.”

  “You’ll soon be busy anyway,” Lizzy says. Leaning forward, she says to me, “She’s a famous retired pro tennis player. You’re sitting next to tennis royalty. She’s about to start offering private lessons.”

  “I’m not tennis royalty.” Meredith shakes her head and looks displeased.

  “Yet no argument that she’s famous.”

  “Can we stop talking about it? Sydney doesn’t care about my old career. Right?” She looks at me like she’s begging me to say yes.

  “Not really. I don’t like sports. I mean, obviously, I like hockey just a little now, but other than that, don’t care.”

  The goal horn blares loudly, pulling all of our attention to the ice. There’s a hockey hug going on among the Rebels and I wonder who scored. I don’t even know if Ian is on the ice. A few seconds later, it’s announced that our captain Brayden Hayes tallied the goal to put us on the board first.

  As I watch the men on the ice, I start to think about the future. What am I going to do about a job now? I’m supposed to try to get a job after graduation just to turn around and need time off when I have this baby? Maybe I can take a year or so off and then job hunt. I already know Ian will be fine with that.

  The crowd starts a “Let’s Go Rebels” chant, and I wish Savannah was here. She’d love to scream with thousands of other fans in the arena. The Rebels are on a power play due to one of the Washington players getting a roughing penalty.

  A wave of nausea comes. I close my eyes and breathe slowly through my nose. Please, let it go away. I don’t want to text Ian and tell him I had to leave after I already let him know I was here.

  “Sydney? Are you okay?” Meredith asks.

  I slowly open my eyes, debating if I should go to the bathroom because I just got a whiff of pizza and I think it’s going to push me over the edge. I nod, stand, and rush to the bathroom to puke. I should’ve stayed home where nothing could trigger me. During my pregnancy with Savannah, I swear, I didn’t think I was ever going to stop either throwing up or feeling like I was going to vomit.

  “Sydney?”

  “I’m okay.” My voice is hoarse and scratchy as I flush the toilet and come out of the stall. “Just not feeling well lately. I thought I was doing better, but guess not.” I give her a weak smile as I wash my hands and rinse my mouth out.

  “Do you want to go home? I can drive you if you aren’t up to it.”

  “No, that’s okay. I’ll be fine.” As if things couldn’t get any worse, I�
�m suddenly lightheaded. So much so that my vision escapes me for a moment and I sway.

  “Okay, I’m taking you home,” Meredith says decisively. “Have you eaten?”

  I groan at the thought as my vision returns, but the lightheadedness doesn’t go away.

  “Sydney, let’s go.” She takes one of my arms and puts it around her shoulders and one of her arms around my waist like I’m injured. We return to the box long enough for her to tell Lizzy and Sylvia that she’s taking me home.

  “I’m fine,” I try.

  “She’s throwing up and she nearly fainted.”

  “We’ll come with you.”

  I’m not sure which of them says it because I’m too tired to focus. I watch them stand, my eyes straying to the ice in time to see my Ian Rhett racing down and scoring a goal. But then, Meredith is hauling me out of the room.

  “Really, y’all. I’m okay.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  I feel bad that they are fussing over me so much when I’m not sick and I am okay. “I’m just pregnant,” I whisper.

  Meredith stops walking. “And you haven’t eaten?” Her voice is nearly hysterical. “Sydney, you should know better. We’re still taking you home. Do you have something that won’t upset your stomach at the house?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “I’ll stop and get something,” Sylvia offers.

  “Y’all,” I start to try and I don’t know what I want to do, but Meredith cuts me off.

  “Don’t even,” she says in a don’t-fuck-with-me tone that shuts me up real fast. She doesn’t say anything more like I expected her to.

  Soon, I’m home, sitting on the couch, and watching the game there. Well, it’s intermission, so I’m not watching anything actually. Sylvia arrives just as the second period is starting with ginger ale and saltine crackers.

  “If you get hungry, say the word and I’ll raid your kitchen and fix you supper,” she says.

  “Thanks, but if I get hungry, then I’m sure I’ll be able to do it myself. Y’all don’t have to stay with me.”

  “We already texted the guys to let them know we left,” Meredith says, which reminds me that I need to text Ian. He won’t see it until after the game, but he’ll see it before he makes his way to the box.