Harmony Island Gazette

1. Juniper

Two pink lines.

I stared down at the pregnancy test that was resting on the edge of the bathroom sink in front of me. I blinked once. Twice. Three times.

No matter how many times my eyes had to refocus, those two pink lines remained.

I was pregnant.

My stomach twisted and turned. I clutched my middle and doubled over as my knees began to give out. I knew I should catch myself, but my brain wasn’t connecting with the rest of my body, and the ground was coming toward me at a rapid pace.

“Whoa, whoa,” Boone’s smooth, deep voice rang in my ears as I felt his arms surround me. He went with me as he lowered me to the floor.

Once I was sitting on the ground, he let go but remained crouched down next to me.

I closed my eyes and tipped my head back, resting it on the wall. My head was spinning with questions and I couldn’t seem to focus on anything.

“What am I going to do?” I finally whispered. I shook my head slightly from side to side.

“Are you disappointed?” Boone asked after a few seconds of silence.

A flutter of excitement danced in my stomach as I digested his question. Truth was, I’d always wanted to be a mother. I always thought that Kevin and I would have tons of babies and grow old together with our family around us. That was before Kevin informed me that having children was not in his life plan.

Hewas never going to be a father. Therefore, I was never going to be a mother.

Back then, I’d convinced myself that, eventually, he’d change his mind. We were still young. Sure, Kevin was determined to grow his advertising business, but aging had a way of slowing people down and causing them to take stock of their life. I just needed to wait until having a family became a priority for him like it was for me.

What a fool I’d been.

I peeked over at Boone. He was sitting next to me now. He’d hooked one arm around the knee that he’d brought up to his chest, and he was staring at the ground in front of him.

It was nice having him here with me. I wasn’t sure what I would have done if I’d learned this information on my own. Even though I knew nothing about this man, it was nice that he was sitting here with me. Heaven knows, he didn’t have to.

Realizing that I couldn’t spend the day sitting on the disgusting bathroom floor, I shifted my weight so I could stand. “We should probably get back,” I said as I placed my hand down on the ground next to me to support my body.

Boone was faster than I was, and suddenly, he was standing and had his hands wrapped around my other arm to help me up. I was on my feet in record time. Once he was certain that I was stable, he let me go and took a step back, keeping his gaze focused on me like he was still uncertain if I was stable enough to remain upright on my own.

“Thanks,” I whispered as I brushed the front of my pants. He raised his eyebrows as if to ask me why I was thanking him. My cheeks heated as I hurried to add, “For helping me up, getting the test, waiting with me…” I offered him a small smile. “For everything.”

Boone flicked his gaze up at the pregnancy test still resting on the sink before bringing it back to settle on me. “You’re welcome.”

I held his gaze for a few seconds before I took in a deep breath and turned back to the sink to pick up the test and the empty box. I buried them deep under the used paper towels in the trash can. With that now taken care of, I returned to the sink and flipped the water on. I slathered up my hands, and once they were rinsed, I moved to grab some paper towels to dry off.

Boone was at the sink, washing his hands. By the time I’d tossed the wadded up paper towels into the trash, he was finished and pulling some from the dispenser. I watched him, wondering what he thought about this.

I was fairly certain that this hadn’t been a part of whatever deal my dad had made with him. After all, sitting on the bathroom floor while I had a freakout over a positive pregnancy test didn’t seem like something my father would ask him to do. I needed to make sure that what happened here would stay between us. Even though he worked for my dad, I needed him to keep this a secret.

“Can we keep this between us?” The words tumbled from my lips before I could police them.

Boone stopped drying his hands and glanced over at me. He studied me for a moment before he nodded. “Of course.”

Relief flooded my body. “Good.” I sucked in my breath. “I just…I’m just not ready…” I pinched my lips together as the reality of my situation came crashing down around me. I was going to have to tell my parents. I was going to have to tell Kevin. His family was going to find out.

My plan to permanently cut Kevin and the whole Proctor family from my life had evaporated with the appearance of those two pink lines. My world began to spin around me once more, so I slammed my eyes shut in an effort to gain some control.

“You don’t have to justify to me how you want to handle this. I’ll keep your secret as long as you want me to.” Boone’s voice seemed closer. I opened my eyes to see that he was standing in front of me now. His gaze was sharp and direct, like he wanted me to know that he meant what he said.

I held his gaze before I slowly nodded. “Thanks,” I whispered.

His jaw muscles twitched before he nodded, stepped back, and tossed the paper towels into the garbage. Then he grabbed the bathroom door handle and turned it. He held the door open and stepped to the side so I could pass through.

I nodded my thanks to him, but just as I stepped outside, I stopped. Mom was standing there with her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed. I startled, grabbing my heart as I yelped and stumbled back.

“Geez, Mom,” I said as I bent forward to catch my breath.

“What were you two doing in the bathroom?” Mom asked as her gaze slowly shifted from me to Boone, who was still holding the door. He looked like a deer in headlights.

Not wanting him to get in trouble for me, I straightened and forced a smile. “I was having Boone check out a mole that looks cancerous.”

Mom snapped her gaze to me. “Don’t be crude,” she scolded.

I sighed loud enough for her to hear. “Listen, the toilet was clogged, and I was struggling to get it clear. Boone was kind enough to help me.” I raised my eyebrows as I stared at her. “I can ask you next time, though.”

Mom pursed her lips and shook her head. “No, no. That’s okay.” She smiled at Boone. “Thank you for saving my daughter. You know, I always tell her to eat fiber, but she never listens.”

“Ma!”

Boone had left the bathroom door and was a few steps away. The door latch clicked behind me. “It’s okay, Mrs. Godwin,” Boone said as he smiled down at her. “I was happy to help.”

Before I could correct Mom that I wasn’t the one who clogged the toilet, Boone was out of earshot. Mom called another thank-you after him before she turned to look at me.

“Mother,” I said with my eyes wide so she could feel the weight of my frustration.

“What?” she asked.

“I wasn’t the one who clogged the toilet.” My face felt fiery hot as embarrassment coursed through me.

She frowned. “I thought you said?—”

“It was a customer.”

Her eyes widened as her lips formed an “o.” Then she paused and shrugged. “Honest mistake.”

“No. That’s not an honest mistake.” I closed my eyes, praying that Boone hadn’t picked up on what my mother had insinuated. “And why did you say that I don’t eat enough fiber? I’m a grown woman. I can take care of myself.” To my mother, I must still be this little girl who was too scared to use the bathroom because she was worried what might come crawling up from the sewers.

“When you were a kid?—”

“Ugh, Mom.”

She just shrugged. “History has a way of repeating itself.”

I shook my head. “I’m ending this conversation right now.” I studied her for a moment before I let out an exasperated sigh and turned to leave.

“You shouldn’t be embarrassed. Everyone does it!” Mom called after me.

My cheeks were on fire as I hurried away from her. I ran down a few aisles before I stopped to take in a few deep breaths.

I contemplated trying to find Boone to explain, but I realized that probably would not help. It was best to leave it in the past and move forward. Plus, I had much bigger things to worry about right now, namely, the baby growing in my belly and how I was going to tell its father.

Kevin had to know, and I had no idea how I was going to tell him.

Or how he was going to respond.