6. Jack #2
When she opened the door, her pillow, blanket, Bugles corn chips, and red Gatorade—the only things I could remember she liked when we were younger—sat in the passenger seat.
Her mouth opened and closed, and her eyes softened as she glanced up at me.
I tried my damn hardest not to pay too much attention to or care about her reaction, but my gaze caught with hers.
We didn’t say anything. She didn’t thank me, and I didn’t dismiss her.
But those emerald eyes told me all I needed to know.
Maggie lifted herself into the cab, pulling up the blanket and adjusting the pillow, and set the Bugles in the cup holder between us.
A surge of pride rushed through me that I did it right. My first right thing. And I could only hope to do the next dozen right, too.
Maggie yawned and tried to cover her mouth.
I reached for her hand and held it in mine to center us before we started this insane journey.
The past few days had felt like a lifetime.
With her finding out about the baby and the sudden decision to come with me to Wyoming, she had a lot on her mind and her plate.
And me? I was pretty sure I hadn’t slept since I found out I was going to be a father.
Sleep meant nightmares about how terrible a parent I would turn out to be.
Fears that I would end up like my mother.
But this wasn’t about me. Maggie was carrying the baby.
She needed reassurance more than anything I needed.
“You doing okay?” I asked with concern.
She nodded, but her expression betrayed her.
“Mags, I need to know how you’re really feeling before I pull out of this driveway.”
“I’m feeling…” she sighed and glanced out the window. Her house was almost visible up the hill. “Scared out of my mind that we’re actually doing this.”
I began to say something, but she continued.
“But I’m feeling better. You’ve made this whole thing a hell of a lot easier.” She smiled. It wasn’t the bright, dazzling smile I hoped for, but I understood. She was exhausted.
“Good.” I squeezed her hand. “That’s what I’m here for.” I couldn’t tell her about the impending fears looming over me, but if she felt okay, I would feel okay.
Rolling my shoulders back, I took a deep breath.
A weight pressed into my chest—the same one that hadn’t left since I learned about the baby in Maggie’s kitchen—but I dismissed it.
I put the truck in drive and slowly accelerated down the driveway, double-checking my mirrors that everything was secure on the forty-foot trailer in tow.
Maggie gazed out the window with uncertainty in her eyes and apprehension in the hand that was still gripping mine.
“What did your dad say?” I cleared my throat. “About you leaving with me.”
Maggie took a breath. “Well, I’ll preface with this: he’s not your biggest fan.” I turned to look at her. She shrugged. “He thinks you’re a good-for-nothing playboy.”
I dipped my head with a chuckle. Of course, Richard Rynne disliked me.
If my ways with women were rubbing him the wrong way, it was only because he did the same thing.
Difference was, I wasn’t going to fuck up with Maggie and make her leave me.
Well, I was going to try my damn hardest not to, anyway.
“Did he give you any issues about leaving with me, then?”
She shook her head. “I mean, he wasn’t thrilled with the idea of me going away with you for a couple of months, but he knows this is how polo works. He thinks I’ll get great playing opportunities out there.”
My stomach tightened at the reminder that, not only was this baby a massive alternate twist to our lives, but it also pinned Maggie’s polo career for…God, I didn’t know how long.
Professional polo was her dream. Her goal. And I had gone and fucked it all up in one night. I wanted to apologize to her and give her reassurance. I wanted this to speed up, so I knew the ending. I wanted to slow it down, so we could figure out every nook and crevice of our new lives.
“We’re gonna be okay, Mags.” I squeezed her hand again, drawing her attention back to me.
“Shit, Jack. Is this a crazy idea? Are we crazy people?” Worry flooded her eyes.
Of course, it was a crazy idea. It was immature and stupid to run away from our hometown and our parents and leave everything in the rearview without an explanation. But I needed a minute. So did Maggie. We were drowning in questions and uncertainty.
All I knew was that I had one responsibility. Well, two: Maggie and the baby.
I attempted to keep my focus on the main road, but slowed the truck to a stop after checking that there was no one behind us.
I turned in my seat and cupped her face with both hands as her eyes locked onto mine.
It wasn’t meant to be romantic—but fuck me, I had no idea what I was doing.
Maybe there was something sexual between us before, maybe the friendship we rekindled over the past few weeks was something, but her carrying our baby changed everything .
I was going to spiral if I didn’t reassure myself with the false pretense that everything was going to work out.
“Neither of us is crazy, Maggie. We’re doing the best possible thing we can in this situation. For us and our baby.” I glanced down at her stomach, which I knew would change within the coming months. Deep breaths were the only thing keeping me from a panic attack.
Shit. This was real. What kept me from running out of that truck and away from everything was the girl in the passenger seat, filled with the same fear as me.
And that thought scared the hell out of me.