Chapter 22
Coloradough
? So Easy (To Fall In Love) - Olivia Dean
Angelina
So maybe I jumped the gun.
The HG symptoms abated for all of two days before they came back in full force.
It’s been an uphill battle ever since. Thankfully, with Griffin’s support, I’ve managed to avoid hospitalization.
He makes sure I drink plenty of fluids and keeps me stocked up on bland foods.
The last two weeks have been hell, but it seems to be improving with my new medication.
In the meantime, Griffin’s been staying at my place every night.
If he’s around in the morning, I’m served breakfast in bed.
If he has to be at the ranch bright and early, he leaves me leftovers in the microwave or oats in the fridge, always with a sticky note written like a haiku poem. It’s ridiculous but sweet.
Today’s note:
Good morning, Angel
Overnight oats in the fridge.
See you after work.
xo - Husband
If I never see another whole grain again when this pregnancy is over, it’ll be too soon.
To Griffin’s credit, he’s done his best to find ways to make it more palatable.
Today’s recipe includes Greek yogurt, honey, and a handful of chocolate chips.
All things considered, it could be worse.
I’m grateful for his thoughtfulness—it’s not his fault I can’t stomach any real food.
I finish my breakfast and dress for the day. My scrubs feel looser around my ass and thighs, no doubt due to the weight I’ve lost since the diagnosis. I hate it. The baby isn’t even here yet, and I’m already failing. This should be the easy part.
When I think about all the ways a person is supposed to change during pregnancy, this was never even a thought that crossed my mind. My body is betraying me, and I’m helpless to stop it.
As I’m heading out the door to my first appointment of the day, my phone chimes with a text message.
Callie: Do you have time to come over today? Atticus is acting weird, and I’m a little worried.
Me: Sure. I can be there around noon, unless it’s urgent.
Callie: That works. You’re the best!
“No offense, Angie, but you look like shit,” Marnie says as I stride into work with my puke bucket in one hand and my purse in the other.
Just the person I want to see first thing in the morning with her complimentary words and sunny disposition.
“You know I can fire you, right?”
She shrugs. “But you won’t.” The phone rings, and she answers it. “Oak Ridge Animal Clinic, Marnie speaking. Hello, Mr. Wilson…”
My eyes bug out of my head. “I’m not here.” I mouth the words as I dart past Micah into the back office.
He follows me in, closing the door behind us. “Is someone chasing you? And why do you have a kid’s Halloween bucket?”
I set it down on the desk and pull out the bottle of ginger ale, a sleeve of saltines, and a pack of gum like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
“Because it has a handle,” I move the handle up and down. “See? Portable. Efficient.”
“Right. That definitely cleared that up. Not vague at all,” he says, his voice tinged with amusement.
I fold my hands on top of the desk and look up at him. “What’s on the schedule for today?”
He glances at his clipboard. “Nothing crazy. Just some puppy vaccinations and a follow-up on Max. The Barlows should be here in thirty.”
“Good. Let me know when you’ve got them set up in the exam room.”
“Will do.”
He leaves my office, and I sink into my chair, closing my eyes and taking deep breaths. It’s supposed to help with nausea, but I’m not convinced. When that doesn’t work, I riffle through the top drawer for a peppermint.
My hands land on a brown folder—the annulment papers.
I set them on top of the desk and pull open the flap. The words Joint Petition For Summary Annulment stand out in bold font at the top of the page. My stomach clenches, but it’s not the nausea this time.
Griffin has been nothing but kind and attentive since he found out about the pregnancy, and somehow even more so when he found out it wasn’t his baby. Not once has he wavered on his decision to stand by my side.
My thoughts stray back to the phone call with Tyler. Griffin’s mouth and hands on my body, inside of me, and all over me. The way he took charge and bent me to his will, and yet somehow I’d known I was still in control the whole time.
There’s no way I can go through with this now.
I toss the papers into the trash can beside my desk. I’d light them on fire if it weren’t a safety code violation.
Minutes pass, maybe longer, and the vision of Griffin between my thighs replays over and over in my mind, until Micah materializes at the door and I’m forced to be Doctor Angelina Rossi again—stoic and professional—at least on the outside.
Just before noon, I pull up to the beautiful A-frame house out at Whispering Oaks Ranch that belongs to Jaxon and Callie. They got married on the front porch steps a few months back in a simple, but gorgeous ceremony.
The door swings open, and Callie ushers me inside. “Thanks for coming. I really didn’t want to be a bother, but Atty’s acting really weird lately.”
As if she summoned him by name, the grey tabby Maine coon saunters into the foyer like an unbothered king. He does a big stretch, which Callie announces—as is customary when you own a cat. I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to let it pass without acknowledgment.
Callie shows me into the den, and we take a seat on a large sofa. Atticus hops up and climbs onto Callie’s lap.
“What has you so concerned?” I ask.
“It’s going to sound stupid.”
I snort. “Trust me. I’ve heard it all.”
“Ok. Well. He’s been super clingy lately. He never leaves my side. I have to stand near his food bowl, so he’ll eat. He meows at the door if we don’t let him into our bedroom. I can hardly get any alone time with Jax.”
I give her a knowing smile. “I can look him over, but I don’t think it’s necessary.”
“You don’t?”
“No. I think you have a very attentive big brother on your hands. Cats can sometimes sense hormonal changes in humans. It’s likely that your scent has changed since becoming pregnant, and this is just his way of caring for you.”
Callie presses a hand to her chest, and her eyes turn glassy. “Really?”
“Yep.”
She sniffles. “Sorry, I’m a hormonal mess. I watched a video of a cat making friends with a duck earlier, and I lost it.”
“Those videos get me every time. Have you seen the bunny and the chihuahua?”
“No! Send it to me. Better yet, send it to the group chat. Olivia would love it.”
We spend the next hour watching silly animal videos and swapping pregnancy stories. Callie’s had an easy road thus far, and she seems to truly love being pregnant.
I’m happy for her, really. Happy and not at all jealous.
I’m perfectly fucking miserable. I love this baby, and I’m grateful for the experience, but I don’t think I’ll do this again.
The HG has put me off pregnancy entirely.
No wonder my parents stopped after one. My dad used to joke that they broke the mold with me, but I’m starting to wonder if it wasn’t my charming personality after all.
“I should get going. I want to stop by the sanctuary and check on Sadie.”
She stands with one hand on her back and the other cradling her bump. “Sadie? Is that the excuse you’re using to see your husband?”
“I don’t need an excuse. All I have to do is make a minor complaint, and he somehow materializes with the cure to whatever ails me. I’m pretty sure it’s the same for you and Jaxon.”
Callie gives me a smug smile.
It takes me a moment to register what I’ve done. I just equated Jaxon and Callie’s marriage to mine and Griffin’s. Is that… how I see us? Am I starting to think of this as a real, full-hearted, authentic marriage? Not some pragmatic partnership in the name of having someone to raise this baby with?
Yeah. I think I am.
Holy shit.
Oblivious to my emotional upheaval, Callie snorts and follows me out onto the porch. “You’re right. The Hayes men are built different.”
“If anything changes with Atty, just let me know.”
“I will. Thanks for coming.”
With a backward wave, I head out to my van and make the short drive to the sanctuary.
My heart skips a beat when I spot Griffin’s truck already parked near the stables.
In light of recent developments, I consider driving away and pretending I was never here, but I’ve never been one to run away from my problems. Griffin Hayes is definitely a problem.
He’s under my skin in a way that’s hazardous to my well-being.
I can’t handle another heartbreak. Not now. Not from him.
The behemoth in question strides out of the stables in a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of wranglers that hug his thick thighs in all the right places.
Hazardous to my libido, too, it seems.
When we lock gazes, a warm smile spreads across his face, and it does nothing to quell the persistent ache between my thighs. It must be the pregnancy hormones causing me to react like a bitch in heat.
Definitely the hormones and not at all the six-foot-seven cowboy who’s looking at me like he wants to fuck me up against the side of the barn. There isn’t one part of me that would try to stop him.
I stride toward him with calculated indifference, but it melts away the second he sweeps me into his arms and off my feet.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” he murmurs against my neck.
“Last-minute decision. Callie asked me to check on Atticus. Since I was already here, I figured I’d stop by and visit my girl Sadie, too.”
He sets me back on my feet, keeping a tight hold on my waist. “Mm. Not a single thought for your husband?”
His brown eyes hold me captive, silently begging me to say I need him, want him, yearn for him. I do. It’s scary how much.
“Happy accident,” I respond airily.
He bends to press a chaste kiss on my lips, and something rubs off on my cheek. I pull back and swipe at it with my hand. “Is that… flour?”