Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Rowan
T he pregnancy test was wrong.
It had to be.
I sat down hard on the closed toilet in Chloe’s bathroom, my mouth gaping.
There was a second line on the little wand, and there was nothing faint about it.
I couldn’t process it.
A light knock sounded on the door.
“Rowan?” Presley said in a gentle voice. “You okay, hon?”
I took a breath to respond but realized I didn’t have an answer.
“Ro?”
I stood, stepped to the door, opened it.
Presley looked me in the eyes, assessing. “I can’t tell if that’s a yes or a no.”
Chloe approached from Sutton’s bedroom, where she’d been putting her daughter to bed. “You don’t look okay.”
“I’m…” I shook my head. “I don’t know what I am. How often do these things screw up?”
I picked up the test and held it out for them to see.
Presley gasped, and Chloe let out a controlled squeal. Then they continued to stare at me, as if waiting for me to confirm either reaction.
“It can’t be right,” I told them. “My doctor said… I made peace…” I stopped trying to get a coherent thought out and merely shook my head.
“I’m pretty sure false positives are really rare,” Presley said.
“Less than one percent of the time,” Chloe confirmed. “I’ve looked it up. You could take the second test.”
“I don’t think I can pee again,” I said.
“Take it with you if you want,” Chloe said. “Just for peace of mind.”
“I will. Thanks.”
“I think you’re pregnant, hon,” Presley said, watching me closely as she clasped my hand.
A mix of dread and hope trickled through me.
Chloe pulled out her phone, typed something in, and started reading causes of false positives. After each one, she looked at me. After each one, I shook my head. I wasn’t on medications. I didn’t have cysts as far as I knew. I hadn’t been pregnant recently.
I looked down at the test again. There was still an unmistakable second line staring back at me.
I squeezed my eyes shut, grasping the countertop when a wave of dizziness swept through me.
Presley’s grip tightened. “Are you okay?”
I swallowed and nodded. “I think so. Can we sit down?”
“Yes. Good idea.” Chloe led us out of the small bathroom.
Presley wound her arm through mine as we walked to the sofa.
“People say I’m hard to read,” Chloe said as she sat on an armchair facing us.
“You are,” Presley confirmed. “But Rowan’s got you beat. Should we be offering a shoulder or tracking down some sparkling juice to celebrate?”
I folded my hands in front of my mouth, still trying to get the test results to sink in. “I’m afraid to hope, and this is probably the worst possible time in my life, but I’ve wanted babies for as long as I can remember.”
“Oh, my God,” Presley said, putting an arm around me from the side and leaning her head against my shoulder. “Congratulations, Rowan. I’m sorry the timing sucks, but I think you’re getting your wish.”
I met Chloe’s gaze, most likely with a look of disbelief on my face. She was smiling and nodded, then came over to my other side.
“I think she’s right. You have a little bean in there,” she said.
“Wow,” I said, because I couldn’t figure out what else to say. It wasn’t real yet. Not even close.
“I mean, you definitely need a doctor to confirm,” Chloe said. “Take whatever time off you need for an appointment.”
“Am I your first employee to take a pregnancy test in your home?” I asked her, grinning.
“We’re friends first,” she said, “thanks to this one.” Chloe pointed at Presley.
I felt that too. Chloe treated me as more of an equal at work than an underling, even though I was only an assistant.
“My doctor’s in Nashville,” I said. “Unless… Is there an ob-gyn here?”
Chloe shook her head. “Just Dr. Julian. He’s a wonderful family physician, but with your history…”
I nodded. “I need to see my regular doctor.”
I imagined Dr. Shah’s face as she confirmed the pregnancy. She was so compassionate and personable. I knew she’d understand the emotional complexity I was feeling.
I folded my hands in front of my mouth again and noticed, as my arms pressed into my chest, my breasts were tender.
“My boobs hurt,” I said.
Both women’s brows shot up, and smiles lit their faces again.
“Sure sign,” Chloe said.
They leaned in for a group hug as I started to believe the test was correct.
“I can’t even comprehend the odds,” I said. “Not only did my doctor tell me it was highly unlikely to happen, but I had sex literally one time in the past two years. One time. Oh, and let me just add that we used a condom.”
“Seems like not a very good one,” Presley said.
“One time is all it takes,” Chloe said.
“This baby is meant to be,” Presley declared with conviction.
“If you wake up Sutton,” Chloe said to her in a hushed voice, “you have to get her back to sleep.”
“Kill joy.” Presley leaned forward to stick her tongue out at Chloe. “I hesitate to bring this up, but what about the father, Rowan? Do you have a way to contact him?”
Shit on a shingle. I hadn’t even thought about Chance yet. I was reeling too hard with the unlikeliness…and then the irony…
“I…do,” I said.
“You got your one-night stand’s number?” Presley asked.
“Something like that.” I stood, suddenly feeling like I was going to come out of my skin. I paced from one side of the living room to the other. “I guess I’ll have to tell him eventually.”
“After the doctor confirms,” Chloe said. “He deserves to know.”
“And help pay,” Presley added.
I shut down on thoughts of Chance for now. It was too much.
“I need to get health insurance,” I said with a start.
“You don’t have insurance?” Presley asked.
“I had to drop it after I quit teaching.” My own healthcare had inadvertently taken a back seat once I started caring for my grandmother. Thankfully I hadn’t had any emergencies. I’d never intended to go so long without it, but I’d been in over my head with Gram’s care from day one, and then money became a problem.
“Ours through work doesn’t start until you’ve been there six months,” Chloe said regretfully, “but you can get an individual policy.”
“Yeah. I need to make that a priority.” I knew it wouldn’t be cheap. Nor would a place to live. Or all the baby gear. I wasn’t sure my previous teaching salary would’ve covered it all, and I was making less now.
A wave of nausea came over me again, this time from overwhelm instead of food.
“I need to go,” I said, then realized it was abrupt. “You guys have been a godsend. Thank you. For the dinner date and the tests and the support. I need to let this sink in.”
“Of course,” Chloe said. “We’ll be here.”
“Whatever you need.” Presley leaned her head into me and side-hugged me again. “If you want someone to go with you to the doctor or need someone to buy more tests or want help researching insurance…anything…call me.”
My eyes teared up with gratitude. “Thank you. I don’t know what I need other than time to process.”
“Understandable,” Chloe said.
“If you start freaking out in the middle of the night, you can call me then too,” Presley said as we all stood.
“I will. But I hope I’m asleep by then.”
The three of us hugged again, and I held on tight to them, so thankful I’d reconnected with Presley at the exact right time.
“You two are the best,” I said, meaning it. “I’m sorry to run off. I just…need to be alone.”
“We get it,” Chloe said.
I slid my coat on. “I’m going to call my doctor’s office in the morning to see how soon I can get in.”
“Let us know,” Presley said. She threw her arms around me again. “You’re gonna make an awesome mom.”
My throat closed up with emotions, so I just nodded and waved at them both as I stepped outside.
On my way to my car, I sucked in deep breaths of ice-cold air, trying to level out the queasiness. I couldn’t let my brain land on any of the thousand thoughts spinning through it.
Almost there, almost there, almost there . The words beat through my head with every step, my breaths in time with the rhythm as well.
By the time I got into my car, my eyes were a watery mess, my stomach was a bubbling volcano, and I raced to get the keys in the ignition.
Chloe and Holden’s cute little house was only a mile from the inn, but halfway there I had to pull over. I scanned the street, grateful it was deserted, opened my car door, leaned out, and threw up everything in my stomach.