5. Summer ‘24
Winnie
I didn’t wake up on the first Saturday of summer hoping for the surprise of my life, but there’s only so much a girl can do when she’s locked herself in the bathroom for over an hour with the sink faucet on full blast to block out the sobs racking her body.
Dramatic? Maybe.
Necessary? Absolutely.
Beck comes home today, and while I should be excited about that, I can’t help the sinking feeling in my gut. My fingers find the thin gold ring that’s hanging on a simple chain around my neck and a fresh wave of tears streams down my face.
Oh hell.
I stand up and look at myself in the mirror. My blonde hair is shorter than usual after I decided to chop a couple of inches off randomly. Now I feel scalped and a bit wild because it’s not laying the same way as before.
There’s a wavy curl to it now that some of the weight is gone, and while I have always envied Gwen’s naturally textured hair, I don’t actually like it on myself after all. It just looks frizzy and unkempt to me, and as a girl who’s never done much more than run a brush through her hair, now I’m being forced to break out a straightener or curling iron to tame the mane.
So that’s my first reason to have a mental breakdown in my bathroom.
Reason number two is the fact that my favorite pair of cutoff denim shorts won’t button. That sounds so ridiculous and trivial, but they’re my comfort shorts. Those shorts have been with me for three summers, and I’m not ready to part with them just yet. Those shorts have been with me through girlhood, and they’re supposed to follow me into womanhood. It feels like letting a piece of myself go, so I shoved my ever-expanding hips into them and sucked in my bloated belly with a huff, ignoring the fraying edges that snag on my toes.
Then I ripped them.
To say I squalled is a bit of an understatement.
Which brings me to the third, and final, reason I’m locked in the bathroom having a breakdown to rival all breakdowns when I should be prepping and excitedly baking a dozen cupcakes and cookies for Beck’s arrival into town soon.
My eyes drop to the little stick on the counter, and a fresh wave of tears sting my cheeks as a sob rips from my chest as I flip it over again.
Two pink lines stare back at me, and just like the first time I looked at the results, I slam the test back onto the counter with the test window down. I don’t want to look at it any more.
My reflection is a mess. Puffy eyes; red, splotchy cheeks; and snot coat my face, which ultimately only makes me feel worse. Pair that with my ripped cutoffs I refuse to take off right now, and I’m sure people three counties over are wincing in sympathy.
I turn nineteen tomorrow.
Happy birthday to me, I guess?
My phone dings beside me, and I wipe my face as I pick it up.
Gwen
Where are you?
I’m dying, Gwen. My life is falling apart, and I can’t come into work today because of it. Nothing is going right, and that alone has to be a bad omen. I need to just crawl back in bed and try again tomorrow.
I’m not coming in. I’m actually dying .
I should’ve known better than to say that to Gwen though because the next moment she’s calling my cellphone, the loud trill making my head pound harder than it already has been.
“Hi.”
Gwen huffs into the receiver. “Hi? Talk to me, Win. You never call out.”
I chew my thumbnail, wondering what I should say. This is Gwen though. My best friend. My ride or die. Gwen has been more of a friend to me than anyone, and she’s been my confidant throughout my relationship with Beck, my falling out with my parents, and my listlessness in Magnolia Hollow.
So it’s not surprising that in the end, my tears decide for me, and the truth spews out of me at an alarming rate. Gwen doesn’t say anything as I babble and rant and confess my stupidity, which probably sounds a bit waterlogged and garbled through my crying and sniffling.
“I-I,” I stutter then I repeat the words for the thirtieth time since Gwen called my phone—something she’s probably regretting right about now, “I’m pregnant!”
“Okay, Winnie,” Gwen finally says, placating me. I imagine if she were here she’d place a hand on my back and shush me. “Calm down. Take a breath. I don’t think I’ve heard you inhale once this whole time.”
I follow her instructions and inhale noisily, my body trembling as I try to force myself to calm down. My lungs fill with air for the first time since I woke up this morning, and I plop down on the edge of the bathtub.
“Gwen… What am I going to do?”
“You’re going to buck the fuck up, first of all,” she orders, voice firm and unyielding. “You’re going to wash your face, brush your hair, put on a pair of yoga pants, and get your cute, pregnant ass to Sugar. Then I’m going to force you to try these new flavors I made, and life will go on as usual.”
My nose scrunches. “You’re so bossy.”
“I’ll come out there. Don’t test me. Then you’ll have to explain to Beth why you look like someone rocked your shit five ways to Sunday.”
“Rude.” I mumble, “You can’t even see me.”
Gwen scoffs. “You cry all the time. Trust me, I know exactly what you look like, babe. So come on. Let me comfort you and help you forget for a bit. Then we’ll make a game plan.”
“Game plan?”
“Well, yeah.” Gwen lowers her voice. “I’m assuming it’s Beck’s… right ?”
My eyes widen. “Oh, my god, Gwen! Why would you even— yes ! It’s Beck’s.”
“I mean, I’m going to stand ten toes behind you if it’s not, but?—”
“It is, so stop it.”
“Great! Then we can figure out what happens next.”
“Next?”
Gwen hums. “Are you purposely being an idiot? ”
“Ouch.”
“You know what I mean by next, Winnie. You’re just going through the rollercoaster of emotions and changing hormones right now.” Gwen gasps. “Oh, this explains why you cried when you saw the new flowers I bought last week.”
“They were pretty!”
“You cried, Win. Real tears.”
I roll my eyes and stand up. “Whatever. I’ll see you soon.”
“Good.”
I hesitate then say, “Thanks. Love you, Gwen.”
I can practically hear the smile in Gwen’s voice as she replies, “Yeah…love you, too. Now get that ass in gear.”
“Yes ma’am.”
It takes me a few minutes after I hang up the phone to pull myself together, but Gwen was right. Once I wash my face, brush the knots out of my hair, and pull on a pair of athletic shorts and pretend I don’t notice the way my belly is protruding slightly I feel marginally better. I doubt I’ll feel that way in half an hour when Gwen’s giving me all the harsh truths about life, but I’ll take it through blurry eyes like a woman.
These are the moments when I wish I had a mom. A decent one instead of the uncaring version I was given. Because aren’t you supposed to run to your mom when you get life altering news? Shouldn’t my mom be there in my corner to talk me off the ledge? Not that I’m not grateful for Gwen’s friendship, but there’s a part of me that feels hollowed out by my lack of family right now.
Shouldn’t my mom be the first one to know she’s going to have a grandchild?
Shaking my head, I finish getting ready, grab my keys, and lock the door to the guesthouse. Beth is out back near the chicken coop, and she waves at me, smiling widely as she straightens with her basket in hand. Her graying hair is in a clip, tendrils flying wildly around her slender face. She’s wearing a plain, cream apron that’s already covered in a few stains.
I find the courage to manage a wave and watery smile before making the trek to town.
Usually the walk doesn’t bother me, but today it feels never ending. My feet hurt. My back feels brittle. I’ve had two leg cramps, and somewhere between the Fletcher’s driveway and the halfway point to town, I started crying again.
Pitiful.
My phone buzzes in my back pocket, and when Beck’s name pops up on the screen, I ignore it for the first time ever.
Guilt settles in my stomach.
Or maybe it’s the new life I’m growing that’s making me feel the need to hurl, but I’m pretty sure it’s the guilt and nerves.
Pulling open the door to Sugar, I inhale deeply as the cool air rushes over me and the scent of vanilla fills my nostrils. Sugar has always been a comforting place for me. The smells, the sounds, the people. I’ve always felt at peace whenever I’m here, and today is no different.
The tension begins to drain from my shoulders, the air puffing out of my lungs in exhaustion, and I swallow down all of the emotions rumbling underneath my skin, ignoring them for the first time that morning to just stand there in peace for a minute.
It doesn’t last long. Gwen pops her head out of the back and rushes me, arms around my neck and tugging me into her petite frame in a matter of seconds, and I sink into her embrace. My arms slide around her waist as I bury my head in her shoulder, tears rising to my eyes once again.
“Why am I crying again!” I mumble frustratedly into her shirt.
Gwen sighs and pets my hair. “Win. It’s okay.”
“I-I…” I stutter, unable to catch my breath. “I don’t know—what—to do. B-beck?—”
“ Beck will be fine,” Gwen cuts me off, pulling back to hold my face in both of her hands. “Beck is the least of your problems right now, Win. He loves you.”
I nod, tears spilling down my cheeks as I stare at her. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”
“Oh, god.” She winces. “You’re leaving me, aren’t you? You’re going to Texas?”
I chuckle wetly. “No. The Hollow is my home.”
“Okay, then it can’t be that bad.”
Here goes nothing. “We got married.”
“What.”
“Beck and I… We’re married. ”
Gwen stares at me. Blinks twice. “What?”
The laugh that falls out of me is a bit delirious. “We eloped. In April.”
“April.” Gwen says it slowly, like she can only form one or two words at a time and still isn’t understanding. I’ve never made Gwen Rigby speechless before. “Wait. When you went to see him?”
“Yes.”
Gwen drops her hands and steps back. An incredulous, equally as delirious as my own, laugh bursts from her lips, and before I know it, she’s laughing so hard she’s doubled over, eyes wet as she falls back onto one of the stools.
“It’s not that funny…” I mumble.
Gwen struggles to catch her breath. “Oh. It is that funny. Because what do you mean married ! Winnie, you’re nineteen! You’ve been with Beck for a few months at best!”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I don’t need a lecture.”
“Clearly you do.” Gwen plants an arm on the table and leans her head into her hand, rubbing frustratedly at her forehead. “Married, Winnie? Seriously?”
Scraping my teeth over my bottom lip, I nod. “Yes. Beck and I are legally married.”
“Married?!”
I spin around to see Betty Rigby and Cole Fletcher slinging the front door open, and it takes everything inside my body not to crumble to the floor or run away and hide. Because Mrs. Betty is staring at me with a smile to rival the one she wore whenever she won best strawberry pie at the state fair last year, and it scares me.
She’s too happy.
Cole hasn’t said a word, by contrast. In fact, his brows are pulled together as he stares at me like he’s not sure who I am. Like I’m a stranger. It hurts, but at the same time, I think I understand.
I hope I understand.
Gwen opens her mouth and closes then cuts her eyes to me, gesturing like I should be the one to say something considering it’s my big news.
Beck is going to kill me. That’s for sure.
We’d agreed to keep it a secret until he was drafted. Then we figured we’d share the news with his family at the same time he announced his new team. It made sense in our heads at the time. We wanted to protect our peace from the nosy old coots in town, and it worked for a few months.
If there’s one thing Betty will do, it’s spread gossip like wildfire.
“I…”
Mrs. Betty waddles into the shop, glowing in her excitement. “I knew it! I knew you and that Hale boy would get married and have babies.”
I blanch.
Gwen laughs.
Cole continues to stare at me from the open door.
Blinking at him, I frown. “Are you going to say anything? ”
He rolls his lips together, finally looks away and outside at…who knows what, then meets my gaze again. “It’s true.”
It’s not a question, but it is. He knows it’s true. I haven’t denied it once since they overhead. He just wants to hear it. He wants to hear me say the words from my own mouth before he reacts.
So I nod. “It’s true. Beck and I got married.”
Cole swallows and points toward my face. “Then why do you look like someone died?”
“Is that necessary? You don’t have to be an asshole,” I chuckle, wiping at my face self-consciously.
But Cole doesn’t smile. He just blinks at me. “Why do you look like you’ve spent the morning crying, Win?”
“Because I have.”
“Why?”
“If you’re trying to insinuate it’s because of Beck, you can stop.”
Cole arches a brow. “So I don’t need to track him down and lose my badge in the process?”
Dammit. Fresh tears gather in my eyes.
I didn’t think Cole would care about my wellbeing this much, which is insane now that I think about it. Cole has always been in my corner. He’s been the one to give me a place to vent, to live, to feel needed, to feel safe. Cole’s been as much of a constant in my life as Gwen.
Honestly, more so.
I step around Mrs. Betty with an apologetic grin then shuffle over to Cole and wrap my arms around his middle, hugging him tightly as my tears spill over once again.
Gwen whispers something behind me, and I hear her tugging her grandmother into the backroom just as Cole lifts his arms and wraps me in his embrace. He pets my hair, rubs my back, lays his cheek on the top of my head, and he lets me cry.
He doesn’t offer me any words or ask questions. He just lets me ruin his shirt with my tears and snot until my sobs fade away and my eyes run out of water. Then I lift my head and bang my forehead into his chest.
“I’m pregnant, Cole.”
His fingers tighten on me for a moment then he sighs. “You kids move so fast.”
“It wasn’t planned! I thought the pill was fool-proof!” I tell him, exasperated as I slap at his back. “Why do you think I’m crying? You’re supposed to tell me it’s going to be okay.”
Cole pulls away and steers me toward a table. He helps me onto a stool then sits across from me and smiles softly. “It’s going to be okay, Winnie. You know it’s going to be okay. It’s just taking you a minute to process.”
“Still nice to hear.”
“What did Beck say?”
“I haven’t told him,” I confess sheepishly. At his scowl, I defend myself. “I just found out this morning.”
Cole levels me with a look. Just as the door swings open he says, “I can’t believe you told me before Beck.”
My eyes widen as Beck, Ben, and Gus walk through the door, a frown on Beck’s beautiful face, and I begin to wonder who else is going to walk through that freaking door with horrible timing.
“Tell me what?”
Ben and Gus share a look behind him, lips pursed. Beck flicks his eyes between me and Cole, and I watch as understanding fills his gaze followed by the most heartbreaking frown ever.
“No!” I shout suddenly, seeing exactly where his brain is trying to lead him. “No, gross. Don’t even think that.”
“Think what?” Cole asks.
“He thinks…” I trial off, unable to even finish the sentence. Cole gets it all the same because he says, “Gross, ew! She’s like my baby sister!”
Beck looks between us suspiciously then settles his gaze on me, an air of vulnerability in his eyes that shreds my heart a bit. I haven’t seen him in months, and it feels diminishing to simply say I missed him. Too small for how much I’ve longed to touch his face, run my fingers through his hair, seek comfort in his arms.
To simply say I missed Beckett Hale is not enough.
Now I’m face to face with him for the first time since April, and my stomach is in my butt as he looks to me for answers to the tension.
So I blurt, “I’m pregnant.”
Beck blanches at the same time Gus slaps his back, grinning as he congratulates him on his expert swimmers. Ben stares wide eyed and stunned, and he drags Gus out of the shop in a flurry of movement as Gus fights him .
Sometime in the chaos, Cole wanders into the backroom with Gwen and Betty, and I step closer to Beck.
“Beck?”
He shoves a hand through his hair, stress and exhaustion evident in his features. “I was drafted.”
“What?”
He nods. “It’s not official, but LA wants me.”
My face falls. “LA. That’s across the country, Beck.”
“I know.”
I don’t know how this day could get any worse.
As if on cue, there’s a thud in the backroom, and I hear Gwen scream. Beck rushes past me to the backroom, and I follow after him, concern pinching my features as we round the corner. Gwen is leaning over her grandmother, phone in hand as she dials nine-one-one. Cole’s on his knees beside Mrs. Betty’s head, pressing a towel against the gash on her forehead.
When Gwen stumbles through her words as the dispatcher answers, Cole jerks the phone away from her, his voice calm and reassuring as he speaks.
“Hey, Kelsey,” Cole says, sandwiching the phone between his cheek and shoulder. “I’m goin’ to need an ambo to Sugar… She’s fine. It’s Mrs. Betty… Kelsey, take a breath and get me my ambo, darlin’.”
Beck slides past me, hands gentle on my shoulders as he moves me out of the way to squat down with Cole. He offers his hands, taking over the pressure on her forehead wound, and I stare at the scene, hand trembling as I cover my mouth. When I glance toward Gwen, she’s pale and shaking, eyes glassy with tears as she stares wide eyed at her unconscious grandmother splayed out on the floor, unmoving.
I cross the room to stand beside her, scooping her hand up in mine and squeezing, and it’s like the damn bursts as tears begin flowing freely down her cheeks. She turns into me and buries her face in my shoulder, soaking through my t-shirt in seconds as she tries to stay silent.
Everything happens in a blur after that.
Cole and Beck keep their calm as they help the paramedics and firefighters around the room, getting Mrs. Betty situated and stable before they move her.
“What happened?” The question comes from a new firefighter I’ve never met before, but Cole seems familiar with him. “Was anyone with her when she collapsed?”
Gwen clears her throat and steps forward, never letting go of my hand. “She was talking fine, then she… she stopped making sense, and?—”
“She had this distant look in her eyes then she fell,” Cole finishes for Gwen, squeezing her shoulder as she nods, quiet sobs choking her. Cole leans closer to the firefighter and whispers, “I’m thinkin’ stroke.”
The man nods, watching the paramedics wheel Mrs. Betty out of the room and out of the shop. His eyes drift to Gwen, looking her over.
“You’re family?”
Gwen nods.
He gestures toward the open door. “You riding with her, or what? They need to get to the hospital. ”
Gwen gasps and moves around the room aimlessly for a minute, looking for who knows what, and I grab her shoulders and spin her to face me.
“Go,” I say softly. “I’ll handle the rest, okay?”
She nods, blinking back tears again. “I love you. Thank you.”
“Love you, too. Now go before Cole and this guy blow a gasket.”
“You don’t even know what a gasket is,” Cole says with a raised brow, and I shush him.
Gwen sprints out of the room toward the ambulance, shouting for them to wait, and I look up at Cole and Beck, tears pooling in my own eyes.
Cole slaps the man on the back and nods. “Thanks, Jace. Make sure she makes it okay? Yeah?”
“Grandma or the girl?”
“Both.”
Jace salutes us and backs out of the room, leaving just the three of us, and I let out a wet sigh, trembling and weak as I stare at the two men in front of me.
Beck shoves his hands through his hair with a groan before wrapping me up in his arms, fingers tangling in my hair as he holds me close, and I melt into him.
“I’m sorry.”
My brows pull together. “For what?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. Everything? I should’ve hugged you as soon as I saw you instead of?—”
“Beck,” I whisper gently, pulling far enough away to meet his blue eyes. “It’s okay. ”
And I know as soon as I say it that I mean it.
Living apart, having a baby, getting drafted. It’s all par for the course, and I knew when I married Beck in that stale Texas courthouse with our thrift shop suit and dress that it wouldn’t be easy.
Nothing worth having is ever easy. That’s what Beck said when I pointed out how difficult it would be on us to be apart, and at the time, I think I’d rolled my eyes and told him to be serious. Now I understand.
I’d never tell him, but I guess he’s right.
Sunlight streams in through the window behind my bed, and I roll onto my back, stretching my arms above my head and yelp when I open my eyes and find Beck staring down at me, wide eyed with a furrowed brow. His blue eyes swirl, and I can practically see the way his brain is turning a million miles a minute.
“I’m scared.”
He says it openly, honest as always, like being vulnerable with me is the easiest thing in the world. He’s not trying to hide his emotions behind a mask, forcing me to guess what he’s thinking, and that’s one of the things I love about Beck.
He doesn’t make me guess. He doesn’t let me have a chance to make assumptions.
So I run my hand over his cheek softly. “Scared of what, B? ”
That was new. The nickname. If you can even call it a nickname considering it was just a letter. It slipped out one afternoon about a month ago when we were laughing on the phone, and I could tell he enjoyed having something that only I called him. He was Beck to everyone, even to me. He always would be. But now he’s more than Beck, my longtime crush.
Now, he’s B, my husband and father of the baby in my womb.
“I’m going to miss all of it,” he tells me, flopping onto his back beside me, and my heart aches for him.
He’s right though. If he’s in Los Angeles, he’s going to miss so much. Of our first year of marriage and of our child’s life.
Swallowing, I turn my head to look at him. “I’ll come to LA with you then.”
He huffs, a dry, humorless laugh tumbling out of him, and he looks at me. His blue eyes are soft as his hand finds mine and squeezes. “No.”
“No? You don’t want me to come with you?”
He shakes his head, hair sticking up wildly. “I don’t.”
My face drops, disappointment shining in my eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he grins, sitting up and pulling me with him. He cups my scowling face. “You’ll be miserable in LA, Winnie. You know it. I know it.”
“But—”
“No buts,” he shakes his head. He kisses the tip of my nose. “I love you enough to tell you no right now. We’ll make it work. I’m just going to complain a lot. ”
“I’ll be miserable here without you, too.”
“It’s like you love me or something.”
I pinch him.
“Ow! Hey! That’s not the way you’re supposed to treat your husband.”
“Then maybe my husband should stop teasing me.”
Beck grins, lopsided and gorgeous. Those dimples indenting his cheeks and making me melt. “Say it again.”
“My husband .”
A growl leaves Beck’s mouth as he tackles me against the mattress and presses his lips firmly to mine, swallowing my giggles that turn into gasps as I cling to him. My arms twine around his neck, pulling him closer and closer until it’s clear that even crawling inside of him wouldn’t be close enough.
Bang! Bang!
“Better put some clothes on in there!”
Beck jerks away and flicks a concerned look my way before sliding off the bed.
“Hold on!” I call out, stumbling out of bed and shoving my legs into the first pair of sweat pants I can find before making my way to the front door of the guesthouse.
Beth stands at the threshold with her hands on her hips, hair in that same cream colored clip as always. She’s wearing a denim apron today, relatively unstained.
“Winifred Carmichael.”
My eyes flicker to Beth’s dark blue orbs, and I shrink back slightly .
She leans closer and hollers over my shoulder. “Beckett Hale, you better get your ass out here!”
I hear a crash, cursing, then the door opens as Beck trudges out into the living area, scratching at his hair. His jeans are unbuttoned and his t-shirt is backwards, but it doesn’t matter. Not really. He looks beautiful no matter how disheveled he is.
“Beth…”
She scoffs. “Beth? That’s all you have to say!”
Beck winces. He stands behind me and places a reassuring hand on the small of my back. “I?—”
“You listen to me,” Beth cuts him off. “We’re going to have a very long talk about impulsive decision-making and how you should not do that. But I remember being younger than you and marrying Cal. Not much I can say about that shit, so I’ll let it slide this time.”
A grin tugs at the corners of my mouth. She’s not mad. Well, she is, but she’s not mad we got married. She’s mad no one told her.
Beth wags her finger in my face. “Don’t smile at me like that. Cole is beside himself. You know he gets these crackpot ideas where he thinks you might ask him to do something wild like walk you down the aisle.”
My eyes widen. “Cole would do that?”
“Cole loves you to bits. Don’t go fishing for compliments right now, missy.”
Beck chuckles behind me, but he stops when Beth narrows her eyes .
“Now you’re having this baby, and he’s worried to death you’re leaving.”
My brows pull together. “I can’t tell if you’re mad or not…”
Beth sighs. “My son is hurting. Not to make it all about him, but I don’t like seeing my kids hurt, Winnie. I don’t like seeing you knuckleheads hurt either. So we’re having family breakfast to talk through some shit.”
“Family breakfast… You don’t mean…”
Beth stares a freaking hole through Beck as she says, “Family. Breakfast. All of the family.”
“Fuck.”
I glance up at Beck and back to Beth. “What’s going?—”
The words die in my throat as a familiar van and pickup truck come flying down the winding driveway leading up to the farmhouse, and my eyes widen as I watch the vehicles slam to a stop and park.
Beck’s siblings, parents, and Gus spill out of the cars, running amuck around the farm as Cole and Blake, Matt’s little girl, come out of the house with smiles on their faces to greet the chaos. I turn my head enough to meet Beck’s eyes, but instead of the terror that I expect to be mirrored in his expression, I find happiness, a grin stretching across his face.
“Why are you smiling?” I whisper, my face scared as I watch Beth walk off after shooting a warning glare our way. “This is bad. So bad.”
Beck laughs. He laughs, turns me back around to look at the scene, and leans down so his mouth is next to my ear.
“Look at everyone, Winnie. All the people who care about us.”
Cole and Blake hold hands as they walk down the front porch steps before Blake releases his hands and clings to Millie, Beck’s youngest sister. They take off toward the barns together where I’m sure Matt is finishing up his morning chores. Beck’s younger brothers are crouched low, playing with the dogs happily, and Ben and Gus are leaning against the porch railing, heads close as they talk and laugh.
Calvin joins the chaos then, and Matt trails not too far behind him from the barns with Millie and Blake hoisted up in his arms. The girls are giggling as he marches around with them.
As if he feels me watching, Cole’s eyes drift over to the guesthouse, and my breath freezes in my lungs. When he smiles softly and gestures for us to come over, I release the breath I was holding and nod.
“Yeah… There’s a lot of love in Magnolia Hollow, huh?”
Beck hums, pulling me into the house and shutting the door. “I think I remember you telling me how lonely this place was actually.”
“It is. Was .” I hold his hands and purse my lips in thought. “I’ve lived in solitude for so long, and I think I still do sometimes… But even in the solitude, I’ve managed to find so much love.”
“You deserve all of the love and happiness life has to offer, Winnie.”
“So do you.”
Beck’s mouth quirks up. “I don’t think I would’ve found this much love and happiness without you, ya know?”
“What about hockey?”
“Hockey isn’t forever.” Beck pulls me closer, tugging gently on my hands as he splays a hand over my belly. “Eventually, hockey will end, but I’ll always have you. This love is different because it’s forever.”
Just like the last few weeks, tears gather in my eyes so easily, and I let out a shaky breath. “We’re going to be okay, right?”
He nods. No hesitation. “I can doubt a million things in life, but you’re never one of them.”
“I love you.”
“I love you more,” Beck replies softly, kissing me gently.