Chapter 27
BETH
Iwoke to the steady sound of a heart monitor beeping in time with my pulse.
I was so groggy I couldn’t remember how I’d gotten here.
I blinked several times, the harsh lighting in the room forcing me to squint.
As the white ceiling came into focus, I felt my confusion shift into worry.
I wasn’t in a familiar space. What had happened?
“Hey,” a voice spoke softly, breaking through my foggy thoughts.
I turned my head to see Lisa sitting in a chair beside me.
Her face was tired, with deep shadows under her eyes, but her expression was relieved.
I could see a tension in her shoulders that I didn’t know if she’d had before, making it clear I was at least partially to blame for her weariness.
I tried to speak, but my throat was dry, making the first words come out in a croak.
“Where am I?” I managed to ask.
“You’re at the hospital,” Lisa replied, leaning forward and gently pushing a loose strand of hair out of my face. “You fainted at the diner, remember?”
The memory came slowly. I could recall a vague image of being on my feet, talking to Jessica.
But it was all fuzzy, and the pieces were missing.
I closed my eyes, trying to recall the events, but all that came through was a sharp feeling of dread.
My stomach twisted, but it wasn’t nausea. Something else was bothering me.
“Did you call Chris?” I asked, panic rising. I didn’t know what was happening anymore.
“I didn’t have to.” Lisa’s voice was quiet. “He saw the ambulance. He was here.”
I stared at her in shock. “You let him stay?”
“He didn’t go anywhere. Beth, he was a wreck.
I’ve never seen a man look that scared.” She took my hand, squeezing it.
“He didn’t want to leave. He rode with you in the ambulance and he’s been outside your room ever since.
He spent the night out there, a silent and heartbroken sentinel.
He wouldn’t leave when I went home for some clothes and food. I’ve never seen him so dedicated.”
“Does he know about the baby?” The question was a whisper, and I felt a lump in my throat at the thought of Chris knowing.
Lisa gave me a sad smile, nodding. “He knows now. The doctor didn’t know it was a secret and he is your husband. I think the doctor just assumed he already knew. Not that you could have kept the secret for much longer. You’re starting to show, you know?”
I blinked, feeling like the world was moving too fast. I could feel the dull ache in my stomach now, not the usual discomfort.
It was different, like there was something more.
The realization hit me slowly, and I instinctively reached for my belly.
There, beneath my hand, was a small but undeniable curve.
“The baby,” I whispered. “Is the baby okay?”
“The doctor says you both are fine. The baby is doing great.” Lisa’s voice softened. “You just pushed yourself too hard, Beth. You’re dehydrated and exhausted. But everything is going to be okay, thanks to the doctors, at least.”
Tears welled in my eyes, relief mixing with the overwhelming guilt.
How could I have been so stupid? I had pushed my body beyond what it could take, ignoring the signs that something was wrong, all while trying to act like nothing was different.
And now, Chris knew. I wasn’t ready for this.
But it wasn’t his fault, was it? The last thing I remembered was the confrontation with Jessica.
How had he come to know about all this in the end?
“Do you think I should talk to him?” The question felt heavier than it should have. Part of me wanted nothing more than to hide, to avoid this, but I couldn’t ignore it any longer. Chris had been through so much in the past few days, I needed to understand how it was he was here.
“That’s up to you.” Lisa’s voice was careful, like she didn’t want to push me into a decision. “But he’s been out there since the beginning. It’s obvious he cares. He needs to know you’re okay.”
I swallowed, my emotions too jumbled to sort through properly. “Okay,” I said softly. “Let him in.”
Lisa rose from her chair and quietly left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
A moment later, I heard the door open, and Chris stepped in.
He looked different, disheveled. His clothes were dirty, his hands stained, and his face had a roughness I wasn’t used to seeing on him.
He looked like he had been working, and my mind immediately jumped to the construction site.
“Hey,” he said, his voice rougher than usual as he closed the distance between us.
“Hey,” I replied, barely able to get the word out.
He sat down slowly beside the bed, his hands resting on his knees, looking at me like he wasn’t sure if I was real or a dream.
We stayed like that for a minute, neither of us sure what to say.
And I couldn’t blame him for his uncertainty.
I hadn’t made it easy for either of us to talk since I had left.
“How are you feeling?” Chris finally asked, his words barely audible.
“Tired.” I glanced at the IV drip next to my bed before meeting his gaze again. “But the doctor said everything is okay.”
He nodded, his jaw tense. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there sooner.”
“I didn’t tell you.” The admission hung heavily between us. “I wasn’t thinking, I just kept working and ignored what my body was trying to tell me. You were doing your own thing across the way.”
“And I didn’t have a clue,” he said softly. “You’ve been dealing with so much. I should’ve?—“
“Don’t.” I shook my head. “Don’t do this right now.”
We both fell quiet again. Chris looked like he wanted to say so much more, but he held back.
The guilt in his eyes was almost too much to look at.
But I felt it, too. All those weeks of stubborn silence and distance.
Now that I saw the pain behind it all, I wasn’t sure how to fix it.
It was more than just the fight. It was the years of never understanding each other, the unspoken words that had built up between us, the loss we both felt but couldn’t articulate.
It was time to break through that, but I didn’t have the right words yet.
“Are you okay?” I asked him, knowing there was something more beneath the surface.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “When I saw the ambulance outside the diner, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how I was going to face you, and now I don’t even know if I have the right to.”
“You do,” I answered without hesitation.
Chris blinked, clearly surprised. “I do?”
“You’re the father, Chris.” My voice cracked, and I forced myself to hold it together. “This baby is yours, too.”
He looked down at his hands, and for a moment, I thought he might break down right there. But he didn’t. He just breathed deeply and looked at me again, with more clarity now. “I want to be part of this. I need to be, Beth. But I also know you don’t have to let me. If you need time?—“
“What are you doing across from the diner?” I asked suddenly, cutting him off. I didn’t mean to change the subject so abruptly, but this was one question I needed answers to. I had been trying to piece together the mystery on my own for so long. It was time to get the truth.
He seemed thrown off for a moment, then his face softened, and he looked away as if unsure where to start.
“It’s for you. I’ve been trying to build what you wanted.
I know I’m not doing it the same way you would have.
But I saw your plans in the old journals, and I knew this was the town for it. So I bought the property.”
“You built that place?” My eyes widened. “All of it?”
“Yeah. I’ve been working on it. The warehouse.
The food hub.” He took a deep breath, shaking his head as if he still couldn’t believe it himself.
“I just wanted you to see that I listened, that I could do more than throw money at people. It wasn’t supposed to be some grand gesture.
I just wanted to show you that I cared. But you had made it clear that you didn’t want to hear from me, so I acted on my own. ”
I didn’t know what to say. It was all too much.
The idea of him doing that, working so hard for something I hadn’t even told him I still wanted, was overwhelming.
And yet, it made sense in a way. Of course he’d do that.
Chris had always found a way to throw himself into something completely once he put his mind to it.
“But what about your company? Your life in Seattle? I never wanted to come between you and that.”
“Let’s worry about all of that another day.” He shifted in his seat, his eyes meeting mine again. “Right now, all that matters is you and the baby.”
There were still so many unanswered questions.
And even if I could come up with the words to ask them all, I was too exhausted.
The last few weeks, especially the past few days, had taken their toll, and right now, I felt like I had nothing left to give.
My body needed rest. My mind needed peace, at least for a few hours.
“Will you stay?” I asked quietly, unsure if it was selfish or not.
“Of course,” he said without hesitation. “As long as you need me.”
I nodded, relieved to know I wouldn’t have to go through any of this alone.
He didn’t have to ask more of me or force the conversation.
Chris just stayed by my side, his presence comforting in a way I hadn’t realized I had missed.
For a while, we didn’t speak. The beeping of the monitor and the sound of our breathing filled the space.
And that was enough for now. I closed my eyes and let the world drift away.
Chris reached out and took my hand, gently tracing his thumb across my knuckles.
It was such a small gesture, but it told me more than any words could have.
There was so much that needed to be said, but it could wait until tomorrow.
For the first time in weeks, I allowed myself to believe things might just turn out okay.