Luke
Luke
M onths were passing far more quickly than Luke would have liked. He was grateful to Ranger for holding down the fort, but they were still no closer to finding out who was following him. His friend took a job at McTavish as the acting head of security until he could get back, and Luke knew that he’d never be able to pay his friend back for doing that. Ranger was more than qualified to handle the job, but he didn’t hesitate to agree to take the position. Luke just hoped that once he was back at the office, Ranger would agree to stay on. He liked the idea of working with his friend again full-time.
Ranger had also stuck around Ruby’s apartment, to help keep an eye on things there. Luke knew that he was also keeping an eye on Millie, but every time he brought the subject up, Ranger had a mini tantrum. He wondered what that was all about, but honestly, Luke was too tired to push him for answers.
He was worried about Ruby and that worry had kept him up most nights. She was sick with some kind of stomach bug and wouldn’t let him take her to town to see the doctor. She said that she’d be fine in time and that there was no need for him to worry, but he just couldn’t help it. He’d fallen for her in the four months that they had been stuck together in the middle of nowhere. Luke loved that he got to spend every minute with her, but he worried that Ruby would come to resent him for keeping her from her life. He worried that sooner or later, she’d get sick of spending every second of her day with him and tell him that she’d had enough, but she hadn’t done that yet. Still, she was grumpier than usual and taking it out on him, which seemed about right since he was her only option.
She walked into the kitchen; her hair pulled back in a messy bun like she wore it every morning after puking her guts out in the bathroom. “You were sick again, weren’t you?” Luke asked, already knowing the answer. Poor Ruby still looked a bit green, and he couldn’t help but worry about her.
“No,” she lied. Ruby had a tell when she wasn’t being completely truthful with him—she’d raise her chin and press her lips together as if daring him to call her a liar.
“Liar,” he said, accepting her challenge.
“Fine, I got sick, but I’m feeling better,” she said. “In fact, I’d love some tea and toast.” That was her go-to breakfast after getting sick every morning and he made it for her every morning while she sat at the kitchen table, trying to recover.
“Ruby,” he breathed. “This has been going on for far too long now. You need to see a doctor.” She had been getting sick every day now for close to a month.
“I think that you might be right, Luke,” she agreed. His jaw almost hit the floor. She’d never agreed with him before. He had all but begged her for weeks now to see a doctor and each time, she assured him that she was going to be just fine.
“Wait—what?” he asked. “Did you just agree with me about seeing a doctor?”
“I did,” she said. “I think that it’s time that I saw someone.”
“Great—I’ll make you some tea and toast and then, we can get dressed and head into town to the clinic. We’ll have to use fake names, but I think that if we pay in cash, they really won’t care what our names are.”
Ruby nodded and sunk into one of the chairs around the kitchen table. “Do you think that they will have OBGYNs on staff at the clinic?” she asked.
“A what?” he asked.
“You know, a girly doctor,” she said. He knew exactly what an OBGYN was, but his question was—why was she asking if they’d have one on staff?
“Is everything all right—you know, down there?” he asked.
Ruby giggled and shook her head at him. “You’ve said pussy a million times to me over the past four months, but you’re going with calling it, ‘Down there’ now?”
“Can you just answer the question, Ruby?” he grumbled.
“Everything is fine, down there,” she said. “But I’m pretty sure that I’m getting sick every morning because I’m pregnant.” She whispered that last part and Luke nearly dropped her cup of tea on the floor. How had that happened? Sure, he hadn’t used protection, mainly because he didn’t bring condoms with him. But he was sure that Ruby was on the pill—wasn’t she?
“Pregnant? But you were on the pill, right?” he asked.
“No,” she breathed. “I’ve never had any need to be on the pill. I just never really thought that I’d be able to get pregnant, so I didn’t push the subject of protection.”
“Why wouldn’t you be able to get pregnant?” he asked.
“When I was a teenager, my mother took me to her girly doctor for my first official checkup. Honestly, I think she was just making sure that I was still a virgin, and I was, but I had some other issues that needed to be checked.”
“Other issues?” he asked. He was feeling a little lightheaded and needed to sit down. Luke handed her the tea and toast that he had made for her, and she thanked him as he slid into the chair next to her.
“Yeah, I was having really bad periods, and a lot of pain associated with them every month. After they ran a few tests, they found out that I had a bunch of things wrong with me—cysts on my ovaries, and endometriosis, which is the main reason why the doctor told me that it would be nearly impossible to get pregnant. I guess he was wrong.” She took a bite of her toast and sipped her tea, watching him as if he was supposed to say something to her. Maybe he was, but he wasn’t sure what the hell he could say about any of this.
“Why do you think you’re pregnant now?” he asked. “Maybe you just caught a stomach bug.”
“From where?” she asked. “You hardly let me out of this house and you’re fine, so I didn’t catch it from you. Plus, I haven’t had a period in just over three months now, so I’m assuming that I’m pregnant.”
“How can you be so casual about this, Ruby?” he almost shouted. “A baby?”
She shrugged, “For so many years, I had resigned myself to the fact that I’d never have a baby. I thought that I’d never be a mother and well, I have a chance to be that now and I guess, I’m okay with it. I want to be a mom, and if I’m pregnant, then, so be it.”
“So be it?” he asked. “How can you say that? If you’re going to be a mom, then I’m going to be a dad and I’m not sure that I’m ready for that, Ruby.” He had never pictured himself with kids. Hell, he’d never picture himself with one woman, yet here he was, sitting next to the woman who had captured his heart, even if she didn’t know it yet, and he was fucking everything up.
“Then, I’ll raise the baby on my own. I’m not looking for you to make me any promises here, Luke. I’m just looking for a ride into town to the clinic.” She stood and grabbed her plate and mug, tossing them into the kitchen sink with a clatter as she made her way upstairs to the bedroom that they shared. When the door slammed shut, he almost jumped out of his seat. It was the first time that he’d ever seen Ruby that angry, and he was the cause of it. He hated that he had given her the impression that if she was pregnant, he wouldn’t be a part of their child’s life. Of course, he’d want that because he wanted Ruby—he just hadn’t gotten around to telling her that part yet. He was a chicken, and now, he’d gone and fucked everything up with the one woman he could see himself spending the rest of his life with. Luke had ruined everything, and he wasn’t sure that he’d be able to fix it now.