Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Zander
S carlett has been here for a few weeks. As the baby grows, so does her sex drive. I can’t complain. I’ve been more intimate with her than I’ve ever been with anyone. We know every freckle, scar, and sweet spot of each other’s bodies. Our hearts are opening a little more every day to one another too.
We only have a couple more weeks until the anatomy ultrasound where we can find out whether this serendipitous baby is a boy or girl. The thought of either makes me nervous in different ways.
If we have a boy, I feel tremendous pressure to be the kind of father and example a son needs and would be proud to call “Dad.” I want to show him how to love and respect a woman in the future by showing him how I treat his mother.
And if we have a girl, I feel an overwhelming sense of protectiveness. No one will hurt my little girl, and I’ll strive to set an example of the kind of man she should one day search for in a partner. And I hope to show her that by how I love her mother.
I love this woman. I love Scarlett. Things have been going so great it’s almost scary. I hate to say it, but I fear being this happy. I know I should just embrace it and not think about ways everything can go from the happiness we have now to disaster.
For Scarlett and the family we’re growing, I’m pushing those doubts aside. I don’t have doubts about her or the way I feel about her, it’s mostly doubts that anything this amazing can last. We both have reasons to doubt lasting love, but I meant it when I said I would keep her heart safe. I just hope she can keep mine safe too.
It’s Friday night and I’m working at the bar. I’m interacting with customers and my employees, but my mind is on Scarlett. I find myself wanting to be at home with her. I’m in the middle of pouring a whiskey when the front doors opens and Scarlett enters.
Her gaze immediately settles on me, and it feels like a punch to my gut. She appears pale and upset. Without hesitation, I slide the glass to the waiting customer and abandon the bar. I walk as quickly as I can to my girl without running.
“What’s wrong, sunshine? Are you okay? The baby?” I rush out nearly holding my breath.
She places her hand protectively on her baby bump and says, “Yes, we’re fine. I just wanted to see you. My last client ran late, and I came straight here.”
I pull her into my arms, not giving a damn who is watching. “Are you hungry? Dad still has the grill on in the kitchen.”
“Yeah, the baby is hungry,” she says smiling up at me as we walk toward the kitchen.
“Only the baby, huh?” I ask and then chuckle. When we reach the kitchen door behind the bar, Gabby is there, and I tell her to watch the bar for a few minutes. She looks at me like I’ve grown a second head but agrees.
Scarlett and I are so new, and then with the baby coming too, we haven’t made it official to anyone that we’re dating yet. And not many people know about the baby. I just told Brittney the other day and she squealed and demanded to meet Scarlett while Hawk shushed her in the background because their baby, Luna, was sleeping.
Maybe it’s time everyone knew about us. It’s not like Scarlett’s baby bump doesn’t give that part of our lives away. I suppose I’ve kept quiet because I want to protect what’s mine, and it somehow feels as if letting the world in on our love puts it at risk.
“Danny, how are you?” Scarlett asks as we enter the kitchen.
Dad turns and a grin splits his cheeks. “There’s my Zander wrangler. How are you feeling?”
“Okay, a bit tired and a lot hungry,” she says and then giggles as Dad comes over and gives her a hug and kiss on the cheek.
“I’ve got you covered. Whatever you want, I’ll make,” he says just as Gabby comes through the door.
She glances at Scarlett, then at her rounded belly, then back at me. “There’s someone asking for you at the bar,” she says flatly.
“I’ll take care of our little mama. You go ahead,” Dad says.
I glance at Scarlett. “You okay?”
“Sure,” she says with a kind smile on her lips.
I start to turn and follow Gabby back out to the bar, but I stop and stride over to Scarlett and kiss her before walking away. When I turn back to the doors, Gabby stands there with her jaw clenched waiting for me.
I stop in front of her so I can clear this hostile air once and for all. Gabby is a nice girl, but jealousy over something she has no right to be jealous about isn’t a good look for her. I’m sure once it settles in that Scarlett is my girlfriend, she’ll back off and go back to normal.
“I don’t think I’ve introduced you to my girlfriend. Her name is Scarlett, and yes, we’re having a baby,” I blurt out.
Her eyes widen, but she recovers quickly. “Congratulations. I’m happy for you,” she says and then heads back into the bar area.
I shake my head and glance over my shoulder to find Scarlett watching me with a raised brow as if wondering what just happened. I’ll explain later and hope she understands it was nothing to be worried about.
When I walk back into the bar, Gabby points in the direction of a woman near the wall to the left perched on a barstool with her back to me. A sick feeling settles in my gut as I realize who she is.
I walk over to where she sits. “Vivian.”
She turns and her brown gaze lands on me. She smiles, but I don’t.
“Hey, Zander. It’s been a long time,” she says.
“Not long enough,” I say, and start to turn away. I have nothing to say to her. Not now, not ever.
She grabs my arm, and I jerk it back. She pulls her hand back and stares at me. “We should talk,” she says this time.
“We have nothing to say. You said it all the day you chose to leave me for my best friend right before what was supposed to be our wedding,” I say through gritted teeth.
Her eyes shimmer. “Please, Zander. It’s important.”
“You should leave.”
“But I just got my drink,” she says while sticking her lower lip out.
“It’s on the house. Now go.”
I walk away but hear her say my name two more times. This…this kind of thing right here is why I had the niggling feeling that my happiness won’t last. The past always finds a way to resurface. And this time it’s not simply a memory, it’s here in the flesh.
I can’t help but look over my shoulder ever since the night Vivian showed up at the bar. I have no desire to find out why she came to see me after all these years, but I can’t shake the feeling I’ll learn the reason whether I want to or not. When I blocked her number, I had no clue she’d just show up in person.
My focus today is being at this appointment with Scarlett and finding out if we are having a boy or girl. Nothing between us has changed, we still feel solid. But this soul-deep fear is gnawing at me.
We are finally called into the ultrasound room, and everything is going good. The tech starts to smile and then asks, “Y’all want to know the sex, right?”
Scarlett squeezes my hand and glances at me for my answer one more time before I give her a nod. We’ve gone back and forth about waiting or finding out and we decided to find out now.
“We do,” she says.
The tech freezes on an area and says, “Congratulations! It’s a boy!”
“A boy! Zander! Oh, we’re having a little boy,” she says and wipes a happy tear from her cheek as the tech finishes up and gives us a few minutes.
Once she’s dressed, I hand her the pictures she gave us showing us that we are in fact having a boy. My heart nearly soars out of my chest with pride. A son. Scarlett is giving me a son.
After we finish the appointment with Dr. Ray, we have an early dinner before I head to the bar to stay until closing and then Scarlett heads home. We are going to have lunch with my parents tomorrow to tell them we’re having a boy and then she wants to talk about letting her parents know, even though they’ve barely spoken since the day we told them we were pregnant.
I have a feeling their relationship will be on the rocks for a while. But her best friend, Anna, will be coming for dinner tomorrow night so we can share the news with her.
I walk into the bar with a grin on my face and hold on to the happiness I feel knowing I’m having a son. And I find myself simultaneously praying the past stays far away from the bright future I plan to have with Scarlett and the baby.