Chapter 6
Chapter Six
GEORGIA
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
Ugh. Is it that time already?
Slapping at the alarm clock on my nightstand, I roll over and see it’s well past the time I should be up.
At least it’s not an early work morning I’ll be late for. Brunch with the girls, but I think they’ll cut me some slack.
Except I don’t get out of bed. I’m exhausted. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been this tired. I went to bed right after dinner and slept all night, but it’s like all my energy is leaching out of me.
Sunlight is pouring in through the cracks in my curtains. I wish I could cancel, but I need a girls’ day. I haven’t had time with all of them in a while. This is what happens when your friends all find the loves of their lives.
Kicking off the comforter, I head into the bathroom to get ready. Splashing water on my face, I try to perk up a bit, but it’s no use.
Heavy bags sit under my eyes and I look more pale than usual. Maybe one of the kids got me sick.
I pile my hair into a low bun and put on a light coating of makeup. It helps to revive me before I’m throwing on a pair of jean shorts and a T-shirt. No point in stressing about what I’m going to wear when I’m already running late.
Thankfully I live close enough to the Pinecrest Pancake Emporium that it’s a short walk. A wave of air conditioning hits me as I shoulder open the door. It’s busy for a Saturday morning, but Joey spots me and waves me over.
“Sorry I’m late. I slept through my alarm,” I say, dropping a kiss on Joey’s cheek.
“Don’t worry about it. We haven’t ordered yet,” she answers. “We got mimosas if you want one.”
I shake my head. “I’m okay today. I’ll just drink my water.”
“Are you okay?” Rylee asks, leaning across the table and slapping her hand onto my forehead.
“I’m fine.” I brush her off. “I’m tired. I’ve been working a lot.”
“You have been,” Joey agrees. “You spend more time at the barn than Sam does.”
“You only know because you live with him now,” I say.
A smile spreads across her face. “Believe me, I’m not tracking you at the barn. It’s just hard not to notice when you’re always there.”
“So is Presley!” I argue.
“She lives there too,” Rylee says. “No one is judging you for working too hard.”
“Sounds like it,” I mumble, grabbing a plastic menu from the holder and glancing over it.
I know the menu like the back of my hand. We always try to get together here as often as we can when our schedules allow it. If Rylee didn’t work at the Hash ’N Hop, we’d probably go there.
Pancakes it is.
My usual Nutella and banana ones don’t sound as appealing as they usually do, so when our server comes around, I order plain ones.
“Okay, are you really not feeling good?” Rylee asks. “You never get basic pancakes.”
“Maybe one of the kids got me sick,” I say, sipping on my water. “One of them was complaining about an upset stomach last week.”
“Are you sure?” Joey asks. “You weren’t feeling good last weekend either.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m not working today, so I’ll probably nap this afternoon and take it easy.”
“Will you?” Presley asks. “I don’t think I’ve seen you take a day off since you started your therapy program.”
“Ooh, maybe we could do a movie afternoon,” Rylee says. “Chase is working all night and I’m off today.”
I shrug a shoulder, messing with my straw wrapper. “I’d be game. Anyone else?”
Joey and Presley exchange a look. It’s one I’m all too familiar with at this point. They have things they want to be doing with their partners, but don’t know if they should say yes to me.
“It’s fine,” I answer for them. “Go home to your men folk and Rylee and I can hang out together.”
“As long as it’s only cheesy rom-coms,” she says.
“Like we’d watch anything else.” I laugh.
Our server comes around, placing heaping plates of pancakes in front of each of us, and a plate of home fries for the table in the middle. The sweet aroma of all of them goes straight to my head, making me nauseated.
“You’re straight-up green now,” Joey says. “Why’d you come out if you’re not feeling well?”
My fork clatters to the table before I dart to the bathroom and crash into a stall. I dry heave, but nothing comes up.
Ugh.
I guess I’m not feeling as well as I thought. I take a few minutes to myself to make sure I’m okay before heading back out to the booth.
Three pairs of eyes are staring at me when I sit back down.
“What?”
Rylee pushes a fresh glass in front of me. “Drink up. It’s ginger ale.”
I slurp a sip down and it helps with my stomach. At least there’s that.
“Can we ask you something?” Joey asks.
Glancing at all three of them, I can see them shifting in their seats.
“Umm, okay.”
“Are you pregnant?” Presley blurts out.
“Presley!” Joey hisses. “We were going to do it with a little more tact than that.”
“Sorry. But if she is, we need to know,” she says.
“What? No,” I snap, looking at all three of them. “There’s no way I can be pregnant.”
“When was the last time you had sex?” Rylee asks, dragging a potato through ketchup before popping it in her mouth.
“Wasn’t it the hot baseball dad from the wedding?” Joey asks, waggling her eyebrows.
“Oh, shit.”
My default thought was the last guy I’d had sex with almost a year ago. Some guy I met in town one night, and we dated for a few weeks. Nothing earth-shattering, but he was cute, so I figured why not.
The night of Rylee’s wedding? I’d pushed it out of my head because no good would come from replaying that night over and over in my brain.
No matter how hot it was.
“Do we need to get you a pregnancy test?” Presley asks, bringing me out of my spiraling thoughts.
“Oh my God. Maybe?” I question. “But we used a condom. There’s no way.”
Joey drops a warm hand over mine. Panic is swelling in my stomach.
“It can happen. That’s how I got pregnant with Max.”
“Ugh.” I bang my head on the laminate tabletop. “I can’t be pregnant. I mean, this guy doesn’t even live in town.”
“That’s not a reason for you not to be pregnant,” Rylee oh-so-helpfully points out. “Why don’t we go get a test and you can take one? If you’re not pregnant, maybe you should go see your doctor.”
“One? Try five,” I say, gulping down the rest of my drink. Now that the thought is there, the nerves in my stomach won’t go away.
My cycles have always been erratic. The last two months I had spotting—something that’s normal for me—so I didn’t even think I missed my period.
Pregnant? With some guy whose last name I don’t even remember?
Great job, Georgia, great job.
Presley flags down the server and asks for the check and to-go boxes.
“We’re not even going to finish breakfast?” I ask.
“Considering you haven’t eaten a single bite, I don’t think you have any room to talk. Besides, we need to get some answers.”
“I thought you were busy?”
She shakes her head. “Not anymore.”
Rylee drops some cash on the table and scoots me out of the booth. “We all want to know the answer to this question. Let’s go.”
It all goes by in a blur. Walking out of the restaurant. Going to the drug store and getting not one but three tests, and then making the short walk home.
“I think I’m going to be sick.”
I shake my hands out as I pace the length of my bedroom. The tests are sitting on the bathroom counter as everyone watches me while we wait for the timer to go off.
“Why don’t you sit down?” Rylee suggests. “I don’t think it’s going to help if you work yourself into a frenzy.”
I flop down onto the end of the bed. “I’m the responsible one here. How in the world did I let this happen?”
“Considering two of us are raising kids, I’d say we’re responsible,” Presley remarks.
“Are you saying I’m not?” Rylee asks, whipping her head around to look at Presley.
“No.” She throws her hands up in defense. “I’m just saying she’s not the only one responsible out of all of us.”
“I don’t know how I’m going to make this work,” I sigh.
“Don’t borrow trouble,” Joey says. “You don’t know if the test is positive yet. Who knows? It could be a stomach bug.”
I love my friend for trying to be optimistic, but at this point, having felt crappy for the last few weeks, I’d put money on the fact that I’m pregnant.
God. Pregnant. That word feels weird to even say.
I never wanted to have kids. Growing up, with my childhood, I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. And with my students—
“Hold on. How in the world am I going to do my job if I can’t ride horses? Can I even ride with a baby?”
The three of them exchange a look and that tells me all I need to know.
“You can still do your job,” Joey says. “Just not on horseback.”
“What happened to not borrowing trouble?” Presley asks. “You only have to wait thirty more seconds and then you’ll know.”
“Oh, God.”
Time seems to slow down and speed up all at the same time. I don’t want to know what those tests say, but I feel like I already know.
It would make sense with how I’ve been feeling lately. Nausea and generally crappier than normal. Add in the not sleeping and it all fits.
When the timer echoes around the bedroom, I dart into the bathroom. I grab each test and flip them over.
Two blue lines.
Plus Sign.
Pregnant.
At least they make it idiot proof.
“Guess I’m having a baby,” I whisper.
“Does that mean you’re keeping it?” Joey asks.
“I think so? I mean, I’m pregnant and I don’t even know the guy’s last name.” I drop my head into my hands. “What an idiot.”
“It’s going to be okay.” Rylee rubs soothing circles on my back. “Take a few days and see how you feel.”
“That’s not going to change the fact that I don’t know this guy’s name.” I peek one eye up at her.
“Technically we know his first name. I’m sure we could find his last name,” Presley says.
“How?” I look up at Presley, who has a knowing look in her eyes.
“He stayed at the ranch, right? We’d have to have his contact information on file. There couldn’t have been that many Grants there that weekend.” She says this like it’s a done deal.
“That has to be some kind of breach of privacy,” I say.
“Oh, it definitely is,” Joey agrees. “But I could do it when I go in tomorrow.”
“You can’t do that!” I hiss.
“Why not?” Rylee shrugs a shoulder. “This guy deserves to know if he has a baby out in the world.”
“And if he has an issue with us tracking him down to tell him you’re pregnant, then he’s a dick,” Presley says.
They all nod in agreement.
Tears well in my eyes. I love my friends. Even if they might be—well, definitely are—breaking some privacy laws to help, I don’t know where I would be without them. And getting this news means I’ll need them now more than ever.
“Just…give me a few days, okay? I need to come to terms with the fact that I’m now pregnant and then we can figure out how to track this guy down.”
Because that is going to be something I need to figure out.
How to find the guy who gave me the best night of my life. And then managed to flip my world on its head.
A baby.
I’m going to be a mom.
That’s going to take some getting used to.