Chapter 49
49
Two Months Later
E arl was released from prison a month ago, but we’ve yet to see each other.
I’m standing in line at the local pharmacy when I notice a magazine with his face on the cover. The headline has INNOCENT written in bold writing.
The woman in front of me is rummaging through her purse for a lost coupon. I look over my shoulder when someone steps behind me.
My body freezes when my eyes land on Earl.
It’s not that I’ve been avoiding him. Luck has just been on my side.
Sometimes I’ve considered visiting him, but I was too nervous about how he’d react.
Does he hate me?
Does he blame me?
Plenty of people in his situation would.
I don’t want to be a reminder of his past and the trauma he went through at the hands of my classmates.
He’s wearing a baggy sweatshirt with a Carhartt logo and ripped jeans. His attention is on his phone. He doesn’t even notice me.
That changes when the woman in front of me starts cursing because she still can’t find her coupon. She drops her bag onto the counter and starts removing its contents.
He looks at her, then at me, and his eyes widen.
There’s no turning around and pretending I didn’t see him without making it obvious that’s what I’m doing. It’s either I ignore him, talk, or run out of the pharmacy.
“Hello, Essie,” he says, luckily making the first move for me. His voice is kind. There’s no animosity.
“Hi,” I squeak out, playing with my purse strap and tapping my foot.
He slips his phone into his pocket and leans into his cart. “How are you?”
“I’m okay.” I grip the box—my only item—in my hand. “How are you after, uh”—I bite my lip, hating that I sound as nervous as I am—“everything?”
“I’m happy to be home.”
“That’s good. Blue Beech is happy to have you back.” I hope my words don’t sound ungenuine.
Earl was welcomed back to town with open arms. Though it kind of pissed me off with some people. He was treated like shit for so long. A lot of people here owe him a huge apology.
Including me.
“I’m sorry, Earl—” I start to say, but he interrupts me.
“I don’t blame you,” he says, blunt and straightforward. “You and I were nothing but collateral damage in their plan. Both of us victims.” He scoots his cart closer. “Please don’t have any guilt for what happened to me. Paula told me what you did when Jenna came to you.” He bows his head. “Thank you for that.”
I gulp. “I appreciate that, and welcome home.”
He tips his hat toward me. “Glad to be here. I thought I’d never miss it, but it’s good to be home. ”
“Next!” the cashier yells as Coupon Woman finally pays and storms away with her cart.
Even though I stopped paying close attention, I’m pretty sure she didn’t find her coupon.
The cashier gives me a scrutinizing stare as her gaze slides from the box I’m purchasing to my ringless finger.
Okay, rude .
She grumbles out my total, and after paying, I wave to Earl before rushing out of the pharmacy. My UGG boots crunch against the snow on my walk to my car.
I toss the bag into the passenger seat, and just as I buckle my seat belt, my phone rings.
“Hello?” I answer with a slight shiver.
I forgot to heat my car, and it’s starting to get cold AF here.
“Hi. May I please speak with Essie Lane?” the woman on the other end asks in a friendly tone.
“This is she.”
“It’s Mary from Dr. Hedges’s office. You’re on the waitlist to meet with him about scar reconstruction surgery. Dr. Hedges has some cancellations, if you’d like to schedule a consultation with him.”
I stare down at my stomach, then at the package in the seat, and then back to my stomach. “Thank you for following up, Mary. But I think I’m okay.”
“All right,” she chirps. “Have a great day and let us know if you change your mind.” She ends the call.
I lift my shirt and coat to peer at my stomach again, no longer hating the sight of my scars.
I’ve grown into accepting them as part of me.
I’m beginning to love the skin that I’m in.
If I had surgery, it’d be like all the work I’d done, loving myself, would’ve been for nothing.
I smile when I approach our law firm, Castillo and Lane at Law.
Adrian and I went back and forth on whose office to stay in. While I loved mine, Adrian’s—Terrance’s before—had history. I’d worked there in high school. It brought Adrian to Blue Beech, and people in town are familiar with it.
It has two offices compared to my one.
I also like that we’ll be keeping Terrance’s work alive.
“Hi, pretty,” Ralph greets me when I walk in, swatting snowflakes from my hair.
“Hey now,” Lainey says, shooting him a frown. “I’m her secretary, which means I’m the one who’s supposed to greet her like that.”
I grin. “How about both of you can call me pretty?”
“I’ll take it, pretty ,” Ralph says.
“Although I don’t really need my ego stroked and think we should keep things more professional,” I add, and they crack up laughing, as if that’s realistic.
While Ralph and Lainey are professional with clients, they have no problem butting into our business or arguing with each other. They even have lunch cook-offs here, and we always have birthday dinners.
I never want my workplace to be like Adaway and Williams.
I’ll never be a boss like them.
I head across the lobby straight to Adrian’s office.
The door is open. He’s on the phone, and he waves me inside when he notices me. While we have separate offices, he has an L-shaped desk in his with a computer on each side. I work on the other computer since I’m in his office more than my own. I’m normally only in mine if we’re meeting with a client.
“I’ll call you back,” he tells the person on the other line as I shut the door behind me.
He rises from his leather chair, sets down his phone, and kisses me. “Hello. I have to say, you’re late to the office today.” He swats my ass. “We can’t have that, Ms. Lane. ”
I pat his cheek, and he frowns at my cold hand. “I’ve been brainstorming, babe.”
“Uh-oh.” He grabs my arm, leading me to the desk and situating me between his legs after sitting on the edge. “Brainstorming about what?”
“About us moving in together.”
He cocks his head to the side, waiting for me to go on.
“What if I said yes?”
“That’d make me a very happy man.”
I hold up a finger. “We just have one problem.”
He raises a brow.
“Both of our places are only one bedroom.”
“Do you want an office there?”
“No.” I shrug, grabbing his hands and pulling back some. “Just another bedroom.”
“Are we having guests?”
I grin. “I wouldn’t say a guest . Something more permanent, actually.”
“River?” I lose one of his hands when he scrubs it across his face. “Oh God, is this some twin thing where you come as a package?”
“No.” I laugh, knowing he wouldn’t believe me even if I said yes to that. “We need a room for a nursery.”
He blinks, as if not getting it.
“A nursery,” I repeat, drawing out the word.
He goes completely still. “Wait … are you …?”
I nod, losing his hold when I walk backward to grab the plastic bag from my purse.
His gaze is pinned on me when I hand it to him.
A pregnancy test is inside.
“Hell yes,” he yells before sweeping me in his arms.
He kisses me.
Again.
And again.
And again .
So many kisses that I lose my breath.
I’ve never seen a grin so big on his face when he inches back.
The pregnancy wasn’t planned, but we haven’t been careful.
Condoms have pretty much been nonexistent.
It wasn’t the smartest decision, but I like feeling him without a barrier.
We tried the pull-out method, but both of us forget half the time, too caught up with each other.
“We’re having a baby,” he says against my lips.
“We’re having a baby,” I whisper.
My body has gone through so much.
I’ve loved it, hated it, and loved it.
And soon, it’ll give us a child too.