Chapter Nine
Two Months Later
“I’ll take her,” Axel said.
Joey looked toward him with a frown. “You want to take Adeline trick-or-treating?”
“Yeah, you’re only a kid once, and seeing as I’m all dressed up as a pirate, waiting for my woman to join me, why not?”
It was Halloween, and as per tradition, the coffee shop had remained open. Axel knew Joey had every intention of taking her daughter around, but the other girl that had started to work for her had called in sick.
There was a sickness going around town. Adeline already had it, which he had ended up catching. Joey, so far, hadn’t caught anything. She seemed quite healthy.
She had nursed him to health as he had ended up in bed for three days with it. Joey’s mother had also stopped by with some chicken soup for him. The whole family had taken care of him. Ashley had even called to see how he was doing. It had been sweet. Including his Uncle Rick.
Once he was over the worst, he was back to work, and now he was dressed up for Halloween. He and Joey had agreed to go as pirates. She was dressed in a short skirt and fishnet stockings that he intended to remove with his teeth later on.
She wore a shirt that had cut-outs at the shoulders, curved down toward her tits, and showed off just enough flesh, but not enough at the same time. He knew what he was unwrapping later.
“You’re sure?” Joey asked.
He looked down at a little kiddie pirate, as Adeline had insisted on dressing the same way as the two of them.
“What do you say, kiddo? You and me go and hunt for candy?”
“Yes.” Adeline went to his side and put her hand in his. Even though she was nine years old, she still insisted on holding his hand.
He looked toward Joey, who smiled at him, cupped his face, and kissed him. “You’re a lifesaver. I will owe you.”
Axel banded an arm around her waist and pulled her in close. “And I intend to take all forms of payment, including interest, out of you later.”
He saw the fire in her eyes, and he loved her passion. They were going to have a lot of fun when Adeline passed out from exhaustion and possibly a sugar coma.
He left the coffee shop, and Adeline kept talking about school and what she had learned.
In the other hand, he had a lead around Princess. At home, they were able to take her off the lead, but he had learned the hard way that it was not a good idea in public places. The moment Princess picked up a scent, she did not come back when she was called.
Joey had told him to keep her on a lead, but he hadn’t listened and subsequently spent a whole afternoon looking for her. He had found her trotting along a side street and was so freaking happy. Since then, the lead stayed firmly in place. She was a little devil.
He stayed at the end of the driveway of each house they went to, as Adeline walked up. Sometimes she would join a group of kids, other times she was on her own. It felt good to be taking her around.
They had been candy-hunting for an hour, when he finally heard Adeline tell a group of kids that he was her father.
It shocked him to his core. Axel had never been a dad.
He had never wanted to have kids. But as Adeline came toward him and took his hand, he waited for the anger and annoyance. Nothing came.
Adeline had called him her father. There was no panic. No fear. He didn’t want to suddenly drop her off at Joey’s and run for the hills.
The group of kids smiled at him and then walked on by.
Axel crouched down. “Honey, you know what you told them ... wasn’t true, right?”
It was the strangest feeling in the world, because it suddenly hit him that he wanted to be her father more than anything.
“I ... know, I just, you’re dating my mom, and that means you’re together, which makes you my dad, and you like listening to me talk. You take me to school, and you take me trick-or-treating. Did I upset you?” Adeline frowned.
“No, you didn’t upset me.” He was just having to deal with a lot of shit right now.
Like the reality of the fact he wanted to be her freaking dad.
Him? Axel Rules, the guy who wanted nothing to do with single women, and yet he wanted to be Adeline’s dad.
Not only that, he also knew there was a risk he might be a father very soon.
Not once in the time he and Joey had been together had he used a rubber. He couldn’t get enough of her, and he’d been fucking her every chance he got. Multiple times a day when he could. His need for her hadn’t diminished. It had only gotten stronger. Joey was part of him already.
And that was when it occurred to him that he wanted to be Adeline’s father, and he wanted to have children with Joey.
He smiled down at Adeline. “How about we go and get more candy?” he asked.
Adeline offered him a smile. She was a good kid.
They moved from house to house, and all the time he waited for the fear and panic to wash over him. It never did. Not even for a second. He just felt ... whole.
By the end of the night, Adeline was exhausted, and he and Joey were supposed to go to a party, but instead they opted to go back to Joey’s and watch a movie. Adeline curled up between them on the sofa. She had fallen asleep midway through the second movie.
“I’m sorry if this isn’t what you had planned,” Joey said.
He looked over to her and saw her biting her lip. “I couldn’t think of a better way to spend Halloween.”
“Seriously? Your Uncle Rick had his party, which we were going to go to.”
He shrugged. “There will be other Halloweens I can take you, and besides, pigging out on candy and sitting in the warmth, all snuggled under a warm blanket. I can’t think of anything better.”
She giggled. “Can you even hear yourself?”
“Yeah, I can hear myself. What about you?” he asked and checked to make sure Adeline was in fact asleep. “Are you happy with not being able to take advantage of me?” He winked at her.
Joey put a hand up to her mouth and shook her head. “I cannot believe you just said that.”
He blew her a kiss and reached across the sofa to stroke his fingers down the curve of her neck. “I’m happy, Joey. Did you want to go to that party?” he asked.
“It would have been nice, but I kind of liked this a little better.” She leaned back, and he stroked the column of her neck. “Actually, consider that I like this a hell of a lot better.”
****
Joey didn’t want to do this, but she didn’t have much of a choice.
Adeline was in school, Axel was at a job, and her part-time worker had finally decided to turn up for work.
She could drive the hour out of town to go to the second nearest pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test. For the past week she had been waking up and had to run to the bathroom to throw up.
This was not good. The last time this had happened, she had been pregnant.
Things were going good between her and Axel, and Adeline adored him so much.
She nibbled her lip as she purchased the test, and of course, she had to get the judgy woman from behind the counter, as if she had all the great wisdom locked up inside her.
Joey did have every intention of asking where she could use the bathroom, but the small problem was, she didn’t have the need to go.
With a pregnancy test in hand, she made her way back to town and to the shop.
All the while the test felt like it was burning in her purse. She felt like all the customers knew.
She had gone and gotten back before lunchtime. Axel had already called to say he hadn’t been able to make it as he needed to wait for a delivery of parts for the ranch he was working on. He was close to finishing, but he said it was these days where it was make-or-break.
She didn’t know how make-or-break it was, and so didn’t ask.
He was an amazing craftsman. She had stayed at his place a couple of times over the past few months, and when she asked about certain furniture he redid at his house, he would tell her.
She saw how animated he was when it came to his work.
Joey had checked him out online and saw all the reviews he had gotten for the work he did. There was never a bad word about him.
“I’m just going to have a short break,” she said, knowing she was going to fire this girl, who seemed to spend more time filing her nails than working.
She made her way through to the back, grabbing her purse and entering the bathroom.
It had been nine years since she had taken a test, and as she sat on the toilet, she pulled out the pregnancy box and felt her hands start to shake.
She had been nervous back then as well. Did women ever not get nervous?
Shaking her head, she pressed her lips together and as she was about to open the box, her cell phone rang.
Joey checked who the caller was, and of course, it had to be her sister at a time like this.
“Hello,” she said.
“Hey, beautiful, I was just checking in, seeing how you’re doing. What’s going on with you?”
Joey laughed. “You’re calling now?”
“Yeah, do you have a problem with me calling?”
“Nah, I just, I’ve got, well, work, and to keep an eye on the shop. Coffee will not sell itself.”
“I thought you now had a part-time employee.”
“Yeah, I don’t think she is working out.”
“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” Ashley asked.
“Nothing is going on. I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
“You sound weird. Why?”
Joey closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She was not intending for her sister to find out what she was doing. This was supposed to be her private business. She wanted just one moment of peace.
Only, that didn’t happen.
“Nothing, I am just, you know, busy. I’ve got lots to do, and with Thanksgiving coming up and our parents hosting, Axel is excited. So is Adeline, you know, there is a lot to, uh, well, uh, sort out, you know.”
“Something is up, you’ve just said you know three times.”
“No, I did not. You’re hearing things.”
“You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” Ashley asked.
This made Joey completely silent, which only lasted for a second. “What? How did you—are you spying on me? Are you getting someone to spy on me?”
“Joey, I’ve known you my whole life, and you think we’ve not had a similar conversation before?”
“With Adeline.”
“Exactly, so am I wrong, or am I right?”
Joey sighed. “I don’t know yet. I went and got the test.”
“Not in town?”
“No, of course not. Axel would have found out by the end of the day, and I don’t want that. Especially if it’s negative.”
“Do you want it to be negative?” Ashley asked.
Joey sighed. “Yes, no, I don’t know.”
“That’s a lot of answers.”
“Everything with Axel is going so smoothly, but we both know I’m not his usual type, and he has those rules.”
“That were broken.”
“But what if he doesn’t want kids?” she asked. “I ... if I’m pregnant, this could ruin it.”
“And if you’re not?” Ashley asked.
“I don’t know, I guess I won’t know how he feels.” Joey sighed. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had a baby that the dad didn’t want.”
“Hey, I can’t even believe I am saying this, but George is an asshole, and from what I’ve seen and heard about Axel, he’s not. That guy is devoted to you. He broke those stupid rules for you, and Mom and Dad are always telling me he is amazing with Adeline.”
Joey smiled. “Yeah, he is. He adores her. He’s a good ... dad. Well, when he has kids, he is going to be a good dad.”
“You know I speak to Adeline, right?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Well, she is the one that told me he took her to school and also went inside when it was ‘bring a parent to school day,’” Ashley said.
Joey knew those days were limited, as Adeline was getting older.
She was more than happy to go for Adeline, even though she had gone to so many and talked about her job at each one.
She was pretty sure the kids knew her story by heart.
Some of the kids were nice. Others were cruel, but that was life.
According to Adeline, Axel had been a real hit with the kids. He had loved doing it as well.
“Yeah, he did.”
“How are you feeling about him now?” Ashley asked. “Is it just sex, or is it love?”
Joey felt tears spring to her eyes. “I-I think I’m in love with him.”
It felt so good for her to say that out loud, but the moment she did, she knew it wasn’t just a think, but a know.
“I’m in love with him,” she said, and it felt so good to say it to her sister.
“Then, perhaps it will be a good time to tell him he might be a dad and that you love him.”
“What if he doesn’t love me back?” Joey asked. “What if he doesn’t want kids? What if he ends it?”
“Then, we take it one step at a time, remember? That was what I told you before. If you remember, you were scared and we got through it, and I promise you now, Joey, I will be there to help you through every step of the way. I’m the one you can count on.”
Joey thanked her sister and ended the call. Of course, Ashley wanted to be called immediately with the results.
She had already been in the bathroom long enough, and knowing her luck, her part-timer had wandered off to do something more exciting. Pursing her lips, she quickly read the instructions, and thankfully, she did need to pee.
Peeing on the stick was difficult as she was trying not to panic, although she felt herself panicking.
It was all going to be okay. She just had to remember what Ashley said. Small little steps, and taking each decision and step as it comes. That was all she needed to do.
She took a deep breath in, and a long one out.
Once she had peed on the stick, she cleaned up, flushed the toilet, and placed the stick on the piece of plastic, and then waited as she washed her hands.
The next couple of minutes seemed like an eternity. It was like the hands on her watch had purposefully slowed down because of how important this was. Time stood still. There was nothing she could do but wait. Her fate rested on a urine stick.
Tick-tock, and then the hands had aligned to the time she needed it to be, and she glanced down at the pregnancy test.
She attempted to not know what it meant, but she did.
She saw the lines.
She was pregnant.
Axel was going to be a father, just as she was going to be a mother again. How was she going to tell him?