Chapter 5 Icelyn
five
Icelyn
Two More Months Later
Pregnant.
The word on the pregnancy test stares back at me. How did this happen? I mean, I know how it happened, maybe the question is why. Granger doesn’t want to be a father. Sure, he said he would take care of me and any baby we had, but that doesn’t mean he wants a family.
I put my hand on my still flat stomach. “Hey, little guy, I’m going to love you so much you won’t have to worry about not having a father in your life.”
“I knew it, you’re pregnant.” I startle at the sound of my sister Autumn’s voice, dropping the pregnancy test to the floor.
My other sister, Junie, reaches down and picks it up, holding it out for Autumn to see, “Yup, right there. She’s pregnant.”
What was I thinking, taking a pregnancy test in the bakery bathroom and bringing it to the breakroom while I waited the three minutes for the results?
In my defense, the bathroom walls seemed like they were closing in on me, and three minutes might have felt like three hours. Waiting in that tiny bathroom was not an option.
Junie sidesteps me as I reach for the small white stick, confirming my secret wish—a baby with Granger. Why I still care about that man is beyond me. He seems to only pop into my life when he wants sex, then pops back out—only this time feels different. It feels like he won’t pop in again.
“When are you going to tell Granger?” Autumn places her arm around my shoulders.
I love my sisters, truly, I do, but since both of them recently found love, they’ve declared that everyone should be as happy and in love as they are, which I’m not.
My fingers twitch against my stomach, reminding me of the little life growing inside of me, and my protective instincts kick in. “I never said Granger was the father.” But like all good sisters, Junie and Autum see right through my charade.
“Who else would it be? Sure, the two of you are like oil and water, but put you in the same room and watch out. The sexual tension is so hot it could rival the hottest day in July.” Junie’s words take me back to the hot July night when all this started with Granger.
Scratch that, all this started the first day he walked into our bakery with his rugged good looks and that damn notebook.
“He seems very taken with you. Especially since he can never take his eyes off you when you’re in the same room. ”
I think back to all of my interactions with Granger. He was nothing if not professional, until I pushed him that night. Could I have been wrong about him?
“I need to go.” I shrug out of Autumn’s arms, grab the pregnancy test out of Junie’s hand, and grab a box of our assorted cookies before heading out the door to confront my destiny.
***
It didn’t take me long to find out where Granger’s cabin was.
Bale Blackwood from the fire station was more than happy to give me his address.
Now that I’m standing on his front porch holding a box of cookies in one hand and clutching my purse with a wrapped-up pregnancy test labeled "To Granger from your Secret Santa" inside, I reconsider my plan. The only thing that pushes me forward is knowing Granger has a right to be involved in his child’s life.
With a sigh, I raise my hand and knock on his front door. A few seconds later, the door swings open to a surprised Granger standing there holding a tiny version of himself on his left hip. “Icelyn, what are you doing here?”
He already has a family?
The baby he’s holding looks like he’s only five or six months old—old enough that Granger’s wife or girlfriend was already pregnant when we had sex the first time.
How could I have been so wrong about him?
Bile rises in my throat, but I swallow it down. “I have a delivery for you.” I put on a smile and hand him the box of cookies I brought as a peace offering. Now that I know about his family, I decide to pretend I’m just out making deliveries for our bakery.
Granger looks from my outstretched hand to my tight smile. “You don’t look so good. Why don’t you come in and have a seat?” He takes my elbow as the little boy in his arms babbles happily at me.
Is this what our baby might look like?
I’m so captivated by the baby that I don’t even notice I’m reaching for him once Granger helps me sit on the couch. “Can I hold him?”
“Sure.” He hands me the baby. “His name is JJ.”
“JJ,” I say, touching his soft head to my cheek. “He’s perfect.”
“We think so.” A beautiful woman enters the living room, wearing a proud parent’s smile.
Granger’s wife or girlfriend sits down beside me on the couch.
Feeling like an outsider amid this happy family moment, I try to hand JJ to his mother, but she stops me with a hand on my arm.
“I should go.” I make a weak effort to escape.
“I think you should stay, Icelyn.” How does she know my name? “My brother can’t stop talking about you.”
I blink in surprise. I had to have misheard her. “Brother?” I ask, needing clarification.
“Yes, Granger is my brother, and little JJ there is his nephew. My husband is on deployment for a year, so Granger generously let us move in with him for a while. He’s been helping me with the baby.
He even took my place at my job as the county food inspector while I was on maternity leave.
Which reminds me, I need to stop by your bakery and introduce myself.
Now, if you’ll excuse me,” she takes JJ out of my arms and stands, “I need to lay this little guy down for a nap.” I watch them leave the room, still shocked by the revelation that Granger doesn’t have a baby momma but a sister and a nephew.
When Granger’s sister and nephew are safely out of earshot, I turn my attention to Granger.
“I’m sorry. I held on to the idea that you were a bad guy who only wanted one thing from me, when I might have been the one to come onto you first.” I don’t add that there’s no maybe about it.
“I have something for you.” I dig through my purse until I find what I am looking for—a small package wrapped in Christmas paper with a bow on top.
“Here.” I hand it to him and wait for him to open it—praying that it’s not too late for us.