Page 66 of Another June with You

She cried into his chest, gripping the jacket of his tuxedo. “I can’t give you the family you want,” she whimpered.

His heart ached. He did want a family. A huge one. He wanted kids, and he wanted them with her. A part of him and a part of her. So many times he had pictured beautiful raven-haired daughters with brown eyes like their mother’s and cute little towheaded boys like him running around causing all sorts of trouble.

“I wanted that with you. So much. I wanted a son to carry on my name, but—”

“But I’m broken. I’ll never be able to give you that, Micah. I can’t be what you need.” She pulled away and scrambled to her feet. “I can’t do this anymore. It hurts”—her words were interrupted by a sob—“too much.” And she took off across the parking lot.

“Shannon!” He wanted to race after her and tell her it didn’t matter, but he couldn’t bring himself to stand. A jumble of confused thoughts whirled around in his mind. As much as he loved Shannon, the idea of never creating a child together was painful. It had been one of their biggest dreams, more important than career or any other detail they had dreamed up for their life. He wanted to tell her that they didn’t need kids. The love he had for her was so strong, but would it be enough? Would it get them through the times when the desire for children was overwhelming? And what if they decided to try? He knew if he asked, she would do it for him. But would that cause her physical pain? He couldn’t bear that. And what of the disappointment they would face with each negative test result?

This was by far the most difficult thing he had ever faced. And she’d been dealing with this—holding onto this secret—for years. He hated that he’d hurt her tonight, that he’d forced her to talk when she’d wanted to leave well enough alone.

So he let her go, he let her walk away, to cry and think and grieve. Because that’s exactly what he needed to do.

Chapter 21

What Shannon needed more than anything after the emotionally draining week she’d had was to be home. She couldn’t wait to embrace her mother and hide there in her arms for a while. No matter what was happening in her life, a hug from Mama always made it better.

When she arrived at her parents’, she had to park Duncan’s car on the street because there were several extra cars in the driveway. Shannon looked at herself in the rearview mirror and sighed. Makeup could not hide the puffiness around her eyes from crying herself to sleep.

The truth was out. Finally. And it felt like a burden had lifted, it really did. But it still hurt, seeing the look on his face, knowing she couldn’t give him what he wanted, what he needed in this life. He loved her still, she knew he did. But it wasn’t enough. She had known it then, and his reaction had only confirmed that letting him go had been the right thing. She had to accept that and trust in God’s plan for her life from now on.

A car pulled up right behind hers. Shannon had been so focused on the wedding drama and Micah that she nearly forgot she’d invited Jamie over for Sunday dinner.

Jamie practically bounced out of her car, dressed in a cute little off-the-shoulder dress in a burgundy floral that blended well with the streaks in her hair and showed off half of the tattoo of a vintage 1950s Canon camera on the back of her right shoulder.

Shannon whistled. “You look nice.”

Jamie’s deep wine-colored lipstick accentuated the fullness of her lips, and her eyes popped with the mascara and smoky eyeshadow she wore. “I like to look my best.”

“For my brother,” Shannon teased.

“I mean …” Jamie fluffed her hair a little. “Bonus if he thinks I look good.”

Shannon couldn’t help but smile. Those two were so obvious sometimes. She wondered if either of them would ever get serious about settling down and realize how right they could be together. She would be thrilled to have Jamie as her sister. But she didn’t want to get ahead of herself. It had been awkward being subjected to Keely’s matchmaking, and she would never try to play Cupid and push Duncan and Jamie together. If it happened, it would have to happen naturally. Still, she held onto hope that her brother and her best friend could find happiness someday. Even better if they found it with each other.

Jamie walked over and hugged her. “Looks like you had a very long day yesterday.”

Shannon scrunched up her nose. “That obvious, huh? How awful do I look?”

“Not awful. Never that. Just tired.”

“I’ll fill you in on everything later.” She walked to the back of her car and popped the trunk. “Oh, and guess what Micah found.”

Jamie shrieked. “Our stuff!” She grabbed her cameras and bag from the trunk and moved it to her own vehicle. “I knew Micah was good for something.”

Shannon forced a laugh. She shouldn’t have mentioned his name. It hurt more than she expected.

The girls walked into the house and were hit with the aroma of Mama’s homemade spaghetti sauce simmering in the kitchen.

“We’re here!” Shannon announced.

Jamie inhaled deeply, her eyes slipping shut. “Mmmm, smells delicious.”

“Cuore mio!” Mama came from the kitchen at the sound of her daughter’s voice and pulled her into a warm embrace.

“Mama.” She fought back tears and clung to her for dear life.

“Is everything okay?” Mama squeezed her tighter, holding on, letting her daughter be the one to pull away first.

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