Page 58 of Jobe

Driving home, anxious to pull her in close, the words of Tony rang over and over in his ears. “We got this.”Yeahhe thought,I got this.

19

Walking into their apartment, Jobe once again saw Mackenna in the kitchen pulling out plates. She smiled at him as he tossed his keys and some bags onto the breakfast bar and made his way around toward her. Her long hair fell softly down her back and he wanted to run his fingers through it. His gaze did a body scan, from her old, faded, tight t-shirt to her form-fitting yoga pants, down to her pink painted toenails. As his eyes made their way back up, they rested on her flat stomach.

“How ya doing, doll?” he asked gently as he closed the distance between them, taking her in his arms.

“I’m great,” she replied, her smile touching his heart as he tucked her head against his chest. She leaned way back to stare at him, her eyes twinkling as she said, “I’m glad you called to say you were bringing Chinese. I’m starved and hated the idea of cooking tonight.”

He leaned down to kiss her nose, saying, “Anytime either of us doesn't want to cook, we order out. Simple as that.”

“I did put plates out so that it’ll seem more like dinner.”

He chuckled as he let her go so that he could grab the takeout food and they sat at the table to eat. He wondered how to bring up his concerns, afraid that she would feel as though he were trying to run her life.But dammit, we’ve got a baby to consider.

As she grabbed their plates to take to the sink, she stared at him. “Are you going to tell me what’s on your mind or are you just going to scowl all night?”

Caught off guard, he looked up in surprise, a guilty expression on his face. Laughing as he stood, he grabbed her hand and gently tugged her into the living room. Sitting down on the sofa, he settled her on his lap, her back against the arm and her legs draped along the pillows.

“I was just wondering about…you know…plans. Your plans. Well, I mean our plans.”

“Plans? Honey, what kind of plans?”

Looking around evasively, he said, “Well, like this place? Do you want to stay here or find a house? Do you still want to tell our parents together this weekend? I want us to get married as soon as we can, so have you thought about that anymore? Have you thought about a replacement for when you’re on maternity leave? In fact, have you thought about quitting once you have the baby? Or maybe before?”

The smile that had been growing as she listened to his questions slowly fell from her face. “Jobe, I’m not quitting my job! What on earth made you think of that?”

“Because you’re in danger. The whole fucking place is in danger and I’m not going to go through what all my friends did.”

She pushed against his chest in an effort to move back, but his arms held firm. Huffing, she glared as he continued.

“I wasn’t willing to take a chance with just you and I’m sure as hell not going to now that you’re carrying my baby.”

“Well, my quitting isn’t going to happen, so you can get that idea out of your head.”

“Mackenna, you’re being unreasonable,” he growled.

“Me? Me? I’m being unreasonable? Jobe, you’re asking me to quit my job. This isn’t how a relationship works. You can’t just pull the macho, ‘I’m the man so we’ll do it my way’ act.”

Sucking in a deep breath, his jaw tight with frustration, he said, “I’m not trying to argue or take over. I had a bunch of concerns and you jumped on this one.”

“Okay, fine. Let’s talk about the others. No, I don’t think we need to move right now. A baby can have everything they require right here and doesn’t need a house yet. My mom’s downstairs and we can turn the study into a nursery for now. Down the road, we can move.” She glared then said, “There. Does that make you happier?”

Hell, I went about this all wrong. How the fuck do I make this right?he wondered. The silence poured over them, each stewing in their own frustration.

She watched him struggle with his emotions and then finally lay his head back on the sofa to stare at the ceiling. Looking away, she allowed her eyes to move about the room. The table still loaded with the boxes of Chinese food that he so thoughtfully brought home. The shelf over the flat screen TV that now held silver picture frames of them—some recent and a few from their lives years before. She glanced at the coat rack that stood by the front door holding his leather jacket snuggled next to her woolen coat. This place represented both of them. What they have as a couple. Who they are together.I don’t want him changing me, but I can’t ask him to be less than who he is,she realized.

Turning her head back to his, she leaned forward and kissed his stubble covered neck. He lowered his head, his eyes on hers in question.

“I’m sorry, Jobe,” she said softly. “I don’t want to argue.”

“I don’t want to either,” he replied, capturing her lips in a gentle kiss.

“I really do want to stay here for now and have us buy a house later when the baby is bigger or we have another one.”

That thought brought a smile to his lips as the future lay before him. “I’d like that. Both. Have lots of children and wait to buy a house.”

“And as far as our parents go,” she continued, “let’s get them all together this weekend and tell them then. Do you think you can get your parents to have everyone over without them getting suspicious?”

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