Page 55 of A Magnolia Move-In
I mouthed a thank you as she guided Jackson away. She smiled at me and gave me a supportive nod.
I pulled on Walker’s hand, and he didn’t miss a beat.He grabbed the handles and pushed me across the deck and around the corner so that we could have some privacy.
Once we were alone, he blew out his breath.
“Wow.” He sat down on the bench that was built into the deck and leaned forward. “I didn’t think your brother hated me…now I do.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. Jackson’s reaction had startled me as well. “I’m sorry,” I said as I reached out to grasp his hand in mine. “I’m glad you’re here, though.” The last thing I needed was for my big brother to scare off the father of my child.
Walker was a jumpy man, and I had this fear in the back of my mind that someday he’d run away for good. It wasn’t healthy, but when he’d refused to set a date or to even formally propose, it was an inevitable fear.
One that I couldn’t quell even as Walker was sitting next to me. He’d come for me. I needed to have faith in our relationship and his love for me.
Maybe, at the end of this conversation, he could say the words which would only calm me more.
Walker paused. I watched as his gaze drifted to our hands. A moment later, he brought his other hand to mine and covered it. He gave my hand a squeeze. “I’m glad to be here as well.”
My smile only grew as he validated what I hoped he felt. “Was it a long trip?”
Walker drew circles around the edge of my hand. It sent shivers up my arm that exploded in my chest. I bit my lower lip, loving the feeling of being touched.
It had been so long.
“I managed.” He glanced up and met my gaze for a moment before he looked down at my chair. I could see his physical reaction to my circumstance, and I wanted to stop it.
“I’m fine,” I said as I slipped my hand from his and brought it up to cradle his cheek.
“I should have been there,” he whispered, his voice breaking with each word.
I shook my head. “You were at work. You didn’t know.” I was going to push away all of my assumptions and just focus on Walker and me. We were going to be parents. Whatever happened with that woman calling me didn’t matter.
I loved Walker, and he loved me. Now that he was back, I was going to lean on that.
He shrugged. “Still. You shouldn’t have had to go through this alone.”
“I wasn’t alone.”
“Jackson hardly seems like good company.”
I winced at Walker’s words. Despite how my brother treated him, Jackson had been there for me. He took me to physical therapy sessions. He helped me navigate my world when I was confined to this chair. Walker could be upset with how Jackson treated him, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about him badmouthing my brother.
It left a sour taste in my mouth.
“You just need to see the softer side of Jackson. He’s really a teddy bear once you get to know him.”
Walker scoffed as he dropped my hand and leaned back against the railing. “I don’t think he’s interested in getting to know me.”
“That was my fault. I should have warned him that you were coming. He was blindsided.”
Walker didn’t look convinced as he folded his arms and glanced around. I could tell that he was building up a wall, and I wanted to stop it. Changing the subject seemed like a good idea. I just wasn’t sure what I should change it to.
I had questions. I had concerns. I was pregnant with his child.
But none of those things seemed appropriate right now. Walker was shutting down because of Jackson, and the last thing I wanted to tell him was that we were having a baby. I doubted his reaction would be what I wanted it to be.
He didn’t seem in the mood to answer the questions I had for him. In fact, I wondered for a moment if our conversation was completely stagnant. Where did I go from here?
“How was your time on the rig? Are you going out again?” I thought I’d keep our conversation nonthreatening. Walker liked his job, so it felt like neutral territory.
