Page 3 of Not Afraid to Trust Again
When she relocated to Sweetwater Hills, it was nothing for me to move here with her. She was my best friend, and I wanted a new start like she did. Things had been good for the most part.
I didn’t expect to find love or anything close to it when I moved, but that changed the day I met Kyden Mills. I had never seen a sheriff look the way he did. Kyden was handsome with dark caramel skin and brandy-colored eyes that always staredinto my soul. He was funny and charming as hell. He came in and showed me things I didn’t know I wanted, but at times, I felt like he was hiding something. I didn’t push because I had secrets of my own.
We’d been casually dating for a little over a year, but I still wasn’t ready for a relationship with him. Even though I had been avoiding him, I missed him. My actions said one thing, but my heart said another. Since we hadn’t seen each other, I’d been horny as hell, and I knew where he was during his nighttime shift, so I drove down that road in hopes he would stop me. It would have been easier to call him, but the thrill of him fucking me outside in his work uniform did something to me.
He handcuffed me once, but I freaked out. I had a flashback of that night with my ex. Kyden soothed me and tried to get me to tell him what happened, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t sure if I would ever tell him.
My stomach growled while I washed my hair, so I hurried to get out of the shower so I could eat breakfast.
I had taken a home pregnancy test, and it came back positive. I scheduled an appointment to confirm it, but I hadn’t told Kyden or my sister. I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep the baby or not. I didn’t know why I had doubts, but I did. I had another week before I went to the doctor, so I would decide by then. Maybe the test was a false positive, and I wasn’t pregnant at all. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that either. I was all confused and afraid to talk to anyone about it.
I didn’t have time to dwell on it because my stomach growled again. I wrapped a towel around myself and went downstairs to make breakfast.
“I’m going to feed you now, little one.”
I’d been talking to the baby for the last couple of days. I probably shouldn’t have been if I wasn’t going to keep it, but atthe same time, I didn’t want to act like it didn’t exist if I was keeping it. I was leaning more toward keeping it anyway.
After eating a breakfast sandwich, I went back upstairs to put the sheets on the bed and finish getting dressed for the day. All of my problems would have to wait for another day.
A few hours later, I arrived at my sister’s and brother-in-law’s house, ready to prepare for the party.
“Hey, Sis. Happy birthday!” I held up the gift bag I had for her.
“Thank you!” She took the bag from me then hugged me.
I entered the house and closed the door behind me.
“I set up most of the stuff, but I forgot the ice, so Kaleb and Ky went to get some and who knows what else. I’m sure they are getting more liquor.”
The mention of Kyden made my heart race. I knew he would be there, but I didn’t expect him to be early. It had been a couple of days since we last saw each other, and I was nervous about seeing him again. I knew I couldn’t keep holding off telling him about our possible baby.
“Oh, okay.”
“Why did you say it like that?”
Janae put her hands on her hips and frowned.
“No reason.”
“If you say so. I won’t pressure you now, but you have to tell me what’s going on sooner or later. Kyden really likes you, but you are holding back for some reason.”
I wrapped my arm around Janae’s and led her to the kitchen. I needed her attention focused elsewhere because it wasn’t theright time to tell her everything, and I knew she wouldn’t let it go.
“I’m fine. It’s all about you today, so let’s focus on that.”
She squinted her eyes at me then picked up a strawberry from the fruit platter on the counter.
“Sure. It’s something, but I’m going to leave it alone for now.”
“Thank you. Now, go get dressed while I finish getting everything together.”
“I guess.” She picked up another strawberry then left the kitchen.
Janae was a couple of years younger than me but acted like she was the oldest most of the time. I didn’t fault her for it though. We were protective of each other, and it had been that way our whole lives.
While Janae got dressed, I ate a couple of the strawberries since they were my favorite, then I put up the decorations and set the food out. Kaleb was taking Janae away for her birthday, but she wanted to have a small gathering with family and friends before they left. Her boutique was closed for the morning, so Ashley could make it. The rest of the girls were coming as well.
As I put the finishing touches on the decorations, I heard the front door open, and men’s laughter filtered through the house.
