Page 27 of When You Least Expect It
Myer~
I was in the backyard, doing some landscaping, but it was more of an effort to keep from going over to Calista’s house and making an even bigger fool of myself.I was pretty sure that she wasn’t interested in me, and so the last thing that she needed was for her new neighbor to make a pest of himself.
I also needed the mental cleansing that gardening and yardwork provided.After spending hours researching Jury Patton and Louise Mackrell, my brain had needed and still needed a break from all the bullshit that they disguised as spiritual guidance.While I was certain that they believed that they were serving a higher power, it wasn’t the same God that I’d been raised to believe in.Whatever Jury and his quartet of blondes were worshipping, it wasn’t anything out of any Bible that I’d ever read.
The sound of the sliding glass door had me looking back, and when I saw Zachary walking into my backyard, I figured that it must be important if he used his key to get in.Granted, my brother was always welcomed in my home, but a little advanced notice of his visit would have been nice.
“What are you doing here?”I asked, setting aside the jug of weed killer.
“Whitney’s pregnant,” he announced as he took a seat in one of my deck chairs, my yard work all but forgotten.
I pulled off my gloves, then dropped them next to the jug, dusting my hands off as I made my way to go sit next to my brother.His announcement had been delivered with an even tone, so I had no idea if this was a good thing or a bad thing.No matter right or wrong, or what a man felt, a woman’s right to choose would always set the narrative for what came next.
“Do you want a beer?”I asked as I sat down.
Zachary shook his head.“No, I’m...I’m good.”
“So...so, what happened?”
“Well, I did as you’d suggested,” he started.“I went home, told her to do me a favor and take a test, and so...so, she did.”
“And?”
“When the test came out positive, she took another one,” he answered.“And because she’d gotten five tests at the store, she felt it best to take all five.”
“And all five came back positive?”
Zachary nodded.“Yep.”
“Christ on The Cross, Zach,” I rushed out.“Just tell me everything already.”
He let out a long sigh before saying, “I really am a fucking asshole.”
That had my heart hurting for him again.“What happened?What did she say?”
“Well, after there was no more denying that she was pregnant, she looked at me and apologized for her birth control failing,” he said, and I could feel my stomach drop to my feet.“Then she said that she had some thinking to do, but for me not to worry because she won’t hold me responsible for whatever she decides.If she chooses to terminate the pregnancy, she’ll have her sister help her with that, and if she chooses to have the child, then she’ll be sure to keep my name off the birth certificate.”
“Jesus Christ, she said that?”
Zachary nodded again.“Oh, it gets better.”
My brows jumped high.“It does?’
“When I told her that I loved her and that I wanted us to have the baby, she said that she appreciates how I’m trying to do the right thing, but that I didn’t have to lie.She assured me that she wasn’t going to go off the rails or smear my good name.”He let out an empty laugh.“Oh, but she did ask me if I’d be so kind as to give her a rundown on my family’s medical history just in case she decides to keep the baby.”
“Did she...did she break up with you?”I asked, my heart beating a little too fast for a Sunday afternoon.“I mean, that’s what it kind of sounds like.”
“Oh, she tried,” he harrumphed.“She damn near shook my hand as she thanked me for the past two years.”
I winced.“Ouch.”
He let out another hollow laugh.“Christ, Myer, I’d never felt so goddamn furious in all my life.I mean, I was...I was seeing-red pissed off.I mean, I get why she reacted the way that she did about the pregnancy, but to dismiss my love for her like it meant nothing...that...that...Christ, I can’t remember a time when I’d ever been so fucking mad.”
“So, what happened next?”
Zachary shook his head as he ran his hands through his dark hair.“I lost my shit, and in those moments of madness, I told her that I loved her, that we were getting married, that we were having this baby, and that she better get used to it because I wanted at least two more kids after this one.”
I could feel my eyes widen.“What did she say to that?’
