Page 19 of Like the Season
He didn’t want to assume or raise his hopes too much. “If you’re going to have this baby, he really should know, even if he doesn’t want to be a part of its life. He has a responsibility.”
She turned to face him. “Mom had me. Despite being alone and being taken in by the woman from the church, she did have the option to have an abortion. Believe it or not, the woman offered to help her pay for one if she wanted to go that route, but Mom opted not to.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. It wasn’t that the woman wanted Mom to do it, but apparently the woman’s sister had been an unwed teenaged mom whose parents threw her out, and it ruined her life. So she had…perspective, I guess? I don’t know.”
Ella leaned against the counter. “I know it’s going to be hard, and this isn’t how my life was supposed to go. Yesterday morning, I actually thought about getting an abortion, tried to talk myself into it, and realized by lunchtime that it’s not a choice for me.”
He struggled not to let his relief show. “You’renotalone, honey. I’m never going to abandon you.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I swore I’d make Mom proud, and here I am, stupid and pregnant.”
Boyd engulfed her in a hug. “You’renotstupid. You’re in a lot of pain that you never should have had to bear alone.”
“Mom always said I was stubborn and closed-mouthed.”
“Well, you get that honestly from me. Sorry.”
Another tearful laugh, and she looked up into his eyes. “He’s actually older than you by a couple of years. He’s forty-two or forty-three.”
Boyd shoved back the irrational wave of protective anger threatening to take over. “He needs to take care of his responsibilities.”
“I’d prefer he didn’t. I don’t want to be tied to him.”
“Maybe he’ll want to be part of his or her life.”
“Yeah,no. You don’t understand—he’s a massive jerk. Gorgeous, but a raging narcissistic douchebag. Patients love him and nurses hate-fuck him.”
“You’re still going to have to tell him. Let’s do it and get it over with while I’m here. I’ll go with you. You work with him and see him a lot there, right? Letting it drag out won’t get any easier.”
From her expression, he could tell she wasn’t a fan of that plan at all. “Let me think about it.”
“I’ll go get the coffee dumped out.”
“Thanks.”
She closed the bathroom door behind him and he retrieved his mug from the coffee table, finishing it so he could pour himself a second mug before dumping out what was left in the carafe and cleaning it and the grounds basket. He had that finished by the time she emerged from the bathroom and joined him in the kitchen.
“Sorry about that,” she said.
“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry I triggered you.”
“You didn’t trigger me. It’s morning sickness. It would have happened anyway. Coffee just makes it worse. Like a sick joke.” She poured herself a glass of water. “That’s one of the reasons I finally broke down and bought a pregnancy test kit. Four days straight of puking in the mornings, and when I smelled coffee, not even being able to drink the stuff, and no fever. I knew it wasn’t a stomach bug or something.”
“So what’s on the agenda today?”
“More talking. And maybe showing you around, if you’d like.”
“I’d like that.”
She stared out the kitchen window for a long moment before turning to him again. “Did you want to go visit Mom?”
He set his mug aside and opened his arms to her, happy when she let him hug her again. “I’d like that a lot, honey.”
* * * *
Ella’s apartment had a small lanai on the back. While she was taking a shower, he stepped out there to call Caleb.
