Page 124 of Holiday Hostage
Payton spun to face us when my socked feet landed on the hardwood flooring. She kept the robe wrapped tight across her body.
The overly long sleeves draped across her forearms, the length hitting her mid-calf.
“That’s a good look for you.” I held out the stack of clothes. “We can buy you some new clothes and have them delivered. Thought you might be more comfortable in these for now.”
Reed and Mav moved into the room behind me.
They settled on the couch, one on either end, and waited in complete silence.
I scowled at them, and Reed shrugged.
“Is there anything we can get for you?” Mav knotted his hands together. “Are you hungry?”
She hugged the clothes to her stomach and shook her head. “Maybe later.” Her eyes fluttered closed, and a pained look crossed her face.
When her eyes opened, a clear decision shone in the depths of crystalline blue. “There’s no easy way to work up to this, so here it is.” We all braced. “When I thought you were dead, I found out something. Something I never expected, and that we never talked about. I’m pregnant.”
An expectant hush fell over the room.
I blinked, the tension in my jaw unlocking.
“Pregnant?” I’d never said that word out loud in my entire life.
“How could that happen?” Reed whispered the words. His expression was a mixture of shocked hope and confusion.
I replayed our conversation the first night we’d been together.
Payton had reassured us she was on birth control.
I took a step toward her, making sure I didn’t crowd too close in case she needed space.
“I think I know. You were on the pill, right? You missed some doses while you were kidnapped. Then more when we were hunkered down during the storm.”
Her head bobbed, her throat working. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean for it to happen.” Her grip on the clothes tightened.
“Payton.” I skimmed her body, taking in the lines of grief that dented her forehead and drew a tiny line between her eyes. “There’s no reason for you to be sorry.”
She kept going like I hadn’t spoken at all.
“I understand if you don’t want to take on that kind of responsibility. You didn’t ask for it, and I don’t expect anything from you.”
“Payton.” I said her name a little louder, with a little more bite to my tone.
I needed her to hear me, and the panic suddenly clouding her face flattened into something that almost looked like fear.
“I’ve always wanted a family.” I took the clothes from her and opened my arms.
She hesitated, looking up at me with tears in her eyes. “You’re not just saying that?”
For the first time I could remember, I stopped holding back my emotions and let the joy fill me.
It brought my lips up into a smile that pinched my cheeks.
A laugh so full of effervescent bubbles I had no choice but to release it tickled my throat. “Are you kidding? I would never make light of anything to do with family. I never had time or found the right woman to start a family with. Now I know why.”
Reed and Maverick stood simultaneously, both moving with slow, precise movements that made them resemble puppets being moved around.
Their arms hung by their sides, mutual expressions of awe on their faces.
