Page 44 of A Surprise Baby for the Wolf Shifter

“Why not?” she asked.

I stared at her. “Because… well… I… I am not sure.”

She giggled. “It’s okay if you don’t have the answer for it. I was only curious.”

I relaxed and sighed. “Pregnancy hormones, remember?”

“And they are still so fun to mess with,” she added.

Bread and cheese and the oil stuff used for dipping were placed in front of us, in the center of the table. Cassidy dug in and I pulled the papers closer to me then picked up the pen and started filling out my information. That was until I hit a snag.

“What do I put for the father’s information?” I asked. I still mulled everything over and became more resolved in my decision to do what was best for the baby and not me.

“Technically, you don’t know him. Not really,” she said and pointed at the papers with the chewed-up half of her breadstick. “So, put you don’t know.”

“Would that be fair to the adoptive parents though?” I asked, unintentionally aloud.

She nodded. “A lot of people who do this say that. It’s perfectly normal.”

“Yeah, but it feels like a huge, glaring lie,” I muttered.

“Why?” she asked.

I met her gaze. “Uh… nothing.”

She sighed. “Then put what information you have about him and leave out the rest.”

“Right. That will do wonders,” I said and stiffened. “I spoke out loud again, didn’t I?”

“Yup,” she said. “You’ve been doing that a lot lately. Care to fill me in?”

“I would, but… I’m not quite sure how to explain it. Pregnancy brain and all,” I said.

“Uh-huh,” she muttered. “Well hurry up and finish the paperwork so you can eat some breadsticks with me.

I signed the bottom of the paperwork and sighed, dropping the pen onto the stack of papers. I was certainly going to miss the little guy. Not to say I was sure the baby was a boy. I had decided it was better not to find out a long time ago. I couldn’t afford to become attached and I’ve tried so hard not to this whole time. It was a lot harder than I initially gave it credit for.

“Do you regret not going through the abortion?” Cassidy asked. “I’m only clarifying so I understand where your head is truly at.”

I stared at my best friend as the horrific day flashed through my mind and the hidden reasons why I was there, to begin with. I shuddered. For a couple of reasons. I was about to do the unthinkable. I was about to snuff out a tiny life. I was about to kill a baby because it was different than me. Because he wasn’t normal or even human. The thought of how close I was to going through with the procedure still made me sick to my stomach.

I skipped out at the very last minute. The procedure was paid for, thanks to a loan I’m still paying off. I was even hooked up to an I.V. and they were about to begin the procedure with the little vacuum thing.

The idea of the baby being torn apart so horrifically unsettled me.

I stopped everything and got out of there faster than I thought was possible.

“No. This is the right thing to do,” I said. “I’m sure of it this time.”

“Okay,” she said. But there was an edge of doubt that filtered through her voice. And she had a valid reason for her doubts.

I had filled out papers before. Three times before. Well, I started to. I never got far. I kept warring over my decision, and since I was so close to being due, I had to make sure the baby would be taken care of, no matter what. Because I couldn’t do that, and Weylan wasn’t an option, adoption was the next best thing.

“I just wish things could have turned out differently between you and Weylan, you do realize?” Cassidy stared off to my left, just over my shoulder, as she spoke. “Who knows, maybe he will show up. Nothing says you can’t fix things?”

“Yeah right.” I shook my head as the pain from everything resurfaced. I cleared my throat and shook my head. “Nope. He is a blacklisted topic. I don’t want to talk about him. Not right now.”

“Are you sure about that?” she asked, eyes bright as though they were hiding a secret.

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