Page 158 of Cougar

I shrug. “Probably three years.”

“Emerson,” my father cuts in, his voice stern. “I’m making you an appointment with Dr. Shaw for tomorrow morning. She’s a GYN. Go get yourself checked out. She can check your hormones and your stress levels. Do you take a multivitamin?”

“No.”

My mother shakes her head. “Emerson,” she chides.

I hold up my hands in defense. “I’m sorry, okay? I know I should be taking better care of myself. I just got off track when I was taking care of Marcus. I promise I’ll go tomorrow.”

* * *

“You’re pregnant,” Dr. Shaw tells me.

I let out a humorless laugh. “You’re kidding, right? I can’t get pregnant.”

She looks down at her electronic tablet. “It says here you’ve had five pregnancies. Your fourth pregnancy was full term. A girl.”

“Jayla.” I nod. “I call her my ‘miracle baby’ because she’s the only child I was able to carry full term. I never made it past the first trimester with the other four. And after the last pregnancy, I’ve never been able to get pregnant.”

“Okay, so I’ve got your chart here. Do you know when your last period was?”

I rub my forehead, trying to think back. “January, maybe? It’s not uncommon for me to miss a few and not notice.”

Dr. Shaw nods and makes a note. “That would put you in your second trimester then. I’m going to do an ultrasound today just to take some measurements and make sure your baby is healthy.”

A nurse wheels in the ultrasound machine. “Okay, I’ll need you to lean back and lift up your shirt. This is going to be a little cold.” I flinch when the clear gel hits my stomach. “Told you.” She winks as she rubs the wand through the gel and across my abdomen. She points to the screen. “There’s your baby.” My gaze zeroes in on the black and white screen. There’s a baby. She clicks a few buttons. “I’d say you’re about fifteen weeks.”

“But I haven’t even gained any weight! How could I have not known?”

“Emerson, it’s okay. I’ve seen women who were much further along than you and they didn’t know either. No more stress, okay? You have another person to think of, so you need to take better care of yourself.”

“I will,” I promise.

I gasp as she presses another button and two little sonogram pictures slide out. “I can’t believe it.” A tear slips out of the corner of my eye and down my cheek.

“Believe it.” She passes me the pictures. “You’ve got a little fighter in there. Congratulations, Emerson.”

“Thank you,” I whisper as I stare down at my little peanut.

* * *

“Emerson!”

“Oh hi, Chris. I was hoping I’d run into you.”

“Yeah? What’s up?”

“I want to invite you to the wedding, so I need your address.” I pull out my phone to add to his contact info and a piece of paper falls to the floor.

“I got it.” He bends over to retrieve the paper while I pull up my contacts.

“Okay. What’s—” I lift my head to see Chris staring down at the paper in his hands, and I realize it’s my ultrasound picture. “Oh, uh….”

Chris lifts his gaze from the photo and smiles. “This is a good thing, right?”

My shoulders sag in relief. “It’s a very good thing… I think.”

Chris chuckles. “You haven’t told him yet.”

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