Page 35 of Having the Bear's Baby

There was still no reply. A pang of fear hit his stomach. Where was she?

He was about to throw off the covers and stalk out of the room to track her down when he heard the toilet flush. Breathing a sigh of relief, he threw himself back against the pillows.

He expected her to come and get back into bed. He would have liked to have taken her again. In the days since they had confessed their love for one another, the sex had become even more intense. He couldn’t get enough of her. Their energies were now being spent in the bedroom rather than out hiking and swimming.

He waited for a few more minutes. When she didn’t reappear, he disappointedly got out of bed to go find her. He tracked her down in the kitchen. She was searching through the drawers.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“I think so,” she replied. “Where do you keep your meds? I don’t feel too good.”

His heart clenched. “Why? What’s wrong?” he demanded. His fear for her made his words come out gruffer than intended. She looked up, worry on her face. “Sorry,” he said. “I’m just concerned about you. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

“I don’t think you can defend me against a tummy bug, big boy,” she teased.

He felt chagrined. “No, maybe not,” he admitted. “There might be some meds in the cupboard in the bathroom. But to be honest, I don’t often use them.”

“No, I already checked there,” she replied. “Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

Not pacified, he came around the counter and pulled her into one of his bear hugs.

“Steady,” she said. “I don’t think my stomach can take this.”

He gently released his grip and breathed in her scent before letting her go. Something was different about her. Her smell was strange. Changed somehow. Maybe it was because she was ill. But she didn’t smell sick. Just different.

He puzzled over it as he made coffee and waffles. It was their favorite breakfast together, so he wasn’t prepared when she looked at it with horror.

“I can’t eat that,” she said, getting up from the table and bolting for the bathroom.

He sat alone at the table and ate. It was so odd. They had both eaten the same things, and he was okay. And they hadn’t seen anyone, so it couldn’t have been a bug.

He could hear her showering in the bathroom. He was tempted to go join her but figured she might not appreciate it if she was feeling rough.

She came back out with a towel wrapped around her. As she walked past him, he sniffed. Yes, her scent had definitely changed. Then it dawned on him. “Come here,” he said, grabbing her by the wrist as she walked past.

He sniffed her thoroughly, up her arm, around her neck, and finally down to her belly.

Emma laughed at the treatment. “Hey, what are you doing?” She giggled.

He stood and looked at her. “You’re not sick, Emma,” he declared. “You’re pregnant!”

He watched her eyes change from puzzlement to shock to delight, all in a split second. “Oh, my God,” she squealed. “Do you really think so?”

He stood there, feeling equally as shocked but excited at the same time. All he could do was nod. “This nose never lies,” he said, a huge smile on his face. “But I tell you what, just to be sure, I’ll drive to the nearest town and pick up a test.”

With that, leaving his coffee half-full on the table and his waffles going cold, he went in search of a pregnancy test.

The drive there seemed endless. While driving, he realized he should probably have washed and changed clothes. He’d just thrown yesterday’s garments on, expecting no more from the day than having a shower and dragging Emma back to bed with him.

Never mind, he wasn’t stopping in town long. He’d grab what he needed and get out of there.

He arrived at the store and, pulled up in the parking lot, then grabbed a shopping cart. Maybe he’d get a special treat to celebrate.

The store was packed. There was obviously some kind of local event this weekend, and the aisles were full of more shoppers than he had expected. He tried to make himself invisible as he wandered down the aisles, finding the things he wanted.

Eventually, he came to the correct aisle. He froze, a look of horror on his face. There must have been twenty different pregnancy tests, all claiming to be better than the others. He had no idea which to choose.

He picked one up at random. That would do. Then, a voice at the back of his mind chided him. What if it gave a false reading? He didn’t want to get the wrong one. He picked up another and started reading the back. His mind went into a panic. He was reading the words, and he knew what each individual word meant, but he could not comprehend the entire sentence.

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