“This is a man hug.”
Dane slapped him on the back, once, twice, a third time, before he went back to his bike.
He watched Damon leave and grabbed his food. Seconds later, Ryan stepped out of the trailer. One look at his face and Dane knew.
Getting to his feet, he watched as his son ran into his arms. He may have been a fully-grown teenage man, capable of fucking up his life, but at that moment, Dane held his little boy as he wept. Coming home was the best thing he did.
****
“I don’t want to pee on this stick,” Teri said, calling through the bathroom door.
“Sweetheart, if you want the answers, you’ve got to. Either that, or I will get you a doctor’s appointment.”
Teri opened the door and glared at her sister. “No appointment.”
“How did your interview go?” Skylar folded her arms with a glare.
“It went well. You know it did. There is not a meal I can’t cook.”
“I know. It’s why I’ve hated today. Please tell me you’re not leaving.”
“I’m not leaving.”
The glare came in harder. “And mean it. Go and pee on the stick.”
She had come straight to the house shared by her sister, Leo, Paul. The moment she arrived, Leo and Paul had taken her niece out.
Teri was so upset that she didn’t get time to spend with her, but she’d needed her little sister so much. “You’re so bossy. When did you get so bossy? I remember my little sister being sweet and kind, and patient.”
“Right around the time I had not one but two men fall in love with me. That has a way of waking a girl up. I need to make sure I can tell those men what I need.”
“Sexy,” Teri said.
“Go and take the test. Tell me what else happened with you and Damon.”
“I yelled at him.” Teri went back into the bathroom, staring down at the rather intimidating pregnancy test. “I can do this.”
“You yelled at Damon?”
“Yes. He was being a pain in the ass. I think I might have told him that I was in love with him.”
“You’re joking?” Skylar asked.
“No joke.”
“Did you mean it?”
“Yep. I did. Shocking, huh?” Teri stared at her reflection. She had this sudden urge to pee but rather than give in to the need, she crossed her legs and put her hands on her stomach. Did she have a child in her stomach?
After her argument with Damon, she didn’t know if she was ready to have a baby on her own.
It wouldn’t be on your own.
“Teri, you’ve gone quiet in there.”
“Oh, I’m fine.”
“Have you peed on the stick?”
“You have a weird fascination with my pee. Do you want me to put some in a cup for you?”
“You’re disgusting.”
There was no point in putting off the inevitable. Pushing her skirt down, she had no choice but to wriggle. The pencil skirt was tight. She did the same with her panties and reached for the stick. She closed her eyes as she peed on the stick, hoping she performed enough for them.
She breathed out a sigh when it was over.
After flushing the toilet, she washed her hands and put the stick on the counter with the part she’d peed on resting against the open sink.
Skylar knocked on the door and Teri opened it.
Her sister pulled her in for a hug. “It’s going to be fine.”
“What if Damon doesn’t love me?” Teri asked as tears filled her eyes. “I didn’t even give myself chance to think of that as a possibility. He could hate me and all of this could be for nothing. I can’t stay then, Skylar.”
Her sister grabbed her face. “Okay, I’m starting to think we really didn’t need the test.”
In and out. She tried to breathe without having a panic attack, but it wasn’t helping. The panic rose within her, and it wasn’t good.
“Don’t cry.”
“I don’t even know why I feel like crying. This is all … I can handle this, you know.”
“It’s the hormones.”
“And if I’m not pregnant?” Teri asked.
“We go and take another test because it will be the only logical explanation. You’re pregnant, Teri, and if you are, we can handle this. Okay? You and me. I’ve always got your back.”
Teri nodded, sniffling and swiping at the tears that had fallen. “You’re so right.” She felt her lip quiver.
“Do you want me to go and check?”
“I don’t know.”
Skylar held her hand, and together, they stepped toward the test.
“Teri, you’re going to make me an auntie.”
She covered her face as the tears started to fall.
“What we will tell her, though, is that you were so very happy when you found out the news. We don’t want her thinking she’s not loved or anything.”
Teri dropped her hands, putting them to her stomach. “It’s not that. I am so happy. I’m pregnant, Sky. Oh, my God, I’m pregnant.” She started to giggle and cry at the same time. “I don’t know what’s happening to me.”