forth, back and forth. Pausing occasionally with his hands on his hips.
Through the wide front window, she saw his mouth moving and the shake of his head, and wondered what he was saying to himself. She suspected it was nothing nice, at least not where she was concerned, and likely dotted with some colorful, creative curses.
After what seemed like hours of giving him his space and time to absorb the news, Juliet released a sigh and slid off of her stool, leaving the last of her can of clear soda behind. Thank God for Reid’s quick thinking and her father’s habit of keeping the lake house well stocked. The soda had really helped to settle her stomach and get the morning sickness to pass a little more quickly.
Moving to the front door, she opened it quietly and stood there for a moment while Reid continued to pace. When he reached her and saw her from the corner of his eye, he stopped, the expression he turned on her dark enough to melt glass.
A muscle in his jaw ticked, and she stiffened, almost afraid of the onslaught of whatever he was about to say. Taking a deep breath, she decided to beat him to the punch.
“Before you say anything,” she said on a rush, “you need to know that I don’t expect anything from you. I only told you because I believe you have the right to know, but you don’t have to be involved. I’ll be just fine on my own. You don’t have to worry that I’ll come after you for child support or anything like that.”
And for the first time since the plus sign had appeared on that tiny test strip, she realized it was true. She would be just fine.
Oh, there would be some explaining to do, some “cleanup in aisle three” with her family and with Paul. But she was a strong, independent woman. She had a good job and great loved ones to fall back on. Without a doubt, she knew that once they got over the shock, they would support her unconditionally and be there for her if she needed anything along the way.
So she would be a single mother—so what? She would be a good one. She would be a great mother and have a permanent reminder of her time with Reid for the rest of her life. That would make her sad once in a while, she was sure, but for the most part it would fill her with only happy memories. Eventually.
Feeling more confident than she had in quite a while, Juliet waited for Reid’s tense posture to relax. For him to blow out a relieved breath and say, “Okay, great, thanks.” Because what man wanted to have an unplanned pregnancy and impending fatherhood dropped in his lap?
Of course, if he wanted to be part of his child’s life, she would allow it. It would make things more complicated for her in a lot of ways, but it was only right.
Instead of the whew she’d anticipated, however, his glare grew even darker, the slash of his mouth flattening even more, and she could have sworn she heard his molars grinding together.
“Are you sure?”
She blinked, confused. This wasn’t the direction she’d expected the conversation to take. “Excuse me?”
“Are you sure?” He bit the words out, each one exploding like gunfire in her ears. The corner of his left eye started to twitch. “Are you sure you’re pregnant? And that it’s mine?”
At the second part of his question, she flinched. And then straightened defensively.
“Yes. On both counts.”
That muscle along his jawline jerked again.
“So you’ve seen a doctor,” he said, making it more of a statement than a query.
“No.” She wrapped her arms across her waist, caught slightly off guard. “But I took one of those over-the-counter tests, and it was positive.”
Not to mention the morning sickness, missed periods and myriad other symptoms that told her the little plastic wand she’d left in the church wastebasket wasn’t wrong.
Reid’s teeth were clenched, his eyes narrowed to slits. Juliet’s heart lurched as it became clear that in another second, steam was going to start pouring out of his ears.
Uh-oh.
She
Through the wide front window, she saw his mouth moving and the shake of his head, and wondered what he was saying to himself. She suspected it was nothing nice, at least not where she was concerned, and likely dotted with some colorful, creative curses.
After what seemed like hours of giving him his space and time to absorb the news, Juliet released a sigh and slid off of her stool, leaving the last of her can of clear soda behind. Thank God for Reid’s quick thinking and her father’s habit of keeping the lake house well stocked. The soda had really helped to settle her stomach and get the morning sickness to pass a little more quickly.
Moving to the front door, she opened it quietly and stood there for a moment while Reid continued to pace. When he reached her and saw her from the corner of his eye, he stopped, the expression he turned on her dark enough to melt glass.
A muscle in his jaw ticked, and she stiffened, almost afraid of the onslaught of whatever he was about to say. Taking a deep breath, she decided to beat him to the punch.
“Before you say anything,” she said on a rush, “you need to know that I don’t expect anything from you. I only told you because I believe you have the right to know, but you don’t have to be involved. I’ll be just fine on my own. You don’t have to worry that I’ll come after you for child support or anything like that.”
And for the first time since the plus sign had appeared on that tiny test strip, she realized it was true. She would be just fine.
Oh, there would be some explaining to do, some “cleanup in aisle three” with her family and with Paul. But she was a strong, independent woman. She had a good job and great loved ones to fall back on. Without a doubt, she knew that once they got over the shock, they would support her unconditionally and be there for her if she needed anything along the way.
So she would be a single mother—so what? She would be a good one. She would be a great mother and have a permanent reminder of her time with Reid for the rest of her life. That would make her sad once in a while, she was sure, but for the most part it would fill her with only happy memories. Eventually.
Feeling more confident than she had in quite a while, Juliet waited for Reid’s tense posture to relax. For him to blow out a relieved breath and say, “Okay, great, thanks.” Because what man wanted to have an unplanned pregnancy and impending fatherhood dropped in his lap?
Of course, if he wanted to be part of his child’s life, she would allow it. It would make things more complicated for her in a lot of ways, but it was only right.
Instead of the whew she’d anticipated, however, his glare grew even darker, the slash of his mouth flattening even more, and she could have sworn she heard his molars grinding together.
“Are you sure?”
She blinked, confused. This wasn’t the direction she’d expected the conversation to take. “Excuse me?”
“Are you sure?” He bit the words out, each one exploding like gunfire in her ears. The corner of his left eye started to twitch. “Are you sure you’re pregnant? And that it’s mine?”
At the second part of his question, she flinched. And then straightened defensively.
“Yes. On both counts.”
That muscle along his jawline jerked again.
“So you’ve seen a doctor,” he said, making it more of a statement than a query.
“No.” She wrapped her arms across her waist, caught slightly off guard. “But I took one of those over-the-counter tests, and it was positive.”
Not to mention the morning sickness, missed periods and myriad other symptoms that told her the little plastic wand she’d left in the church wastebasket wasn’t wrong.
Reid’s teeth were clenched, his eyes narrowed to slits. Juliet’s heart lurched as it became clear that in another second, steam was going to start pouring out of his ears.
Uh-oh.
She
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