He pulled her against him. “I’m sorry Jessa.” She continued to sob, her body quaking in his arms. “When this is over, I promise I’ll give you whatever you want.” When this was over. He just had to finish it. He had to.
“Are we ready?” Brown came in but stopped on the threshold when he saw them. “Apologies,” he murmured.
Jessa pushed away from Finn. “I’m ready.”
Finn reached for her, but she was crossing the room, her eyes glued to the floor at her feet.
“We’ll drive into Oregon and fly out.” Brown told him the route they’d take. It would take eighteen hours, give or take layovers.
Finn nodded. “Check in at Houston,” he replied, his eyes never leaving Jessa’s. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Will do,” Brown agreed, opening the door and peering outside.
Finn couldn’t leave it this way. She was in his arms before she could argue, his thumb forcing her head back to look at him. “I love you, Jessa. I’ll see you soon.”
Her chin quivered, more tears spilling over as he pressed a hard kiss against her lips. “Hurry, Finn,” she whispered as he walked out the door.
Chapter Thirteen
Jessa stared at the wall of pregnancy tests, hoping to hell she was wrong. It was too soon, wasn’t it? She had every reason to be an emotional mess without being pregnant. Falling in love was enough to make a person super-sensitive. Throw in the whole werewolf thing, pack rivalry, running for your life, and simple exhaustion was a reasonable explanation for what ailed her.
At least, she hoped that was the case.
Brown didn’t say a thing when she bought it. She placed the test on the counter. He occupied himself outside the ladies’ room, reading an outdoor magazine, while she paced the drugstore’s tile lined floor until three-minutes were up.
A bright blue plus sign.
She frowned, sitting on the toilet in shock. It had to be wrong. It had to be. Please let it be wrong. But the only way to know was try again.
“Mr. Brown,” she asked through the door. “I need another one.”
Mr. Brown returned minutes later with another test.
She stacked the pregnancy tests side by side, promptly bursting into tears when the second bright blue plus sign appeared.
“Miss Talbot?” Mr. Brown knocked on the door. “Are you all right?”
Her wailed, “Fine,” wasn’t convincing. And seconds later, Brown stood inside the small woman’s restroom, glancing from her to the tests.
She didn’t bother asking how he picked the lock. Or argue with him when he tucked both tests into the plastic bag containing her latest wardrobe change. No, he offered her his hand and led her from the bathroom without a word.
When they were headed north on highway seventy, he asked. “What can I do for you Miss Talbot?”
She glanced at the man. “Can you tell me about Cara, Mr. Brown?”
He was quiet.
“Please,” she pushed. “More specifically, how much time passed between Finn’s… involvement with her and Oscar’s birth?”
Mr. Brown cleared his throat. “No more than six months, I believe.”
She nodded. She’d have to google a wolf’s gestation cycle when she had the chance. Or talk to Hollis. Chances were this wouldn’t be a run-of-the-mill pregnancy. Why would it be? For an hour, she stared out the window, aware of trees, snow, and winding roads. No traffic this time of the morning, most of the world was still asleep. And silence. She jumped when Mr. Brown murmured, “We’re almost to the airfield.”
If that was supposed to be comforting, it wasn’t. “Airfield?”
“Better to puddle jump in a smaller plane than attempt travel through a large airport. Too many eyes.”
She rested her head against the headrest. “Mr. Brown, what did you do before all of this?”