Walk the Line (Kings of Chaos 5)

“I made a pit stop on the way home from work.”

My hands shake. I’m afraid to hope. With my age and his condition, the odds are against us. Could it really have been that easy?

“What if I’m not?”

“Then we keep having fun trying,” he says with a shrug.

“O-okay.”

I slip from the bed and take the bag from him before I walk into the bathroom.

Three minutes have never taken so long as we wait on the bed. The timer on the phone beeps.

We look at each other, and I take a shaky breath.

“Whatever happens we’ll be fine,” he says firmly.

I nod my head and take his hand as we walk into the bathroom. The screen on the test is flashing at us. I focus. Pregnant.

“Oh my God,” I cover my flat belly.

“We did it, B!” he yells. His child-like enthusiasm is contagious. I dance a jig in the bathroom as he spins around, and the next few minutes are filled with silliness and a joy I’ll never forget as long as I live. Still, on a high, we make our way into the room.

“I made an appointment today to see the doctor tomorrow, but this changes everything.”

“We should tell, Whitney.”

“No.” I glance down. “I want to wait. I know I’m a high-risk pregnancy.”

He covers my hand with his. “Then we’ll wait a while before we share the news.”

His understanding is my undoing. My eyes tear.

“What’s wrong?” he whispers, confused.

“Welcome to pregnancy hormones,” I whisper.

He wipes the tears away with his thumb and chuckles. “Life’s never boring with you, Mrs. Ryan. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Freeze

“Are you seriously going to make me send this?” Blanche asks as she perches on the couch.

“Hell yeah. I’m proud.”

She laughs. “Okay, here we go.”

She hits send and I grin as the picture of us holding up the sonogram with the words It still works is sent in a mass text.

I cup her face and pull her mouth to mine. “Thank you,” I whisper as I kiss her gently.

“You’re welcome. But you helped too you know?” she says with a laugh.

I take in her glowing face, and I have to disagree. I was a heartless bastard before she appeared out of nowhere with a siren’s call I couldn’t resist. “No, this was all you. You’ve got some kind of magic inside you that thawed me out little by little, brought me to life, and taught me a different way to live. I never thought I’d have this.” I pick her hand up and kiss her ring finger. “I love you.”

“I know.”

I shake my head and laugh. “Your mouth is going to get you into trouble.”