Her All Along

“What can I do for you, Ms. Sloane?”

She hesitated, clutching her books to her chest, and flicked a glance at the door. “Um. Has Taylor talked to you yet?”

“About what?”

I already knew she’d told Keira about us, and frankly, I didn’t care.

She released a frustrated breath. “She promised me.”

I furrowed my brow. “Is something wrong?”

“Yeah, you could say that.” Heat colored her cheeks, and I’d never seen her look so uncomfortable. “This is none of my business, but since I’m afraid she’s not going to tell you at all… Taylor’s pregnant.”

It was a cold shower and a kick in the gut at once. I coughed as a bout of nausea crawled up my throat, and then I was shaking my head. No. It couldn’t be. No, no, no, no. I was religious about protection.

I clenched my jaw. “Are you sure?”

Her brows lifted. “Two pregnancy tests and a doctor’s confirmation.”

Fuck.

“And don’t ask if it’s yours,” she stated. “It is.”

I hadn’t gotten that far yet.

I wore protection, I wore protection, I wore protection.

I scrubbed roughly at my face and screwed my eyes shut. Pregnant. Oh fuck, I was going to be sick.

I coughed again, and I swallowed my nausea. I had to see Taylor; that much was clear.

“Is she at home?” I asked tightly, quickly gathering my things. And Keira nodded. “I’ll follow you there.”

“Um, okay. I live two minutes away, so I don’t drive to school.”

“Sorry.” I’d assumed. I knew she had a car. “Go with me, then.”

Fucking hell, this wasn’t happening. As we made our way toward the Sloanes’ house, I broke out in a cold sweat, and I couldn’t stop gnashing my teeth. The whirlwind of emotions was worse. The nausea didn’t leave me, nor did the sheer disbelief. How the fuck? Why? I couldn’t get a grasp on anything.

Kids didn’t exist in my life. Not under the age of seventeen, anyway. They had no business near me.

They’d barely been on the radar when I’d been married.

I cringed. Me? With a kid? How would I…? I mean. Shit. Shit.

“It’s right here.”

Right. House. Going to see Taylor. Who was pregnant.

Fuck my life.

I pulled into the driveway of an upscale residence that looked like it was growing straight out of the mountainside that made up the district of Ponderosa. The area was full of these estates. Box-shaped construction with rooftop pools, rooftop gardens, and rooftop patios. Very few had the space for even the smallest yard; it wasn’t why someone lived here. It was the million-dollar view of the entire town and the bay that brought rich folks to Ponderosa.

I killed the engine and took a deep breath. Or I tried. It felt like someone had formed a fist around my lungs.

Wait. Had Keira said she’d feared Taylor wasn’t going to tell me at all?

Anger flared up, and I white-knuckled the wheel before I forced myself to let go and get out of the car.

Keira stayed quiet until she’d unlocked the door and stepped inside her house. “Taylor?”

“Upstairs!” Taylor called.

I rubbed a hand over my mouth and jaw, praying Keira had been wrong. I didn’t know how I’d react if Taylor actually had planned on keeping this from me.

“Um, Mr. Beck—I mean, Avery is here,” Keira said uncertainly.

We were met by silence.

I eyed the photos on the wall. Pictures of happy times. Two sisters, two parents. Vacations to tropical paradises and ski trips to snowcapped mountains.

A beat later, I spotted Taylor coming down the stairs.

“I’ll give you some privacy.” Keira veered left to what I believed was the living room. The house was narrow but stretched along the mountainside quite a bit, and they had three floors to get lost in.

I snapped my gaze back to Taylor, and the truth was written all over her face. She was actually pregnant. By the look of her, she wasn’t feeling all right about it. Or maybe it was pregnancy-related sickness too. Either way, the yoga pants and loose tee went well with her greenish pallor.

“She wasn’t supposed to tell you,” she croaked.

I cocked a brow. “You were, though.”

“And I was going to,” she said in a rush. “Look—can we…?” She gestured in the opposite direction Keira had gone, and I nodded. Then I followed her into the kitchen. “Can I get you anything?”

I shook my head. “Just answers.”

“I was going to tell you,” she repeated and sat down at the table. They’d been a family of four, yet the table seated twelve. “I found out last week.”

I merely waited for her to go on. At the moment, I had everything under control, and I didn’t want to lose it.

“It was a shock, obviously.” She fidgeted with her hands on the table and wouldn’t make eye contact. “I know you wore protection—”

“Without fail.”

She winced, and hell, so did I. Bad choice of wording. I might have worn a condom, but it’d clearly failed.