Ethan and Ava (Redwood Falls 4)

Her lips twisted. "I think so."

Confusion hit him, bleeding with the panic he was feeling. "How, though? I only forgot a condom one damn time and I didn't even come inside you!"

"I know. It seems almost impossible, but I know it's true," she sighed. "I feel different, and I haven't had a period."

Maybe she was wrong, maybe she wasn't pregnant. Shit. Pregnancies took sperm, you know. But then again, he sometimes thought of himself as the pre-cum king. Stupid, irresponsible fuck. "Do you even know for sure? Have you taken a test?

She shook her head. "I can't buy one in town. Can you imagine?"

Oh, hell, no. The gossip mill would be all up in their business within minutes. "Then how do you know for sure? Maybe you're just late." There was always wishful thinking, huh?

"You know I'm never late. Besides, my breasts are hurting, and that's never happened before."

He couldn't stop himself from looking down. As gently as he could manage, he placed his hands on her breasts and felt their fullness as he leaned his forehead against hers and tried to give her what comfort he could. All the while, alarm bells were going off in his head: fear for their future, fear for an innocent baby's future. But still, just because he was feeling like a complete pussy on the inside didn't mean that Ava had to know. She wanted him to be strong? By God, he'd start carrying that weight right now. "It's okay. Everything's going to be okay." His hand left her breast and trailed down to flatten itself over her stomach. "My parents and yours—everybody will just have to be okay with it—there's nothing anybody can do about it. We're having a baby and we're getting married."

Her stress-filled features relaxed somewhat and Ethan knew he was saying at least some of the right things, but Ava's mouth tightened. "My parents aren't going to be okay with it. I think I'll have to move to your house. Thankfully, your parents like me."

"Yeah. I guess it goes without saying that I won't go off to school now. I'll have to get a job here or start helping my dad with the farm."

"You can't do that!" she exclaimed, looking alarmed. "You have to go to school, Ethan. I'm not going to ruin your dream, and besides, your dream is my dream. We want to make real money and we can't do that in Redwood Falls. There are no jobs here!"

"Yeah, I know, but we have to do what's right for the baby."

"Yeah, and what's right for the baby is following the plan that we've had all along. You have to go to school—that's non-negotiable."

What she said made him feel better, but he knew that he was still in a kind of suspended shock. "I think the first thing we need to do is find out for sure. We need to get you a test."

"Okay, but where?"

"I'll make a run to Layton tomorrow," he decided. "It's close enough that my parents will never miss me but far enough away that nobody should recognize me."

Suddenly, a new feeling came over the atmosphere as they both realized how real this was about to get. Ava wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her cheek on his shoulder. "Be careful—please don't let anything happen to you. I can't do this without you."

"You won't have to—that will never happen."

As he held her close, it never once occurred to him to question Ava's fidelity. He did find himself hoping she was wrong, that she'd misread the symptoms. He found himself pondering that a pregnancy happening under those circumstances was probably like a million to one or something. But not once did he question whether he was the father, even in his own mind.

He loved her that much. He had that much faith in her.

And that was a good thing, because the situation was rocky enough without doubt of that kind creeping in.

Chapter Six

The next day, all hell broke loose. The water hose on the tractor split in two, the air conditioner in the house crapped out, and while his dad was in town trying to get repair parts, his mom burned her hand fairly severely, so Ethan had to run her to the ER.

Her palm was slow to heal, but thankfully, no permanent damage. But it turned out to be a week before Ethan could make the run to Layton. He and Ava were in contact every day, at least via text.

The news wasn't forthcoming. She didn't get her period.

Finally, Ethan managed the trip and bought the pregnancy test, as uncomfortable as it made him.

As arranged, he picked up Ava and brought her to his house. His mother's questions as they walked through the house were non-stop. Geez—you'd think he never told the woman anything. How was summer going? Was Ava looking forward to her senior year? Was she as sad to see Ethan go away to college as she was? What were Ava's plans for the future?

Ava attempted to answer his mother, for that he was thankful. He gave them maybe three minutes to get all the feminine bullshit out of the way before he hauled Ava to his bedroom and slammed the door.

He had an attached bathroom, a luxury he'd always taken for granted but was now inordinately relieved about.

Five minutes later they knew—they were going to be parents whether they were ready or not.

Ava walked from his bathroom in a daze. The color that had completely drained from her face told him what he really didn't want to know. "Are you okay?"

Her eyes glazed with tears as they met his. "No."

The haggard look on her features almost decimated him. "Ava—"

"You don't get it, Ethan. I'm pregnant. My mom is going to shit a brick. Seriously—you have no idea how bad this is going to be."

"I think you're underestimating her," he tried to soothe. "She loves you. Yeah, it will upset her, but then she'll regroup and she'll deal with it just like every other parent who's had to face something like this."

She studied him almost as if she didn't hear him or didn't believe him. "When are we going to do this?"

He gritted his teeth and tried to man-up. "You mean tell the folks? The sooner the better, I guess."

"We're here now. Should we tell yours first?"

Fuck. Telling his parents would make everything so real. But hell, it was already real. "Yeah. Let's get it over with and then we'll go to your house."

She nodded her head and Ethan took that as permission to round up his parents, his soul aching for the heartache he was about to cause. Within a few minutes, he had them both seated at the dining room table, while Ava paced through the open doorway between the dining room and the living room.

"What's going on, son?" his dad asked with a pained expression as he looked to where Ava was wearing a hole in the carpet behind where Ethan stood.

Just say it, Jackson. Can't help to prolong it. "We messed up." He held his dad's gaze for a moment, remembering the worry his dad had previously expressed. He felt like a complete fuckup. Glancing from his dad to his mother, he said, "I'm sorry, Mom."

His mother reached over and clutched at his father's hand. "What is it, Ethan?" she asked with a despair in her eyes that told him she'd already taken an accurate guess.

Ethan cracked his knuckles, swiveling to take a look at Ava who was standing behind him a couple of feet. She had stopped pacing and was facing into the room, definitely within earshot. He turned back to his parents, took a deep breath, and said, "Ava's pregnant."

His dad grimaced as he put his hand to his brow—his mother blanched white. Ethan stood in silence as his dad's expression went from horror-stricken to devastated, and then finally, to resigned. His mom practically wilted, looking borderline hysterical as she whispered, "Are you sure?"

Be strong, man. Ava needed him to be strong. Keep your voice strong, maybe she'd believe he was in control. "Yeah, we just took a test."

His mom put her hand to her mouth with a shocked motion as she glanced past him and looked to Ava before looking back to him. "Are you sure y'all did it right? Maybe you read it wrong?"