Once he shows up, I tell Skyla she can go. I’ll be here for a while, waiting for the test results to come back, but I’m almost positive I just had an anxiety attack.
“Kenneth and Jacquelyn petitioned for joint custody of Kinsley,” I tell Lachlan once he’s sitting next to me by my bed.
“They will be recanting that petition,” he states matter-of-factly. His fingers glide over my newest tattoo. The one he inked on me the day after Christmas. You are enough.
“How do you know?”
“Because after she threatened you, I had Salazar start digging for dirt on them.” He smiles apologetically. I’m assuming for hiding it, not for actually doing it. “I didn’t want you to stress over all this, Quinn.” He brushes his knuckles down my cheek.
“Did he find anything?”
“He did, and your brothers are delivering the information to the Thompsons as we speak.”
“What did you—”
“Good morning, Miss Crawford.” A young gentleman, maybe in his late twenties, strides in. “I’m Dr. Fields.” He extends his hand to shake mine, and I take it.
Then he extends his hand to Lachlan, who eyes him up and down like he’s some sort of competition. I snort in amusement. “This is my fiancé, Lachlan,” I tell the doctor.
“Are you old enough to be a doctor?” Lachlan asks.
“Lach!” I exclaim.
“I am,” Dr. Fields says with a grin. Luckily, he doesn’t seem offended. “We got your results back, and everything appears to be good. When you were brought in, your heartrate and blood pressure were both elevated, so we ran an EKG, and it came back negative, which leads us to believe your passing out was stress related.
“I did notice, though, you marked not pregnant on the nurse’s questionnaire, but your HCG levels are significantly peaked, indicating you are pregnant. We would like to do an ultrasound just to confirm and make sure everything is okay. I’ve put the order in and a tech will be by to take you to do the ultrasound. Once we get the results, and if everything looks good, we can let you go.”
There is so much he just said. I’m pregnant…holy shit! I. Am. Pregnant. How is that even possible? Well, of course it’s possible. I never got on birth control. But I didn’t really believe I would get pregnant. But was I hoping to? My hand goes to my stomach, already feeling protective of the possible baby growing inside me. My gaze goes to Lachlan, who thanks the doctor, since I’m not able to speak, and closes the curtain behind him. My lips curl into a smile, and Lachlan’s shoulders visibly slump.
“We…we might be having a baby,” I breathe.
He leans over the rail of the bed and kisses my belly, then comes up to my face and kisses my lips. “I heard.”
* * *
The tech wheels me in for the ultrasound and confirms I am ten weeks pregnant. I had no idea. I haven’t felt sick or anything. When I convey my concern, she simply says every pregnancy is different but everything looks good. She lets us listen to the heartbeat for a minute and then prints out a grey image of what looks like a tiny bean, but is actually our baby.
Our baby. Lachlan’s and mine. We’re having a baby!
When we get back to the room, Jax and Jase are both waiting for us with small smiles splayed upon their faces. I’m not sure what they’re about to tell me, but I take a few calming breaths. I’m pregnant and I’m not going to allow myself to stress out. I’ve passed out twice recently from the stress, and I need to make sure to put this baby first.
“I’m pregnant,” I tell them both before they can speak. “So, if it’s something bad, can we talk about it later? I can’t let Rick or his family ruin this moment.” Tears prick my eyes. “I’ll deal with it, whatever it is, but not yet.” I feel Lachlan entwine his fingers with mine, and I’m grateful for it. I know with Lachlan by my side, we’ll get through anything that comes our way.
“You’re pregnant?” Jase grins, then pulls me to him for a hug. “Congratulations, sis.”
“Congratulations,” Jax says. “And we have good news. Jacquelyn has already called her attorney to remove her petition for custody. She and her husband will also be signing an agreement that they will never petition again, nor will they contact you or Kinsley.”
“Wow,” I murmur. “Whatever you found must be bad.”
“There’s only one thing those people love,” Lachlan says with disgust. “Money.”
“You paid them off?” But they’re worth millions.
“No.” Lachlan scoffs. “When I had Salazar dig, I wasn’t sure what we were looking for. I was hoping to find something to blackmail them with.” When I give him a disapproving look, he just shrugs. “I’m not even sure why Salazar thought to read your ex’s will, but he did, and in it, it states if he has an heir, he, or she, will receive his percentage of the company along with all of his assets.