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Katie prepared herself for yet another day of nothing but more of the same. Same side-eyed glances. Same whispers in another room that she couldn’t quite hear. Same bullshit. Same boredom.
The days ticked by slowly out here in Nowheresville with nothing to break up the hours of monotony stuck inside the house. No classes. No job. No car. Not that there was anywhere to go except town, and there wasn’t much to be had there either.
Tomorrow would be better. She told herself that every day. At least tomorrow Kevin was taking her back to the city for the weekend. Katie was anxious to see Brendan after almost a month of not seeing him. She missed him so fucking much that most days it felt like she was slowly dying. The only thing that kept her from going insane was the little piece of him she had inside her. In the midst of chaos and uncertainty, maybe knowing their little bean existed would keep him sane too. She hoped so.
According to the baby tracker app on her phone, today marked sixteen weeks, not that you could tell that by looking at her. Katie gazed at herself in the mirror over her dresser, running her hand over her belly. There wasn’t a bump yet, but she definitely felt a thickening there. She sighed and wondered if her little bean was a boy or a girl with eyes of the bluest blue.
Katie got dressed in a pair of leggings and Brendan’s big old sweatshirt. The fabric was warm and soft and worn. It swam on her, falling to her knees. She wore it a lot, much to her mother’s chagrin. Somehow it made her feel close to him, like he was giving her a hug. She put on a pair of fuzzy socks with bright-pink stripes and threw her hair into a messy topknot. She didn’t bother with makeup at all these days, because who the fuck cared what she looked like?
Padding into the kitchen, Katie expected to find her mom there, and was surprised when she did not. The room was empty. A note propped on the counter. She was alone.
“Well, how do you like that?” she muttered into the open refrigerator, grabbing the juice. “That’s okay. Not like I wanted to go anyway.”
Katie poured herself a glass of juice and popped some bread into the toaster. Thrumming her fingers on the counter as she waited, she thought she heard a knock at the door. She figured she was hearing things, going plum stir-crazy or something, because hardly a soul ever bothered coming all the way out here. Except the mailman, and he could leave the package at the door.
Then she heard it again and she knew she wasn’t crazy.
She opened the door and her eyes instantly flooded with tears.
Six feet eight of solid man in an open black peacoat stood in front of her, a big shopping bag in one hand, a bouquet of flowers in the other. He was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. Katie didn’t hesitate. She catapulted herself into his arms.
“Sweet girl.”
That voice. God, how she’d missed hearing it. She clung to him like a monkey to a tree, her face pressed into his neck, breathing in his bergamot smell. Tears freely flowing. Shaking. Afraid if she let go he’d disappear, that this was just some crazy dream.
“Sh, sh, sh.” He held her with the flowers in his hand behind her back. “Don’t cry.” But he sounded choked up too. Gently, Brendan eased her down. “It’s too cold out here for you. Can we go in?”
“Yeah.” She swiped the wetness from her face. “No one’s here.”
He picked up the bag, followed her inside to her room, and closed the door. “C’mere.”
Then he swept her back into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers. Butterflies that had lain dormant swooped and dove like a flock of birds, making her dizzy. Katie touched his face with shaking fingertips, tracing his cheeks and his jaw, while her tongue urgently sought to be reunited with his.
He lifted his head from hers and sat her on her bed, then kneeling in front of her, he laid his head in her lap, his hands skimming up and down her back. She combed her fingers through his auburn hair.
“Is everything okay, Brendan?”
“It is now.” He pressed his fingers into her skin.
“What happened?”
“A lot happened. I’ll tell you all about it later. The only thing that matters is it’s over. They closed the case.”
Upon hearing that, she burst into tears again, pure and utter relief washing over her.
He rose from his knees and sat beside her on the bed, taking her hands in his. “We have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”
Sniffling, she nodded.
“I’m so happy about the baby.”
She froze. “Chloe told you, didn’t she?”
“No, she kept your secret.” He leaned over to kiss her forehead. “Which I’m mad at her for, by the way.”
She worried her lip. “Matt?”
“Matt knew too?”
