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“I love you too, Tyler. That’s all that’s ever mattered. Love always wins, however it’s supposed to,” she said sinking into his hold, more thankful than ever to have come home and find this again. Nothing and no one was taking it from her this time. No one.
Chapter 17
Arumble of thunder shook the house, pulling Justine up as the nightmare made her heart race wildly. She hadn’t had one in months, but she was certain why it’d come back to her now. The one-year anniversary of everything had just passed and it was trying to pull her down. Something she desperately didn’t want. Especially not now.
“What’s wrong, babydoll?” Tyler asked, pulling her back into his arms after a soft glow of the lamp clicked on. His fingers traced her face as his free hand slid down, resting on her swelling belly. “My girls okay?”
“We’re good,” she said, smiling at the love in his eyes for her their baby they’d learnt was a girl two days ago at their ultrasound. She was nineteen weeks, and she’d loved every minute of the pregnancy so far. She’d only had a hint of morning sickness and they’d gotten to see their baby a bit more than other couples might have. Since she only had one kidney she was sent to a high risk obstetrician—not that anyone in the family other than the twins knew that was the reason why she went with her doctor. They thought they just wanted the best around and that was Dr. Shane.
“Bad dream on top of the weather just woke me with a start,” she admitted when he kept watching her.
“Bad dreams aren’t allowed, Just. Only happy ones, because that’s what you’ve given me with coming home to me. Almost a year ago you came home to me and brought me back to life. There might have been some rough moments, but I wouldn’t change them for anything, especially not if it meant losing you or my sister,” he added, his nose brushing against hers, making her smile and she gladly welcomed him as he slipped her shorts aside, reveling in the way he made her feel until it sent her back to sleep. The storm and her dreams not bothering her in the least.
“Time to wake up, babydoll,” Tyler whispered against her lips making her moan until the smell of coffee made her nose twitch and a new smile slip onto her lips.
She was limited to one cup a day, so Tyler made sure to make it just the way she liked it, which just made her love him more. As did the way he looked at her every time he saw her growing belly.
Their moms were over the moon when they told them for Christmas they were actually just shy of ten weeks along. Their sisters were just as excited while her brothers had returned to glaring at Tyler for weeks afterwards, but thankfully it was in a good natured way and not in disapproval. The only ones that looked at them that way was their fathers and some of the extended family, which had them avoiding them as much as possible. So much so that they’d had their own Christmas celebration with just their moms, sisters, her brothers, Grace and her family, and Jeremy. Although Tyler only grudgingly welcomed him when he gave her a flirty smile.
He'd heard from his father when it got out that they were pregnant, but it wasn’t to congratulate them. It was to ask him what the hell he was thinking having a baby with a Crawford. Her dad at least was mildly excited about having anothergrandchild even if he couldn’t stand the thought of her being married to Tyler.
The twins decided to go to school in Seattle so they could easily come back down to see them and the baby when they went to college next year. She knew it made Tyler happy that they’d still be close, and it warmed her heart entirely to see them together, knowing that he’d treat their little girl just as good.
She slipped into their pew grinning when the twins immediately came over to join them. Her sister slipped in on the other side of them, her eyes boring into her waiting.
“We told you, we’re not telling what we’re having until he or she is born,” she warned knowing what they all wanted. They were being cautious, especially with the rest of the family still furious about them being together. She didn’t want their little girl to have nasty things said about her before she was even born.
“How are we supposed to plan an epic baby shower if we don’t know then?” Hailey questioned.
“You throw a gender neutral one. Yellows, greens, light blues and purples are fine for a boy too,” Tyler added, and she nodded with a grin at his shirt which was a blue and purple plaid she’d bought him for Christmas.
“Fine but no beige, it’s so boring. I don’t get why parents buy beige baby toys for,” Hailey said with a sigh.
“Because babies have awful eyesight when they’re born and can’t detect differences in colors,” Olivia said leaning over the back of the pew with a grin at them, but Madison shook her head no pulling a chuckle from her. “So you’re intent on keeping it to yourselves until the baby’s here?”
“We are,” she said seeing their moms headed their way, their expressions hopeful. “We are not telling anyone what baby is until it’s born, period.”
“We’ll weasel it out of you somehow,” Isabelle said making Tyler laugh a bit louder than intended. “What?”
“Just trying to see anyone get a secret out of my girl, that’s all,” he stated, and the twins shared a huge grin nodding at one another.
“True, you’re easier to break,” Hailey said, and Justine giggled at the look on his face.
“Not when it comes to keeping someone I love safe,” he stated, and as the weeks passed, they had to admit that was true.
Justine loved the changes that came with the baby getting bigger, as did Tyler as he loved her body completely. She’d settled into her job easily, ferreting out information on not only predators but also some normal scammers in recent months in addition to gathering information for the deputies and police officers that either didn’t have the time to dig into things, or that simply didn’t know how to go about it.
With her pregnant, the only time she was called out of the office was to go down to the high school to figure out who was harassing other students. It hadn’t taken her more than an hour and she’d only been a few weeks along, so no one was the wiser back then. Once she’d told the sheriff their news, he’d made sure everyone else knew she wasn’t to be called out, which of course had the entire town aware of the news within minutes.
She didn’t mind though. She loved that there were so many people excited for her and Tyler to have a baby. That so many people accepted them when their families couldn’t.
She was scrolling through social media pages, looking for anyone trying to encroach on the area with new lures, using a fake profile when she got a DM that made her heart race reading it. Thank god she’d used an AI photo. It was generated off her own looks but even Tyler said he’d never think it was her, not even the fourteen-year-old her he’d fallen head over heels in love with fifteen years ago.
Her heart was in her throat as she skimmed through the person’s page, a cold flowing through her that wasn’t close tonormal. She didn’t hesitate to pick up the phone, dialing Melissa directly.
“Justine, how’s our mama-to-be?” she asked, answering on the third ring.
“Really hoping I’m wrong,” Justine told her before sending her the page she’d been using. “They’re back.”
