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“Uh, so, would you like a haircut?” she asked. “They’re kind of free for all club members.”
He ran fingers through his hair. “You’re sure?”
“Yeah, sit down. I’m shocked I haven’t offered before now. Your hair looks like a mop. Come on.” She patted her seat, and Road stepped toward her.
At first, they just looked at one another, and then he averted his gaze and took a seat.
Dinah had been able to keep her distance, and with her thickening waistline, it had been more important not to allow people to get too close, but now that felt silly.
“Do you have any style?” she asked.
“I’ll let you do your worst.”
She smiled and got him to move the chair toward the sink along with the tap that was controlled by a pump. The guys had thought of everything. Lathering up her hands, she worked the shampoo into Road’s hair and started to clean him up. Once the shampoo was on, she got started with the conditioner.
Playing with his hair brought back so many memories of their time together. She couldn’t help but think about the time he tickled her, and it had turned into him kissing her. That memory ended with them in the hospital for Faith. All the times she watched him cook for her, offering her glasses of wine, trying to make her day easier.
That was the Road she had fallen in love with.
She finished rinsing his hair, and Dinah looked down at him, expecting his eyes to be closed, but Road was staring right up at her. In that moment, she knew what she was doing was wrong.
“I’m pregnant,” she said, and then took a step back.
Road frowned and Dinah took another step back.
“You’re pregnant?”
“I didn’t plan it, I swear. I … I don’t know what to do. None of this makes any sense to me. I want to hate you and at times I think it will be easier to hate you, but I miss you. That is so damn crazy. You’re the guy that strangled me when you first met me. You were convinced I was someone I wasn’t. Then I find out you organized my mother’s attack, and I want to hate you. I should hate you, but I don’t. I don’t hate you, I don’t want to be away from you. I can’t stop thinking about our time together. You love romance movies. You enjoy hanging out and talking, drinking wine or beer, and cooking. You’re vulnerable and dangerous at the same time. You drive me crazy and then you tell me you love me, and you make this life that should feel like a trap and a cage and like I’m some kind of prisoner, but it’s not.” She pointed toward the door of the shed. “I should hate every single person out there because they helped put my mother’s attacker in the position he is, but I don’t. I like them. They’re becoming friends, and Faith, she is his damn granddaughter, and I adore her. She is so sweet, and I’m pregnant. I haven’t taken a test, but I know, trust me, I know.” She lifted her shirt to show off her increasing bump. “I’m pregnant, there is no getting away from it, and I don’t know what to do.”
She felt the panic start to rise within her, and she pressed a hand to her chest. Dinah had never had a panic attack, not even after her mother passed, or when Sergey was in her home, or even Nikki.
She closed her eyes, and then she felt Road’s arms aroundher.
“I’ve got you, baby. You don’t have to panic. I’ve got you and I’m not letting you go. I’m not.”
She took a deep breath, and much to her surprise, she began to calm down. This shouldn’t be happening. Road’s scent flooded her senses and she felt the calm start to envelop her. This is what she needed more than anything.
At first, she didn’t hold him back.
She had spent so many nights of her life trying to figure out how to tell this man she was carrying his child. Blurting it out over a hair wash was not one of her suggestions. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face against his neck.
“I’ve got you.”
He kept saying those words, and Dinah truly believed them.
“I love you, Road,” she said.
****
Road stared at Dinah through the mirror as she got to work cutting his hair. She’d finished washing it, and she’d already blow-dried it, and now it was time for the cut. He’d gotten to hold her for several minutes. He didn’t know exactly how long, but long enough to hear Dinah tell him she loved him.
“What do you want to do?” Road asked.
Dinah paused and looked at him in the mirror. “What do you mean?”
“I know this is your decision, it is your body, and I will respect your wishes. It’s not my place to ask.”
“Road, don’t be vague, please, just ask me what you want,” she said.
