by Sex, Nikki
In his mind he had a whole romantic proposal planned—set on his favorite beach in California.
The argument that sent Laura running off into the night, now seemed less of a barrier to either of them than a pebble sitting on a well paved road.
After their run in with Jonah, the future seemed easy.
Nothing meant anything without each other. The secrets he’d kept from her and the guilt they both had, were meaningless in the broad scheme of things.
Most skeletons in the closet were like that, it seemed to Jack. Once you took them out into the light, they were nothing to be afraid of—only a collection of dusty, old bones.
Events in the past, were just that—in the past.
Love, companionship, friends and family was what mattered most.
And love? Man, for Jack, loving Laura was the best thing in the world. That flutter of pleasure every time he saw, or even thought of her. That aching longing, to simply sit with her, to hold her hand, and to make her happy.
Whatever that euphoric feeling was—was divine. It could only be love. Jack didn’t think he was going to get over it anytime soon… if ever.
His last few years had been a Hell of a ride. Now their life together was fantastic. Jack knew in his heart, it was only going to keep getting better.
~~~
Not too far outside of Ashville, Jack pulled into a Fuel Express to fill up. Laura took the opportunity to visit the ladies room.
While nestled on the porcelain throne, she noticed a familiar feeling, deep in the pit of her stomach. With sudden insight, she pulled out her birth control pills.
It was Friday. Sighing with relief, she realized she hadn’t missed a day.
Another thought struck her as she recalled what she’d read on the handout the pharmacist gave her with the prescription. Stress, medication, and illness could affect the efficacy of the pill.
Laura thought back and remembered she’d been sick just before she met Jack. Hadn’t she taken antibiotics? And as for stress? Well, stress had been the ongoing story of her life, but it had multiplied and peaked around the time Ron's murder.
Scrambling through her bag, she found what she was looking for: a pregnancy test stick. When she’d bought it months ago, they’d been selling two for the price of one.
Consumerism, she'd snorted at the time. But she’d decided to keep it as it may have come in handy.
When she used it, it turned blue.
Pregnant.
A bubble of hysterical laughter welled up from somewhere deep inside. Wasn’t this exactly how things started with Bob?
Wow. I guess history really does repeat itself.
Except, although everything seemed eerily similar—everything was different.
Jack was no longer in the Navy—he had his discharge papers. Also, even though she and Jack had no idea that she was pregnant, they’d already discussed marriage and kids as they'd driven over long stretches of highway.
Laura washed her hands and nervously wondered how she was going to tell him.
Would he be happy about it? Would he believe her, how it had been an accident? Maybe he’d think that she’d tried to get pregnant in some sort of attempt to trap him?
As she left the restroom she saw him pumping gas. He was so handsome—tall and commanding, with a nice strong face.
Jack had a face people naturally trusted. No matter what kind of crap was going down, he kept his head. He was the kind of person that would not only love her, but he’d make a great father.
When Jack turned toward Laura and met her gaze, her anxiety left her. Laura swore that even across that distance, she could feel the warmth of his love.
He smiled.
She smiled.
They both grinned happily at each other.
Laura put her hand to her belly as she started to walk, heading straight for him. “You’re a lucky kid,” she murmured in a low voice. “I swear, you have nothing to worry about. Your mom and dad are going to love you as much as humanly possible.”
Life could be hard—Hell—she’d had firsthand knowledge of that. There were no guarantees.
Yet in her heart, Laura knew as she spoke to her unborn child that she’d told the truth. She and Jack would love this baby with everything they had.
That was one promise that would be easy to keep.
The End
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