by C. J. Welles
As I climb in the truck, I look down at my watch. “Twelve minutes, baby,” I say with a smile.
“Well done. Now where to?”
I give her directions to the Thompson farm, then sit back and watch her from the corner of my eye.
Chapter 4
"I don't think Christmas is necessarily about things. It's about being good to one another."
— Carrie Fisher
Ethan
We make it to Jace and Callie’s house before Makayla brings up Ryan.
“Who was that girl Ryan was with?” she asks after Billy has got out of her car.
“Just someone we met there today. She was there with her friend,” I reply while looking out at the snow falling around us.
I know about Makayla and Ryan’s history. She tried to hide it from me, but we all knew they had been fooling around for years. Bryson once asked me why I haven’t tried to kill Ryan for it, and I said it was nothing to do with me.
Yes, I’m protective of my sisters, but Makayla is old enough to know what she’s doing. She knew Ryan wasn’t ready to settle, but still got involved with him.
If he had cheated on her, that would’ve been a different story.
“They seemed close,” she quietly says.
Ryan and Jordan were close when we walked back into the bar. I’ve seen Ryan with a lot of girls over the past twelve months, but I’ve never seen him put any work into them. He never argues with a girl to have another drink or to stay longer. Usually, if someone doesn’t seem interested, he doesn’t give a shit and moves on. And he certainly doesn’t dance like he did with Jordan.
Not ever.
“What do you want me to say, Kayla?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve moved on. You’re with Billy now, what Ryan does shouldn’t matter.”
“I know,” she whispers.
“Do you still love him?”
She doesn’t answer for a long moment. “I don’t know.”
I turn to face her. “You need to decide if you do or not, then you need to decide. This situation you’re in isn’t good for anyone. You’re still hurt over Ryan, and Billy is out there thinking he has a chance at forever with you.”
“I know,” she forcefully replies.
Knowing now is the time to drop the subject, as it’s always a never-ending cycle with Ryan and Makayla, I decide I should tell her about Nicole.
“Nicole’s pregnant.”
Makayla shoots her face up to look at me, and her mouth is gaping open. “How do you know? Is it to the guy she cheated on you with?”
I wince at her last sentence.
Yes, it’s been nearly four years, but the reminder that my wife cheated on me is a sore point because I was stupid enough to fall back into bed with her.
And knock her up.
“She called me this morning.”
“Why’d she call you? Didn’t she think she hurt you enough? She wanted to rub some more salt into the wound?”
I take a moment to answer as I know she’s going to flip. I know that all my family and friends are going to flip.
“She called because I’m the dad.”
Makayla doesn’t say anything as she stares at me. She blinks once. Twice. Then a third time without saying a word.
“What did you just say?” she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I’m the dad.”
Makayla undoes her seatbelt, and within a flash, she’s out of the car. I follow suit and climb out, then walk around to lean against the hood.
“Are you serious? Are you fucking dumb? You slept with Nicole?” she bellows out. “After she broke you, you had sex with her? How the hell does that even happen? How do you know it’s yours? She could be lying about the father. Is she even pregnant?” she spits out.
Walking up to stand in front of me, Makayla pokes her pointer finger into my chest. “You are a dickhead. Honest. I love you because you’re my brother, but you’ve made a stupid decision.”
“I know she’s pregnant because I went to an appointment with her this morning after she called to tell me. The trustworthy doctor who I organized confirmed she’s pregnant, and the dates line up.”
As much as I don’t want it to be, the date of conception matches when we had sex.
“I honestly can’t believe this,” Makayla says with a growl. “There’s like two and a half million people living in Houston, and you got into bed with your cheating ex-wife and got her pregnant. Couldn’t you have chosen someone else? Just anyone else?”
“Do you think I meant for it to happen?” I roar.
“I don’t know. But how did your dick end up inside her if you didn’t mean for it to happen?”
And that question right there is the same one I’ve asked myself several times since I woke up next to her. Why did I do it? Yes, I had been drinking, but I wasn’t paralytic drunk or drugged. I remember going back to her place on my own free will.
“What’s going on here?”
Jace and Callie walk out onto the front porch just as Ryan’s truck comes into view. I recognize the driver as Jordan as she pulls up not too far away from us.
“This idiot got Nicole pregnant,” Makayla replies to Jace’s question, ignoring Ryan and Jordan, who have just hopped out of the truck.
“Nicole? Like Nicole bell? His ex.”
“Do we know any other Nicole’s?” Makayla snaps at Jace.
“Man, what? Why?”
“Can we not talk about it now?” I ask. “I called you earlier to talk, not now.”
“Sure, we don’t have to,” Callie says. “We’re nearly ready to head to the dam. Jane’s just putting Ella’s coat and boots on her. Do you all want to travel down together?”
“Sure,” I say, ready for tonight to be over already.
“Oh, hey, I didn’t see you there,” Callie says as she looks over behind Ryan, who is leaning against his truck.
“This is Jordan,” Ryan replies.
“Hey, I’m Callie.”
“Hey, sorry to intrude,” Jordan replies. She looks at me then back to Callie. “I was just dropping Ryan off as he was unable to drive. I’m not staying.”
Callie glances at Makayla, who has her back faced at Ryan and Jordan, then back at Jordan. Everyone knows about Makayla and Ryan and how it's an uncomfortable situation to have them in the same place when other people are involved in the equation. Callie knows that Jordan turning up here with Ryan will be hurting Makayla.
“Do you want to stay? We’re having a bonfire tonight to celebrate Christmas eve.”
“No, thank you. I’m on my way to Dallas with my friend. We just stopped into Joe’s bar for a quick drink then got held up talking with these two.” She points to Ryan and I. “Ryan said someone might be able to run me back to my friend at the bar, but if not, I can drive his truck and leave it there.”
Callie looks around at us all, and I know she can sense the tension rolling off of Makayla. After a moment, she nods. “I can run you there. I just need to get my purse.”
Callie turns to the house as I walk over to Jordan. “Thanks for bringing him here. Also, thanks for a good afternoon. You and Jenna managed to distract my mind for a few hours.”
“I don’t think I done much. This one here was the entertaining one,” she replies, talking about Ryan.
“That’s just him. He’s a goof,” I say.
“Nothing wrong with me,” Ryan says, pushing away from the truck and turning to face Jordan.
When he does, Makayla turns and walks up onto the porch, then following where Billy went inside just moments ago. Callie, Jace and I look at each other. All of us not missing the way Makayla is sulking over Ryan, and that for once Ryan is oblivious to her.
“Thanks for the ride,” Ryan says.
“No worries.”
“And for a good afternoon.”
“Like I said, you were the entertaining one.”
“It’s easy when I have good company,” Ryan murmurs as h
e leans towards Jordan.
She looks up at him and smiles.
I look away as they seem to be having an intimate moment. So intimate that I’m waiting for them to kiss.
Jordan and Ryan talk quietly to each other for another few minutes as the rest of us stand around waiting. Soon enough, Ryan walks past me towards the house, and I turn to face Jordan.
“Have a good Christmas,” she says as she climbs into the passenger side of Ryan’s truck.
“You too,” I reply. “Travel safe the rest of the way.” I give her a wave then follow Ryan inside. When I reach the door, I find Ryan standing just inside, looking out at his truck.
When he sees me, he shakes his head, like he’s trying to shake thoughts away, then walks into the living room. When he sees Billy and Makayla sitting on the sofa together, a scowl appears on his face and his whole demeanour changes.
I honestly don’t know what’s in the future for Makayla and Ryan, but I have a feeling shit’s going to hit the fan between them.
Chapter 5
Sometimes the gift you can give someone else doesn’t cost you much but means the world to them.
Casey
My heart flutters in my chest, and a happy tear slides down my face as I look at the white stick in my hand. I've been staring at it for the past five minutes, wordlessly, as I can't form words. As soon as my eyes had landed on it, all thoughts left me.
Finally, my mind and heart catch up with what I'm seeing. "We did it," I whisper as I look up at Bryson with tears in both eyes. "We're having a baby."
I look over to Gabbie, who is sitting on the sofa a few feet away from us. "I just…" A sob breaks free, and I clamp a hand over my mouth to stop a full-on cry fest. "This," I point to the pregnancy test in my hand. "it means so much to me. To us. What you've done for us…" I trail off as I can't continue.
Bryson walks over and wraps me up in his arms, and there's no other place I'd rather be.
He’s my rock.
My comfort.
I rest my cheek against his hard chest and let the happy tears fall. I know it is only early days, but we've been trying IVF for the past year to fall pregnant. This is the first time it's worked.
"I'm just relieved it worked," Gabbie replies with a warm smile. "And I'm glad we could all be together when I took the test. You both deserve to be parents, and I'm glad I can help."
We've known Gabbie for just over eighteen months now. We met with several surrogate moms, but we clicked with Gabbie the moment we met her.
This is the third time we've tried in the past twelve months. The first two times, it was hard when they were unsuccessful, but we all kept up hope that it would work.
Gabbie stands up and walks over to me. I step out of Bryson's embrace and pull her in for a hug. "You are truly amazing," I say.
"It's not just me.” Gabbie steps back and places her hand over her belly. “This baby is you and Bryson," she says. "The Geneticist, doctors and counselors, and many more are a part of it. It's been a team effort."
"I know, but you are selflessly giving us nine months of your life to grow our baby."
Honestly, I still thank the Lord for the day Gabbie was bought into our lives. She has been amazing in every aspect. From attending appointments, being inseminated by our baby, and having two prior failed attempts. Then she’s there for me when I need to talk. So many times we’ve spent hours talking about anything from my past and loosing our babies to what we’re going to cook for dinner that night.
"Nine months is nothing. I'm lucky to have three beautiful children who bring so much joy into my life. My husband and I are lucky that it was easy for us to conceive, and we had straight forward pregnancies and births. I want to help you two feel the joy that I do when I look at my children."
Another tear slides down my cheek, and Bryson wraps his arms around my waist from behind me, then pulls me until I'm leaning against his chest.
"We just appreciate it. After we lost the twins, neither of us thought we'd have children. So, this is everything to us," Bryson says.
"I know, and I'm happy that I'm able to do this for you." Gabbie grabs her coat and pulls it on before picking up her purse from the coffee table. "I need to get going. Santa is unorganized this year and hasn't started wrapping any presents. Santa also went overboard and has way too much to wrap."
"I think Santa does that with a lot of children. Well, say hello to Sam for us and wish the family a Merry Christmas,” I say.
"I shall do."
We walk Gabbie to the door, and I lean in and give her a quick hug before she steps outside into the cold weather.
"Be careful on the roads and send us a message when you get home," Bryson says when we notice the snow that is falling.
It’s not heavy yet, but that could change at any moment.
"Will do. I'll see you both at the doctor's appointment on the twenty-ninth. Oh, and by the way, congratulations."
"Thank you."
Once Gabbie is in her car and driven away, I close the door and move to the kitchen, where I grab the snacks I prepared earlier, and a bottle of white wine.
"I just need to get changed," I say to Bryson as I move to our bedroom.
This is the second year since Bryson and I have been back together that we’re going to the Christmas Eve bonfire. Before the miscarriage and us breaking up, I used to love going to the bonfire. It’s one of the traditions I missed most when we were apart. It’s nice being able to count down the hours until Christmas with your closest friends and family.
I ditch my leggings and baggy white top that I'm wearing and replace them with a pair of dark wash jeans, a grey hoodie, and a pair of black boots that come up to my mid-calf. I grab a woollen coat for later when it gets colder.
"Do you still want to go?" Bryson asks as he strolls into the room.
"Yes, unless you don't want to," I reply as I make my way over to him. "We said we'd be there, so we should go."
"I know, but they won’t care if we don’t. I’ll call Jace and let him know what’s going on.” When I reach Bry, he wraps me up in his arms and drops a kiss to my forehead. "He'll understand when we tell him."
A cold shiver makes its way over my body. I know Jace and Bryson are best friends. Probably the closest out of everyone in the tight-knit group they have, but I'm not ready for anyone to know.
What if something happens and when we see the doctor in a week, he tells us there is no baby. What if Gabbie miscarriages like I did?
"Please don't tell him," I quietly say. "Yes, he's your best friend, but I don't want to spread around the news yet." I gulp around the lump in my throat. "It's still early days, and anything could happen."
"Babe, everything is going to be fine. I can feel it. This baby is our Christmas miracle. But I won't mention anything to anyone until you're ready to."
"Thank you."
"Anything for you, babe." Bry kisses me softly and quickly. "If you still want to go, we better get going."
As we make our way to the Thompson farm, I can't help but be anxious about the pregnancy. It was years ago, and I have dealt with it a lot, but I will never completely be over the loss of our twins. It was a dark time in my life, and as much as I'm excited about having a baby, I'm scared something will go wrong again.
If something does happen this time, I won't be able to survive it.
Chapter 6
We're one big family
Callie
As I'm driving down our driveway, my mind's spinning from everything I've learned these past few hours.
Ethan's ex-wife is pregnant. To him. I've never met Nicole, and most of the time, I'm glad I haven't. I've been told she's a nasty piece of work.
Ryan got some random lady to drive him all the way out here. He could have easily got a lift here from someone, but he made her go out of her way to bring him here. It tells me that he wanted to spend more time with her. When I dropped Jordan off at Joe's, she said that they didn't exchange numbers, so it's weird.
<
br /> Makayla is far from being over Ryan. I know she's with Billy now, but she's not in love with him like she is with Ryan. She just hasn't realized it yet, and someone is going to get hurt when she does. I just don't know if it'll be Makayla, Ryan or Billy.
My sister is a nasty piece of work. I haven't heard from her for over seven years, then she sends me a letter which just so happened to arrive on Christmas Eve.
She asked to meet with me and didn't really say much more. Just that she's dealing with her past and wanted to reach out and see how I'm going.
Is she for fucking real?
She wanted to see how I am after seven years and everything that I went through.
My sister HATED me. She either ignored me or was throwing jabs at me. In the early days, when I said to mom about what Martin had been doing to me, Shannon just looked blankly at me then walked away.
My older sister turned her back on me and then never mentioned it again.
Shannon obviously knows where I live, as she sent the letter to our house, but she just left a phone number for me to call and arrange a time to meet. She sent a letter instead of coming to see me myself.
I hope she knows she won't be receiving a call from me. I know it's Christmas, the time of giving, spending time with family and friends, and also a good time for forgiving. But one letter doesn't cut it for me.
I went through too much as a teenager, to the extent that I thought it was better to end my own life at times. All I needed was for Shannon to be in my corner, and there could have been a chance that half of what I went through wouldn't have happened.
Pulling Ryan’s truck up outside the car garage, I hop out and walk to the house where everyone is waiting. We were ready to head down to the dam an hour ago, but I ended up taking Jordan back to her car and friend.
When I walk inside, everyone is sitting in the living room talking, and a few people have drinks in their hands. My heart warms when I look over all of our friends.
