Tangled Paths

by Kimi Flores

  “What exactly happened?” Caleb asked, glancing at Josh. “Why was it so bad this time?”

  “Her cyst ruptured.” Josh explained. He was not about to give the other news to these guys right now. Emotions were running too high.

  Covering her face, Bri started to cry again.

  Stefen rubbed her knee. “How long before the pain goes away?”

  “He gave me a shot, the pain is gone.” Bri sniffed. “These are happy tears.”

  Oh shit, Bri. Not yet.

  She closed her eyes and rubbed her finger over the photos in her hands. With a bright smile, she looked at Stefen. “Meet your niece or nephew. I’m pregnant.”

  Instantly, all eyes were on Josh. Caleb looked confused, Stefen looked pissed, and Leah looked...ecstatic?

  Bri wiped under her eyes then smacked Stefen’s arm. “Would you stop that! I was there too, you know. I had to practically beg him to...” Stefen’s head whipped back to her, and she hastily said, “Never mind. Just don't blame him. Many beautiful things came from that trip.” She rubbed her tummy with one hand and reached up for Josh’s arm.

  Leah burst past Stefen. “Ohmigosh, Bri! We get to be pregnant together!” She screeched.

  “What? You’re having a baby too?” Bri’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.

  Stefen tightened his lips, and nodded.

  Josh watched the change in Bri’s face, pure radiating joy, and he realized something. I think my girl is finally feeling like she’s part of a real family.

  The sliding glass doors opened up, and Dani came running in. “What happened? Is everything okay?” She froze. “Why are you all smiling?”

  Caleb walked over to her, draped his arm across her shoulder, and led her to the group. “Apparently our family is growing. I’ve been trying to convince Abby we need another one too, but she’s not buying it. I have a feeling this news will change her mind, though.”

  Dani raised her hands, darting a look back and forth between her sister and Bri. “What the, what?”

  Grimacing liked she’d just been caught, Leah admitted, “Abby knows about us already. I couldn’t hold it in.” She raised her hand defensively. “And Dani, before you say anything, we just found out yesterday when you were working, and I was waiting until you woke up today to tell you.”

  “¿Estás embarazada, Leah?” Dani asked excitedly. From what Josh remembered from Spanish 101, she was asking if Leah was pregnant.

  Leah answered, “Yup.” Then she bent down to drape an arm behind Bri. “We both are. They just found out a few minutes ago.”

  Dani was still for a moment, then she squealed, “Holy shit! For real? I’m gonna be a tía times two? I can’t believe it!”

  Bri’s muffled words came as Dani was squeezing her and Leah. “You won’t be so happy when you have to deal with our cranky, prego asses.”

  Dani laughed. “No that’s what your men are for. I can just leave when that happens.”

  Josh slapped his hands, rubbing them together. “I hate to break up this party, but I need to get Bri home. She hasn’t slept all night. Why don’t we meet tomorrow for brunch? There’s a great little place here in town.”

  Both Leah and Bri waved their hands in the air, and Bri groaned, “Please don’t talk about food right now. I’m still a little nauseous.”

  Leah agreed. “Yeah, that was my first symptom. I’m ready to go back to sleep though, too.”

  Everyone started to head out to the parking lot when Josh saw his truck. He hadn’t had a chance to move it from the emergency drop-off zone. Shit.

  “Does mami know yet?” Dani asked Leah.

  “No, but I’ll tell her tomorrow.”

  “Okay, I’m going home to bed. Just got off a late shift. I’ll see you guys later. Love ya.” Dani waved as she made her way to her truck.

  Everyone said their goodbyes as Josh helped Bri into his truck. “I’ll come back in a few hours and get the prescriptions for you.”

  “Thank you.” She said in a sleepy tone.

  They drove in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. He still couldn’t believe he was going to be a father. His parents were going to flip out. They’d probably given up hope of ever getting grandkids out of him.

  My mom is gonna pee herself.

  It was just past five a.m. by the time they pulled up to the house. Bri had knocked out on the last minute of their seven minute drive and felt groggier now than she did before.

  On auto pilot, she opened her car door and staggered toward the house.

  “Hold on. Let me help you.” Josh held onto her, walking them up the stairs and into the bathroom.

  “I wanna sleep,” she whined.

  He chuckled. “I know, but let me do this for you first.”

  He turned on the faucet for the bath, plugged the tub, and poured some of her bath salts in. Stripping off her clothes, he held her hand, allowing her to lean on him while she stepped in.

  The water was so warm and heavenly, she sighed as she sat down.

  Josh undressed, then stepped in, encouraging her to scoot forward so he could sit behind her. Once he was settled, her back melted into his chest.

  Running his fingertips across her belly, Josh rested his chin on her shoulder. “I hope we have a girl. She would be a gorgeous little thing.”

  She tilted her head to the side. “I’m still scared.”

  “I know. That’s normal. A part of me is too. I’ve never been a dad before. But we get to do this together, babe. Our child will have both of us, plus the whole crew you and I bring into the mix.”

  She placed her open palms on her tummy. “Our baby is going to have so many people to count on. I just hope I can give him or her everything I didn’t have and more. I wish I didn’t have to get huge to do it. Will you still love me with stretch marks and granny panties?”

  He scoffed. “You will always be beautiful, so don't even start thinking negatively. And I highly doubt you would ever wear granny panties. You love those sexy ones too much.”

  “Me or you?” She giggled.

  He kissed her head. “Both of us.”

  He reached to the side of the tub to get her shampoo. Picking up a small dish she kept decorative soap in, he dumped everything outside of the tub, dipped it into the bath, then poured the water on her head.

  Lathering shampoo onto her hair, he massaged her scalp. His lips ran a trail across her shoulders, causing her to shiver. “I love you, Bri. You’ll never know how much better my life is because of you.”

  Completely relaxed as he rubbed her scalp, she admitted, “I thought I was in love with you so many years ago, but it was nowhere near what I feel for you now. I love you too."

  Using the pads of his thumbs, he pressed small circles into her temples. “Babe, why don’t we make this official?”

  She snickered. “Josh, I don’t think we can make this any more official than it is. We’re having a baby, there’s no turning back.”

  He wrapped his arm around her, hugging her closer to his body. “That’s not what I mean. Why don’t we get married?”

  Bri sucked in a breath, stunned. The only thing she heard for a few moments was the running bath water. Finally, she said, “It’s not that I don’t want to marry you. It’s that I don’t want us to get married just because we’re having a baby.”

  When he loosened his grip, she knew she’d just disappointed him. “That’s not the only reason,” he insisted. “I can’t imagine my life without you. We’re a family now. Our child deserves to have us make that commitment to our family before it’s born.”

  Leaning into him, she hoped he’d understand where she was coming from, while not feeling dejected in the process. “I’m not saying no. I need time. I’m still trying to get used to the changes in my life. Between my mother’s death, my dad possibly not being my biological father, us moving in with each other, and now I have to figure out how to be a mom? I’m overwhelmed.”

  He ran his hands up and down her arms. "I get it. I’ll g
ive you whatever time you need. And promise to do whatever it takes to make you happy. Will you let me do that?"

  "I'll try." She smirked over her shoulder. Warm water was poured over her head. She jerked forward when shampoo started to run into her eyes. "Josh, what the heck?"

  "You'll try?" Laughing, he poured more water over her head.

  She held her hand out in front of her, unable to open her eyes. "Okay! I will! I will let you."

  "That's better." He tilted her head back so he could get the shampoo off of her head without getting any more in her eyes. His warm lips caressed her forehead as he rinsed her hair out. "What am I going to do with that snarky attitude of yours?”

  “Love it unconditionally?” She asked in a teasing tone.

  Bri loved his answer. “You’ve got that right.”

  “Ohmigosh! Look at my boobs.” Bri stood in the bathroom doorway, wearing snug jean capris and an opened button down shirt, exposing her bare breasts to Josh. She lifted the bra in her hand. “It’s only been a few days since I put this on, and it won’t fit. None of my bras fit.”

  She saw the hungry look in his eyes and backed up. “Oh, no you don’t.” She held up her index finger as he stalked after her. “They hurt. Do not touch them.”

  He dropped his shoulders, jutting out his bottom lip. “But, but, but they’re so pretty. Can’t I have one little touch?”

  “No way.” She closed the top few buttons, wincing as the material scraped across her sensitive skin. It still amazed her that she’d found out less than a week ago she was pregnant yet she’d felt every symptom all along. The last several weeks, she’d thought her exhaustion came from dealing with her mother’s death and the nausea, cramping and sore boobs were because of the hormone spike due to her cysts and fibroid.

  “What’s the use of having beautiful boobs if they can’t be touched?” Josh gave her a sideways smirk.

  Ugh, men.

  Facing the mirror, she fluffed her hair and swiped some mascara on her lashes. “Hey, what are you complaining about, I’m on my fifth day of no coffee. We each have to make sacrifices for the baby.”

  “I thought I read you could have some caffeine, just not a lot.” Josh leaned his butt against the sink, his eyes glued on her.

  “I’m not taking any chances.” She tossed her mascara in her makeup bag. “I’m determined to let go of whatever I need to for this baby.”

  Josh stepped up behind her, watching her reflection in the mirror as he wrapped his arms around her, above her sore boobs. “See, I told you you’d be an amazing mommy.”

  She turned her head, kissing his scruffy jaw. “I’m going to do my best.”

  “Okay, so what’re you going to do about these today?” He moved his hands in front of her, pretending to cup her breasts.

  Swatting his hands away, she walked into the bedroom, dug through the top drawer of their dresser, and pulled out one of her sports bras. “I’m hoping I can squeeze them into one of these and buy a bunch of bras while I’m out with Leah and Abby today.”

  “Need some help?” Josh’s lips turned up into a sexy grin as he made his way to their bed, laying down on his side to watch her.

  “No, but thank you.” She took the shirt off, tossing it on the comforter next to him. Grunting and sighing, she struggled into the sports bra.

  Josh chuckled. “This is like watching Thelma and Louise in a wrestling match. I’m rooting for Thelma.”

  She glared at him once she finally got it on. Her tender girls were spilling over the top and definitely weren’t happy to be shoved into something one size too small.

  Wide eyed, Josh pointed to her chest. “You’re going out in public like that?”

  “No. I’m covering up with my button down.” She motioned for him to toss her shirt back to her. Once it was in place, she pulled her hair out from under the collar and held her arms out, displaying herself. “See?”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Okay, but while you’re out getting new bras, you might wanna buy some maternity clothes. If not, can you get me some safety goggles? At this rate, those buttons are gonna start flying off, and I’m liable to lose an eye.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t need maternity clothes yet, Josh. I just need shirts that fit my new porn boobs.”

  Like any man would, Josh’s mouth turned up into a huge grin at the mention of the words porn and boobs. “Works for me.”

  Bri chewed on her bottom lip as she crawled on the bed, laying on her side to face Josh. “You know, I’ve been thinking a lot lately. Ever since we got together, it’s been one thing after another and you’ve been putting everything on hold.”

  He frowned. “What have I put on hold?”

  “Well, like all the time you’ve been spending with me, and—”

  “You think spending time with you is putting my life on hold?”

  She smoothed a hand through his hair. “Not necessarily, but I’d love to see you start thinking about what we talked about in Catalina. You need to do something for yourself too. Talk to your dad about those other acting roles.”

  He let out a heavy breath. “I don’t know, Bri. With the baby coming, I don’t want to get all wrapped up in that world again.” He swiped her hair away from her eye.

  She pressed his hand against her cheek. “I don’t want the baby or me to be obstacles for you. We’re here to support you, not keep you away from what you want to do.” Turning her head, she kissed his palm.

  His face said that he was contemplating it. He couldn’t argue with her because he would’ve told her the same exact thing. “Dad did mention a few things to Brad when we were at my parents’ house. They were roles my brother would never be interested in. I think it was my dad’s way of letting me know there are still opportunities out there, without actually telling me. I’ve turned him down so many times, I think he just doesn’t want to push me.”

  She gave him a hopeful smile. “You can tell him he’s not pushing you. This is something you want.”

  Flipping onto his back, he rested his hands under his head and looked up at the ceiling. “I can’t stop thinking there’s something else I want to do too, but I haven’t pinpointed what. You know, my way of giving back.” He turned his head to look at her. “I feel like I can use my experience to help someone that might be going through something similar. What’s the point of going through shit like that if I don’t use it?”

  She leaned into him, planting a kiss on his lips. “I love you, Josh.”

  He took advantage, pulling her up until she was straddling his hips. Kneading his fingers into her hair, he deepened their kiss, igniting her already overly eager hormones. The moment his hand squeezed her ass, she knew exactly what was on his mind.

  She sat up and waved her finger at him. “You still aren’t touching my boobs.”

  “Dammit,” he sighed. “It was worth a shot.” He put his hand behind his head again, smiling as she got up.

  “If you call your dad before we see them tomorrow, don’t say anything about the baby. I have something special in mind for your mom.” She fussed with her now messy hair in the dresser mirror.

  Tomorrow was Thanksgiving, and Bri was excited to see his family again, but she wanted to make sure she had her ducks in a row before they told Josh’s parents.

  Josh sat up, hanging his legs over the side of the bed. “You still not gonna tell me?”

  She gave him a sly smile. “I think you’ll appreciate it more if you’re surprised. Well, not that the news will surprise you, but you know what I mean.” She slipped on her sandals and leaned over for another quick kiss. “Heading out.”

  “Perfect because I have a little surprise for you too.” He snickered.

  She looked at him suspiciously. “Wait. What? You can’t tell me that right before I walk out the door.”

  He got up from the bed, pursing his lips and raising his shoulder. “You have a surprise for me. I might be able to be persuaded to tell you mine, though.” His eyebrows wiggled up and down.


  She rolled her eyes. She knew exactly how he’d be willing to part with his information. “I’ll wait,” she laughed, giving him one final peck on his lips.

  He threw his hands up. “How the hell do I keep striking out? Aren’t I cute?” He lowered his chin then peeked up at her.

  “How about I promise you won’t strike out later?” Her lashes fluttered and she playfully shook her ass.

  Standing in the doorway, he pouted. “Fine.”

  Her eyes rolled back. “Josh, a pouting man isn’t sexy.” She started to walk down the stairs when he called her attention back.