by Lori King
“Stop. Right there.” Bristol reached for her purse and pushed her soup aside. “I’m only going to say this one more time, then I will never speak to you about it again, Colonel Storm. The child I’m carrying is mine. It shares Roan’s DNA and thus, yours, but otherwise, no one has any claim on it but me. I am quite capable of meeting my own needs and caring for myself and my unborn baby without your interference. There will be no shotgun wedding that will only end five years down the road in divorce. As a grown woman with a career and a home, I have no need to attach myself to your son, but as his best friend and the mother of his child, I will righteously defend his right to make his own decisions. Until you’ve spoken with him regarding your questions, you’ll leave me alone. No more surprise visits to my store or anywhere else. Thank you for the dinner invitation, but I’ve lost my appetite, and as a pregnant mother, the best thing for me is rest. Good night, Colonel Storm.”
Without addressing him again, Bristol shot to her feet and ran from the restaurant. She made it to the parking spot outside her apartment building before a flood of emotion washed over her, fizzling her anger, and turning it into tears and hurt. She didn’t need everyone to support her decision to have a child with Roan but knowing her mother and his father were both against them was stealing the joy from her first pregnancy. She just wished Roan was close enough to hug her and assure her everything would be okay.
Chapter Seven
“Is that coffee?” Roan asked the Marine on his left as they waited beside their truck for the go-ahead from their unit leader.
Private Jeremy Kassen aka Casper held the small packet up and grinned. “That’s what they call it, but it tastes like shit. Want some?”
“Hell, no. If I want coffee, I’ll drink it from a cup, not chew a little cube,” Roan said, curling his lip at the other man. Dropping his head back against the metal truck he winced and shifted under the hot sun. “Somebody needs to pull their head out of their ass and decide what we’re doing.”
“No shit,” Casper agreed. “All we seem to do around here is hurry up and wait.”
Hot Wing tipped his helmet up from where it shaded his face as he lay on the ground on Roan’s other side. “I could use a good gunfight today. I’m growing roots from my boots waiting for some action.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s all you need. A gunfight is only going to get you shot up and shipped back,” Roan joked. “Casper and I don’t want to have to carry your heavy ass back to base.”
Crumley’s Hot Wing nickname stemmed from a running joke about his hatred for the savory snack while Kassen’s was a play on his name and his pale pink skin that fried up in the desert sunshine. It was a tradition that each man or woman was given a moniker, and Roan was lucky his last name was unique enough, it had stuck. In their squadron alone, they not only had Casper and Hot Wing, but also Bugs, Choke, and Scooby, among others.
As if their conversation had tempted fate, the men were startled into action by the echo of a gunshot to their west. Scrambling for cover, the men in the unit quickly went into action, surveying their surroundings. The empty highway stretched to the north and south of their position, and on the east was nothing but open land. That left only the rugged terrain of a hillside on their west for someone to hide out in.
“Dumb motherfuckers. Pinned themselves down for us,” Hot Wing growled next to Roan.
A moment later their Sergeant gave the order, and Roan’s team of five split off from the rest of the squadron. With quick, practiced movements, they moved into position and began a thorough search for the shooter.
Roan carefully monitored the surroundings for movement as Casper moved into position to cover him. The five-man team took turns moving forward until they’d covered the entire hillside. To their dismay, the only thing they had to show for it was a few spent shell casings the shooter had left behind in his hurry to flee.
“Fuck. Where the hell did he go?” Choke grumbled when they’d finished their search and stood atop the hill looking down over their squad.
“Beats me,” Roan responded. “Had to be random. We were all out in the open. Anyone with a little training would have hit someone.”
“That makes me feel so much better,” Choke said, rolling his eyes.
Bugs radioed back to their Sergeant, and they were instructed to retreat back down the hill. It left Roan feeling unsettled they hadn’t caught the shooter. Having someone take potshots at them was bad enough but knowing the guy could come back and do it again pissed him off.
Syria was currently fighting a civil war, and the US Military had been given the job of settling the fight and protecting civilians. He just wished the people in the Pentagon could see firsthand what they faced out here. His unit, the Savage Eagles was ground support for an artillery battery. They kept the guys shooting the rockets safe, so they could keep shooting.
It took decidedly less time to get back down the hill, and Roan was relieved to hear the order to load up. They were headed into Raqqa, and they had to get there before sixteen hundred hours or risk being caught up in a planned air raid.
Just as the vehicles began to roll, a large thundering round of automatic gunfire echoed through the air around them, and the truck ahead of Roan’s swerved off the road. Rolling with the motion of the truck, he and his team returned fire in the direction of the attackers. An all-out gunfight filled his ears, and he moved on complete adrenaline. Later, when he thought back, he wouldn’t remember the truck stopping or the team exiting, so they could fight. All he would carry with him was the smell of gunpowder and blood, and the sounds of one of the guys screaming for a medic.
Chapter Eight
20 weeks gestation
Bristol’s life had changed completely over the course of her pregnancy. When she wasn’t working extra hours to save money for the baby’s expenses, she was almost too tired to function. Her days were a never-ending cycle of sleep, eat, work, repeat. The only break in the monotony was her daily check-in from one of the Storm brothers and her intermittent calls with Roan.
She missed him more this deployment than ever before, especially in the moments when she felt the most fatigued and the moments when she was joyous—like feeling their baby move in her belly for the first time. Within moments of realizing what the fluttering was, she’d reached for the phone to call him, only to end up leaving an oddly broken, tearful voicemail he probably wouldn’t even get thanks to the lack of cell service where he was.
Emails and the random video chat weren’t enough to share the monumental things happening, and today of all days, she would have cut off her right arm to have him home with her. Her sonogram was going to be happening without him.
Olive had sweetly offered to take the day off and so had Roan’s brothers, but Bristol didn’t want anyone but Roan to be there with her. If he couldn’t be there, she preferred to handle it alone.
Forcing herself to roll out of bed, she trudged to the closet to find something to wear. Yet another thing that had become more difficult. She wasn’t pregnant enough for maternity clothes, but she was too pregnant for her regular stuff. The baby bump had long surpassed her regular pants. Thank God for whoever invented drawstring lounge pants and stretch knit, or she’d have been naked.
The instructions for today’s appointment were to drink a minimum of thirty-two ounces of water before she arrived. How they expected a pregnant woman to do that without peeing herself, she didn’t know, but she would give it a try. She desperately wanted to see her baby and maybe, even find out what sex it was.
Her breakfast consisted of graham crackers dipped in milk which was pretty much the only thing that stayed down until noon these days. Fuck that morning sickness in the first-trimester bull-shit. She still woke up ready to spill her guts every morning and brushing her teeth was like pressing a button that turned her gag reflex up high.
Adjusting the thermostat for the second time as she passed by, she grumbled to herself about the rising summer temperatures. Her shoes were yet another hurdle.
It seemed she’d gained her pregnancy weight in her feet because nothing fit right anymore, and it was awkward as hell to wear anything that laced or buckled.
Jamming on her favorite ballet flats, she winced when her pinky toe rebelled against its new snugger quarters and immediately kicked them off again. Tears burned her eyes as she went looking for a pair of flip-flops that would work for the day.
Why did everything have to be so hard right now? The baby wasn’t even here, and she was overwhelmed with how it had changed her world. How was she possibly going to handle being a single mom?
Wearing a pair of worn out flip-flops and faded gray lounge pants, she was heading out the front door for her appointment when her phone rang. Of course, she managed to drop her keys trying to free it from her purse, but once she had, she was thrilled to see Roan’s name on the screen.
“Roan?”
“Hey baby, it’s so good to hear your voice. Where are you?”
Bristol was confused by the question for a moment and fumbled for an answer, “Um, it’s good to hear from you too, but you’re two days late from when you were supposed to call.”
“I know B, I’m sorry. It’s been a rough week. Where are you at right now?”
“I’m at home, but I’m getting in my car to go to the sonogram appointment.”
“Is that at the hospital?”
“No, it’s at the women’s clinic on Maple. That’s where Dr. Jacoby sends his patients.”
“Okay… Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m not having the best morning, but I’ll be fine. Junior still doesn’t like toothpaste, and my new elephant feet wouldn’t fit in my shoes today.”
“Elephant feet?” Roan laughed on the other end. “I can’t wait to see that.”
“You laugh, but I’m serious. I get now why pregnant women always seem short-tempered. Between the heat and humidity draining my energy, and the baby bouncing on my bladder, I spend the day peeing or sleeping as much as possible.”
“So, you’re still feeling sick in the mornings?”
“Yeah, but it’s gotten a little better, and by dinner time, I’m ravenous.”
“Good. Listen, I’d better go since you have to drive. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you because you were trying to talk to me.”
“Okay, but call me when you get another chance though, Roan.” Bristol’s heart ached with missing him. “I should find out today whether Junior is a boy or girl.”
“It doesn’t matter to me as long as you’re both healthy. Drive safe, B.”
Bristol hung up, and tears rolled down her cheeks unchecked. She cried the entire drive to the clinic unable to stop herself or get control over her emotions. She knew Roan was doing his job, and she had no logical right to feel angry at him for not being with her through her pregnancy, but right now, she wasn’t feeling very logical. She was tired, nauseous, hungry, and she desperately had to pee.
Cursing as she wiped her face clean with a tissue, she was startled by a loud rap on her window. Looking up, she found herself face to face with Roan.
For a moment, she just sat there in shock, staring at his smiling visage as if it might disappear when she blinked. It wasn’t until he laughed and said, “Are you going to get out?” she realized how silly she looked.
Throwing open her door, she was out of the car and in his arms in a heartbeat, tears once again flowing down her cheeks. She heard him inhale deeply, and his arms tightened around her.
“You feel so good, B. I’ve never missed you more.”
“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be on another continent.”
He lifted her chin and wiped her tears with his thumb. “I’m home on leave. We had a mission go bad, and our unit suffered two casualties, so I got early leave orders. I’ll be here for two weeks, then I have to go back to finish my term.”
“Oh, my God, Roan, you get to see the baby! The sonogram! I can’t believe this, it’s like a miracle.”
His laughter warmed her head to toe, but when he put his hands on her rounded belly and dropped to his knees to place a kiss on their growing child, she nearly exploded with joy.
“Hey, little one, it’s me, your Daddy. I know you haven’t heard from me much, but that will change once I’m back. I’ll never let you out of my sight.”
Bristol was too happy to start a discussion regarding visitation and how tricky that promise would be to keep, so she just kept her lips zipped and enjoyed the moment.
“I’m so excited you’re here for this. I was secretly scared to do it alone.”
“Where’s your mom? Or Olive? I figured one of them would be with you,” Roan asked, rising and taking her hand to walk her into the office.
“Olive’s working, but she did offer. It just didn’t feel right to have someone else here in your place. Cooper and Jaden both offered, too.” She checked in at the desk and they took a seat in the waiting room.
“Are they helping you out? I asked them to keep an eye on you since I can’t be here all the time.”
“Oh, believe me,” she laughed, “they’re always underfoot. You, sir, have way too many siblings.”
“Don’t I know it. So, where’s your mom?”
Bristol cringed at the question because they hadn’t talked about it yet. There was no use hiding the truth from him.
“She’s not exactly on board with this pregnancy yet. In fact, she suggested we consider adoption after she gave me a thirty-minute lecture on responsibility and condom use.”
It was Roan’s turn to look shocked. “What? I…wow. I just never saw that coming from Tara. Especially with Frank gone.”
Before she could respond, the nurse was calling them back. Bristol’s stomach flip-flopped violently until Roan grabbed her hand. Their eyes met, and he gave her a small reassuring smile that soothed her nerves. Just having him here made it feel like everything was going to be okay, no matter what.
Within a few moments, Bristol was lying on an uncomfortable, narrow bed with her belly exposed. She could feel her face and neck glowing red with embarrassment. Roan hadn’t seen her belly distended like this. Would he be disgusted at the sight?
To her relief, he smiled at her and ran his large hand over her abdomen. “I imagined you pregnant, but I didn’t realize how much better reality would be. You two are beautiful.”
“He’s a keeper,” the technician teased as she flipped the lights off and settled on a stool in front of her machine. “Are you ready to do this?”
“So ready.” Bristol held her breath as the woman squirted jelly over her stomach and began to press the wand against her. “Will you be able to see if there’s anything wrong with the baby?”
“We can see most physical issues, yes, but from the looks of it, you have a very healthy baby in there. Let me get some measurements, then we’ll see about finding out the sex if you like,” the technician told her, eyes locked on the screen in front of her.
“How can you tell the sex? I’m not even sure there’s a baby in that picture,” Roan said, his head cocked, a frown on his face. “Looks more like an abstract painting I saw in a museum once.”
Bristol laughed as the woman began to explain what they were seeing. With her pointing out the specifics, the view changed, and suddenly, Bristol realized she was seeing her child for the first time. Tears burned her eyes, and she let out a garbled sob.
“What’s wrong, baby? Are you okay?” Roan asked, gripping her hand tightly, concern filling his features.
“I just can’t believe that’s our baby. It’s all so real when you see it like that,” she murmured, a hurricane of emotions swamping her as she watched the movements on the screen. A small hand opened and closed, a foot kicked out, and she was able to feel it from the inside out as she watched it. It was incredible.
“Looks like you’re right on target. Twenty weeks and three days. The baby looks absolutely perfect. Did you want to know the sex?”
Bristol and Roan exchanged a grin and said “Yes” simul
taneously. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t discussed it before. All that mattered was knowing as much about their child as they possibly could.
“You’re having… a boy. Congratulations,” the technician said, beaming at them. “If you look right here, this thing that looks like a turtle is actually the penis.”
“Oh my God, my son is going to be born with a penis that looks like a turtle?” Roan cried out. “Does that get fixed with the circumcision?”
The technician exploded with laughter, “Oh Lord have mercy, no. It only looks like that in the sonogram. He’s not going to have a turtle penis, I promise.”
Roan’s relief was palpable, and Bristol’s laughter matched the nurses. She shook her head at him, “A turtle penis? Really, Storm?”
“What?” he asked with a shrug. “I have to know what I’m working with here. I need to prepare a plan for how to make him love himself no matter what.”
“That’s sweet,” the other woman said and leaned into Bristol like she was going to spill a secret. “I’m telling you, he’s a definite keeper.”
“He sure is,” Bristol agreed.
The technician finished up and printed out pictures for them.
“The doctor will read the results as well and contact you if there are any concerns,” she explained as Bristol wiped her belly clean and awkwardly pulled her shirt down. “Do you have any questions for me?”
“Just one,” Bristol said. “Where’s the bathroom? I’m pretty sure if Junior moves anymore before I find it, I’ll explode.”
Roan was filled with emotions he’d never expected. Relief the baby was healthy and growing strong. Pride he was having a son. Envy that only Bristol could feel the tiny tike, at the moment, and the strongest wave of love he’d ever felt in his life. It wasn’t just love for his child, but for his family. He wanted to be a family. Bristol, him, and their child, forever.
It was time to man up and take some steps forward. They’d done this backward, but there was no reason they couldn’t change course now. As he led her out of the doctor’s office, a plan began to formulate in his mind.
