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“No,” she said. “Nothing important.”
Shay and Callum’s relationship had never been about grand romantic gestures. So it made sense that Shay finally confirmed the pregnancy in a small moment.
She’d just finished the one cup of coffee she allowed herself a day, while flipping through the style section of the actual-to-goodness hard-copy newspaper Callum still received.
He cupped the back of her head as he stepped closer, holding the coffeepot with his other hand. He was moving on autopilot clearly, half-asleep on this rainy Sunday morning.
Right before he poured her a refill, he stopped himself. “Oh, right.”
Callum didn’t even seem to realize he’d said anything, just shifted back toward the counter while Shay gaped at him.
Of course, she’d known he probably knew. But she’d expected him to pretend he didn’t until she told him.
“You knew,” she accused, with fake outrage.
He froze, coffeepot midair. “Ah, shit.”
And it was just ... so them that Shay couldn’t stop herself from laughing.
Callum turned around with a sheepish smile. “I thought you were planning some kind of reveal.”
Shay loved a lot of things about their relationship. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, of course, but in a situation like this one, Callum could have jumped to the worst conclusion, could have thought she wouldn’t ever tell him about the baby, or that she regretted it had happened at all. And yet, he simply gave her the benefit of the doubt. They trusted each other. Always.
And that’s why, even though this was unplanned and scary, she had faith it would all be okay.
She stood, crossed to him, wrapped her arms around his waist, pressed her cheek to his heart. He rested his chin against the top of her head, holding her tightly.
“Are you happy?” she whispered into his T-shirt.
“So happy,” Callum said, and sounded like he meant it. “And.”
She waited, knowing his rhythms by now.
“Terrified,” he admitted. “With my job, I wasn’t sure I ever wanted kids.”
With her childhood, Shay hadn’t been sure she would, either. She also felt like she’d been raising Max, and doing a mostly shit job at it. Still, she hadn’t been disappointed when she’d taken the test and it had come back positive.
“I see all the ways the world can be cruel. I see the evil in people, so much more than I get to experience the good in them,” Callum continued. “But even though I’m scared, I still want to. Because it’s with you.”
“We’ll protect them,” Shay said, even if she knew she couldn’t actually promise that. She could promise that she would do anything in her power to try. Just like she had for Max.
Callum hugged her tight and then lifted her off her feet, spinning her around. She clutched at him, surprised by the silly gesture but laughing the entire time.
When he set her down again, he pressed his smile against her own. “We’re having a baby.”
There would be time to talk more about all the reasons this was a frightening thing.
Right now ... right now was for joy.
“We’re having a baby,” she whispered back.
Shay and Max had never recovered completely solid footing in their relationship after Shay found the serial-killer box. They were close, but the easy trust had been shattered, and for someone who’d had an upbringing like Max, people didn’t get second chances.
Max was never more outwardly hostile to her than any other teenager would be, and most of the time Shay couldn’t even sense the rift.
But she was nervous now. Telling Max about the baby and getting only polite, lukewarm congratulations was going to make that void seem vast, dark, and deep.
Inspiration struck when she was driving Max to her first therapy session of the year. Dr. Greene had long ago shifted Max off to a colleague who specialized in PTSD in abused children. It made it easier for Shay to be friends with Tori, and Max seemed to like her new therapist—as much as she could—so it worked out for the best.