Page 26 of Against All Odds (Ember Falls #3)

twenty

Violet

I open my eyes, stretching my arms and glancing around, noticing that I am not in my house.

Shit.

I’m on Everett’s couch. I must’ve passed out last night. I remember us talking, me lying on his chest and feeling so content and ... tired.

He held me, letting me have all the emotions I wanted.

I cried, I laughed, I worried, all without needing to explain anything. He just let me feel whatever I felt.

I sit up, causing the blanket to fall to the ground. I rub my eyes and yawn.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” his deep voice says from the entry of the kitchen.

“Hi,” I say on a breath. “I’m sorry I fell asleep. I don’t even remember when that happened.”

He grins. “No worries. I knocked out too, woke up early this morning. You didn’t even move. Here.” He hands me a cup of coffee.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

I take a sip and Everett watches me. “So ...”

“So ...” he says with a grin.

“So, it’s tomorrow.” Not that I needed to say that since I’m pretty sure we both know what day it is.

“It is, and do you feel any better after sleeping?” Everett asks as he takes a sip of his coffee.

“Not really, but I can do this, right? I mean, I’m going to be a mom, and that means doing whatever needs to be done, and I’ll ... do that.”

“You really don’t have to right now. You have months to figure things out,” he says, sitting beside me. “Take that time and figure out things day by day.”

I know he’s right. I don’t have to make all these decisions now. I have time, and besides, I can’t make any choices when I don’t know what Dylan’s role is going to be.

As much as I hate him for all he’s done to me, I could never use the baby against him.

If he does want to be around, though, it means I have to move back to California.

I could try to stay in Ember Falls, but what does that look like with shared custody?

The baby will need to travel across the country to see him?

Doing that doesn’t make much sense and isn’t sustainable long term, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

For all I know, he’ll do what I expect him to do, which is keep the baby a secret and not have anything to do with it.

His fiancée is never going to want this.

She’s all about her social media–worthy lifestyle, and the only baby she’d want around is her own.

At least . . . I think.

“It’s just the unknown is terrifying,” I say to him, staring down into my coffee.

“The girl I knew wasn’t afraid of anything,” Everett reminds me.

“She had no understanding of consequences.”

“Nah, she knew, but if it was something important, she’d battle. Find that girl, Vi. She’s still inside of you. You just have to bring her out.”

I wish it were that simple.

“There are just so many variables to think about, but you’re right. I have to battle them all, for me and the baby.”

He grins. “There she is. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

“And if I’m not? What do I have then, Everett? I’m going to be a single mother regardless. I’m going to be alone through it all. Dylan isn’t going to come here, and I’m not going back there right now. Not until the divorce is final and I can have some sort of foundation.”

He reaches his hand around me, rubbing my back. “Then take this time to figure out what you want.”

I wanted whatever this was that we were doing. I wanted to let go of the parts of my past that were hurting me and hold on to the things that brought me joy. Now they’re mixing up in all the wrong ways.

“What if I can’t have what I want?”

“None of us ever do. I wanted a lot of things that will never be possible. My mother’s mind may never heal, and the doctors don’t think it ever will.

I wanted to move out of Ember Falls, but I will never do that to Mom.

She can’t move. She can’t even get in a car.

The doctors come here, and if I have to take her, we have to heavily medicate her, and it takes three of us to handle her. ”

“She can’t go in a car?” I ask.

“She can’t handle the idea of a car. It was the most traumatic experience she’s ever faced. Bringing her home from the hospital was a nightmare, and she made me promise to never make her do it again.”

“I’m so sorry,” I say, resting my hand on his.

He laces our fingers together as though it’s the most natural thing. “I’m only saying it so you understand—you don’t have to get what you want to be happy. Sometimes you find the things you need in the hard times.”

Like him again.

If the absolute shit show of my life didn’t happen, I wouldn’t have come back here. I would’ve been in California in my big house with my husband who didn’t love me. I’d have stayed because it was just easier and there never felt like a way out.

I was trapped, but only because I let myself stay in it.

Until I had no choice.

Then it was my decision to come here. I wanted to find myself again. I wanted to be with Everett. I wanted to be touched, adored, worshipped, and he gave me that.

Without any demands.

Maybe this setback will only bring me something else I never thought to ask for.

“All right, I need to go see a man about a cow.” Everett gets to his feet, outstretching his hand to me.

“Is that a euphemism that I just don’t know about?”

“No, the farm down the road just got some cows, and I need to run a few tests.”

I get up, feeling awful for keeping him. “Oh! I’m sorry. I’m keeping you from work. I’ll head home, and again, thank you for last night. You gave me exactly what I needed.”

Everett tilts his head. “Come with me.”

“What?”

“Come on, you can come to the farm, see the cows, and they have goats. They’re cute, even if they’re the most absolutely mischievous animals ever.”

“Goats?”

He nods. “I swear, they’re magicians and can get out of anything they want to. I saw the little fuckers stack on top of each other to hop a fence. I’m not even kidding.”

I bite my lower lip, thinking how I have a million other things I need to do, like call my lawyer and best friend, but they’ll be there later, and there’s a three-hour time difference anyway.

“And you really want to spend the day with an emotional headcase who might puke randomly?”

Everett chuckles. “It’s every man’s dream.”

“Sure it’s not.”

“Well, I might have to stick my hand inside a cow, so really, I’m just a walking dream come true too.”

Oh, that image. “If you don’t want me to hurl, I would leave out that part.”

“Got it. Are you ready?”

“Now?” I ask in surprise. “No, I need to go home and shower. Do I have time for that?”

“Of course. I’ll check on Mom, make sure she’s set for the day, and then come pick you up.”

“All right, I’ll see you soon.”

I walk over to kiss his cheek, but as I lift up, he moves his face and our lips touch. His hand moves to my back, holding me against him. After a second, he releases me and grins. “I figured I’d do that before I have to go near the cows and goats.”

My stomach flutters, in the good way this time, and I smile broadly. “You really are a walking dream come true. Don’t sell yourself short.”

I step back, grab my sweater off the back of the couch, and head out the door with a smile on my face.

When I get home, I head upstairs and turn the water on for a quick shower. As I wait for the water to heat up, I stare at myself in the mirror, moving my body right and left, imagining how I’ll look when I start to show.

I grab my phone and send off a text to Analeigh, knowing she’ll call as soon as she sees it.

SOS 811 . . . or even 911.

We have only ever used up to a 7, so she’ll know this means business and I need to talk to her.

Then I hop in the shower and wash away the last twenty-four hours, ready to see some goats and forget about the circus that is my life.

“Oh my God, I want one!” I say as the baby goat climbs up in my lap. I pet him, giving him kisses. “He’s so cute.”

Everett laughs once. “Where do you plan to keep him?”

“Umm, in the house, duh. I’m sure he could be potty-trained, couldn’t you?” I pick him up, rubbing my nose with his.

I had no idea how therapeutic this would be. The farm is absolutely incredible. The Jones family has pretty much every animal you can imagine. A lot of them are rescues, and the owners are in the process of building an equine therapy program.

Everett was busy with the cow for at least three hours, but I haven’t cared in the slightest. I’ve been in goat heaven.

He squats, rubbing the goat’s head. “I promise, you don’t want a goat and you definitely don’t want one in the house. He absolutely will not be potty-trained. They just poop as they walk, and I don’t think you want a newborn baby crawling around shit—literally.”

Fine. He’s right. I forgot for a second I have to think about those things now. “Yeah, no.”

“Maybe you can start small with like a dog.”

I sigh dramatically. “It’s no animals for me until I figure out my life.”

“Good plan. Let’s not complicate your situation more. Come on, you need to see the new foal. He’s going to be an incredible stud.”

I take his hand, and we walk out of the goat pen. “Bye, baby goats! I love you!”

Everett chuckles. “They will undoubtedly try to escape to find you.”

“Aww, don’t tell me that!”

“You’ll be fine, trust me. When you see the foal, you’ll forget all about the goats.”

I doubt that. I loved those little guys.

“If you say so. Why do you think this baby horse is going to be a good stud?”

“You’ll see.”

I don’t know anything about horses, so I’ll just trust him. Everett takes me around the farm, showing me a few different areas that house chickens, ducks, alpacas, and a few peacocks.

As we approach the paddock, the mama horse and her foal come up to the fence, but she angles herself so we can’t see the baby. “Hello, Mystic,” Everett says, placing his hand on her nose. “How is your baby doing?”

The horse lifts her head and then drops it. “She likes you.”

“She does. This little guy was a rough birth, and I had to intervene. I think she knows I was there to save her.”