Page 47 of Her Silver Fox Firefighters

But things have been good lately, quiet.

The fact that I keep puking my guts out every morning, however, is not a good sign. It’s not until I realize that my period is late that I stop by the drugstore to pick up a pregnancy test.

I stare at the plus sign with my stomach reduced to the size of a very heavy cue ball.

“Shit,” I whisper, sitting on the sofa.

It’s nice and sunny outside, and it’s going to be a hot day. I’m hungry and queasy at the same time. We’ve planned a full day together—we’re taking Luke to the water park. I even bought myself a one-piece bathing suit for the occasion.

“Shit,shit, shit.”

Saying it multiple times doesn’t change the reality staring me in the face.

I’m pregnant.

On top of this new revelation, my legal fate still hangs in the balance. Carlos may not have given me up to Marcus, and Jocelyn may have kept her mouth shut about my being here, but I am still on the radar. Sooner or later, Marcus will catch up to me.

A sudden knock on my front door startles me.

It’s Leo and Luke.

I greet them both with a wide smile. “Good morning, Sunshine and Sunshine Jr.” The pregnancy test is in the bin, but my heart is still racing as I grab my bag. “Ready for some fun?”

I don’t know where this upbeat vibe just sprang from. I am scared out of my mind, and I have had maybe a minute to process the idea that I’m pregnant. But looking at Leo and that luminous reassuring smile of his, perks me right up.

“Dad said I still need my inflatable swimmies,” Luke grumbles as if it’s the end of the world.

“Well, that’s not a tragedy,” I reply.

He shakes his head in dramatic discontent. “But I’m twelve, Olivia. I’m too big for that stuff.”

“Fair enough, but you’re not tall enough for that water slide pool just yet either,” I say. “It’s cool, though. Do you know how to swim?”

“No.”

“That’s why he needs the inflatables,” Leo chuckles, one hand resting on his son’s shoulder. “But I’m the bad guy.”

“Well, Luke, today’s your lucky day because I’m going to teach you how to swim, if your dad will let me.”

“Will you, Dad?”

“Of course. I trust Olivia,” Leo says, giving me a playful wink.

Assuming I won’t get queasy at the pool, I dare say we might have a great day ahead of us. I catch a glimpse of Dax and Beck loading up the SUV with a few beach-related items that we’ll need at the park, and it is such an endearing image: The four of us and the little guy about to spend some time together, like real families do. And it hits me, right there in that moment: Theyaremy family, the family I’ve always wanted, albeit in a slightly modified formula, but still my family, nonetheless.

“Are you okay? You seem a little out of sorts,” Leo asks me.

I offer a smile. “I’m good. Promise.”

That’s a white lie, at best. I want to be good. I want to be perfectly happy and be able to work up the courage to tell them that I’m pregnant. But given the circumstances, given the uncertainty of my future, and given how stubborn one’s nasty past can be, I’m not so sure.

I can’t tell them.

Not yet.

15

OLIVIA