Page 85 of Out of the Dark

Hutch looked confused. “I don’t...holy shit.” His hand went to his hat before he dropped it against my stomach. “Wait, are you saying you’re pregnant?” When I nodded, he asked, “How far along?”

“I don’t know yet. I realized yesterday that I was late, so I took a couple of tests this morning while you were busy with Rand at the driver’s meeting. They all came back positive.” I was scared that Hutch wouldn’t want another child. Not yet anyway. I knew how much he loved Hazel and enjoyed being a father, but he had so much going on right now.

“We’re having a baby.” His voice was hardly a whisper.

I couldn’t tell if Hutch was happy about this or what was going on inside his head right now. “Are you okay with this? I know we hadn’t really talked about having children...” I chewed nervously on my bottom lip.

“You’re having my baby, Jilly, what’s not to be happy about.” Hutch kissed the top of my head again, and that’s when I saw the giant smile on his face that lighted his entire features. “All of this?” He opened his arms wide around us. “All of this would never have happened without you. You are the light to my dark.” He pulled me against his chest for a quick hug before he let me go. “Don’t go anywhere because the party is going to be wild!” He jogged off to whoever was calling his name, turning to wave at me, and I watched with a full heart as he high-fived some of the crewmembers.

“Jillian!” Rand’s voice boomed loud enough to wake the dead. “Get your ass over here!” he demanded, and right at that moment, I almost wished the ground would open up to swallow me whole. “Now, or I’ll come get you myself. You’re part of this too, so get moving.” He waved me over, and I felt my face burn as I started walking with all eyes on me. As I approached the crowd, I saw my future husband waiting for me, my dearest friend smiling with her arms wrapped around her husband, and I realized one thing...

My life was perfect.

The End