Page 3 of This Memory (Moose Village #3)

Brystol

I watched Gavin carefully as Evelyn and Denny spoke.

“We would love for you and Brystol to be the baby’s godparents.”

Gavin opened his mouth then shut it. I could see tears forming in his eyes. My heart squeezed. “It would be an honor to be the baby’s godparents, wouldn’t it, Gavin?”

He nodded, staring at Evelyn, then Denny. “Yes, of course. An honor.”

Gavin turned his attention to me, and I swore he could see into my soul and tell how freaked out I was. Okay, maybe freaked out wasn’t the right word. Nervous. I was nervous as hell.

Evelyn suddenly looked uncomfortable as she glanced between me and Gavin. “I know the two of you aren’t exactly best friends, but Denny and I were hoping throughout this process you could try and get along. I don’t want Brystol stressed while she’s pregnant.”

I laughed lightly. “Trust me, Eve, nothing Gavin says bothers me.” I could see Gavin glaring at me from the corner of my eye .

“Don’t worry, Evelyn. Everything will be fine,” he promised.

We ate in silence for a few minutes, before Gavin asked, “What happens if the embryo doesn’t implant?”

Evelyn sighed. “We try again.”

“I imagine it isn’t cheap to do this procedure,” he said, glancing at me.

“I’m not paying for it,” I said, unsure why I felt the need to clarify.

“We’re covering everything as far as the medical expenses go. We’ll pay for Brystol’s prenatal care and the delivery.”

Gavin nodded.

For the rest of dinner, we talked about everything but the baby. Denny and Gavin talked about football, since it was mid-September and we were in the throes of the season, while Evelyn and I talked about the fall scavenger hunt the following weekend.

“Will the toy store be open?” Evelyn asked.

“During the scavenger hunt?” I asked, surprised.

She nodded.

“Um, yeah . I’d be crazy to close the store with everyone in town.”

Evelyn smiled. “Of course, I don’t know what I was thinking. You’ll take it easy after the implantation, though, right?”

Confused, I let out a small laugh—but she stared at me, expression serious, waiting for a response.

“The doctor said I needed to rest on Monday but could return to work on Tuesday.”

I watched as Evelyn wrung her hands, chewing on her lower lip .

“Eve, I can’t stop living my life because of this…you know that, right?”

“Of course she does,” Denny said, putting an arm around his wife. “She’s just nervous.”

Gavin obviously felt the sudden tension in the air, because he cleared his throat and said, “Why don’t you two go enjoy this gorgeous evening on the back porch? Brystol and I will clean up.”

Evelyn gave him a small smile. “Are you sure?”

I stood and motioned for them to go. “Enjoy the rest of the wine. We’ll join you soon.”

Denny stood and took Evelyn’s hand. He reached for the wine bottle, while Evelyn grabbed their glasses.

I started to clear the table, picking up my plate and Evelyn’s.

I reached the sink and began to rinse them off when I felt Gavin behind me.

My entire body shivered with how close he stood, and internally, I cursed him that he still could make me feel this way, even after all these years.

“Brystol…are you sure about this?”

I turned and frowned at him. “What?”

He glanced over his shoulder before focusing back on me, then lowered his voice. “That is a big ask from them. You’ll be pregnant with someone else’s baby. You haven’t even…”

His words trailed off, and I knew what he was thinking. I haven’t even had my own child yet. I’d thought the same thing on more than one occasion.

“I’m well aware of that, Gavin. I want to do this for them. You didn’t see Evelyn, how devastated she was when she told me she couldn’t have kids. It broke my heart to see her like that. When they asked me if I would do this for them… ”

Now my voice trailed off.

“What? How did you feel when they asked?”

“I wasn’t sure at the time. I was even a little freaked out, but the more I thought about it, I knew it was something I had to do. If I didn’t, they were going to ask a stranger. I couldn’t bear the idea of someone they didn’t know carrying their child.”

He pushed a hand through his hair. “I can see that for sure. Man, this is just… huge .”

I let out a humorless laugh. “Tell me about it. My mother’s biggest concern is me growing attached to the baby.”

His eyes met mine. “I wasn’t even thinking about that, but I am now .”

I let out a breath and looked at him again. I wasn’t sure why I wanted to tell Gavin my next thought, but under the circumstances, he was the only one I felt I could share it with. “I have a feeling if this takes, Evelyn’s going to try to control everything I do.”

He leaned against the island. “I noticed her reaction to you working.”

“I’m hoping it’s something she’ll get over once she knows I’m pregnant and all is well.”

Gavin raised his brows. “Bry, she didn’t want you to go to work just because of the implantation. What do you think she’ll do when you’re actually pregnant?”

I blew out my breath. “I don’t know.”

We returned to the dining room and got the rest of the dishes and glasses. We worked side by side at the sink while I rinsed and he loaded the dishwasher.

“Roger broke up with me,” I blurted.

Gavin straightened and faced me. “When? Why ? ”

“I told him a week ago that I was going to be the surrogate for Evelyn and Denny, and he said he couldn’t date a woman who would carry a baby that wasn’t his.”

“What?” Gavin gasped, with a shake of his head. “What a complete asshole!”

I didn’t want to admit Gavin’s reaction made me happy. “You can say that again. We weren’t serious anyway, so it’s not a big deal.”

When he didn’t say anything else, I glanced at him. “What? No snarky comment about Roger dumping me?”

“Do you really think that little of me, Brystol? I wouldn’t joke about something like that. I think what you’re doing for Evelyn and Denny is selfless and a really fucking amazing thing for a friend to do.”

Surprised, I drew back and asked, “You do?”

“Yeah, I do. I won’t lie and say I’m not worried, but yes. It’s a great thing you’re doing.”

Laughing lightly, I folded the dishtowel and set it on the counter. “Well, I guess for the next nine months, I won’t have to worry about what potential dates might think, since I don’t think I’ll be dating at all. I better make sure I have plenty of batteries.”

Confused, Gavin asked, “Why?”

“For my vibrator. I heard women get crazy horny during pregnancy.”

Gavin choked and stumbled back a step. “Warn a guy, would you?”

I laughed as he jokingly pounded his chest, coughing. Then sobered as I said, “Thank you for not being negative about this.”

“It’s your body, Brystol. No one has the right to tell you what you can and can’t do with it. ”

My heart felt like it tumbled in my chest. When Gavin’s gaze met mine, I swore the air crackled between us, and I fought the urge to step closer and brush my lips against his.

Thankfully, his phone rang, and I jumped.

After he pulled out his phone from his pocket, he frowned. “It’s, um…it’s Cindy.”

I forced a smile. “Well, we wouldn’t want to keep the child waiting.”

He shot me a look. “She’s not a child.”

As I headed out of the kitchen, I walked backward to face him. “Have you seen proof of her age? She looks twelve.”

“Jealous, are we?”

“Ha!” I scoffed. “You wish.”

He swept his finger over the phone. “Hey, Cindy, how’s it going?”

I turned and headed out of the kitchen as fast as I could. I could hardly stand to see Gavin with Cindy. The last thing I wanted was to listen to them talk all sweet to each other on the phone.

We did it. The procedure to transfer the embryos was done, and I didn’t feel any different than I did before it all happened.

Evelyn and Denny had hovered over me like a child afterward, and when they insisted on staying with me at my house, I had to draw a line in the sand.

“Guys, I’m tired and just want to sit here and watch Hallmark movies. I’m okay and I don’t need babysitters.”

Evelyn hugged me. “Thank you so much, Brystol. I’ll never be able to repay you for this. ”

Joking, I gave them a wicked smile. “Well, I have always wanted to go to Belize.”

“Anything you want,” Denny added as he hugged me after Evelyn stepped aside.

“I was kidding. But if we’re offering trips, yeah, I could totally be down for Belize.”

They both laughed, and I motioned them to head to the door. “I’ll be fine, I promise.”

After more hugs and thank yous, I finally got Evelyn and Denny out of my house. I shut the door and leaned against it. My hands went to my stomach, and I closed my eyes.

“Please take, little one. Please take…because your momma and daddy really want you.”

I walked down Main Street next to Aurora as we attempted to find everything in the scavenger hunt.

“You sure are quiet today,” Aurora stated, bumping me with her arm.

Trying to smile, I replied, “A lot on my mind, I guess.”

“Want to talk about it?”

I felt guilty, not telling Aurora about the surrogacy, and I was dying to talk to someone.

I was so desperate I almost called Gavin that morning.

I could have called Harper. She’d known Evelyn and Denny had asked me, but she was so busy with her flower shop and her new house I didn’t want to bother her.

At least, not until I knew for sure whether or not I was pregnant.

“I’ve got a little bit more time before I have to be back at the toy store, want to grab some coffee? ”

Glancing at her watch, Aurora nodded. “I’ve got time for a coffee.”

We started toward Timeless Cup, and I sighed in relief when I saw it wasn’t very crowded. Probably because it was a beautiful day with a high of seventy-five. Not bad for mid-September.

I pointed out a table. “I’ll order. Pumpkin spice latte?”

Aurora nodded. “Thanks, I’ll get next time.”

I got our drinks and joined her at our table. It was tucked into the corner and would give us plenty of privacy, if I kept my voice low.

“Thank you,” Aurora said as she took the coffee cup.