Page 151 of Tied to You

“Stop!” I grab my bag and open it, snatching my phone. I hit call on Travis’ number. Seeing him ride off, I know he won’t answer, so I leave a voicemail. “Call me back when you get this. It’s not what you think.” The stare I hit Janette with as I drop my phone to the table, makes her shuffle in her chair. “Why did you tell him I was pregnant?” My words come out exhausted. This is the last thing Travis and I need.

Her dainty, twisted hands, reach forward again. This time, I don’t place mine in hers. “Because of the signs?”

“What signs?” I spit.

She lets out a huff. “The way you’re tired all the time. The constant using the loo.” She leans forward. “Tell me, what was wrong with the cup of tea you made me earlier?”

“The milk was off.”

“The milk was fine. I tasted it, remember?”

What?I try to take in everything she’s saying. “Rubbish.” I shake my head looking out the window of the restaurant, crossing my arms. “I’m tired because I work all day at the farm then head to the clubhouse to help out there. I pee because… well… the milk was off.”

She smiles when I look back at her. I sound like an idiot. But pregnant? I can’t be? I’d know before anyone, surely?

“The milk was fine, Mollie.” She raises a condescending brow. “Anyway, your pill.”

“What about it?” I crack.

“It doesn’t always work with antibiotics.”

“The doctor said it should be fine.”

“Okay, but did you take extra precautions?”

“No.”

“And have you thrown up or had diarrhoea?”

“What is this?”

“Answer the question,” she says softly.

I lift my chin, looking away from her. “I may have had a dodgy stomach a while back, yes, but I think my ginger sweets were a bad batch.” I sit up straight, hearing how ridiculous I sound. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

Her smile makes me pause. “It means, sweetheart, there’s a chance you could be carrying Travis’ child.” Wet pools begin to gather in her eyes, nothing but love and hope shining down on me. “You’re going to be parents.”

Constricting my breathing, an icy coil of fear wraps around my throat. My lips part, and with the last breath of air in my lungs, I say, “You’ve never had children. How would you know?” I don’t mean for it to come out in such an evil way. I immediately shake my head, regretting it, wanting to reach out and snatch the words right back. But it’s too late.

Dabbing at the corner of her eye, Janette struggles to swallow. “I may never have carried them into this world, but I’ve had children, Mollie. I know what it feels like to have that life inside of you.”

My body sags, my fingers splaying over my face to hide myself. She’s never had children, but she’s been pregnant, meaning, she’s also miscarried. “I didn’t know.”

“No, you didn’t,” she replies harshly, and rightly so. “So please, don’t you dare sit there and tell me I don’t know what it feels like.”

I can hear her breathing heavily. “I’m sorry.”

Sucking in a breath, she stands from the table. All I can do is peek through the small gap between my fingers. “You should be. Now,” she dusts down her perfectly clean dress, “we’re going to get you a test, and you’re going to take it. And when you do, you’re going to find Travis and the pair of you are going to enjoy what you’ve created. Far too many people don’t get the opportunity you’ve got before you.”

“But—”

“No buts.” She cuts me off.

Mick walks back to the table, looking between us, reading between the lines. “Should I go grab the car?”

Janette looks down at me. “No need. We’re coming.”

My chair pushes out. Fuck. My hands are sweating. A deafening alarm’s going off in my head. What if I take a test and it’s positive? If it’s negative, nothing changes, it’s a simple misunderstanding. But if it’s not, then… I can’t see it. I can’t see how to handle it, how I would tell him or how he would react. Given how he abandoned me at the mere mention of it, it’s clear Travis isn’t ready to have children any time soon.