off.'
'Yeah, well, you seem to be doing a lot of that lately,'
Jade said. 'At your desk at work, in the bathtub, sitting on the couch and now at the kitchen table. At first I took it personally when you'd drift off while I was talking to you, as if I was boring you or something.' She gave Mariah a critical once-over that made her uncomfortable. 'And don't you think it's odd that you can't shake this flu you've had for the past week, and that I haven't caught it?'
Mariah frowned. 'I haven't really given it much thought.'
'Obviously,' Jade said dryly as she plunked a small brown bag in front of Mariah. 'But I have, and I think I finally figured out what your problem is.'
Mariah had a feeling the cure was in the bag, which she eyed hesitantly. 'What's this?'
Very tentatively, she did, and gasped when she saw the contents. 'A pregnancy test? I'm sick, not pregnant!'
A brunette brow rose, enhancing Jade's dubious expression.
'I can't be pregnant,' she said reasonably, even as she frantically counted back to the day of her last period, which had been light and only two days long, nothing like her normal five-day flow. Around the thundering of her heart, she managed, 'I'm on the Pill.'
'Which is only ninety-nine percent effective,' Jade pointed out. 'Humor me, Riah, and take the test.'
Mariah stood, her stomach churning with a sudden dread she refused to acknowledge. 'You're wrong,' she said. Grabbing the little brown bag, she disappeared into the bathroom, praying that Jade was, indeed, mistaken.
Less than ten minutes later she walked back into the kitchen, stunned to the point of numbness. Holding the test strip in her hand, she met Jade's anxious gaze.
'It's positive,' she said, then burst into tears.
'Oh, Riah.' Jade stood and wrapped her in a comforting embrace. She soothed her for a few moments, then took her by the hand and led her into the living room.
They sat side by side on the couch. 'It's not as if I didn't try and warn you,' Jade teased, trying to lighten the moment. 'Nooo, now look at you, heartbroken
Mariah swiped away the wetness from her cheeks, her shock fading into disbelief. 'I just don't understand how it happened.'
Jade's mouth curled into a sly grin. 'It happens when two people have that recreational activity called sex, not that I'd recall what that's like. It's been so long I can almost qualify as a born-again virgin.'
Despite her situation, Mariah smiled. Staring at the bright blue plus sign on the strip confirming her delicate condition, she shook her head. 'I guess I've just become a statistic.'
Jade agreed, and after a few reflective minutes she asked, 'What are you going to do, Riah?'
'I'm keeping the baby, of course,' she said without a second thought. That wasn't an issue for her. Raising a child alone wouldn't be easy, and it certainly wasn't what she'd envisioned for herself, but she wouldn't consider any other option.
'I didn't doubt that you would keep the baby.' Compassion softened Jade's features. 'What I meant was, are you going to tell Grey?'
Mariah rested her head on the back of the sofa and stared up at the ceiling fan. The whitewashed oak blades whirled, casting blessedly cool air downward. A rush of tears filled her eyes before she could stop them. Now she knew why she'd been on such an emotional roller coaster lately, and why the mere mention of Grey had her blubbering like a two-year-old.
But her tears changed nothing, especially the fact that Grey didn't want a family.
Swiping at the moisture trickling from the corner of her eye, Mariah drew a steadying breath and looked at Jade, her decision made. 'No, I'm not telling Grey.'
'Why not?' she asked gently.
For all her brashness, Jade could be so sensitive at times. Usually the right times. 'I don't want Grey to feel obligated to a child he made clear he doesn't want.'
Jade digested that, then countered with, 'Don't you think he has the right to at least know about the baby?'
She shook her head emphatically. 'If Grey knew, he'd feel responsible to marry me, and I refuse to force him to do something he doesn't want to.' Just like Grey's mother and father. No way was she going to let Grey's history repeat itself with them. 'He had his chance to marry me, and instead he let me walk away.'
'You being pregnant might change his mind.'
'For all the wrong reasons,' she refuted. 'He made his feelings on marriage and children very clear. I don't want to be an obligation to Grey, and this baby to be an unwanted burden, one he grows to resent. This isn't an issue that's up for negotiation.'
Jade's cobalt blue eyes held understanding. 'Well, you don't have much choice but to tell Mom and Dad about this new addition to the family. Not to mention the fact that you won't be marrying the baby's father.'
Mariah's temples began to throb at the thought of breaking the news to her very old-fashioned father. Oh, he was going to be thrilled that he was finally going to be a grandpa, and not so happy to learn she was going to be a single mom. 'Mom and Dad will learn to adjust. This is the nineties. Women have babies on their own all the time.'
They grew quiet, as if Jade sensed there was nothing she could say or do to change Mariah's mind.
And there wasn't.
Slipping her hand inside her robe, Mariah pressed her palm to her still-flat stomach, awed that a little life was growing inside her. There wasn't any doubt that the baby had been conceived at the cabin, and wondered if it had happened the night in front of the fire or the night Grey had told her he loved her.
The night her world had fallen apart.
This baby hadn't been planned by any means, but it had been created out of love. And her child would know love, Mariah thought determinedly. Lots of it. From a caring mom, a neurotic aunt and enthusiastic grandparents.
'Wow, a baby.' Jade sighed, a wistful quality to her voice. 'Do you think it's a boy or a girl?'
Mariah closed her eyes, envisioning a little girl with Grey's dark hair and golden eyes, then a little boy with similar coloring. 'It doesn't matter, as long as it's healthy.'
Jade grinned. 'If my vote counts for anything, I hope it's a girl.'
Mariah groaned, imagining the bond Jade would form with her niece. 'And the first words out of her mouth would be, Let's go shopping.''
'Of course.' Jade laughed, her eyes sparkling wickedly. 'Whatever it is, a boy or a girl, I plan to spoil this baby rotten.'
Mariah wasn't sure she liked the sound of that. 'Do I have any say in the matter?'
'Absolutely not.' Jade's humor faded into a tender expression. 'I still can't believe I'm going to be an aunt.'
Grasping her sister's hand, Mariah gave it a reassuring squeeze. 'You'll be the best.'
'And you're going to be a mom.' Her voice was filled with wonder.
Mariah rubbed her belly, already experiencing a fierce protectiveness toward her unborn child. 'Yeah, though this isn't the way I'd planned it.'
'Some things are better not planned.'
Emotion constricted Mariah's throat. 'Maybe you're right,' she whispered.
'Aren't I always?' she said with her regular dose of sass. Then she grew serious. 'I'll be here for you, Mariah, in any way I can.'
Mariah reached over and gave her sister a warm hug. Damn. More tears. Would they ever stop? 'Thanks, Jade, that means more to me than you'll ever know.'
Jade pulled back, frowning. 'Hey, what's with all the tears?'
'Damn hormones,' Mariah muttered, though she knew hormones had little to do with it. These tears were for Grey and all the joy he was going to miss not being a part of his child's life.
