The fact was, she couldn’t remember. Her skin prickled at the thought of it. How could she be so stupid? They’d always doubled up on contraception, but this time, they’d failed completely.
She walked into the I Can Make You Beautiful salon, the bell ringing over her head. Lainey looked up from the desk where she had the phone jammed under her chin and her laptop open.
“You got it?”
Courtney nodded.
“Ladies,” Lainey announced loudly to her co-workers, hanging up the phone and walking around the desk. “We’ll be in my office if you need me.”
“You don’t have an office,” Courtney said, frowning.
Lainey grabbed Courtney’s hand, dragging her to the restrooms at the back of the shop. Once they were inside, she slid the bolt firmly closed and held her hand out. “Gimme.”
Courtney opened her purse and pulled the brown bag out, passing the rectangular carton to Lainey. Her friend turned it over, squinting as she read the words, before she opened it up and pulled the wand out.
“Okay, you need to pee on this.”
Courtney let out a deep breath. Maybe she should have gone home and done this in the privacy of her cottage, but the thought of being alone when she got the result made her want to hurl.
Everything made her want to hurl. Dear God, was she really pregnant?
She took the stick from Lainey and turned it over in her hand.
“Come on, just go and do it. You need to know either way.” Lainey gave her a small smile.
Yeah she did. But the self-preservation part of her wanted to hide and pretend none of this was happening. There weren’t many reasons why you missed two periods and felt nauseous in the morning.
“Go on.” Lainey made a shooing movement with her hands. “Go tinkle.”
Three minutes later they were staring at the words in the window at the center of the test.
Pregnant.
“Okay then,” Lainey said, her voice less sure than before. “So now we know.”
Courtney nodded, her eyes wide. “Yeah, we do.” She slumped against the pink tiled wall of the bathroom and let out a sigh. “I’m having a baby.”
Lainey’s face lit up. “Oh my god, you are! You’re having a cute little baby.” She started to jump up and down. “This is amazing.”
There was a rap of knuckles on the bathroom door. Lainey sighed and slid the bolt, pulling the door open. “What?” she asked abruptly. “Unless you’re about to piss your pants, maybe you could give us a minute?”
“Um, your twelve o’clock appointment has arrived,” Nicole told her.
“Can you be a darling and offer her a cup of coffee? I’ll be right there,” Lainey asked, her voice sugary sweet.
“Sure.”
Lainey closed the door behind her and whispered. “It’s Della Thorsen.”
“Who’s Della Thorsen?”
“My next appointment. She’s the town gossip. If I keep her waiting she’ll know something’s up. Her nose is more sensitive than a blood hound.”
“It’s okay. You go and tend to her.” Courtney attempted a smile, but her lips weren’t playing ball. “I’m going to grab a coffee from Murphy’s and sit in the square. To think.”
“Best make it decaf,” Lainey pointed out. “Better for the baby.”
The baby. There were those two words again. Ones she never thought would apply to her. A tiny living human was growing in her stomach, and she had no idea what to do with that thought.
“And I’m coming around tonight. We need a plan of action.” Lainey hugged her tight. “You’re having a baby,” she said again, squealing.
Courtney grimaced. “Say it louder, Della might hear you.”
Lainey grinned and planted a huge kiss in the center of Courtney’s cheek. “Don’t worry, Mama, your secret’s safe with me.”
As it turned out, Murphy’s decaf tasted like crap. Courtney held the cup close in her palms to keep them warm as she sat on the white painted bench in the middle of the town square. In a couple of weeks there would be lights weaved through the bare branches of the oak trees, and the columns holding up the roof of the bandstand would be wrapped in red, to look like real life candy canes. All ready for Hartson’s Creek’s holiday celebration.
Shaun never had much time for Christmas when he was alive. As a farmer, he didn’t even take the whole day off. There were always animals to feed and repairs to do in the morning. They’d usually go to Ellis and Mary’s for lunch, exchange their presents, and maybe fall asleep in front of some old family movie on their old television. Then they’d go home and Shaun would shower and sleep while Courtney called her dad and stepmom to exchange holiday wishes.
For the past two Christmases she’d done the same, only Shaun hadn’t been there. Mary would still try to make their farmhouse look festive, and roast a ham so big they’d be eating leftovers into January. But it had felt like they were each playing a part that didn’t suit them. She couldn’t wait to get home and climb into bed to count the hours until the holidays were over.
She took a sip of the disgusting coffee and winced. She’d be over three months pregnant by Christmas. Would she be showing by then? Would they be able to tell she was hiding something just by looking at her face?
How about Carl? What would he think?
Her heart started hammering in her ribcage. How the heck had she gotten herself into this?
Because she’d had unprotected sex with a hot guy. She of all people should understand the birds and the bees. She’d seen enough animals through pregnancy to know exactly how procreation worked.
She’d have to tell Logan. Just thinking his name made her breath catch in her throat. How the hell was she going to let him know? Send him a text?
It would go something like, Hey, remember that night we had sex when I was ill?
