He slid an arm under her breasts, tucking his chin in her shoulder. “Are you ready to tell your family?”
“Yes. I want to spend Christmas with you. Thanksgiving was miserable.”
“I bought you a present the other day.” He pressed kisses along her throat.
She tilted her head to give him more room. God, it’s nearly Christmas. “Did you? I only have one more gift to buy then I’m done.”
Toni pulled back to meet her gaze. “Is it mine?”
She shook her head. “Nope. I got yours ages ago.”
His eyes flashed; the grey almost eclipsed by the black of his pupils in the dim light. “What is it?”
She elbowed him in the side. “Be patient.”
“It’s only a week away. I can hack it.”
She stiffened. “What?”
“I can wait.”
“Did you say it’s next week?” Her brain churned with numbers, adding them together, taking them away. None of it seemed to make sense. How was Christmas a week away?
He sat up, eyeing her with concern. “Yeah. You okay?”
Ah, I don’t know. “Mm-hmm.”
He combed her hair back from her face before placing a kiss on her temple. “You’re tired. I’m gonna go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Her hands gripped the covers. She was tempted to yank them over her head.
“Night, sweetheart.” Toni pecked her on the lips and put his jacket and shoes on before crawling out the way he’d come.
She stared at the ceiling, her stomach doing flips.
Christmas was the twenty-fifth, which meant it was about the eighteenth today.
How had she lost track of the time?
What the hell was the date?
What the hell did it matter?
They’d been dating for a couple of months at least. Two months, during which she hadn’t had a period.
Oh. Fuck.
Here’s the Thing . . .
Lorelei
Christmas Eve
“Mama!” Lory yelled up the stairs.
“Yes?” Her mom appeared on the landing at the top.
“I’m just going to the store.”
Her stomach hadn’t allowed her to do a whole hell of a lot over the last week. She’d put Toni off, telling him she didn’t want to make him sick. Maybe there was no avoiding that outcome? God, how was he going to take the news?
Today was the last opportunity to finish her preparations before Christmas. And for what she needed to buy, she had to leave town.
Her mama’s eyes searched her features. “Oh, are you sure you’re well enough?”
“I’m fine, Mama.” She yanked the corners of her mouth upwards, aiming for sincerity.
Her mother raised a brow, clearly not buying the act. “Can you grab some things while you’re out, please? The list is on the kitchen table.”
“Okay.” She turned away quickly.
“Thanks, baby girl.”
Baby girl.
Yeah, not so much.
How would Mama react when she found out her baby might be pregnant?
Lory stowed some crackers in her pocketbook before checking her wallet for cash. If she was going to buy a pregnancy test, she’d have to drive to the next county. Wagging tongues were the worst part of small country towns. Taking a drink bottle with her, she took off, still deciding on a destination.
Driving south, she cut through the De Soto National Forest, headed for the Walmart in Wiggins. The shadows of the trees beat against her car, delivering a public flogging. Sinner, sinner, chicken dinner. For all the progress society had made, it was still frowned upon to have a baby out of wedlock. Lord help her if she saw anybody she knew. She was banking on the fact that most townsfolk went to Hattiesburg on account of it being closer.
Exiting the car, she nibbled on a cracker, and sipped water before going in. There wasn’t a question in her mind of whether she was pregnant or not. Her ‘tummy bug’ hadn’t eased. She was getting damn good at hiding out at dinner time. Nothing smelled right anymore. Least of all her mama’s cooking.
Lory made her way to the pharmacy and purchased the test, before finding a restroom. That was the other thing—she needed to pee all the damn time. A few minutes later she was in the cubicle, staring at two blue lines.
And there it was. The end of life as she knew it.
How was she going to tell Toni? Christmas was tomorrow. Maybe she could tell him they were both on Santa’s naughty list? And instead of a lump of coal, he’d given them a baby.
It would probably be the end of another relationship.
Wasn’t she just kickin’ goals and takin’ names?
_____
Antonio
Antonio unloaded sacks of supplemental feed from his truck, stacking them in the barn. He’d been lifting shit all damn day. His back muscles ached. His legs burned from climbing in and out of the tray. This was a job Grey and he used to share. One would build the pile while the other emptied the truck, passing the goods between them. Doing it all himself was something else. He wiped the sweat off his brow with his sleeve before reaching for his water bottle.
He needed to quit whining. Even if it was in his head. Truth was, he was pissed. He hadn’t seen Lory in a week. He didn’t doubt she was sick, but his gut told him something else was going on. Was she having second thoughts? Maybe she did still love Grey after all. Seven days of sparse communication had all his fears clawing to the surface trying to pull him under.
The sound of approaching footsteps had his head turning.
“Hey.” Lory leaned on the frame of the barn door, her face sallow and sunken, but still infinitely beautiful.
Ask and ye shall receive.
“I’ve been trying to phone you.” Nice greeting, Anton.
Her nose wrinkled before she dropped her chin.
He was a jackass. She seemed to
