Chapter 9

CHAPTER

NINE

Lena

Age twenty three

So much has happened in the last year. Stanley and I got married and just celebrated our first wedding anniversary. It doesn't seem like a year could have passed already, but here we are. We've been enjoying our time together as husband and wife. We make it a point to find time for one another, even with our busy schedules and Stanley's business.

His business has taken off to something I never could have expected. Today, we're expanding yet again. We started with one small box truck, and now we have four box trucks and two semis.

The side hustle he wanted to start has turned into a full-blown business. I'm so damn proud of him. It brings tears to my eyes. He's worked tirelessly to make this happen, and during it all, there was never a time I didn't feel like the most important person in his life.

It's also allowed for us to start looking for a house. It's time for us to move out of the apartment we've called home for the last couple of years. The tiny space has served us well, but we're ready for more. Ready for what comes next, and right now, that's a house of our own on the outskirts of the city.

Pulling my car up to the house, I see Stanley's truck in the driveway. I park behind him and climb out of the car. He comes rushing toward me, a huge smile on his face.

"I missed you, wife," he says, kissing me softly.

"I missed you too." It's only been since before we left for work this morning since I've seen him—not days—but you would never be able to tell. This is how he always greets me whenever we've spent any amount of time apart.

And the wife part, yeah, we're just over a year into our marriage, and he still likes to refer to me as "wife." I don't object because I like it. I like being reminded I'm his, and I refer to him as "husband" just as much. One, because I know he likes it, and two, it feels good to remind the universe that this incredible man is mine, all mine.

"So, what do you think?" He keeps one arm wrapped around me while the other gestures toward the house. "It's three bedrooms, two and a half baths, and has a decent-sized yard."

"It's beautiful and so much bigger than our apartment," I tell him as I stare up at the two-story house. "Can we afford this?" I'm mentally crunching the numbers. I know that we can. We've talked about it at length, but buying a home is not only a huge investment but a big step for our family.

"Baby, we've talked about this. Even taking the twenty percent down payment from our savings leaves us a nice little nest egg."

"I know." I nod. "I'm just… this is happening so much sooner than we thought it would. We had a five-year plan, and this wasn't until the end of that."

He grins. "We're kicking ass, baby."

I laugh, hiding my face in his chest. "You're kicking ass," I say, peering up at him.

"Nope. We're a team, Lena Riggins. There is no me without you. You've been there every step of the way. We've built this business. It's ours, baby."

I know he's right, but really, I've just been there to support him. Sure, I do the books, but the business has grown so much that he now has an accounting team that takes care of it all. Either way, I know not to argue with him about it. In Stanley's eyes, we're partners in everything we do. No matter if I had a hand in it or not.

"Can we go inside?" I ask, instead of debating with him.

"Yeah, we can. The realtor is already in there. I asked her to give us a few minutes."

I grin up at him, not able to hide my enthusiasm. "I'm excited." I pull out of his embrace, lace my fingers through his, and guide us to the front door.

We walk inside into a small foyer with a set of steps. To the left of the steps is a sitting room, and to the right is the half bath. As we explore further, the laundry room is just off to the right, which leads to the attached garage, and a little farther down the hall is the kitchen. To the left is a dining room, and to the right is a larger living room with a fireplace. All three bedrooms and two bathrooms are upstairs.

I've studied the pictures and the layout on the realtor's site more times than I should be admitting. Partly because of my excitement and partly because it's a huge deal to buy a house. I want to make sure we think of all aspects of what our growing family will be like.

We take our time walking hand in hand through each room. We point out things like having family dinners in the dining room, to turning the second living room area into an office for Stanley.

"Our office. In fact, we could put two desks right there on that wall, side by side."

"I don't need a home office."

"But I could use one, and I want you with me so—" He shrugs.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Love me."

"With my whole heart." I rise up on my toes and kiss him softly.

"What do you think?" he asks, wrapping his arms tightly around me, keeping me pressed to his chest.

"I think that this place feels like home."

"Me too, Mrs. Riggins. Let's go talk to the realtor and put in an offer."

Two months later.

"I'm never moving again," I declare as I plop down on the couch next to my husband. We just unpacked the last box in our new home. "How in the world did we get all of that stuff in our tiny apartment?"

He laughs and pulls me onto his lap. "Next time, we'll hire movers." He kisses my temple.

"Movers are expensive."

"We can afford it. Besides, if we got that much stuff in our apartment, can you imagine after living here for a few years?"

"This is it, Riggins. We're never moving again."

"Okay, baby," he says.

I know he's agreeing with me because I'm worn out and exhausted. I don't know why I've been so tired lately. It's as if I can barely keep my eyes open.

"Why don't you go upstairs and shower? I'll order us some pizza and run to town to pick it up."

"You really do love me," I tease.

"Yes." He kisses me softly. "I'll be back in twenty." He stands and moves toward the kitchen to make the call. "I'll be back!" he calls out.

I hear the garage door open and close, and I know I need to keep moving, or I'm going to fall asleep right here on the couch. Groaning, I climb to my feet and make my way upstairs to shower.

In our bathroom, I stop short when I see one small box sitting on the floor. "Damn," I mutter. "So much for being done." With a heavy sigh, I settle on the floor, pull open the cabinet under the sink, and begin to unpack. It's not until I reach a box of tampons that I freeze.

My hands start to shake when I realize that I've not needed these in well… I don't know how long. My heart starts to race as hope builds in my chest. We weren't trying, but we weren't not trying either. I place my hands over my still-flat belly, and something inside me just knows.

After shoving everything in the box beneath the cabinet, I climb to my feet. I need a test. I need to know. I can't wait. Rushing downstairs, I grab my purse and pull open the door to enter the garage. Stanley's spot is empty, and I mentally calculate how long it will take him to get back. I should have left him a note, but there's no time.

Ten minutes later, I'm in the pharmacy staring at the pregnancy tests. I don't know which one is better, so I grab one of each. Excessive? Absolutely. Do I care? Not at all. Chances are, I'm going to want confirmation of whatever the result is. Although, in my heart, I'm pretty sure I already know. It's not something that I can explain, but now the idea's taken root, I'm certain we're having a baby.

Pulling into the garage, every light in the house is on, and I know that Stanley is pacing the floor, worried about where I could have gone. I grab my pharmacy bag full of pregnancy tests and my purse and push open the door. He's there, tugging it open and then crushing me in his embrace.

"Where were you? I was worried sick. I came home to find you and your car gone. Is everything okay?" He pulls back, and his eyes rake over me.

"I'm fine. I just realized after you left, I needed something, so I ran out to get it."

"Okay." He nods. "Good. Come on. Let's get you fed."

"I need to do something first." He leads me inside and I hold up the bag of pregnancy tests. He takes it from me and peers inside. When he lifts his head, the biggest smile I've ever seen before in my life greets me.

"We're pregnant?"

I shrug. "I'm not sure. I went upstairs to shower, and there was one small box I forgot about on the bathroom floor. When I started putting it away, I found my tampons. I haven't needed them in a while. I don't remember the last time, so—" I shrug again.

"Let's do this." With the bag in his hand, he picks me up, tosses me over his shoulder, and carries me upstairs. "Oh shit, did I hurt the baby?" he asks, sliding me down his body. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have carried you that way."

"It's fine, Stanley. If I am pregnant, you didn't harm the baby."

"We're having a baby," he says with awe in his voice.

"We're not sure yet," I caution.

He dumps the bag into the bathroom sink. "Which one?"

I laugh. "I don't know! That's why I bought one of each."

He reaches in and grabs one. "Here. We'll start with this one. I'm going to go grab a couple of bottles of water."

"Why?"

"You bought a sink full of tests, baby. I know you. You're going to want to use them all, or at least a good portion of them, to make sure the results are the same."

"It's like a science experiment," I joke, trying to ease my nerves.

He kisses me hard. "I'll be back." His feet bound down the stairs as I tear open the first box and pee on a stick.

By the time he's back, he's not even breathing heavily as I place the stick on the edge of the sink. I eye the tests in the sink, and he jumps into action, moving them so that I can wash my hands.

"Now what?"

"We wait."

He hands me a bottle of water, and I drink half of it. When I hand it back to him, he places the lid back on and sets the bottle on the counter. He then lifts me so that I'm sitting on the counter as well and steps between my legs. He cups my cheeks as he stares into my eyes.

"If it's negative, we'll keep trying."

"We weren't trying," I remind him.

He nods. "Yeah, but we are now." His hands move to rest over my belly. "I can't stop thinking about it, Lena. You, growing our baby inside you. I—yeah, we're trying."

"We might not have to."

"Either way, this is our future. We're going to start a family." He kisses me, and I get lost in him. In the movement of his tongue stroking against mine, the feel of his hard body pressed between my thighs, and his hands that hold me firmly yet so tenderly, it brings tears to my eyes.

"Can we look?" he asks, breaking the kiss and resting his forehead against mine.

"Yeah, we can look."

Reaching over, he grabs the test, and his expression is neutral. I watch him for a reaction, but from the profile, I don't see any change. That is until his eyes find mine, and they're wet with emotion.

"We're pregnant." He crushes me into his chest, and I hold him just as tightly. I plan to take more of those tests, but I feel in my soul, this is real. This is right.

We're starting our family.